LPI Helps Produce First-Ever Commentary by Africans
Africa today is facing hardships at a level not experienced anywhere else in the world. Four out of ten African girls-almost half-will suffer some kind of abuse. The average life span has dropped from age 62 to age 47. And more than 12.3 million African children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.*
It is a tough environment for pastors who have to answer questions such as, “Where was God when both of my parents died of AIDS?” or “How does God’s grace heal me when I have been abused all my life?”
At the same time, Africa is one of the most exciting places in the world to serve God’s people. More than one-third of Africa has come to Christ, and faith is growing exponentially. More than ever, pastors find themselves with the need to be well equipped for handling a continent of seekers.
Long overdue is advent of the Africa Bible Commentary (ABC), the most important tool for African pastors who need biblical, relevant support. The ABC is the first one-volume Bible commentary to be produced in Africa, for Africa, by African scholars. John Stott Ministries (JSM) partnered with the Association of Evangelicals of Africa (AEA), Serving in Mission (SIM) from South Africa, and many JSM-Langham Scholars and other African writers, to produce this much needed tool.
In production since 2001 and now available in the U.S. from Zondervan Publishing, the 2000-page commentary includes a section-by-section interpretation of the Bible as well as 70 topical articles by African men and women. The authors represent Africa’s finest theological scholars and evangelical church leaders of all denominations and nationalities from across the sub-Saharan Africa area. Contributing editors include JSM-Langham Scholars Douglas Carew, Emily J. Choge, Youssouf Dembele, Tewoldemedhin Habtu, James B Kantiok, Paul Mumo Kisau, E Kingsley Larbi, Onesimus Ngundu, James Nkansah-Obrempong, and Cyril C. Okorocha.
“The pastors in Africa have an excellent tool in their hands and this will greatly impact their congregations positively,” said Dr. Paul Mumo Kisau, former Langham scholar and Assistant Professor for Biblical Studies at Nairobi International School of Theology. Mumo contributed a commentary on the book of Acts to the ABC, based on research that he started as a Langham scholar. Langham Partners also supported Mumo with a writing grant so he could work on the commentary, and LPI’s funds continue to impact Mumo’s research. “I am most grateful to Langham and do continue to pray for this ministry,” Mumo said.
General Editor Dr. Tokunboh Adeyemo of Kenya, former General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa for 27 years, led the commentary development to cover all books of the Bible and keep it relevant to everyday African life. “Producing the Africa Bible Commentary now is doing the right thing at the right time for the Christian Church in Africa,” said Adeyemo.
The groundbreaking resource covers universal Christian topics as well as issues that Africans most often face, including AIDS, polygamy, persecution, syncretism, widows and orphans, the role of African women, and tribalism.
“It is simple without being simplistic,” said Youssouf Dembele, contributing editor and former Langham scholar, who also noted that Africa has a scarcity of resources like the ABC. “It is just right for most of the pastors of the continent. I took it as a blessed opportunity to contribute to the edification of the church through this commentary.”
Pieter Kwant, director of the JSM-Langham Partnership International Literature program, managed the ABC project. The JSM-Langham Literature program seeks to address the lack of evangelical books available to majority world pastors, working in more than 90 countries to distribute needed biblical commentaries and reference works in the four major languages of English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. The ABC plays a crucial role in the JSM-Langham Literature program efforts to equip efficiently the pastors and church leaders of the African continent.
“Five years and one month after that first meeting the finished manuscript went to the printer and today we hold advance copies in or hand and praise God for what he has done,” said Jim Mason, Literature Consultant for Serving in Mission (SIM) International, which supported and produced the project. “My own prediction is that we will go back to printer [for the next translation] within a year.”
The ABC is now available in English, with versions in French, Amharic, Swahili, Portuguese and other languages to come in the next three years. It brings together sound doctrine and biblical accuracy from a culturally relevant perspective. As a first-time, all-African commentary, the ABC fosters hope for a unified continent and for a spiritually rejuvenated population, by means of a contextual, readable, affordable guide.
Read the Introduction by General Editor Dr. Tokunboh Adeyemo
Order the Africa Bible Commentary
Read the review by Guardian Unlimited
* Reported by SIM International, on www.sim.org