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Books to Transform the World with Daniel Henderson
399 Plays1 year ago
Rush Witt meets with Daniel Henderson, Vice-President of Strategy for Publications Chrétiennes, a French publishing house based in Quebec, Canada.
In this bonus episode, they talk about the importance of book translation around the world and how churches and Christians can make a missional impact by supporting the translation of great Christian resources through publishing ministries like Publications Chrétiennes.
DANIEL HENDERSON ONLINE
Daniel's Website
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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Publications Chrétiennes
New Releases at New Growth Press
Learn more about the podcast here.
Timestamps:
0:15 - Intro
1:25 - Daniel travels the world
5:35 - How do books become translated to reach the world?
16:15 - How did you and the publishing company become focused on biblical counseling?
18:35 - Foreign publishing impacts thousands of people
20:40 - What are the biggest needs in your work?
32:35 - Farewell
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Straight to the Heart' Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
We're really looking to produce kind of instruments that will be used in our redeemer's hands to help people love God more, obey Him with a greater joy, and just grow more into His image. I'm Rush Whitt, and you're listening to Straight to the Heart, a podcast from New Growth Press. Each episode includes thought-provoking conversations with leading Christian writers and thinkers.
00:00:27
Speaker
We hear who they are, what they believe, how they approach their work in ministry, and the moments in people who have changed their lives. In Straight to the Heart, we go beyond the books to connect with the remarkable people behind them. And today is certainly no exception. Bonus episodes like this give us a chance to do something unique.
Interview with Daniel Henderson: Book Translation and Its Impact
00:00:48
Speaker
And today I spent a unique and interesting time with Daniel Henderson, who is Vice President of Strategy for Publications Cretiens, a French publishing house based in Quebec, Canada. We enjoyed talking about the importance of book translation around the world and how churches and Christians can make a missional impact by supporting the translation of great Christian resources through publishing ministries like his. I found our conversation interesting,
00:01:18
Speaker
and helpful. And I think you will too. This is Straight to the Heart. One of the things I'm always interested to talk to you about is just that you're a master traveler. You're always, you're always going somewhere. And, you know, not everybody loves traveling. Even if they have to do it for their work. I hear a lot of people have to travel and they wish they didn't. Do you really like to travel?
00:01:45
Speaker
Yeah, I really, really love traveling. What do you love about traveling? Yeah, there's something about, I mean, one, it's just absolutely incredible that you go to the airport, you walk into a long metal tube, and a couple hours later, you're somewhere completely different. I mean, it's absolutely mind blowing, really, to think that... It's amazing. You know, tomorrow morning, I could be eating a croissant.
00:02:14
Speaker
in Paris. It's kind of crazy. It is crazy. That's amazing. But it's totally possible. We could be there together. Both of us have time to get there. Where have you been most recently that really was just a joy to be?
Experiencing Cultures: Amsterdam and Beyond
00:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, most recently. Last trip I did was to Amsterdam. And there was a ministry that sponsored a bunch of international partners to come together.
00:02:41
Speaker
to just reflect on what God's doing throughout the world through international publishing, through translation, through sharing good content online. And yeah, we had guys from 20 or 30 different countries, I think. And that's really what makes travel so amazing is that it's stories, it's people, it's yes, it's places, yes, it's monuments,
00:03:10
Speaker
But really, you know, those things kind of always were there and always will be there, you know, in a sense. But the people who God brought there, you know, there was a pastor from Nepal, you know, and for him, it's hard for these guys to get visas. So to be able to be with him in the same room and to hear how God's working in his country, to hear what's going on through their publishing ministry.
00:03:39
Speaker
I mean, you can't really trade that for much else. That's incredible. Yeah.
Diversity in France and Joy in Madagascar
00:03:46
Speaker
What's your favorite place overall, if you can even, you have a ton of places that you've traveled to, so maybe it's hard to narrow it down, but what's your favorite place of all to either go or where you just had the most kind of incredible experience in your work? Yeah, that's such a tough question. People ask me all the time and I think I give a different answer.
00:04:10
Speaker
I think I always give a different answer. In some ways, I really, really love France. The diversity of landscapes, the diversity of cultures, there's so much going on there in terms of the church. So I really do love France, but I think there was a place that surprised me the most was Madagascar.
00:04:39
Speaker
Um, you know, when I say Madagascar, a lot of us probably think the Disney film, the Disney film or Pixar film, whatever it is. That's what I think of. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I was obliged to watch it on the plane before arriving in Madagascar, just to make sure I was up to speed. But, uh, you know, I didn't know what to expect there, you know, I'd been to Africa, you know, many times. And, you know, in a lot of places in Africa, it's, it's, it's really,
00:05:08
Speaker
It's really tough. It's very poor. But there's one experience is when you try to take pictures in Africa, often people aren't happy with that because of different spiritual beliefs. So it kind of sets the tone a bit to the trip when you're just driving around from place to place. And in Madagascar, when I would take pictures of people, they would call their friends together and
00:05:33
Speaker
you know, pose for me, you know, I'd be sitting in my car just taking pictures out the window and people would be posing for me. Yeah. So it really surprised me, you know, because, you know, one thing I haven't seen in, in traveling is, is a, is a correlation between having lots of money and having lots of stuff and being joyful. I haven't seen that correlation yet. So yeah, Madagascar is, is one of those places that, that really,
00:06:03
Speaker
pleasantly surprised me. And I'm going back next week. So yeah, I really, really love it there.
Challenges in French Publishing Across Continents
00:06:15
Speaker
Can you tell me more about what your work is like in these travels, even when you're at home, kind of what your normal day and week and work process is like? What are you doing in terms of French publishing in Canada, around the world? Yeah, I'm working with a French publishing house. And, you know, when God gave me a desire to serve the French speaking church, I didn't know
00:06:45
Speaker
that that literally meant every continent in the world. You know, some languages have the, the reality is that they're spoken in kind of a geographical area. But there's French spoken in every continent except Asia, officially. Really? Yeah, I mean, a lot of people don't realize. And I didn't realize even when I get started, obviously, we all think of, you know, some of us may think of Canada,
00:07:15
Speaker
Um, obviously France and Switzerland and Belgium, Luxembourg as well. But then if we go into Africa, you know, you've got the Northern African countries, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania that are French slash Arabic. Um, when I go to Tunisia, I speak French the whole time without the need of a translator.
00:07:42
Speaker
Then in kind of the rest of continental Africa, there's a dozen or so other countries that speak French. And actually an interesting point is the largest French speaking city in the world is Kinshasa in the Congo. Really? Wow. Yeah. I mean, so like the French speaking world is Africa. And then as you go down the coast to Madagascar, which is French speaking,
00:08:13
Speaker
You've also got Reunion, Mauritius, Mayotte, Comoros, that are all French speaking countries. So Africa is predominantly French, but a lot of people speak French there. South America, you have one place, French Guyana, which is, it's actually kind of like a Puerto Rico to Brazil. So a little piece of trivia is that,
00:08:41
Speaker
France shares its largest border with Brazil because French Guyana is part of France. So a lot of my time is spent trying to meet as many people in the French speaking world that we can serve with our resources.
Translating English Resources: Challenges and Opportunities
00:08:58
Speaker
So when when it comes to figuring out what you can do, is that thing that you do typically you're finding an English resource that is gaining traction either broadly or in this particular place that's needed in only in French and then you're working from there to a translation process. What's that process like to finally see the book delivered to these people who who need and want it?
00:09:26
Speaker
Yeah, so it all starts with publishers like you guys. One of the realities with international publishing is we're often really short on resources. We're short on manpower. We're often short on finances. The potential authors in the French-speaking world that we would work with are often in the same boat, often their churches.
00:09:50
Speaker
don't have as many paid staff as they should. So the pastor is literally doing everything, kind of like a church plant would be in the US. And so, you know, they don't have the time to sit down and write a book. So while we have many, many capable people in the French speaking world who could write excellent books, the reality is, is they don't have the time to do it. So one of the, I'll call it gifts and curses,
00:10:19
Speaker
is that there's such good publishing going on in English that we're able to take advantage of. So one of like, that's kind of the first part of my job is, and as you can see in my office, um, I love reading, I love books. So it's kind of devouring everything that's new, looking what's coming out. Um, because obviously we need to be aware of what's, what's being published in order to know what we could potentially translate.
00:10:48
Speaker
And then what's happening is while I'm doing all these conversations on the other side, trying to figure out projects, I'm also asking, hey, what are the challenges you're facing? You know, and it could be challenges that are pastoral, but it could also be challenges that are theological. You know, recently I had a, I had some guys in Europe talking about, man, so many people don't understand the Trinity. It's just because of a lack of training.
00:11:18
Speaker
a lack of kind of resources to help them understand, I mean, the Trinity is a complicated doctrine. So we understood that there was a challenge amongst mostly lay people in regards to understanding the doctrine of the Trinity. And obviously that's a fairly important doctrine. And since we knew that the issue was around lay people, we were like, okay,
00:11:46
Speaker
You know, what resource would be good for lay people on the Trinity? You know, on my, on my, on my shelf on theology proper, I've got lots of books that would be terrible for lay people because they wouldn't get past the introduction. But then I remembered, and it was, it was at the Ligonier conference. I saw these crucial questions books and they had one. What is the Trinity? 50 pages, super accessible. And I was like, Oh, this is perfect.
00:12:13
Speaker
So then we're able to grab that resource, figure out how to get it translated, get it printed. That resource there, we were able to make as a free download because a lot of the, after we began hearing that a lot of people in Africa were wanting the resource, we were like, let's just make it a free download and just get it out there. So that's kind of an example of just the reality of it. It's identifying problems.
00:12:44
Speaker
and figuring out tools or resources that will help come alongside to solve those problems.
Training Counselors through French Resources
00:12:51
Speaker
I think biblical counseling is another category that New Growth Press has been really helpful on. There's a really strong biblical counseling movement in the United States, in the English-speaking world, and any ministry that decides to open up a counseling center or
00:13:14
Speaker
anything related to counseling, at that matter, is able to depend on just solid resources that have been done that are there. Well, in the French speaking world, one of my friends, Mathieu Caron, who's on the biblical counseling coalition, had really been convicted that this was something we needed in the French speaking world. So through that conversation with Matthew, it was like we identified a need
00:13:43
Speaker
you know, hey, we really want to see, you know, a generation of biblical counselors raised up who believe in the sufficiency of scripture, who have a good biblical view of what sanctification is, who haven't been muddled with secular psychology and pop psychology and all this stuff. Okay, well, if we're going to train these people, we're going to need good books. So that's when we got working, you know, and we
00:14:13
Speaker
On one side, it's very expensive. So we're working on the donor side of things. And then we're working on the content hunting side. So, you know, Hey, Matt, what are the courses you want to teach? Here's the courses I want to teach. Okay, cool. What are the books that you would like to require reading? Okay, here they are. And then literally start translating. And it's really amazing because, you know, I think it was, you know, maybe five years ago.
00:14:42
Speaker
They were able to launch a school, a training, and we basically were one course ahead of them with translating books. But today we have hundreds of people a year who are going through biblical counseling training in the French-speaking world and using these books and resources that we translated. And seven years ago, I would have told you that we had one trained biblical counselor in the French-speaking world. I can't say that anymore.
00:15:11
Speaker
So that's kind of what we do, or what I do specifically.
00:15:18
Speaker
We're closing in on the conclusion of this first season of Straight to the Heart. And over the next few weeks, we're gearing up for season two. In the meantime, I want you to do a few things. First, if you've not subscribed to this podcast, subscribe now so you don't miss any of the outstanding episodes coming in the new season. You can do this by subscribing right here in your podcast app or by visiting newgrowthpress.com and clicking on podcast.
00:15:48
Speaker
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00:16:15
Speaker
since it's an important topic to the church and the world and your work.
Biblical Counseling: A Personal Journey
00:16:20
Speaker
How did you come to biblical counseling and, you know, a particular interest in moving in that direction? Yeah, it was through a whole bunch of ways. You know, obviously through, you know, desiring God at conferences and John Piper, it would be something that would come up. You know, I would see the booth of CCEF, which was
00:16:44
Speaker
you know, at different places and, um, and then on the other side, I had my friend Matthew who was going through the training and sharing with me about the things that he was learning and sharing me these books by, you know, Paul trip and, uh, different and David Paulison and different people like that. And, um, and then on the other side, I was working at the time with, uh, with a Baptist seminary that was actually translating CCF courses.
00:17:14
Speaker
So that's where I was really first exposed seriously to biblical counseling through the Course Dynamics of Biblical Change with David Paulison. And I mean, that course is game-changing. Oh, for sure. So that was really probably kind of the moment where I was like, yeah, Matt, I agree with you. You know, we really need to see this.
00:17:41
Speaker
And at that seminary, it was really cool because we actually required dynamics of biblical change for every pastor. And the seminary really embraced biblical counseling. We had different funders who were able to come alongside, and then we were able to start a French biblical counseling coalition. And yeah, it's just been really amazing to see the fruit. Of course, the fruit that it's easy to get excited about is all the books, the programs, and all that.
00:18:11
Speaker
But if I go down to the different names and people that I know who've been helped through biblical counseling in Quebec, I mean, that's really why we do it all. Yeah, for sure. You know what I mean? For sure, yeah. So it's just amazing. And yeah, my part in it is kind of getting the resources translated.
00:18:37
Speaker
Well, your part is an amazing part. It's something that I really appreciate about the work of publishers and that I value in my small role in being part of a great publisher at New Growth Press. And that is that with every resource book that's published, there's an opportunity to impact so many, really thousands of people. It's one of the unique places where you can do one thing that will reach
00:19:06
Speaker
a wide spectrum of people and I appreciate what you're saying in the way that you see your work because for you the travel and the translation and the publishing is about people.
00:19:21
Speaker
And it's about connecting with people, understanding them, and then meeting meeting their need. You know, and I think that really is the beauty, the beauty of what we are blessed to be able to to do and to be to be a part of.
Mission of Evangelical Publishing
00:19:38
Speaker
And it's really what distinguishes, you know, evangelical publishing, you know, like I never been to a new growth press meeting, but I am sure when you're discussing it, a book,
00:19:51
Speaker
A resource, an idea for a resource. Those are the things you're talking about. How is this going to help someone, you know, fulfill the great commission in the spirit of the great commandment, you know, um, and you know, traditional publishing. You know, there may be a certain connection to the content, but it's not the same type of discussion. You know, we're really looking to see.
00:20:17
Speaker
We're really looking to produce kind of instruments that will be used in our Redeemer's hands to help people love God more, obey Him with a greater joy, and just grow more into His image. So it's really something that distinguishes kind of evangelical publishing of our sorts. So true.
00:20:42
Speaker
So tell me more about what are the biggest needs in your work when it comes to a moment ago, you talked about fund fundraising and funding for the work. What are the biggest needs that people out in the world who catch a vision for what you're doing, how do they get involved with you and what role do they play?
Staffing and Distribution in Global Publishing
00:21:03
Speaker
Yeah, it's a great, great, great, great question. I mean, when you think of international publishing,
00:21:09
Speaker
You know, for us for generally and for us specifically, you know, being a publisher in the United States is really great. Why? Because there's a lot of Christians there. And if you're, you know, kind of convinced of, you know, reform theology, there's a lot of reformed Christians, you know, um, on the mission field where, you know, in Quebec, we have 50, 60,000 Christians total.
00:21:41
Speaker
And then if we kind of go into our convictions, that number shrinks and shrinks and shrinks and shrinks. So then when we add on top of that, hey, we want someone with a certain skill set. Shrink, shrink, shrink. It basically means that one of the challenges of a lot of publishers internationally is just finding
00:22:11
Speaker
qualified staff who shares the convictions of the ministry. Um, so that's, you know, like I'm a missionary in Quebec, you know, so I came in from outside with a certain skillset to help, to help this, this ministry. I was able to, to learn the language and, and, and move here. So I would say, you know, if God is, is nudging you to missionary service,
00:22:38
Speaker
you know, wherever that is, if it's the French world, if it's in Albania, if it's in the Arabic speaking world, I'd say a category to consider is if your skillset matches is possibly helping, you know, in the work of publishing in these countries, there's publishing, Christian publishing happening everywhere you can imagine. It's really incredible. I mean, it's really incredible how God is raising up, you know, Christian publishers to produce good resources.
00:23:08
Speaker
everywhere I can imagine. But often, finding qualified staff is very hard. So that would be the first thing is, if God's nudging you to missions, maybe it's in serving Christian publishing in one of those places. And then the second thing is distribution. We talked about translating books, and we've translated a lot of books. But like I said, I live at the beginning.
00:23:38
Speaker
trying to find the books that we translate and the end trying to get them into hands. And you can publish the world's greatest book, but if no one has access to it or no one is reading it, then it doesn't matter how great it is. You know what I mean? So one of the things that I love about the American church is the American church supports missionaries,
00:24:07
Speaker
in the craziest places. And we've used that reality to get books into crazy places. We'll have someone who'll call us and say, oh, we're going, we're supporting this church in the Ivory Coast, so we're going there with a team and we want to bring books. And I'm like, cool, so where are you going? You're going to Abidjan, the capital? And they're like, yeah, so we're flying to Abidjan. And then we're taking a bush plane. And then we're going to drive through the forest.
00:24:37
Speaker
And then we're going to cross a river and then we're going to end up in this village where there's a church. And I'm like, wow. And you want to bring books there to equip the pastor, man, praise God. Cause I will never find that place. You know, so it's been one of the kind of unique joys in seeing, and it's just the, the reality of the American church is you guys support lots of great ministry around the world.
00:25:05
Speaker
And I think, you know, again, for French specifically, but for any language you're going, you know, to think about the fact that one, if probably in their country, distribution networks are very poor, you know, there's no such thing as Amazon, there's no such thing as christianbook.com, you
Supporting Global Distribution through Donations
00:25:26
Speaker
know? Yeah. So books are, books are traveling on mopeds and motorcycles and tuk-tuk's, you know, they're not
00:25:35
Speaker
They're not traveling through organized methods. And that's a hard thing for us Westerners to sometimes imagine. So if someone doesn't bring your guy books, he's probably not going to get them. Two, he probably doesn't have the financial means to buy them. So to think about it, like if you have a church mission team heading somewhere to just say, hey, would it be helpful if we bring you some books, some commentaries, and then ask them, what's the local publisher?
00:26:05
Speaker
You know, and they'll probably know. And, you know, often those publishers are located in the capital where the airport is. Um, so then you can go stop, you know, pick up some books because for us in the West, it's not a lot of money and bring them those resources because, you know, often one of the challenges is, is we'll show up at a place to train for two days, three days, and then we leave, but the books will stay with them. You know, the books are going to be.
00:26:36
Speaker
you know, what they're gonna be able to go back to, you know, they're gonna be able to refer to, they're gonna be able to share, they're gonna be able to sharpen. So yeah, just thinking about, you know, hey, I'm going on a mission trip, is there any resources that I can bring in their language? Oh, that's a great suggestion. Yeah. And then, and then third is, of course, money, because often what happens is, you know, it's very expensive to translate,
00:27:05
Speaker
in certain languages, French being one of them because it's more of a Western language. But the sales of the books often don't compensate for the cost of producing it. And, you know, in a business model, we just wouldn't do those books. But because of our convictions about equipping the church and equipping pastors, it's not an option not to do them.
Churches and Global Missions through Book Translations
00:27:31
Speaker
You know, I think about the biblical counseling books
00:27:33
Speaker
You know, there's some of them in the training that are really specific. I mean, there's not gonna sell a ton because it's so specific, but it's so important to train those biblical counselors in that issue. So we do it, but then we lose money. And as you know, you can only lose money for so long. So that's where donors can come in and yeah, and help support that. And that's really fun because again, for French or for any language where your church
00:28:03
Speaker
may have a heart or may be serving. Translating a 200 page book, if you're in Asia, Africa, South America, it could be two, $3,000. If you're in Europe, it could be six to $10,000.
00:28:28
Speaker
you know, if you're in Korea, it's also more expensive. And this is the cost of the translation not including actually producing the book? That's usually the cost with everything except printing. Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, so to be able to kind of come alongside and, you know, we've had churches who've called us up and said, hey, our church really has been impacted by this book. There was one church, they had really been impacted, their leadership team by dangerous calling.
00:28:58
Speaker
by Paul Tripp. And they called me up and said, Hey, yeah, our team has been really kind of impacted by this book. Is it in French? And I said, No, it's not. You know, because it's a book for pastors, it has a pretty small market. You know, in places where there's not a lot of Christians, there's a lot less pastors. And, and they said, How much would it cost to translate it? And they funded it, a small church in rural Pennsylvania. And
00:29:29
Speaker
You know, that's the type of thing that churches can imagine is sponsoring a book project, you know, which basically allows a resource to be translated that would not be translated otherwise.
00:29:42
Speaker
Well, I'll be honest, Daniel, I'm really learning a lot from our conversation and I really value it. That's why I love doing this. And that right there is something that I've just learned because I just have not thought of that. I haven't thought of the opportunity for churches or even maybe one or more Christians together to think missionally about publishing because it's just this thing that happens. It happens somewhere in the unseen place. Exactly.
00:30:11
Speaker
And then the book pops out, it's out there. But to think about how the church could consider, and I'm thinking about this myself now, could consider how some kind of sponsorship of resources can be a real mission's endeavor.
00:30:28
Speaker
A church's investment in mission, missional publishing has a wide reach and it has a wide reach in a similar way as we would imagine a missionary or team on the field. They're going to go and be able to have contact with lots of lots of people who need to hear
Role of Publishing in Missions
00:30:48
Speaker
the gospel. And you know, just to just to clarify a point, because some people might say, oh, but if they're selling the book after, why would I support it? Well,
00:30:57
Speaker
You know, there's things that you can invest in, that you invest directly in. You know, that whole idea of, you know, teaching someone to fish or give him fish. By investing in the translation of a resource. You know, because there are some books that would cover their own expenses through sales. But the reality is, is to run a publishing ministry, you need to do more than pay for the cost of the book. So, you know, you could give,
00:31:27
Speaker
A church could give $10,000 directly to a publisher, and they may put that into their operations budget, and that's great. Or a church could say, hey, we're going to help translate this book, and then the publisher will work on selling it. They may do free distribution to people who are in needs. They may do free digital downloads. These are all things that internationally happens quite a bit. Well, then the revenue they make from selling actually then goes into operations.
00:31:56
Speaker
But then they also have a book that they're able to accomplish their mission. So it's investing in a book project, but it's also investing in the overall ministry. And yeah, it's so important. And there are languages that don't need funding for translations because the number of Christians is large enough. But there's a lot of languages that do.
00:32:24
Speaker
Yeah, I'm going to think more about that, actually. Daniel, I'm glad we talked about this, and I'm going to think about it and talk with our elders more about it at my church, because I think we should think about those opportunities. And Daniel, man, you are so great to spend this time with me.
00:32:41
Speaker
I really enjoy it. Oh, it was fun. It was fun. I wish we could, we could, we could probably win all afternoon. Oh, I definitely could. I love talking with you and about these things. And I find it so interesting. So it's really, it's really fantastic. Thank you. No problem. It's been, like I said, it's been a lot of fun. We don't get to spend time as at as many conferences as I'd like. But this is a cool way to make up for that.
Preview of Next Episode: Fall Releases
00:33:08
Speaker
Did you know that you can find all the new releases from New Growth Press in one place? Visit newgrowthpress.com and click new releases. You can search through the categories, read reviews, and even see upcoming releases. And watch for another bonus episode next week where I'll talk with editorial vice president Barbara Giuliani about our fall new releases. And again, thank you for listening and subscribing to Straight to the Heart.