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Store deems new Amy Grant Christmas album not Christian enough

Posted at 3:25 PM, Nov 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-03 15:25:15-04

NASHVILLE — While some wait until after Thanksgiving, others have already started listening to Christmas music.

But one new country Christmas album is not being sold on shelves everywhere.

Amy Grant is known as the “Queen of Christian Pop.” She has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, has won numerous Grammys and had the first Christian album ever to go platinum.

However, her latest album, Tennessee Christmas, will not be on the shelves of LifeWay Christian stores.

“That surprises me, that really does,” said Elizabeth Humphrey , a LifeWay customer.

The album, which features a mix of traditional Christmas songs and more recent classics, was deemed not Christian enough for the retailer.

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Grant’s manager, Jennifer Cooke, said this reignited a debate about how Christian a product needs to be in order for Christian retailers to sell it.

“I don’t know why they would be saying that it’s not Christian enough,” Humphrey said.

LifeWay Christian Resources would only confirm for Channel 4 that they are not selling it and would not comment further.

Amy Grant took to Facebook saying, “We respectfully accept LifeWay’s decision that my new Christmas album didn’t meet their criteria. Let’s all move on from that decision without arguing about it. But let’s not stop asking the questions about what it means to live in faith and reflect love to the world around us.”

It was just last year the Nashville-based company announced they would not be selling books that lay claims of experimental testimonies about heaven, including the best-selling book Heaven is for Real.

“I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Heaven is for Real, but like I said, they have a lot of books in there that are questionable, like sorcery books,” Humphrey said.

There are several other places to get these books and Grant’s latest album, but LifeWay stores will not be one of them.