Longtime CBA leader Bill Anderson has resigned as president and CEO of the Christian retailing association. No reason was cited in a statement released Friday evening by CBA, the Colorado Springs-based association.

Anderson joined CBA in 1978 from Moody Publishing and became president in 1985. “Christian retail has been given a high and holy calling, and we must be faithful to God and His Word. CBA plays a vital role in his industry, and the industry has a vital role in the Kingdom,” Anderson said in the CBA statement.

Also resigning from CBA was board chairman Jim Whittaker of New Life Christian Stores, who cited increased time demands of managing the transition from Anderson to a new director. The CBA board under chair-elect George Thomsen, with the board executive committee and CBA staff, will continue the association’s work. Thomsen manages the bookstore of the megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., which won a CBA store of the year award in 2007. Thomsen told PW a search committee would be established, but no date had been established for determining a successor.

“Bill Anderson’s leadership has been a vital component of the organization’s service to both retailers and suppliers in seeking to meet the challenges and leverage the opportunities created in the new contexts we’re all working in,” Jeff Crosby, associate publisher, InterVarsity Press, and a CBA member retail owner and manager from 1983 to 1996, told PW in an e-mail. “It is my hope that the new leadership of CBA will forge a strong working relationship with the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and the Gospel Music Association as together we move forward.”

Christian retailing has been struggling for a variety of reasons: pressures on the publishing and music sectors, the sluggish economy, and competition from big box retailers. The 2009 International Christian Retail Show attracted 1,900 people, down 20% from the previous year and down from 5-digit attendance figures a decade ago. The 2010 ICRS is scheduled for St. Louis. Thomsen said exhibitor commitments were “coming at a nice pace.”

In October, CBA cut staff to 10 full-time employees, the second staff reduction this year. Thomsen said some functions have been outsourced and others are being handled by the group’s executive committee.