Mark Gillmore: Hello, this is Mark Gilmore here once again with our GoMission podcast. And I’m privileged to be sitting here with a very special servant of the Lord’s. Glenn Kerr has been involved in Bible translation work around the world now for a number of years, and I want to introduce you to him at this time. Good to have you with us. 

Glenn Kerr: Thank you very much. It’s a real privilege. 

Mark: Yes, indeed, it is. Now how many years have you been involved in Bible translation? 

Glenn: Well, we’re involved in our 28th year right now. 

Mark: 28 years. And where has that taken you across the globe? 

Glenn: Well, I have a list of 40 different countries that I’ve been in, not all of them for translation, but traveling in those countries, 19 of those specifically for translation. 

Mark: All right, so in those 19 that you’ve spent time in, what would be the average amount of time that you might be in that country and those projects? 

Glenn: Well, usually what we do is: we check the work of our teamsーat least we try to do it twice a yearーand so usually two to three weeks at a time, it gives us enough time to check the work, and then they go back and work some more, and then we check some more. So usually my trips are relatively short, but they are very intensive. 

Mark: Yeah. Yeah. Which continent have you spent the most time? 

Glenn: Probably the most time has been spent in Africa. 

Mark: Africa, wow. Do you have a favorite place in Africa? 

Glenn: Well, um… that’s a difficult question because my favorite place is actually in Peru, but….(laugh)

Mark: Ah yes! Okay, well, tell us about that. Where? What’s in Peru? 

Glenn: Well, we were in the Andes Mountains working on the Quechua project there that we recently finished the New Testament for. And the mountains are beautiful. 

Mark: Truly.

Glenn: I will say this much, I really enjoyed very much Mali at the edge of the Sahara Desert, which is not exactly the most pleasant place in some ways, but it was really fascinating. 

Mark: That is. Yeah, Africa….pleasant and Africa don’t normally go together so much. 

Glenn: That’s True. (laugh)

Mark: But still it is like you said: intriguing, fascinating, and I find it a privilege, just to put your feet on the ground and go to those different regions of the world. 

Glenn: Yes.

Mark: So you have been in, again, how many of the Bible translations would you say that you’ve actually been overseeing? 

Glenn: I have been involved with about 35, a little more than 35 different language groups, some of those more intensive than others, some of them I’ve completed an entire New Testament with them, others I’ve consulted on parts of them, and so we’ve worked with about, yeah, I’d say probably 36 or 37 different languages. 

Mark: That’s amazing, and I think that we’reーsome are sitting here listening, you say, “35? 37?!” Like, we have this concept perhaps in Bible translation where someone would go to some remote corner of the world, live in a jungle, learn a language that’s been, you know, unwritten, and take years to do that, then you begin to do Bible translation. Maybe after 15 years you get to the New Testament maybe, and it’s almost like an investment of an entire lifetime to get to one Bible translation. But there’s a better way to approach it, and I think that’s what you’ve been involved in. 

Glenn: Yes, that’s right. This, what you’ve described, is kind of considered the kind of an old model of Bible translation. And it is something necessary in a pioneer situation, but so much of the world now is the situation where we can really substitute another model, and the model is to train mother tongue speakers of the language who have good education and still know their own native language, and then work with them by using a bridge language. Like for instance, in many countries in Africa where they are former colonial powers, French is the language of education. And so a translator who is a mother tongue speaker of his own language usually can do very well in French. And so we will discuss the materials in French. And this way I can work with a number of different projects without having to spend the time learning their language. And what they do is they provide for me a back translation into French. And then I can read that and discuss it with them. It’s not exactly the same as a translation, but it gives me a good idea of what’s going on and gives us a starting point for checking. And so by my skills in the original language, and a translator’s skill in their native language, by working together we can produce a better translation faster than either one of us can by ourselves. 

Mark: That makes a lot of sense. And that mother tongue speaker can more accurately reflect this language, this new language into which we’re translating the Bible, into that new language. 

Glenn: That really is right because he knows it from childhood. And so he knows intrinsically what it’s like, what it’s supposed to be like. And also if we have other mother tongue speakers helping him reading his work and giving him input on it, it’s even better. And so we always have a committee of people who speak the same language, who review the work that he has done, make sure that they understand it. And so it’s a kind of a two-step process, a checking with a consultant who knows the original languages and the culture, and then with the committee that knows the language as used in the community. 

Mark: It comes to my mind as you were just talking about this bridge language, and let’s say it’s French or English or Spanish. And those bridge languages already have the Bible in them, and yet you’re talking with someone who knows the bridge language, but the Bible is not in their mother tongue. Isn’t the bridge language good enough? Why is the mother tongue translation so important? 

Glenn: Well, the reason, of course, is twofold. Number one is: a very small number of the people in the population would know the bridge language well enough to read the Bible in that language. Even if they can read it somewhat, it just doesn’t speak to their heart like their own language. Also, many times they feel like that something like that is a foreign religion or a foreign idea. It’s like: “Well, what’s wrong with my language? Why can’t we have a translation in our own language?” So by doing a translation in their own language, it speaks to them directly. And even in a country like Luxembourg, which is a totally modern country, we have done a Luxembourgish translation, and the people find it just invigorating to read the Bible in their own language, even though most of them are very literate and things like thatーit just speaks to them. So the same principle that applies in Africa, applies in all over the world, where if they hear it in their own language, it opens up their eyes, and their heart especially.

Mark: Exactly, and I was going to ask you, you know, have you encountered that moment where: “God speaks my language!” And even in Europe, there’s that moment. 

Glenn: Yes, we had, there’s a man who has a bakery shop, as a matter of fact, and he was kind of down on the translation when we first started, he thought, well, “Why would we need this?” And when he actually got the New Testament and read it, he was so thrilled he sells it in his bookstore, a bakery shop, along with the baked goods. So he sells the bread of eating and the bread of life all together. 

Mark: I read the story of a translation being done up in the mountains of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, and a man had learned English and studied the Bible. He’d also learned Indonesian and studied the Bible in that language, and then he was involved inーI believe it was the Dani Bible Projectーand finally he read the Bible in his mother tongue. And just tears flowed. You justーthe depth of that relationship, that that Dani language, his own language, brought to him in his relationship with God was indescribable.

Glenn: Yes, I have a story about that, that I think is really very typical of this. One of the translators I’ve worked with in Chad is aーhis mother tongue is Sara Kaba Deme, and he’s a pastor, and he’s a really great guy. His name is Job. And Job grew up with another man in his tribe who is the son of the witch doctor. And so Job was the son of a pastor, and this other man, son of the witch doctor. And they were friends, and they grew up, and Job became a pastor and the son of the witch doctor became a witch doctorーof all things. And Job witnessed to him many, many times. It was very concerned for him, and the man just wasn’t interested. But they got the first portion of Scripture done in the translation and they had a dedication service to read that publicly. And that morning the man who was a witch doctor came to Christ. And he was thrilled, Job was thrilled, but he asked him how come it wasn’t until now? And he says, “I never could believe that a God that didn’t speak my language really loved me.” 

Mark: Wow…

Glenn: And when he heard it in his own language, he realized that God really did care for him. 

Mark: Which gets down to that point you touched on, just that it’s seen as a foreign religion. 

Glenn: Right.

Mark: And I am just thinking of… this is precisely what God himself dealt with on the day of Pentecost. 

Glenn: Exactly. 

Mark: When He had 15, 17 nations there in the temple, and they all heard God’s word in their own language.

Glenn: Exactly. And of course that was a prophecy of what God is doing now throughout the world by Bible translation. 

Mark: And he said that he would pour out his Spirit on all flesh. 

Glenn: Exactly. 

Mark: That there is not one language or one nation that has a higher, you know, easier access to Godーin the relationship and certainly in His word. So this is a priority to get the word of God. 

Glenn: It really is. And to see the world be in a place where no one can say, “God doesn’t speak my language,” is a goal that we are working for and with other organizations as well to see this come to pass. 

Mark: So do you think we can do this? Can we get to the point where every significant mother tongue has the Bible in its language? 

Glenn: There are definite, tangible and measurable plans to do that. As a matter of fact, if we continue with the resources that we have, and even increase them, it’s very possible that the next generation of Bible translators will see that job done. In other words, within 30ーbefore 2050, it could be done. And we don’t know when the Lord’s gonna return, but we should be busy until he gets here!

Mark: And sometimes we put numbers, um, that seem to intimidate usーlet’s say like two or three thousand languages to goーbut, young people, just think about this: how many young people are involved in, let’s just say, the basketball league you’re a part of? Probably more than two or three thousand. 

Glenn: Yes.

Mark: And it’s a common thingーlike we have thousands of basketball players coming out of youth sports, and we don’t even think about that, but then when we put a couple thousand Bible translators out there, we think, “Oh, this is impossible.” But wait just a minute, we’ve got the young people; we have the workforce. So, let’s line up for this. Why not? Now, you say, we think about language and some kids can’t get past English, all right. And language itself just seems this intimidating mental block. “I can’t…” 

Can youーyou love languageーcan you help us, and some of the young people get past this block? How can we love language? 

Glenn: Well, I think that the key to loving language is not to look at the language as a thing to study, but as a means to communicate. And if I love other people, and I want them to hear what God wants them to hear, then all the languages I’ve learned, I’ve learned so I could communicate with people. Language is meant for communication. God communicates with us. And the fact is, every human being has a God-given ability to learn language. It’s just a matter of input. If we get enough input, the mind knows what to do. And yes, there are roadblocks and there are difficulties, but most of them are our own creation because the mind knows what to do. The child learns the language without any text book. 

Mark: Absolutely

Glenn: And that same ability exists. As a matter of fact, as a person gets older, their ability to analyze gets better. And so they may not be as young as they used to be or do like they did as a child, but they have other skills that enable them to advance with that. And the biggest thing is the desire to communicate, and the desire to enjoy the process, because that’s the thing that I have found all along as I’ve learned other languages is just the thrill of understanding another language, another way of thinking, and realizing that there are people who think this way all the time. It’s a joy to get to know them. 

Mark: Perhaps one way to enter into that joy is just to become a friend with your neighbor, or that new person at school who speaks another language. 

Glenn: Right, exactly.

Mark: Just become friendly and humble yourself, learn their pronunciations. Instead of looking at them as different, look at them as a person who’s got something I’m interested in. Learn their sounds, have a dinner together, go hang out with them. Have fun with it.

Glenn: Another thing too, I think one of the biggest keys to learning a language is being willing to make mistakes. And that’s not bad. As a matter of fact, every language I’ve worked on, I’ve made gobs of mistakes, and I still learned it. As a matter of fact, when you think about a little child who says, “Me want cookie.” Now, there’s not grammatically correctness in that, but you know what they want. And then they figure it out as they go along. They do the adjustment in their own mind, and they create their own language, and then they learn how to speak. Same way with us as we learn another language. 

Mark: Just a week or so ago, my wife and I were in a car for several hours in an African country, Uganda, driving all day with some friends, new friends we were just making. And my wife was awesome, she sat beside this man, and he began to just give the greeting of his language. And my wife tried to pronounce it, and got it wrong, got it right, and that man, as we saw him for the following days, would always come up and would review what he’d taught. And you know, he knew we were humble enough to learn, and he liked teaching us. 

Glenn: Exactly.

Mark: So we made ourselves a teacher, and if we had more time, a man like that would probably do an awesome job at helping us get his language. 

Glenn: And this is what we do: when we learn another person’s language you honor them. And you respect them, and they feel like you really value them. And so learning another language is not an academic thing, though it does involve study and work. It’s a communication thing, and one man that I’ve read, who is a great teacher of languages, said, “There are no language teachers; there are only language learners.” And so as we learn a language, we are learning another way to think and another way to appreciate other people. It’s really great. 

Mark: And when it comes to the Word of God, we’re not only appreciating people, we’re also showing our love for the Lord. 

Glenn: Amen. 

Mark: Because we’re enabling Him to communicate His heart. 

Glenn: Exactly. And the thing about it is the Bible says that we are stewards of the mysteries of God. We are protectors, or not so much protectors, as guardians of that great treasure. If somebody gave you something really valuable, you’d take very good care of it. And we have been given a great valuable thing. And we are there to pass it on to others. And so my privilege in working in Bible translation is sharing the treasures that the Bible has been to me. And that’s been the greatest thing that has been to me about it, is not just the fact that I can communicate to others, but my life has been enriched by the Bible over and over again by studying it and learning about it. And, if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be helping anybody. If it wasn’tーI have to eat the food first before I can share it with somebody else. 

Mark: And as you share it, it becomes more rich to you. 

Glenn: Exactly. 

Mark: The joy is there. Well, a final thought here as we just conclude our talk. As we think of the privilege of people, and God getting His language into reaching people. We do have an enemy. There is someone who stands against this whole endeavor. And I’m sure there’s probably ways that you can think of how you encountered Satanic opposition in the various situations you’ve been in. 

Glenn: I’ve seen it over and over again. As a matter of fact, I just got back from a trip from Chad in which Satan opposed the work through governmental unrest. And many, many times I’ve seen where Satan has thrown roadblocks in the way. The thing about it is, though, in spite of those roadblocks, those roadblocks have made me stronger, and have not kept us from doing the work. I think of translators in one particular country where we’ve had tremendous political unrest, but their determination to go forward is so powerful. And you see that they are just unable to be stopped, and that’s a great privilege to see the power of their spirit. Opposing the work of Satan and rescuing their own people. I kind of think of it likeーlike when you think about the Normandy invasion in World War II. The people, the soldiers coming in were not fighting against the local people, they were freeing them. They were fighting the enemy to free the enslaved people. They were rescuing them. They were freeing them. And that’s exactly what we’re doing as we share the word of God. And yes, there is an enemy, but he is not able to prevent the Word of God from doing its work. 

Mark: That’s right. He was defeated, and we have authority to get the Gospel and the Word of God to every creature, and that can be our encouragement. 

Glenn: Amen.

Mark: So young people, as you are thinking about your future, consider Bible translation and the joy of it, but also be sober and say, “I’ve got to learn to walk with God now. I need to draw close to Him. There’s a battle, but I can win it, and it’s worth it.”

Glenn: Amen.

Mark: So remember, the only way to stay at peace in a world of turmoil and uncertainty is to stay on mission with Jesus in His GoMission.