By Brad Dupray
Matthew Lockhart joined the Standard Publishing family as director of product development last September. In his 15-year career in Christian publishing Matt has worked in product development at Serendipity House, spending the bulk of his time there in the role of chief operating officer, and more recently at Group Publishing as senior editor of adult and pastor/leader church resources and project developer. Matt and his wife, Kim, moved from Loveland, Colorado, to Cincinnati with their two children Logan (7) and Megan (5).
What sets Standard Publishing apart from other Christian publishers?
One of the things I appreciate about Standard is that Standard has historically stood by the church. Quite frankly there are a number of other great Christian publishers, but there aren”t many that have a passion and commitment to local church ministry. I think my being at Standard ties in to the call that I have for ministry.
What preconceptions did you have about Standard before you arrived, and how have those been confirmed or proven wrong?
I knew of Standard in the sense that I”m a student of Christian publishing. The group of larger nondenominational publishers that serve the church in a broad-based way include Group, David C. Cook, Gospel Light, and Standard. They have all had success resourcing a wide variety of denominations. Group reveled in being the “new kid on the block.” The other publishers, like Standard, were generally regarded as “old” and less innovative. It”s true Standard has been serving the church for a long time. With that comes both maturity and trust, as well as the tendency to doing things the same way.
How do you see the emphasis at Standard Publishing changing?
We”re respectful and mindful of our history, but one of the reasons I came here was to be a part of something new, trying to build on the strong and rich tradition, but also to help move us forward and be a resourcer of choice.
What unique benefits does Standard provide to Restoration Movement churches?
Standard has a respect and awareness of the values””common and shared””between Standard Publishing and the Restoration Movement. The values that are important to churches in the Restoration Movement tend to be reflected in the values that are important to Standard. Standard has worked very hard to maintain a purity with respect to the Restoration Movement.
Have you seen a certain level of loyalty to Standard from Restoration churches?
A number of the churches have been loyal, but frankly, there”s not a beholden loyalty to Standard. Standard”s challenge is to create the best product for the church. We”re creating things with values we hold in common. The acid test is: Does it work in local church ministry? If you”re in the body of Christ and you want to reach kids, young people, adults, you have to ask, is it consistently true to the Bible? Is it engaging and relevant? And does it deliver and work in the context of local church ministry?
What new trends in publishing for the local church do you see?
In this wired age everybody has become a content provider. In the church the influencers, the megachurches to some degree, are the new “denominations.” It”s a new world where churches are being influenced by other churches. We have some of the leading churches in the nation who are influencing other churches within a number of denominational camps. A part of what we”re seeing is a proliferation of resources not coming from publishers, but from other churches””with megachurches certainly playing a role as a key influencer.
So “publishing” is no longer limited to publishers.
What is the role of a publisher in an age when everyone feels he has something worthy to say? There”s never been more information and it”s never been easier to get your idea out in front of people. Anyone who wants to post content can.
What do you think will be different about Standard Publishing five years from now?
In the current publishing environment, there”s not room for all Christian publishers to exist as they do. We”re in a highly competitive environment. We will become a full-service provider to the church delivering excellent resources where there are primary programming resources needed in the church.
How do you do that?
We”re nurturing some great partnerships like with Christ In Youth. Working together we can provide great resources and be better together than apart. Our products will continue to be strong biblically, but you”ll see several new products with a relational approach to them. There will be a serving component””a “faith in action” component as well””that doesn”t just equip the body of Christ, but provides a call to action.
As a “full-service provider” how do you touch every facet of church ministry?
We want to get back to basics to some degree. We want to provide great resources, in particular, to the small- and medium-size church that doesn”t have a dedicated staff person for specific areas of ministry. Providing excellent resources for children, youth, and adults in emerging, new ministry areas. There”s been a real movement for outreach; there”s been a movement for women”s ministry, for the continuing adult small-group movement, the preteen movement that”s not quite ready for youth group but not quite at home in children”s church. One of the things on which you can rely is that we will provide a level of quality.
It sounds as if you really want to draw upon what”s actually happening in local churches?
We want our best ideas to come up through the church. We want to be in partnership with the church””innovative churches, influencing churches, churches that have something to say””be they small or big. We want to provide a destination on the Web where people can see what a church did and another church can say, “We can adjust that for our program.” A place where churches can come together and benefit from each other. (Check out Standard Publishing’s Web site at www.standardpub.com.)
When you pray about your ministry through Standard, what do you say?
My prayer is that God will use Standard to bless the church. Both Christian publishing and churches are facing incredible challenges, but we”re throwing in our lot with the local church. I”m convicted that Christ established the local church and that the church will be around until God says otherwise. I can”t say that with confidence about the current Christian bookselling market. A commitment to the church is part of what”s driving who we are and what we”re becoming. If we can help equip the church in fulfilling her mission, then we”ll grow together.
Brad Dupray is senior vice president, investor development, with Church Development Fund, Irvine, California.
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