equip the Church

As Christian publishers, we face a unique challenge that secular publishers rarely encounter: the devastating impact of moral failure among our endorsed authors and endorsers. The recent years have brought a sobering reality to our industry—one that demands we reconsider our traditional approach to book endorsements.

The Costly Reality of Printed Endorsements

The traditional model of printing endorsements directly on book covers and inside pages creates a permanent liability that can destroy a book’s long-term viability. When a prominent Christian leader falls from grace, every book bearing their endorsement becomes a potential liability—not just reputationally, but financially.

Consider the first edition of Dangerous Calling, which featured endorsements from five prominent Christian leaders. What was once a valuable marketing asset became a publishing nightmare when three of those five leaders were subsequently disqualified from ministry. Publishers were left with two equally painful choices: continue selling books with compromised endorsements or absorb the financial loss of destroying existing inventory.

In our French publishing operations, we’ve experienced this firsthand—watching as entire print runs became unsellable, requiring us to literally throw away books that had cost significant resources to produce. This scenario is becoming increasingly common across our industry as we add more and more endorsements to our books, and it’s time we acknowledge that our current endorsement model is fundamentally flawed.

Perhaps most tragically, consider the reader who picks up a copy of a book years later, drawn by what appears to be a strong endorsement from a respected leader—only to discover that the endorser has since been disqualified from ministry. What should be a moment of encouragement and spiritual growth becomes a source of confusion and disappointment. The printed endorsement, frozen in time, undermines the very credibility it was meant to establish.

The Digital Solution: Endorsements That Evolve

The solution lies not in abandoning endorsements—they remain valuable for marketing and reader confidence—but in moving them to where most book discovery now happens: online.

Website-Based Endorsements Offer Unprecedented Flexibility

By hosting endorsements on our websites rather than printing them permanently in books, we gain the ability to:

• Update endorsements in real-time when circumstances change
• Add new endorsements as books gain recognition over time
• Remove problematic endorsements without destroying inventory
• Provide context when necessary about endorser changes
• Eliminate rushed endorsements that result from printing deadlines, ensuring endorsers have actually read the full manuscript before recommending it

Meeting Readers Where They Are

This approach aligns with current consumer behavior. Most book purchases now begin with online research, whether through publisher websites, Amazon, or social media recommendations. Readers are already looking for endorsements digitally—we should be providing them there.

Preserving Long-Term Value

Books with strong content deserve to outlive the reputational challenges of their original endorsers. By decoupling endorsements from the physical product, we protect the long-term investment in quality content and allow books to find new audiences without the baggage of outdated recommendations.

Implementation Strategies

For New Releases:

• Create dedicated endorsement pages for each title on your website
• Include QR codes on book covers linking to an online product page with current endorsements and a place for customers to offer their own review
• Develop social media strategies highlighting current endorsements
• Train sales teams to direct buyers to online endorsement resources

For Existing Inventory:

• Create supplementary marketing materials highlighting current endorsements
• Use reprints as opportunities to implement the new model

Quality Control Measures:

• Establish regular review cycles for all online endorsements
• Create rapid response protocols for addressing endorser controversies
• Develop alternative marketing strategies that don’t rely heavily on personality endorsements. Focus on CONTENT!!!

Beyond Risk Management

This shift represents more than damage control—it’s an opportunity to create more dynamic, engaging, and effective marketing. Online endorsements can include video testimonials, extended quotes, and interactive elements that static print endorsements simply cannot match.

Furthermore, this approach allows us to highlight endorsements from readers, pastors, and educators who may not have the name recognition for print endorsements but whose recommendations carry weight in their communities.

The Path Forward

The Christian publishing industry must adapt to the reality that moral failure among our leaders is not an aberration—it’s a recurring challenge that requires systematic solutions. By moving endorsements online, we protect both our financial investments and our ability to serve readers effectively over the long term.

This transition won’t happen overnight, and it will require coordination across our industry. But the alternative—continuing to absorb financial losses while destroying valuable content—is unsustainable.

The question isn’t whether we should make this change, but how quickly we can implement it. Our readers, our authors, and our bottom lines all depend on our willingness to adapt our practices.