Rob & Karen Taylor Missionary Report

Order of Service

• Prayer of Invocation
• Missionary Report — Rob & Karen Taylor (Wycliffe Bible Translators)
• Question & Answer

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Sermon Title: Rob and Karen Taylor Missionary Report

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

I. Background and Introduction to Wycliffe Ministry

A. Rob and Karen Taylor have been members of this congregation (2002–2006) and have served with Wycliffe Bible Translators for many years B. Karen serves with the Linguistics/Support (SAARS) division, assisting Mexico Branch translation teams with financial reporting and team support C. Rob transitioned from traditional written translation to oral Bible translation methodology

II. From Written to Oral Translation: A New Approach

A. Previous work included a written translation among the Choctaw (Mississippi Band) from 1997–2006 B. Called to begin a new project among the Stoney First Nations people in Alberta, Canada

1. Two prior Wycliffe couples had attempted work there over 40 years without lasting results
2. After prayer and visits, the Taylors felt led to go despite uncertainty C. Discovery that a written translation approach would not be effective for this community
3. Stoney people were oral communicators, deeply distrustful of writing as a vehicle for religious and cultural truth
4. Developed an oral-first translation process: the translator records the translation, the community gives feedback, edits are made to the recording, and a final recorded version of Scripture is produced
5. A written text can then be derived by transcribing the oral recording — reversing the traditional process D. This approach has broad global implications: most remaining unreached communities without Scripture are oral communicators, not literate peoples

III. Interactive Bible Study — The Calling of Matthew

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

A. The story was acted out by volunteers to demonstrate oral translation training methodology

1. Characters: Jesus, Matthew, Pharisees, disciples, tax collectors, and sinners
2. Oral engagement helps translators and communities internalize and interpret Scripture naturally

B. Cultural background essential to understanding the text

1. Tax collectors were despised as collaborators with Roman occupiers; they were excluded from the synagogue
2. "Sinners" in this context refers not to ordinary people but to notorious outcasts — thieves, prostitutes, the dregs of society
3. Pharisees were respected, educated religious leaders whom society looked up to
4. Jesus was reclining at Matthew's house (confirmed by the parallel accounts in the other Gospels, where Matthew is called Levi — see Luke 5:29)
5. Reclining at table reflects the adoption of Greek and Roman customs (hellenization) in first-century Palestine

C. Exposition of Jesus' response to the Pharisees

1. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" — people do not see a doctor unless truly ill; Jesus came for those who knew their need
2. "Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice" — a citation from Hosea 6:6; "go and learn" was a rabbinic expression meaning "go study the Scripture"
3. The Hebrew rhetorical pattern is comparative, not absolute: mercy is more desired than sacrifice, not that sacrifice is rejected — similar usage seen in Genesis 32 (Jacob/Israel) and Acts 5:4 (Ananias)
4. The implied continuation of Hosea 6:6-7 — "like Adam they broke my covenant" — served as an unspoken but pointed rebuke to the Pharisees
5. "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" — a call to follow; the New Living Translation renders "tax collectors and sinners" as "scum," capturing the emotional weight of the phrase

D. Application

1. The radical diversity of Jesus' disciples — from Matthew the tax collector to Simon the Zealot (who would have been his sworn enemy) — demonstrates that Jesus calls his followers to love across deep social and ideological divides
2. The people we look down on, fear, or distrust are likely those Jesus is most concerned about
3. Personal conviction: we often think more highly of ourselves than we ought; immersion in Scripture reveals our own need and reorients our hearts toward those society despises

IV. The Value of Listening to Scripture

A. Rob quoted Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth (1991–2013), from his commentary on Exodus:

"The Torah was not meant to be read but to be listened to. The eye can scan many lines at once, but listening is a sequential, word-by-word process, and the ear can sometimes hear a discrepancy that the eye misses — and a discrepancy is always significant in the Torah." B. This principle applies to the whole Bible: things that seem odd, strange, or discrepant in Scripture are invitations to deeper study, not to be skipped over C. Encouragement to listen to Scripture repeatedly — listeners often hear things they have never noticed before in reading

V. Oral Accuracy and Distribution

A. Translations are recorded and checked through back-translation into English, then reviewed for accuracy, clarity, naturalness, and ease of understanding B. Oral communication is direct (not a "telephone game") and can be verified C. Distribution methods include CDs, SD cards, Bluetooth sharing, web download, and eventual transcription into written form D. Example of the limits of written translation: the Choctaw have had a written translation for over 150 years, yet fewer than 10 out of 8,000 people could read it fluently — demonstrating that written Scripture alone does not reach primarily oral communities