Logos 10 is Here!

I have been an avid Logos Bible Software User…

…since 2014 when I first purchased Logos 5, I believe it was, for Mac. I purchased the Gold Standard package (I’m not sure if the denominational packages were available yet), and I did so for attending seminary. I purchased Logos in the Spring and began seminary, albeit online, in the fall of that year through the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary online program. I graduated in May of 2016 with a Masters in Theological Studies (MTS), with an emphasis on Preaching and Pastoral Ministry.

In that two-year span, I was a full-time seminary student. Within the first week or so of beginning seminary, I began a new full-time job, continued my part-time one, moved into a new home, and my wife gave birth to our third child. When I graduated, she was pregnant with number 4.

Logos Bible Software was a blessing from God during that time. I would estimate that, on average, having the immense library as well as the tools to search everything so quickly, I saved around ten to fifteen hours per week (sometimes more, sometimes less) when doing my seminary work. It was a huge blessing; beyond anything I can measure. 

And, over the years, I have been a loyal user of Logos. And even though I am currently not pastoring a church, I still use the software almost daily for Bible study and devotions. 

Now, Logos 10, Live in the Word, is here. It’s been out for a week now, but I had the unfortunate setback of only accessing it this past Friday when I got my computer back. And, as always, Faithlife has really hit it out of the park with Logos 10. There are a lot of great new features, along with several updates to existing features. One of the best places with a list and brief overview of these is the forums. Click this link for the post on the Logos Community forums. 

Here are my favorite features (not in any particular order):

Print Library Catalog

This one really is probably my favorite. Undoubtedly, you probably have a near library-sized collection of physical books (I’ve heard it only takes 1,000 books to be classified as a library!), but sometimes these get forgotten about when using Bible software. The Print Library Catalog is an awesome tool. Utilizing the mobile app, you can scan the ISBN/barcodes of your physical books. No, it won’t automatically give you a free Logos copy, however, if there is a Logos edition of the book when you do a search for a particular topic or Scripture, it will search your physical books as well, giving you a page number and surrounding context for you to look it up in the physical book. It’s amazing. Absolutely awesome. 

Sermon Import

The Sermon Import feature is quite awesome as well. I have the bulk of my sermon outlines done in .docx format from using Microsoft Word. It wasn’t until the end of 2021 that I began to then put the sermons into Logos to use alongside Proclaim. So, I have a few years’ worths of sermon outlines that are not (well, were not) in Logos. With the Sermon Import feature, one can import those .docx files into Logos and it will, one at a time or in bulk, import your sermon into the sermon builder (and manager), keeping (most of) the formatting and allowing you to go through and edit metadata and the such. It also tags it to scripture references throughout the sermon outline (or transcript, as it may be), so they will be included in searches. Awesome. I love it! 

Simpler Search

One of the things that always held me up on Logos has been the search syntax. Now, they’ve edited the searches to be able to be done in a most simplified way, allowing for more powerful searches to be done in multiple different ways in such a way that I, nor anyone else, has to learn all the syntax. 

Church History Themes and Advanced Timeline

While these are two separate features, they do blend together in the timeline. The new Advanced Timeline is much easier to navigate and find things, and the filter for Church History Themes is amazing. So, when you combine the two, you can really map out periods in church history, but pre-and post-the first coming of Christ. And you can do this while mapping out world history alongside what is going on in church history, making connections that you may have never made before. I can’t wait to get to explore all of this more. 

Now, there is much more to say…

…about Logos, and I am also truly enjoying all the upgrades to the mobile app (I used iPad OS 15.7 on an iPad Air 3). Features such as sermon manager, Canvas, panel linking, and layouts are all amazing new features! The one I am most excited about is the Read Aloud feature, which basically turns “nearly every resource…into an audiobook.” Books, the Bible, and so much more can be listened to on the fly! 

I know that Logos Bible Software is not for everyone, for it really is an investment, not just a flippant purchase someone can make to try to enhance their Bible studies. With that being said, however, I do strongly feel that believers from all walks of life can, and will, benefit from Logos Bible Software. Whether you are a Logos user or sitting under the preaching of someone who uses the software, you will benefit from it. I praise God for the wisdom and the drive for someone to make this software, all to the glory of God!

In conclusion…

Check it out. Head to Logos.com/10 and check it out. Watch some of the videos and read over some of the features, and enjoy the show.