You may not know this, but the Insight for Living broadcast is now translated and culturally adapted into 15 languages through the significant effort of 15 translators — we refer to them as our field pastors. Candidates for this challenging position must be theologically astute, have a passion for preaching, appreciate my style of expression, and be gifted in creative adaptation. Today, listeners in over 150 countries connect to the Scriptures in a culturally relevant way due to the hard work of these dedicated, talented people. I want you to meet two of them.
Fernando Bochio is a Baptist pastor from Brazil, a country of 170 million people. His eyes light up like candles when you talk to him, and his laughter captivates you. It was Fernando's grandmother who talked to him about the love of God, although his upbringing was basically non-religious. At the age of 18, he was invited to church by a friend and reluctantly agreed to go. There he heard a message that changed his life: Jesus loved us so much that He died for our sins. It changed Fernando so dramatically that his family began asking questions, and soon he led them to the Lord.
Firmly rooted in his new faith and church body, Fernando enrolled in and earned degrees at Baptist Seminary and United College in Rio de Janeiro. Early in the process, however, he noticed the lack of relevant Bible teaching, and it became his longing to present all of God's Word in a way that could be understood and lived out in the real world. This led him to England where he received a master's degree in theology at the University of Birmingham.
After years of working in Brazilian churches, universities, Christian radio, and television, recently Fernando felt God's prompting to begin improving his English, although he didn't know why at the time. The reason soon became clear when Insight for Living called him, looking for a new field pastor. We were particularly interested in Fernando because of his extensive ministry experience with the Portuguese-speaking people in Brazil, his heart for ministry, and his understanding of the English language.
By working together, Insight for Living and Fernando Bochio are fulfilling our separate but identical missions: to bring practical Bible teaching to Brazil. "It's not just a good program to have in my country. It's a necessary [program] and as you say, urgent," says Fernando.
Our other new field pastor is Johnn Hardang, a Norwegian Lutheran Bible teacher. He's a stone's throw from the North Pole and, in his own words, "49 years young." Johnn first got a glimpse of God's calling for his life at the age of seven. His father was a traveling evangelist, driving from town to town in Norway and sharing the Gospel with his countrymen. One day as they rode together to a meeting, his father said, "Johnn, I think you shall do the same thing as I've done. You have a future in the ministry like this." He never said anything about the subject ever again. This wasn't an earthly father pressuring his son to follow in his footsteps; it was God calling a young boy to follow Him.
Although Johnn grew up hearing the Gospel through his father's work, it didn't become real to him until November 1969. Johnn's father left for a meeting in Oslo but never made it back home. He passed away in his car, leaving a widow and two young sons. In the midst of his grief, Johnn struggled with his own mortality and came to realize that if he died, he would be outside the closed gates of heaven.
For months afterward, Johnn searched for relief. He was drawn to the Bible, and the words took on new meaning, particularly a passage in Isaiah 53: "He was pierced through for our transgressions . . . and by His scourging we are healed." Johnn says, "I had heard these words lots of times, but now they seemed new. That was the sunrise . . . the beginning of my life. It cost some pain, but the most important things usually do."
Johnn eventually followed his calling and, at the age of 21, became a traveling evangelist like his father. He fulfilled that calling for more than 10 years and followed it with a long and productive ministry as a teacher and as a principal in a thriving Bible school for more than 15 years. Last year Johnn received his latest call — the phone call asking him to become Insight for Living’s new field pastor to Norway.
Two men, two different languages, two vastly different cultures, and one calling: communicating biblical truth and its application. Both of these men are gifted and passionate about the work they are doing, and they have a tough job! They aren't "just" translators. These guys have to contextualize each sermon so that anyone in their culture will be able to grasp the meaning of each word or euphemism. Think that's easy? "That rainstorm was a real frog-strangler" — try finding the cultural equivalent of that one! And what's Norwegian for "a stone's throw," I wonder?
You may not realize it, but when you graciously support Insight for Living, you not only help to keep our program on your local radio station but you support biblical truth worldwide through men like Fernando and Johnn, as well. Can one person make a difference? Absolutely! But no one does it alone. Do me a favor; join me in praying for them by name right now, would you? I know it will make a difference in their lives, in their work, and in the world.
