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A UMNS Feature
By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*
1:00 P.M. EST Sept. 27, 2010
What are you doing for the rest of the year? Have you considered reading the New Testament?
That is what the folks at St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas, plan to do.
The Rev. Mary Kathryn Spradlin
is inviting her 250-member congregation to participate in the Common
English Bible’s 90-day New Testament reading plan, and they will start
Friday, Oct. 1.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “We had 109 people in worship Sept.
19, and 45 signed up.” She anticipated the next week’s meal after
church, with reminder announcements, would motivate more registrations.
“I am excited about beginning our journey together,” she wrote in her
blog. “The Common English Bible is a fresh, new translation — not a
paraphrase — of the biblical text. Word choices have been made to
enhance readability and clarity.” She is encouraging participants to use
the CEB, even if they already have a favorite translation.
“Sometimes reading the text in a new light enhances our understanding
or raises questions we haven’t considered before,” she said.
The top executive of United Methodist Communications agrees.
“The Rethink Church Edition is a powerful tool for evangelism,” said
the Rev. Larry Hollon. “It introduces the Bible … to seekers with
sensitivity to their worldview, in welcoming language.” The special
edition also features an introduction to The United Methodist Church.
The Rethink Church campaign invites the people of The United
Methodist Church and those unchurched who seek spiritual fulfillment to
become more outwardly focused and engaged in the world.
Later this year, United Methodist Communications will offer the
Rethink Church Edition CEB New Testament at no cost to seekers who
request it when they visit the Rethink Church campaign website.
One manageable bite at a time
Kimberly Shell, CEB senior editor, described the 90-day plan as “a
useful way to help people overcome their typical concerns that reading
the Bible is a big challenge, one they don't have time to manage.”
The plan divides the New Testament into small, chronological bites,
beginning with Matthew 1-2 on Day One and ending with Revelation 21-22.
The “New Testament Ninety-Day Reading Plan” follows the Contents page in
the Common English New Testament.
What about chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse study guides?
“Pastors are often trained in seminary to read the biblical text
first and meditate on it before they go to study helps or commentaries
to find out what others say about the passage,” Shell said. However, a
study edition for the CEB translation is in the works, with publication
targeted for 2013.
The full Bible translation will be available next fall. When the full
version comes out, Shell noted, a variety of reading plans will be
available, including a yearlong plan and one that compliments the
three-year Revised Common Lectionary.
The Rev. Larry Hollon calls The Rethink Church Edition a “powerful tool for evangelism.”
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Meanwhile, Shell suggests the New Interpreter’s One Volume Commentary
on the Bible (published in July 2010) as a companion resource.
Spradlin, who is in her third year at St. Stephen Church, said she
has always been interested in how the Bible came to be. One of her
primary roles in pastoral ministry, she said, is teaching the Bible to
adults.
Congregants will e-mail their Bible-related questions and comments to Spradlin. “I will give them my best answers,” she said.
‘It’s going to be fun’
Shell commends Spradlin for pushing a congregationwide effort.
“It can be energizing for a group or a congregation to explore a new
Bible translation, a fresh interpretation of the ancient languages,” she
said. Reading groups, Sunday school classes and families could also
follow the plan, gathering weekly to discuss the content and any
questions that may arise.
Initial response to the CEB New Testament has been positive, she
said, even among those who have strong preferences toward excellent
earlier translations. One person commented, “My reaction to the CEB has
moved from ‘somewhat negative’ when I heard about it to ‘very positive’
now that I am reading it.”
It is one thing to use adjectives such as “easy to understand” or
“plain English” to talk abstractly about a new Bible translation, Shell
said. “The real test is to open the book and read it from one cover to
the other.”
The Bible, she added, “reveals the stories, instruction and wisdom
that inspire us — from one generation to the next — to love and know
God.” People today “face the same issues and ultimate concerns that
Moses, the Israelites, Jesus and the early Christians engaged 2,000 or
3,000 years ago. These texts show it is human to be selfish, greedy,
lustful, violent, jealous and more.
“But there is better news. The Bible teaches us about God’s faithful
and loyal love. We read stories about our responsibility to pursue
justice for the poor and to relieve human suffering.”
Spradlin anticipates a great experience. The 90-day reading plan “is
so easy,” she enthused. “I hope other churches will consider it. It’s
going to be fun.”
*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications.
News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5489 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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