Ep. 274: Checking In With SRG’s Amy McClintock About Translation Service Providers

Today I welcome back to the program Amy McClintock, with the Strategic Resource Group, an organization that funds projects to reach unreached people groups in the Middle East and North Africa, the so-called MENA region of the world.  Two years ago, I started reporting on a new initiative by the Strategic Resource Group that – if successful – could have a dramatic impact on the way we do Bible translation. They are using a so-called Translation Service Provider – an organization that normally translates contracts, treaties, movie scripts, books, and all manner of other material – to translate the Bible. The company it is using is called LinguaLinx. I wrote my first article about this process in August of 2021.  But one aspect of this project that is different from those undertaken by traditional Bible translation organizations is the remarkable degree of transparency SRG has shown to me in the process. Last year, for example, I checked in with Amy and her predecessor in her role Jane Schoen, in both January and August of last year, and in January of this year, to get updates on the project.  And that’s what we are doing today.   The very fact that Amy and SRG are allowing me to have these regular check-ins is dramatically different from the way the Bible translation industry normally operates.  It’s an industry cloaked in secrecy and layers of bureaucracy.  In fact, for the past three years or so, I’ve written about 30 articles on the industry and its practices, and I’ll have links to some of those articles in today’s show notes.  I encourage you to check them out.  I’d like to remind you that MinistryWatch is donor supported.  We take no money from ministries.  All of our content is free.  No paywall.  That means we couldn’t do what we do without faithful donors.  You guys are the real heroes of this enterprise.  So if you’d like to join that heroic group by pitching in to make sure that MinistryWatch remains a viable endeavor, you can go to MinistryWatch.com and hit the “donate” button at the top of the page.  And if you donate in the month of July, we’ll send you, as our thank you, a copy of my book “Faith Based Fraud: Learning From The Great Religious Scandals of our Time.”  To donate, click here.  The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.   We get database, technical, and editorial support from Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth.     Until next time, may God bless you.     Links Mentioned in Today’s Program Here is a list of articles we have written about the Bible translation industry, from oldest to newest: When Is A Bible Translation Not A Bible Translation – May 14, 2020 https://ministrywatch.com/when-is-a-bible-translation-not-a-bible-translation/ Bible Translation At A Crossroads – June 30, 2020 https://ministrywatch.com/the-bible-translation-industry-is-at-a-crossroads/ Translation Service Providers Could Be Paradigm Changing – August 5, 2021 https://ministrywatch.com/translation-service-providers-could-be-paradigm-changing-for-bible-translation-industry/ Just How Broken Is The Bible Translation Industry – September 21, 2021 https://ministrywatch.com/just-how-broken-is-the-bible-translation-industry/ Outsourcing Bible Translation? – January 17, 2022 https://ministrywatch.com/outsourcing-bible-translation/ List of 50 Largest Bible Translation and Missions Organizations – May 2, 2022 https://ministrywatch.com/outsourcing-bible-translation/  Translating The Bible in a New Way:  A Conversation with Jane Schoen – August 10, 2022 https://ministrywatch.com/ep-202-translating-the-bible-in-a-new-way-a-conversation-with-jane-schoen/