Quick: What's the worst moment in a lot of church services? Too often it's when God's Word is read aloud. We are dedicated to inspiring and instructing people—both pastors and lay readers—in how to elevate the public reading of the Bible to a more honored and anticipated moment in our worship services. The results can be electrifying.
10 Tips for Scripture Readers
Let the text speak to you. In preparation for your reading, linger over the text. Let its meaning seep into your heart and soul. Listen to what the Spirit says to you about it. Let these discoveries drive your delivery.
Divide the text into "thought groups." While studying the text, block it into related sections, i.e., "Our Father," "Who art in heaven," "Hallowed by thy name," etc. This will help you savor the richness of the text and capture the full meaning of the message in your delivery.
Consider your inflection. Rehearse saying the text in various ways, emphasizing different phrases or words. Try changing your voice inflection or volume at each verb; it will give the reading energy and a sense of forward movement.
Use a pronunciation guide in your preparation This will ensure you can speak all words in the passage with the same level of confidence.
I (Max) became a Christian as a young adult, hearing God's Word at a home Bible study and then reading the Bible on my own. When I began attending church with the woman who became my wife, I remember my initial response during worship. Week after week, the same thing would happen at a particular point in the service. Our teaching pastor would begin his message by introducing his topic, and then he would read the Bible passage for the day.
I would significantly engage with what he was saying only after he had actually begun to teach. During the reading, I tuned out. As soon as he was finished with the biblical text, I would think to myself, "Well, that's done. Now we get to the good part." I enjoyed hearing him preach the Word far more than read the Word.
Why is the reading of the Bible so flat, when most preachers are gifted communicators? The answer is that the dynamics of reading and those of speaking are totally different. Reading from a page represents a different skill set than speaking impromptu or from prepared notes. Chances are pretty good that most preachers don't practice reading the Scripture passage out loud. They've probably never had training in reading aloud either, and they may have never seen it done well.
As my pastor, Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, wrote, "In most church services, the reading of the Word is poorly and hurriedly done. What a missed opportunity! …There's nothing else like it."
A Memorable Difference
I remember attending a church one Sunday in Dallas several years ago. I had been brought there to give a dramatic presentation of Genesis. I had given the presentation the evening before, and I was now attending worship services at the church before flying home.
Just before the pastor gave his message, a lay reader presented the Scripture passage of the day. Whoa! His reading grabbed my attention. In fact, the entire congregation was deeply engaged. The reader walked confidently but humbly to the pulpit and, in a deep powerful voice, articulated the sense of the passage in a magnificent way. The passage itself was powerful. The delivery was patient but expressive. The voice quality was pure and strong. I found his reading as worshipful and as engaging as the choir anthem that had preceded it. In fact, the combination of beautiful music and his powerful reading of the Bible was almost sublime. I heard someone in the congregation whisper, "We don't need a sermon."
Now as much as I enjoyed the reading, that person was wrong. A powerful reading is not intended to replace the sermon message; it is done to prepare the congregation to engage with the message. But certainly the congregation on that morning was more prepared to listen and engage with the sermon than they had been before. The Scripture reading raised their expectation level, creating anticipation for the message.
I later learned that the minister of worship at that church had a background in the dramatic arts, and he had a vision to help his people emotionally connect with the Bible through reading Scripture aloud. He had carefully selected people from the congregation who had both a heart for the Scriptures and the skill to read. I found out that the person who read that morning was a professional singer, a voice teacher, and occasionally did voiceovers on commercial television during the week. He had combined his talent and spiritual passion, blended them with some quality rehearsal time, and brought them to bear on the passage.
Scripture reading doesn't need to be the low point or even the ho-hum transition point of worship. It can speak powerfully to people and build an eagerness to hear what the pastor is going to say.
Rethinking Why People Get Asked to Read Scripture
Another reason we have dull, lifeless readings of Scripture is because of the way people are selected to read. Too often this selection is made based on their role in church: "Now one of our elders will read from Genesis 47:1–7." In this case, the choice of readers had zero bearing on their training or ability or passion to read. We would never choose someone in this way for other aspects of the worship arts: "Now one of our elders will sing" or "paint" or "edit a video" or "do a mime." There is a night-and-day difference when you compare a trained Scripture reader with readers who are neither skilled nor practiced, regardless of their title or position in the church.
Besides, asking someone to read the Scripture in worship is not the best way to make a statement that "this person is a leader." Readers should have a certain level of skill and pathos with their material, the same way musicians or other artists do when they contribute to the worship experience. Sadly most readers, whether lay volunteers or staff at the church, are often recruited without much thought or intentionality. They are chosen largely because of convenience or proximity. The pastor may call Jim the deacon to ask how the food pantry is going. At the end of his conversation he might add, "By the way, I'm teaching from Romans 8:1–5 this weekend; would you do the reading?" Or a reader is chosen after a hallway conversation at church: "Thanks for that update on the missions trip, and as long as we're chatting, would you mind doing the reading from Romans at this morning's services?"
One of the first steps to improving the ministry of Scripture reading at your church is to be more intentional about the way you recruit and choose your readers.
Low Expectations
I think it would be fair to say that most churches have pretty low expectations when it comes to the reading of the Bible in worship. Worshipers don't expect to hear the Scriptures read with enthusiasm or preparation. In fact, I suspect it becomes a frequent lull or tune-out time. Perhaps the reason is because we've all become so used to life in the desert that we cannot imagine what it would be like to experience the Promised Land. They've never seen gifted storytellers employ their skills in service to the church, magnifying God through sacred text.
Over the years, I've recorded in their entirety three different translations of the Bible (I've recorded one translation twice). As I prepared for these recordings, I found several spots in Scripture where people in the narrative were doing exactly what I was trying to do: read Scripture aloud.
For example, the book of Nehemiah tells the fascinating story of a great spiritual revival that occurred in Jerusalem. After the city's wall was rebuilt, everyone came together for a sacred assembly, and a gifted teacher named Ezra read the Book of the Law "aloud from daybreak till noon … in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively" (Nehemiah 8:3). Others also read the Scripture and explained its relevance, "making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read" (8:8). The people's hearts were touched; they "bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground" (8:6). They also began "weeping as they listened to the words of the Law" (8:9).
When Scripture reading is done well, it adds spiritual nourishment and intensifies the worship experience! We see this happening with Ezra and the people. As the Word is being read, the people are struck with conviction, their hearts are touched, and their emotions are engaged with the words they are hearing. The Lord used his Word during the time of Ezra to draw the people closer to himself, calling them to repentance.
John 4:23–24 tells us that the "worshipers the Father seeks" are those who worship him "in spirit and truth." When I hear the Scriptures read intelligently, energetically, convincingly, and passionately, even the most familiar and shopworn texts draw me to a place where I can worship God in spirit and truth. This can happen at a Sunday morning church service, at a wedding or funeral, and also in home Bible studies, such as the one that led to my conversion.
Utilizing the power of the spoken word, Max McLean brings Scripture to life for live audiences, radio listeners and product users around the world. A sought-after Bible narrator and theatrical performer, Max is president of Fellowship of the Performing Arts, narrates the Listener's Bible audio products, and speaks on the daily radio program Listen to the Bible, heard on more than 670 radio outlets. He and his wife Sharon are active members of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. For more information visit Zondervan.com or TheListenersBible.com.
Warren Bird (PhD, Fordham University) serves as a primary researcher and writer for Leadership Network and has more than ten years of church staff and of seminary teaching experience. He has collaboratively written twenty books, all on subjects of church health or church innovation. Learn more about Warren and his ministry at WarrenBird.com.
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