Me? Sad?

It is widely known that I'm not a real chipper guy when it comes to the themes of annual conference and spending time with other clergy. (That's why I sit on the back row and read books.) However, I do think our grand Ol' United Methodist Church still does some great work for God, even though we also mess things up from time to time.

And speaking of messes . . . here's one that deeply saddened me. As of today (yes, the date of this blog!) our Cokesbury bookstore in Fischers, Indiana is closed. No more running up north for me (or anyone) to look at books, clergy attire, music, or inventory. But it's not just my personal loss that bothers me, but the fact that the bookstore was closed and sold out to a liquor store.

Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I'm no prude nor a teetotaler . . . but I guess I am having difficulty understanding the rationale behind trading God's Spirit for spirits. I didn't drive up north all that often to buy Cokesbury material, but it was great knowing that it was there. But I can say with certainty that I won't be driving to that location to buy a bottle of wine.

Of course, I'm sure that bottom line in our decision to sell out was dictated by the economics of situation. Believe me, I do understand how difficult it is to make a buck off a book. Books are low-demand items, and the margin for profit is slim. Hence, Cokesbury just couldn't make it work. But I also know there's no lack of demand for liquor . . . but do we really need another store? There's practically a liquor store on every corner as it is. But books . . . ?

Okay, that's enough preaching for now. But I'm redoubling my efforts to buy, buy, buy books. I'm going to support publishing over distilling any day.