Inevitably when you start a new church the question comes up: ‘But what version of the Bible will we use?’ Usually I just quote ‘Southpaw’ and say ‘NIV with a ribbon bookmark) … see the youtube clip above.
But seriously, this is an important question. In the end we have decided to go with the NIV. This was largely a recognition of the need to increase the biblical literacy of people and would involve encouraging people to bring their own Bibles to church. Whilst bringing your own Bible to church is nothing new for many congregations around the place, in our context we need to work harder at helping people to be able to read the Bible for themselves. If they use their own Bible at church, we are hoping it will make it easier to check up what was going on at church when they get home. Also, having a common version across the church will make it easier not just in church, but also in small group Bible studies.
However, obviously there are some downsides. Personally, I don’t think that the NIV is the best translation we could use. In terms of dynamic equivalence it is great, but loses a bit in comparison with the more literal translations like the ESV or HCSB. Further, if we have a influx of overseas students, maybe we will move to using the NLT or something similar.
But at this stage we are going for the NIV. One hundred black hard cover copies are on order for those who don’t have or bring their own… $12 each from Bible Society. Great price… thanks for the great discount!
Thinking it through... 
Hey James,
From memory, if you’re REALLY following Southpaw’s advice, you’ll be going for size over translation. I remember something about a red letter KJV?
Nice to hear the Bibles are comin’ thick and fast for you lot. After about 10 years at the Big T, we’re getting used to a ‘translation shift’ at St Matts!