August 13, 2018 Show with Kevin Hamilton on “Bringing the Gospel & God’s Word to the Deaf”

Iron Sharpens Iron Introduction and the Goal of the Program

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With your own questions. Now here's our host, Chris. Good afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet Earth. We're listening via live streaming at Iron Sharpens Iron radio .com.

This is Chris Arnsen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron radio, wishing you all a happy Monday. On this 13th day of August 2018, I'm delighted to have a very unique and unusual, an atypical program here on Iron Sharpens Iron radio.

Today we are going to be interviewing a deaf Christian, which obviously, since this is a radio program, requires an interpreter. This is the first time that we have ever conducted any interview with any kind of an interpreter, and today we have as our guest Kevin Hamilton, biblical counselor, the first deaf person to be certified through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.

He's a leader of a group of other deaf Christians preparing to become certified as biblical counselors. He's the North American Scripture Engagement Coordinator for the Deaf Bible Society, which is an organization with the mission of translating God's Word in every sign language, where he educates and trains deaf communities and ministry leaders in scripture engagement through sign language.

He's a former basketball player in the Deaf Olympics with many years of experience coaching both deaf and hearing athletes in basketball and soccer. He's also the pastor of Grace Deaf Presbyterian Church in Danville, Kentucky, and he's an overseer of Christian Life Church of the Deaf in Indianapolis, Indiana, and an overseer of a deaf fellowship in Richmond, Kentucky, at Eastern Kentucky University.

Deaf people watch his sermons at grace2deaf .sermon .net, through Grace2Deaf YouTube, and through Facebook, live on his account. Today we are addressing bringing the gospel and God's Word to the deaf, and we also have, as I mentioned, as Kevin's interpreter, we have today Chuck Snyder, who is the pastor of the First Deaf Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and he is a certified interpreter, and it's my honor and privilege to welcome both Kevin Hamilton and Chuck Snyder to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio for the.

Very first time. God bless you both, brethren. Thank you very much. I'm excited to be here.

And I'm excited. I've been interviewed on the radio as well. Did you say you've never been interviewed on the radio? Yes, that's right. Yes, and let me remind our listeners, obviously, you are going to hear many more pauses of silence during Iron Sharpens Iron Radio than you would normally hear.

Sometimes when I tell jokes to my guests, I get awkward pauses of silence because they don't find the things I said nearly as funny as I did, but this is for a different reason, this is because we are having an interpretation done via sign language by Pastor Chuck Snyder to our guest, Kevin Hamilton, so I hope that you will all be patient with us as we do this, which is not the norm here on this program, and I'm looking forward to this interview.

Kevin Hamilton's Testimony and the Value of Deaf Ministry

Well, first of all, please, Kevin, tell us about your religious upbringing and the providences God used to bring you to Jesus Christ and to grow you in Christ.

Certainly. His sovereignty, and what's interesting is that I was asked to start with a very good God, who I'm really thankful for.

Praise God. Well, as I introduced you, you pastor a deaf church. Why do you prefer having.

A deaf church to being part of a hearing church? That's a good question. Recall that I grew up in a non-Christian family. Church turned out. In a deaf church, see message in my language, and I'm able to remember that.

Oftentimes, I've been to hearing churches with an interpreter, and I don't remember anything that was said from that, and so I don't have any real benefit of being able to understand it in a hearing church.

Now, there are, Samuel discipled me, early Christian life, discipled me in terms of the Bible. Let me understand who Christ would have a deaf pastor who did that. When he left, he was going to pass the language, preaching in their own language as a minority person and a large, because I'm able to so explain clearly what the scripture means in a way that's very comfortable and easy.

So American Sign Language is our language, and it is our native language, and it has its own syntax, and it's basically a three-dimensional language, and so deaf people are able to understand the messages presented in their language, and that's really why that's best.

Well, I don't want.

To repeat too much of the information already available for our listeners at the Deaf Bible Society's website, but our listeners will most likely be eager to know approximately how many.

Used sign language every day. There are about 70 million deaf people. There are 400 who are reading sign language, have full communication, but many of them are not learning that sign language until much later in their life and have lost all of that opportunity to really learn their language, as well as to receive an education, and so by having the Bible in their sign language...

Well, how many different kinds of signed languages are there?

There are none. My mother reads very well and can translate from English into American Sign Language, so she reads well. There are a lot of deaf adults. I got a lot of people who are entering into education with no language.

They go into the schools and are now trying to learn both sign language, which is very difficult, so it takes a long time for them to be able to learn, and I can read the Bible and do fine with it, but still, I struggle with it because it's my second language.

When the Bible is presented in American Sign Language, it's much more from a signed language, and that's what that Bible I could get. I've really been excited.

Forgive me if you said this already, but why are there so many signed languages?

That's a good question. I have a question for you. Is English the only spoken language or written language in the world? Of course not. Then why do we have so many different spoken and written languages?

It's the same way. I guess you actually answered your own question.

And you had said that there are signed languages that have no Bible translations at all. Excuse me again if you've already said this, but how many of these signed languages are in that category where there is no Bible translation?

There are very few that actually have it. So those are the people...

Now, I'm sure a lot of my hearing listeners might be wondering, why can't deaf people just read the Bible in whatever language they happen to be surrounded by, depending upon where they live?

Well, my English would be so different from the Japanese. Any English, they speak Spanish perfectly, but they struggle with English, because they have a native, or it's easier to understand things in their heart, language.

Maybe I can give you a thought for that?

Oh, of course.

Now, I grew up deaf. I would go into a restaurant, and I had no idea that there was music playing on the radio, talking about in a restaurant. I would walk in, I would read the menu, and that's basically, when you were in a restaurant with American Sign Language, and you walked in, and you had to try to understand what was going on in that restaurant just by watching signs.

You find it overwhelming, not sure. And in the same way, English can be overwhelming for them in the same way that an English translation works. For example, in Revelation, it says that, sing praises unto God together.

And I believe that deaf people will be one of those, and one of those languages. Deaf people have their own language, and what happens is that all through non-deaf world, we're seeing English take their language of American Sign Language, and it's far less understanding.

That was Revelation 7, verse 6. As I looked inside every tribe and nation, I believe that that will include...

Amen. I had never even thought of it before. Every time I heard or read that verse, I was always thinking of foreign languages, all the foreign languages of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, but I believe you're absolutely correct, that if it's every tongue, that must.

Include the languages of the deaf. Right. And that's the people in their Get excited about the gospel when they hear it, and they're proof of that, and how God didn't understand anything that was here in church.

Well, if you could, give us a summary of.

How you think things are going in the deaf church here in America, both the good and the bad aspects.

There are many deaf people in their area, and they...where they have no deaf church, but today, there's technology that allows people to see my preaching, and allows to get the gospel out to other people who are missing out on having their own church.

So the deaf church in America is...well, it's not nearly as advanced as here in church. I'd say we're 20, 30 years behind in deaf church. You won't find deaf churches, for example, with 500 people in them.

Still a lot of good things going on, but it could be better. What motivated you to become a certified biblical counselor?

I almost said bubblical. What motivated you to become a certified biblical counselor?

Yes, because I had...people were telling me this ACB conference that I went to, and I was so amazed with how that worked. I saw that this was...would fit a great need in the deaf community. I was able to use the Bible in my counseling, particularly marriage counseling.

There's so many broken marriages, so many mental...in the deaf community, drug addiction, you name it. It's going on in the community. And where are deaf people going to get help? They're not going to get help.

Understands their culture, understands...is able to read their emotions. An interpreter is not going...most likely not going to be able to do that. Who shares my language and my culture. Biblical counseling to me was just another opportunity for outreach into the deaf community to see more Christians.

Now, as I introduced you in the beginning of the program, you are the first deaf person to be certified through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. I'm assuming that must have created some kind of a challenge to those who are instructing you, since you were the very first of.

Your kind. Can you tell us something about that? And by the way, for listeners who may have.

Recognized that a woman who was enormously helpful to our guest, Kevin Hamilton, Nancy Snyder, who was a certified biblical counselor before our guest, well, that happens to be the wife of our interpreter today, Chuck Snyder.

And by the way, Chuck, we're looking forward to having Nancy back for a second time, God willing, on our program this Thursday. So, I really thoroughly enjoyed interviewing her, just to let you know.

Yes. Chuck and Nancy are just a wonderful couple. They have been in the deaf community. There isn't a lot of understanding of deaf people. Now, there is some condescension that some people might have, but it's really different when you have...

And so, since you're having become a certified.

Counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, being the first one, how many have followed your footsteps?

When you look at us... Well, we have to go to our first commercial break right now,.

And if you'd like to ask questions of your own to our guest, Kevin Hamilton, about reaching the deaf community with the gospel and the word of God, our email address is chrisarnsen at gmail .com, C-H-R-I-S-A-R-N-Z-E-N at gmail .com.

Please give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA. Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

Don't go away. We'll be back with Kevin Hamilton and his interpreter, Chuck Snyder, with more of how we can reach the deaf community with the gospel and the word of God. Hi, I'm Chris Arnsen, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, here to tell you about an exciting offer from World Magazine, my trusted source for news from a Christian perspective.

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Deaf Church, Biblical Counseling, and the Deaf Olympics

But we are now back with our interview today with Kevin Hamilton. He is a biblical counselor, the first deaf person to be certified through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. He's a leader of a group of other deaf Christians preparing to become certified as biblical counselors.

He's the North American Scripture Engagement Coordinator for the Deaf Bible Society, and he's also pastor of Grace Deaf Presbyterian Church in Danville, Kentucky. Our other guest today is his interpreter whose voice you are hearing throughout the program.

That's Chuck Snyder, who is pastor of the First Deaf Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and he is a certified deaf interpreter, although he is a hearing individual, which would be, I'm assuming, impossible to do this radio program with him if you were not.

Before we go on to more questions for Kevin Hamilton, Brother Chuck, it's fairly obvious why Kevin would want to pursue further knowledge in the signing world and to become a better help and guide to those who share his condition when it comes to the most pressing issues, the most vital issues that face us, namely our eternal lives, which depend upon our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and our embracing of it.

But you are a hearing person, and so is your wife, Nancy, who, as I said before, I have interviewed, and this Thursday, God willing, is our second interview, as she has written books specifically for bringing the gospel to children and teenagers.

But why is it that you had a burden.

On your heart to even enter into this area of learning sign language yourself? Chuck, this was for you. I'm not sure. Yes. Right. And I'm being Kevin right now. Chuck's role at this point really is not going to allow him to answer any questions that you ask him, because so if you'd like to ask those questions, maybe you should get him on the radio.

I would encourage you to do Deaf World and Fluidly between those two cultures, so that'd be a great interview for you to have, but right now he can't answer your question. That's okay. Back to you. Oh,.

That's quite all right. Well, let's hear more about your involvement with the Deaf Olympics.

I'm fascinated by this. Kevin? Sure. Yeah, I have some really fond, loved about being in the Deaf Olympics was being able to, as I look back, the one thing I regret was I wasn't a Christian at the time and couldn't take the gospel to these other countries.

But it was interesting to get together with Deaf people from all over the world, signing different languages, but we were able to have some communication because of gesturing. Because ours is a visual language, we're better at that kind of gesturing usually than hearing people are.

I remember oftentimes talking with people. I remember having this conversation with some Deaf Iranians, funny. We've had basketball, of course, and we did win. The U .S. team did win, and we traveled to, and some others.

It was a fantastic to be involved in the Deaf Olympics because we had our own debts. Very comfortable not having to deal with what we...

Great. Well, we have some listeners waiting to have their questions asked and answered by you. We have B .B. in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and B .B. wants to know, are many cults and false religions surpassing the Christian church at large in their outreach to the Deaf community and to providing signers for the Deaf congregations?

Sadly, that is true. A lot of the cults are providing time and ask the Christians who are providing materials if any of their videos are even captioned, and they aren't. I challenge them to do so. Church is not captioned, let alone in America, so yeah.

We have RJ in White Plains,.

New York, and he asks, how would one go about hiring a reliable signer for a conference or.

Special event? That's the end of his question. There are interpreters all the time, and there are some good interpreters out there, and I've seen some wonderful, but it would be good to find out from them what their understanding of the Bible is, and if they don't have much understanding of the Bible, don't have that interpreter.

If they do, you want to look at their video to make sure that you don't get any of it. So it's also best to check with Deaf people who might be coming to your conference, whether there are people that they know, they are going to be the trusted assets for you.

They know who they can trust as interpreters. There are a lot of people who call themselves up here to do something like this, and just are basically beginning signers. I've been to a conference like that and basically spent the whole time sleeping because I couldn't understand it.

Back to you.

Well, that happens even when we can hear people and understand them. Just out of curiosity, my own question to follow up with that, and I know that this may be impossible to answer, but is there an average cost or at least a framework to work with when.

It comes to hiring a signer for a special event? Statewide Deaf organizations, most interpreters out there are making $40 $50 an hour, but I only know Kentucky. Each state is going to be different. In the state, what the board, from the government, so there's information out there.

You just need to ask around.

We have CJ in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, and CJ says, I saw a documentary that was very surprising to me. It talked about a category of deaf people that I never knew existed that are very bigoted against hearing people.

In other words, if there are deaf parents of a deaf child, they can become extremely angry at the child if they want to marry a hearing person. The list goes on with many different scenarios as to why these deaf people demonstrate a strong dislike, if not even hatred, towards hearing people.

Have you ever experienced this group of people and how have you interacted with them when it comes to rebuking them in the.

Of Jesus Christ and urging them to repent? I'd probably be a part of that group. You know, I love people of all different backgrounds. There are a lot of people who are angry and a lot of them are angry because they have been overlooked.

They've been neglected. They have been squashed. They got their language taken from them. They have not been able to see the movies that come out. This is a small example, but every Tuesday at the theater near us, but they can't go any other time.

So you can only go to a movie at that time. That's just a small example, but just multiply that by so many. Their everyday life is not having access to things where they go, where they need an interpreter and the people like the doctor will say they can afford an interpreter.

And so they are always being oppressed in that way. And the opportunities that person who could speak or to apply for a job, he'd probably get it. So there's so much that is happening in our community.

And it's a community that you have never seen. And there are a lot of angry people in it. And that's part of what biblical counseling is doing is encouraging people to look to Christ to change your attitude towards people.

Now, those people who are angry Bible, they don't have Christ. So of course, they're, and so we just encourage them, try to teach them. And obviously we can't change them. Only God can.

Wow, that is, it is pretty amazing that this exists. And I have not personally encountered it myself. But we have to go to a our midway break. This is a longer than normal break because Grace Life Radio 90 .1 FM in Lake City, Florida requires of us a longer midway break because they air their own public service announcements and commercials during this break.

So please be patient as we take this longer than normal break, write down questions for our guest Kevin Hamilton on reaching the deaf community with the gospel and the word of God. And also use this time to write down information provided by our advertisers, so that you can patronize them.

And you can, the more that you patronize them, obviously, the more likely you're going to help Iron Sherpa and Zion Radio remain on the air because we rely upon the funding of our advertisers who sponsor this program.

So please try to patronize them as often as you can. And as I said, you'll be more successful in accomplishing that if you write down vital information provided by them and their commercials. Our email address, if you have any questions of your own for Kevin Hamilton on reaching the deaf community with the gospel and the word of God, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com.

Chrisarnson at gmail .com. As always, please give us your first name, your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA. Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

Don't go away. We'll be right back after these messages, God willing, with Kevin Hamilton. Iron Sherpa and Zion Radio is sponsored by Harvey Cedars, a year-round Bible conference and retreat center nestled on the Jersey Shore.

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