Lessons that approximate Lifeway's Lessons to be discontinued September 1, 2024

I plan to discontinue writing lessons that approximate the following Lifeway series:

• Explore the Bible
• Bible Studies for Life
• Masterwork
• The Gospel Project.

(All existing lessons will remain on this site.)

I would like to take a moment to explain why.

Lifeway spends a good deal of time and effort creating a curriculum outline—the outline of what will be studied when, along with the selected texts and titles. There is a good deal involved in this as it requires balancing Old and New Testament passages, various doctrines and numerous other concerns.

Lifeway deserves to be paid for this. Also, as a business interest, they must be paid for this in order to survive as a business. They pay for this through the sale of literature.

If they allow writers of supplemental material to write lessons that compete with their own lessons it undermines their interest. Thus, both the printed material itself and the underlying curriculum outline are considered intellectual property and are protected by copyright.

I have dealt with this in the past by not following their outlines exactly. Generally, I didn’t use their texts or titles. This puts me in a bit of a grey area. (How many notes of a song would you have to change before it is a new song?)

Honestly, I always thought my lessons helped Lifeway in two ways.

• By increasing brand awareness.
• By making their curriculum outlines even more valuable by providing additional options that people could use.

Whether or not this is true may be an interesting debate, but it is not the way Lifeways sees it. They have asked me to stop doing what I am doing.

If you have questions or comments for them, feel free to reach out to them. Their contact information is found on the copyright page of any piece of literature.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so at josh@joshhunt.com or 575.650.4564. I am not exactly sure what the future looks like for me and would appreciate your prayers. And, Scripture says that in the abundance of counsel there is wisdom. If you have any wisdom for me, feel free to reach out. 

Josh Hunt
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