In Memory of John R. Kohlenberger III

When he first learned that he had advanced prostate cancer on September 27, 2002, he wrote to B&H with some questions about the availability of some editions of the One Minute Bible. His practice was to buy copies of this unique resource he had envisioned and designed in order to give them away—especially to those outside the church. He referred to this marvelous tool as “the world’s largest tract.”

John rubbed shoulders with some of the most accomplished biblical scholars in the world, but he never forgot that Scripture and its life-giving message was for all peoples. For most of us, the Bible is an intimidating library because of its sheer size and difficulty. And yet, John, in the same spirit of William Tyndale, believed the Bible to be widely accessible. And, in the One Minute Bible, he built a bridge over which a person with little or no knowledge of the Bible could walk and begin to savor the Scriptures in manageable portions. It was as if he said to his reader, “Come with me and let’s walk through this marvelous library together.”  Revelation 14:13.