The technical skills are vital. All interpreters need to be great at taking in processing and producing language under very tight constraints but for church interpreters, something else is required: heart.
H – Humility
Professional interpreters will often talk of interpreting as a superpower. In some ways it seems like that. But interpreters without humility are dangerous, especially in church.
Whenever we interpret in church, we need to remember that it isn’t about us. It’s about the people speaking or signing, the people hearing or watching and about God. In the words of TobyMac, we need to actively want God to steal our show: to take centre-stage and do the things only He can do.
Church interpreting is first and foremost about enabling people to understand God in their language. That means being ready to get out of the way and say things they way they need to be said, not the way we would love to say them. It means being ready to be out of our comfort zone and being more energetic or calmer than usual. It means laying aside our preferred style for God’s Kingdom.
Church interpreting is always Kingdom first.
E – Energy levels
We easily forget the importance of energy levels. While it is easy to laugh at the idea of an energetic preacher being interpreted by someone who sounds half-asleep, the opposite can be just as jarring. Imagine a deep-thinking, calm preacher being interpreted by someone who sounds like the Energizer bunny after too much coffee!
Our energy levels must roughly match those of the preacher, even if that isn’t where we would normally be.
A – Attention
There are bookshelves full of books on how interpreters can or should manage their attention. Conference interpreting has been talking for decades on how interpreters listen, process, speak and self-monitor, all at the same time.
In church, all that applies but there is one more variable. We need to pay close attention to what God is doing. Granted, this can be more difficult when working remotely but our interpreting has to be an outflow of our own intimacy with God.
Keeping your attention on what God is doing means being fully conscious of your continual need to be filled with the Spirit. It means being open to God dropping in phrases, terms or techniques that you might not have prepared and keeping an eye on how people are responding.
R – Reflection
Researchers have known the importance of reflective practice for years now. People who can look at their own work, see the strengths and weaknesses and plan their own development get better as time goes on. The same goes for church interpreting.
It is important that we ask and answer tough questions about our own interpreting. How did we sound? Did we effectively communicate not just what was said but how it was said and what God was saying through it? Did we manage to hold concentration through the entire meeting? What could we improve next time? What should we be pleased with?
After those come the tougher questions. Are we growing closer to God? Which mental attitudes and patterns have we got stuck in that might be affecting our interpreting? What should we be celebrating? Reflection, if we do it honestly, can lead to real and lasting improvement.
T – Teachability
This is the toughest one. I have met many interpreters in my career. Without an exception, the best to work with and those who consistently produce the best results are those who are the most teachable. Interpreters who think that they already know everything stop growing and quickly become distant from the power of what they are doing. Once they grow distant from that power, their interpreting becomes hardened. They use the same tone of voice for a speech of thanks than they do for a heart wrenching story. They deliver linguistically good work but the outcome of their work is a bored, disengaged audience.
Teachable interpreters are a different breed. You can spot them actively trying to listen to clients in-between shifts to understand what is really going on. You hear them talking about their development and their passion to improve. Every time you see them, they have added another skill or another piece of technology or another layer to their performance.
In church, it is no different. Church interpreters who want to know the Bible better, want to know God better and what to work better will eventually get what they are seeking. They will provide excellent interpreting week after week and glorify God not just in their interpreting but in their passion for growing as an interpreter and honouring God even more.
That is the heart of an interpreter.