How to Preach with an Interpreter (Stapled Booklet): A Crash Course

By Dennis E. Bills

How to Preach with an Interpreter is a manual for short and long-term missionaries, interpreters, evangelists, pastors, professors, teachers, stateside ministers to internationals, and anyone else who wants to preach but does not know the language.
Every year, thousands of churches send preachers and laymen on trips around the world. Many will attempt the intimidating task of preaching with an interpreter, and few will do it well. Most will never even know their mistakes because they do not know the language. Based upon observations of hundreds of sermons and dozens of preachers and interpreters, this "Crash Course" simplifies a complex task by providing practical, realistic suggestions that will help preachers and interpreters succeed. It describes common problems, offers simple, easy-to-apply solutions, surveys types of interpreted ministries, and suggests ways to get the best results.
Churches, missionary agencies, international ministries, and seminaries should know that this little book fills a large void. As an original and unique contribution to the fields of missiology and homiletics, there is nothing else like it in print.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Feb 25, 2010
• ISBN: 9781498272605

Dennis E. Bills

Dennis E. Bills is a former school administrator and a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He lives in West Virginia with his wife and three boys.

Book preview

9781608993635.kindle.jpg

How to Preach with an Interpreter

A Crash Course

Dennis E. Bills

2008.Resource_logo.jpg

How to Preach with an Interpreter

A Crash Course

Copyright © 2010 Dennis E. Bills. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Resource Publications

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

Eugene, OR 97401

www.wipfandstock.com

isbn 13: 978-1-60899-363-5

eisbn 13: 978-1-4982-7260-5

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

To my wife Kathi

Acknowledgements

For mentoring me during graduate school and influencing this small book, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Christian Wei, founder and president of Chinese for Christ International, to Dr. Mark Lehman, gifted missionary and founder of Beachhead to a Billion, and to Mr. Gary Balius, a frequent and single-minded short-term missionary to China. For her help in the editing of the manuscript, I am grateful to Mrs. Lara Rodkey, a friend and literature instructor in Huntington, West Virginia.

Introduction

Imagine yourself standing before a group of people in a foreign land. You do not know their language, and they do not know yours. Thankfully, a national who more or less knows both languages stands at your side. You share the podium space, centered at the pulpit, shoulder to shoulder. After you say a few words, the interpreter translates, imitating your tone, pace, and gestures. The two of you take turns doing this for the next forty-five minutes. If this sounds easy, you should know that preaching with an interpreter can be more difficult than most first-timers anticipate. If this sounds difficult, intimidating, or distracting, you should know that it does not have to be if you and the interpreter are properly prepared.

This crash course is intended for missionaries, interpreters, evangelists, traveling pastors, stateside ministers to internationals, and anyone else who wants to preach but does not know the language. You might be a missionary in language school, a pastor traveling overseas, or a short-termer on a summer mission trip. In any case, an interpreter will help you communicate as soon as your feet hit foreign soil.

Obviously, a successful cross-cultural ministry requires good communication. Romans 10:14 reminds us that none will hear the Gospel message if no one communicates it. The Scriptures also teach that if this communication is unclear, the entire preaching experience is wasted for both the preacher and the hearer:

Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone