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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nNotes written by Bible scholars in Ron Beers\u2019s study Bible\nwere full of facts but left 25-year-old Ron uninspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll the notes were information,\u201d Ron recalls. \u201cIn Genesis\n41, I learned that \u2018all the Egyptians were clean shaven, so it was important\nthat Joseph appear that way in the presence of Pharaoh.\u2019 Well, that\u2019s\ninteresting but . . . so what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With gifted storyteller and author V. Gilbert Beers as his\nfather, Ron was used to being inspired. Family meals were served with Bible\nstories so engaging that no one zoned out. His young life was rich with experiences\nthat helped him lean in and expect the Bible to connect to everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ron had an unusual response to his dissatisfaction: He studied\nhis study Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And his discovery was startling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a thorough review of the study Bible he owned, along\nwith a few others, Ron found zero help in connecting daily struggles and needs\nwith the wisdom of Scripture. No notes on how to deal with worry, priorities, doubts,\nor relational conflict. Not one connection to personal application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHe began to wonder if there could be a study Bible that was\nmore helpful. He thought about what it might look like. Then he became\nconvinced that a completely new and different kind of study Bible was needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This new kind of study Bible would continue to provide\naccurate information, but it would also connect to inspiration. It would help\npeople not just to know but also to do so that they could experience the\ntransformative power of God\u2019s Word. It would connect the dots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAs luck\u2014or rather God\u2014would have it, Ron was working at the national\nheadquarters of Youth for Christ in Illinois on new product development\n(primarily books). It was a front row seat not only to see the need for an\napplication-oriented study Bible but also to observe the approaches\u2014what worked\nand what didn\u2019t in helping people connect God\u2019s Word to everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Youth for Christ was passionate about reaching young people\nwith the gospel and helping them become \u201clifelong followers of Jesus who lead\nby their Godliness in lifestyle . . .\u201d (as quoted in their mission\nstatement). And in the mid-1980s, youth ministry was thriving with hundreds of\nhigh school kids showing up for club meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With crazy crowd breakers and hilarious games, meetings were\nfun but also focused on felt needs and common youth issues. Topics like\nloneliness or fear were opportunities to show kids that Jesus cared about them\npersonally and how his Word could actually help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhen the Bible was taught, the focus wasn\u2019t on Bible\nliteracy, cultural context, and historical facts. It was focused on the exact\nthing Ron wanted this newfangled study Bible to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll around us people were asking, \u2018If God really cares\nabout me and my daily life, my community, my nation, my world, then shouldn\u2019t\nthe Bible put forth a clearer blueprint for how to navigate daily challenges?\nShouldn\u2019t its transformative power be more obvious?\u2019 That\u2019s what we wanted to\nget at,\u201d recalls Ron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause when people see how amazingly relevant the Bible is\nto any issue they\u2019re facing, they\u2019ll hunger and thirst to devour the\nScriptures, deepening their relationship with God and transforming their\nrelationships with others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRon brought the idea of an application-oriented study Bible\nfor high school students to his boss, Bruce Barton, vice president of the\nministry service division and the force behind Youth for Christ\u2019s new\npublishing emphasis at the time, and he also shared it with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Jim Galvin, Youth for Christ\u2019s national\ntraining director at the time, the idea germinated and grew as most new ideas\ndo\u2014with a little bit of conflict and bashing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nwould meet to brainstorm products for Youth for Christ, and Ron kept bringing [the\nidea for a youth application study Bible] up. I was the most vocal against it,\u201d\nGalvin said. \u201cHigh school students didn\u2019t use study Bibles. We worked with high\nschool students; we knew them. And they never, ever open a study Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\ndidn\u2019t stop Ron from continuing to bring it up. So to squash the idea, Galvin\nwrote a detailed memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt\nbasically said, if we\u2019re going to do a study Bible for high school kids, it has\nto be done right, and it has to include profiles of Bible people, charts, a\nBible outline, study notes, and a whole bunch of features,\u201d Galvin recalled. \u201cI\nwas hoping Ron and others would say, \u2018This is way too much work. High school\nkids wouldn\u2019t use this product, anyway.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTalk about backfiring. When Ron got the memo, his reaction was, \u2018Now that\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: Notes and feature in your Life Application Study Bible<\/em> were written, revised, and reviewed by writers, editors, and scholars at least 17 times. As the story of its creation is told, you can trust its guidance even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Life Application Study Bible<\/a> <\/em>is now available in Personal Size<\/a>, Full Size<\/a>, and Large Print<\/a>. Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Molly Jo Nyman, freelance writer It started with dissatisfaction. Notes written by Bible scholars in Ron Beers\u2019s study Bible were full of facts but left 25-year-old Ron uninspired. \u201cAll the notes were information,\u201d Ron recalls. \u201cIn Genesis 41, I learned that \u2018all the Egyptians were clean shaven, so it was important that Joseph appear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,15,39,42,55],"tags":[70,112,210],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5686,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551\/revisions\/5686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}