We need to help our students switch their focus from their teachers to the Bible. We want them to be able to say with full confidence, “This is what the Bible teaches.” How can we do that? It must begin…
RichardMarch 18, 2009
A Case Study of Young Adults Who are Not Involved in a Faith Community
All approaches to interpreting the Bible are culture bound, including the systematic theologies of modernity. The Church needs to be open to new ways of reading the Bible and should encourage people to interpret texts for themselves by adopting a…
RichardMarch 16, 2009
An integrated strategy for the total team
In the total team, the various agencies exercise complementary roles, as the Lord uses them to build up His local church. A common strategy that is emerging to advance the Kingdom of God is culturally appropriate church planting movements. Rick…
RichardMarch 10, 2009
Considering now that in Bible translation we are taking the same texts that were written for audiences two thousand or more years ago in a particular corner of the world and presenting them to audiences today, ranging from industrial societies…
RichardMarch 3, 2009
The availability of Scripture in the traditional language is not enough to ensure shifting the patterns of language use already established in the church. In the Galat community the traditional language is used for informal, in-group communication in the domains…
RichardFebruary 27, 2009
A case study from the Paez of Colombia
We have found that these three factors—the credibility factor, the comprehension factor, and the prestige factor—are all-important components in promoting the use of a newly introduced vernacular translation in a newly written language. This case history of the Paez, a…
RichardFebruary 25, 2009
Communicating effectively to non-readers
In seeking to free ourselves from the biases of a print-oriented culture, we need to consider, not only the kinds of media and discourse genre (e.g. narrative) that are most appropriate for oral cultures, but also the most effective ways…
RichardFebruary 24, 2009
Putting psychological and medical principles in a Biblical framework
People need information, whether medical, or psychological—how people normally react to stress and trauma. Secondly, they need to know what God says about it—through Scripture readings and discussions. Many parts of Africa today are affected by wars, rebel groups and…
RichardFebruary 23, 2009
The first foot forward in Scripture selection?
Most frontier Bible translators would agree that one of the major goals of their role in the total mission task is that the receptor language community would gain access to adequate Scriptures. Scriptures may be defined as being "adequate" when…
RichardFebruary 19, 2009
Communicating effectively to non-readers
It is only natural for us to bring to our work the bias of our own ways of thinking, learning, and communicating. But unless we can adapt our communications to our audience, we will limit our audience to those who…
RichardFebruary 19, 2009
