While there, I learned that there were so many people groups that had no scripture in their language. What was so key in my life was absent for them. So, my wife and I attended the first semester of SIL and that hooked us. We were off on a life-time of adventure.

What gets you excited when you work with others in Bible translation? One of the ways I think about Bible translation is that I get to be part of what is like a team of chefs working together in the kitchen to prepare the most amazing dish. We work and work, try this and try that, and finally it’s ready to take out and give people a taste. Seeing and hearing people’s response keeps us going.

Working with the team of translators is a privilege: seeing their excitement, their learning, their growing in their love for God. Working with the team is so much more than just figuring out the right words and getting a product to the printers. It also provides a context for discipleship: going through every verse in the Bible, understanding it, praying through it, thinking how to communicate it, how to live in light of it, and then, of course, sharing it with others. There aren't that many jobs where you can be so focused on that!

What is your consulting philosophy? The priority is dependence on and trust in God. Translation is so complex and difficult, and at the same time so important, that we are constantly driven not only to depend on God for insight, strength, and perseverance, but also to trust him with the process and the result. This informs how we work as a team: we can be patient with each other, realize that each of us is a work in process, and that the translation is also a work in process. We can be free to change our mind and we give each other space to do so. We work together as a team, each contributing unique strengths and abilities. And, when all is said and done, we offer up our work as an offering to God—imperfect, but the fruit of our best efforts, weak as they are. After having done all we can within our limitations, we trust God with the result: take it, Lord, and use it for your glory.

What translation resources do you really value? I really like the SIL Translator’s Notes series and the Bible Society handbooks. I also consult many of the standard commentaries such as NIC, Tyndale, NAC, ZEC, and others. I often consult DBL (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains).

How do you continue to grow as a consultant? The primary thing that helps me grow as a consultant is actually working with the translation team I’m consulting. There are always challenges and opportunities to re-think and re-work that keep me on my toes (and sometimes challenges that require me to ask forgiveness for being a bit too energetic.)

I also read to keep up with biblical studies. I have recently read and benefited from several books by John Walton and Kenneth Bailey. I have also recently read Jesus and Divine Christology by Brant Pitre, Jesus, Contradicted by Michael Licona, and am currently reading the second edition of Kingdom through Covenant by Gentry and Wellum.

Can you share about a time when you realized you were wrong and what you learned from it? Occasionally I realize (or am helped to realize) that I am driving home a point without having fully understood what all the issues are: either exegetical issues, limitations in the target language, or the nuances at play in the target language. Admitting that I am wrong helps establish a culture where others can also admit when they are wrong. We don't need to feel that we always have to be right.

And there can be times when, as I mentioned above, I can be too “energetic”. That happened recently when working through Genesis 6:16, describing a detail for the roof of the ark. I was working with a four-dialect cluster project. One of the men in the group was insisting on what, by all accounts, was a misunderstanding of the verse and an awkward and difficult rendering for it. The more I tried to explain the issue to him, the more he resisted. Things started getting tense (at least for me!) when I finally realized that I should have dropped the matter long ago, giving him some space to think and some resources to help him that were more than just my own words. I looked up the issue in nine different commentaries, used DeepL to translate their observations into Spanish, and printed it up for him. Before I had finished, however, he came to me and apologized for not being teachable. I apologized to him for not having stopped earlier and given him time and resources.

What are your top tips for someone starting on a career path in Bible translation? I have seen young people certified as translation consultants even before they have worked in translation, and others who have that expectation. The best way to get a personal, in-depth understanding of the multifaceted challenges of translation and to prepare for being a consultant is to first heavily invest in years of working with a translation team under the supervision of a senior consultant. Courses in translation theory and practice along with courses in translation consulting have their place, but nothing takes the place of long experience. Young people eager to begin their translation careers as consultants are well advised to hold off and get many years of day-in and day-out experience first.

What do you see as the place of the church in Bible translation? The Bible is a book for the Church: to be taught, read, memorized, meditated on, proclaimed, lived by, and cherished. If there is no church in the area where translation is being done, then we pray that God would use the translation process to raise up a community of his people. If there is a church, then they, as the ultimate users of the translation, need to be involved. There are many ways in which they can do this, but it is important that they not only have some active part in the translation, but that they also feel like their voice is heard.