Commentary, Housekeeping, Links, Schuyler, Under the InfluenceJ. MARK BERTRAND16 Comments

Have Doublet, Will Blog: Every Renaissance Needs An MVP

Commentary, Housekeeping, Links, Schuyler, Under the InfluenceJ. MARK BERTRAND16 Comments

Three things I've learned as a novelist that are good advice for anyone in our social media age:

  1. Be grateful for any press you get.
  2. Don't believe your press, though, or at least don't let it go to your head.
  3. Pass the word along, because people can't appreciate what they don't know about.

When it comes to Bibles, I'm usually on the giving end of good press, not the receiving end, but this week that changed: Sky Cline of EvangelicalBible.com and Schuyler fame wrote some kind words about how he sees the impact of my work at Bible Design Blog on trends in Bible publishing. That prompted some people on the BDB Facebook page and elsewhere to share their own stories, all of which I found inspiring. And now Sky has expanded his remarks and dedicated a page on the EvangelicalBible.com website to yours truly. Check it out: J. Mark Bertrand at EvangelicalBible.com.

For all of this, I am truly grateful. Whether you agree with Sky that I've been "the single most important player in the Quality Bible Renaissance" or not, I want to say thanks for reading the blog. I know I don't update the blog as frequently as you might wish, and not everyone agrees with the kind of design I'm passionate about. But the fact that you've stuck with me since 2007 -- and in some cases long before -- means a lot. So, thanks.

There are a couple of non-BDB related links I would like to share, too. Some readers of the blog end up following other interests of mine, getting sucked in deeper and deeper in the world of Bertrandia. If you'd like to follow them, here are a couple of options:

  1. My sermons. Writing is one reason I can't do BDB full-time, but there's another: I am a ruling elder and licentiate in the Presbyterian Church in America, and since last August I have been doing something we call "pulpit supply" at my church. (In non-presbyterianese, that means preaching every Sunday.) Here at Bible Design Blog, I keep the focus on design, printing, and binding -- the physical form of the Good Book -- but if you've ever wondered what it sounds like when I talk about what's inside the Bible, you can find out by listening to some of my recent sermons. They're available, along with our weekly liturgy, via the Sermons of Grace podcast on iTunes.
  2. My Instagram feed. I spend my summers teaching at Worldview Academy, where I work with some amazing college students who serve on staff. That explains how a middle aged misanthrope who has what we might diplomatically describe as mixed feelings about social media (don't we all?) happens to have an Instagram feed. It's dominated by photos of books and things, with occasional places thrown in. If you're on Instagram, let's be friends there, too. Check out my feed here: Mark's Instagram Feed.

Okay, that's more than enough about me. Next time we'll be back on topic!

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.