The Books of The Bible Blog

Will Anyone Be Reading the Bible 30 Years From Now?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:49:00 +0000

"If current trends of biblical illiteracy continue," the Center for Bible Engagement warns, "by 2040 the Bible will be a 'thing of the past' for most people who claim to be Christ-followers."

But why are Christians abandoning the Bible this way? The transition our culture is currently undergoing from modernity into postmodernity may have much to do with it.

In his book Searching For God Knows What, Donald Miller relates a conversation he had with a friend of his who had read most of the Bible. This friend was skeptical that its teachings could be summed up in the neat propositions of a "gospel presentation" he'd been given. He continued to insist on this even when Miller showed him that these propositions were actual statements from Scripture, with chapter and verse references attached. Miller concluded that in a postmodern world, the message of the Bible can no longer be communicated propositionally. Insead, this must be done relationally. He decided that the stories, poems and songs in the Scriptures already do that very effectively, if we simply let them speak for themselves and don't try to reduce them to "bullet points."

This story illustrates that the postmodern generation has already rejected the idea that any revelation God might make to us would come in the form of thousands of rules and propositions. But this is precisely the form in which modernity has cast and used the Bible. Modern formats and habits of engagement suggest that the Bible is “a rather loose and disorganized collection of factual, propositional statements,” as Stanley Grenz and John Francke write in their book Beyond Foundationalism.

Moderns were excited by the challenge of systematizing such a collection. But this leaves postmoderns cold. They're saying instead, “Don’t give me propositions to believe or rules to follow. Tell me a story. Write me a poem. Sing me a song. Send me a letter. Tell me what you dreamed last night.” We should be able to show them that God's already done that, in the Bible. And that's one more important reason for putting the Scriptures in a format that makes their literary character apparent.

The Books of The Bible was created in order to help people read the Scriptures with greater understanding and enjoyment. The edition was designed to encourage more responsible and respectful habits of Scripture engagement. We expected that it would actually make it harder to misuse the word of God through verse-jacking and similar non-contextual approaches. And through it we were trying to reveal the "beauty behind the mask," the marvelous literary creations that people discover in the Scriptures when the chapter-and-verse grid is lifted off.

But we are realizing more and more that there will be a further benefit to the new format, one that will perhaps outweigh all of the others. Presenting the Scriptures this way may actually help ensure that people will still be reading the Bible thirty years from now.

New TBoTB Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Checkout the latest reviews of The Books of The Bible here:

Unencumbered Scripture Reading « ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

You Gotta Check Out This New Bible

Have you reviewed TBoTB? Drop us a note and let us know.

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NT Wright on reading whole books

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:36:00 +0000

". . . I am attempting to expound biblical books in their entirety. People do not always, perhaps, realize how natural and easy reading whole books of the Bible can be. You can read through Colossians quite slowing in about twelve minutes; you can get through Hebrews in under an hour. John may take longer, but time will quickly become a secondary consideration. I am convinced that using a lectionary—reading the Bible in little snippets—is a second-order activity; the primary activity ought to be reading the Bible in large chunks, to get its full flavour and thrust." N.T. Wright, Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), x-xi.

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Recap from Nashville and what's coming up

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:28:00 +0000

Nashville Recap
John and I were in Nashville a couple weeks ago for the National Youth Workers Convention. We showed up in Nashville with 1000 copies of the Encountering Jesus New Testament to sample to the 5000 youth workers attending. This picture is about 200 copies in. You'll also see our sweet (and very heavy) Diner Booth as well as John's PowerBook preparing to do the hard work of taking orders. We also were entering people into a drawing for 100 free copies of the EJNT for their youth group.

By Saturday afternoon we had run out of New Testaments. John needed a break and kicked his shoes off.

Within two weeks of returning to Colorado, we were completely out of Encountering Jesus New Testaments. Awesome. Not so much because we're out (customers don't really like it when you're out of something they want), but because there are that many more people reading the Bible in a whole new way.

Coming Up
Chris Smith and I will be coordinating an online reading community for TBoTB in 2009. Different people will be leading us through each book, posting thoughts and questions on the readings, then opening it up for discussion. If you haven't seen the reading plan, download it here. We'll be posting here and the facebook de-versify group with most of the discussion happening on the group discussion board. If you haven't joined yet, jump on the bandwagon.

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199 years? It seems like just yesterday....

noreply@blogger.com (Glenn) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:42:00 +0000

It was 199 years ago today that a group of folks met in Manhattan to begin the Scripture ministry of the New York Bible Society. They started small, but they had a vision and knew exactly what it was about.

As we turn the corner toward our bicentennial celebration, may God give us the clarity, conviction and courage to carry on this amazing legacy. We are facing extraordinary challenges today, but God's word is not chained. If we are to endure everything, we must do so for a mission.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy

New TBoTB endorsement

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:46:00 +0000

By removing artificial (and often inaccurate) verse and chapter references, and by formatting the biblical books according to their literary forms and natural structures, The Books of The Bible allows readers to see the Bible with new eyes and fresh insight. This is reading the Bible as it was meant to be read and hearing it as it was meant to be heard.

Mark Strauss
Professor of New Testament
Bethel Seminary, San Diego

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Glenn on Beliefnet, John and Paul are heading Nashville

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:22:00 +0000

Glenn's article on de-versifying the Bible is up at Beliefnet. Here's an excerpt.

Bible additives like these left philosopher John Locke complaining that the scriptures “are so chop’d and minc’d, and as they are now Printed, stand so broken and divided, that...the Common People take the Verses usually for distinct Aphorisms,” and “even Men of more advanc’d Knowledge in reading them, lose very much of the strength and force of the Coherence, and the Light that depends on it.” In other words: we’ve adapted the Bible to the point that it’s nearly impossible to understand.

Locke was right. The modern form of the Bible has compelled us to read it in bits and pieces. But the Bible is not made up of these bits and pieces. It’s really a collection of whole books. There are lots of books in the Bible and they are quite different from each other. There are letters and short stories, historical narratives and apocalyptic visions. Collections of song lyrics are included alongside prophetic oracles. The Bible’s wisdom literature includes books of short, pithy sayings as well as longer, ponderous explorations of life’s quandaries.

Head on over to read the rest and leave a comment.

John and I will be in Nashville for NYWC with a ton of free stuff and a chance to win New Testaments for your whole youth room. If you're around, either in town or at the conference, let us know. We'd love to get together and talk TBoTB. We're at Booth 122.

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Preview of Glenn's new article at beliefnet

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:06:00 +0000

Patton Dodd just posted a preview of Glenn's upcoming article on beliefnet. Check it out here. Comments (both here and there) are always welcome.

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Reading through TBoTB

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:18:00 +0000

David McKay just finished reading through The Books of the Bible. Over the last 50 years, David's read many Bibles and in the last four has made a point of reading through various translations and editions. With TBoTB, David took the approach of reading a section each day from the History, Prophets, Writings and New Testament. He had this to say about TBoTB: "I found the introductions to books very helpful, and the lack of references and footnotes enticing, and completed this project faster than my previous read-throughs."
David has a bit more to say about this, and a number of other things, on his blog: gontroppo.blogspot.com.

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UK Invasion! And some rave reviews.

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:47:00 +0000

A number of folks have emailed us asking when The Books of The Bible will be available in the United Kingdom. We're very pleased to let you all know that Wesley Owen bookstore is now pre-ordering The Books of The Bible online for the low price of £4.99. If you buy five, they'll even ship them free within the UK!

Thanks to all of you who have been asking for it in the UK. We couldn't have done it without you. Now you and those you care about care experience what so many people have been here in the states. We recently received a few reader responses on IBSDirect.com:
"I have often wished for a bible that was as close as possible to the original text formats, without all the chapter/verse/footnote/cross-reference/notes that have been added over the centuries. Now my wish has come true! After reading the bible -- the NIV and/or TNIV -- for 31 years, this edition speaks to me in a new way. I highly recommend it."

"I have read 'books at a time' before.. but this is way better!! Not having to think about chapters, verses, opens the text up AS A LETTER, to real people... not just a text to be studied. I am thoroughly enjoying this! Hardcover would be nice. I teach a couple of classes, and am thinking about making this Bible format a required text. Dale"

"THIS is officially the BEST way to read a Bible!!!! I hated all the notations that mixed up the readings!!! I found that I can't put it down!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much IBS!!!!!!!"

Did you catch that in the last one? "I can't put it down". This is the kind lights our collective fire: People engaging with the Bible in a substantial way. Thanks to all these folks for their comments and the accompanying encouragement. You can share your experience as well at IBSDirect.com.

Oh, and what was that Dale said about a better cover? Nothing to announce yet, but keep your ears open and your eyes peeled.
—p

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Big news

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:47:00 +0000

One year ago tomorrow, we asked you to let your favorite publisher know that you want The Books of The Bible.

Looks like it worked.

Zondervan is releasing a number of electronic formats of TBoTB next month. Let Zondervan know that you like what they are doing, both by contacting them and by purchasing it on whatever electronic format is conducive for you when it becomes available next month.

Be sure to read the post below for some great deals on de-versified products. Two of my favorites products of all time just went on sale. They're great for your own personal use, in a group study or with Christmas rapidly approaching, they really do make great gifts.

To more and better Bible reading, now from more places,
—p

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It's not Christmas yet, but.... (or good deals on de-versified Scriptures that have me buying as many as I can)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:30:00 +0000

If you're like me, you're not even thinking about Christmas. It's too early. I don't want Halloween candy in the stores yet, let alone cordial cherries. If you're like Glenn, you're actively working against early Christmas celebrations. He's emphatic about Christmas being celebrated on the proper Christian calendar. My wife feels similarly not placing Jesus into our nativity set until Christmas morning.

But despite our attempts to hold it off, the season marches forward. And while I'm certainly not going to advocate hanging your stockings next week, I've got to tell you guys about a couple of things that could help you get ready to share Scripture this Christmas.

First, the Encountering Jesus New Testament. Back when I first started working in Product Development in 2004, John Dunham was working on this idea that sounded crazy and wonderful all at once: a New Testament that would be geared toward reading large chunks with sparse notes throughout. Here's the rundown:

No Chapter or verse numbers
No Subheadings
Single column
Wide margins
Study notes

Wait, what was that? Study notes? It's true, this is not in pure TBoTB format. It doesn't reorder the books and or display the books' literary structures through spacing. And it does have study notes. But the thing so impressive about these notes is that they rarely stand alone. Reading the notes alone doesn't really get you anywhere. To make sense of the notes, you have to go into the text (which isn't marked with chapter and verse numbers) and search for what in the world it is talking about. See the type sample below and click for a larger size.

So here's the ridiculous part. They're on sale for $1.25 each. Seriously, this is as now almost inexpensive as our newsprint outreach New Testaments. Having used this in youth ministry and evangelism I can tell you for certain that it is a great tool. I'm getting them for our youth group and book table.

And then there's The Book of Psalms. While we were gearing up to release TBoTB, we were developing a few other materials with a similar philosophy. We wondered physical parts of the Bibles we publish—maybe even the height, width, texture, color and font—change the way we read those books. We started asking questions like 'How does a certain font make reading more enjoyable?' or 'How might the texture of the book change the way we understand its message'

The result was a de-versified copy of Psalms that not only shows off the poetic structure you see in TBoTB, but also reinforces four-color art, cream-colored/high quality paper, tall and narrow. It's a softcover book, but the quality of this book would easily go for $12-15 in a retail market. We're now selling this book at $1.99 each. I thought it was low before it went on sale, but now you can get these for an entire group of friends for less than it would cost to take your family to the movies.

You can check out a type sample or place an order at IBSDirect.com. If we can answer any questions, leave us a comment or head over to the contact page and drop us a line.

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The Books of The Bible: Year One, Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:36:00 +0000

On this last day of August, here are a few stories of people and their interactions with The Books of The Bible. As always, we invite your feedback as well both via email and in the comments section. It is this kind of feedback that will help as we produce new editions of TBoTB:

Lenae, a mom from Minnesota, told us:
"One of the most noticeable differences in my personal Bible reading is catching things within passages that I never noticed before. What a difference in understanding the big picture of a Bible passage or story when there's no chapter breaks. It has its original flow and magnifies my understanding of the passage. I use the reading plans you have available on the web site. It doesn't feel like a chore to check off those boxes . . . I often read more pages than what is suggested on the Bible reading guide. Blessings in your research and promotion of this wonderful book!"

Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making, on the impact it has had on his children:
"The most surprising beneficiaries of my enthusiasm for The Books of the Bible have been my children (ages 8 and 11). Both of them have always been interested in reading the Bible, but since we got several copies of TBoTB I have noticed them picking up the book spontaneously, spending much more time reading, and reading much more extensively. I just asked my youngest, Amy, what she liked, and I quote (transcribed directly!): "It doesn't have all those little things down at the bottom, they're at the back in a sort of glossary thing. Also the typing is clearer; I've noticed that some others have small typing and it's kind of hard to read." In other words, TBoTB has removed several barriers to my children being able to read fluently and extensively. It's a joy to watch them immersed in the narrative of Scripture just as they might be in any other book."

Troy, a pastor from Indiana:
"I would echo the comments of those who have found themselves reading more and larger sections of scripture at one time. I liken it to the difference between reading a novel and reading an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is formatted so that you read a little. A novel captures your attention, stimulates your imagination, and you end up reading more. But here is the thing: you could take the actual text of a novel and format it in an encyclopedia-like fashion and the result would be that you would read less and read it differently. Form and content are tied.

That is why I love The Books of The Bible. Finally, the Bible is formatted as it should be. When that happens it is read more freely and with a different perspective.

I do want to add this: don't ever stop publishing this tool. The church has been taught an incomplete way of reading the Bible, tied to numbers and verses, etc. which has often led to misinterpretation. It will take a reeducation for us to realize that isn't how the Scriptures were written and meant to be read. Your product is very helpful toward that end."

Brad from Minnesota, regarding his friend, a dechurched 19-year-old whose previous "exposure to 'the gospel'" was "sparse, snippet-driven, and high-holiday-centered": as they read Mark together out loud on a drive from New York to North Dakota, 'Austin was routinely bewildered that "this whole Bible thing" wasn't "totally [expletive] after all"—that it wasn't simply Captain Kangaroo (i.e., Jesus) spouting platitudes about sharing and being good little boys and girls, that it didn't sound like 1611 English, etc. At the end of the one book, he proclaimed that, due to that singular experience, he had changed from thinking of the Bible as a weird thing in motel rooms to something he wanted to read in its entirety.' 'These are the sorts of conversations, reflections, etc. that were facilitated as a result of our reading through entire books, in a readily understandable translation, in one sitting—something which had never been the natural direction of any of his prior attempts at finding anything resembling profundity within the text's pages.'

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The Books of The Bible: Year One, Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:44:00 +0000

August 1 marks the release of one year anniversary of the release of The Books of The Bible. So much has happened with this project in the one year, we wanted to take time to look back and celebrate and also look forward.

Part 2: The Blogs
August 1st marked the one year anniversary of the release of The Books of The Bible. Bloggers have and continue to have a huge impact on the chapter and verseless revolution. One blog out Out of Ur by John Dunham kicked the whole thing off and the Wayne Leman at TNIV Truth sent more folks our way than any other blog. Most recently, Thomas at Everyday Liturgy has reflected on his first year with TBoTB. Check it out!

Have you blogged about TBoTB? Be sure to let us know either through the contact form or leave your link in the comments.

Happy Anniversary! Next time, the stories.

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The Books of The Bible: Year One in Review, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:42:00 +0000

August 1 marks the release of one year anniversary of the release of The Books of The Bible. So much has happened with this project in the one year, we wanted to take time to look back and celebrate and also look forward.

Part 1: The Numbers

    When we were preparing for the release of TBoTB, we knew we were going to need a different approach than any project we'd ever done before. Historically, our model has been about selling bulk quantities at extremely low prices for evangelistic purposes. This is still the model of our organization as a whole, but this project didn't fit that paradigm. Plus it's hard to sell someone on bulk sales when introducing a new concept, especially a 1816 page new concept.
    After our last large product launch in 2004 with the TNIV, we were rather leery of being misunderstood. Expecting push back, we built our case, anticipated arguments and constructed responses. We were ready to make our case, especially on facebook and in the blogosphere.
    Then the most curious thing happen. We received virtually no negative feedback. A couple folks who weren't familiar with IBS's low-cost model thought it might be a marketing ploy, but when the $9 price was pointed out, those fears were quickly relieved. Even amongst the few promises of riches if we would publish a better binding and the occasional desire for this or that translation, the responses were positive. We shouldn't have been surprised by this, but still, we were.
    Even more encouraging than all the positive responses and even the thousands of orders we received was the breadth of different kinds of people who resonated with the idea. From evangelical to mainline to emergent, all different kinds of Christians are not just reading the Bible again, but they're sharing it with friends who may be reading the sacred words of Scripture for the first time.
    But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Come back over the next few days for a collection of blog reactions and stories of people using TBoTB in their ministries.

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Free Bibles in Austin

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:53:00 +0000

I'm heading down to Austin this Saturday for the Church Basement Roadshow. The first 60 people to the show get a free copy of The Books of The Bible. And if you wear a small or double XL, you can have one of the last de-versify t-shirts. Hope to see you there!

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Just Visiting

noreply@blogger.com (Glenn) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:02:00 +0000

You walk slowly past the big, welcoming windows and peer in. This is the kind of small, yet well-stocked bookstore that you can never resist. Very cozy and warm. Volumes of every size, shape, color and topic line the walls. You barely hesitate as you step through the door. The deal is closed as you settle in to a big, comfy chair and savor some freshly brewed coffee.

After a bit you look around: there are great stories, tragedy and redemption, poetry, collections of famous letters and even a section on down-to-earth, practical advice. Knowledge and inspiration surround you. It’s almost as if you can soak it up just by sitting there.

As you sit and think about it, though, you realize that while you have this habit of frequenting bookshops, you haven’t actually read a book in quite a while.

It kind of makes you wonder: What am I doing here, really?

Is this how it is with our Bibles? Do we visit the Bible like a corner bookstore? Do we step in, look things over and then mostly hang around? Are we more in love with the idea of Bible reading than actually reading the Bible? Do we browse verses like books on a shelf? How often do we start one of the books of the Bible and read it through?

Here’s a proposal: find a Bible that is easy to read, one with a minimum of distractions and additives. Commit to start reading whole books straight through, just the way their authors wrote them. Better yet, commit to doing this with some others, so you can share both the experience and the results.

Reading the Bible. It’s better than just visiting.

Glenn

Hebrews Versified 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:08:00 +0000

What would happen if the Bible's authors used other parts of the Bible the way we do today? Here's one idea....(click to enlarge....and if your browser resizes image files for you, click to resize again.)

Props to John Dunham for this parody.

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Chat transcript

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:43:00 +0000

On May 9th, a number of members of the Bible Design Group participated in a live chat of sorts. We utilized Facebook's Wall capability in order to field questions, share ideas and hear how folks are using TBoTB in their life and ministry. The following is the transcript, reading bottom to top.
Thanks to all who participated. We hope to do it again soon.
--
Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 5:31pm
It was a blessing to spend time with you guys tonight. Chris, I loved reading the introductory chapters of your book on the project, I'm going to buy a copy soon and be edified!

Nathan Stitt wrote at 5:26pm
If the upcoming NT edition isn't finalized then it's not too late to fit in Psalms/Proverbs ;-)
Thanks for touching base; it's not every day I get to chat with people who care about the design of the Bible I read in the mornings.
Blessings, Nathan.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:24pm
Thanks everybody. It's really heartening to hear stories of how people are using TBoTB to be evangelists for more and better Bible reading!

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:24pm
Thanks everyone! We really appreciate you.

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 5:24pm
Great talking to all of you. Let's keep in touch.

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 5:24pm
Thanks to everyone for putting this chat together. It was fun. Gotta run, though. Laters! <><

Paul Berry wrote at 5:23pm
Thanks to all for coming. We had a great time! If you have more questions, ideas, comments, concerns, or 411s about your mothers, please head to the group discussion board.
Thanks everyone!

Paul Berry wrote at 5:22pm
@DS: Yes, there was. It's still being explored, and isn't dead by any means, but is less live than it was when I wrote that. I do think your idea that if we are pitching something new then we have to do the individual edition is insightful. We'll talk about that soon.

Paul Berry wrote at 5:19pm
@WL: We have presented it to a couple of publishers, one formally. There are a few who are considering it now. Thanks for coming Wayne! Great to hear from you.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:19pm
@ Nathan Stitt: Very, very good point. It is another one of those challenges we face: Price v. Quality. (Like my early America capping there?) Our publishing model has been much more oriented toward price, since the largest portion of our Scripture ministry partner base is solely price conscious. However, we're trying to get the word out to our demographic about some of the innovative resources we have available. I think you're a vanguard of that group saying, "We like quality more than price." So thanks for that. I'm working on the NT project, so I'll try to ensure more quality, while keeping the price as low as we can for viability's sake.
Thanks again for joining us!

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 5:18pm
@ Nathan: Even if their was an edition with a hard cover (glued binding or not), similar to the TNIV pew editions by IBS, it would be more durable.
@Paul Berry: Do I remember correctly there being mention of a more sturdy edition in the works on the De-Versify group's page?

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:16pm
Thanks for hosting this chat. Gotta leave for my next appt.

Paul Berry wrote at 5:15pm
@WL: Regarding marketing, I can't agree more. I'm personally working on those issues. We've run ads in a number of places and would love your ideas about where to go next. TBoTB has had a nice (and unforeseen) dovetail, bringing a number of readers to the TNIV. Many have said something along the lines of "I'm going to check out this edition, even though I don't care for (or haven't read) the TNIV". It's brought a number of new readers.

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:15pm
@ Nathan: While John's responding to your previous post, I can point you to www.ibsdirect.com and click on the TBoTB link. All those related products are there. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for joining us!

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 5:15pm
@Wayne: regarding inductive Bible study, it really is so much more effective with a Bible that "reads like a real book." My experience, since becoming involved with this project, has been that the "wind of the Spirit" is blowing through a number of circles and theological traditions to encourage a literary approach to the Scriptures, as opposed to a chapter-and-verse approach. People have different preferences, often strong ones, when it comes to Bible translations. There are some people who simply aren't going to read the TNIV or even the NIV, for various reasons. We certainly hope that formats like TBoTB show up in other translations so that the readers of those other translations can benefit. But it's up to the publishers of those translations to make that move.

Nathan Stitt wrote at 5:14pm
Wrap up time... Just want to say thank you guys for what you are doing. I'll keep promoting TBotB because it is fantastic and the De-Versify topic is important.

Just one last request from me, is there a link where I can look at the other book editions online? I wasn't aware that you had published a Luke-Acts already and I'd like to grab a copy.

Lisa Beth Anderson (Chicago, IL) wrote at 5:13pm
CS is great at eschewing credit.

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:13pm
Right, Paul, I've read that comment previously. But I think it would be good for the Bible Design Group to do some evangelizing among the other publishers, giving presentations on how inductive Bible study can be aided with their own versions.

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:12pm
It would be a great coup to work out some agreement with Crossway to help get the ESV in a BTOTB format. Let Crossway get the credit and all the profit. Its avid readers will benefit from the new format.

Paul Berry wrote at 5:12pm
WL: Regarding other translation, it's mainly up to other publishers to do their own versions, due to copyrights, royalties and the expense of typesettings. We hope very much that other publishers will do this, as we've said here: http://blog.thebooksofthebible.info/2007/09/spread-word.php

Nathan Stitt wrote at 5:10pm
There is a trade-off for me when it comes to a Bible that I'd give away. Price isn't the lowest denominator for me. I'd give away my copy without hesitation because it is only $15 with shipping. My main concern is giving someone a Bible that won't last very long or that feels cheap. If it breaks down or feels cheap they may not read it for long.

The current edition is nice enough and at a good price point. I'd be glad to pay double the cost for a NT that was more presentable and that would last longer. There are plenty of cheap outreach Bibles out there already. TBotB is unique in it's approach to readability of the text. I think improved opacity and durability would increase it's value to the one receiving it, while still keeping it in the current $5-10 price range.

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:10pm
TBOTB has the potential of revolutionizing inductive Bible study. But the fact that it uses the TNIV, which has gotten crucified so much in conservative circles, will keep many from using this approach to Bible study. Tis a pity, since the TNIV doesn't deserve the bum rap it has gotten, but we have to deal with realities, as Zondervan seems to be doing as it apparently is pushing the NIV more than the TNIV.

Lisa Beth Anderson (Chicago, IL) wrote at 5:09pm
Wayne! So true!

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:07pm
I would like to encourage y'all with the same thing a number of us have been saying about the TNIV: TBOTB and the TNIV need to be marketed more strongly. Both are important for the church today, but are getting smothered by better marketing for other Bible versions.

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 5:06pm
You guys have done a great thing with this project. Ditto what Wayne wrote

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:06pm
Thanks, Paul. I even had this event in my computer calendar, but I need to get a calendar with an alarm bell! :-)

I'm aging, but hope I'm getting wiser. I was very pleased to see IBS do this creative project with the TNIV. Now I, along with many others, would like to see the same thing done with other English Bible versions, esp. NLT and CEV which have such good English.

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:05pm
@PR: Glad you like them. Compliments can be directed at Chris for those. We all got to edit them and it was really hard trying not to enjoy them at the same time.

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:04pm
In my interactions with others, I have heard nothing but good things as they have worked with TBOTB. Keep up the good work.

Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 5:04pm
That would be great! I also wanted to compliment whomever wrote the introductions, they really opened up my eyes to the structures of the individual books. Really fantastic stuff.

Paul Berry wrote at 5:04pm
Fire away, Wayne! Good to see you!
Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:03pm
@ All: Anyone want to see Philemon formatted like a direct mail piece with two pennies glued to the bottom of the page, the "important" lines underlined in blue? We could even send them out in envelopes that scream, "IMPORTANT INFORMATION INSIDE! YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PASS UP THIS OFFER!!!!!!!"

Wayne Leman (Spokane, WA) wrote at 5:03pm
I forgot about the chat until my wife came into our office and reminded me with 3 minutes left. Then I had difficulty finding the Event Wall. Bummer! I was hoping there might be a few people still hanging around. I hope there will be a next time.

Paul Berry wrote at 5:03pm
Ok, we need to wrap this up in a few minutes. Any final questions, comments, ideas, testimonials, or stories about your mother's whereabouts?

Paul Berry wrote at 5:01pm
@Paul: Very nice. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Be sure to write in and tell my boss that whoever wrote that introduction needs a raise! In all seriousness, talk to Mark Brende about Luke/Acts. I can't promise anything, but if you all want to use them for FSKs and general outreach, we could probably get a discount for you.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 5:00pm
@Nathan Stitt: We are working on the outreach NT that I mentioned at the beginning. I'm hoping we can get the cost below $3.00 (or even better), despite trying to go green. It's an intriguing idea to add Psalms and Proverbs. We'll have to banter about that.
Sewn binding automatically adds at least three or four bucks to the selling price. You're right about the smaller group of books helping to do better formatting.

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 5:00pm
@Lisa's mom: "Yeah, log in when the driveway's done, and we can cement the relationship."

Lisa Beth Anderson (Chicago, IL) wrote at 4:59pm
@CS (on behalf of my mom): She's pouring concrete right now, but she'll log in as soon as she can. She loves the project, BTW, and is a faithful reader.

Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 4:58pm
@PB I've been reading out of that, actually, since I'm reading Luke and Acts and I didn't want to lug the whole thing around with me. It's made the Bible a lot more portable if you're reading just a part. And I was being silly with my comment about the Torah, I think Luke/Acts with Paul would really be fantastic.
I'm trying to think up other ideas for groupings for individual publishing.

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:57pm
@ Nathan: Now thats what I'm talking about :)

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:57pm
@Lisa: So isn't'your mother a member of Facebook herself? We'd love to have her join the De-versify group.

Lisa Beth Anderson (Chicago, IL) wrote at 4:55pm
On behalf of my mom @ y'all: what a great idea.

Nathan Stitt wrote at 4:54pm
Well if outreach is the primary focus, I would see much value in having the entire NT, Psalms, and Proverbs all in one handy volume to give away. I believe the reduced size would cut the cost quite a bit and allow some things to be improved such as opacity or the gutter.
I'm not sure, but is there an economical way to keep the signatures intact in a cheaper binding, or a cheaply sewn binding?

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:54pm
@ Paul Reynolds: I'm not sure if you've been tracking the group wall, but we've just released each of the four NT groups in Amazon's Kindle format. If you can afford to drop $400 for a Kindle, you can get each group for 99 cents.
@CJones: Kindle would be a great way to do a compact edition! Sorry the OT won't be available for a while (given commercial contract restrictions).

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:53pm
@ Your Mom: We've actually discussed publishing the four sections of the NT indicated by the Contents: The Luke-Acts Movement, The Matthew Movement, etc.

Paul Berry wrote at 4:53pm
@CJ: Thanks for coming. Talk to you soon!

Paul Berry wrote at 4:52pm
@PR: We do have a copy of Luke/Acts together titled 'Kingdom Come, Kingdom Go." I think it would fit quite nicely into campus outreach this fall @ UMKC. A sort of introduction to Christianity.
David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:52pm
very cool

Christopher Jones (Moody Bible Institute) wrote at 4:51pm
@ John: It definitely would speed up reading for OT & NT survey classes. Gotta run to dinner. Catchya all later!

Paul Berry wrote at 4:51pm
@DS & CS: Our pastor moved seamlessly from Luke to Acts with the flip of a page. My mother-in-law leaned over and asked me if she had the wrong Bible.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:51pm
@ Paul Reynolds: It sounds like you might want a full Bible! :)

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:50pm
@CJ: Yes, the Torah/Pentateuch does seem like a natural for publication as a separately bound collection. You could do a very interesting study with Jewish friends using it as the "text" for a group.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:49pm
@CJones: I gave copies to Steve Clark and Drs. Marty, Hart, VanLaningham, Sauer, DeRosset and McDuffee. I'm not sure if DeRosset has been able to engage it yet, since I saw her at a conference and she thought her copy got lost in the mail. You should encourage Marty to use this as a textbook in OT and NT survey. That's been my dream since remembering sitting in the basement of the library in a study cube bombing my way through Isaiah double-column style. Silly integrity on reading reports.

Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 4:48pm
Actually, the Luke/Acts plus Paul would be great! And actually since Paul makes so many references to the Torah, you could slip that in there, too. ;)

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:48pm
@ Chris: It really is. Another thing I've benefited from is the joining of Luke-Acts. I knew they used to be one book, but had never read them together. It was a good experience

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:48pm
@David Swain: regarding IBS and its low prices: I found someone selling a copy of TBoTB on the Internet, after-market, for $17.83. (www.biblio.com/books/163948665.html) We take this as a compliment . . .

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:45pm
@David Swain: Way to fight that temptation, buddy! I've been recognizing that I really don't need the chapters and verses to locate things, and it's so much more meaningful to navigate by content and literary structure. A whole new experience of Scripture.

Paul Berry wrote at 4:45pm
@Nathan: Regarding our method, we try to get our Bibles to those who will hand them out. With rare exception are we in any other bookstore or catalog than our own. There are a number of reasons for this, but the main one is that it allows us to keep our costs low.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:44pm
@ Paul Reynolds: We appreciate hearing these suggestions about portions! Paul's letters is a good one, and we'll note that for our future development list. Would you be interested in seeing a volume with Luke-Acts & Paul's Letters all together or simply Paul's letters?

Christopher Jones (Moody Bible Institute) wrote at 4:44pm
I heard about TBoTB through Relevant mag. I am a current student at Moody. Which profs did you give a copy to? I've been blessed to see the literary unity of scripture, and really have appreciated this new project.
@ Christopher Smith: As far as individual books go for publication, I think perhaps the Pentateuch could be a valuable edition to make, seeing as it was originally one book in the Jewish scriptures.

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:44pm
@Paul Reynolds and Nathan Stitt: I think these are great suggestions. I'll let the wordwrights at IBS respond to these ideas, as they're the guys who will be putting together further TBoTB products. (By the way, I think of these as "books" or "groups of books," not "Scripture portions."

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:43pm
@ Paul Reynolds: The letters of Paul would be cool! I like that idea. That would make for a good group study book.

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:42pm
@ Chris: I started off using it for reading, going through the Blended reading plan (still going). Then, when I decided to try it full time for a year, I began taking it to church and doing my real study out of it. I am trying to reason my way to passages now and get a better idea of the content of each book. Although it is sometimes very tempting to use the chapter/verse range at the bottom of the page

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:40pm
@ David Swain: We love you! Thanks for giving these away. That sort of Scripture ministry is why we do what we do.

Nathan Stitt wrote at 4:40pm
@CRS
I think a set of the Pentateuch/Torah and perhaps the historical books, eg. Josh,Sam-Kings and Chr-Ezra-Neh.
I've only just realized today the outreach approach to this project, but I guess I'll start asking questions. What is your target audience? Are you targeting the folks who will be passing out cheap copies in bulk? Are you targeting people (unsaved) directly where selling through Amazon or B&N online might increase distribution?

Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 4:40pm
For individual books, I'd like to see perhaps the letters of Paul or maybe even just Romans published separately.

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:39pm
@ Micah: I was very surprised when I found out about the IBS and how low their prices are. A book the size of the BotB would probably run $20-25 in a regular store. For all my wants of a high-end binding, I do appreciate the low price. It has allowed me to give away many of these where it would have otherwise been cost prohibitive

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:38pm
@ CJones: Smaller version for portability: I like the idea. In some of the previous posts, we've talked about how "market" demand is essential before we can take steps to produce a bunch of editions. Tell all your friends to ask, and we might get somewhere. We would probably have to reduce the typesetting to 70% and put it on thinner paper. The footprint would be about 3.5" X 5". At 1800 pages, it would still be over an inch thick. It's another tradeoff thing.
How did you hear about TBoTB? I gave copies to several of my profs from Moody in the fall. (Graduated in 1999.) Are you a current student?

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:38pm
@David Swain: How have you been using TBoTB? Paul Reynolds told us he's doing a study with the guys in his house. How about you?

Paul Berry wrote at 4:37pm
@David: I'm glad you could admit your lust. Half the battle is knowing you have a problem :). In all seriousness, a local bindery is a good option and I highly recommend it!

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:36pm
@ Paul: Well, I can still dream ;) All binding lust aside, I think this is truly an amazing project, and I have been blessed using it for the past 3 months

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:35pm
@ Paul Berry: Because our primary audience is new believers or unbelievers and because the primary vessels for contacting that audience are churches and individuals, our method is two-fold: 1) to craft Bibles that simultaneously evidence creativity and accessibility, both of which must be born out of the biblical content itself, and 2) to do this at as low a cost as possible.
The differences with commercial publishers then are the vessels (churches/individuals vs. bookstores and other commercial venues) and the low cost/low mark-up factor.

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:33pm
@ John: Yeah, I can see the trade offs. I realize my requests are probably way beyond anything feasible from a publishing standpoint. Personally, I wouldn't mid if it was thicker to accommodate a change like that. Or, even more ideally, the same layout could be kept with a sewn binding. If it opens flat, no worries about the words going into the gutter.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:32pm
Welcome, Nathan! Thanks for your positive words. We really appreciate people who enjoy TBoTB spreading the word.
Bring the questions when you're ready!

Paul Berry wrote at 4:31pm
@David: I can certainly appreciate that. It's a very good point, and well taken. I think if we see the distribution number on the current editions continue to climb, it will only be a matter of time. For now, your best option is to take your edition to a local bindery and have them put a better cover on it.

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:31pm
@CJ: The individual books that IBS has been producing in TBoTB format ("Kingdom Come, Kingdom Go" = Luke-Acts, "The Search" = Ecclesiastes, The Book of Psalms, "Hear This Word" = Amos, Gospel of John) are certainly pocket-size. I hear that Sunday School classes are getting a copy of one of these books for each member and working through them. What other biblical books would all of you like to see published individually?

Christopher Jones (Moody Bible Institute) wrote at 4:31pm
Personally I would just prefer a smaller version for portability sake. It might be potentially good for outreach too.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:30pm
@ David Swain: Concerning line length: That is a strange tightrope to walk. If you go single column like a novel, you automatically increase line length. If you have the Bible, you've got a lot of material. You increase the font size to reduce the number of words on a line, and you end up making the page count go way up. So you increase the footprint (eg, 6 X 9), and the line length increases.
We understand the issues behind that, and we wrestled with it a lot. Eye tracking is critical. However, we feel that we came to the best solution.
That said, we appreciate the question. We'll try to figure out a way to address that. I hate being the guy saying, "That won't work. We can't do that either." So with challenges like that, we get to be more creative!
Thanks for the question, David!

Nathan Stitt wrote at 4:29pm
Hello all. I am here after reading Wayne Leman's posts about the chat tonight. Just wanted to let you know I'm here and maybe a little bit about myself. I am a grad student who recently started blogging about my study of scripture (mostly Greek so far).
I purchased TBotB after reading a review at Mark Bertrand's Bible Design blog. I have used it as my daily reading Bible ever since and promote it as often as I can. I just want to say that this project is great and I'm looking forward to the new editions. I'll hold my questions until later and just read for a bit.

Paul Berry wrote at 4:27pm
@CJ: Pocket size would be difficult to pull off with a full Bible. We'd have to drastically shrink the type size to the smallest we've ever done. Do you think it would make a good outreach piece?
David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:26pm
@ Paul, I realize the mission is outreach, however the concept is also being pitched, in a sense, to be used as a replacement of a typical "versed" Bible. For me, I can't replace an everyday hard use Bible with a paperback that is already falling apart from doing my one-year commitment to the BotB (I'm only 3 months or so into it).

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:23pm
As far as I'm concerned, this would be my primary Bible for reading AND study, if I had an edition that would stand up to time and some use. I would absolutely LOVE to see a sewn hardback with the aforementioned fewer words per line setting.

Christopher Jones (Moody Bible Institute) wrote at 4:23pm
Will there be a more compact version to come out? With both testaments? "Pocket size" or something...

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:22pm
@Paul Reynolds, once again regarding changes in future editions of TBoTB: Here's an example of one of those "slight changes" to the way literary structure is represented: in the book of Numbers, on pages 189-190, we're thinking of closing up the space that comes right after the song/poem excerpts on both of these pages. As I said, fine-tuningl

Paul Berry wrote at 4:22pm
Regarding new editions, we've had several people asking us for this or that: paper, bindings, margins, etc. MW, could you talk about IBS's mission as an outreach Bible publisher and how that is different than commercial publishing?

David Swain (Columbus, OH) wrote at 4:22pm
Hi all, sorry i'm late. I would agree, from a reader's standpoint, that the margins are too small. Esp with a glue-bound book, the inside edge is pulled into the gutter and very hard to read without breaking the spine. It seems that if there were fewer (maybe 12 average instead of 16) words per line it would help.

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:19pm
@Paul Reynolds: You remind me of someone who got a copy of TBoTB and said she read through all of Galatians at a siting "because nothing told me to stop."

Paul Berry wrote at 4:19pm
@PR: You should see margins on the copy of Les Miserables I read. :)

Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 4:17pm
Well, I've really enjoyed the structure so far. The guys in my house have all been doing a study on 1 Peter, and when we went hunting for divisions and structure, the decisions you all made in there were so key to helping us chunk it up. Also, without chapter numbers in there to hold me back, I ended up reading Genesis in 4 days. And for that alone, I thank you!
I do agree with you on the tight margins, you really have to crack that baby open to see the insides.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:15pm
@ Paul Reynolds: One other thought on revisions: We're a bit uncomfortable with the margins being as tight as they are. While not terrible, we thought we could fix that by reducing the size of the print image. So, next time, there might be a hair more margin.

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:12pm
The last time our group met, we also agreed on about a dozen small revisions to the way the literary structures of the books of the Bible are represented with the books. Fine-tuning, basically.

Lisa Beth Anderson (Chicago, IL) wrote at 4:10pm
I get to contribute to TBotB project aesthetically, which is to say that I'm often asked whether or not something is pretty. A lot depends on the nod or the shake of my head. I also write for all kinds of kids in all kinds of places around the globe, kayak whenever I can, bike nearly everywhere, and tell tall tales. My tales are even taller than Micah.

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:09pm
@ Paul Reynolds: The next edition is going to be a New Testament. We're contemplating making it a "green" edition, where all stock and printing facilities will be certified as "eco-friendly." No guarantees that will actually happen, but we're hoping!
Chris will answer concerning the internal workings of the book. Did you have any suggestions?

Christopher R. Smith (Lansing / East Lansing, MI) wrote at 4:08pm
While we're working on an answer to Paul Reynold's question, I should introduce myself, too. I'm Chris Smith, and I was a consultant to IBS for the development of TBoTB. I wrote the companion volume The Beauty Behind the Mask.

Lisa Beth Anderson (Chicago, IL) wrote at 4:07pm
While John's grabbing something, I'll just say hey to everyone from Chicago. I'm the one without an X over my face.

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:05pm
Oh, and I do the same stuff as John and Paul. I just do it taller.

Paul Berry wrote at 4:05pm
Paul, John's going to grab that question.

Micah Wierenga (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:05pm
Greetings everyone. Glad to have you. In the profile pic, I'm the one on the left with the floating head of mismatched lighting. One of these things does not belong...

John Dunham (Colorado Springs, CO) wrote at 4:04pm
Hi y'all (such as y'all may be)! I'm John, and I work in Scripture Resource Development at IBS.

Paul Berry wrote at 4:03pm
I'm Paul Berry, WordWright at International Bible Society. I mainly work in project management and online community for the Scripture Resource Development Group.

Paul Reynolds (UMKC) wrote at 4:02pm
What changes have you been contemplating and planning for the next edition of TBotB?

Paul Berry wrote at 4:02pm
Why don't you all introduce yourselves?

Paul Berry wrote at 4:01pm
If you have a question for the group, feel free to just throw it out there.

Paul Berry wrote at 4:01pm
Make sure to refresh your browser often to keep up with the conversation.

Paul Berry wrote at 3:59pm
Hello everyone! Welcome to the de-versify wall chat. Dr. Christopher Smith in East Lansing, MI, Lisa Beth Anderson in Chicago and John Dunham, Micah Wierenga, and Paul Berry in Colorado Springs.

More new editions and special chat this Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:49:00 +0000

A few weeks back, we announced that the Matthew group of the New Testament had been released for Amazon's Kindle for $.99. You can now download the John and Mark groups with the Luke group coming in the next few days.
Also, for those of you who haven't checked out the de-versify facebook group, now's the time. We'll be hosting a live chat on facebook this Friday at 4PM Mountain Time. If you haven't signed up for facebook, it takes just a couple minutes. Hope to see you there!

New Edition of TBoTB

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:00:00 +0000

For those of you who are early adopters of Amazon's Kindle Reader, we've released the Matthew section of the New Testament for $.99. Why $.99? We figured after dropping $400 on the reader, you could use a deal.

Accommodate my Bible: Guest blog by Chris Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:50:00 +0000

So you've got a copy of The Books of The Bible, and it's already making a huge difference in the way you engage Scripture. You're reading bigger chunks, even whole books, at one time; you're getting new kinds of insights, and seeing connections you never saw before. You're actually ahead on your reading plan.

But there's one problem. You've become a books-of-the-Bible person, but it's still a chapter-and-verse world.

There's something you can do about that. Ask and expect to be accommodated as you bring The Books of The Bible along with you to all of your regular activities.

If you're in your small group and the leader directs everyone to a passage using just the chapter and verse reference, speak up and say, with a perfectly straight face, "I'm sorry, but my Bible doesn't have any chapters and verses. Could you describe what episode you're referring to, and where it comes in the book?" The explanation your leader provides in response will make the discussion more meaningful for everybody.

Take your pastor aside some week, show that your Bible doesn't have any chapters and verses, and ask that for your sake, the scripture lesson be identified by content ("the discussion of prayer in the Sermon on the Mount") as well as by reference. You can even invite your pastor to do an experiment one week, and not give anybody the chapter and verse reference for the scripture lesson. Instead, see if it isn't more meaningful to lead them to it through the book's structure: "Has everybody found Matthew? Good. Now Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, then the story of his birth and early ministry. Flip through those, and you'll come to a collection of his foundational teachings. There Jesus first tells us what it means to be blessed; then he tells us how we can truly fulfill the law; and then he tells us in what spirit we should give and pray and fast. We're going to look this morning at what He says about prayer. Does everybody have the place?"

It might feel somewhat provocative, even subversive, to ask to be accommodated to this extent. But by gently persisting, you will be helping to introduce new habits of Scripture engagement that will benefit everyone. Individual requests like these drive broader change. The social flow has to redirect itself around those who are standing gracefully in its way. You'll be like the people who always asked "Is this a smoke-free facility?" before deciding to eat in a restaurant or stay in a hotel. Look how far their expectation of being accommodated has brought us.

Chris Smith is consulting editor on The Books of The Bible. His book detailing his work, The Beauty Behind the Mask is available on Amazon.com

Awakening '08

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:35:00 +0000

John and I are at Awaken '08 in Pasadena this week. We've been sampling TBoTB, Kingdom Come-Kingdom Go, The Book of Psalms, Amos, etc. We'll be in Denver next week, then Grand Rapids the week after. Knee surgery will be a welcome vacation come month end.

We've been meeting tons of great people from all around the country. Bob from California told me about an experience he had with an agnostic friend. The person had been given a very large study Bible. He told Bob he had been reading it and wanted to get together to talk about it. When they did, his friend kept pointing at different parts in the Bible saying, "I disagree with this. I disagree with this. I disagree with this."

The thing Bob noticed was that his friend wasn't pointing at Scripture. He was pointing at the notes.

I'm just sayin's all.

If you're going to be at either of these conferences, stop by our booth. If you're going to be a both, we'll definitely have something special for you.

Organic References

noreply@blogger.com (Glenn) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:32:00 +0000

As I continue to have more experiences with my copy of The Books of The Bible in various Bible study and church settings, I’m finding that the passage referencing issue keeps coming up. It is so tempting—repeatedly tempting—to revert to at least a chapter reference when you want to point someone to a certain place in the Scriptures. This pattern is deeply imbedded in our Bible practice.

In the local assembly of Jesus-followers of which I’m a part, we’ve been reading and discussing the servant passages in Isaiah and exploring how the gospels use them in reference to Jesus. When I was teaching on Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ baptism, my first instinct was to simply rattle off the four references (42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12) and start pointing out the connections. It is so fast. Zoom. Zoom. You’re there.

But it’s actually so much richer to take a moment to see each of these in light of their setting in Isaiah. For example, I could have simply noted that when Jesus is baptized by John (in Matthew’s first main section, at the end of the part about the Baptizer, right before the temptation story), the words recorded from the heavenly voice seem to combine two key passages. “You are my son” from Psalm 2 refers to Israel’s king as the one who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. But the next part (“whom I love; with him I am well pleased”) seems to clearly pick up on language from the first servant song: “Here is my servant . . . my chosen one in whom I delight.”

OK, so the passage tells us that Israel’s promised king, God’s son, is also the servant that Isaiah proclaimed. Nice. In my notes that I handed out that day, I could have simply listed the four servant songs, we could have read them, and that would be that. But wait. Isolating Isaiah 42:1-9 and reading it alone doesn’t really cut it.

When I read “Isaiah 42” in The Books of The Bible, I can easily see that there is a lengthy oracle that precedes it. It focuses on God’s supremacy over the false gods of the nations. It’s a set-up for the presentation of the servant that follows. This chosen servant of God does not come to smash the nations with their idols, instead he is shown as the one who will bring them light. He will free them, and they can put their hope in him. The servant reveals God’s true intention, not just for Israel, but for the world.

Much more could be said. The c&v Bible is particularly bad with the last servant song: how many times have you heard people refer to “Isaiah 53,” ignoring the fact that the song begins in chapter 52? But the point is that the format can either help or hinder the likelihood that I will read in context. Yes, it’s possible (if difficult) to try and read past or over the often incorrectly placed chapter and verse breaks. But why should readers have to do that?

The Bible’s books have natural, intentional, literary breaks. Let’s start talking about them. And let’s start practicing referring to them in natural, contextual, literary ways.

-Glenn

Ursula’s Plea

noreply@blogger.com (Glenn) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:04:00 +0000

The current issue of Harper’s Magazine (Feb 2008) features an article by Ursula Le Guin called “Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading.” What we read here is right in line with what we explored earlier with C.S. Lewis’ comments about ‘receiving’ a book rather than ‘using’ it. Le Guin’s contention is that it’s no surprise not everyone is up to reading:

“In its silence, a book is a challenge: it can’t lull you with surging music or deafen you with screeching laugh tracks or fire gunshots in your living room; you have to listen to it in your head. A book won’t move your eyes for you the way images on a screen do. It won’t move your mind unless you give it your mind, or your heart unless you put your heart into it. It won’t do the work for you. To read a story well is to follow it, to act it, to feel it, to become it—everything short of writing it, in fact.”

Entering into a story on its own terms. Imagine. Giving a story your mind—more, your heart. A two-way set of expectations. Not just readers with their requirements, but stories looking for good readers. Readers who honor the covenant between author and audience. Le Guin continues, “Reading is not ‘interactive’ with a set of rules or options, as games are; reading is actual collaboration with the writer’s mind.”

This is as far away from our snippet-searching, give-me-a-verse-for-today typical Bible ‘use’ (one can’t really call it reading) as it could be.

Ursula Le Guin, advocate for mo’ betta reading.

-Glenn