Which Package to Buy

[zacmmcca]

I currently do not own a copy of Accordance, though I have used the software in the past during my seminary days with friends.  My interest is primarily in using the software to increase efficiency and depth (potentially conflicting goals, I know) in my sermon/lesson preparation.  Secondary to this would be general continued education and self-study of the Biblical texts.  My knowledge of Greek and Hebrew is somewhat rusty, and I would like to rectify that as much as possible.  

 

Being in full time youth ministry (though also regularly preaching), my budget is rather tight.  My question to you is, given the above goals, what package would be best to start off with (noting that additions to the package will be few and far between due to budgetary constraints)?  I will try to clarify any questions you may have with speed.

 

Thanks!

[jarcher]

Welcome to the forums. And welcome to a (I think) helpful community of users.

 

Probably the biggest question to answer is how much money you'd like to invest initially.

 

Here is a quick tool for comparing the available collections. 

 

https://www.accordancebible.com/Collections-Comparison

 

Greek & Hebrew Learner may be a good place to start your evaluation.

[zacmmcca]

My preference would be to stay in the $200 range, but I could stretch it to the $400 if that would provide essential resources for my needs and save money in the long run (with the potential to spend more to upgrade further in the future).  I would rather make the investment now if it is worth while to go the more expensive route, but if the learner packages are solid enough to fulfill my needs for the most part with smaller supplementation I would go that route. 

 

I guess that boils it down to two questions: how useful would the discoverer package(s) be for someone in my situation versus the learner, and related to that question, then, is whether it would be best to focus on Greek and Hebrew, or go for a combo of the English and Original Languages packages.

[Julia Falling]

J.Archer is right – it depends on how much you can afford right now.  Most of us want a selection of English Bibles, original language texts & lexicons, a couple of solid Bible dictionaries, plus a nice commentary collection.

 

Remember, too, that there are significant discounts for students & those in ministry.  The customer service folks (and Accordance has the very best!) will be able to give you the details.  They will also be able to give you sound advice on where to start your Accordance Library to minimize how much you spend in the long run.

 

I spent more than I needed to because I was trying not to spend too much all at once.  I would probably do things differently if I had it to do all over again.

 

I asked for Accordance for Christmas in 2003.  At that point, there were only 3 levels – Starter, Standard, & Premier.  Things have changed – a lot.  Bear in mind that it is sometimes cheaper to buy up a level than it is to "cherry pick" just the resources you want.  Again, Customer Service will give sound advice.

 

You have my sympathy – buying on a tight budget is hard.  But this I will say, Accordance is the best purchase we have made as an aid to our spiritual growth and for being able to make the most of study & research time.  

Edited October 27, 2017 by Julia Falling

[ukfraser]

I think greek hebrew discover is incredibly useful if you are serious about original language as it includes lxx which i think is important.

 

You can always get learner and upgrade later (particularly if there is an offer on).

 

You mention sermon prep and that is very personal and depends on your style. I went down the original languages route (learner equivalent to start with to get my toe in the water but should have gone for a discoverer to start with) as i wanted to select my own products for sermon prep and the english learner and discoverer packages didnt include the sort of resources i wanted. I have bought esv, jps and jewish annotated study bibles and wbc and Nivac, nt use of ot commentaries plus a load of other general materials over a few years.

 

You may however want to look at the graphics learner as well.

 

Spend a lot of time looking at what is in the various package and decide if they are important for you but also look at the tools available which are listed on the web site. It took me ages to decide. I would also look at some of the podcasts to see what is used as these are useful.

Edited October 27, 2017 by ukfraser

[Tim Hall]

Zac,

 

If I were to start over with Accordance, I would most likely go with either the Triple Learner ($399) or Triple Discoverer ($899) depending on what your budget can make room for. Either of these will give you a wide variety of English, Hebrew, & Greek resources.

 

I know that my church helps me purchase a certain amount of resources per year. Also Accordance offers discounts (https://www.accordancebible.com/store/Discounts), you might qualify for one of them.

 

The link that JArcher posted will help you see the differences.

 

So that you know where I am coming from: I pastor a small church in SW Minnesota. I preach weekly, lead a Bible study (prayer meeting) weekly, teach SS & lead a monthly men's Bible Study. I use Accordance on Mac (main), Windows, & iOS.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Timothy Hall

[jarcher]

One other question to seriously consider is whether or not you will read books on an electronic device. For me, I really dislike it. So this tends to change my purchasing decisions in Accordance. I use Accordance most for research, study, reference, etc. As a result, I don't use many of those resources that are more like traditional "books" in Accordance but instead buy paper copies and read them as God intended books to be read. ;-)

 

Anyways... something more to keep in mind.

[Michel Gilbert]

Hi,

 

There is also a payment plan. $200 seems a little low for your requirements. Just something to prayerfully consider, as we all did/still do when we were/are in your situation.

 

Regards,

 

Michel

[William B]

I’ve always found the ivp resources to be really helpful in sermon preparation. The Tynedale commentaries are also excellent. At my theology course they we didn’t study Greek or Hebrew so I can’t comment on the original language resources.