Nelson Searcy

500 years ago, the first New Testament in English was published – and stirred up a hornet’s nest

In 1526, books appeared in England that no one had seen before: printed New Testaments in the English language. The public snapped them up.

For the first time, people read now-common phrases such as “the powers that be” and “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” But religious authorities condemned the English Bible and burned the copies they could find.

Today, 500 years later, Christians take for granted that anyone should be able to read the Bible in a language they understand. But at the time, vernacular Bibles were associated with heresy.

When artificial intelligence is taking over much translation work, this 500-year-old conflict reminds us that translation is never a simple matter of substituting one word for another. It requires human interpretation.

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500 years ago, the first New Testament in English was published – and stirred up a hornet’s nest William Tyndale’s translation, published in 1526, was based on a then-radical idea: Anyone should be able to read the Bible in their own language.

CHURCH PLANTERS, STAY CLOSE TO THE SOURCE

"With all the work that goes into starting a new church, new church planters sometimes make the fatal mistake of substituting ministry activity and professional growth for their own spiritual growth. The enemy would love to see you fall into this trap. Not only would you be operating through self-sufficiency, but you would also be cut off from the source that put you on this path to begin with."
- Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas, Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch, Chapter 10

From my experiences starting churches in New York City and Boca Raton, FL as well as coaching hundreds of Church Planters since 2004, I've discovered some battle-tested answers that I want to share with you! My mission is to help you grow your church, develop as a leader and abandon average in your ministry.

Claim your FREE Church Planting resources here:
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The FREE resources include: The Call of a Church Planter, Funding Your Church Plant, Launching Large, Starting Small Groups, and Starting a Worship Arts Ministry from Scratch ($149.00 total value)

Big Idea Number 2 on Church Growth:
A Big Day builds momentum in your church by propelling you to the next level of growth.

As your people get involved, the community is touched, growth barriers are broken through, and excitement fills the church, setting the stage to do it again with future Big Days.

For more information, download the FREE summary of my best-selling book, Ignite!
https://www.churchleaderinsights.com/ignitesummary

This user-friendly guide for church leaders shows you what you need to do to reach the unchurched in your community and break through common growth barriers.

Celebrating Charles Spurgeon's 192nd Birthday! (Free Sermons Collection)

Inspire and inform your sermons this summer with this new Charles Spurgeon sermons collection.

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the most influential preachers of the last few centuries! Born on June 19, 1834, Charles Spurgeon preached his first sermon at the age of 16, just a year after his conversion, and became a pastor at age 19.

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, he regularly preached to over 10,000 on Sundays — without amplification! Before his death in 1892, he preached to over 10 million people.

In celebration of his 192nd birthday and in remembrance of his lasting legacy to the church, I decided to work with my team to compile 10 of the most powerful sermons Spurgeon ever preached. Beautifully formatted, this e-book is both a preaching resource and a personal devotional.

Now you can access this new PDF download for FREE ($49.95 value). These 10 sermons from Spurgeon can both encourage you as a pastor and be used in your own sermons this summer!

https://www.churchleaderinsights.com/spurgeonsermons