I.D.I.O.M. Starts Today!

Participants in LBT’s annual workshop – In Depth Investigation of Mission (I.D.I.O.M.) – began arriving this morning at the LBT Service Center in Aurora, Illinois.  I.D.I.O.M. is a three-day workshop designed to help mission minded individuals learn more about LBT’s ministry and life on the field.

Why is it called I.D.I.O.M.?  An idiom is defined as a fixed distinctive expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the combined meanings of its actual words.  So it may be Greek to you and you may not be able to make head or tails out it.  You might need to go back to square one before you bite off more than you can chew.

Imagine trying to translate an idiom commonly found in our culture into another language.  It could go down like a lead balloon, maybe even cause a tempest in a teapot.  The message you want to convey could be totally incomprehensible to someone not familiar with English.  Likewise, an idiom common to another language might not make any sense to us.

Because translation is a complex process, whether you’re dealing with idioms, everyday language, or Biblical concepts, I.D.I.O.M. seemed the perfect name for the workshop.

A wide range of topics and issues are covered at I.D.I.OM, including sessions on linguistics, translation and Scripture engagement, cultural adaptation and missionary lifestyle.  LBT missionaries Dr. Jim Kaiser, Rev. Rich Rudowske and Chris Pluger are among this year’s presenters.  All have lived on the field and participated in translation projects.

If you or someone you know is seriously interested in overseas missions, visit https://www.lbt.org/go to learn about opportunities in translation ministry through LBT.  If serving as a missionary isn’t your cup of tea, visit https://www.lbt.org to learn how you can partner with us to help bring God’s Word to people in their mother tongue languages.