Scripture Engagement Essentials
This is the Brazilian Portuguese version of the book Translating the Bible into Action by Harriet Hill and Margaret Hill.
A tried and tested resource that encourages meaningful Bible use in multi-lingual contexts through both written and oral media. Includes activities, assignments, further reading resources and links to useful websites.
This version has two extra chapters in addition to those found in the English version - "Addressing human concerns: Alcohol abuse", and "Sharing your faith with animists".
This is a 7-page summary in French of Wayne Dye's "Eight Conditions of Scripture Engagement". The awareness of the contribution of each of these eight factors can help in developing strategies to promote the use of God's Word.
For a more in-depth discussion of the Eight Conditions (in English), see the author's article in the IJFM journal. [more...]
"This is what we have been looking for." As I heard these words coming from the Amuesha teacher/preacher as he taught the newly translated Scripture to his own people, I sensed this moment as a tremendous breakthrough for the Amuesha people to be able to accept the message of the gospel as the fulfilment of their own view of religion.
The author reflects on ten factors that contributed to the positive response of the Amuesha people of Peru to mother-tongue Scriptures. These are summarized as: fulfilment of existing religion; motivation to change; confidence in those presenting the message; relevance of the gospel message demonstrated by those who believe it; simplification of the gospel message in the early days for easier understanding; biblical instruction in the vernacular rather than the national language; encouragement and use of local leaders rather than outsiders, including the expatriate translator; adequate degree of fluency of readers; availability of translated Scripture even in provisional form from the early days; and a degree of church organization to give a permanency of opportunity for Scripture use. [more...]
What’s the best way to read the Bible? Many people think it’s something like getting up real early every day and intensely reading the entire Bible every year... But is the pre-dawn snow plow routine really the best way for everyone to engage with God’s Word? Sure, it’s a good method, if you can keep it up. But what if you can’t? What if you aren’t a morning person? Or what if you’re new to the Bible? Or what if reading is difficult for you?
The Essential Bible Blog is written by Whitney Kuniholm, president of Scripture Union/USA. His blog entries are clear, positive and thought-provoking, motivating the reader to meet God in his Word. If the first few weeks of posts are anything to go by, this blog is one to follow for anyone involved in promoting Scripture Engagement. [more...]
Here's an evaluation of the 2011 Biblefresh year in the UK, a nationwide campaign encouraging people to engage with the Bible:
"Biblefresh was a major initiative involving 120 partner organisations, a significant level of resources was invested in it, and its aims were ambitious. Therefore, it was deemed essential that there was a rigorously evaluated. The evaluation was conducted by Theos Think Tank and highly commends the initiative. Biblefresh successfully enabled a wide range of churches, agencies, organisations and colleges to focus on the Bible. Individuals felt that Biblefresh increased their enthusiasm for, and confidence in, the Bible. The report also highlights lessons that can be learnt for the future and reminds us that when it comes to engaging people with the Bible, there is still a lot more work to be done." (EA, 2012)
On the Evangelical Alliance website you'll find a 43-page evaluation report together with videos of partners talking about what they learned from the year. [more...]
The Lausanne Movement has published the second part of the Cape Town Commitment, 'A Call to Action'. It includes a section on eradicating Bible poverty and Bible ignorance, calling for Bible translation, Bible teaching and Bible literacy:
"C) Aim to eradicate Bible poverty in the world, for the Bible remains indispensable for evangelism. To do this we must:
- Hasten the translation of the Bible into the languages of peoples who do not yet have any portion of God’s Word in their mother tongue;
- Make the message of the Bible widely available by oral means...
D) Aim to eradicate Bible ignorance in the Church, for the Bible remains indispensable for discipling believers into the likeness of Christ.
- We long to see a fresh conviction, gripping all God’s Church, of the central necessity of Bible teaching for the Church’s growth in ministry, unity and maturity...
- We must promote Bible literacy among the generation that now relates primarily to digital communication rather than books, by encouraging digital methods of studying the scriptures inductively with the depth of inquiry that at present requires paper, pens and pencils."
For the full text of the Cape Town Commitment, go to the Lausanne web site: [more...]
Not only do we not know about the state of Scripture Use in our projects, we often don’t even know how many New Testaments or Bibles have been sold.
In an effort to define progress and success in Scripture Use, Hill proposes both national and project level goals. She then addresses the specifics on how to carry them out in an effective and sensitive manner. An appendix containing a survey of questions to the point is offered.
"Why do so many people not have the Scriptures in their language? Why are the Scriptures that are available so often limited to those that can read? Why do the Scriptures not transform lives when they are available?"
The Lausanne Global Conversation focuses on the themes and topics to be addressed at Cape Town 2010. One of the themes is New Missions Priorities which includes Scripture in Mission.
Current discussions (which you can join in and comment on) include: Major Priorities In Eradicating Bible Poverty, Why Scripture In Mission?, Literature in Mission. [more...]
In all cases, engaging with God's word involves thinking, feeling, willing and doing. Minds are informed, hearts are touched, lives are changed. Engaging with Scripture is like participating in a culture or learning a language, which takes time, in which we immerse ourselves, so that it shapes who we are - so much so that we can't imagine our life without it.
This website from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) has articles, book reviews and thoughts to help believers engage with God's Word.
[more...]The resources gathered together in this part of the website, and as they continue to be added to over time, are intended to help disciples and churches of Jesus Christ in their ongoing engagement with the Bible, which will bring the delight and transformation that comes from lives shaped by engagement with God himself.
The Logoscom association trains pastors in preaching with visual aids and encourages systematic Bible meditation using audio and video. They seek to create relevant visual tools for our modern world of communication.
Take a look at these websites for Scripture Engagement resources in French:
- www.logoscom.org (resources for churches)
- www.allobible.org (video and audio Bible downloads, teaching on personal Bible meditation, ideas for leading groups)
- www.allobible.mobi (website for mobile phones).
Henri Bacher is a creative Bible engager and used to work with Scripture Union in Peru. See for example, the video Bible Stop. [more...]