by chrisaiken | Dec 16, 2020 | discipleship, pastor, preaching
I am asked a lot (especially in these days) what Bible Translation I preach from. Most folks that ask the question are part of the church I am privileged to teach weekly and simply want to follow along to the preaching text more closely. I respect that. In fact, one of the first things I did many years ago was grab a translation that matched the one my pastor used.
I made the decision almost twenty years ago to center my preaching ministry on the text of the New American Standard Bible (NASB). From early on in Bible College and Seminary, many of the professors required this translation because it was considered to be one of the most accurate translations that held to “formal equivalence translation philosophy.” That means (essentially) that the translators sought to use the English Word that most accurate translated the precise word in the original language: either Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek; and, to use the essentially literal equivalent word even if doing so made the sentence a little more difficult to read.
That said, I am not married to a particular translation. You’ll not hear me get on a rant about one translation or another. In fact, most English translations are useful for their intended purpose.
Remember that the sixty-six books of the Bible were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Throughout the ages, these writings have been translated into popular language to make the text accessible to the masses of people. Unless you’re a Hebrew scholar, you’re likely unfamiliar with Hebrew vocabulary; therefore, the best way to make the Old Testament accessible to you is to translate it into English. Whenever you translate between languages, you have a difficulty to overcome…not every language has an exact equivalent word for every other language. Furthermore, specific language nuance (such as colloquialisms) carries with it shades of meaning.
For instance, If I wrote in a letter, “That Clemson safety killed that receiver on that last play,” you may have trouble translating word for word into Hindi without confusing the reader. After all, no one actually died in the football game. Because of this, some translators choose to modify the words in the receptor language to capture the idea of the original. (Think NIV).
Other translators also use a philosophy like that of the NASB, but they are a little more open in their word choices, seeking to make the sentence structures more easily readable (Think ESV or CSB, NKJV).
So, why do I use the NASB? As you know, I make a big deal out of words and word meanings. I think that’s an important aspect of my teaching/preaching ministry. Therefore, I chose a translation that most accurately reflected an essentially literal equivalent to the original language.
Do you only read the NASB? No! I read a passage from several translations in my preparation process and will occasionally use different translations in the act of preaching if another translation communicates the passage better.
Do you recommend that we get a NASB Bible if we are under your teaching? Bible translations (to me) are an intensely personal decision. So, my answer is, “It depends.” If following along word-for-word with my sermon text is important to you, then you will likely be most interested in getting a NASB Bible. If you have memorized a thousand verses in the NKJV and that is your heart language (so to speak) then stick with what you prefer. There are no bonus points or demerits for using a particular translation. As a side note, there is no uniformity among the pastors on our staff at the church. We use the ESV, NASB, NKJV, and even a KJV just on our staff. I personally have been reading the CSB devotionally all year and have grown to like it.
How should I choose a translation? First, I would probably use a Bible App and read a passage in several translations. For instance, read John 3 or Philippians 1 in the NASB, NIV, ESV, and NKJV. See which one is easiest to comprehend. You may even find the NLT to be helpful. I personally find it to be very conversational in tone but difficult to study (since I am a big “word” guy).
Will you always preach from the NASB? I would hate to commit to “always,” but it has served me well for almost two decades and I don’t see a reason to shift to anything else on the market today. I will switch to the 2020 update in a few months from the 1995 version that I currently use. This is primarily because those who use Apps to read the text will almost all get the 2020 version when they select the NASB rather than the older one from 1995. Also, the minor language adjustments I have seen seem to be helpful.
Will you ever use another translation? Yes. Count on some cross references coming from other translations at times; however, I will typically use the NASB for my primary Bible text.
Why do we have so many translations anyway? That’s a great and “common” question. When you read the front pages of a translation, the translators explain their rationale and philosophy. Also, there are other issues that inform translation work, but that is a conversation for another day and a good reason for you to enroll in one of my studies in the future on the Doctrine of the Bible. Again, I find different translations helpful since I am not an expert in any of the ancient biblical languages.
Why did you write these 1,000 words about your bible translation? That is the best question of the day. I thought I might try to answer a question I am often asked by others. I hope that if you made it this far, the article was helpful.
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by chrisaiken | Apr 5, 2018 | discipleship, pastor, preaching, Teaching
Daily. That’s how often I receive an article on preaching. Sometimes it is two or three, but I cannot remember a day that I did not receive an article on how to communicate more effectively. Just yesterday it was on 10 ways to “call for a response.” Before that, it was on the structure of a sermon.
Most of the articles are helpful. As one man said, “eat the fruit and spit out the seeds.” There are few articles where a discerning reader cannot gain something. Often times though, reading new information prompts one to seek effectiveness by addition. We want to add a new thing…adjust to improve our ability to connect with people’s hearts. The most memorable of messages, however, tend to be those that are most simple.
Paul speaks to this by way of his letter to the Corinthians. “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Now it would be foolish to think Paul was simple-minded or simplistic in His theology. In fact, he never claimed such (1 Cor 2:6-9). Peter himself declared that Paul’s teachings were often on a whole different level (2 Peter 3:15-17), so it would be baseless to declare that his teaching lacked depth or foundation. Yet, Paul, states to this church that he determined to stay centered on the cross and Christ crucified. Why?
The cross serves as a line of demarcation.
- One cannot argue that Jesus came to exalt Himself.
- One cannot dispute the wretchedness of sin.
- One cannot doubt the depth and breadth of the love of God.
- One cannot argue against the holiness and goodness of God.
- One cannot argue for alternative pathways to right relationship with God.
Ultimately, Paul determined that no matter where the conversation went and how philosophical it may seek to become, he would always circle back to the cross. (See Acts 17 for only one of numerous examples).
The point: We can learn from this and should embrace this in our lives. DETERMINE not to debate the latest beliefs of 20 friends on Facebook. DETERMINE not to spend you days arguing for the five solas of the Reformation. DETERMINE to rely on the piercing power of the gospel message rather than the rhetorical flourishes of a well-crafted monologue. DETERMINE to know the position of those who would debate you but so that you can turn the focus quickly back to the cross and Jesus Christ crucified. DETERMINE to boast not in your strengths but in your weaknesses that demand the grace of Christ’s strengths in your life. DETERMINE to rest in the glorious and gracious redemption of your life by a holy God who alone is powerful to save.
Apart from this, there is no power…for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Rom 1:16). When doing so, we DETERMINE to shape the faith of people by the Spirit and power rather than persuasive words of worldly wisdom (1 Cor 2:4).
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by chrisaiken | Apr 7, 2016 | Leadership, pastor, preaching
The observation has taken a couple of different forms in recent days. One was an admonition from Dr. Thom Rainer, the President of Lifeway to not compare “your pastor” to “a pastor/preacher” that you heard on a podcast. You can read the post HERE. The second appeared yesterday in a post noting the “7 personality traits that guests like in a pastor.” In this latter post, Dr. Rainer provided observations about the qualities that guests find “attractive” in a communicator. From looking at some of the comments (a certain way to drive yourself ‘nuts’ on the internet), it seemed that there was an inadvertent leap by some to an expectation on “the pastor.”
For the record, I don’t think Dr. Rainer is even slightly confused, nor do I think he is trying to overtly correct pastors everywhere and tell them to use humor or more self-deprecating talk as they shepherd their own people. (Certainly though there is a need for some of us to take ourselves less seriously). His observations, which I affirm by the way, are related to the ability of the speaker to connect with an audience that has yet to learn to trust him. There is certainly something to be said for “the pastor” gaining influence with his people by adjusting his style of communication a bit, but that is not the focus of the post.
It is an incredible opportunity for a pastor to stand up in a worship service and present the truths of Scripture in a winsome manner and with such a sweet personality that others who are new to “the room” are drawn into engaging the proposed truths. In other words, a smart communicator uses techniques (or develops personality traits) that attract newcomers to the message.
This is FAR DIFFERENT than the “personality” of the preacher being responsible for the success of seeing souls converted to Christ or seeing attendance grow. Personality is primarily about how to keep people engaged long enough for the Holy Spirit to arrest their rebellious hearts! Personality is not a reason for a church member to love, listen to, or learn from “the pastor.” Could you imagine that argument with Jeremiah or Ezekiel? How about Moses? But you might say, “they weren’t pastors.” True…so what about Jesus? Read John 6. He said some stuff that was not considered winsome and most of the crowd left Him. In fact, the 12 said that the reason they stayed around was because Jesus alone had the words of eternal life! What kept these disciples engaged was the Gospel…not Jesus’ self-deprecating humor or relational skills. What about Peter? There’s a dude that had some personality challenges. Or…Paul maybe? Peter said that the way Paul taught was sometimes difficult to understand…and Peter walked with Jesus for 3 years! Many in the churches charged Paul with being unsophisticated in his communicating ability. Was Paul’s personality really the problem facing the Corinthian Church?
Am I arguing that a pastor should have no personality? Certainly not! Heaven forbid! I am making the case though that if you really understand the Word of God and the will of God for your life as a disciple, your “reason” for sitting under the teaching of “your pastor” MUST be more than his personality. It SHOULD be that you recognize that He labors in prayer for you. He is concerned with your soul. He is on guard against the enemies that come to destroy you. He is sympathetic to your pain and struggle. He tries constantly to grow you to maturity in Christ. He is intensely jealous for you with a godly jealousy! He desires to present you to Christ with no shortcomings.
If you are a pastor hoping to keep a church together with your winsome personality…you are in for a tough life. Grow in areas that make you attractive to your people, but don’t have the people fall in love with you; rather, help them fall in love with Jesus. Otherwise, when you’re gone, they will be too. If you are a church member intently focused on the mechanics of a message or the smoothness of your pastor’s speech…you’ll soon be gone. Another more winsome guy will preach down the road and you’ll go there claiming that “God moved you,” which is, in my pastoral opinion, probably not the case. You are probably giving God credit for what really amounts to a form of manifested spiritual immaturity.
Pastor, be kind, but don’t bear the weight that people grow or die spirituality because you can or cannot use humor in your teaching. In the words of one of my dear friends who used to preach to students in a suit, tie, and wingtip shoes, “Be comfortable with who you are. Don’t try to become someone you’re not. They can smell it on you.”
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