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Your Church, September/October 2004
Clear the Shelves
Save time, space, and money with new, improved Bible study software products.
by John R. Throop
The Teacher of Ecclesiastes writes, "Of the making of many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh" (Ecclesiastes 12:12). If he were writing today, the Teacher might advise, "Of the making of Bible software there is no end, and much study can be done without weariness of flesh." Software providers continue with significant enhancements and refinements that make study, sermon preparation, and small group leadership more efficient, accurate, and portable for pastors and lay leaders alike.
From Mainframe to Membrane
Bible software development began in the mid-1970s when biblical text was stored on mainframe computers using a special coded language. Even though this first step was quite an accomplishment, it still took an enormous amount of time and room (not to mention frequent frustration) to prepare lessons and sermons.
Now a pastor can carry several versions of the Bible and various Bible tools in the palm of a hand. Portability is the growing edge of Bible software. "You don't really need a laptop to look up one verse, and you don't need connectivity, either," says Steve Rosenman, product manager at Franklin Electronics.
Franklin offers its handheld Bible in King James and New International Versions. Each comes with a Bible dictionary and a standard dictionary. "People can carry these five-ounce products anywhere without being conspicuous or cramped," says Rosenman.
Franklin also introduced the Franklin Exhaustive Concordance, a very thin, lightweight device weighing just one ounce. It consists of a screen and a small functional keyboard on a thin membrane. According to Rosenman, the concordance is thin enough to use as a bookmark for your Bible.
Some Bible software is designed specifically for personal digital assistants (PDAs). Parsons Software produces Quickverse 8.0 for PDAs as well as for desktops and laptops. "Whether they are used by pastors or laypeople, PDAs are great ways to carry multiple Bibles and use them anywhere for study or devotion," says Britt Edwards, vice president at Parsons. "It's great now to download sermons to PDAs to review while in hospital waiting rooms or at airports."
New, expanded capabilities allow Bible students to do biblical and theological research nearly anywhere. "We pioneered the use of the Palm and Pocket PC systems for study in original languages," notes Paul Miller, director emeritus at the Gramcord Institute. "A user can review the original texts on handhelds. We are releasing the Septuagint morphological approach now."
Accelerated Results
Portability is one measure of convenience—speed is another. Gathering information, studying, and preparing are much faster because the software combines several tasks at once. "With a particular verse, the pastor or layperson can use five different reference elements in less than five minutes," says Pike Lambeth, vice president of operations at the Lockman Foundation. The Lockman Foundation features New American Standard Bible resources in the Logos Libronix system.
Search speed, however, is only one benefit. Using search results is another. "Once the information is in hand," Lambeth adds, "the user has the ability to cut and paste into word processing software." Specific definitions or references can be inserted into sermon notes or lesson plans with just a couple of keystrokes.
Bible software is getting faster, and it also is getting deeper. Logos Research recently released a biblical languages supplement to its base packages. The Scholars Library and Scholars Library Silver Edition have integrated Greek, Hebrew, Peshitto, and Syriac. Also included are ten Greek texts and two Greek interlinear texts. "When using language for study purposes, it is important for those serious about Greek to be familiar with classic Greek," says Daniel Foster, vice president of Logos Research. "The only classic Greek tool is the Liddell, Scott, and Jones Lexicon. We worked with Oxford University Press and published the entire unabridged, full edition."
The Gramcord Institute, in conjunction with Hendricksen Publishers and Heavenward Software, has produced Lightning Gramcord, using an intuitive lexical concordance. The distinctive part of this platform is the indexing, using several grammatical methods. "People often forget that we use word concordances to study contexts and concepts, not merely words," says Miller. "For example, search for the Dead Sea, and this software focuses references to a body of water, not 'dead' and 'sea.'"
Repackaged and Rediscovered
Seminary professors and Bible college teachers, who once urged students to purchase thousands of dollars worth of printed texts, now stress the importance of electronic resources available for far less. Reference tools that were once books on a shelf are now databases in a PC.
Miller at Gramcord Institute reflects on his own experience moving from print to database. "I have not used my Kittel and Delitzsch commentaries since seminary," he notes. "For some time, it has been one of many reference works one should have. As soon as these and other tools became available in software form, when it's two seconds away (literally), I found myself using it again, and more often."
The pastor or Bible study leader can also use a broader scope of tools simultaneously without needing to balance 20 books on tables. One problem with print resources is that people have the tendency to use only three or four favorite books. With an electronic database, one can use many diverse resources for a more well-rounded sermon or lesson.
Bible databases bring greater flexibility than print resources, especially at the start of the study or sermon preparation. "In Bible study, there are several ways to look for a passage or topic, and then simply click and go," says Foster at Logos Research. He says this kind of search capability eliminates the problem of locating a passage or topic when you don't know exactly where to look. "It's really like having a personal research assistant or team of assistants," he adds.
Even ultra-portable electronic Bibles emphasize flexibility, interactivity, and the ability to search instantly. "Convenience happens when the pastor or leader does not have to search through thousands of pages of text with small print," says Rosenman at Franklin. "You can find what you want instantly." These products also have phonetic spell correction, another time-saver. When unsure of spelling, type the word in the way it sounds and the device automatically corrects spelling.
Twenty Hours or Thirty Minutes?
Edwards of Parsons Software stresses the increased productivity that Bible software offers. With multiple Bible translations and dozens of supporting texts, the user gets search results in mere seconds or minutes. "Pastors tell us that sermon or study preparation that normally took two weeks to prepare now can be done in half an hour," he notes. "That gives them plenty of time to work in-depth on a sermon, and then the rest of the week to review the sermon or lesson and improve it. They no longer have to spend 20 hours a week going to hardbound books trying to find what they need."
In the coming years, Bible software developers see even more integration between databases and other office and communications software. There will be greater ease integrating Bible texts into Microsoft Word and Word Perfect documents for lessons and sermons, so the pastor and Bible study leader will be able to produce material that is even more useful and practical for members.
Another trend is toward Web-based software resources. Access through special Internet channels means that the database does not have to be stored on a local computer, and will be accessible anywhere there is a Web connection. Finally, look for even more miniaturization of resources as processors and microchips get even smaller and faster, and tiny batteries become even more powerful. God is glorified when his Word becomes more and more accessible and when technology improves our ability to accurately teach and preach the Gospel.
John Throop (wthroop@consultsummit.com) is a management consultant. He pastors Christ Church Limestone near Peoria, Illinois.
Management And Administration Case Study
MyTeam OneCall Rescues Youth Pastor
by Jennifer Schuchmann
The driver slowly eased the bus to a stop on the side of the road. Janice Callazo got off and looked around. It was every youth pastor's worst nightmare—a flat tire. She looked at the 25 members of her youth group. In just a few minutes, parents would be leaving their homes to wait for the bus's arrival in the church parking lot. She could already imagine their concerns when the bus didn't show …
She grabbed her cell phone. She would try to call each home and hope to catch the parents before they left. The phone lit-up when she turned it on, but only one bar lit on the battery. She wouldn't have enough power to make more than a call or two.
"Does anyone have a cell phone?"
Unbelievably, no one did. They hadn't passed a house for miles on this back road from Cincinnati to Ansonia and it was too dark to see if there was one ahead. Then Janice remembered the laminated card with the 800 number on it in her purse. She called the number, punched in a code, and left a message.
Seconds later, phones started ringing all over Ansonia. Parents who looked at their Caller ID could see Janice's cell phone number. They answered and heard a message from her saying the bus would be delayed. They went back to what they were doing, unaware of the drama that could have played out. Less than two hours later, at 1:00 A.M., the youth arrived safely at the church, greeted by parents who were expecting the delay.
Later Janice would joke, "If you had one phone call to make before you die, who would you call?" In her case it was MyTeam OneCall, an Internet-based automated calling system. Prior to Janice's dramatic use of MyTeam OneCall, she had used it for mundane tasks such as calling sports teams to alert them of a rainout.
On the night of the flat tire, she was glad to have MyTeam on her team!
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Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Your Church magazine.
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September/October 2004, Vol. 50, No. 5, Page 18
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