The Master's Life
Purpose
This project originally began as a personal devotional exercise. I wanted to become more like Jesus which meant I had to get a clear grasp of His life and teachings. I struggled with the various views the Gospel writers gave; struggled with the apparent conflicts and the differences in the chronologies of certain events. As I worked at understanding them I came to realize what an amazing piece of work the combined, harmonized Gospels was! I decided to show this to my students.
I began teaching my students and as I did I worked at developing ways for them to handle the material. I worked up study questions for the analytical types and found artwork for the more philosophical types. I developed commentary as I tried to answer their questions. I soon realized that the work was profoundly useful in the development of disciples. I began to encourage those who were in jail ministry to use the material for their people. I figured that while it might be difficult to get a convict to read through the entire Bible (especially some parts like Numbers), it would be a little easier to get them through the Gospels, particularly if the story was in a blended, seamless and chronological format.
So the purpose began as a personal attempt at becoming a good disciple, grew to forming other disciples and has now grown to a method allowing that second generation to develop a third generation of disciples. Surely this is a fulfillment of the mitzvot "Go, therefore, and make disciples...teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you" and "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also"?
I began teaching my students and as I did I worked at developing ways for them to handle the material. I worked up study questions for the analytical types and found artwork for the more philosophical types. I developed commentary as I tried to answer their questions. I soon realized that the work was profoundly useful in the development of disciples. I began to encourage those who were in jail ministry to use the material for their people. I figured that while it might be difficult to get a convict to read through the entire Bible (especially some parts like Numbers), it would be a little easier to get them through the Gospels, particularly if the story was in a blended, seamless and chronological format.
So the purpose began as a personal attempt at becoming a good disciple, grew to forming other disciples and has now grown to a method allowing that second generation to develop a third generation of disciples. Surely this is a fulfillment of the mitzvot "Go, therefore, and make disciples...teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you" and "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also"?
History of the project
I originally wrote the entire project using the NLT. I wanted a simple translation that would be easy for my students and the prisoners to read. I developed this as a tool for my adult Sunday school class and I simply approached Tyndale to seek permission to photocopy it for use within my church. I sent a copy of the text (minus the added tools) to Michelle Alm in their legal department so that she could see what I was doing. She liked what she saw and gave it to Mark Norton, who is the general editor at Tyndale.
Apparently Michelle’s action was considered extraordinary and it drew some attention. The book was carefully considered by several of their editors and was generally pronounced academically sound. It kept getting bumped up the food chain until it finally came to a final decision by their general publications board. Throughout the process I seemed to be in competition with one of their in-house editors who had already developed a harmonization of the Gospels and wanted it printed. His version was like the dozen or so that are already out there – four Gospel texts printed in parallel. There was no attempt to reconcile so-called “contradictions” in the Gospels in his text. All the problems were left supposedly for the reader to decipher. Unfortunately in that last round Life of the Master lost out to their in-house harmonization.The consensus seemed to be that they knew their editor and that his work was a safe bet. Though there were already dozens of products just like it out there, they viewed that as a safe and proven strategy.
However, Michelle Alm and Mark Norton, (who both were very supportive throughout this time) have encouraged me as to the quality of the work and the possibility of publishing it elsewhere. When I proposed self-publication, Michelle tried to get me to “shop it around to publishing houses for a year” instead. She felt that it was of sufficient quality to warrant publication by a “real” publishing house. Her concern seemed to primarily lie in the area of marketing. She felt it would be better marketed by a “real” publishing house. She and Mark both suggested the possibility of a literary agent because of the time involved in marketing the work.
(SIGH) So...I began the work all over again, this time using the NET because they made it open for public use. Once this site is well on its way, I plan on drawing their attention to it and asking them for permission to print using their translation.
My primary goal was originally only to better introduce my people to the Master and to let them get to know Him and His teachings better. I spent nearly three years developing this work with no idea of compensation other than souls delivered from their sinful complacency but it seems to be taking on a life of its own. Frankly – I’d like to simply get back to studying and writing and letting the world do as it wishes with the fruits of my labor.
Apparently Michelle’s action was considered extraordinary and it drew some attention. The book was carefully considered by several of their editors and was generally pronounced academically sound. It kept getting bumped up the food chain until it finally came to a final decision by their general publications board. Throughout the process I seemed to be in competition with one of their in-house editors who had already developed a harmonization of the Gospels and wanted it printed. His version was like the dozen or so that are already out there – four Gospel texts printed in parallel. There was no attempt to reconcile so-called “contradictions” in the Gospels in his text. All the problems were left supposedly for the reader to decipher. Unfortunately in that last round Life of the Master lost out to their in-house harmonization.The consensus seemed to be that they knew their editor and that his work was a safe bet. Though there were already dozens of products just like it out there, they viewed that as a safe and proven strategy.
However, Michelle Alm and Mark Norton, (who both were very supportive throughout this time) have encouraged me as to the quality of the work and the possibility of publishing it elsewhere. When I proposed self-publication, Michelle tried to get me to “shop it around to publishing houses for a year” instead. She felt that it was of sufficient quality to warrant publication by a “real” publishing house. Her concern seemed to primarily lie in the area of marketing. She felt it would be better marketed by a “real” publishing house. She and Mark both suggested the possibility of a literary agent because of the time involved in marketing the work.
(SIGH) So...I began the work all over again, this time using the NET because they made it open for public use. Once this site is well on its way, I plan on drawing their attention to it and asking them for permission to print using their translation.
My primary goal was originally only to better introduce my people to the Master and to let them get to know Him and His teachings better. I spent nearly three years developing this work with no idea of compensation other than souls delivered from their sinful complacency but it seems to be taking on a life of its own. Frankly – I’d like to simply get back to studying and writing and letting the world do as it wishes with the fruits of my labor.
