The Bible is timeless, to be sure, but here are a few ways others are keeping the Bible current:
The NLT Blog recently announced the NLT Verse of the Day on Twitter. Similarly, The ESV has a Verse of the Day Application for Facebook. By the way, you can join this blog’s Facebook network here, or befriend me here.
Speaking of Facebook, the NLT and ESV are maintaining active Facebook groups: New Living Translation and The ESV.
Bible publishers are also promoting their Bible translations with blogs. As referenced above, the NLT Blog keeps readers posted about all things NLT. Crossway also publishes the Crossway.blog, ESV Blog, and ESV Study Bible Blog. The Zondervan Blog is less of a Bible blog, but it’s close enough. At one time, there was a TNIV Bible Blog, but it now seems to be offline (if anyone knows of a new address for this blog please let me know, the current address is unavailable).
I’ve suggested before that other Bible translations and their respective publishers would benefit from the buzz that would be generated by a blog. I have offered to write such a blog for B&H (publisher of the HCSB) because their “staff blog” hasn’t been updated in almost 2 years, but I never heard a response. My offer was made in good fun, but it is still on the table.
Bible applications for smartphones and PDAs are among the greatest inventions known to man (or to nerdy man). I knew I had found my church home when I saw the pastor reading scripture from his phone. My own personal favorite is Olive Tree Bible Software. I have used Olive Tree since my first Palm Treo, then my MDA with Windows Mobile, and now on my iPhone. It works flawlessly, and just about any Bible translation or study tool you could ever want is available.
Tyndale (publisher of the NLT) and Crossway (publisher of the ESV) do an excellent job of keeping the Bible current. Other Bible publishers should learn from their example.
#1 by Eric von Atzigen on April 3, 2009 - 11:00 am
Does that make me a nerdy pastor?
#2 by petermlopez on April 3, 2009 - 3:31 pm
You said that, not me.
#3 by Paul Wilkinson on April 5, 2009 - 8:10 pm
You said you’ve “suggested before…” Well, they’re listening. Christian publishers are realizing big time that all the bucks they’ve been spending courting readers in print publications should now be redirected to the blogosphere.
I would dare to say that the whole ESV Study success would not have happened without major internet buzz. Yes, it’s a good product; and yes, it would have sold well, but nothing like what happened.
#4 by petermlopez on April 6, 2009 - 10:01 am
I couldn’t agree more. While I think the Apologetics Study Bible, for example, will be successful, I think a marketing strategy like that of Crossway for the ESVSB would have made the ASB a huge hit.
Plus, marketing in the blogosphere is considerably cheaper (most bloggers will review and write for just a free copy).