Kingdom Work

00:01
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
We’re going to be singing hallelujah. We got some songs right there in revelation of what we could have sing, and we’re going to hear those in so many of the languages that LBT is working in today. New saints in heaven, a singing of a salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. 

00:26
Rich Rudowske
Welcome to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible translators. 

00:30
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
I’m rich Friedevsky. 

00:31
Emily Wilson
And I’m Emily Wilson. 

00:32
Rich Rudowske
Today’s episode features one of our newest staff members, Reverend Dr. Brent Smith, who has joined Lutheran Bible translators as our second executive development officer alongside Tillahun, who we heard from last week. And we got to sit down with Brent and Emily. What’s your impressions? 

00:48
Emily Wilson
Yeah, he’s so much energy. It’s awesome to see because being out on the road and being able to talk to people, that’s just so important to have that passion, that drive, that energy. It’s contagious. It really is. So I loved his little meet us Mondays, like little write up. I’m an extrovert that talks too much. Give me a mean. That is Dr. Brent Smith, like in a nutshell, I think he did an excellent job choosing that one liner. 

01:20
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. The thing about Brent is he knows no strangers. Is that how they say that? Like, you’re immediately his friend as soon as he talks to you? 

01:28
Emily Wilson
Yeah. 

01:29
Rich Rudowske
So we sat down with Brent here in the studio and talked about him coming on board with Lutheran Bible translators. His passion for mission and Bible translation, and again, just great stories as always. 

01:42
Emily Wilson
You know, the first time I met Brent was actually, I was his neighbor at an exhibit. He was also an exhibitor. And just like, so we kind of had that, hey, we know each other, but now actually being colleagues, being able to see how he interacts with mission and that posture that he has and the interest that he has for everyone being active in mission, regardless of their background is just really inspiring. Yeah. 

02:13
Rich Rudowske
Dr. Brent Smith served for several years as a missionary and in missionary administration for the Lutheran Church of Missouri Synod in Eurasia. More recently was a mission executive in the southeast district of the Missouri Synod and then invited mission participation for Lutheran Church Missouri Synod international missions until recently when he joined Lutheran Bible translators. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Dr. Brent Smith. 

02:43
Emily Wilson
So we’re here today with Reverend Dr. Brent Smith, who is the executive development officer for Lutheran Bible translators. Welcome. 

02:52
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Hey, awesome. It’s great to be here and a joy to be sitting here with you and Pastor rich and talking about what the Lord Jesus is doing around the world. 

03:00
Emily Wilson
So you’re new to Lutheran Bible translators, but not new to missionary service. So can you share a little bit about the experiences that you’ve had internationally. 

03:10
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
As a. Yeah, yeah, not new. I’m a baptized child of God, and as the Lord washed me with his word through that water, he made me a missionary. And anyone else who’s baptized in the name of the Father, son, and Holy Spirit, I really believe that delivery of the forgiveness of sins, that’s a free gift. God at work in baptism, really, of course, sends us forth as children of faith, but children who are saved to share a great message of salvation. And so, yeah, I grew up on a little tiny farm outside of a town a little smaller than Concordia, Missouri, where the global headquarters of Lutheran Bible translators is located. I went to a little country school, and then God and his sense of humor sent me to Central Asia, and that was the first international experience. 

04:02
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
I can still remember landing in the middle of the night, driving into what was the capital city at that time of this central asian country. And I was sent not as a pastor, as a layman, as a business manager. My undergraduate was in business and accounting, so assisting being part of the support role of the frontline evangelists and church planters. They had mobile medical vans that were. After the fall of the Soviet Union, a lot of people didn’t have access to basic health care, and so God opened the door for our church body to go, and so that was part of that support role. And it was awesome to see what God was doing around the world. 

04:46
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
It took a few years traveling across the steps of central Asia to Siberia to sit at the feet of some awesome lutheran theologians and go through some summer seminars. And after that, he kind of convinced me to go to a place I said I’d never go. I’m pretty sure I said that to seminary. And, yeah, that was a great experience. And I learned one thing, that when you get a master’s of divinity, you don’t master divinity. You really see how much all of this work is God’s work, and he chooses to work through us, and it’s an awesome adventure. He sent me back overseas at that time with the family, then Jenny, and we have three children, and that experience was great. 

05:40
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
If she were here, she could tell you the hard work she did of having a baby in a birthing house over there and watching our three kids grow up. But those eight years in the russian speaking world and another eight years in what we call the Europe Eurasia region was an awesome international experience of watching God at work. 

06:01
Rich Rudowske
So what did you learn about language and culture and scripture in those contexts as you were working in those different places. 

06:08
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, so much to learn. I felt like in those years of service, God was teaching me much more than I was giving, really, to others. I actually, in praying about this call to come work with the team here at LBT, went back into my library and found some great things to remind me of the language, the culture, and the scripture. Because when I landed in Central Asia, of course, God had been at work for years. There was no Bible translation, though. And coming back to that nighttime drive, and you see the city waking up the next day. Yeah, food’s a little different. You go out in the village, you’re maybe sitting around a table without chairs, eating with your hands, some awesome dishes. But what shocked me the most was that the majority of that population did not have God’s word in their language. 

07:03
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And I actually have here on the table today, maybe we can take a picture or something and share it. But this is some of the beginning work. In the mid 90s, there was a dynamic duo out there, career missionaries. He was a pastor, evangelist, church planter, and his wife was a musician, the custers. And Helga did tremendous work in ethnomusicology and reading the word. And so you’re looking at actually the first version that has three languages in it, a little bit for the english people who are visiting and the short term medical missionaries and things. And then also russian language, which Cyril and Methodius, since nine eightyad ad, they were the ones that God used to bring us cyrillic, but also bring the word of God. 

07:52
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
So you have orthodox Christianity in the former Soviet Union, but like in Kazakh and those other central asian languages, they didn’t have the word of God. So it was fun to listen to them read over that and to try to find the words to put God’s word into the language of the people. So I noticed how difficult a job that was. I was not, of course, working as a Bible translator, as a business manager and doing other things, but in observing how that’s done, pretty powerful. It really engages the whole community, and the cultures are very different. It’s fun to watch them sing some of the psalms using their instruments. So the dombra, of which one of the other workers who’s been out working in this language group for decades now, he learned to play the dombra and setting the scripture to music. 

08:50
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
It sounded very different than our services, but I learned to appreciate the variety in God’s creation and how the word spoken in people’s heart language has a tremendous impact. 

09:03
Emily Wilson
Yeah. Do you have any specific memories of people encountering scripture for the first time, it sounds like then as they were reacting, is there anything that stood out to you? 

09:15
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, lots of memories. How many hours do we have? Lots of awesome memories. Some of these evangelists that were going village to village. Of course, that part of the world is a muslim majority country, and so you had mosques on every corner. And so they have some history in the Quran. It lists a lot of biblical figures and kind of assumes the reader knows who these individuals are. So, yeah, diving back into the Old Testament and the stories of God, Abraham, and the story of faith, there were a few times when people were upset, shaking the van full of evangelists and saying, leave the village. But for the most part, it was really wide open doors. The approach to meet people where they’re at, to attempt to speak their language and to meet human needs through, like, the medical vans, really opened doors. 

10:15
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
One of the most vivid memories, though, is literally in the capital city in the rental space where were worshipping the music. Missionary had a great partnership with the music conservatory. And so before the services, you had all of these students, some on folk instruments, others that were classically trained of western tradition, and see this beautiful music. And then people were, of course, invited to stay. There would be more music, but it was actually starting a worship service to acknowledge God as our creator and that he has sent a messiah. And some people would stay after that. And of course, lots of baptisms and fruit out of that. By the 2000, the first New Testament was published, and by 2010, they did finish kind of version one of the whole Bible. 

11:13
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
So I know this is something that here you at Lutheran Bible translators, you work in day in and day out. But I was one of those outsiders that kind of got a glimpse of the need early on. And now I’m so glad that God has called me into that story to remind people of how important it is to keep Bible translation a top priority in their mission, giving and what they’re tracking and following and what they’re praying now. 

11:41
Rich Rudowske
And after your time in the former Soviet Union and your Asia, you came to one of the biggest mission fields in the world, the United States, and did some work here. Tell us a little bit about that. 

11:52
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, you always wonder, I’m sure you as well, Pastor Rich, where are you going to land when God calls you back to where you’re a know? We lived as guests in host countries, right, with passport and visa and trying to get across borders. So for us, the Smith family, the five of us, we landed in the east coast and the Washington DC area. And that’s exactly right. You really see what a mission field it is. And while some people maybe have negative thoughts when they hear Washington DC, what our family, having served there about three years, are reminded of are the faithful saints. There are so many faithful christians in congregations right there in the beltway that not only are supporting mission work around the world, but are providing influence and serving God and this country. So that was a joy. 

12:48
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Then we moved back to our home state, which both Jenny and I were born and raised in Nebraska. We’re excited to be based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Two of our kids are now in college. One goes to Concordia in Seward and the other one in the Omaha area and our youngest is a junior in high school. So one of the blessings of the calls that I’ve received since returning to the US is being able to visit what I call the sending church. It’s the church that is so faithful. They’re in their life, calling, living as the Lord has assigned them and sending workers into the harvest field and have been faithful at that. Definitely the church is also a receiving church. God has sent the nations and the languages right here to Concordia, Missouri and to so many other cities. 

13:40
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And so it’s a joy to remind people to keep sending, supporting and receiving the new arrivals, the new Americans, seeing if they believe in Jesus, seeing if they have God’s word in their language. They’re right here in one of the largest mission fields in the world. 

13:58
Emily Wilson
So you’ve mentioned the joys of being able to share about the ongoing needs. But there are some challenges too, as you’re conveying about the ongoing needs as the executive development officer. So what are those like along the way? 

14:14
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, I mean the challenges are great. The international experience and now with God having so many of the nations right here at our doorstep in our midst is communication. Right? We get almost a glimpse of heaven in the sense that there will be people from every language and tribe and nation. And yet here on earth in our fallenness and as creation groans, yearning for Christ to come back again, there’s that struggle to communicate, to love others as God loves us. And we get influenced by the external environment, whether that’s negative news or negative social media. And so it’s easy to get distracted. We really noticed in our own family how easy it is to get caught up in just things that are really distractions from the primary mission that every Christian has in the time that God has given them. 

15:13
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And so those are some challenges. Certainly the workers are few. So we find that we could be working 24 hours a day, but God’s called us to rest, but he’s given us a limited time, but he’s also given us technology like this to communicate to people wherever they’re at. Maybe they’re out in their tractor listening to this, or their corn hauling truck or semi or car or on their lunch break, wherever they’re at. So God’s given the church and all of his workers tremendous ways to get the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. So till Christ comes again, the challenges will be there. But we pray to the Lord of the harvest to help us have the strength and the focus to meet those challenges and to stay focused. 

16:04
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, I think that the christian church in the US sort of has a sinking feeling like that our best days are behind us somehow, and we’re just kind of not all that we could have been. I mean, how do you find that being able to share your experience of seeing God at work in different places can speak to that line of thought? 

16:21
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, I mean, it is a joy to report what is going on all over the world. There’s only one unasankta, one holy Christian Church, and Christ is the savior. And so reminding people that in many parts of the world and parts of the United States, the church is growing. There’s lots of baptisms and in gathering as God’s kingdom grows. And sometimes it’s just lack of awareness. It’s a little bit, if you recall there in Luke chapter 24, the two are walking on the road and Jesus is right there on the journey, walking with them. And it took a bit of time for their eyes to be opened. 

17:05
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And I think that’s the role that we all have here at Lutheran Bible translators that are based in the United States, is to walk along with the church here and ask God to open all of our eyes to what he’s doing in these last days. It is a multigenerational mission effort. So we celebrate the work that those who have gone before us in whatever role that is, the pastor that was in the congregation before you arrived as pastor, the deaconess that is there, you look back of who did God use to bring Christianity, the love of Christ, to Concordia, Missouri and all the other towns and cities? And we celebrate the sacrifice, many of them tremendous sacrifice. And that should encourage us to think about what sacrifices should we be giving to prioritize the mission of Christ in these last. 

18:05
Rich Rudowske
And as you think about all the experiences you’ve had with christians in other places in the world, if you could say to somebody here from the states, if I could just tell you one thing that I’ve really learned about, or seeing christians in different places, this is what I’d really want you to. 

18:22
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Know, that we have a very strong belief and teaching from God’s word on his creation. He has created the heavens and the earth, and that means all these different locations around the world are fruits of his creations. His kind of fingerprints are all over them. And so to celebrate where you see this creation and its expression, how they are worshipping, the joy they have, and to seek out intentional opportunities to experience that, because the variety of God’s creation is just awesome. And the more we experience and understand that, I think he starts to open our eyes to, I may not be able to share Christ or feel comfortable or even know the language to share Christ, but now I know of this church over here, this person, and they’re just the right person to share that message. 

19:30
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
That would be one of the first things I’d start to tell them is to welcome in many people of many backgrounds, we have one thing in common, that’s Christ and his scripture. That is our common ground. And out of that we can go forth to serve together. 

19:52
Emily Wilson
Those differences really are the blessings that we have, our identity in Christ. And being able to say, okay, I am a child of God and so are they. And being able to celebrate, here’s where we’re different, but also having that learning posture of, I don’t have all of the answers and I’m going to need to learn. And I think that’s something that at Lutheran Bible translators just over the years, I’ve really embraced that as well, of, okay, I probably am not going to have all the answers here and just being able to have that time to soak it all up and to listen. And I know I’ve had plenty of surprises over the years. So what’s been surprising for you so far? Encountering Lutheran Bible translators? 

20:37
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah. Oh, it’s been awesome. The culture here is awesome. Again, it’s grounded in scripture. I was trying to think of, how do you describe it? It’s a movement that’s so embedded in scripture. When you go back and start listening to the scriptures again or reading them, just again to think through. Okay, so when you start thinking about Bible translation or God speaking my heart language, it just jumps off the page. I mean, when the apostle Paul, who was Saul, retells the story of his conversion, not when he decided to follow Jesus, but when God sought him out on the road to Damascus, shook him a bit, woke him up. But in acts 22, he says the story again. 

21:20
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
It starts in acts nine, but acts 22 and in acts 26, he intentionally tells the people as he’s telling the story, he’s like, and God spoke in Hebrew. Jesus said to me in Hebrew. So his heart language. And really, if you’re someone who does public speaking, or if you’re a lutheran school teacher, a christian school teacher, or a director of christian education, and you’re working with a whole bunch of youth or a pastor stepping into the pulpit, that really is a translation. You’re going into a text, you know, an audience, and you’re trying to communicate in their heart language as God does his spiritual work. So it’s pretty cool. We do have a sinful side, and I wrestle with my sinful nature daily. We don’t have all the answers. I kind of chuckle when people introduce me as Dr. 

22:15
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Brent Smith and thanks be to God for that experience. But I used to tell people that PhD stands for permanent head damage. And in some cases you could see agadomicians, that they’re really in it for the books and bibliography. They maybe have missed the purpose, maybe it’s position, power over other people or that type of thing. But one of the joys of getting to know the global missionary force, those who serve in the LCMS office of International Mission, where I served for those many years here at LBT, as well as you see people pursuing additional degrees, maybe. But their motive is to get the gospel as accurately as possible into more and more people’s heads and hearts and hands. And that’s what’s been a joy about the culture here at LBT and getting going, seeing that at work. 

23:13
Emily Wilson
So you’ve probably heard plenty of stories kind of filtering through about the work of bible translation and literacy and scripture engagement, whether it’s scripture app or audio or scripture songs. Has there been something that’s particularly impacted you and why? 

23:35
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And why? Yeah, we’ve followed some of the LBT missionary workers over the years. Some would actually, as we lived on the way from Africa back to the United States, they would stop over and visit us in the Eurasia region. And I would encourage, if the listeners to this podcast haven’t yet, those stories that are told when they hit milestones, one of the families that served for years in Ghana, that milestone of the New Testament being finished, and then the celebration that takes place among not just the churchgoers, but the whole community, because they’re hearing and singing in their own language. And so those stories are very powerful of course, the Old Testament is being worked on right now, and we look forward to that next celebration of the whole Bible being completed. The many projects that are know. Thank you, Pastor Rich. 

24:42
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Talking about not having all the answers right. You may recall some time ago when I started, you gave me an awesome recording of how to pronounce. People don’t realize that over 100 languages, these are languages that do not have God’s word yet. And now they’re starting to get God’s word in that language. And he took the time to sit down and record. So I was pronouncing them correctly because many of them I had not heard of. So once again, it takes the whole body of Christ. It is a learning curve for so many of us, but it points us back to scripture. God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. That’s in one Timothy, chapter two there. 

25:32
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And he’s living out, he’s carrying out that desire today in his mission by putting people to work in his kingdom. So it’s good to be part of it. 

25:43
Rich Rudowske
And of course, we would never want to say something that sounds like we’re speaking against any other kind of mission movement, right? Because God is at work in everything. But for folks that you’re going to encounter in your work and that are listening to the podcast, that are hearing about all these different ways to get involved and do things to make the world a better place, why should they consider the work of Bible translation? 

26:06
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Well, I mentioned one of them, the number of languages. And when you start adding up the people groups or the people that speak those languages, it’s into the millions of people. And so when you get the word of God into that language, it spreads like wildfire. Often it’s like people didn’t realize that resource was there because it’s written. It kind of encounters what took place in the early church there. Early on, it was face to face, know, village to village. You see those missionary then, you know, the evil one thought they could stop the movement by putting the apostles, putting Paul in prison, and God put it then on manuscripts, and those were copied, and people were able to experience the word of God, and that’s how he grew his church. And so we see that happening today. 

27:02
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
God blesses us and people are working in their calling. It’s like a tree, right? And he gives a rain induced season and fruit starts to emerge, right? And so in a sense, my role is to get out with the people, which I love to do, be with the people and kind of shake the tree. So that the fruit that God has provided, yes. Through many hours of blood, sweat and tears, of lifelong calling and work, but to help them guide that into something that has a real impact, not just for this life, but for eternity. 

27:40
Rich Rudowske
Yes. And just, I think as you think about that work and inviting people to be in that story, I’d also, I guess, ask you to think about or tell us about at the end of the day. Why is the Bible important to you? For Brent Smith, like, what does this word mean to you and how does that fuel what you do? 

27:56
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah. It drives this whole calling that I’m in. It is living, it’s active. It is a word that as you read it, study it, inwardly digest it. It is the means by which the Holy spirit calls, gathers, and enlightens people. And thanks be to God, we have a God who his primary communication is to bring us to repentance and to faith into eternal salvation. We die here in just a bit. I’m looking at 50 years of life, which is a blast. And I don’t know how that will be celebrated here, but, wow. You start thinking of, wow, 50, that’s like a half a century. Oh, man, the clock is really ticking. Our youngest is almost out. She’s driving 16, the oldest, be 21 this year. And you sense the urgency. 

28:54
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And my prayer is that through the preaching, the proclamation, that people get a sense of the urgency. There’s a couple text. It’s a challenge because there’s a little tension, I think, that all christians live in. To me, when I read one corinthians seven there in the middle of the chapter, like seven, verse 17, it talks about living in the calling that the Lord has assigned to which God has called us to. My brother and my parents still are out on Smithland and cattle farming and planting and praying and irrigating, unlike a lot of places here in Missouri. But God’s bringing rain into season. They pray for the harvest and they bring it in. That’s their calling, that’s their life. And others are working in their vocation that God has called them to. And that’s awesome. And that’s where he’s blessing and he provides abundance. 

29:52
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
And then we go, whoa, what do we do with the abundance? And it’s tempting to spend it on ourselves, but there’s a temptation to become complicit, to go, wow, it’s my calling. That’s my comfort zone. Keep reading. Right? Because if you keep reading, you see the purpose for living out that calling. By the time you get to the 9th chapter of one corinthians, you see that the way in which the people of God are called to also live is often out of their comfort zone. Paul talks about, he’s free, but he’s made servant of all. And then he also talks about, as he’s to be servant of all, it’s to win others into the kingdom of God, to get them the gospel so spirit can make them alive in Christ. 

30:42
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
So he says, to become all things to all people so that more might be saved. And that starts to get us a little nervous, maybe feel like we’re out of our comfort zone. But that’s the tension God has us in. We don’t want to commit the sin of omission, which is not responding to the great commission of God, which is omitting to tell our neighbor about Christ. We confess with a lot of things that sins of commission, doing things we shouldn’t, but God is calling us to live and to also sacrifice and share Christ. And so I pray that urgency and texts like that affirm people that not everyone is called to go into the villages, to these distant lands, and to be the translators and working with those teams and scripture engagement in other countries, that’s okay. 

31:37
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
If that’s not their calling, many are called there, and they should heed that call and go. But whatever calling you’re in, take it serious that God wants his mission top priority. 

31:51
Emily Wilson
Right. I think that is just so true that we have these different callings, unique, beautiful callings, and to celebrate those. But we are all called to be in his mission. And so many people that I’ve encountered over the years that I don’t have it, whether it’s an 80 year old woman at an LWML event or maybe a young family, oh, I can’t go. And it’s like, that is okay because you are still in God’s mission and to be able to share his word, because we believe that it is in our faith that we are founded in the word. It is by hearing his word. And how can they grow in faith around the world if they don’t have the word? 

32:40
Emily Wilson
And it’s just been so empowering for me and my calling as I hear stories around the world of people encountering scripture for the first time, because otherwise it felt like it was somebody else’s religion, some other sort of, oh, this doesn’t belong to me. But then it becomes real. God’s word in their own language. But those steps that all of the people who generously gave along the way to make that translation work happen. It wasn’t just the missionary going, it was all of those people faithfully supporting the missionary and the programs that people are finally able to hear God’s word in a language they understand. 

33:24
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, excellent. Amen to that. There’s lots of different parts of the one body of Christ, thanks be to God. He doesn’t ask us to do one arm push ups. That’s tough to do. And so it does take, it takes the sending part of the church, the generosity, and I think that’s a joy of, in accepting this call, I really wrestled with it. I don’t see myself as a fundraiser. I think it’s the mission of LBT that pulled me into this story. It’s getting God’s word into more languages. We see in revelation, chapter seven, verse nine, picture of the future. And that text is clear. There’s a great multitude of people from every tribe, and it says and language. And so this work is kingdom work, and that’s exciting and what’s fun coming back. 

34:17
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Jesus preached, talked a lot about money, the love of money and the like. And what’s a joy to me is I stayed in over 90 homes in a year of sitting and listening to the stories of God’s faithfulness in the farms and in the families and the schools of these people. And they’re believing in Jesus, and there’s no compulsion in giving. Scripture’s clear about that is watching them have joy in guiding the fruit of their labors into something that makes an eternal impact. 

34:54
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
That’s what I really enjoy about my current role here and the work that goes on, because in that and the second part, which I enjoy and anticipate even the months ahead, much more of this is echoing the stories, the reports of what God is doing through the staff, the translation teams, the scripture engagement teams, the literacy classes and teams is echoing those stories back into the lives of the faithful saints here, because that does remind them of a truth which God is still alive, active. He’s got of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is coming back again. We’re going to do the happy clappy dance. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We’re going to be singing hallelujah. 

35:46
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
We got some songs right there in revelation of what we could have sing, and we’re going to hear those in so many of the languages that LBT is working in today, new saints in heaven, singing of the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. 

36:01
Rich Rudowske
So as we’re recording now, you’re here in the office to have some orientation some strategic planning and then going to launch out from here. What do you feel like things are going to look like in the next few months? What are you excited about? 

36:14
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Well, the prayer is the phone’s ringing off the hook. We heard the podcast and hey, get over here and tell us of all the God pleasing things we can do and how to have an impact and how to help each of these 100 plus languages. So that’s one of the prayers. This is not a solo endeavor. There’s a whole crew that are ready, willing, well trained, and able to come out, speak to groups throughout the nation here to bring them up to speed on the partnerships. And so I anticipate being on the road telling that story with anyone who wants to be part of it and to support it. 

37:01
Emily Wilson
How would people get a meeting with you or some kind of presentation? What’s the best way? 

37:07
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
I mean, they can reach out to the global offices here at LBT and reach me that way. There’s also a whole team of support that’s ready to answer their questions. They could reach me at brent smith@lbt.org or my mobile at 660-217-3372 so any of those ways are ways to reach out. I really encourage people to go to thelbt.org give page right. There is a list of the programs. Not all of the languages, some of them are in sensitive areas. But go to those programs and they can see how they can have an impact immediately around the world. On average, it’s about $35 a verse. It’s about $1,000 for the average chapter. Every student of the Bible knows, some are longer, some are shorter. I know some people say, well, God’s really blessed us. 

38:02
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
What would it look like if we want to support multiple translations or even a whole old and New Testament? And there’s a lot of factors that shorten or lengthen. The time that it takes is a culture that has no written language or the like, but kind of on average, it’s close to about a million dollars to do the pre work, the translation work, the checking, and all the necessary steps and to get that into a host language. And so there may be people out there that God is moving to provide at one or all of those levels. I’d encourage them to be in touch with anyone at LBT and we’ll get the information they need. 

38:47
Rich Rudowske
All right, Brent, thanks so much for spending your time with us today on the podcast. It was great talking to you and look forward to working together more. 

38:53
Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Yeah, I enjoy it. Thanks again for having me here. Emily. Pastor Rich, awesome. Keep doing what you are doing. You’re exactly right. It is essentially translatable. And so thanks for putting this podcast together about God’s word and the work of the Lord through you around the world. 

39:11
Emily Wilson
Thanks so much. 

39:16
Rich Rudowske
Well, there you have it. Brent Smith and his passion for mission. And as now, the last two episodes have essentially translatable. You’ve heard from both Dr. Tillehoona and Dr. Brent, who are available to come out to meet with you. You can be in touch with us at info@lbt.org and say, hey, I’d like one of these guys to come and talk to me, my congregation or my small group, and we will put that together for you. But man, what a great conversation with Brent. 

39:43
Emily Wilson
Yeah, no, it’s true. And as you were like both Dr. Mandedo and Smith, like both of them, so gifted in being able to share the story of Bible translation. If you’re looking for your congregation, your small group, or just like you in general, hey, tell me what’s happening in the Bible translation ministry world. What is it that I can do? These two very gifted, godly men being able to sit down and just share the vision of Bible translation ministry, of putting God’s word in the hands and hearts of people around the world. And I think that his energy, his drive is just so evident. So being able to see where God led him from, how he was never anticipating going into ministry, small town Nebraska kind of feel, right. 

40:43
Emily Wilson
And then going across the world and interacting with different cultures and languages and seeing right there, I loved him pulling out the, it was, I believe, a liturgy, right. And seeing how impactful that was of having scripture songs in their own language and that kind of working in him now, where he is, it’s just really incredible to see how God works. 

41:12
Rich Rudowske
Definitely. And now the invitation is open for us as the church here in the west, to just take the opportunity to reflect on what a gift God’s word is to us and to invite us again in our small groups with your groups of friends or in your congregations to say, let’s intentionally reflect on what a great gift God’s word is. Let’s have one of these guys come and talk to us and get involved in both celebrating the gift that God’s word is and also the opportunity to pass that gift on. 

41:41
Emily Wilson
Yeah, because of people like you, God’s word can go forth. That it is each one of us that is part of his mission. He’s working in and through us. And so being able to embrace that opportunity, getting in contact with Dr. Mendetto or Dr. Smith, you can find out, like, what is it that God’s calling me to? How can I pray? How can I give? How can I be an advocate for Bible translation? Or maybe God’s calling you to go. So, embracing that opportunity to put God’s word in their hands and just celebrating with people around the world, because we’ve got that revelation seven picture of the throne room and the power of people worshipping in their own language, God Almighty. And so if that’s an inspiration for you, we’d love to be able to get you in contact with any of these gentlemen. 

42:36
Emily Wilson
So info@lbt.org or communications@lbt.org thank you for. 

42:41
Rich Rudowske
Listening to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible translators. You can find past episodes of the podcast@lbt.org slash podcast or subscribe on audible, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow Lutheran Bible translators’social media channels on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Or go to lbt.org to find out how you can get involved in the Bible translation movement and put God’s word in their hands. This episode of essentially translatable was produced and edited by Andrew Olson. Our executive producer is Emily Wilson. Podcast artwork designed by Caleb Rotewall Music written and performed by Rob Weit I’m rich Friedowski. So long for now.