Lifeway Christian Resources, once primarily known as the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board, has morphed into a controversial behemoth in the Christian publishing world. A purveyor of spiritual strychnine and peddler of outright heresy, their portfolio includes Heavenly Tourism, Omen Interpretation, New Age mysticism, Anti-Trinitarianism, Word-Faith Theology, and good old fashioned wretched theology, demonstrating Lifeway’s commitment to upholding doctrinal standards is primarily swayed by profit motives.
Lifeway’s progressive leanings aren’t exactly surprising. Just look at how Lifeway Employee Political Contributions Favor Democrats 4:1. Or their decision to omit Voddie Baucham’s anti CRT, best-selling Fault Lines book from their catalog. Or the controversy surrounding Lifeway’s Spring 2022 Curriculum.
Financial difficulties have plagued Lifeway since 2014, with a series of losses leading to the closure of 170 physical stores in 2017. A staggering $50 million was lost between 2014 and 2019, and the 2020 budget year saw a $45 million shortfall in revenue. In a desperate move, Lifeway sold its $100 million headquarters in 2021, after occupying it for less than 4 years.
Yet, against the backdrop of these financial struggles, Lifeway recently celebrated the grand opening of a new 46,000 sq. ft. teaming space that includes “An open-concept design that features a social hub, drop-in workstations, meeting rooms with videoconferencing capability, quiet workspaces, video, photography and podcast studios, as well as post-production suites.”
Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrel explains:
“This space was designed to draw writers, designers, editors, artists and craftsmen together. When you create a space that’s designed for relationships, communication and teamwork, everyone who enters the building benefits….
The open workspaces, collaborative team rooms and state-of-the-art technology come together to support our work-from-anywhere culture and encourage collaboration….When staff who live outside of Nashville come to town, we want to have a space for them that feels like home, that feels fresh, creative and fun.”
