January 2, 1999]

I Resign from Parsons

I was with the company for ten very exciting years. In those years I saw the Bible software industry grow from the playground of a few Christian computer hobbyists to a multi-million dollar market dominated by companies like The Learning Company.

When I joined Parsons in 1988 it was a very entrepreneurial start-up. It was an exciting place to work. We were defining new product categories in a rapidly growing industry. But as generally happens, through a series of acquisitions Parsons has become a bureaucratic giant. While it can do great things for customers because of its size and resources, it has become a very non-rewarding place for me to work.

Bob Parsons, founder of Parsons Technology, sold it to Intuit in 1994. Intuit sold Parsons to Broderbund in 1997, and The Learning Company subsequently purchased Broderbund in September 1998. The sale of The Learning Company to Mattel will represent the fourth ownership change in five years.

I'm proud of what we accomplished at Parsons in the area of Christian software, and I'm sure that success will continue under the new management. QuickVerse dominates the Bible software market with multiple times the customer base of its nearest competitor. The industry-standard STEP electronic publishing format developed by Parsons in conjunction with several other Bible software companies is outselling all the proprietary formats in the market. The QuickVerse Online Library, Internet-based unlocking and "Brødcast" technology included in QuickVerse stand at the leading edge of innovation in the Bible software industry. In addition to our success with the QuickVerse family of products, Membership Plus owns well over 50% of the church management software market and Bible Illustrator stands head and shoulders above the sermon illustration category.

I plan to remain actively involved in the Bible software industry through a new project called PalmBible, a Bible study program for Windows CE handheld and palm-size computers. Most of the popular Bible translations (including the King James, New International, New King James, New American Standard, New Living Translation and New Revised Standard versions) either are or will soon be available for PalmBible. The program runs on all Windows CE platforms.

Laridian, a privately held company specializing in electronic publishing for Windows CE and other palmtop platforms, of which I am president, markets PalmBible through its e-commerce site at www.laridian.com.

We haven't yet determined if Laridian will enter the desktop Bible software market. The barriers to entry are quite high. Most of the major products offer hundreds of add-on titles. Any newcomer will be forced to match products like QuickVerse to succeed. There are opportunities, however. The little-known and seldom-discussed secret of this industry is that most of those reference books say the same thing. Most Bible software users soon realize that they only need a small number of good commentaries and study aids to do everything they want to do.

Meanwhile, Parsons has hired a replacement for me and based on the little bit we've been able to talk, I suspect he'll do a good job. If Biblesoft or Logos thinks they're going to make any headway competitively because of this change, I suspect they'll have a surprise coming. I anticipate Parsons will be an even more tenacious competitor, especially in Christian bookstores and at general software retail.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns about this transition. And at least for a little while I'll continue to be able to answer any questions and solve customer service issues that aren't being handled by Parsons. If you're using Windows CE, check out PalmBible. It's really cool.

Thanks for your loyalty, friendship and prayers over the years.

My Letter of Resignation

Gordon Landies was my boss at TLC. He works for their Mindscape division.

December 11, 1998

Gordon Landies
Mindscape
88 Rowland Way
Novato, CA 94945

Dear Gordon:

Please accept my resignation from my position as Vice President, Church Software Division, effective December 31, 1998 or earlier according to your preference.

While I believe this change is necessary from a personal point of view, I am very interested in maintaining as much security for my current employees and continuity for our customers as possible under the circumstances. To that end I pledge to work with you to manage the transition over the next three weeks and to make myself available on a contract basis beyond that date as you might require.

Had I stayed with the company I was looking forward to participating in the total market domination I’m sure you’ll achieve with the combined product line and direct/retail marketing strength of the Parsons and Mindscape organizations. I wish you nothing but the best for the future.

Sincerely,