Mastering the Tools: Software for Study 3.3.2022

    Last week one of my schools announced changes to how its educational experience will be structured. My undergraduate college is in its last academic term before being “merged” with another school. We are entering a precarious period for vocational ministry. One apparent thing is that some elements of old-fashioned Bible College or Seminary curricula will need to be taught and (hopefully) learned at the local level. I’ve been writing this blog for more than a year now. For 2022 I decided to focus on topics relating to vocational (professional) ministry. At this point, that decision looks like the right one. If you benefit from what I write, please leave comments. If you read this because you are my friend or if it just crosses your desk, please pass it on to a pastor you love, a young person who needs to think of ministry as a career, or anyone looking for a mid-life change who needs to be in the pulpit. Now on to the content. 

    One of the mantras that I relentlessly chant to those I counsel about ministry is this: Professionals use professional tools. In the 21st century that is going to mean computerized tools for studying, reading, writing, editing, taking notes, and even the final deliverables of ministry: finished sermons, lessons, presentations, and so forth. This week we begin a month-long series discussing some of those tools: tools for study, tools for taking notes, tools for writing, tools for organizing and executing ministry responsibilities. 

    A further preliminary caveat. Much of what I say is based on my experience using software applications (apps). Actuality, you could take my advice and execute it in a purely analog (paper-based) fashion. Having used digital tools for 35 years I have evolved my methods during that time to leverage the modern tools available to everyone. I still have a notebook I write in every day. Every suit coat, blazer, or sports coat I wear has a golf pencil in the outside right pocket. I have a crank pencil sharpener behind my desk. I have a (neglected) collection of fountain pens. When I first acquired a computer and could see advanced computational tools for Biblical studies on the horizon, I promised myself to never use a computer to do something I can’t do “by hand.” I’ve kept that promise and can still take out any of my physical Greek New Testaments, transcribe a passage, translate it, exegete it, do a sentence flow, and then preach from it. Using computerized tools not only saves time it allows me to focus on the “executed” aspects of the process rather than the clerical. 

    One more caveat. When I say “professional” I’m not talking about pay, and the temptation to just be a hireling. I assume that you are called and gifted for ministry and that we are talking about equipment. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Before coming to my current ministry with Grayville First Christian Church I spent many years in Bi-vocational ministry. My last “real” job during that time was as an “analyst” for a small financial company owned by my brother. I was process manager, worked in compliance, was the number two person in a one-person Human Resource department, and spent a massive amount of time tracking and trying to prevent fraud. I used several tools to accomplish the task. Of course, there were the normal business tools for writing documents, crunching numbers, and communicating, beyond that there were specific, domain-oriented tools that I needed to do my job. Every day when tracking down incidents of fraud I used a tool that cost the company $900.00 a year per seat. I was able to make fraud-related connections because I had the right tool for the job. Professionals use professional tools. I don’t care if it is digital or analog. Master your tools and learn to use them. In the 21st century, for most people, the best, most cost-effective use of time, talent, and treasure will result in the acquisition and mastery of digital tools. This week we look at the domain-specific tools for Bible Study.

    It took almost 8 years from the time that I began to use a computer to write till the time that I began to use computerized tools to exegete scripture. I have used a wide assortment of these tools. Some are expensive. Some are open-sourced and largely free. Some require a moderate investment to properly equip you for study. Professionals use professional tools. The church just finished having the floors of The Parsonage on the Hill refinished. It took the gentleman who did the work most of the morning to unload his tools. Professional sander, vacuum, spraying equipment, even a heavy-duty cord to plug into the 220 outlet for the dryer. Professionals use professional tools. I am naturally cheap. I save money wherever I can. I have previewed virtually every cheap, shareware, open-source, value-ware, Bible Study program out there. When all is said and done there are not that many professional-level tools that provide you analytical focus for reading and exegeting the original language texts of scripture and which incorporate currently authoritative reference materials. I use three such tools and recommend them as professional-grade tools which will enhance your ministry from a beginner’s standpoint on through a seasoned ministry veteran. Much of my analysis is framed around the program’s felicity with the original language texts, apparatus, and lexica necessary for detailed study. 

 Olive Tree Bible Study

    I’ve used forms of this program since I had a palm-compatible device. It has original language texts, basic search capacities, and some lexical tools. It lacks some of the analytical tools we will discuss shortly. Virtually every week I use this program for one purpose. I open several English translations, and the Latin and French translations and read my text for the coming message. I like to do this Sunday afternoon and get a feel for the plot or strategy of the passage. I have a few scannable commentaries, Halley’s Bible handbook, very basic dictionaries, and some other things that I picked up because they were free or very cheap. That’s about it. I keep the program and my resources current, but it is a one-trick pony in my toolbox. 

    Bible Study is a capable program, but I want the best available versions of the original texts and a variety of ways to analyze them. When I really focus on a passage, Bible Study begins to wheeze like a mower struggling with tall grass. For someone who does not have great Greek/Hebrew, this is a good place to start. If you are studying the original languages and find that you need a sounder analytical platform, then you will make that discovery on your own and be able to make the transition to one of the more capable programs whilst still leveraging what you know and fruitfully using the program.

Logos

    I have used Logos in various versions since the mid-aughts. I know how it works, have a large library, and am, for the most part, able to do serious study on any book of the Bible without ever leaving the program. 

    Logos is slow. It can be agonizing. It has attempted to be all things to all platforms and does not really look like it belongs on any of them. The biggest strength of the program is the publishing side of things. Like many, I turn to Logos like I am turning to a well-resourced theological library. This is not always easy. Many of the packages the company offers are filled with plagiarism pills and public-domain filler that is nice but not necessary for ministry professionals. 

    Over the last 4 years, Logos has tried to position itself as a one-stop-shop for preparing sermons and lessons. Some of the tools are good, though the value of the automated tools is generally overblown. 

    I would recommend that a person get into Logos as early in their ministry as possible, work according to a specific plan of acquisition, use specials and free resource offers wisely, tie your purchases to your yearly preaching plan. 

Accordance

    Finally, there is Accordance. I have not used Accordance as long as either Logos or Bible Study. The value of Accordance comes down to one word: Speed. Accordance performs complex searches instantly. If time is money, then this program has been worth every dime I paid for every module and resource. The original texts are roughly the same as those in Logos, so I can get generally the same information for both programs. While I use Logos as a library with commentaries and other secondary and tertiary literature, I approach Accordance as the reference section of an academic library. I have tried to load up on specialist dictionaries and lexical tools. I have a few commentaries which came up in sales while preparing for specific sermon series. I am careful not to double up and to maximize sales and specials within narrowly specified needs. 

    As they say, your mileage may vary but as far as tools specifically designed for Biblical studies that is my tool kit. I test drive, try, even flirt with other tools but this is the combination of power and accessibility I need for my work. Each has apps for my Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Each contributes to my workflow in such a way that when I sit down to think through a thorny issue, prepare a lesson for Christian Service Camp, or write next Sunday’s sermon I know which tool to use when. 

    A few final thoughts for those who are contemplating the cost of all this. My use of these tools spans more than twenty years. Some programs have come and gone and are sadly lamented. GRAMcord (which stands for grammatical concordance) started this rodeo and is largely out of the game. BibleWorks was a reliable application for a quarter-century. I have been fortunate that my investments have largely worked out. I got pretty good value out of GRAMcord for windows which, when I purchased it in 1999 was largely an MS-DOS program crammed into the Windows environment. It worked. Sort of. I still love and use my books. I’ve always been a book guy. More than anything else I am a preacher. I want to be the best I can be every Sunday. The only important sermon is the next one. I’m always working. Always reading with an eye to quotation and illustration. Always thinking about how to get the most of every hour of every day. How to say clearly and succinctly what I need to say. I will talk about all those issues in the coming weeks. Thinking about those issues is largely possible because the most important tools in my toolbox are ready for action.