Posts tagged ‘interpreters’
Multicultural worship can be deceptive
Getting everybody on the same page
I want to start off today’s blog with a story from Bob Kauflin’s book, Worship Matters
I once heard of a Christian woman who spent time serving God in South Africa. While visiting a health clinic, she was deeply moved by the sound of the local Zulu women singing. Their harmonies were hauntingly beautiful. With tears in her eyes, she asked a friend if she knew the translation of the words.
“Sure,” her friend replied. “If you boil the water, you won’t get dysentery.”
This is one of those stories, that if it happened to you, we can look back together and laugh about. However, when it’s actually happening in the moment, it can be both embarrassing and hurt potential relationships.
That’s why it’s so important to get people on the same page when it comes to multicultural worship
During Proskuneo’s Worship Conference 2010….
Earlier this year I shared a story about praying in Korean during Proskuneo’s Worship Conference. I felt called by God to lead everyone in the congregation in a short prayer, but I also felt called to translate when I was saying.
I believe God wanted to build up the church at that moment. And this meant that I needed to pray with conference attendees in a language that was common to all of us.
Scripture seems to say…
As I study the scriptures more I am beginning to become more convinced that when the bible is talking about speaking in tongues that it’s talking about languages, and not necessarily some heavenly language as some believe.
(At least right now… that’s what I’m seeing through commentaries, theology book, and through prayer.)
Does this mean that we always need to have translations and interpreters for everything we do at church? Well, I believe if we are striving for unity and building relationships with one another, then I think it’s something we should strive for, YES.
1 Corinthians 12:28 teaches us:
If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
Lesson
At this time, I believe that multicultural worship is an important aspect of the Church to recognize and strive for. This means having translations and interpreters for the worship service. This means having translations and interpreters for the songs we’re singing, the scriptures we’re reading, etc.
This may mean a simpler worship service, but it’s important that we’re all on the same page. I know that sometimes it’s a nice to have some pray in their heart language and leave it at that. At the same time, it’s important we’re worshiping TOGETHER as a Church community.
What do you think? Is it always necessary to have translations and interpreters? What do you believe and know about speaking in tongues?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
Related Blog Post
© 2011 – 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Whisper His Name by Nikki Lerner
Song translations and interpretations
Congregation song requests
One of my most favorite things to hear as a worship leader is when I hear from someone in my congregation, “When are we gonna sing THAT song again?” I love that songs connect with people and there are some songs that seem to connect with an entire community of people… or so I thought.
This song “Whisper His Name” is a powerful tune that says those words and after which a choir of people sing the name of Jesus in response. People at our church request it all the time. While chatting with Kristen, on of our church’s ASL interpreters, I said, “That song would be awesome for the choir to do ASL to.” Kristen, shaking her head no, then told me that this might not be the best idea.
In Kristen’s own words, this is why:
This song, in English, is based on vocal modulations of whispering, calling out, and shouting. Those are particular to the hearing culture. To interpret the song with true cultural mediation, we would sign it as a Deaf person would call to the Lord in those situations.
Where a hearing person might whisper His name, a Deaf person might pray, seek attention, or request. When a hearing person would call out His name (with stronger intent) a Deaf person would call, request, or pray with a slightly stronger intonation of the sign.
As a hearing person SHOUTS with their voice, Deaf people SHOUT with their hands. The movement is larger and more passionate.
Lesson
What I learned in my conversation was that a song that our Hearing culture loves so much, may not translate well to our Deaf culture. And this, my friends, is why we need each other…why we need to keep asking lots of questions and remember, as leaders, that if we keep our minds and hearts open, God will use those around us to teach us what we need to know to be effective. I am thankful for Kristen today.
Share your story and your life…
Humbled,
Nikki Lerner
Director of Worship
Bridgeway Community Church
Another great article by Nikki Lerner
© 2011 – 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Are interpreters helping or hurting church relationships?
Interpreters can be a bridge
I know the title of this blog post might be “throwing you for a loop” since I’ve been talking about the importance of using interpreters. But I want you stick with me for a few moments
Dependence on interpreters?
In one of the bilingual pastor’s meeting I’ve attended over the summer a friend was talking about how he needed an interpreter. (He was just talking about the passage in scripture about “One body, many parts”.)
I knew what he meant at the time, but the thought occurred to me…”Is he also too dependent on interpreters?”
At least from my perspective, if someone is regularly using an interpreter it feels like they don’t really want to develop a relationship with me. It kind of puts that person at a distance.
I remember when I was working at the bank. They hired an ASL interpreter for one of my coworkers. It helped her understanding what was going on, but it didn’t encourage anyone to talk with her.
Importance of learning a language while using interpreters
I believe interpreters will always be an important part of the Church here on earth. They help connect and build a bridge between two people groups.
But I want to encourage you to learn a new language. Whenever I hear someone make an effort to speak to me in Korean it really blesses me. They don’t always say it with the correct pronunciation, but it does bless me a great deal.
You can use Survival Phrases, which is a free program that’s also available on iTunes. They go through some essential phrases to learn in many different languages and give you a short cultural lesson too.
If you budget accordingly, you can also use Rosetta Stone. They teach you through immersion and, in a sense, force you to learn the language. I really like this program.
Lesson
Interpreters are an amazing bridge in the church. They help us interpreter sermons and songs. And at the same time I want you to learn the language that these interpreters are using.
You’d be amazed how grateful people are when you speak just a few phrases in their language. And, always check with an interpreter or native speaker when you’re learning new words or translating songs.
You certainly don’t want to say the wrong thing.
Are you an interpreter? Have you seen people become encouraged to learn new languages because of your interpreting/gift?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
More blog posts related to interpreters and language:
Remembering native language names
Fingerspelling and ASL
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.