Bible Readers and Worship Important for the Missional Church Life?

... [Jesus] went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.  He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed got free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'  And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.
- Luke 4:16b-20a NRSV

From the earliest times of the church, the public reading of Scripture has been an essential part of Christian worship.  Throughout the ages many members of congregations have been gifted and called to the important task of reading Scriptures.

At times during the life of the church, we have lost sight of the centrality of Holy Scripture in our community's life of faith.  During the church reformation of the 16th century, our protestant forebearers reaffirmed the centrality of Scripture in our worship life. Although there may be varied understandings of how our Scripture is authoritative it remains a central authority for any missional community.

 Reading the Scriptures well is an important task.  The preachers sermon may miss the mark, our prayers may be weak, and some of our hymns may have impoverished understandings of our faith, but if Scripture is read well, then the gathered community will have had the opportunity to hear together the Word of God through Scripture. In hearing together, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be given the opportunity to hear how God is calling us to be God's mission in the our particular time and place.

What is a Reader?

Being a reader ismore than just fulfilling a task.  At its best, Reading is a calling, vocation, and a spiritual discipline.  Reading is a commitment to faithfully read our Sacred Story during our community worship time.  It is a commitment to preparing oneself so that one's reading becomes a vehicle for God to speak to the gathered community..

Who can be a Reader?

Anyone who the community feels has the gifts and commitment to read can be reader.  One need not be a shakespearian actor or a public speaker, in order to be a worship reader.  There are many folks in your community that, with preparation and instruction can become faithful worship readers.  Do not overlook children as readers.  Many children are gifted readers and if their gifts are nurtured some of them will become effective lifetime readers or feel called to other leadership. 

Some churches may set aside one or two persons as their readers, however, rather than limiting the number of voices reading to two or three, designate these readers as the leaders. Their calling then is read the primary reading (the preaching text of the day) and also to call others to read the addition scripture readings. 

Choosing Readers.

Most congregations choose their Readers badly.  Active members are asked at the last minute to read and occasionally with "arm twisting".  Some congregations will even ask people to read as arrive on Sunday morning!  Congregations that engage in this practive end up with readers who feel imposed upon and readers who can not prepare enough to be effective.  Ultimately both the readers and the congregation suffer.

Identify a group of persons with gifts for reading and set up a schedule.  Give the readers preparation time and instruction.  When Readers are supported many change from seeing reading as an obligation and begin to see it as a vocation and blessing.  Well chosen and trained Reader can significanty improve the worship life of the community.

Remember to choose as wide a diversity of readers as possible.  Have male and female readers; a variety of ages; different ethnic groups, and a variety of socio-economic groups.  This will add a richness to worship.

Preparation for Reading.

Preparation is essential to good reading.  Too often readers have been chosen at the last minute or have not prepared well to read Scripture. This has lead to reader fumbling through readings leaving the congregation bored or confused.  It has also lead to a lack confidence in readers, due to not being able to feel competent in reading.  Preparation will bear fruit in good readings and more confident readers.

1. Early in the week (Monday!) the readers should have the readings.  If it has not been determined which of the lectionary readings will be used for the following Sunday, begin preparation for all the readings.

2. Prayer. Before and after reading the Scriptures, pray.  Ask God to help you in your reading and to help you understand more fully what is being read.

3. Practice. Read the Scripture passage out loud to yourself.  If a particular passage is difficult to read, then give it enough practice until you are confident.

4. Research. If the Scripture has words you do not know how to pronounce or you do not know what they mean.  Look them up in a Bible Dictionary or on the Internet.  Your church should have a Bible dictionary available for this purpose.  You may also wish to buy one for your own study.  Knowing how to say words is of obvious importance, but understanding what the words mean will also give added clarity to our reading.
 

What Version to Read!

 Congregations should have a policy on what versions of scriptures can be read in worship.  The policy will likely include the following;

1. A current language version of the Bible.  King James and other older versions of the Bible are not appropriate for public worship.  A central belief in protestant thought is that the Bible should be accessible in the language of the people.  King James and other older versions contain language that is no longer in common usage, therefore they are no longer useful nor desirable to have in public worship. Remember that God "doth not desire the Church to be museum for thine culture", but rather a community on a mission within the present day culture.

2. Avoid Paraphrases.  Bibles like  "The Way", are useful for young or new Christians who are learning to read the Bible, but are not appropriate for Christian worship.  In some cases, the use of Eugene's Peterson's "The Way" can be creative, but use it sparingly. Although translation's convert the message of the Bible in an easier format to read, in doing so they can lose some of the richness of the message. A translation should generally be used rather than a paraphrase.

3. Good Choices.  The NIV (New International Version) and the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version).
 

Effective Reading!

1. Slowly.  Reading too fast is the biggest beginners mistake.  Read slowly but not so slow that the reading drags on.  Ask someone to judge your speed in reading.

2. Clearly.  Good diction and enunciation is important, especially for those who have difficulty hearing.  Often people complain about the volume of reading, but in reality it is the lack of clarity in the voice of the speaker.

3. Using Microphones. Practice using the microphone before worship time.  Have someone test you volume.  Be loud enough, but do not blast the congregation.  It is better to be a bit too loud than too quiet.  Remember that some folks have hearing difficulties.

4. Expressive.  Be expressive with the tone and mood of the text.  Let the text guide you for the tone.  If you have prepared then you will have some sense of the tone of the text.  Monotone speaking will create boring readings.  Worship should be lively and that begins with lively readings.  A note of caution to the overly expressive!  Too exuberant reading can take the focus off the scripture and put it on the theatrics of the reader.  Scripture is the focus not the reader.

5. Decorum. Since the focus should be on Scripture, readers clothing should not be excessively flamboyant nor too casual.  If people are shocked, distracted, or disturbed by what we are wearing, then this will be a distraction from the reading of Scripture.  Readers should be humble enough to dress appropriately for reading.

6. Mistakes.  Since we are not God, we are not perfect.  If a mistake is made, stop and reread the verse.  It is not necessary to say "Sorry" or "Excuse Me".  Continue reading with confidence, knowing that God expects faithful worship, not perfect worship.  Faithfulness will include mistakes at times.  If you accept that it is OK to make mistakes, this will lessen one's nervousness.

7. Outside noise, babies, or other sounds. Stop, smile, and wait. Worship is not TV, so if an extra minute or two of time is needed for firetruck to pass by or a baby to settle, be patient; the community has lots of time. Begin again when appropriate and finish the reading.

8. Eye contact. Some people argue that readers should use eye contact to connect with the listeners. While eye contact is helpful in connecting to people, there is a danger that the reading becomes more a recitation than a reading. We are reading from the Bible, and therefore to convey this fact by not using eye contact may be a good thing. This also allows for the reader to follow the text line with their finger.

Resources for Readers

 For those who take the public reading of scripture seriously, a number of resources are available;

1. A Bible Dictionary. This is a useful an interesting book for use by any Christian but for readers it is especially valuable.  Get a version that includes pronunciations of Biblical words.

2. A personal Bible commentary.  Commentaries include background scholarship on the books of the Bible.  They will help you understand the Bible better.  A good one volume Bible commentary is affordable for most people and if not, ask your church to buy you one.  Ask your clergy which commentaties that are appropriate for a missional church. Be careful what you read on the internet.

3. Church Library.  Suggest that your congregation have available in your church library, a full multi-volume modern commentary.  Full volume commentaries go into much greater depth than a one volume commentary obviously can.  These are expensive, but since Scripture is central to our lives, this is a resource that is well worth investing in. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is there also is your heart."

4. Lectionary.  Many churches have a schedule of scripture readings. This will list the Scripture readings for each Sunday of the year.  Many new hymn books have this in the back index section.  Ask your clergy to show you where we currently are on the three year lectionary cycle.

5. Books. This guide is helpful for beginning readers, but  those who wish to become exceptional readers will want to order books on how to be better lector (reader).  Look on Amazon.