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Eight Conditions for Engagement with Digital Scriptures

  • by Peter B

Since Wayne Dye’s “Eight conditions for scripture engagement” article was first published in 2009 over 2,500 Bibles, New Testaments, and Scripture portions have been made available online, in print, audio and video forms.

Digital publishing brings huge opportunities for access, and for not only getting a message out, but in many contexts for creating dialogue and community.

But, publishing alone does not guarantee that Scriptures will be accessed and engaged with. Here is a brief reworking of the eight conditions with a focus on digital products and strategies:

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The emergence of the #SlowedDown music sub-genre – Soundcloud

When legendary DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore first invented the technique of scratching and needle-dropping in 1975, it opened up a portal into a world of possibilities, creating new styles and sounds by altering records. Fast-forward to 1983, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock teamed up with Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn to write and produce “Rockit,” a landmark track that prominently showcased the turntable as an instrument during televised performances at the 1985 Grammys. Buoyed by the success of the music video on MTV, this sensation hit a generation of kids who would go on to create new sounds from records in unconventional ways.

Read More »The emergence of the #SlowedDown music sub-genre – Soundcloud

Sahel Gospel Communication Conference 2025 Save the Date!

The registration website for the 2025 Sahel Gospel Communication Conference is now live. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet with like-minded people from across the Sahel with the vision of seeing the Kingdom of God established in locally relevant and holistic ways among all the unreached peoples of the Sahel, be sure to save the date!  Be sure to save the date on your calendar! Read More »Sahel Gospel Communication Conference 2025 Save the Date!

Video Compression: 20Mb to under 2Mb in 20 clicks


Our phones and screen recorders often produce much higher quality videos at hugely larger file sizes than we need. For the app version of emdc.guide. I needed really small file sizes. (I kept larger versions posted on YouTube)

There are many programs and apps for compressing video. The videos from EMDC.guide were compressed using:
Compress Video Size Compressor – Apps on Google Play 

Read More »Video Compression: 20Mb to under 2Mb in 20 clicks


Five Facts about the New Version of Tetelestai

1. Same Content

The Tetelestai series (Greek for “It is Finished”) traces God’s hand from the Garden of Eden to the risen Christ in eleven 30-minute episodes. Over a thousand actors make the eternal story of redemption come to life in this award-winning series.  Twenty-four key biblical narratives unfold the breathtaking story of the God who passionately loves humanity and paid the ultimate price for our rescue.Read More »Five Facts about the New Version of Tetelestai

Loving The Nations One Neighbor At A Time

Neighbors are people who share space and physical context.  We recognize their faces as they walk by; we swap chit chat and maybe even know them by name.  When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our neighbors checked in on each other and howled every evening alongside neighborhood pets, just to somehow feel connected through the isolation of quarantine.  It was during that difficult season that I knelt down in prayer with hands opened heavenward and asked God the next step in intentionally loving our neighbors.  

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Bibles and resources – UPDATED

Updated Aug 8, 2024
Do you know where to find Bibles in all the languages spoken by people attending your church (live or online), and the people living in your community?
This is an update of a post from 2021 since when several hundred translations of the Bible have been made available online.  As of Aug 2024 YouVersion’s Bible app (also available at Bible.com) provided 3,184 versions in 2,100 languages. (up from 1500 in 2021!)

Read More »Bibles and resources – UPDATED

Thinking Anthropologically about Media: Finding Relevant Media

Let’s use media! They’re quick to make, easy to distribute and use, attract large crowds, and communicate efficiently. They’re simply awesome! But do media really work like this? How do you figure out which are the most relevant, appropriate, and effective media to use? You may be tempted to begin with what you like yourself or what you can fund. The quicker you get these media out there, the better it is, right? Alternatively, you could take it more gently and start by thinking anthropologically.Read More »Thinking Anthropologically about Media: Finding Relevant Media

Don’t forget the women and children

For several years, Paulette helped lead a women’s conference, where most of the women didn’t speak French. ‘They were ashamed because they thought they had to speak about the Bible in French,” she says.

“We want to join in, but we don’t know how,” they told her.

Paulette explained that they could study the Bible in Contemporary Wolof, and share it with others in their own language too. Each day she gave them a verse to memorise in the Wolof language.

“That’s why this oral translation will help them,” she says. ‘They will be able to listen and know that they can grow in their faith. There shouldn’t be barriers to knowing God. Each person should be free to wake up each day and know: there is a God who is Lord over everything, and I can talk to him.”

 

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Davar Audio Bibles – deploying God’s Word to accomplish what He desires

  • by Davar

Davar believes that all people should have the opportunity to know the God who made them and that the truths of the Bible are not bound to the reader or ink on paper. Isaiah 55:11 says, “so is my Word that goes from my mouth; it will not return empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

So, how does Davar encourage deployment of His word to accomplish what He desires?

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“The Cross-Cultural Mentoring Workshop gave freedom to be me, while the society plays with other rules.”

  • by Dseq

Cross-Cultural Mentoring Workshop at EMDC 2024 Thailand

My attending the Cross-Cultural Mentoring Workshop was the highlight for my leadership training this year. This is something that I have been waiting for to attend for a year. In 2023, I attended a session of Dr. Sunny Hong at EMDC Thailand. This was the first time I got a chance to hear her deep knowledge about the diaspora and refugees.Read More »“The Cross-Cultural Mentoring Workshop gave freedom to be me, while the society plays with other rules.”

10 Reasons to Make Scripture Impact a Priority

This is a response to some recent posts about the importance of Bible translation in fulfilling the Great Commission. Yes, there is much truth in that, but more is needed. It really helps to have Scripture impact (or ‘engagement’) the top priority, the ‘car’ as it were, with translation the engine that sits beneath the bonnet. Not all drivers need to know all the details of the engine, but they need to be able to control the vehicle. The most important thing is to be able to get from A to B (see point 2), rather than knowing how the engine works. These are the ten reasons to make Scripture impact a priority:

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Listening and Learning at The Africa Scripture Engagement Conference 2024

The conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 22 February to 1 March 2024. It brought together 100 participants from 23 countries of Africa. It was an opportunity for Scripture Engagement, Media and Ethnoarts specialists and consultants to get together, to share resources, ideas and strategies and receive training on some of the latest approaches in encouraging engagement with the translated Scriptures.  The conference was bilingual, in English and French.  Four participants formed a ‘Listeners’ team’. Their role was to listen carefully to the key themes coming out of the presentations and discussions, both formally and informally, seeking to hear what the Lord was saying to us. Here is a summary of what they heard…Read More »Listening and Learning at The Africa Scripture Engagement Conference 2024