
Dance Gamalami Mathebula (center) and his family.
In a recent meeting of the Board of General Superintendents (BGS), a decision was made to place an interim chief executive officer (CEO) at Nazarene Publishing House.
"I am pleased to announce that Jim Van Hook, retired founder and president of Brentwood Music, former Benson Company executive, and dean of the Music Business College at Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, has accepted the invitation of the BGS to serve as the interim CEO of NPH," said BGS Chair David W. Graves. "The general superintendents decided that it is in the best interests of NPH to put an interim leader in charge of the 102-year-old publishing ministry of the Church of the Nazarene."
Van Hook will assume the interim CEO appointment effective Thursday, May 1.
"While I am fully aware that we face significant challenges, I am also confident of the potential contributions that the Publishing House can make to the Kingdom through the Church of the Nazarene," Van Hook said. "It is an honor and a privilege to respond to this opportunity to serve."
The move follows the announcement at the 91st General Board Session in February that the current president, Gerald Smith, would not be seeking re-election to that office.
The General Board Executive Committee met by conference call on April 25 to discuss the NPH matter and receive an update from the BGS chair.
"After a presentation by David Graves, the Executive Committee of the General Board voted to concur with the BGS plan to move in this direction," said Judge Charles Davis Jr., president of the General Board. "We appreciate the general superintendents taking that step and support them as we move through this important transition at NPH."
The BGS met frequently over recent months with the NPH Board chair, Brad R. Moore, and others, seeking to find solutions to the challenges facing NPH that are similar to those currently confronting denominational and mass market publishers in the USA.
In 2013 the BGS approved conducting a financial and legal review to examine the situation at NPH. The results of the review were received by the BGS at the end of 2013.
"In spite of incurring operating losses for several years, no World Evangelism Funds have been used to offset those losses at NPH," Graves said.
The NPH Board recently articulated and reaffirmed that the primary mission of NPH should continue to be providing Wesleyan-Holiness books and curriculum for the Church of the Nazarene. That focus changes the need for the expertise of Premier Studios LLC.
Negotiations are underway to determine how best to conclude the business relationship between NPH and Premier LLC.
Here is a transition timeline issued by the BGS:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Speaking on behalf of the Board of General Superintendents, Graves issued the following statement:
"The BGS wants the church to have confidence in the election and governance processes by our being transparent and accountable to the denomination in these matters.
"For more than four generations NPH has played a key role in making Christlike disciples in the nations by helping Nazarenes share the gospel of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness around the world.
"We ask for your prayers during these days of decision-making as to the future of Nazarene Publishing House. More than anything, we want God's will to be done."
Comments or questions about this news release should be sent to bgs@nazarene.org.
--Board of General Superintendents