Literature – Exceptional Projects

Langham Literature continually strives to partner in, and nurture, strategic publishing projects that help transform the church in various regions of the world. Such projects are too large and exceptional for one publisher or ministry to embark on alone. Most of these exceptional projects in recent years have focused on regional one-volume Bible commentaries that allow the word of God to speak relevantly to contemporary realities in particular regions.

The following principles guide these one-volume Bible commentary projects:

  • The authors must be indigenous scholars, writing from within their own contexts, for the people of their region.
  • All contributions must be in line with and support the confessional direction of the Lausanne Covenant.
  • The work must contribute to developing the infrastructure of Christian publishing in the region.

Africa Bible Commentary

Africa Bible CommentaryThe first regional one-volume commentary to be published was the Africa Bible Commentary (ABC) in 2006 that included contributions from 70 African Scholars. More than 200,000 copies of this work have been distributed in English, French, Portuguese, Swahili, and Malagasy, with further translations into Hausa and Amharic in progress. In 2017, work began on revising the ABC to address changes in context and African realities since it was first published.

South Asia Bible Commentary

SABC Book Cover

In 2015, the South Asia Bible Commentary (SABC), a 7 year project was completed and published. The SABC gives a section-by-section interpretation that provides a contextual, readable and immensely useful guide to the entire Bible. Special articles summarise biblical teaching on important cultural issues. It was produced in South Asia by South Asians for South Asians – and for the world.

Facts about the SABC:

  • Written in English, by 91 evangelical scholars from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh (including many of the Langham Scholars in the region)
  • 1824pp, with 90 specialist articles on South Asian realities
  • Published by Open Door Publications (ODP) in partnership with Zondervan and Langham Partnership. Finny Philip, the CEO of ODP is a Langham Scholar and the New Testament editor of the commentary.

Slavic Bible Commentary

The Slavic Bible Commentary (SBC) was published in October 2016, written by over 90 evangelical scholars from Eastern Europe. Providing a biblical analysis of scripture in light of the reader’s cultural context, this commentary encourages the Russian-speaking church in a fresh, new way.

The contributors of the commentary seek to provide a holistic reading of Scripture, highlighting biblical truths relevant to the church and society as a whole. In addition, there are 84 articles on contextually relevant topics. The SBC is ideal for pastors, preachers, Sunday school teachers, leaders of small groups and anyone interested in studying the Bible. More than 3000 pre-orders were made before the commentary was launched. Work is beginning on translating the SBC into English and Ukrainian in order to further its impact.

Central Eastern Europe Bible Commentary

Langham Literature has embarked on a new multi-year project to put together a one-volume Bible commentary written by Central and Eastern European Scholars for their region. The goal is to help pastors, preachers and lay leaders in interpreting and applying biblical truth in the ever-changing contexts of their lives and communities. The commentary will also include about 100 articles on various regional issues related to the spiritual and practical life of a Christian in church and society. It will take at least five years to get this vital publication written, edited, published and launched. Find out how you can support this project.

Similar one-volume commentaries are also being produced for Latin America and the Middle East.