Bridging Language Barriers: Insights from a Bible Translator
Reverend Dr. Rich Rudowski, the Executive Director of Lutheran Bible Translators, shares his inspiring journey into the vital work of Bible translation in this engaging podcast conversation. With a focus on making scripture accessible to every language group, Rich discusses the importance of trust in God's faithfulness, a lesson he learned from his mother at a young age. He reflects on his experiences in Botswana, where he and his wife translated the Gospel of Luke into a previously unwritten language, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of bringing God's word to underserved communities. Rich emphasizes the collective efforts of various Bible translation organizations aiming to ensure that every language has access to scripture by 2033, a vision fueled by collaboration and innovative approaches. Listeners will appreciate Rich's passion for his work and the profound impact that access to scripture can have on individuals and communities around the world.
Rich Rudowski, the Executive Director of Lutheran Bible Translators, shares his remarkable journey in Bible translation, starting from his experiences in Botswana to his current leadership role. He discusses the profound impact of translating the Gospel of Luke into the Shkalahari language, emphasizing the challenges and triumphs faced in working with a previously unwritten language. Rich highlights the importance of community involvement in the translation process, detailing how local speakers and leaders informed decisions about which biblical texts would resonate most with their culture. He recounts a poignant moment from their translation work that illustrates the joy and significance of providing access to Scripture for the first time, a theme that resonates deeply throughout his narrative.
The conversation delves into the methodologies employed in Bible translation, showcasing Rich's commitment to equipping local communities with the tools necessary for understanding and sharing their faith. He outlines the step-by-step process of translation, including drafting, community checking, and publication consultation, which ensures the work is both linguistically and theologically sound. Rich also reflects on the technological advancements that have transformed the field, particularly the use of software that streamlines the translation process, making it more efficient and accessible. The episode concludes with Rich's vision for the future of Bible translation, emphasizing a collective effort to ensure that every language group has access to Scripture by 2033, a goal that inspires both urgency and hope within the global Christian community.
Takeaways:
- Rich Rudowski emphasizes the importance of trusting in the Lord's faithfulness throughout life's challenges.
- His journey into Bible translation began with a calling to serve in Botswana's unwritten language.
- The translation process involves community engagement to ensure the scriptures resonate culturally and linguistically.
- Rich highlights the collaborative efforts of various Bible translation organizations to increase global access to scripture.
- He shares that technology, especially AI, has the potential to enhance translation efforts while maintaining ethical considerations.
- The goal is for every language community to access scripture by 2033, marking a pivotal moment for Bible translation.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Lutheran Bible Translators
- Eastern Michigan University
- Concordia Seminary
- Concordia Theological Seminary
Transcript
My guest today is Reverend Dr.
Host:Rich Rudowski.
Host: ran Hour bible translators in: Host:His leadership approach draws from his experience as a Bible translator back in Botswana.
Host:He and his wife Maya partnered in Botswana community to translate and produce the Gospel of Luke in a previously unwritten language.
Host: In: Host: urned to the United States in: Host: Chief operating officer since: Host: astern Michigan University in: Host:We welcome him to the podcast.
Host:Well, Rich, welcome to the podcast.
Host:How you doing today, my friend?
Rich Rudowski:Doing great, thanks.
Rich Rudowski:Great to be here.
Host:Good to have you on.
Host:Looking forward to this conversation.
Host:What you do is important work for the kingdom, so it should be a fun conversation.
Rich Rudowski:Absolutely.
Host:So to give you a little warm up here, my first question, my favorite question of my guest is what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, the best piece of advice I've ever received is to trust in the Lord's faithfulness, honestly.
Rich Rudowski:And that.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, I suppose anybody could say that.
Rich Rudowski:And it sounds like a right and churchy thing to do, but it came from my mom when I was like five years old, one of my earliest memories and our family had moved across the country, didn't have there's some difficult extenuating circumstances that precipitated our move.
Rich Rudowski:So we didn't have a lot of options.
Rich Rudowski:And so long story short, like my, my dad went into a real estate office.
Rich Rudowski:They were like, oh, we're usually closed today.
Rich Rudowski:But God told me I should be here because somebody's going to come that needs my help.
Rich Rudowski:And these folks got us set up for where we're going to live.
Rich Rudowski:And my mom said, yeah, trust in the Lord.
Rich Rudowski:I think when you see the Lord work in ways that you didn't expect or there was no you just didn't see the end of the path.
Rich Rudowski:You just knew you had to keep walking it.
Rich Rudowski:That's that served me very well.
Host:What a cool story.
Host:Really seeing God's hand really clearly in your, in your life there.
Rich Rudowski:Absolutely.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah.
Host:I'm curious for people like yourself, who are some people in your life who serve to be an Inspiration or maybe a mentor for you in your journey.
Rich Rudowski:There's so many.
Rich Rudowski:My childhood pastor.
Rich Rudowski:So when I was nine years old, our family decided to join the local Lutheran church.
Rich Rudowski:And the pastor at that church was an old guy.
Rich Rudowski:His name was Kermit Bedenbender.
Rich Rudowski:But he was.
Rich Rudowski:I just looked up.
Rich Rudowski:I mean, everybody looked up to him because he was really tall.
Rich Rudowski:But he encouraged me from a young age, like fourth grade, to consider serving in ministry, serving as a pastor.
Rich Rudowski:And, you know, at that time, in spite of the story I just told you, I, you know, with my family's situation, like, all I knew is that I wanted to be wealthy someday and not be in the same.
Rich Rudowski:So I didn't really think being a pastor was for me.
Rich Rudowski:But he was such an encouragement to just.
Rich Rudowski:Just consider that.
Rich Rudowski:And he was a great role model in terms of how he, you know, conducted his ministry.
Rich Rudowski:He was a great preacher.
Rich Rudowski:He was a personable man.
Rich Rudowski:And so, yeah, he certainly had a ton of influence over.
Rich Rudowski:And the high school I went to, I went to a Lutheran high school.
Rich Rudowski:He was one of the founding fathers of it.
Rich Rudowski:So in spite of whatever I thought or even what my parents thought, he, you know, told us, folks, you put this kid in pre ministry classes.
Rich Rudowski:So I had like four years of Latin and two years of German and all the things.
Rich Rudowski:And I did actually go and work in business.
Rich Rudowski:I'm getting maybe ahead of question you're gonna ask anyways, but I went, I worked in business for about five years and then just kind of came to a realization like, yeah, is this all there is to this?
Rich Rudowski:And, you know, I got a whole life ahead of me.
Rich Rudowski:Is this all I really want to do?
Rich Rudowski:And.
Rich Rudowski:And decided to go a different direction.
Host:So you.
Host:You thought the money wasn't worth it?
Host:You'd rather be a pastor is what you thought?
Rich Rudowski:Well, I, Yeah, I mean, I was at church, so.
Rich Rudowski:Another mentor was a guy named David Cook, who's my pastor in Ann Arbor.
Rich Rudowski:So now, as a young, you know, early 20s college graduate, and I was attending that church and yeah, he was a good friend.
Rich Rudowski:I was attending a Wednesday night with my wife, and I had little kids and we had a rough season there.
Rich Rudowski:It was hard to go to church and like, with the kids there, or there was a nursery, but it'd be full, so they'd be like, sorry, you got to keep your kids.
Rich Rudowski:Anyways, long story.
Rich Rudowski:We.
Rich Rudowski:I went to church by myself on a Wednesday night, and.
Rich Rudowski:And I don't even remember exactly what the sermon was about.
Rich Rudowski:So for pastors listening, you can be okay like your people.
Rich Rudowski:But what I do remember is that he quoted this verse from Isaiah, where Isaiah says in Isaiah 43, it's too small a thing that I.
Rich Rudowski:That you would be here to only bring back the Jews, basically.
Rich Rudowski:It doesn't say Jews.
Rich Rudowski:Sorry, I'm not quoting it.
Rich Rudowski:I have it in front of me here.
Rich Rudowski:But it's too small a thing that I send you only to the people of Israel.
Rich Rudowski:I will make you a light to the nations and send you to the end of the earth that my glory would shine to the ends of the earth.
Rich Rudowski:And I just came home thinking, like, to my wife, I said, maya, I think God's calling us to do something different.
Rich Rudowski:And she said, oh, good.
Rich Rudowski:I've been thinking it for a while, so what are you thinking?
Rich Rudowski:And so, yeah, it wasn't.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, it wasn't as much about, like, I don't think I need this money.
Rich Rudowski:I just think there's something bigger and that we're equipped to do and that we should be thinking about doing.
Rich Rudowski:So.
Host:So it's one thing to say I want to be a pastor.
Host:It's another thing to say I want to be a pastor in a foreign country.
Host:How did jump to just.
Host:I think God's called me to go and be a pastor to.
Host:I think God's called me to go translate the Bible in a foreign land to.
Host:In a language that has not been written yet.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah.
Rich Rudowski:So every step along this journey, I'd say the.
Rich Rudowski:A common denominator is my wife, who saw.
Rich Rudowski:Who thought bigger than I did.
Rich Rudowski:So, yeah, I went to seminary with the idea that.
Rich Rudowski:And at the time, the LCMS was really focused on there will be a clergy shortage impending.
Rich Rudowski:And so they had really invested in the seminary to be able to invite men to come study without finances being an obstacle.
Rich Rudowski:So I was like, okay, so I'm really invested in that vision that I'm here and, you know, there's going to be a pastor charge, so I want to be a pastor.
Rich Rudowski:And she said, well, don't.
Rich Rudowski:Don't count out something else.
Rich Rudowski:So Lutheran Bible Translators had a recruiter on campus.
Rich Rudowski:And my wife is my first year at seminary.
Rich Rudowski:I came home and she was all dressed up.
Rich Rudowski:And she said, you know, get dressed up.
Rich Rudowski:We're going out on a date.
Rich Rudowski:And since she told me a lot that I didn't plan well for stuff like that, I figured, this is easy.
Rich Rudowski:So with a date was to meet with the recruiter from Lutheran Bible Translators.
Rich Rudowski:And she's like, I think this would be something you should really think about.
Rich Rudowski:You're great with biblical languages.
Rich Rudowski:And, and I want to be a missionary.
Rich Rudowski:And I was like, okay.
Rich Rudowski:So it took a little while, but I graduated from seminary.
Rich Rudowski:We had, we had three children at the seminary, plus two when we got there.
Rich Rudowski:So we have five children, all very young when I graduated.
Rich Rudowski:So I did take a call to where I had been a vicar.
Rich Rudowski:They, they called me back as pastor and was there for a couple of years, but had that seed planted.
Rich Rudowski:And even the congregation can, you know, encourage me to explore if you think the Lord is calling you to Bible translation ministry.
Rich Rudowski:They had another member of the congregation already serving as a Bible translation missionary.
Rich Rudowski:So of course that's God's hand.
Rich Rudowski:And they knew, like, how important it was too.
Rich Rudowski:And so, yeah, it's a long process, but just that verse is too small a thing.
Rich Rudowski:Just kind of like it seemed to come back up in my life over and over again like there's nothing wrong.
Rich Rudowski:And being a pastor is very noble and, and I would have been very satisfied, I think, having done that.
Rich Rudowski:It's just that there was always that challenge that just when I thought, okay, this is what I.
Rich Rudowski:This is where I am, and I could do this the rest of my life, then God would move and it would be different.
Rich Rudowski:So, yeah.
Host:So what are the challenges?
Host:I mean, for us who don't do this work, it seems like an overwhelming task to go into a culture, whether sometimes a written language isn't there isn't a written language only an audio language to all of a sudden take the Bible, which is complicated enough to translate into a language that has not been written yet.
Host:Kind of walk us through what kind of that process looks like for the Bible translator.
Rich Rudowski:Sure.
Rich Rudowski:What I mean, the, the thing that we get additional training in is linguistics.
Rich Rudowski:I think that's, that's a key.
Rich Rudowski:So to do Bible translation, well, you want to have a good biblical and theological background and then knowledge of linguistics.
Rich Rudowski:So the, the folks in the Bible translation movement love folks that come out of the Luther church education system because, like, you guys have the solid theology of Bible stuff.
Rich Rudowski:So the linguistics, you know, study of language at a meta level, like how language in general works.
Rich Rudowski:And so in general, as you said, most of the.
Rich Rudowski:There are thousands of languages in the world, about 3,000, yet with little to no scripture access.
Rich Rudowski:And most of those are not written.
Rich Rudowski:That's just kind of the nature of their local languages, which means that people speak them locally, but if they go outside of their geographic area, they're usually going to have to know a second or third language to get around.
Rich Rudowski:And people don't usually learn their language if they're from outside the area.
Rich Rudowski:So, yeah, so the.
Rich Rudowski:There's a number of different ways to get at it.
Rich Rudowski:In our case, we did some work initially just with orality as the method.
Rich Rudowski:So we talked out what things meant and then wrote down sort of in rudimentary form translations, but had them recorded and distributed.
Rich Rudowski:So people get a sense of like, this is the Bible in my language.
Rich Rudowski:It sounds good.
Rich Rudowski:It makes sense without having to wade through decoding and reading.
Rich Rudowski:But, yeah, the community was very much invested in there being a written product out of the process.
Rich Rudowski:So we fairly early converted to a written project.
Rich Rudowski:And so there's a whole process of determining an orthography, a writing system for.
Rich Rudowski:For people to use.
Rich Rudowski:And.
Rich Rudowski:And that can happen any number of different ways.
Rich Rudowski:In our case, there was already.
Rich Rudowski:The neighboring language is called Setswana.
Rich Rudowski:It's already written, and people are sort of used to, you know, essentially reading is just saying that I see a symbol and I equate it with a sound that I make.
Rich Rudowski:So people are already used to that concept.
Rich Rudowski:And so we could just, with a few, adapt the writing system used for Setswana for this language called shkalahari, and then use that to produce the translation.
Rich Rudowski:So that's kind of how you get over the writing thing.
Rich Rudowski:The general process is very simplistically, four steps.
Rich Rudowski:We work with people that speak the local language, most ideally folks that are Christian that the community has and the church has recommended as people that would be well fit for the job, speak the language well.
Rich Rudowski:And our people of integrity, we have conversations about the text that's going to be translated.
Rich Rudowski:One of them will draft it.
Rich Rudowski:So usually they get two or three people, and they've all got different assignments.
Rich Rudowski:They're drafting their text.
Rich Rudowski:Then you come back together, look at what's been drafted, talk about it, take it out to that.
Rich Rudowski:Step two, team checking.
Rich Rudowski:The next step is in some way or form to take it out to the greater community and test what the community hears and comprehension, whether they can read it, whether they understand it verbally.
Rich Rudowski:And you make adjustments based on that.
Rich Rudowski:And then the fourth step is a publication consultant, somebody from outside of the language community and outside the project, just walks through typical publication issues as well as typical theological issues that can sometimes have difficulty in translation and kind of, you know, talk through what you've done there and how you came at those decisions and.
Rich Rudowski:And collectively can say, this is a good translation and approve it for publication.
Host:So typically, how long does it Take to translate say a book of the Bible.
Host:I know it's always different, but I'm just curious.
Rich Rudowski:Right.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah.
Rich Rudowski:When we started out, we translated the Gospel of Luke and it took us three years because we were just like at every step was something new.
Rich Rudowski:These words and these place names and how are you going to spell them?
Rich Rudowski:And once and I kind of recommend like we took that approach in that slow speed and then published it at the end.
Rich Rudowski:But the hard work that was done there then that took three years for the one book.
Rich Rudowski:Then the rest of the New Testament was translated in five years.
Host:Wow.
Rich Rudowski:And it could have been faster than that.
Rich Rudowski:It's just some bumps in the road and Covid and stuff like that.
Rich Rudowski:So once the team has kind of hit a critical mass of understanding the tools and the language and the tech available and all that stuff, you know, typical, like a New Testament books kind of have.
Rich Rudowski:Well, yeah, it can have like 20 chapters or can have like four chapters depending on.
Rich Rudowski:But a 20 chapter book, you know, may take to draft, you know, six weeks maybe if that to get it all the way through.
Rich Rudowski:The whole process of checking just depends on the rhythm of when the consultant was available.
Rich Rudowski:And not with zoom.
Rich Rudowski:That's a, you know, more feasible.
Rich Rudowski:So I could say if there's not a lot of interruptions and tech is there, you know, it could be done in a couple of months for longer book.
Rich Rudowski:And if it's only like a four chapter episode, you know, a couple, three or four weeks maybe.
Host:Well, that's, that's amazing.
Host:As you think about what was, what's, what was Botswana like?
Host:For those who've never been to Botswana, kind of describe the culture and the people, then what you loved about it, what were some of the challenges there for you?
Rich Rudowski:Sure.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah.
Rich Rudowski:So Botswana also is, you know, if you're not familiar with your African geography, it's, there's, it's, it's easy.
Rich Rudowski:So down at the bottom of Africa is South Africa and then just north of that is Botswana.
Rich Rudowski:It's in the middle of a bunch of other countries.
Rich Rudowski:But most of Botswana is the Kalahari Desert.
Rich Rudowski:So there's just a nice one small strip of sort of good land in the east where there's only about 2 million people in the whole country and most of them live there.
Rich Rudowski:But out in the Kalahari, that's where we lived.
Rich Rudowski:People spread out over wide spaces.
Rich Rudowski:And the Shkalahari is the name of the language that we worked in, had about 250,000 speakers spread over an area like the size of Illinois.
Rich Rudowski:And Indiana put together.
Rich Rudowski:I mean, it's kind of a, you know, that's kind of sparse population.
Rich Rudowski:And so.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, so living in the desert, it has its comp.
Rich Rudowski:It has complexity, thankfully.
Rich Rudowski:I mean, it's a desert, but there's a water table underneath.
Rich Rudowski:It's not too far.
Rich Rudowski:And so there's.
Rich Rudowski:There's access to water and.
Rich Rudowski:And supplies of other kinds.
Rich Rudowski:They weren't used to outsiders, really.
Rich Rudowski:I have to say, the.
Rich Rudowski:The Shkalahari speakers, I used to get a little jealous because other colleagues that went to other places in Africa would just say how friendly or whatever and.
Rich Rudowski:And the Chicalahari just were.
Rich Rudowski:They were a little bit standoffish, but they, as they warmed up once they came to trust us, I.
Rich Rudowski:It's basically there hadn't been a lot of positive experiences in the history of the Bakalahari with people coming from the outside and that turning out well for them.
Rich Rudowski:So.
Rich Rudowski:So, yeah, challenges.
Rich Rudowski:My wife and I, we had five kids and we were all there just learning to.
Rich Rudowski:To do life there.
Rich Rudowski:We had a certain point.
Rich Rudowski:Whereas, like, there's the morning and there's the afternoon.
Rich Rudowski:If we can get one thing done in the morning and one thing done in the afternoon, like, that's good enough.
Rich Rudowski:Because the logistics of initially, like, finding what you need to cook, understanding how to cook it, getting water to do things, like, it was all.
Rich Rudowski:It just was all encompassing.
Rich Rudowski:And we got systems built and things in place within about six months that helped to normalize that to a degree.
Rich Rudowski:But the one thing it didn't ever change was just don't try to plan more than about one thing in the morning and one thing in the afternoon and be ready for curveballs there.
Rich Rudowski:But the people turned out to be wonderful.
Rich Rudowski:I think the most important lesson I learned living there was that our presence meant more than anything that we ever did, that they.
Rich Rudowski:They, like I said, they hadn't had positive experiences with outsiders.
Rich Rudowski:But also it's a rough place to live, and outsiders didn't usually stay very long or if they're going got rough, you know, they left.
Rich Rudowski:And so we.
Rich Rudowski:We stayed there for a total of five years through a number of the very difficult things that people lived through in that situation.
Rich Rudowski:And that was so honoring to them that, you know, we chose to live.
Rich Rudowski:Live there and give up things that they could only imagine.
Rich Rudowski:Like, we must have had.
Rich Rudowski:We're American, so we must have a lot.
Rich Rudowski:And of course we do.
Rich Rudowski:And to give that up and live there with them and to share with them when things were rough and stuff like that.
Rich Rudowski:So yeah.
Host:So I'm curious.
Host:I have young kids, too.
Host:I'm imagining how a different world it must have been for the kids.
Host:How did your kids adapt to life in Botswana?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, there's.
Rich Rudowski:There.
Rich Rudowski:I have five kids and there are five different stories, but they.
Rich Rudowski:The.
Rich Rudowski:The oldest was 13 when we moved there.
Rich Rudowski:And.
Rich Rudowski:And, you know, people would think that sounds horrifying, but he actually did pretty well.
Rich Rudowski:But I think the.
Rich Rudowski:So my son Josh is like my paradigm of, you know, how did they adapt there?
Rich Rudowski:They loved playing with the other kids to a certain extent, and also were ready to kind of like, you only take so much of being in situations where you can't quite understand and speak the language, and there's a different set of rules that you don't quite get, you know, but they were pretty outgoing.
Rich Rudowski:I had this great picture of my son Josh, and.
Rich Rudowski:And he's with one of the boys from the village.
Rich Rudowski:And so.
Rich Rudowski:And it makes me laugh because it just kind of.
Rich Rudowski:There's stereotypes, there's blowing up stereotypes all in this picture.
Rich Rudowski:So the boy from the village is with.
Rich Rudowski:Is wearing this nice little polo shirt and shorts.
Rich Rudowski:And my son Josh is there, like, he's got this, like, shark tooth necklace and he's got no shirt on and stuff.
Rich Rudowski:So.
Rich Rudowski:But he was very much, you know, the younger kids, especially my three younger kids, were very much into the.
Rich Rudowski:Like, we live in an African village, so we just, you know, do all the things.
Rich Rudowski:My one son, Matt, when he.
Rich Rudowski:When we moved back to the US he would tell his friends, like, just imagine unlimited sand, like, just do whatever you want with it.
Rich Rudowski:And so they.
Rich Rudowski:They adapted well.
Rich Rudowski:It was.
Rich Rudowski:It was fun.
Host:As you begin the translation process, how do you decide what book of the Bible to start with?
Host:Is there just a general.
Host:You start with Luke or is it just depend on a context?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, we'd like to work with the church that may already exist in the area and understand from them what would be most helpful for their ministry or to address problems in society that they may be facing.
Rich Rudowski:So just to, you know, understand that context and try to respond to that.
Rich Rudowski:So Shakalahari used chose Luke first because the way the conversation ended up going was we had an advisory committee made up of some pastors and some of the local chiefs and things that were essentially decision makers on behalf of the community that we really wanted to listen to.
Rich Rudowski:And so they said, look, all the time visiting missionaries come through our villages and they play this film about Jesus, the Jesus film, but it's in Setswana.
Rich Rudowski:And so, you know, it only we only, it doesn't resonate and we only pick up about half of it.
Rich Rudowski:So what would it take to have that film in Shakalahari and that's based on the Gospel of Luke?
Rich Rudowski:So they said, okay, well, let's do that first and get us our own Jesus film.
Rich Rudowski:So that was how they did.
Rich Rudowski:Other contexts, like in context maybe where there's more contact with Muslims.
Rich Rudowski:For example, the church sometimes decides to start with the book of Proverbs because both the traditional religion culture thing as well as the Muslim influence lends itself to Proverbs being a good entry point.
Rich Rudowski:They're more familiar sounding and feeling, and you can pick up Jesus in there through the wisdom part of Proverbs and take that to the next thing.
Rich Rudowski:So it kind of, it really depends on what the church thinks would be most helpful.
Host:Does anybody pick Revelations first?
Rich Rudowski:Not that I'm aware of, and I would have questions if they did, but it would be an interesting study.
Rich Rudowski:Like, I feel like you're going to need some other background information before you get into that one.
Host:Oh, my part.
Host:So you're now the executive director of Lutheran Bible Translators.
Host:What is your vision and main goals under your leadership for Lutheran Bible Translators now?
Rich Rudowski:So first and foremost, we are in a collective impact alliance with 10 other Bible translation ministries.
Rich Rudowski:And, you know, through our collective, both our organizations and the partners and networks that we have, we collectively cover about 98% of the world's Bible translation efforts.
Rich Rudowski:And so we got linked up with five major donors serious about seeing Bible access reality for everybody on the planet.
Rich Rudowski:And they have resourced.
Rich Rudowski:They have resourced the movement at a level that's, that has accelerated Bible translation work.
Rich Rudowski: to some part of God's word by: Rich Rudowski:So that's eight years from now.
Rich Rudowski:And we call it a catalytic amount.
Rich Rudowski:So if it's a, if there's a language with more than half a million speakers, they'd have access to the whole Bible.
Rich Rudowski:If there's a language with more than 5,000 speakers up to that half million, they'd have access to the New Testament or an equivalent amount that's 260 chapters of scripture.
Rich Rudowski: chapters of the Bible by: Rich Rudowski:So that's catalytic.
Rich Rudowski:That's.
Rich Rudowski:It's Only about a quarter of the world's full translation needs if there was a full Bible in every single language.
Rich Rudowski:But we feel like that's catalytic to ending the issue of like, there's some languages now that have no access to any part of God's Word at all in a language they understand.
Rich Rudowski:And so we are really first and foremost invested in seeing that through and plugging in where we have the right skill set and giftings as a member of that alliance to see that happen.
Rich Rudowski:And we've had some new exciting possibilities with Lutheran churches, global Lutheran or churches outside the United States, you know, in the global world that are, have grown and in this generation have become more mission minded to really lean into their evangelism goals that involve Bible translation.
Rich Rudowski:And so as a Lutheran organization, they, as Lutheran, there's some great synergy there.
Rich Rudowski:And at the same time we've been able to explore some great.
Rich Rudowski:We had a colleague who developed a method to contact people using remote social media type things.
Rich Rudowski:And he was able to contact folks on islands out there where there's like 300 people that speak a language.
Rich Rudowski:They're on our list that we want to, and nobody could figure out how to get to them.
Rich Rudowski:And so we're starting language work for the 25 chapter goal this year with 10 of those.
Rich Rudowski:And that's super exciting.
Rich Rudowski:So that's first and foremost.
Rich Rudowski: like, okay, in a world after: Host:How has technology impacted, positively or negative, the work that you do?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, super positive.
Rich Rudowski:I mean the simple things like using computers and word processing type stuff to do the translation work.
Rich Rudowski:There's a program called Paratext that most translation programs use that's designed for having your text and everything in there and entering your text.
Rich Rudowski:And it's already got formatting, publication and so forth.
Rich Rudowski:So when I think of the colleagues in this organization who came, the generations before me, I mean, they, they used to type stuff.
Rich Rudowski:There's a lady named Alvina who's still with us.
Rich Rudowski:She's like over 50 years.
Rich Rudowski:When she started, her husband would, you know, work with folks.
Rich Rudowski:They'd write out translations all day.
Rich Rudowski:They'd go to bed, she'd stay up all night and type it.
Rich Rudowski:They'd look at it the next day and find one mistake or three mistakes, cross them out and they give it back to her and she had to retype the whole thing.
Rich Rudowski:So I mean, you know, simple technology that we all take for granted.
Rich Rudowski:Certainly positive artificial intelligence is the big thing right now.
Rich Rudowski:And the nature of AI that it's pattern recognition and certainly, you know, most of its interface is, well, not anymore it changes so quickly.
Rich Rudowski:But an important part of its interface is textual.
Rich Rudowski:So there's, we've explored what does it look like to use AI for a role in translation.
Rich Rudowski:That Collective Impact Alliance I talked about has a.
Rich Rudowski:We share an innovation lab where there's been some testing there.
Rich Rudowski:And I would say with AI, it is possible to generate a translation, a Bible translation.
Rich Rudowski:We've, we've been reluctant to jump into that because of lots of concerns, ethical issues and you know, it's the Bible we're translating here, so we don't have ready answers to those questions.
Rich Rudowski:Whereas there is a certain artistry when people are working on it so forth.
Rich Rudowski:But it certainly to make resources that help Bible translation available.
Rich Rudowski:You know, there's English language resources that people can read or listen to.
Rich Rudowski:But when you try to like, say maybe the majority language in some countries in Africa is French, not English, nobody's got access to English.
Rich Rudowski:You can use AI to put a lot of stuff in French.
Rich Rudowski:Like majority language stuff is very, very accurate, very easy.
Rich Rudowski:So somebody could have access that's only a French.
Rich Rudowski:Like if their majority language is French, they could have access to stuff because AI can do it.
Rich Rudowski:I'm all for that strategy, but I get asked about AI a lot.
Rich Rudowski:It's to me to generate a brand new Bible translation in a minority local language that has very little data for the AI to use.
Rich Rudowski:Is it raised a lot of questions?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah.
Host:So I'm curious.
Host:You seem to really get a kick out of what you do.
Host:What, what, what brings you the greatest sense of joy from the work you do?
Rich Rudowski:You know, at the end of the day, seeing the people have access to scripture for the first time and really ingest what it's saying to them.
Rich Rudowski:I mean, and I'm a sucker for that, to be honest with you.
Rich Rudowski:There's a, I mean some of my earliest memories are also, you know, my mom and dad giving me a Bible and this even before I can remember, they'd say they'd find me up at like 6 in the morning like paging through that Bible, looking at it.
Rich Rudowski:I certainly had parts of my life where God's word wasn't as important to me.
Rich Rudowski:But there came a point where I realized like this is so important like, this one thing to.
Rich Rudowski:To be confident in my salvation.
Rich Rudowski:And in some ways, that's everything.
Rich Rudowski:But then the gift, God's word is in my life and teaching and guiding and just how interesting it is and how it speaks and has so many interesting facets.
Rich Rudowski:I just love the idea of that gift being possible for others who couldn't have it.
Rich Rudowski:And then when I've been to New Testament or Bible launches and see, you know, we had this video from about seven or eight years ago, and there's a place where they're distributing Bibles in the video.
Rich Rudowski:And this guy takes his Bible and he just dances away.
Rich Rudowski:And I just, like, I tear up every time I see that.
Rich Rudowski:And the Shkalahari, the language we worked in, just had its launch in.
Rich Rudowski:In March of this year.
Rich Rudowski:So my family, it was 10 years since we lived there.
Rich Rudowski:We all went back and celebrated with them.
Rich Rudowski:And.
Rich Rudowski:But it is just hearing people grasp that they understand what God's word is saying.
Rich Rudowski:It makes so much more sense.
Rich Rudowski:It goes straight to the heart.
Rich Rudowski:And to know the gift that's possible if you've overcome that barrier is so amazing.
Host:So for the young person who's listening to this podcast and is inspired to want to do what you do, what advice do you have for someone interested in getting involved in Bible translation?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, the number one is pray about it and talk to important people in your life that give you advice.
Rich Rudowski:Pastors, parents.
Rich Rudowski:I will say parents are often, not always right off the bat, like, hey, it sounds amazing if you go live.
Host:Somewhere else around the world with our grandkids, right?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, exactly.
Rich Rudowski:100.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, that's what.
Rich Rudowski:That's what my mom said, too.
Rich Rudowski:But, you know, ask people.
Rich Rudowski:And certainly if you're at the age where you still have choices about, like, you know, you're gonna go study in college or things like that, I mean, yeah, call us and talk with us about some things that you could be studying that help.
Rich Rudowski:Help you with that.
Rich Rudowski:Certainly theology, language.
Rich Rudowski:And if you have a love for people and, you know, kind of being a catalytic force in people's life somehow to.
Rich Rudowski:To.
Rich Rudowski:To sort of help them imagine possibilities that they couldn't have imagined before and then help them to get it done, I mean, if that sounds like something that would be super amazing, you're a good fit for this kind of work.
Rich Rudowski:If you're a person who's really, like, bookish and likes to dig in to, you know, get into all the details and stuff, there's also a place for you as well.
Rich Rudowski:I mean, there's.
Rich Rudowski:There's places there.
Rich Rudowski:But really listen to God's calling, pay attention to important people in your life and remember that ultimately, I don't know following.
Rich Rudowski:I can't say that following God's call in my life has always turned out super amazing.
Rich Rudowski:There has been hard times and I don't think that the gospel tells us that we're always going to be comfortable or always going to be safe.
Rich Rudowski:But it does say that Jesus promises he's always going to be with us at night.
Rich Rudowski:I can tell you it's 100 true.
Rich Rudowski:So if you're the adventurous type who would like to really know how far that promise goes.
Rich Rudowski:Yeah, we'd love to talk with you.
Host:I love that.
Host:So I'm curious, Rich, as you think about the legacy you leave behind, what legacy would you like to leave behind?
Rich Rudowski:That's a great question.
Rich Rudowski:I mean, I think I would like the until Jesus comes back, however that, you know, long that period is that the world is full of access to His Word so people can know him.
Rich Rudowski:And I don't really, I'm not terribly interested that people know I had anything to do with it or not.
Rich Rudowski:I just want to know that that's the case.
Rich Rudowski:So, you know, if future generations of folks doing ministry aren't saying, well, how are we going to reach these folks?
Rich Rudowski:There's not even a Bible in their language.
Rich Rudowski:That's just like, okay, here's the Bible, so let's go.
Rich Rudowski:That'd be amazing.
Host:So where can people find the work that you do and support Lutheran Bible Translators and learn more about you if they have questions about maybe becoming a translator, how they connect with you?
Rich Rudowski:Yeah.
Rich Rudowski:LBT Lutheran Bible Translators lbt.org We have a brand new now award winning website.
Rich Rudowski:So awarded nonprofit website of the year by somebody, I don't remember who, but it's anyways, it's really cool.
Rich Rudowski:If nothing else, just go check it out because it's really well done.
Rich Rudowski:And on that website you can find, you know, you get a real easy glimpse at what some of our, our missionaries are doing.
Rich Rudowski:And there's.
Rich Rudowski:We have 52 missionaries, but we also have 150 national and local workers in Bible translation.
Rich Rudowski:So there's a whole set of programs that they're associated with.
Rich Rudowski:And so yeah, definitely you can spend hours learning about what we do there if that's of interest to you.
Rich Rudowski:There's a place to click a button to for more info.
Rich Rudowski:Just do that.
Rich Rudowski:Or you can write an email to infobt.org or if you're kind of bold and you're just Like, I want to talk to the man at the top.
Rich Rudowski:You can just write me at Rich.
Host:Well, Rich, as we wrap this up, it has been a great conversation.
Host:What are the key takeaways you want to leave with the audience about the work that you do?
Rich Rudowski:There is only going to be one generation where God sees to it that all people have access to His Word in their heart language.
Rich Rudowski:And this is that generation.
Rich Rudowski:And I just think, like, especially as a Lutheran, I think if there's going to be a movement to ensure that all the earth has access to God's words, Lutheran should be at the front of the line making that happen.
Rich Rudowski:And this is the time.
Rich Rudowski:So, you know, a lot of folks, you know, there's a lot of stuff, a lot of great ministry going on.
Rich Rudowski:It's all very important.
Rich Rudowski:And I think.
Rich Rudowski:But this is our generation here, and I think I would just say check it out.
Rich Rudowski:You don't want to miss it.
Rich Rudowski:It's only going to happen once and.
Rich Rudowski:And it's really amazing to be a part of it.
Host:Well, Rich, thanks so much for taking the time to share what you do and kind of give us a glimpse behind the curtain of how Bible translation works.
Host:And blessings on the work you do.
Host:And may we continue to get that vision of God's Word in every language around the world.
Rich Rudowski:Thank you, Keith.
Rich Rudowski:I appreciate it.
Rich Rudowski:It's been great talking with.
