Ep. 334: Checking In On A Paradigm-Busting Bible Translation Project Will "Translation Service Providers" change the way Bible translation is done?

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. Joining Amy is Al Fadi, who is helping to lead a bible translation project that we have been talking about for a couple of years here at MinistryWatch. More than 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. 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. Since this project began, I have been checking in with them every six months to get updates, and to hear lessons learned.  And that’s what we are doing today. Today I talk with Amy McClintock and Al Fadi, who are two of the leaders of this project. The very fact that Amy, Al, 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 40 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:  https://ministrywatch.com/bible-translations/  FINAL THOUGHTS: 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 February, we’ll send you, as our thank you, a copy of “Handling Allegations in A Ministry: Responses and Investigations.” 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.