Letter from the President: Our Commitment to Gospel-Centered Publishing

Rededication of Crossway building, June 12, 2014 — Dr. J. I. Packer, Lane and Ebeth Dennis

Weakness Is the Way

I recently read Dr. J. I. Packer’s book Weakness Is the Way. It’s a beautiful little book containing an important truth that can only be learned over time. Who better than Packer to write of God’s power being made perfect through weakness? Dr. Packer authored 22 Crossway books and served as the general editor for the ESV Bible. When he was just seven years old, he was struck by a bread truck, leaving him with a severe head injury. The accident forced him to spend much of his childhood indoors, leading him to immerse himself in reading and writing. After the accident, Packer asked his parents for a bicycle but received a typewriter instead. In God’s providence, the unexpected gift helped to ignite a passion for writing and theology. Throughout his career, Packer remained committed to his typewriter, never adapting to computers and insisting on the use of fax machines for communication. Through his experience of physical weakness, Packer developed a deep reliance on God as his source of spiritual strength. His life is a demonstration of God working powerfully through weakness. J. I. Packer has had an outsized and lasting impact on God’s kingdom and Crossway.

In Weakness Is the Way, Packer writes, “The way of true spiritual strength, leading to real fruitfulness in Christian life and service, is the humble, self-distrustful way of consciously recognized weakness in spiritual things.”¹ This truth has been deeply impressed upon me as we have sought to steward all that the Lord has entrusted to us at Crossway. The publication of God’s word is a serious spiritual matter and a weighty responsibility.

God’s power working through our weakness is a biblical truth and a theme that runs throughout the book of 2 Corinthians, especially chapter 4, which has great bearing on our work. I am increasingly aware that we have been entrusted with the ministry of Crossway by God’s mercy, not because of our unique qualifications but entirely because of God’s mercy (2 Cor. 4:1). As we publish the ESV Bible and gospel-centered resources, we must renounce “disgraceful, underhanded ways,” and “refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor. 4:2). I am struck by the application of these verses to our work at Crossway, especially in a world that grows increasingly secular.

Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” But God has revealed himself to us through the gospel, and we are called to transmit the treasure of the gospel to a lost and dying world, proclaiming not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord with ourselves as his servants.

We can take comfort in knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us into his presence. The resurrection of Jesus was the firstfruits of a future resurrection that will take place when Jesus returns in glory, and we will have resurrected bodies. Until then, we are broken vessels and jars of clay, entrusted with the gospel (2 Cor. 4:7).

Where There Is a Vision

Eighty-six years ago, God gave my grandparents, Clyde and Muriel Dennis, a vision for publishing and sharing the good news of the gospel around the world. And 46 years ago, he gave my parents, Lane and Ebeth Dennis, a vision for gospel-centered publishing through Crossway.

In the book Where There Is a Vision, my dad reflected on God’s faithfulness and the vision for Good News Publishers, which began with Clyde and Muriel. In the chapter titled “A Vision Recalled, A Vision Renewed,” my dad opened with the following question and reflection, “Can the vision of one generation be passed on successfully to the next? When a vision is passed on successfully, it usually involves two aspects. First, there is an unqualified commitment by the successors to recall and commit to the original vision of the founders. Second, there is a sense in which the vision itself becomes renewed and re-expressed in a way that meets the needs of a new generation.”

Today, we remain committed to my parents’ original vision of gospel-centered publishing, and I’d like to share examples of how that vision is being re-expressed to meet the needs of a new generation. In many ways, we are now reaping the harvest of seeds that were planted in faith many years ago (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). Our job now is to faithfully water what has been planted.

In God’s providence, we work with more than 300 ministry partners in over 230 countries. We publish over 1,350 books by almost 750 authors, most of which have been licensed for publication in over 150 languages. Crossway now has more than 540 ESV Bible editions in print, and more than 15 million copies of the ESV are distributed each year through Crossway and ministry partners, resulting in over 300 million print Bibles distributed since the ESV was first published in 2001. Most of those Bibles are given away freely through ministry partners. Each year, more than 5.5 billion chapters of the ESV are accessed freely in digital text and audio formats around the world. Tracts continue to be an essential part of our publishing ministry, as we distribute almost 12 million tracts each year. We’ve also been able to invest in many exciting initiatives aimed at distributing the Bible and gospel resources around the world, where the need is greatest. All of this is by God’s grace and for his glory alone.

These investments align with our mission as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Crossway is a ministry first and a business second. Our business and sales support the ministry work of Crossway. As such, we have allocated a significant portion of our budgeted surplus next year toward translation work and the distribution of free resources all around the world.

A specific example of an exciting ministry initiative is our One Million Bibles Initiative. Over the past two years, we have been amazed by the generosity of thousands of donor partners from around the world as the Lord has graciously provided for the initiative. We’ve been greatly encouraged by countless stories of spiritual transformation in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ, which has often led to spiritual renewal in their communities.

By God’s grace, donors to Crossway have provided enough support for the distribution of nearly 850,000 Bibles to believers in need throughout the Global South. 100% of all gifts have been used to place Bibles in the hands of men, women, and children who would not otherwise have access to Bibles of their own. It’s not uncommon for not-for-profit organizations to use a large portion of donations to pay for salaries and support the infrastructure of the organization. However, Crossway has a self-sustaining business model, allowing for donations to be used specifically for the distribution of Bibles and gospel-centered resources. Lord willing, by December 31st, we hope to have raised enough funds to support the distribution of the final 150,000 Bibles in the One Million Bibles Initiative. These Bibles are making an eternal difference in the lives of believers around the world.

One ministry partner from India reported, “Receiving my first Bible was such a joy because I had no Bible of my own. All that I knew about the Bible was whatever I heard in church or what my mother had told me. But to have my own Bible, to read it, and to know what Jesus is telling me was such a blessing. [It’s amazing] to have your own Bible and to feel it in your hand and to read it when you want to read it.”

This example and thousands of others like it are why we do what we do. Crossway exists because this sick and dying world needs the gospel. The world needs beautifully crafted, God-honoring, gospel-proclaiming books and Bibles. Crossway exists to publish content and to prayerfully and humbly transmit the treasure of God’s word and the truth of the gospel, in the power of the Spirit, with truth and beauty, through all forms of media, for the building up of the body of Christ, to the ends of the earth, for God’s glory alone.

The ESV Bible is a treasure, and I am increasingly aware of the massive responsibility that has been entrusted to us. The Bible contains the very words of God and the life-transforming power of the gospel. This is a sobering and awe-inspiring reality, and it means we must approach our work with humility and reverence, looking to the Lord for our strength and giving glory to God alone for all that he has accomplished.

I began with Packer, and I’d like to end by sharing again a portion of a prayer Dr. J. I. Packer prayed for Crossway almost exactly ten years ago.

We ask that in this new phase of Crossway’s ministry, to this next generation and beyond, you may outstrip all that you brought to fruition in the past—that the story may move from good to better, from better to best, from much to more and greater—even as we rejoice in all that you have accomplished in the past.

We thank you for all the wisdom of your word and for the enormous privilege of sharing in the publication of the ESV Bible and its worldwide ministry. Thank you, Lord. Grant your blessing, honor Christ, and advance your glory through all that Crossway does. Bring praise to your holy name, life to your people, joy to Christian hearts, and energy to Christians living their daily lives in this world. And so, through Crossway, build your kingdom, advance the church, and bring honor and glory to your holy name. We bless you, we thank you, and we commit Crossway’s ministry to you.

In the name, and for the praise, of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior—through whom we pray now as your children, and in whom we live and rejoice in this day. Amen.

Crossway CEO and President,

To learn more about and get involved with Crossway’s goal of providing one million Bibles to believers in need, please visit crossway.org/OneMillionBibles.