Called to Create a Bible for Kids

Brian Singer-Towns may be on top of the Catholic bestseller list, but he wants to be very clear: He did not write the Bible. He merely edited it.

Not that putting together a new version of the Bible is any small feat, especially for someone new to the publishing business.

The 48-year old editor at Saint Mary's Press has written several best-selling Catholic texts, but The Catholic Youth Bible, first published in 2000, remains his biggest literary contribution.

Singer-Towns began work on the book in 1998, not long after joining Saint Mary's. He coordinated 15 authors, as well as illustrators and designers to create the first interpretive version of the text that was designed specifically for Catholic teens.

"I'm like the hub at the middle of a big wheel," Singer-Towns said of the process. "I impart a vision and ensure that it gets carried through."

Singer-Towns' biggest challenge was to make the text meaningful to kids who often complained they didn't know where to start and didn't understand what they read.

He accomplished clarity through the use of introductions and explanations as well as "Know It," "Pray It," and "Live It" boxes that contextualize scriptural ideas for kids.

"I'm really intrigued with the idea of God speaking to us through the words of human language," Singer-Towns said. "The Bible is a book 2,000 years old from a culture very foreign to us. How can we make it come alive today?"

Singer-Towns never prepared formally for a career as an editor but came to the job with a deep understanding of Scripture, his co-workers said.

He was always interested in the way things work and fascinated by computers, so he studied electrical engineering at Michigan Technological University. But by the time he started interviewing for jobs with IBM and AC Delco, he realized he didn't want to spend his life designing machines.

Instead, he enrolled in the seminary, earned a master's degree in theology and went to work as a youth minister in Lansing, Mich.

"I felt I needed to explore this call," he says.

Fifteen years later, Singer-Towns was a director of youth ministries for the diocese of Lansing and he started looking for a new challenge.

"What's the next thing God's calling me to do?" Singer-Towns asked.

He had met former Saint Mary's editor Tom Zanzig at a workshop and called to see if he needed any writers. Zanzig did, and Singer-Towns wrote "Deciding as a Christian" a moral guide for young people.

A few months later, when Saint Mary's needed a new editor, Zanzig said Singer-Towns was his first thought.

"Evidently I did a pretty good job," Singer-Towns said.

He accepted the offer, and he and his wife, Betty, moved with their two sons to Winona.

The Bible was one of Singer-Towns' first assignments at Saint Mary's, a job that drew on skills he'd built in his previous careers--organization, working with kids and knowledge of the Scriptures.

Saint Mary's had never published a Bible, and the editors knew it was a complicated, risky venture, but they also knew of a need for a young peoples' edition for Catholics. They estimated 100,000 to 150,000 sales in the first three to five years.

In four years, The Catholic Youth Bible has sold more than 625,000 copies.

Singer-Towns has gone on to write The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, which uses similar techniques to explain the traditions of the church. In six months since its publication, the book has sold 75,000 copies, and is atop the Catholic bestseller list.

Whether it was serendipity, grace or magic in the universe, Singer-Towns was perfect for the job, Zanzig said.

"Looking back, I see a trajectory I never could have planned," Singer-Towns said of his career. "Follow your love, and trust. Things tend to work out."