Which Bible Translation do I use?

One question that always seems to get asked of those like myself in the ministry is, "What Bible translation do you use?" For some, this question is a litmus test, a way to determine if the two people in question are on the same "team"; for others, this is merely one of those issues of curiosity akin to asking a pro-golfer what brand of club he prefers. Much has been made over the years by those who have staked out a King James ONLY position. These partisans of the King James Version have declared all users of other translations to be at best 2nd-rate Christians, at worst hopeless agents of the Whore of Babylon (somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but I've been called things to that effect). Unfortunately, that position itself is wholly un-Biblical, has no basis in the scholarship of translation, and assumes that 99% of those who claim Jesus Christ as their Savior are somehow mistaken. So much for a Church against which the Gates of Hell shall not overcome.
As you can tell, I am NOT at King James ONLY believer. By the same token, I don't have anything against the King James Version beyond the difficulty that arises when you try to use it to reach the un-churched. (For its poetic beauty and its influence on Church history, the KJV deserves to be kept in the mix to be sure)
I myself use the New International Version when I preach and for my personal study because of how readily the meaning and message of the Gospel are conveyed through its modern English. When I put the weekly PowerPoint together and choose the opening and responsive Scripture readings I typically check the KJV, NIV, NASB, and NLT to find the one that speaks to the sermon's message the best (and I usually try to rotate my use of the major translations to demonstrate my own acceptance of them).
In the end, the truth is that we are BLESSED with an abundance of excellent and trustworthy translations in English such that we should never consider ourselves to lack the true Scriptures (compared to some languages which have one or no translations of the Bible, what are you complaining about??) Every translation of the Bible into English is one man's or a committee's attempt to render the original Greek (and bit of Aramaic) into English. Anyone who has ever translated ANYTHING into another language knows that more than one English word (and sometimes several) can be used to convey nuances of the single word from the Greek. Some translations try to be word for word; others go for the meaning behind the words. That debate, while interesting, is immaterial to the question of whether or not we have the true Bible in English. We do, end of story, no question about it.
So, the next time someone asks you, "Which Bible translation do you use?" go ahead and tell them. Don't be worried about your answer, the important question is not which Bible you use, but that you do use it and learn from it.