The NIV Proclamation Bible

This is not a book review, but a few reflections on what I think is an exciting new packaging of the Bible. If you have one, get one, or use one, I'd love to know your thoughts too!

Over the last few days I've been hanging out with some very welcoming and simulating Anglicans, at the JAEC 2013. Organised by Church Society, this conference (about which I intend to write a little more soon) was great, and there was a small Latimer Trust bookstall all week, and a 10ofThose bigger one on one day. On both the latter and the former was a preview copy of something rather exciting: The NIV Proclamation Bible.

Those who read this blog regularly will know that I am a big fan of the Bible, of opening it up to people in any setting, and of books. It was a pleasure to spend some time with this new packaging of the Bible, and I took a few surreptitious photos for you to enjoy too. As you might guess, this is a concept very much linked with the UK's Proclamation Trust, who love preaching, and the editor Lee Gatiss has compiled an impressive list of contributors, both from inside and out of Proc-Trust circles. They each offer what they think to be the most helpful introduction to each book, and the then rest of the pages are pure Bible.

It should be observed that there are a number of things which make this similar but different to a standard study Bible - of which my personal favourite is the big fat ESV Study Bible. As hinted at above, it is one of the cleanest productions of the Bible I've come across, leaving little to distract you from the primary task of engaging with the text...

Lots of lovely white space, and minimal cross-referencing, to keep the readers eyes on the text.

The introductions to each book are excellent, at least the few that I managed to read in-between conference sessions and other people looking at the sample. They are a helpful balance between detailed and lengthy, designed to introduce the main point of the book, a simple idea as to a preachable/teachable structure, and some of the key points of the book, including application.

There are plenty of solid endorsements from good Bible teachers, and I include this picture below;

So who is this Bible for? Do we need another version? I think we do, actually. And I think it is for a surprising range of people. I don't preach regularly, but could see the value of a simple approach to the text for when preparing, as well as appreciating the input of people who have preached books before, and whose ministry is well-respected. The collegiate nature of the contributors is good, as it doesn't rely too much on any one person. I think this Bible would definitely be a good buy for preachers, but would also be useful for anyone who would sympathise with the slogan 'Correctly Handling The Word of Truth'. Off-hand, I would think smallgroup/Bible study leaders, Bible college students, and anyone looking to go deep devotionally, would benefit from this version of the Bible. I also think it might be a helpful devotional Bible for students studying Theology in a secular/academic setting (which tends to be the NRSV) in order to keep minds and hearts focussed, but with the confidence that comes from the study aids.

Aaaaaand this is how large it is. Compared to a hand. My hand. (Its much smaller than a normal study Bible, potentially usable on Sundays at church/in 'pulpit').

You might enjoy this short video from Lee Gatiss explaining the point of it, in addition to what I've written;

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If you are a fan of preaching, interested in preaching, or just want to read around the topic, then I have some more posts for you. You might want to know what I think about preaching, well, simple: "Preach the Word". I've also reviewed a great book on preaching the New Testament (which could be a great companion to this Proclamation Bible...), "We Proclaim the Word of Life", and would recommend a great, if dated, series of commentaries for preaching, The Welwyn Commentaries.