Bible Survey Results

On Sunday in church I took a survey using our communication card. I asked the question, "What version/translation of the Bible are you bringing to church to study from each week?" I asked our people to write it down on their card. The results were much as I had anticipated they would be:

NIV (New International Version) 62.1%
NLT (New Living Translation) 9.5%
NASB (New American Standard Bible) 8.6%
NKJV (New King James Version) 8.6%
KJV (King James Version) 7%
NCV (New Century Version) 2.6%
AMP (Amplified Bible) .8%
ESV (English Standard Version) .8%

Overwhelmingly the NIV's took the cake. Since 1978 when the translation was completed, the NIV has been the standard bearer for accuracy of translation and universal understanding of God's Word. In our Bible colleges, the NIV is the Bible of choice by scholars & professors. The Bible colleges use this primary version as the core instruction for students, even after 30 years. In Christian Church circles, almost 95% of Christian Church pulpits preach from the NIV each week.

I've been in a personal debate about what Bible I should read from on Sunday mornings. When I study, I usually look at the NIV and the NASB side by side. I preached from the NASB my first few months here at Oakwood. Sometimes the wording of the NASB can get pretty thick. The NASB is a word for word translation and the NASB translators tried to maintain the word and thought order as much as possible. Sometimes that means that you have to read it 4 or 5 times to fully understand the meaning because the sentence structure is hard to follow. I like the NASB because where else can you find words like "propitiation". I don't want to lose some of those words that give the text rich meaning. In my personal study time, I usually use the NASB.

My tentative plan is to preach/read from the NIV in the pulpit on Sundays. I'm not conforming to the popular vote or from any pressure. My heart is that people would be able to follow along and understand what we are reading on Sunday mornings. When I find richer meaning or better explanation or understanding from the NASB, I will site those words or verses and use the NASB then. But by in large on Sunday mornings I will read from the NIV because I want people to be able to follow along with me as we read and talk about God's word. My hope is to educate, challenge, and preach for life change each and every week. I believe in my heart that it will be most helpful to meet most of our people where they're at and read from the NIV. I will be using the NIV primarily from the pulpit, unless God leads me otherwise in the days ahead. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this than it should be, but I have to keep the flock in mind as we strive for education and life change. Sometimes I think that works best when people in the pew can follow the Bible reading word for word, especially when we get into long passages.