Next week is the National Day of Prayer (NDP).  I was looking at the official website, which has a history of the national day of prayer.   There were several things that stop and made me say, “What!?”  [Read more...]

After graduating from high school in Michigan, Mary (not her real name) decided to spend some time as a nanny before going to college. She responded to an ad and arrived at the appointed time to a wealthy home in a north Chicago suburb. The horror was just beginning. [Read more...]

An article yesterday over at Christianity Today, contained an announcement that Zondervan would be unveiling a new translation in a few years – The NIV 2011  I am not sure yet what it is actually going to be called.  There is a lot of interesting discussion on why the new translation and the controversy that surrounded the TNIV at the CT website and on sites like Jesus Creed. My interest in this post is not about all of those issues, but is about the spiritual discipline of Scripture memory, though I will say this:

• As a whole I like the TNIV, and think it’s a good translation.   It provided a good balance of trying to convey another language into English.
• I think much of the “controversy” was not so much about the actual science/art of translation as about other issues, such as suggestions that using gender-neutral language will lead to ordaining homosexuals  (yes, I’m serious – see this interview with Wayne Grudem)  Such sensationalism did little to help the issue.
• I’m a little disappointed in CT; this article seems to have been written to create a little bit of controversy.  Viral marketing by Zondervan?

The thought that occurred to me as I read the announcement about the new translation was “Now, what translation am I going to use for memory work and with my family?”   I have long used the NIV and a little over a year ago, the congregation I serve purchased NIV Bibles for use in worship to replace the NLT ones that were there.  I wondered afterwords if we should have gotten TNIV, but the NIV was much more widely used so we went with that.   At home however, we had begun to use the TNIV.   Personally I had also begun to use the TNIV for my own devotional reading and was beginning to use it for the discipline of Scripture memory.

I understand the desire by publishers to produce new translations to reflect changes in the English language but I wonder about the effect the multiplicity of translations has on the spiritual formation of the church as a whole.  I am convinced that some of the central spiritual disciplines are reading Scripture and memorizing Scripture.   The goal of the new translations (ESV, HCSB, TNIV) has been to encourage people to read their Bibles more and to provide people something they enjoy reading more and also will understand better.  I am all for that, though I wonder how many folks really need another translation (or specialty Bible) more than they need to simply read the ones that they have.

Now, finally getting to the point.  I first started using the NIV for memorization.  I have recently switched to the TNIV.  Now, will I switch to NIV2011?  What translation will I use with my kids?  And more than just for me and my family, I think about the church as a whole when we use so many different translations.  There is something powerful about being with Christians from other congregations and parts of the country and being able to say the Lord’s Prayer together.  Or to sing a song together where we all know the words.  But, what happens when we begin to all use different translations.  Will my kids grow up with another translation, such that we won’t be able to say the 23rd psalm together when I am old and perhaps sitting in a nursing home?  Or, in my own congregation, we have been trying to memorize some Scripture together as a body.  Even though we use the NIV as our standard translation, we have folks who use KJV, NLT and RSV.   Which means for them, when we memorize Scripture and recite it together on Sunday morning it’s not the same thing they read when they come to the passage in their Bible.

I don’t know what it all means, but I wonder if publishers think about any of these things when they are creating new translations?  Because I do.

I am always in the mood for the chance to win something; if you are too, then you might want to check out the Bible giveaway at Logos. I have also been thinking about finally investing in some Bible study software and Logos has long been at the top of the list. Here is info on the giveaway:

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

[This was an article I wrote for the Cheboygan Tribune.  I also posted it over at my church's website.]

For many, the day after Thanksgiving is the day to wake early and, armed with sale ads, stake out the stores for the best bargains on what has come to be known as Black Friday. The name apparently refers to retailers moving from being in the red to in the black (i.e. making a profit). In the Christian church calendar, Black Friday this year falls two days before the start of Advent, the days of preparation before the celebration of Christmas. Here in America, shopping and Christmas go together like hamburger and french fries. [Warning: I am going to say some things now that may make you a little uncomfortable, make you squirm a little and maybe even consider changing the way you do things. Please keep reading.]

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[An article I wrote for the Cheboygan Tribune and also posted on my church's website.]

Consider these hard economic times pure joy, my brothers and sisters. Did you know that’s in the Bible? Well, not exactly those words. What James 1:2 says is “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever your face trials of many kinds,” (TNIV). Is it fair to take James words and use them the way that I have? I think so. I have been spending a lot of time with James lately (through his letter), trying to understand what he has to say to followers of Jesus in 2008.

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Over this last weekend, two people that I know joined the church triumphant. One I knew well, the other only in passing. But there are some similarities that strike me …

While in The Log Mark book store buying Little House on the Prairie for my girls, I asked Sue Bronson what the big sellers have been. She pointed me to a fiction book about life in the circus and then a stack of diet books. It’s amazing how many books can be written to tell you the same basic things:if you want to lost weight and be healthy you should eat the right foods, eat smaller portions and exercise. But, what would a diet plan look like for our spiritual life? I would like to focus on the staple of that diet, the base of the pyramid – the Bible.

The last day of the symposium. By the end I was tired. I was tired when I came and the days are good, but they are long.

Probably the most interesting was a session on providence, preaching and pastoral care. The topic dealt with how we deal with the whole suffering and evil “problem.” Crammed into 60 minutes, we had a quick theological review and then some practical insight into what this means for a pastor. It had some good things to think about. Of course, it all comes down to your theology of evil and suffering. Do all things come from God? Does God ever punish Christians, or was all the punisment taken by Christ at the cross? What does Paul mean when he says “all things work together for good” – does he mean each and every thing or that the sum total of all things works for good, but maybe not every individual event has some redemptive value?

It seems to me that the Bible does not answer some of the questions which we have. As the one presenter pointed out, the book of Job has Job complaining and questioning God about why, after having gotten all knds of bad advice from his friends. Then God shows up, and says, “Look a hippo.” Almost like I do with a screaming two-year old.

All in all, a good conference. I will definititely consider it in the future.

I didn’t get this written while I was at the symposium. Spent the evening out with my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece at a good Chinese restaurant instead.

I missed part of the opening worship service because I went to the Eerdman’s bookstore instead. Lead me not into temptation. A great selection of books, but I was most excited about their “seconds” section which had many books at 60-70% off, including some of their books for young readers.

The best workshop for the day and perhaps my favorite of the whole symposium was entitled “The Embodied Preacher.” It was given by Todd Farley of Mimeistry. We spent an hour learning about how to use our body for more effective preaching. It was an interesting concept to learn about better preaching from a mime. He did talk during the presentation, of course. Some people in the congregation I serve might like it if I acted more like a mime, i.e. said less. It was some very practical stuff. I won’t be doing the trapped in a box thing anytime soon but if I can use some of what I learned, it will help me communicate.