by Scott Willis
Synopsis: After discussing the importance of leadership, as it relates to the home and church, the civil and business arenas, and our specific efforts, Scott highlights the various contributions of those who compose our board.
Leadership is an important element in every relationship we have. In the home, parents are responsible for leading the family in serving God. Specifically, fathers are to bring up the children in the admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Both father and mother are responsible for teaching children God’s way every day and in every circumstance (Deut. 6:4-12). God’s desire for the church is that each congregation be led by qualified men serving in the role of elder (Titus 1:5). Members are charged with the responsibility of following such leaders (Heb. 13:17). All Christians are encouraged to pray for civil leaders that they may establish environments that permit us to serve God without fear or being impeded by the government (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Likewise, business leaders are encouraged to fulfill their role following the principles of God (Eph. 6:5-9).
Since inception, Truth Publications and its predecessor companies have been committed to provide study and teaching materials to help leaders and followers alike in “Taking His hand, helping each other home.” To accomplish this, there are two important factors involved in being successful.
The first is that the materials provided be true and faithful to the Bible. To make that happen, Truth Publications has engaged preachers, elders, deacons, teachers, song leaders and faithful Christians to serve on our Board of Directors. The men who serve on the board are also responsible for the development of the content offered in our store and through our website. The board members who serve Truth Publications in this regard include Dan King (VP, Executive Committee, Publishing Committee), Mark Mayberry (Secretary, Executive Committee, Publishing Committee), Kyle Pope (Board Member, Publishing Committee), Steve Wolfgang (Board Member), Ron Halbrook (Board Member), Robert Harkrider (Board Member), Mike Willis (Board Advisor, Publishing Committee), David Dann (Board Advisor), and Philip Stuckey (Board Member, IT Management).
In some cases, these men also serve as the writers of our materials, but very often the task of writing is assigned to faithful men and women such as some of you reading this article. Truth Publications would not be successful at helping Christians without the excellent work of all of you who contribute your talents and knowledge of the Bible for others. Whether you are looking for classroom materials or study materials, those produced by Truth Publications have been carefully planned and reviewed for adherence to the standard of God’s will. We take the responsibility of producing accurate and useful materials very seriously, and it is our prayer that all who use them will benefit. I appreciate the leadership, vision and wisdom these men have shown through the years. Some of the products that have come from their efforts include Discovering God’s Way, Bible Textbook Series, Truth Commentaries and many others. These materials are being used by both congregations and families to help with their studies. It is our sincere prayer that our materials will continue to be useful to all.
The second factor that is important to the success of our goal of “Taking His hand, helping each other home” are sound business practices. Truth Publications is a non-profit organization. That means that none of the proceeds generated by the operation of the business is distributed to the board or other individuals. Board members do not receive a financial benefit from the operational profit of Truth Publications. All profit that is generated is returned to the company and used to fund future publication efforts. To be clear, being a “non-profit organization” does not mean we are against profit. Like any other business, we are trying to run a profitable organization that can survive into the future and continue to produce materials that will aid Christians in their walk with God. We have engaged several men with a background in the business world to join our board. They include Gary Watt (Chief Operating Officer, Board Member), David Shadburne (Treasurer, Board Member), Tom Mitchell (Board Member), Jim Berryman (Board Member), Phillip Stuckey (Board Member, IT Management), Cary Ashton (Board Advisor), Daniel Mayberry (Board Advisor), Corey Willis (Board Advisor) and I serve as President and CEO.
These men interact on a regular basis with our operations team in Athens, AL led by Lance Taylor. These business-oriented board members are focused on supporting the efforts of the first group mentioned by providing an efficient and cost-effective operation. Like all other businesses, there are times when the demands of the business dictate when or how we produce the materials, but never what we produce. Those decisions are left in the capable hands of the other board members.
We operate in a business domain that is undergoing tremendous change. Many bookstore operations have already closed some, if not all, of their facilities (Life Way, Barnes & Noble). We are working to adapt to this changing environment by improving our website and developing more robust digital products. The business men on our board are providing the leadership we need to make these changes in cost-effective and efficient ways.
These two groups of board members lead different efforts in the organization, but are unified in the commitment to our goal of “Taking His hand, helping each other home.” Like any other endeavor in which human beings are involved, we have made mistakes in the operation of our business, but with the leadership of the board of directors and our outstanding operations team, we enjoy a healthy company today.
We are working on new materials that will add to our existing inventories of printed and electronic products. We hope you find Truth Publications products helpful in your walk with God. We appreciate the support of all our customers and look forward to providing individuals and churches with reliable material in the future. We welcome your input for the type of materials you need to advance your goal of making it to heaven, whether in print or electronic format. Additionally, if you are interested in helping us in this work by donating your time, talent or money, we welcome your support. We would benefit from your ideas and help. Please contact any of the board members or our bookstore staff and let us know that you are interested in helping. We need leaders!
Author Bio: Scott serves as Chief Operations Officer at Highpoint Global, a consulting firm located in Indianapolis serving federal government agencies. Scott has also served on the Truth Publications Board of Directors for five years, the last three of which he served as the chairman of the Board. Scott is also serving as one of the elders at the Decatur Township church of Christ in the Indianapolis area. He can be reached at scott@truthpublications.com.
