9 replies to this topic

[David Lang]

The Pastor's Study series on the Accordance blog has been very popular—so much so that some of you have been disappointed when I didn't get one posted. I have an idea for the next installment, but I need your help to make it happen.

Up until now, the Pastor's Study posts have all consisted of an individual pastor explaining his or her typical sermon prep workflow. I want the next post to contain module recommendations from a variety of pastors, and I hope to gather those from responses to this forum thread.

If you're a pastor and are willing to contribute to the next Pastor's Study post, please answer the following question:

Have you ever bought an Accordance module you thought would be somewhat helpful, only to find that it has become one of your most valuable resources? Something you thought you would use occasionally which you now find yourself consulting all the time? If so, what are those modules and why do you think they have exceeded your initial expectations?

Please give me a brief description of why you originally purchased the module, how it has exceeded your expectations, and why you would recommend it to other pastors. Please also include your name and title as you would like it to appear in the blog post.

Thanks in advance for participating.

[David Lang]

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

[Brent Lawrence]

The Pastor's Study series on the Accordance blog has been very popular—so much so that some of you have been disappointed when I didn't get one posted. I have an idea for the next installment, but I need your help to make it happen.

Up until now, the Pastor's Study posts have all consisted of an individual pastor explaining his or her typical sermon prep workflow. I want the next post to contain module recommendations from a variety of pastors, and I hope to gather those from responses to this forum thread.

If you're a pastor and are willing to contribute to the next Pastor's Study post, please answer the following question:

Have you ever bought an Accordance module you thought would be somewhat helpful, only to find that it has become one of your most valuable resources? Something you thought you would use occasionally which you now find yourself consulting all the time? If so, what are those modules and why do you think they have exceeded your initial expectations?

Please give me a brief description of why you originally purchased the module, how it has exceeded your expectations, and why you would recommend it to other pastors. Please also include your name and title as you would like it to appear in the blog post.

Thanks in advance for participating.

David,
I was hard pressed to think of a specific module that fits with your inquiry as I enjoy the ability to very quickly move from module to module by amplifying the text I'm working through. However, the more I began to think about the one module that surprised me, it would have to be the New American Commentary. I had the print version of the book of Mark and Judges. I honestly had not referenced the print versions much (since I only had two volumes). I had truly been impressed with the volume on Judges what little I had used it. So, when I saw that Accordance made both Old and New Testament NAC series available, I made the purchase thinking it would be somewhat helpful. As I began to use the NAC side by side with the NIV-GK, I found that while the writing was scholarly, it was also easy to read. On one occasion, a few months ago, I remember saying out loud as I was studying in my office, "that is really good!" I don't remember what passage I was studying, but the writing of that particular commentary was helpful in feeding me spiritually and then I was able to impart to our congregation some of the author's insight into the text. That was the day that the NAC became the commentary module I went to first.

On the whole, what has exceeded my expectations is Accordance Bible Software and the whole Accordance team and community. I blogged about it some time ago that Accordance was the reason I stayed with the Mac many years ago as my primary (and now my only) computer. After all these years, Accordance just keeps getting better, not only with software, but also the modules you are bringing to market. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute.

Pastor Brent Lawrence
Praise Tabernacle
Chicago, IL

Edited by Brent Lawrence, 09 July 2011 - 08:27 PM.

[AdamR]

David,

I bought the NETS module (and the LXX, for that matter) based solely on the consistent references to the Septuagint one of my NT profs kept making. I knew it might come in handy on occasion, but I have found it to be far more valuable than I originally thought. I'm not sure I quite find myself consulting it "all the time" as your question asks, but I definitely take a look at it far more often than I originally expected to.

My primary reason for speaking of NETS (and LXX; the two are connected in my mind) like this is from some work I did on Ps 46 for a class I was in. English translations consistently rendered v. 9 with present tense verbs (based on the MT, I assume). But NETS offered something I ended up pursuing further - future tense verbs at that same point. Sure enough, the Gk LXX text has future tense verbs there, which led me to posit, at least tentatively, that at least some Jewish readers began to treat Ps 46 as an eschatological text. It's still just a guess, obviously, but it was a fascinating journey for me.

This particular story doesn't come from my pastoral work, but it seemed to fit what you were asking for in the original post.
--
Adam Rao | SafeHouse Church
Pastor | Teaching and Strategic Leadership

[David Lang]

Thanks, Brent and Adam, for contributing. That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

Any others?

[AdamR]

The NETS/LXX strike again.

We're preparing to study Luke-Acts this fall. One of the major themes throughout Acts is that of the witnesses' boldness in proclaiming the gospel ("word of God"). I hadn't even thought to do a LXX search on παρρησία until this evening. Lev 26 looks particularly promising for further study. Like I said, this is a resource I didn't expect to use very frequently, yet here I am again!

[Kevin Sigafoos]

I've only been an Accordance user for a year and half and I have been pastoring for only a year so I probably have not discovered all of the gems in my library yet. Nevertheless, I will offer up what I have found the most useful thus far. I have preached verse-by-verse through Philippians, Judges and Ruth and I am currently working my way through Colossians and 1 Samuel.

My study usually begins by looking at the GNT-T/BHS-W4 side by side with the ESVS. I highlight words that I want to explore in more detail in a word study. I also have highlights for verbs parts of speech and verb tenses. My word studies usually begin with BDAG/HALOT but I also compare definitions in NIDNTT, TDNT, and NIDOTTE. I will read the definitions and then examine each occurrence of the word in the GNT-T, BHS-W4 and LXX-1 to see how the word is used. I make a reference list of those verses that best shed light on its use in my pericope. I will usually copy/paste that reference list to my MindNode document or Scrivener Notes (see below) at some point in the process.

I also try to read through the whole book that I am preaching (or a good chunk of the book) each day in a different translation. For this purpose, I have a workspace created with all of my favorite English versions on separate tabs. This workspace has a variety of versions from the more word-for-word translations (NAS95S, KJVS, ESVS, HCSB, NET) to the more dynamic translations (NIV11, NLT-SE). I then read my pericope in several English translations and make note of any significant differences.

I pastor a church that was KJV-Only for the last 30 years. They are slowly getting use to me preaching from the ESV, but I am aware that more than half of my church will be comparing what I say to the KJV. So, one of the most important steps in my sermon prep is to do some textual criticism. I have a workspace that has a zone for the GNT-T, GNT-TR, ESVS, and KJVS on one tab and then Comfort Text Commentary, Metzger Text Commentary, the CNTTS Apparatus and the NA27 Apparatus on separate tabs (all of them tied to the GNT-T on the front tab). The Comfort Text Commentary has been one of my most used modules for this purpose. I love its concise but clear descriptions of the textual variants that I encounter each week.

I have to say that none of this textual criticism work will show up in my sermon, but it has been extremely useful to be armed with this information for the inevitable conversations that I have each week after the service ("Why does the ESV say 'X' when the KJV has 'Y'?" or "I like the way the KJV says 'Z', why did the ESV change it?" -- like the KJV was the way God originally said it. :-)

Next I diagram the passage. I have another workspace set up with a tab for a diagram of each passage that I preached through (that way when I am done I have the entire book diagrammed in one place that I can print to a PDF for archival purposes).

After I diagram it is time to leave Accordance and go to BibleArc.com where I "arc" the passage to examine the relationships between the clauses of the pericope I am preaching that week. If it were possible to do arcing in Accordance I would, but I haven't figured out how. Next, I pull up MindNode Pro and start putting down my ideas and start to formulate an outline.

Then it is time to consult the commentaries so back to Accordance I go. I use BestCommentaries.com to help me pick which commentaries I should consult first. Thus far, I have found the NIVAC-NT, NAC, and NIGTC the most useful. I have been surprised by how much I use the NIVAC-NT. I expected that I would turn to a technical commentary (like the NIGNT or WBC) most often, but I have found the NIVAC-NT to offer very practical applications and explanations of how the text may be applied to contemporary situations.

Finally, I open Scrivener to write my sermon. I usually have the Scrivener Scratch Pad open on top of my Accordance modules so that I can copy/paste useful thoughts from commentaries, dictionary/encyclopedia articles and biblical texts into my notes.

Hope this helps,

Kevin Sigafoos
Pastor
Northwoods Baptist Church
Rhinelander WI

Edited by Kevin Sigafoos, 11 July 2011 - 07:23 PM.

[David Lang]

Thanks again to those who have contributed, but I know we've got more pastors on this forum with useful insights to share. Anybody else?

[Levi Durfey]

David, I typed up a few pages with screenshots of how I use Accordance in my sermon prep. How should I send it to you?

[David Lang]

Thanks, Levi. You can email them to me at dlang [at] accordancebible [dot] com.