After the conversation I was hooked.  Had there been a dotted line, I would have signed. . . . . . . .

What Chris wanted to talk about was a project that would eventually create The Voice Bible.  At that time it was still a rough idea, but there were essentially two parts to it.  Both parts crucial and interrelated.

First, Chris said, he wanted to establish the Ecclesia Bible Society whose first priority would be to do a new Bible translation that brought together scholars, writers, poets, and artists.  He expressed some frustration with other translations he tried to use in public readings.  Like me he was concerned that some of the beauty, grit, and humor of the Scriptures—and even more significantly, the essential story of the Bible—had been obscured in other translations.  The more I thought about it, the more I saw how important this could be.

The second thing Chris said was the clincher.  After we talked about the general idea and how it might work, he talked about one potential outcome.  If this project were successful, then Ecclesia Bible Society would use the royalties

 to fund mission projects . . .

to dig water wells in drought-stricken areas . . .

to build schools where education is only a dream . . .

to share the good news of the gospel . . .

to fight hunger and poverty . . .

to stop human trafficking.

Chris assured me that no one person or group of people would benefit from this effort.  The true beneficiaries would be the poorest of the poor.  To that I said “Amen!”

By the way, I just checked in with Chris and one idea he is considering for Ecclesia Bible Society is a Voice-like translation into Spanish.

The notion that we might put the Scripture into the hands of millions of people who would likely never pick up another translation intrigued and enticed me; add to that the possibility that funds could be generated to do great good in the name of Jesus and I was hooked.

Every time I do an interview, write a blog or get on an airplane to promote THE VOICE, I think about thousands of new people getting into the Scriptures.  I think about real dollars being generated to help those in the grip of poverty, disease, and ignorance.  I think of those who need to know the Liberating King.

The Voice Bible is now in the stores and available over the Internet.  Hundreds of people like myself—all worker bees—have served diligently to make that so. But we are only halfway there.  Now for the hard part. You can help.  Join the thousands who are spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, and on personal blogs, and help others hear God’s Voice and further the church’s mission.

The Nexus of Holiness and Mission
by Jack Wisdom

God, the Holy One, calls his people to holiness: “You are to be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). What does that mean?  Before I attempt to tackle that question, I want to be very clear about what it does not mean. God is not calling his people to be “holier than thou.”  One of the problems with discussing holiness is that Christians, in various ways throughout the history of the church, have managed to give holiness a bad name by being “holier than thou,” by assuming and exuding an attitude of moral superiority based on technical compliance with carefully selected rules and regulations of religiosity. Jesus denounced and ridiculed certain Pharisees and the scribes for their competitive and hyper-technical “holier than thou” approach to holiness, but we—Jesus’ followers—have managed to recapitulate the sins of the Pharisees in the name of Jesus. So, whatever it means to be holy, it does not include being “holier than thou.” We are called to be sanctified, but we are warned against being sanctimonious.

What does it mean for us to be holy? The word holy means “set apart;” to make someone or something holy means to set that person or thing apart for God. Does that mean that we have to disengage from this broken and rebellious world in order to be holy? That seems to have been the strategy of the desert fathers and mothers, who disengaged from the corruption of theRoman Empireand the complacency of the institutional church in order to pursue intimacy with God in the solitude of the Egyptian desert. There is no doubt that some of these men and women knew God well, but many, in their quest for purity, augmented the strategy of disengagement with extreme physical deprivation. For some, the quest for holiness seemed to be based on a very negative view of the physical, the corporeal; the physical body was an enemy to be subdued by the rejection of pleasure and the pursuit of pain. A notable example of this approach to holiness is Simeon Stylites, who deprived himself of food, drink, rest and human companionship by living on top of a pillar for the last 36 years of his life.  

The problem with the disengagement strategy is that it cannot be reconciled to the mission of God. The Voice, “who was and is God,” who “remained ever present with the Creator” before “time itself was measured,” did not pursue a strategy of disengagement. “The Voice became flesh and …chose to live alongside us” in the midst of the mess, true Light in the darkness of the broken and rebellious world. Jesus was fully engaged; he performed his first miracle at a festive wedding when he changed water into exceptionally good wine; he ate and drank with notorious sinners; he physically touched those who were deemed to be unclean by the religious authorities; and he did all of this without compromising his holiness.

Jesus is our role model for what it means to be holy. He was set apart for the mission of God. So are we. In his prayer for his people in John 17, Jesus shows us the inextricable link between holiness and mission:“ Just as You sent Me into this world, I am sending them. It is entirely for their benefit that I have set myself apart so that they may be set apart by truth” (John 17:18-19).The context makes the purpose of being set apart very clear: “so that all will know that You sent Me, and You love them” (John 17:21, 23). This is the call to missional holiness: being set apart by grace from the corruption of the world, in order to participate fully and effectively in the mission to redeem the world by God’s love.

In order to understand the call to missional holiness, we must understand several basic biblical principles about holiness.

First, holiness is a gift from God. We are set apart for God’s mission by God’s grace. Jesus died on the cross to make his church holy (Eph. 5: 25-27); he “suffered and bled outside the city walls ofJerusalemto sanctify the people” (Heb. 13:12).  Therefore, no one can take pride in holiness as a human achievement based on scrupulous discipline or extreme self-deprivation.

Second, holiness is a struggle. In order to live out (or to live into) the gift of holiness in this broken and rebellious world, we must—each and every day and throughout the day-- say “yes” to God’s grace and say “no” to our disordered desires and the distorted values of this world (Titus 2:11-14). This why we are commanded to respond to God’s mercies by offering “our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice” (Rom.12:1-2).

Third, the pursuit of holiness is not a solitary endeavor for a few heroic individuals. The pursuit of holiness is a communal endeavor. Paul calls Christians "saints" or "holy ones" in the context of the church, as the community of the Holy Spirit; he never calls an individual Christian a "saint." As a people, we are “an order of priests, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9).  Stanley Hauerwas observes that “Christians are not simply called to do the ‘right thing’, but rather we are expected to be holy. Such holiness is not an individual achievement but comes from being part of a [worshipping] community in which we discover the truth of our lives.”

Many years ago, John Stott eloquently summarized the integral relationship between holiness and mission:

It is one of the great paradoxes of Christian living that the whole church is called (and every member of it) as much to involvement in the world as to separation from it, as much to “worldliness” as to “holiness.” Not to a worldliness which is unholy, nor to a holiness which is unworldly, but to “holy worldliness,” a true separation to God which is lived out in the world—the world which he made and sent his Son to redeem.

Given this nexus between holiness and mission, we must recognize how our lack of holiness may compromise the mission, or disqualify us from participating in the mission. Consider, by way of example, the disturbing reports about the conduct of certain Secret Service agents in Colombia. The Secret Service, of course, has a clearly defined mission: protect the lives of the President of the United States and other high ranking officials. Whatever else may be said about the agents’ choices and actions, there is no doubt that they could have compromised the mission. How could they make such reckless, selfish choices in light of their vital mission? That is a good question, and Congress will no doubt attempt to get to the answer. We—as followers of Jesus who have been set apart for God’s mission to make all things new by love--should be asking a similar question about ourselves:  How can we continue to make reckless and selfish choices in light of our vital mission?         

It’s a fair question.  People may think of them as being “like” or “similar.”   In some ways they are.  Both The Voice and The Message are translations of the Christian Scriptures.  I don’t accept the characterization that The Message is a paraphrase because Eugene Peterson worked from and with the original languages.  When you do that, you are doing a translation.   Both The Voice and The Message render the translation in contemporary language and idiom.  Both The Voice and The Message have, in some ways at least, a similar mission: to put the Scriptures in the hands of a new audience, an audience that would not likely pick up and read the more formal translations.

So, in some ways, The Voice and The Message are alike.

But in other ways—important and fundamental ways—The Voice is different from The Message.

First, The Voice is not the work of a single, great mind. It represents the collaboration of writers, scholars, poets, and musicians.  This collaboration took place in a variety of ways—in person, over the phone, over Skype, over email—but it always represented a back-and-forth movement between the creative team, the scholars, and the editors at Thomas Nelson. 

Second, The Voice is formatted in ways to connect with our audience.  How the text sits on the page matters when trying to engage a contemporary reader.  Take a look at textbooks published over the last 20 years and you will notice how every page is formatted differently with text, text boxes, and other creative, visual helps to aid the student.  The Voice had a great design team who worked hard to ensure that every page invited the reader to keep reading.  In particular, the dialogue is formatted in a way which is easy to follow.  You know immediately who is speaking to whom.  We’ve described this feature as a screen-play format.

Third, The Voice provides introductions to each book, commentary, and reading plans to help people read through the Bible during the church year.  Although The Voice is not a “study Bible,” in the technical sense, the notes and commentary provide a variety of helps so people can read the Bible with greater clarity.  Some of those notes explain key words and concepts.  Others provide background and important cultural connections.  Still others are designed simply to offer readers a chance to reflect on the text they are reading. 

Fourth, those of us who worked on The Voice wanted to avoid trendy language which would become obsolete within a decade or two.  Instead we wanted to translate these sacred texts in contemporary language which would not only carry the weight of the Greek’s and Hebrew’s meaning but also connect with our audiences for years to come.

Fifth, The Voice is a translation which focuses on the story.  Though the Bible consists of 66 different books written and edited by hundreds of people over more than 1000 years, we believe that each writer, each book, each episode bears witness to a single great story of love and redemption.  This meta-narrative—as scholars call it—tells an amazing story of how the world has gone terribly wrong and how God the Creator has stepped into history to reclaim and restore it.   Each book contributes in one way or another to that greater narrative.  While many translations seek to get the words right, we went further.  Not only did we seek to get the words right, but we thought it was important to get the story right and to invite people to step into that story as it continues to unfold.  The formatting, the supplied words, the commentary, and the translation itself are all in service to that greater story of redemption.

The Scriptures tell of a glorious future of new creation; God is “reconciling” all things through Jesus. We can enter into that now through God’s gift of grace.  When we do, we will find our place among God’s people and our mission as those called out (“the Church”) to be agents of reconciliation.

That is how I see it.  How do you see it?  How do you think The Voice and The Message are similar or different?

As I was thinking about Easter, I also had reason recently to refer students in my New Testament class at HBU to 2 Corinthians 5:17.  This is an amazing passage about the new creation.   As anyone knows who is familiar with Greek and biblical theology, Paul’s language here is a notoriously hard to translate.  We struggled with that passage in The Voice.

Here is how we rendered it:

Therefore, if anyone is united with the Anointed, that person is a new creation.  The old life is gone—and see—a new life has begun!

The language of new creation is not original with Paul.  It goes back to the message of Isaiah who looked beyond his own day to a time when God will do something new and amazing in this good—but now disordered—world he had made.  What he will do, according to Isaiah, will be so astounding the only language to describe it is the language of “new creation” (Isaiah 65:17-25).  In John’s Apocalypse it is described this way (Revelation 21:1):

I looked again and could hardly believe my eyes. Everything above me was new. Everything below me was new.  Everything around me was new because the heaven and earth that had been had passed away, and the sea was gone, completely.

When we turn to the New Testament, we discover that the new creation has in fact already begun.  It began on that first Easter when the dead body of Jesus—composed as we are of carbon, hydrogen, and other elements—is suddenly and miraculously transformed into a new kind of body, a resurrected body.  In that moment a piece of the old order became new.  In that moment a piece of the earth—because we like Adam are all made of dust—became eternal.  Easter is “the Big Bang” of the New Creation.

No one was there to observe it, but no one can deny that in that moment everything changed.  As the risen Jesus appeared to one after another, the beleaguered and defeated disciples become powerful witnesses to the greatest miracle in history.  The church—which began small like a mustard seed—started to grow at an amazing pace and in a few decades stood to challenge the power of Rome.  If Jesus is Lord, they thought, then Caesar certainly is not.

Today the empire and her leaders are long gone.  Only monuments to her greatness remain.  But the Church Jesus established is not only present; it has filled the earth. 

Paul wants the Corinthians to know that those who are united with Jesus through the ritual cleansing of baptism have entered into that new creation.  Their old lives are put away.  Their new lives have begun.  But the Lord’s emissary does not claim that they are new creations in and of themselves.  They are made new only in relation to the One who was crucified, buried, and raised to new life.  They are made new in that very first Easter.  In a sense they were there on the cross and in that tomb, already united with him.  Paul’s point is personal, but it is more than individual.  Every person who turns to Jesus is not only new creation, he or she enters into a community of individuals graced to be full participants in that new creation which began that first Easter. 

Here is Genesis 1:1 in the King James Version:

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

That is a brilliant, simple, accurate translation of the Hebrew.  As we thought about our intended audience, however, it dawned on us how different the word “heavens” and “earth” are for us today compared to the ancients. 

When the writer of Genesis said “the heavens and the earth,” he was expressing a particular cosmology.  Cosmology is a fancy word for how we think and talk about the world around us.  The cosmology in Genesis is fairly simple and straightforward way of understanding the world. 

The Hebrew word translated “the heavens” means everything above your head.  Well, what is above your head?  The sky.  The clouds.  Birds fly in the heavens.  The sun, moon, and stars.  And water, lots of water.  How do I know?  Water falls from the sky in the form of rain, sleet, and snow.  There is a lot of water up there.  I’d like to ask a climatologist to figure out how much water is suspended in a column of air one meter square at sea level on a day when it is 80 degrees and 80% humidity.  I imagine it would be tons of water.

What about earth?  For the ancients “the earth” meant everything below your feet.  Well what is below your feet.  Soil, grass, clay, sand, rock, and—if you dig down a bit—water, lots of water. Water above and water below.  That is why water figures so prominently in the Genesis account.

So the combination of “the heavens and the earth” means “everything.”  Nothing is left out.  There is no word in Hebrew for “the universe.” But in a sense that is what Genesis is saying.  That’s why we translated Genesis 1:1 in The Voice:

 In the beginning, God created everything: the heavens above and the earth below. Here’s what happened:

Today the words “heaven” and/or  “heavens” are used in a variety of ways the writer of Genesis never intended.   As an academic I would say the “semantic field” (range of meanings) of the word is broad.  Let me give a few examples.  People talk about the heavens as the place above where the stars burn brightly; it is another word—perhaps with more romantic or poetic overtones—for “space.”  But we also say that when people die they go to “heaven.”  Does that mean that disembodied spirits are floating out there in space?  This has given rise to the silly notion that people die and sit on the clouds strumming their harps. But we also pray to “Our Father in heaven.” Does that mean that somewhere “out there” in space God really dwells?  With such a broad range of meanings, it is easy to see how people might be confused.

Genesis is more simple and elegant than that.  In Genesis God creates everything you see above. Genesis is not talking about God’s abode; it is also not talking about the place where the faithful go after death.

How about the word “earth”?  Today when we think about “earth” we think about the earth as the blue planet, Carl Sagan’s “pale blue dot” among the family of planets.  We can imagine our planet rushing around the sun at over 50,000 mph as seasons come and go.  The earth as “planet” is very different than the simple and elegant cosmology of Genesis describing everything you see below your feet.

Our uses of the words “heaven” and “earth” today are not better than the way ancients used them; they are just different.  As a translation interested in both the ancient and present contexts, we  have to think about these issues as we are taking these ancient texts into our modern world.

Finally, we added the phrase “Here’s what happened:” (in italics) to correct a fundamental misunderstanding people often have of the Genesis creation story.  The wrong way to read Genesis 1:1 is that God created the heavens and earth, then v. 2 and following tell what happens next.  No, the writer of Genesis would have us see it otherwise.  The rest of the creation account in Genesis 1 is not what happens next after God creates the heavens and the earth; these verses back up and tell us what happens on the way to God creating, ordering and then filling creation with creatures. 

I hope this helps you understand something of the care and thinking that went into this translation.

 If you have questions or comments, let us hear from you.

Sunday April 15, 2012 Bob Smietana published an important article about The Voice in The Tennessean, Nashville’s hometown paper.  Here is a link to Bob's original article: "Bible Gets New Voice."

The same day a shorter version of Bob’s article was picked up on USA Today Online.  On Monday it appeared on page 3 of the print edition.

Well, the producers at CNN saw the article and were interested in doing a segment on it. They contacted me—because I was mentioned in Bob’s article—Monday afternoon and asked if I would be interested in being interviewed by Carol Costello on CNN.  I agreed and was at a local CNN studio in north Houston by 7.30 am.  

After the interview with her, things got crazy.  I had several other interviews on radio and for print media.  Frank Couch, the executive editor of the project, did some radio interviews as well.  Also Bob’s article showed up in its abbreviated form in about 40 media outlets.  It is amazing how the news spread. Take a stroll through the blogosphere and you see what a headline like that can do. 

A number of scholars chimed in as well.

Larry Hurtado, retired Professor of New Testament from the University of Edinburgh, did a post on his blog entitled, "On Translation and Hysteria." Larry is a seasoned scholar, sound in judgment, and a warm Christian. I'll have more to say about Larry in an upcoming post because I spent several months on sabbatical in Edinburgh in 2009 working on various OT books like Proverbs, Psalms and Jeremiah. If you are looking for a great place to study, you need to see UEdinburgh.

Darrell Bock, one of the scholars who helped us with Luke-Acts, contributed to an article in the Christian Post online: "Theologians OK with Bible Translation Replacing `Jesus Christ,` 'Angel'."  Take a few minutes to see what Darrell and others, who didn't work on the project, have to say.

Daniel Kirk, a friend and professor at Fuller, hosts one of the blogs I like to follow.  It is called "Storied Theology."  He is a bright, articulate young scholar.  Here is a link to his response: "`Link Bait` and the Voice." Daniel blogs daily so you may have to scroll down to find the post.  I had heard the term "link bait" before, but had never seen such a graphic display of it.  Daniel's post has a link to an abbreviated form of the CNN interview. 

Blake Aldridge, a friend and compatriot in this project, sent me a list of all the “impressions” made last week about THE VOICE. The list went on and on. I got tired just reading it.

The icing on the cake for me personally was all the emails I received from friends.  Lynn Cohick, a professor at Wheaton, was working out when she saw the CNN interview.  My former professor, Dr. Duane Davis, saw it and emailed. I haven’t talked to him in 25+ years.  A Presbyterian pastor from Kansas whom I had not seen in some time got in touch.  And a friend from seminary, Col. LaMar Griffin, chief of staff of Army chaplains, was at his office in the Pentagon when he saw the interview. He sent me a photo of him and his wife Dixie and all their kids and grandkids.

The Voice project has helped me make some new friends.  Now It’s helped me reconnect with old friends.

 I wonder what next week will bring?!!?

Hello, my name is Creig (yes, with an ‘e’ not an ‘a’) Marlowe, new to The Voice blog. Actually new to any blog. I am an Old Testament professor at the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Leuven, Belgium. However, I am an American working in Europe through the European Christian Mission, and I live near Leiden in the Netherlands. I became involved in The Voice project early on as one of the OT scholars.

Soon after starting with The Voice, I was reading a Dutch newspaper on the train and ran across a report of an interview with Keith Richards, guitarist for the Rolling Stones. He was asked about the Bible and responded: “I read the Bible sometimes, but I find it deadly boring.” 

 At the time I wrote something for The Voice web page.  Here is what I said:

“Past and present generations are looking for a Bible that is both current and captivating. The Voice is the first to blend cutting-edge literary creativity with the characteristics of a true translation. Artists and academics have teamed up and succeeded in giving us a Bible that is a page-turner. Tell Keith not to give up yet.”

This led to an ad campaign called "Don't Give Up Keith." Perhaps you saw it.  There is still a facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=25959373069

You would think with all the Bible translations in the world, especially in English, anyone wanting to read the Bible would have an enjoyable version at hand. I have no idea which translation(s) Keith has tried to read, but I am sure there are many others who have trouble reading the Bible and staying with it for any significant length of time. Even people like me, who do it for professional and personal reasons, struggle when reading a lot of the translations out there.  But I’m convinced that the Bible—since it is God’s Word to us--should be both educational and entertaining. The Voice has been produced to help provide a very readable text. Since the Bible contains many stories, and true ones, it should read like a story. So don’t give up, hear The Voice!

“He has inside jokes with complete strangers.”

“Both sides of his pillow are cool.” 

“His mother has a tattoo that reads ‘SON.’”

“At museums he is allowed to touch the art.”

“He is . . . the most interesting man in the world.” 

This “most interesting man” is, of course, a fictive character invented by clever advertisers trying to sell a Mexican brew.  But I think I have met the most interesting man in the world.  Not the fictive one, the real one.  His name is Frank Couch. Not only have I met him, but I’ve had the privilege to labor alongside him in THE VOICE project for over 7 years.

As we have worked together, shared meals together, and traveled together in creating the Voice products and now finally the full Voice Bible, we have had a lot of great conversations.  I’ve been amazed at the places Frank has lived, the sites he has traveled, the people with whom he has worked, the things he knows on a vast range of subjects, and all he has accomplished in his career as a publisher, teacher, and Christian leader.  He is a truly amazing fellow. Despite all of that, he is a humble man too.  

In the front of The Voice Bible James F. [Frank] Couch Jr. is listed as one of 11 people involved in “Editorial Review.”  That tells about 1/1000^th of the story.  Frank was the executive editor of the project.  In other words he ate, slept, and drank The Voice for 7 years.  He did that even as he managed and took care of hundreds of other Thomas Nelson-related issues.  I don’t know how he did it, but I do know he immersed himself totally in the project.   He wrote, rewrote, edited, reedited, corrected, reviewed, and managed the hundred something people who worked at every level of the project.  John Eames of Eames Literary Services in Nashville is correct when he noted to me recently: this project would have never seen the light of day without Frank Couch.   

 In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul writes: “So imitate me, watch my ways, follow my example, just as I, too, always seek to imitate the Anointed One.”  Paul knows that believers need flesh and blood examples after whom to pattern their lives.  So Jesus’ emissary set himself up as that example.  If the Corinthians watch Paul, what they see will be Jesus. If they imitate Paul, they will become like Jesus.  Whether we realize it or not, key aspects of our lives are formed as we watch, admire, and pattern our lives after one another.  It happens naturally, almost unconsciously.  We must be careful the kind of people we choose to follow. If we pay attention, we will notice God placing along our path men and women worthy of imitation.  For me and hundreds of other people, Frank is that sort of man.  That makes him extremely interesting and important in God’s Kingdom.  

I hope that someday Frank will write his story or get someone else to do it, because I think most people would be astounded and inspired by his life.  I know I am.

As you read The Voice Bible, give thanks to God for the extraordinary life, talents, and experience of Frank Couch.

“In my opinion I believe EVERYONE should own and read a copy of this translation. It has improved my understanding and has given me a new way of thinking but some subjects. I highly recommend it!"

This is Svaitoslav's story:

I am well aware of what religious persecution is. I was born into a Christian home in Belarus in what was known as the Soviet Union. My great-grandfather gave out Bibles and literature on the street. The KGB tried to silence him, but to no avail, so he was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian labor camp for his faith. 

My grandparents were endlessly threatened to be imprisoned or killed. On one occasion my grandfather had a gun pointed to his head by a Nazi officer who sat him into a carriage and gave him 100 yards to rebuke his faith or be shot in front of his children. My grandfather would never abandon his faith in Christ and so prepared for imminent death. Miraculously he was not shot! After an incredible encounter with two angels before the 100 yards were up, the officer turned pale white and, without being able to mutter a word!, returned my grandfather to his house.

Persecution did not subside over the years. My father was kicked out of medical school for not joining the communist party; anyone who did not join the communist party – making a pledge to deny God -- was prohibited from getting higher education. Later, the KGB repossessed my parents’ house, which was used as a church, in the middle of winter. They had nowhere to go. Their next house would also be raided and repossessed; however with God’s help they were able to get it back!

Endlessly threatened and persecuted, it was a life-changing opportunity for our family of seven to be able to move to Canada in 1996. We came penniless, leaving everyone and everything we knew thousands of miles away for the hope of a brighter future. All seven of us – myself being the youngest – lived in a tiny basement. But God did not plan to stop His blessings just yet!

I believe that because for generations my family has been faithfully serving God, God has been faithfully looking over us. All of us have made it through university and have continued on in our education. Living, hearing, and seeing the stories of my family’s journey, I certainly do not take my religious beliefs for granted nor am I content with living a life of quiet gratitude.

Now that the Soviet Union has fallen, my family has taken every advantage to do evangelistic work and use the resources God has given us to give back to Him to build churches around Ukraine and Belarus.

Currently I attend a graduate school in California and seek to continue honoring God not only through my word, but also through my actions as I pursue a degree in medicine with a minor in ministry. No matter whether we are in Canada or the United States, we must never take lightly the opportunities and freedoms we have.

Many times people ask themselves, ‘Why doesn’t God perform for us such vivid miracles today as he did in the Bible?’ I not only believe that He still does, I have lived and have seen Him in action.

Unfortunately, in the midst of those moments, it’s easy to get bogged down. To allow the stress of trying to align them yourself overwhelm you. Rather, then, allow yourself to be still and recognize that the truth is – you have no control over them. Not one tiny bit. All those moments that must come together just so in order to work out, we fool ourselves if we think that we had any control over them at all.

“Be still, be calm, see, and understand I am the True God. I am honored among all the nations. I am honored over all the earth.” – Psalm 46:10 (The Voice)

This past year was a big one in life. One with more wonderful moments and blessings than one person deserves. Becoming a wife, holding onto friendships that really could be for a lifetime, and accomplishments at work, and yet, during it, there were times where it was difficult to remember to be still. The energy of doing it perfectly almost took away from the joy of just doing it. As a chronic perfectionist, this is something that continually must be kept in check.  The need to be perfect seems to come out in full force at times as I go about my daily tasks.

I distinctly remember a conversation with my parents when I was in middle school. Right when the pressure of being perfect seemed to be my focus… grades, sports, looks. I believe it went something like this: “you are going to have to get a life.” They didn’t mean for me to stop doing my best. No, this valuable lesson they were trying to instill in me was to not let the end result overshadow the joy that can come from actually doing the task at hand.

I would like to say that I as a whole I have taken this lesson to heart, but as I look back over the past year I remember a few times where the worry of being perfect took away from the joy of what I was doing, both in my personal life and work life. 

One such instance was planning a wedding. I won’t get too into it, but if you have ever been even remotely involved in that process you know how easy it is to be stressed about very inconsequential things. Amazingly, God gave this perfectionist the most wonderful wedding gift the weekend of our big day, the ability to, for once, be still. The memory of what that felt like and the perfect joy I felt from the moment our rehearsal started until we pulled away could only have come from Him. His joy and love reflected through our life.

That day I didn’t care one bit how anything looked or if the songs were right. Or that the temperature dropped a good 30 degrees. No, not one single detail mattered. I was just, simply, happy. No worries of this world could touch my happiness that day. I was surrounded by the people I love, and God’s presence has never felt more real.

The same can be true of the work I do here. The small details, while at times frustrating, of what it takes to get my job done pale in comparison to the work that I pray God is doing through me in my daily tasks. I have the opportunity to share His Word and encourage others to learn more about His love.

This year, I pray that I can be still enough to allow more of those moments the opportunity to work in me.

As a perfectionist, the temptation to create a big long list of New Year’s Resolutions is there, enticing me to foolishly think that this year I could be perfect.

But at the end of one year and the start of another, I took some time to be still. To spend time with the people that mean the most to me, and to decide that in the midst of doing my best, I won’t be perfect, and that’s ok. Whatever small part I am playing in God’s perfect plan will fit in just like He intended it to – imperfections and all.

“He’s the Rock, and His work is perfect; everything He does is right. He’s the God who can be trusted, who never does wrong because He’s righteous and upright.” – Deuteronomy 32:4 (The Voice)

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, I slid the 3-D glasses up and looked at the screen with my naked eyes. What I saw was a series of hazy images layered over top of each other, rimmed in blue and red. I realized, “I have no clue how this works.” But that didn’t bother me. I just slid the glasses back down over my eyes and everything became crystal clear again. 

The New Testament gives us the gospel in 4-D. Four distinct stories – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – tell essentially the same story but they do so in ways that are quite unique. From the outside it may appear a bit hazy, but with the right tools everything comes into focus.

Other Bible translations seem to flatten out the Gospels. Mark reads like Luke, Matthew like John, and the distinct voices of the different evangelists – the Gospel writers – are lost in translation. Experts in the New Testament can guide readers to the particular themes of each Gospel, but people without a guide are left with a rather flat story that seems fuzzy around the edges.

With The Voice New Testament we have tried to recapture the authentic voices of the original authors. We did that by making a series of strategic decisions. Let me give you two examples. Since Matthew is the most Jewish Gospel, it made perfect sense to assign a large part of the work to a person with a Jewish background. Since Luke represents the most universal and sophisticated Gospel, it seemed right to assign much of the effort to a well-educated, articulate member of the translation team. As a result, The Voice New Testament contains Gospels that don’t sound and read the same. In other words, we get a better picture – a 4-D image of Jesus.

About 1800 years ago a Christian named Tatian tried to make one Gospel from the four. It was called the Diatessaron – literally, “through the four [Gospels].” It never caught on. For lots of reasons the Church preferred the four traditional Gospels to Tatian’s single story. Today, I think the same dynamics are in play. The Jesus who lived then and lives today is no one-dimensional character. The four Gospels in The Voice New Testament provide us with a rich portrait of the most interesting person who ever lived. 

(photo taken at Catalyst East, with winning Voice video participants. In front, Thomas Nelson Marketing Manager Karen Barnes, left, and Marketing Specialist Laura Dickerson (right)). 

For a good chunk of 2006 through 2009 my 9-3 job happened pretty much undetected – unless I was with Chris (Seay) who knew every fourth person who came through the door. I hung out in various coffee shops and restaurants, with my computer, headphones, Bible and various amounts of papers and journals spread across the table as I worked on The Voice. Now that I think back on my course of life working on this project, I wish I had recorded more, written more, marked more of the journey with special celebrations of accomplishments. But life just kept on living, and certainly I am glad to be on the living side of life.

In 2004, I flew out to what was then World Publishing along with my pastor, Chris, and Dr. David Capes – whom I met for the first time at the airport – to meet Frank Couch and Maleah, both from Thomas Nelson. We talked about a job position on The Voice Bible project. It was surreal.

I learned a few important things that day:

     1.)   My idea of business casual and Chris’ are two different things.

     2.)   Being a mere 5’ 1”, I will never again wear heels through an airport, especially walking next to someone who is more than 6’ tall and has a long stride.

     3.)   Don’t tell people in Nashville you are vegan.

     4.)   I was signing up for a decade of work with some of the most loving, generous, grace-filled people I had ever met.

For whatever reason it was that God placed my name in the hat for this job, I am thankful. I have edited every book of The Voice. I have translated many Psalms, Proverbs, and a large portion of Paul’s Epistles, sometimes in my pajamas on my back porch while my kids had a water-hose war.

I have wrestled with what is inspired and what is translation. I have been honored to learn from a loving pastor and friend, been personally tutored by Dr. David Capes who listens and gives insight like no other, laughed and cried with my project managers, and worked with amazing musicians, scholars and writers worldwide.

Until The Voice, I had never read the Bible from front to back. I guess I still haven’t, as Revelation was turned in first and Genesis last, but now even that seems perfectly timed.  Since I have read the entire Voice Bible at least 10 times, a cautious estimate, I can honestly say I wouldn’t know how else to read God’s amazing story outside of a narrative.

Everything in this dynamic translation has been thought through carefully with beautiful artistry. I am humbled by the far-reaching possibilities of this translation, and am so very grateful to be preparing to graduate from this course of my life. It will be a blessing to look back now and treasure each step of the transformation from the woman I was to the woman I am and look with hope to the next chapter of my faith walk.

May you know God, your Father in Heaven, loves you. In fact, He spent generations crafting this love letter written through multiple writers, hoping you would find Him and accept His life, grace and freedom. Peace be with you.

The Voice is for private devotions.  It’s a perfect Bible to keep by the bedside or favorite chair, to take a few minutes every day to quiet your soul and focus on what truly matters. We've included reading plans for people who want to read all the way through the Bible in three years. There are also reading plans for the seasons of Advent and Lent.  We've included some suggestions as well for people who want to engage in lectio divina – the spiritual reading of Scripture. Essentially, this spiritual practice involves reading a text, re-reading it slowly, and meditating on words, phrases and perhaps images that come to mind.

The Voice is also for public reading. Christians gather regularly in homes, schools, art galleries, coffee shops, store-fronts and churches to worship the one, true God.  One of the most important moments in worship comes when Scripture is read and proclaimed. We wanted to provide those gathered believers with a version they would find easy to read and understand when read publicly. As we were translating, writing and editing, we read aloud every word, every phrase and every sentence to see how each sounds. I discovered along this journey that good prose has a rhythm and meter to it. I'll never forget working with Greg Garrett on one of our early books and watching him beat out the meter of the prose. I knew poetry had meter, but it had never dawned on me that good prose has meter as well.

Our hope is that The Voice Bible will encourage people – whether in private devotions or public worship – to read more than a few verses at a time. While there is some benefit to reading the Scripture that way, we think there is greater benefit that comes when people read big chunks at a time. Only then can they grasp the big picture and step into the story of Scripture.

 (photo -- Kristi Swenson working on The Voice)

A pastor in North Carolina, Jamie Vaughan, told us about a ministry his church was involved in with the Dan Valley Baptist Association, called the Toy Store.

Underprivileged families come to shop for items for Christmas at pennies on the dollar. Along with several Spanish Bibles, we sent him 200 copies of our new translation, The Voice New Testament, so that every family could receive God’s Word.

“I am overwhelmed!!” Pastor Vaughan said in an email. “I pulled in my driveway and there are boxes all over the car port. My daughter and I just stood speechless. She is 9 years old and she said, ‘Daddy, we are going to give all these Bibles away for Christmas? That's awesome!’ She immediately started grabbing boxes and loading them in the truck. We are forever grateful to you and Thomas Nelson for helping fill a need! I am already looking forward to the day when we will meet people in heaven that we don’t even know who say, ‘I read that Bible that you gave and I believed it. Thanks!’ Tears are streaming down my face now just thinking of your generosity. I know that these families will be blessed because of the part you've played in getting these Bibles in their hands!”

Tears were on my face while reading what he’d written. We are so blessed to have a part in this.

Even Reed is blessed. Reed is our package deliverer. I’m not sure if he loves us or hates us – every couple of days he struggles up the elevator and across the hallways with another 500 of The Voice. He smiles in a pained way and asks where we want them this time. We won’t even talk about the 5,000 envelopes and 5,000 labels he also brought. God protect him.

Then there’s Kerri, our intern. Few of you who have already received The Voice would have done so without her. I direct and keep track from this keyboard, but she’s the one filling the boxes and struggling back across the hallways and back down the elevator to the mail room. She’s irreplaceable.

And so is the Bible, especially the New Testament, in these days of anticipating the celebration of Jesus’ birth. As a mom myself, I often think of what it must have been like for 13-year-old Mary, riding a rough, ornery donkey, nine months pregnant, with no mom or midwife along. All of you moms out there – and you dads who sat beside them – remember what your first birth was like. I wasn’t too sure I was going to survive it. I can’t imagine what it would have been like with no one but my husband. And Mary had only Joseph, whom she wasn’t even close with yet. She didn’t even have a bed, only a hard floor in a dark stable. And yet, a miracle showed forth that night.

Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in the darkness of night. Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light—the shining light of God’s glory. They were terrified!

Messenger: “Don’t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere. Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority! You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough.”

At that moment, the first heavenly messenger was joined by thousands of other messengers—a vast heavenly choir. They praised God.

Heavenly Choir: “To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God! And on earth, peace among all people!”

– The Voice, Luke 2:6-13

In reading The Voice, I find myself following the story as I never have before. With the new flow of words, created from seven years of incredibly accurate translation work, I get pulled into the tale. I think of the awe the stunned shepherds must have felt. I feel the cold, and see the amazing beauty of the messengers – the angels. From dark to light – both literally and spiritually – that night was changed – our world was changed.

So this is a most precious challenge we face in this Christmas season, to not only reach out to friends and family, to not only worship at special church services, but to reach out to the world with a new vibrant Bible in an attempt to reach believers and non-believers alike. We are blessed in an incredible way here at the Thomas Nelson Bible Group, with a mission to hold hands with Jesus as we fight back the darkness to open eyes to His Light.

God bless you all in this season of His love and grace.

The air was charged with so many thoughts – thoughts of victory, uncertainty, satisfaction, relief – that it was hard to discern who was feeling what and why. Now that it’s been a few days since we sent the text files off to the printer, I’ve had some time to think through the powerful feelings that overwhelmed me that day.

When I reflect on the project, I feel overcome with humility. I was never supposed to work on The Voice. My sweet friend, Merrie Noland, was going to coordinate the proofreading. She was an amazing woman and an extremely knowledgeable editor who had been with Thomas Nelson for more than 30 years. I always looked up to her for her skill, her attitude and her perseverance. And what seemed like in a flash, she was gone – she passed away this past summer after a battle with cancer. I was honored to be asked to work on The Voice simply because of Merrie’s legacy, because of her talent and her spirit. I could never hold a candle to Merrie, but I’m proud to have carried a project through in her stead.

Simultaneously, I feel extremely grateful to Frank Couch (Vice President for Translation Development) and Maleah Bell (Associate Editor), who asked me to work on The Voice. I’m thankful that they trust me and believe in me enough to put such an important project in my hands. More than that, I’m grateful to and humbled by God that He would bless me with the gift of working on a new Bible translation, a translation that I believe will change people’s lives. Who am I to work on His Word? I’ve always felt it a privilege to work on the Bible, but that feeling is much stronger now than it’s ever been.

As our group journeys into this next phase, spreading the Word and sharing The Voice, I echo Paul’s words to the Romans and pray for the success of this product and the inspiring of many lives for God:

(Romans 16:25-27) “So to the One who is able to strengthen you to live consistently with my good news and the preaching of Jesus, the Anointed, with the revelation of the ancient mystery that has been kept secret since the earliest days, this mystery is revealed through the prophetic voices passed down in the Scriptures, as they have been commanded by the Eternal God. In this time, this mystery is being made known to the nations so that all may be led to faith-filled obedience. To the one true and wise God, we offer glory for all times through Jesus, the Anointed One. Amen.” – The Voice

Both are good questions, but like most good questions they are hard to answer.

(photo caption: Thomas Nelson Marketing Specialist Karen Barnes reads The Voice in a comfortable niche.)

Whenever you move from one language to another, you are involved in translation.  There are levels of formality in the translation process. Generally, these are described on a scale between formal and functional equivalence. 

With The Voice we situate our approach somewhere in the middle. We call it contextual equivalence. In order to tell the story of Scripture well, a translator must take into consideration the contexts of both the original texts as well as the modern audience. Most translations do this to some extent. 

While working on The Voice, we have been intentional at every point to wrestle with every word, sentence, paragraph or story to create a Bible translation that preserves and communicates the linguistic and literary features of the original. A “contextual equivalent” translation technique seeks to convey the original language accurately while rendering the literary structures and character of a text in readable and meaningful contemporary language.

The Voice is not like the King James Version or the more recent English Standard Version (on the scale these are formal equivalence translations).  We have learned from these translations but haven’t tried to imitate them.  The Voice is also not like Eugene Petersen’s The Message (a functional equivalence translation or paraphrase).

In the end it is hard to say what The Voice is like. The way it sits on the page, the screen-play format of the dialogue and the embedded commentary make this a unique translation that we think people will want to read and not put down.

Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia Houston, came up with the idea of a new kind of Bible translation that weds the skills of scholars with those of writers, poets and musicians. He had become increasingly frustrated over the years with the way modern translations tell the story of God. He wanted to incorporate more and more Scripture into worship and sensed that modern translations didn’t lend themselves to public reading. It’s important to remember the Bible wasn’t written exclusively by scholars, but by shepherds, agricultural workers, tentmakers, priests, poets and musicians. For Chris and the rest on the translation team it makes perfect sense to bring together the talents of scholars and skillful writers to create a beautiful and reliable version of Scripture. Why didn’t anyone think of this before? 

About seven years ago Chris and I had lunch at Salt Grass Steak House in Houston. He shared with me the idea and asked if I was interested in working with him on the project.  I asked Chris at the time if he had any idea what he was asking me to do. You see, I have taught Greek at the university and seminary level for more than 20 years. I know how long it takes to wrestle with a text and translate it from the original languages. I knew it would take a big chunk out of our lives.

But in the end I agreed because I sensed God was in it and I admired Chris’ heart and ministry.   

We have over $1,000 in Amazon, Starbucks, & iTunes giftcards to give away!

(*and a smattering of other superfun prizes)

Follow @hearthevoice on Twitter

The Great T-shirt Giveaway

• We’ll be handing out 2,500 free t-shirts at every break during labs day, from our booth in the lobby. If there are any left, we’ll hand them out first thing on Thursday from the main Thomas Nelson booth. Make sure to get yours!
• Wear your Voice t-shirt Thursday &/or Friday.
• Be randomly spotted by one of our team & be awarded with a Starbucks or iTunes giftcard on the spot.
• We’ll also be tweeting from @hearthevoice things like, “First 5 people wearing their t-shirt to meet us at _____ will get a prize.” So stay alert! (Never fear, if technology fails, generally we’ll try to hang out around the front doors.)

Awesomely Amazing Video Contest

• Everyone will be receiving a Voice New Testament in their attendee bag! Yay!
• Film yourself (with your phone/flipcam) reading a passage from The Voice & tweet it out using hashtag #VoiceNT. Try to be creative.
• We’ll be picking winners throughout Thursday & Friday to award various prizes. There are many chances to win!
• Don’t have a video camera on your phone or laptop? Come find us, generally around the front doors, and we’ll film you. We'll also have props available!
• Prizes will be awarded throughout Thurs-Fri, so stay tuned to @hearthevoice on twitter to come claim your prize.
• We’ll be crowning our king & queen of the video contest during the last break on Friday! Besides the pride and bragging rights, you’ll have a chance to win an awesome crown/sword combo for the best video done by a male, and a tiara/wand combo for the best video done by a female. (**okay, and also a $100 Amazon giftcard each).

• Things that we may or may not take into consideration…
  • If you can get a lot of RTs for your video
  • How many separate videos you do
  • If you wear a Voice t-shirt in the video (*but you don't have to have a Voice t-shirt)

• Some creative video ideas to get you thinking:
  • Involve as many people as possible
  • Get a Catalyst speaker in your video
  • Use a megaphone or a “street preacher” voice
  • Do your reading as a marriage proposal
  • Film it in a non-Catalyst public place (a restaurant, hotel lobby)
  • Consider using props
  • Put it into song

Look for us – Karen & Laura. We’ll be wearing green Voice tshirts – the only ones around; yours are brown – & “Voice Prize Lady” buttons. We’ll also have candy & snacks… If technology fails, you can generally find us around the front doors of the arena.

**Video prizes are awarded solely at our discretion and based on a completely subjective system.

The fan is referring to the introduction in one of The Voice products where we observe that people do not respond to propositions as well as they respond to stories. This, of course, is nothing new. People have been telling stories for thousands of years. Humans are hard-wired to tell stories, remember them and pass them along to others. 

Not long ago when people were sharing “the gospel,” they would boil it down to a set of manageable propositions:

            1.  God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

            2.  But you are a sinner separated from God.

            3.  Christ died for your sins and helps to bridge the gap between you and God.

            4.  So put your trust in Jesus to be saved.

Now these propositions are true, but they make little sense when isolated from the greater story of God’s plan and purpose for the world and us. 

Let me illustrate it this way.  Here are some lines from one of the greatest films of all time (Casablanca 1942):

     “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

     “Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects.”

     “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.’”

     “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world and she walks into mine.”

     “If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not on it, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe  
       not tomorrow. But soon and for the rest of your life.”

Now these are some of the most memorable lines in the film. But without the rest of the story you have no clue what it going on. They might punctuate the story, remind you of the story, illustrate the story, but they are no substitute for the story itself.

The good news according to Jesus calls us into a new kind of existence, and we have to make a decision whether we want to answer the call and step into that greater story.

Imagine deciding whether or not to marry someone based on a resume. You might say, “Well, he looks good on paper.” No. We would never do that. On a first date you don’t exchange resumes or give a list of your strengths and weaknesses (you don’t, that is, if you expect a second date!) No. You sit down over a good meal and begin to tell your story. You talk about where you come from, what you love to do, what it was like to be the older brother or sister in a family of four, or whatever is unique to your own story.  This is how we woo a potential partner and how we make friends, by telling our unique stories to those willing to listen. 

God did not give us a list of propositions to follow. He could have, but he didn’t. Instead he gave us 66 books that detail an amazing story of love and redemption. Thomas Nelson has created The Voice Bible because they recognize the power of stories to tell the truth and call us into a new life.