This was written with input from
Several Scripture Engagement workers/Consultants.
Introduction
This short paper aims to introduce Scripture Engagement to
those in Western churches who want to know more about its importance. All of us
know something about Scripture Engagement, but we often know little about
places where Wycliffe members and others are involved in Scripture Engagement,
Translation and Literacy work.
Scripture Engagement is What We’re Aiming For
The impact statement of a typical project is ‘changed lives’
or ‘changed community’ as the result of engagement with scripture. Many people
think we are about Bible translation. Well, yes, we are. But Bible translation
is not the aim of the project. Bible translation is the means to an end and
that end is transformed lives.
Scripture Engagement Starts Before the Project Starts
Before we
start translating the first verse of scripture we, or rather a local
translation committee, have to work out which part of scripture to translate.
We begin by building relationships using participatory approaches with key
leaders such as pastors. They are the ones who know the people in their
congregation and others they are discipling into faith, and they can appoint
representatives to a committee. The committee can then decide which books to
translate and in what order and priority. It may be that the audience know
little about the Bible in which case the best thing to do is start at the
beginning – with stories from Genesis, Exodus and other Old Testament books.
Perhaps they are Muslims? Then Proverbs is often a good book to distribute,
perhaps after some stories to give the translators any easier experience of
translation. Perhaps they are Christians who know much about the Bible
second-hand but want to be able to hear it in the language of their heart? Then
some gospels, Acts, and some Epistles might be a good place to start, along
with a summary of the Old Testament. It all depends on the audience, and local representatives
are the best people to decide. What we need is not SE to enhance our Bible
translation projects, but we need to see how Bible translation fits into the
larger picture of Scripture Engagement activities the Church is involved in.
Scripture Engagement is about Relationships
It’s no good producing a product, a translation, without
having first built relationships with people in the community. While the
translation work is going on the team need to be interacting with believers,
finding out their joys and struggles, and sitting down and reading the Bible
with them. In majority Christian areas the team of translators are sometimes chosen
by the local church, or representatives from various churches. Bible studies may
happen naturally as part of the working day with the translation team, or they may
happen separately while sitting under a shade tree in the cool of the day. In a
way it doesn’t really matter how it happens as long as it does happen.
Otherwise the translation may not be read. In some parts of the world Scripture
Engagement workers help train Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders,
or train people how to craft oral Bible stories to pass onto others.
Even in areas where there is another major religion
prevalent amongst the community the direction of Scripture Engagement work can
be led by members of the community who are interested in engaging with
Scripture. Publications are sometimes endorsed by key local leaders, if those
relationships have been built.
Having pastors and mission workers who speak the language
and use it in prayer and for Bible study, preaching, etc. is also key. They
need to model scripture engagement in their lives! Without it, the
mother-tongue scripture may never be heard.
Scripture Engagement is About Easy Access to the Scriptures
The way in which scriptures are distributed is also
important. Increasingly Bible apps for smartphones are the way to go. In other
places scriptures, sermons, audio recordings of the Bible and Bible studies are
distributed on micro-SD cards that work with basic phones or via memory sticks.
We live in a digital age and even some remote groups have phones. Likewise,
printed copies of the Bible or parts of it need to be distributed wisely - to all denominations, and all members of
churches who want a copy. It’s no good leaving them in a store-cupboard and
expecting church members to come and ask for one if they want a copy. They may
not know how and where to get one! Other ideas are calendars with a Bible verse
for each month, memorising Bible verses in a small group, telling stories from
the Bible in contemporary language, again in small groups, and including daily
Bible studies in your Bible App (YouVersion or similar, but in the minority
language). It really depends whether people are from a literate or oral
society, and how people normally learn. Often story-telling is the best method,
as it has the highest level of impact – most of the world learn using oral,
rather than written, methods! If there
are liturgical churches in the area (e.g. Anglican, Catholic) another good way
of making sure the Scriptures are used is to distribute readings for each
Sunday, with the date on top of the page.
Scripture Engagement is a Matter of the Heart
We have a lot of clever people working in Bible translation,
but head knowledge is never enough when it comes to Scripture Engagement. The
scriptures need to affect people’s hearts, and that means producing Bible
studies and other products that help people engage with the Bible at a heart
level. Often a simple pamphlet containing a passage of scripture that teaches
one truth has far more impact than a nicely printed New Testament. Less is
sometimes more. The Bible becomes a resource for Scripture Engagement workers
as they help people get stuck into God’s word. A list of passages to read in certain
situations can be very helpful, such as “when you are lonely, read….”
Ethno-Arts
One of the most important ways of communicating scriptural
truth is via the arts. These are often called ethno-arts, but essentially they
are the various art forms such as music, drama, story-telling and other arts as
used within the local culture. We work with local musicians, actors, story
tellers and artists to create worship songs and Scripture presentations using
their musical instruments and forms. These have far more impact on people’s
hearts than an imported song, translated into the local language and played on
a Western instrument.
Bible Background is Key
At the same time there are certain facts that people need to
know. Often minority language groups have some parts of the Bible in print or
audio format but lack any supporting materials such as Bible dictionaries,
maps, or timelines. To understand the Bible, we first have to understand the
cultures it was written for before we can understand how it applies to our
culture. The gap between the cultures of the Bible and our culture can be very
wide, and people need to be taught Bible background, or be provided with
resources so they can learn it themselves.
Conclusion
Scripture Engagement workers are best involved in the
project from the very start. Sometimes a team will reach the end of their
planned translation, which might be a New Testament + Old Testament summary,
and then appoint a Scripture Engagement worker to encourage people to engage
with the scriptures. It may be too late by then. Scripture Engagement is what
the work is about, and vaguely hoping that mother-tongue scriptures will be
used after a project finishes is a vain hope if relationships have not been
built from the very beginning of the project.
For Further Study
There are many barriers that prevent people from engaging
with God’s word. Wayne Dye has written about some of these in his article ‘The
Eight Conditions of Scripture Engagement’ which you can access here:
From these eight conditions we can get eight possible
barriers:
1.
Poor language, dialect or orthography in the
Bible translation so people can’t or don’t want to read it
2.
Poor or inappropriate translation[1],
or the translation is not in the style (formal, free) preferred by the church or
community leaders
3.
The Bible or scripture portions are in the wrong
media and illiteracy and other barriers prevent people from accessing the
scriptures
4.
Lack of Bible background knowledge so people
misunderstand the Bible or find parts of it hard to understand
5.
There are scripture portions but they aren’t
easily accessible because they are in the wrong location, or people haven’t
been told how to get hold of them
6.
For various reasons people lack a hunger of the
Word of God, perhaps because church leaders don’t encourage people to read it
for themselves, because people are not believers in the first place, or
inappropriate art forms are being used
7.
Persecution or other pressures prevent people
from turning to Christ
8.
There is a lack of partnerships; teams aren’t
working together to see lives being transformed.
This is a matter of prayer as well as action. Please stand
with us and with those involved in Scripture Engagement round the world!
Other Resources on SE
Harriet & Margaret Hill, ‘Translating the Bible into
Action’ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Translating-Bible-Into-Action-Languages/dp/1903689538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452709309&sr=8-1&keywords=translating+the+Bible+into+action+hill+and+hill
– available on Kindle as well as in print
The Scripture Engagement website: http://www.scripture-engagement.org/
OneStory (oral Bible story telling) http://onestory.org/
There are also some great videos out there:
https://vimeo.com/29683751
(Ethno-arts)
https://vimeo.com/143918920
(Ethno-arts)
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