Reading Scripture the Way Jesus Did—Aloud!

Actors Needed – To serve as Scripture readers for our morning worship services. Audition required. Please send acting resume to persons-name @ redeemer.com.

When this ad ran in the bulletin at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York, more than one worshiper wondered why the church wanted entertainers to read God's Word. Or why people had to audition.

Six years later, the jury's verdict is long in, and the comments are heavily affirming.

"When we read the Scripture well, people say, 'I look forward to hearing the teaching,'" reports Max McLean, who started the Scripture readers group in 2002 after composing the ad above.

Serious preparation

"Selection is 90 percent of the process," says Max, who does voice work for recordings and for radio. He took the auditions seriously, seeking people who demonstrated both strong skills and a healthy attitude. "I look for giftedness, character, and commitment. It's important that the reader has made a commitment to the church and is prepared to serve the congregation in this way."

He listened for good command of the meaning of the text as well as an emotional connection without being too dramatic. "When we do our work properly, we are pre-preaching," he says, "because we're setting up the emotional or intellectual connection to the text that helps the congregation look forward to how the teaching pastor will address it. That's our service to Redeemer."

The responsibilities for the readers include reading every 6 or 7 weeks for a one-year period, downloading an early draft of the bulletin (typically the text is received by Wednesday), spending at least 30 minutes rehearsing the text, and arriving early to the service. "I ask everyone to read it aloud at least eight times. If they do that, they will know the text well enough that it almost seems memorized," Max says.

More than inflection

When Max reads, he looks for phrasing to determine inflection. "That's the key to meaning," he says. "It helps me find the emotional undertow within the text. That insight connects the passage more viscerally to the congregation. You definitely want people to connect with each thought block in the text, but you also want them to receive a little bit more – an understanding of the author's motivation and intent at that moment."

He also studies the verbs. "People connect with action. Verbs move the story forward," he says. "When the reader explores the verbs within a passage, it is often the key to unlock how to read it."

Scripture presentation as ministry

For reader Catrina Ganey, "It's been a humbling experience. In the beginning, all I thought about was me; I was terrified that I would stumble or mispronounce a word. Then I realized it is about Jesus. My goal became, 'I want them to see Jesus when I read the Word. Were they ushered into his presence?' As the Bible says, 'He must increase and I must decrease.'"

What keeps the weekly reading time from lapsing into a performance? "A good reading invites listeners into the text," says Tom Jennings, director of worship and arts. "A performance draws attention merely to the skill of the artist but not the content of their art. A thoughtful, clear reading brings to life material that has, after all, been passed down in oral form for most of the church's history."

As Catrina says, "We serve a vibrant and exciting God! Why should reading Scripture be any less than vibrant, exciting, and with a powerful sense of truth and understanding?"

Warren Bird is the director of research and intellectual capital for Leadership Network.