By Kevin O’Brien, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Editor, Apollos Watered

We are Bible people. Well, we claim we are.

“You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.” So says Peter to Jesus in John 6:68-69.

But do we read it? If we don’t, why not? If we do, do we understand what we are reading? And why does it seem to make such little impact in the things that we really believe, in the way that we live our lives?

These are questions that haunt pastors, both for the people we minister to, and for ourselves.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Has the Bible become so familiar that we can no longer hear its message? We hear the words, know the stories, and think that we know its message. That we know Jesus. And so we no longer read. Secretly, we are no longer moved by those words of eternal life.

Or perhaps the words sound foreign, confusing. There is a distance that we cannot quite overcome. Individually the words make sense. We grasp their meaning. But taken as a whole, things get fuzzy, meaning slips through our fingers and understanding eludes us.

Whether the message has become so familiar that we can no longer hear it or the message feels distant and distorted, Apollos Watered is committed to helping you hear, read, understand, and be captured by the message of the Bible. That’s why we are pleased to announce that we have partnered with the New Living Translation as the official Bible of Apollos Watered.

When it seems like every podcast, YouTube channel and Instagram personality has sponsors and endorsement deals, it can be hard to know how genuine the partnership is or if the spokesperson (that would be us) really believes in the product. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should add that I used to work for Tyndale House Publishers on the NLT team. I have helped to concept, create, and market NLT Bibles. The reason I went to work at Tyndale in the first place was specifically to work on the NLT. I believed in it before I worked there, and I still believe in it after working there. The decision to partner with the NLT was not one we made lightly, but it is one we are excited about. When Travis first asked me to come on board with Apollos Watered, I immediately said yes because of his heart for the Church around the world. His vision for helping people to reimagine what discipleship is all about. For helping people understand the message of the Bible no matter who we are or where we are.

Apollos Watered, Travis and I, believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is far bigger than we imagine. It crosses time and space, it breaks barriers of culture, ethnicity, gender, and class. As Paul says “there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

To be the Church as we were intended to be, to reach the people we are called to reach, we need to be able to communicate God’s Word in a way that breaks through both our familiarity with the Bible and our distance from its message. For years, Travis and I have led small groups, taught classes, and preached the Bible both at home and, in Travis’s case, around the world. Over and over, we have had to overcome both issues. Over and over, we have found ourselves using the NLT to help people understand the message of God.

The NLT is a gift that has helped us to minister more effectively to the Body of Christ no matter who or where we are.

We trust its scholarship. If you have listened to any of our “Deep Conversations”, you know that scholarship is important to us. Ninety international scholars contributed to the NLT. Some of the best in their field. Many who worked on other important translations too. You can learn more about them here.

We value its approach. The New Living Translation follows in the footsteps of William Tyndale whose desire to make the Bible accessible to everyday people, not the educated or the clergy, led to the development of the King James Bible. It follows in the footsteps of Ken Taylor, whose paraphrase, the Living Bible, took the English-speaking world by storm in the 1970s. The NLT broke new ground by taking the dynamic rendering of a paraphrase and combining it with the latest scholarship and precision. You can learn about the translation process here.

We love that the NLT is understandable worldwide. Business, entertainment, and social media, have made English a global language. Because the NLT was designed to be read aloud, because it sounds the way we talk, that means it is increasingly understandable not just in Chicago, Memphis, and LA, but in Cairo, Mumbai, La Pas and hundreds of other places around the world. 

The NLT connects with readers around the world because it is easy to understand, because God’s message to us, today, almost leaps off the page and into our hearts and minds. Because the NLT is so clear, you will find yourself reading longer and understanding more than you ever have before. Understanding the Bible really does change everything.

At Apollos Watered, we believe that true discipleship is not about programs but the pursuit of Christ. We believe that the message of Jesus really does matter. It really does change everything. We have some exciting things in store: conversations with NLT translators and writers, use of the NLT in our materials, even some giveaways. The NLT is helping us to complete our mission:

Water Your Faith so that you Water Your World.

Our thanks to Tyndale for their partnership. If you are new to Apollos Watered, give us a listen wherever you listen to podcasts and check us out online at Apolloswatered.org.

Did you know Tyndale House Ministries works with Christian publishers around the world to help minister to the spiritual needs of people in their own languages? Just a few months ago we were able to rejoice as the first Hungarian edition of the Inspire Bible was launched in Budapest, Hungary.

“As I drew, colored, and made notes in my Inspire Bible, I felt that there was only God, the Scripture, and me. It was a tremendous experience,” said Eszter, who enjoys using the new Inspire Bible.

This beautiful Bible started as a passion from Harmat Publishing House, headquartered in Budapest, to see women engage with the Bible in a more personal way. When they discovered the Inspire Bible with its coloring and journaling pages, they knew this was the perfect Bible to be the first journaling Bible published in the Hungarian language.

Combining the Karoli-Bible text in Hungarian with the original artistic illustrations of the Inspire Bible, Harmat Publishers were overwhelmed with the positive responses they received after it was published.

“Using the Inspire Bible was a wonderful and unique experience for me. When I started to draw and color in it, I felt as though I was able to ‘turn everything else off,’ and the only thing that remained was my Bible and me,” said Panna, a young woman who was one of the first to try this new Bible.

To encourage engagement, Kornel Herjeczki, CEO of Harmat Publishing House, hosted a Bible journaling workshop so attendees could experience it firsthand. Participants were able to try out their own creative Bible study and journaling under the direction of Hungarian artist Brigitta Budahazy. And many local news outlets added to the excitement by cover the release of this unique Bible.

“The One who created the eyes can see, and the One who created the ears can hear. He also knew what I had in my heart and that I longed for such a Bible, in which I can freely express my thoughts and feelings toward him,” said Timea, an early user of this Bible.

We love being able to celebrate growing in God’s Word with our brothers and sister around the world. Like Time, may we all long to get into God’s Word so we can express our love for him.

You can learn more about the Inspire Bible in Hungary on its website www.inspiralobiblia.hu

You can learn more about Inspire Bible in English

Have you ever been out to dinner in an exotic restaurant and the menu was incomprehensible?  I recently experienced that in an Ethiopian restaurant. If the hovering waiter hadn’t been there to explain to what the unpronounceable dish names referred, I would never have been able to order. Once he helped me understand, I enjoyed an incredible culinary experience. There was Injera and Doro Wat and Fir-fir available, but with no one to explain it in my language, I had no way to satisfy my hunger.

That experience is not unlike the challenge of pastors and leaders in French-speaking Africa trying to prepare to preach with little or no resources in their language of education. They are hungry to feed on the Word of God, to go deeper in their understanding, but often the resources are only available in English, and even more often they are not adapted to life in Africa. The Africa Study Bible: French Edition, a theological library in one volume, will open a whole new world of understanding to Francophone pastors in Africa. It will put the food on the table!

There are 600 million believers in Africa that are tragically under-resourced for discipleship, according to the International Review of Mission. Yet, the Church is growing faster in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world. According to the Pew foundation 25 percent of the world’s Christians are located in Africa and that will rise to 40% by 2050. In partnership with Tyndale House Foundation, and using their New Living Translation, Oasis International published the landmark Africa Study Bible (ASB) in English last year. The ASB is the first study Bible that applies God’s Word to the contexts of Africa. With over 2,600 features written by 350 contributors from 50 countries, looking at God’s Word through African eyes, the English edition of the Africa Study Bible was launched to enthusiastic acclaim in seven countries and is already in use in 16.

With its commitment to empowering discipleship, Tyndale House has been a key partner for Oasis International in developing this unparalleled biblical resource. A Kenyan pastor, participating in an ASB training seminar, described the potential impact of the ASB this way,

The Africa Study Bible makes it very easy for us to connect directly to our context. It is going to encourage (young pastors) back to study the African cultures, the way of life, and the storytelling that will be very important in their preaching because they are serving people who are living in this context.

Oasis has launched the Africa Study Bible in seven countries already and is working hard to reach all 24 countries that have English as a language of education. However, 23 more African countries have French as an official language. And while contextualized discipleship resources are certainly not abundant in English-speaking Africa, they are significantly more scarce in Francophone Africa. Dr. Daniel Bourdanné, General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) describes it this way,

French-speaking Africa is known for its material poverty. One element of this poverty is the lack of Christian literature resources in the French language. The need for French-language Bible study materials is and remains to be, an even more profound source of poverty for the region.

An Oasis partner visiting the library at one of the most prominent seminaries in Francophone Africa, FATEB (Central African Republic), reported that only 20 percent of the books were in French, while the remaining volumes were primarily in English, a language many of the students can’t understand. The library of the Yamoussoukro Bible Institute (Côte d’Ivoire), where I lived and taught for 34 years, typifies the problem with its shelves full of old, tattered, English commentaries and theological books donated by retiring missionaries. Almost none of the students can read and understand them. It was not uncommon for me to visit former students only to discover that the pastor and his wife’s main resources were well-worn photocopies received years ago in our classes.

One key reason for this lack of resources is the religious makeup of France. Christian resources in English are available in Africa from sources in the United States and England, among others. But few comparable resources come from France in which only five percent of the population attends a church of any sort and 24 percent are avowed atheists (2014 demographic survey).  The impact of the Africa Study Bible: French Edition will be even greater than the English edition because the need for resources is exponentially greater in French.

Believers in Francophone Africa are hungry for biblical resources in French adapted to the contexts in which they live. The Africa Study Bible puts the food on the table for those who are hungry to feed on the Word of God. Every one of its features was written to look at God’s Word through African eyes. Finishing the Africa Study Bible: French Edition is an obtainable goal. To date, almost all the ASB notes and features are translated into French, but funds designated for the French edition are exhausted and work has slowed on this crucial project. At this pivotal moment in the project, God, in his grace, has provided a matching grant of $150,000 to bring this study Bible to completion.

Oasis International is boldly asking God to provide the first $50,000 by the end of 2018. And we are asking you to give whatever you are able to help us reach that goal. Together we can make the Africa Study Bible available in the 23 countries of Africa that needs contextualized, biblical resources in French. Together we can put the food on the table and feed half a continent with a deeper, fuller understanding of God’s Word!

Give today

Laura spent 33 years as a missionary with the Christian Missionary Alliance in Cote d’Ivoire (West Africa) before joining Oasis International.

I am so pleased, so delighted to be able to hold this marvelous work in my hands, the Africa Study Bible. I say this because, by God’s grace, I was among the contributors. I was chosen to edit the main articles that were written by French speakers.  And this work was a painstaking and difficult task, but also blessed because, in the end, it was completed by God’s grace. And today I am in Nairobi and I was able to meet with Hannah. I am so happy to make her acquaintance, God is really marvelous because I never expected to have such an encounter.  I am here, therefore, to express all my gratitude to the Lord, all my thanksgiving for this blessed work which will certainly be a source of deliverance for Africa, a source of joy for many people who will encounter it. I am already very happy to hold in my hands this English version, and to know that in the near future the French version will be available. I am equally happy to know that across the world people have a burden to see lives saved, changed, and above all to see that people can hold in their hands a Bible in which they can see themselves, in which they can read these articles which reflect African thought, which reflect—how should I say it—the love God has for Africans. I am so pleased and I hope this is the beginning of a new era, the beginning of a new way for Africans to be able to testify to their love and attachment to the God, to the Lord.

Hear Richard share in French

Here are a few more ways the Africa Study Bible is transforming lives.

“I really love my Bible. My students love their Bibles. While Zimbabwe is trapped for finance, people know and love what is good. Matthew, this work you and your team did is very, very, very honorable. A ministry to the people of God indeed.”
–Elesinah Chauke, More than a Mile Deep

“Did you know that more than 80% of the churches in Africa are led by pastors with little or no training? This means without the help of a tool like the Africa Study Bible, these dedicated pastors struggle so much to understand the Bible let alone preach its message well. I personally have used it a lot and I can tell you it needs to get into the hands of every pastor in the continent.”
–Bramuel Musya, Kids Around the World

“This is an all-in-one theological training resource. We have so many pastors are willing and committed to work in rural areas where it is not easy but most of them lack the necessary tools like study Bibles in Swahili. Most educated pastors with resources in English are unwilling to go and serve in rural pastorates. So, we have the majority of the population being pastored by untrained and underdeveloped pastors with limited access to good resources. But with a resource like the Africa Study Bible, these pastors could have truly Biblical training at the tip of their fingers.”
-Cosmas Kisela Ntalima, Global University

Learn more and donate to be a part of creating the Africa Study Bible in French.

Grant was a member of Tyndale’s Bible Translation Committee (BTC) from the very outset in 1987. He served as General Translator for the Gospels and Acts. In that role he coordinated the work of five teams of scholars—one for each of the books in his section of the NLT translation. Each member of the BTC carefully reviewed every word in the entire translation. And because of the back-and-forth nature of the translation and review process, Grant read every word of the entire translation multiple times. Like all of his colleagues on the BTC, he made an enormous contribution to the church worldwide through his work as a translator of the NLT.

I remember many times when a small committee would be working on the wording of one of the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles. Our goal was to render the meaning of the Greek text into everyday English. But sometimes we could get stuck on how best to understand the Greek text. We would turn to Grant and ask, “What does this text really mean? Will the average K-Mart shopper understand what this passage means?” Then Grant would give us a brief oral exposition on the meaning of the text, and we would scramble to capture it in everyday English. Grant had a gift for understanding the Greek text and helping to present it in modern English.

Grant was a professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He taught at TEDS from 1972 until his retirement several years ago. He is eulogized very warmly by his former colleague Dr. Scot McKnight on the Patheos website.

Purification rites were common in traditional African religions. Washing and cleansing rituals served as ways to be freed from curses and guilt for wrongdoing and for violating taboos. The physical act of washing represented moral and spiritual cleansing.

Old Testament Israel also had many purification rituals that were commanded by God (Numbers 8:5-8). Some rituals applied to the priests serving in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Other rituals prepared the people to be in God’s presence.

Paul told the Corinthians to cleanse themselves from “everything that can defile our body or spirit” (2 Corinthians 7:1) this type of cleansing is done by confessing and turning away from the sins that pollute or soil us. Paul also challenged believers to “work toward complete holiness” because God is holy and just. Elaborate ceremonies are no longer necessary, but repentance from sin and seeking forgiveness are.

African Touch Points Note from the Africa Study Bible

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

“But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

“Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

This was invitation enough.

“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

“What is his name?”

“Bingley.”

“Is he married or single?”

“Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”

“How so? How can it affect them?”

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”

“Is that his design in settling here?”

“Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.”