By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Terry Kirby, pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown, holds a copy of his new ‘I Am Bible’ which became available in LifeWay Christian Stores and from other Christian booksellers on Oct. 1.
MORRISTOWN — “Put My words in a different color.”
Though it’s been about five years since he heard those words, he cannot forget them because the words came from the same voice Terry Kirby heard when God called him to preach.
Kirby, pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown, listened to God when he answered His call and he did so once again.
The result of hearing that voice the second time? A new Bible — the “I Am Bible,” which highlights the spoken words of God and Jesus throughout the Bible.
Kirby went through a lengthy process and received opinions from friends and publishers as to the viability of such a Bible. Everything fell into place, he recalled. The Bible is currently available only in the King James Version because of copyright restrictions of other translations, he added.
Text boxes are a key feature of the ‘I Am Bible,’ placing the words of God and Jesus in context and helping the reader to know who they are speaking to.
Kirby originally put the words in blue but after discussions with his attorney, he went with a bold black typeface.
In addition, the Bible contains text boxes that place the context of who God and Jesus are speaking to. In some cases, God speaks in general and not necessarily to anyone, Kirby noted.
Kirby related that God had 616 conversations in the Old Testament while Jesus had 519 conversations in the New Testament.
He also noted that God speaks in 435 of the 929 chapters in the Old Testament while Jesus speaks in 142 of the 260 chapters in the New Testament.
As Kirby reflected on the five-year process of getting the new Bible published (it became available Oct. 1), he noted he originally did it out of obedience to God.
“Once I went through the process, I realized the benefit,” Kirby said. “I have a profound life-changing appreciation for God the Father in Scripture. It makes God come alive in the Bible,” he said.
In his introduction printed in the new Bible, Kirby noted that when he prepared sermons, especially from the book of Isaiah, it sometimes was hard to know who was actually speaking — God or Isaiah. So, Kirby went through the entire Bible and highlighted the actual words of God and Jesus to “help the reader keep straight who’s speaking. I felt excited about the chance to make the reading task simpler,” he wrote in the introduction.
The Morristown pastor observed that God speaks twice as much as Jesus does in the Bible. “It helped me see His active involvement in Scripture and in our lives,” he added.
One theme that emerged was God’s love for Israel and His church. The other theme was the significance of obedience and disobedience in Scripture. “Everything that happened to Israel (good or bad) resulted from obedience or disobedience,” Kirby observed.
“That’s a takeaway for Christians today. There are consequences of obedience and disobedience.”
Kirby said the “simple beauty” of the new Bible is that it just highlights what is already there. “I did not add anything to Scripture,” he said. In addition, the text boxes create “instant context,” he said.
The I Am Bible is available in LifeWay Christian Stores and online from mainline book sellers, Kirby said.
