Brothers and Sisters,

The cut-off date for registering for the Ministry Retreat is today: TUESDAY, MARCH 12. We have 28 people registered and we are excited to gather in Moncton. If you are planning on being part of this, you need to register today.

We are also very excited about our upcoming Supercluster on Thursday, March 21 at Crossroads in Truro. Pastors, please plan on joining other pastors on this day of worshiping our Lord, training for ministry, and fellowshipping with others. It starts at 10:00 a.m.

What happens when a company commissions a reader (or many) to record an audio version of the Bible?

Perhaps you are aware that Crossway has introduced audio Bibles voiced by six different voices. The process is probably more intense than you imagine. According to their Chief Publishing Officer, “An audio Bible involves around 70 to 75 hours of listening time.” But recording one—including catching and rereading errors—takes around 200 to 250 hours. Editing and proof-listening requires another 800 hours. In all, producing an audio Bible takes around 1,000 hours of labour. And these six were each unique in location of the reader, accent of the reader, how long it took him or her to complete it, and whether he or she tried to emphasize words or not.

My question as I listened to Robert Smith Jr. read passages to me on the ESV app was not only the process of recording but what God did in the lives of the readers. How was the man or woman affected as they read this Book that God promises is so profitable for our souls? Wonderfully, some of this is answered in a recent article, entitled, “That thing is alive: How the Bible affected its six newest narrators.” I thought each of the stories was fascinating, and I encourage you to read them.

Think about how the spoken, read Word can affect you as you read it out loud, and how it can affect other hearers. Let’s not neglect the public reading of the word of God in our homes and in our church services!

Andrew