The Bible You’ve Been Looking For!

EDITOR:  Unknown to many, Journey Pastoral Coaching has a small group of theologians who gather from time to time to discuss recent releases in theological works. They recently came across a new work they thought worthy of not only private discussion but of public commentary. They requested the privilege of posting that commentary or review here on the Journey website, and we have agreed to their request. They have chosen to write as a group, and therefore, use the first person singular pronoun, “I.”   

I recently saw that a new specialty Bible has been released. I learned about it through the recommendations of a lot of friends on social media.  Seeing how much they thought of it, I had to check it out. 

First, you know what “specialty” editions of the Bible are; Bibles like:

The Word-On-the-Street Bible, the Men’s Bible, the Women’s Bible, the Teens’ Bible, the Tweens’ Bible, the Youth Bible, the Kids’ Bible, the Millennial Bible, the Soldier’s Bible, the Leadership Bible, the Boomer Bible, the Senior’s Bible, the Left-Hander’s Bible, the Graduate’s Bible, the Chronological Bible, the Firefighter’s Bible, the Jesus-Centered Bible, the Skeptics’ Annotated Bible, the Gen Y Bible, the Hockey Bible, the Surfers’ Bible, the Hippie Bible, the Sportsman’s Bible, the Financial Stewardship Bible, the LOLcat Bible, the Zombie Bible, the Instagram Bible, the Bible-for-Those-Who-Don’t-Like-the-Bible Bible, the Doctor’s Bible, the Sailor’s Bible, the Pastor’s Bible, and even the Klingon Bible. (Yes, almost all of these do actually exist; no, no disrespect intended; and yes, I/we do own some of these.)

These are advertised as Bibles designed to fit each person’s age, stage, phase, preferences, profession, confession, interests, needs, and lifestyle.

WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

But have you seen the IRIV Specialty Bible? It’s been out for quite some time but has flown under the radar. For some reason, the IRIV is just not talked about all that much. At least the title’s not talked about. But what’s found between the covers is talked about a lot in social media, pulpits, Bible studies, universities (secular and Christian), and even political debates.

The IRIV Bible, as in the “I-Revise-It-Bible.”

NO, DON’T LEAVE JUST YET!

No, no, don’t let the title scare you. Instead of “revise,” the editors probably should have used a word like “improve,” but a title like the “III-Bible” would be a bit strange, wouldn’t it? That’s probably why they chose the word “revise.”

But there’s really a very biblical idea behind the IRIV.  It goes like this.

God loves you, and He wants you to be happy. So He gave Jesus to you so you can be happy. And He gave the Bible to you . . . and her . . . and him . . . and me . . . so each of us can be happy.  But your needs aren’t the same as my needs and my needs aren’t the same as someone else’s needs. And what makes you happy isn’t necessarily what makes me happy.  

That’s where the genius of the IRIV Bible is revealed: With the IRIV, I can ignore the parts of the Bible that don’t “speak to me” (don’t make me happy), keep the parts that do “speak to me” (do make me happy) – and even speak back into my Bible. To say it in spiritual terms, the IRIV is a tool I can use to make me the Christian I want to be, or, you could say, use to make being a Christian more “me.” It’s a Bible that fits the lifestyle I want to lead.

THE IRIV GIVES ME THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

Another great feature of the IRIV is that I don’t have to lock into only one choice: there are two versions to choose from: the IRIV-AE and the IRIV-SE.

The IRIV-AE is the I Revise It Version – Annotation Edition.  

The AE comes with a gold-ink, erasable pen. You know how most of the words in your Bible are printed in black ink? And then how the really important words in the Bible – the words Jesus is supposed to have said – are printed in red, so that we all know they’re more important than the words only printed in black? The AE lets me take my Bible reading a level higher by giving me the ability to write in the extra-wide margins any new revelations, thoughts, ideas, personal prophecies, or “words” I get. AND, with the pen that’s included, I can add these notes in gold to indicate just how important they are. But, because times change, people “evolve” in their thinking, and cultures are different, the special gold pen is equipped with an eraser so I can remove old beliefs, passé personal words, and outdated revelations whenever I get new ones. The AE is simply a great choice because it keeps the Word of God “fresh.”

The IRIV-SE is the I Revise It Version – Scissors Edition

This edition is for the hard-core, hardliner who doesn’t want to fool with pens and erasers, but simply wants to cut through the extra verbiage and get down to the meat of the message.   

The SE comes with an artisanal, hand-crafted pair of scissors I can use to physically cut out any offensive portions of Scripture. Instead of having to look at those unpleasant Bible texts with pen marks covering them, I can just remove them from the Bible, giving me a real “safe space” experience as I read God’s Word. After all, He’s a God of love who accepts each one of us just as we are, right? And He just wants each of us to like Him and accept Him. Therefore, it’s easy to see that God doesn’t want me to be triggered by something I read in the Bible.

So, with the SE,

. . . I can cut out whatever offends me or I just don’t like;

. . . I can cut out all the things the Bible calls sin but I think are ok;

. . . I can cut out all the things the church has taught as Cardinal doctrine for 2100 years but no longer apply in 21stCentury America;

. . . I can cut out all of the hard-to-accept stories and teachings that  trigger me and use the cut out paper to construct my own personal safe space.

THE iBIBLE

The beauty of the SE is that after using it for a while, it only has the things “my god” would do, and none of the things that “my god” wouldn’t do. At the same time, your copy of the IRIV-SE only has the things “your god” would do, and none of the things “your god” wouldn’t do? Should I have capitalized “god” or not? I’m not sure. Anyway, how perfect is that? 

Whether I choose the AE or SE, I can deconstruct the “religion” right out of the Bible and build a Bible experience that is really “me”:  my own designer belief system, personal set of doctrines (or is doctrine still permitted?), and individual lifestyle that fits me and my idea of what it means to be a Christian. It’s almost too good to be true. You know, they really should have just called the IRIV the “iBible” because it really does make the Bible what it should be: all about me. Or is it “I?”  Whatever.  

That’s why the IRIV-AE and IRIV-SE are such great specialty versions of the Bible. They’re what the Bible is all about: not being offended by anything God could say and having a Bible that really speaks for me.

THE VERDICT

While the IRIV-AE and IRIV-SE are really exciting, “me-friendly” versions of the Bible, our review committee unanimously agreed that we can’t recommend it. Why not?  At the end of the day, and life, it just costs too much.

———-

Special Note: We invite you to consider purchasing our recently released book, “When the Call Comes,” written to help ministers as they walk with those who mourn. Unexpected, or after an extended illness, there is no pastoral responsibility, or privilege, that compares with shepherding people as they say their final goodbyes and mourn their loss. “When the Call Comes” helps pastors serve those who mourn, from the initial call to the end of the funeral.  We address issues like:

“What is the purpose of a funeral and how do I conduct one?”

“What is my role as a pastor, walking families through grief?”

“What should I say when I meet with the family?”

“What do I do in the case of a difficult death: suicide, violence, or infant death?”

“Why do we conduct funeral and graveside services?”

“What do I do when ‘the call’ comes?”

You can read the preface to the book by clicking on this link or you can purchase your copy by clicking here.

————–

NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching exists to provide pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.

Saddled with large student debt, just beginning to set up homes and start families, and serving in low paying first and second positions, Millennials are those who most desire but can least afford to pay for pastoral coaching.

So we offer it to them at NO COST: Our members do not PAY for coaching; they EARN it by investing in each other.

We are able to do so thanks to the faithful and generous support of individuals and churches like yours who want to see young leaders not only enter the ministry, but remain in the ministry. If you or your church would like to help Millennial ministers in 20 US states and 5 nations build strong for a lifetime in ministry, please click here to contact us by email or to support Journey monthly or with your one-time gift. Thank you.

We also invite you to click and subscribe to our twice-monthly blogs at journeypastoralcoaching.com

“In the early years when I was becoming a pastor, I needed a pastor.” 

 Eugene H. Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir