Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2013

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, . . . teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” W D hen Linda Johnson Jones ’72 chose to double r. Gene Getz M.A. ’58 was recently seated in the dining hall major in math and Spanish, many saw it as a in Hong Kong when he witnessed a remarkable sight. He had contradictory pursuit. But to her roommate traveled there to teach a group of house church pastors from Susan Weimer Felch ’72, M.A. ’74, the daughter mainland China. A Chinese brother from Singapore had opened a of Wycliffe Bible translators in Papua New Guinea, Bible and gathered several house church pastors around him. Using Linda’s academic interests suggested a latent aptitude an iPhone, he scanned a small, square QR code printed in the Bible’s for linguistics. pages. Seconds later, the group was watching on the phone’s 3.5-inch Linda, who had felt called to mission work since screen a video of Gene teaching from Scripture. Matthew 28:19-20 high school, says the seed was planted. In 1973 QR code technology for Smartphones was not available when (NASB) she enrolled in a graduate-level linguistics course Holman Bible Publishers first approached Gene to create a at the University of Florida, which confirmed her “Principles to Live By” Bible in 2004. Gene, the founding pastor of passion for language analysis and her calling to the first Fellowship Bible Church, was known for his approach to Bible translation. She transferred to the University principalizing from Scripture, a methodology he developed under the of Michigan to earn a doctorate in the field, studying under leading tutelage of Dr. Merrill Tenney hon, dean of Wheaton’s Graduate linguist Dr. Kenneth Pike. School. Gene’s thesis on “Audio-Visual Media in Christian Education” After joining Wycliffe Bible Translators, Linda and her husband, felled to his establishing the first audio-visual media departments at low linguist Larry Jones, began work in 1983 among the Yawa people Moody Bible Institute and at Dallas Theological Seminary. on a remote island village in eastern Indonesia. But in 1991, Larry was The Bible project took seven years to complete. Gene prepared 1,500 invited to assume increasingly demanding leadership roles with the mis“Principles to Live By” with more than 500,000 words of commentary. sion, and the family moved to Jakarta and eventually to Manila. In 1993, Linda assumed leadership of the Yawa language work, which “From the beginning,” he says, “I knew that I needed not only to by then included completed translations of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. research and write this material, but also to teach it to a live audience.” The sessions were recorded on video to make them available online. The work progressed slowly. She was simultaneously homeschooling Five years into the project, QR technology for consumers with their three young children, and communication with Andowa, the Smartphones became a reality. “Providentially,” Gene says, “we had couple’s Yawa co-translator, was severely challenged. already produced the video presentations. The publisher immediately Nevertheless, by June 2011 the translation was completed, and Linda saw the potential of including a QR and Larry traveled to eastern Indonesia with their family and a group of “Let the message code with each of the principles, friends to participate in celebrations dedicating the New Testament in the Yawa language. The trip, which included ten days of festivities, the providing readers access to more than about the official induction of the Joneses’ three children into the Yawa “tribe,” 250 hours of my teaching.” Messiah dwell and a terrifying boat ride following the eruption of a tropical storm, The result is the Life Essentials Study richly among you.” was filled with enough highlights for many lifetimes. Most thrilling of Bible (2011), the first multi-media Bible Colossians 3:16 (HCSB) all was the unexpected news within one month of the Joneses’ return ever published. Its built-in curriculum that all 2,000 copies of the Yawa New Testament had sold out. Two with video presentations is accessible thousand more copies were quickly ordered. to anyone with a Smartphone—from Today Linda looks forward to working as a consultant with other Bible pastors in Bangalore, India, to small translation teams—now mostly composed of mother tongue speakers— groups and elementary school children with plans to serve in Nigeria and Indonesia. —by Dawn Kotapish ’92 around the world. —by Ruby Thomas Wheaton College Professors involved in Bible translation or consultation Editor’s note: This list was compiled to the best of our ability. It is likely not exhaustive. Hudson T. Armerding ’41 ESV Greg Beale ESV Daniel L. Block ESV, NLSB, NLT, TNIV Hassell Bullock hon HCSB Gary Burge CEB, NLSB, NLT Norman Ericson NLT Gordon Fee hon NIV Gene Green CEB, ESV, NLSB Scott Hafemann ESV Clarence B. Hale ’28 NIV Gerald F. Hawthorne ’51, m.a. ’54 NIV, NIVSB HON = Honorary alumnus Andrew Hill NLSB, NLT, NSB Harry Hoffner NLT Paul House ESV Karen H. Jobes NETS, NIV, NIVSB, NKJWSB, TNIV, WOB Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. ’55, b.d. ’58 ASB, NIV, NIVSB, NSB Kenneth S. Kantzer l.h.d. ’88 NIV Jon Laansma NLSB Arthur H. Lewis NIVSB Douglas Moo NIV, NLT, TNIV J. Barton Payne hon NASB

Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 32