Marc Lewis,
President and Publisher-elect


Ken Godshall,
Chairperson

Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation published 75 new titles in 2007. Among them was Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief, written by Rowan Williams.

“It is a happy coincidence that the most important Protestant theologian in the world is the best,” writes The Christian Century in reference to Williams.

“Rowan Williams speaks out of a fund of learning and pastoral experience which has made him arguably the most distinguished theologian in the English-speaking world,” writes The Way in its endorsement of the publication.

Tying together the answers to commonly asked questions about Christianity and addressing perplexities such as the possibility of miracles and how to read the Bible, Williams demonstrates that each of the basic tenets of Christian faith flows from one fundamental belief: God is completely worthy of our trust. A renowned theologian, lecturer and writer, Rowan Williams is the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, considered the spiritual leader of the world’s 100 million Anglicans.

PPC Highlights

PPC finished 2007 with total net sales of $8.4 million, exceeding its sales budget for the second year in a row. PPC, a completely self-sustaining agency of the General Assembly, published 74 new titles in 2007.

After more than 13 years as president and publisher and a total of 18 years with the corporation, Davis Perkins resigned from PPC to become publisher of Church Publishing, Inc. Marc Lewis, senior vice president of marketing and operations, was named PPC’s president and publisher-elect. Lewis joined PPC in 1999 and has been credited with forging significant distribution agreements between PPC and Cokesbury, its official retail distributor to the PC(USA). David Eicher also joined the PPC staff as editor of the next Presbyterian hymnal.

Through its Equipping the Saints Program, PPC mailed more than 380 packages of resources to newly ordained ministers in the PC(USA) at no cost. The program is one way PPC contributes toward the mission of the PC(USA). Church, seminary and individual subscriptions to These Days make it possible for PPC to offer this program.

The Thoughtful Christian (TTC), the online ecumenical resource center, has become enormously popular since its 2006 introduction. The resource contains studies that help Christians wrestle with difficult questions. Grouped into six categories that range from the Bible and theology to popular culture, the studies can be used in myriad ways with groups or in personal study. TTC has partnership agreements with the publishers for the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the United Church of Canada and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Work was completed on the first volume of a groundbreaking lectionary commentary series, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. The new series, with David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor as general editors, provides preachers with four distinct approaches to preaching the passages in the Revised Common Lectionary — theological, homiletical, exegetical and pastoral. Subscriptions to the series will be offered, allowing pastors an opportunity to purchase each of the volumes at a discount. Available June 2008.

In 2007, PPC completed work on The Discipleship Study Bible, the first New Revised Standard Version study Bible to be published in more than five years. Edited by Bruce Birch, Brian Blount, Tom Long, Gail R. O’Day and W. Sibley Towner, the resource features notes and annotations that highlight the social witness and discipleship dimensions of the Bible. Available June 2008.

Justice in a Global Economy, edited by Pamela Brubaker, Rebecca Todd Peters and Laura Stivers, received the Choice Award for best academic book. Caring for Mother, by Virginia Stem Owens, was listed among Publishers Weekly’s 150 best books of 2007.