Month: April 2014

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It is written, but where

After his resurrection, Jesus was walked with two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus when he said to them,

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Luke 24:46-47 CEV

Jesus says “it is written”, meaning that it is written in the Bible. But what Bible? When Jesus said that the New Testament had not yet been written, Jesus is saying that the Old Testament says that

repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.

Jesus had to show his disciples that proclaiming the Good News to all nations was right there in the Old Testament from the beginning. They had missed it. But consider these verses:

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. Psalm 22:27

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here am I, here am I,” to a nation that was not called by my name. Isaiah 65:1

This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? Isa 14;26 – 27

Missions, including local and world outreach, are not an optional add-on — something tacked on in an “Oh, by the way” fashion. They are not an afterthought Jesus added at the last minute before he went back to heaven. Rather, outreach is God purpose and intention, indeed His own mission, from the beginning and throughout.

Ladies' Bible study in the Nouni language of Burkina Faso in fulfillment of OT prophesies

Ladies’ Bible study in the Nuni language of Burkina Faso in fulfillment of OT prophesies

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Choirs

Ghana choir

Ghana choir

When you hear the phrase “church choir”  what comes to mind? Large? Traditional? Sings hymns? Wears robes?

What would it be like if:

  • Many church choirs wrote their own songs
  • Every church had 2-3 choirs and and large churches might have 10 or more
  • Choirs expected the congregation to learn their songs and sing along
  • Some choirs sang in a language which is the mother tongue of only a fraction of the congregation and some churches would have several of these
  • Choirs offered support to choir members and others during times of bereavement, illness, unemployment, etc.
  • A significant portion of choir meetings was spent in sharing and prayer
  • Choirs expected that at least some people in the pew would come to the front and dance for joy with choir members during rousing songs
  • In some rural churches, as many as 70% of choir members could not read or write, just like the rest of the congregation

I don’t have to imagine this. I live in it. This us what church choirs are in much of Africa.

Church in Abone, Congo

Church in Abone, Congo

Now, imagine that you are part of a team doing the first translation ever into a language and you are looking for more ways to get this new translation into hearts and minds. A local person suggests choirs, but you still think about choirs the way you did at home. So you reject that crazy idea.

It has happened just like that. Of course, others realized that if choirs compose and sing Scripture songs in the local language, Bible reading and memorization happen. It’s cheap, sustainable and fits the local system.

Being effective when working in another culture means making a conscious choice to call your understanding into question, even for things you know (or think you know) perfectly well, such as choirs.

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What do these have in common?

What do all the items on this list have in common?

  • Wall hangings: God bless our home and other mottoes
  • Ping-pong paddles/balls
  • Body trimmer-slimmer
  • Bathroom scale
  • Tool kit
  • Padlocks with alarm
  • Plastic wares
  • Toilet paper
  • Neckties
  • Yams
  • Chocolate spread
  • Papaya slices
  • Flags
  • Scrabble
  • Monopoly
  • Chess
  • Steering wheel covers
  • Car seat covers
  • Political party banners
  • Sports balls: basket, soccer
  • Spark plugs
  • Paper towels
  • All-purpose cleaner
  • Scratch cards for prepaid phones
  • Apples
  • Belts
  • Bubble blowing toys
  • CDs
  • Cell phone covers – skins
  • Chocolate bars
  • Clothes hangers
  • Coffee mugs
  • Coffee tables
  • Donuts
  • Balafon
  • Hair brushes
  • Foaming tire and wheel cleaner
  • DVDs
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Flip flops
  • Floor mats for car
  • Handkerchiefs
  • Hard candy
  • Kids drawing tablet
  • Kleenex
  • Maps
  • Mints
  • Multiple LED light bulb
  • My body poster
  • Newspapers
  • Onions
  • Paint brushes for house painting
  • Paintings
  • Pen drives – flash drives
  • Phone chargers
  • Plantain chips
  • Polo shirts
  • Potato chips – Pringles type
  • Rags
  • Roasted peanuts
  • Sandwiches
  • Shoes
  • Socks
  • Sports shorts
  • Sunglasses
  • Table clothes
  • Toilet seats
  • T-shirts
  • TV antennas
  • Wall clocks
  • Wash cloths
  • Bottled water
  • Windshield wipers

Click here to see the answer

Click on an image below to enlarge it and start a slideshow.

Furniture for sale beside the road
Man selling maps and bags
Rice for sale beside road
Furniture for sale beside the road
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How long

In the US, I am often asked how long it takes to translate the New Testament. Answering this question requires that we back up a bit. How long to do what, exactly?

Proposed alphabet for a language of the Congo

Proposed alphabet for a language of the Congo

Most languages without the Bible also have no alphabet. So the work of translation must start with some linguistics. After tackling the alphabet, then comes the grammar There are no books, so no dictionary, no description of the grammar. How is the past tense formed? The future tense? Many such questions must be answered.

No books means no theological books. So, what is the right name for God? The Holy Spirit? What are the best words to translate sin, holiness, spirit, synagogue, temple, adultery, and so on. There are many such questions. They must all be researched so that the translation will be accurate.

Then we need to take into account that the people may live in an area with poor roads or no electricity, which will make things take longer.

Congolese translators working together

Congolese translators working together

If you are very good and have the right circumstances, you can start from zero, go through all the steps, and complete the translation of the New Testament and a few Old Testament books in ten years. Most translations take longer. As a comparison, it took the translators of the King James Bible 7 years to translate the whole Bible, but they had some big advantages:

  • There were 47 active translators, many more than the 2-3 who work on most translations in Africa
  • English already had an alphabet, a grammar and theological works
  • English already had other translations. Scholars estimate that a full third of the King James Version was taken word for word from Tyndale’s translation and another 50% was taken from Tyndale with small changes.
Congolese translators working with a consultant

Congolese translators working with a consultant

Today we have methods which can speed things up without needing 47 translators. Translations in several languages can be done all at once by having translators from several languages work together. In one case in Ghana, translations of the New Testament were done simultaneously in seven years. That’s less than 2.5 years per language. Not all clusters are that successful, though.

Finding ways to accelerate translation is something we are building into the plan to have translations in all the languages of Ghana, all while maintaining high standards.