If you would like your congregation to not just hear scripture, but remember it, to the extent that they’ll be talking about it after the service and remembering it days later, then absolutely try any one of the following techniques:

1. Use more than one reader. Two to four is ideal, not speaking at once (except for key words or short verses) but alternating sentences or short passages, in random order. It is important that the readers practice reading it in advance, and that they enunciate clearly, projecting their voices and using facial and voice expression. It is also helpful if they have rehearsed the passage enough that they can look at their audience several times during the reading. Why does this work? The mere sound of different voices adds texture and colour that is not there when there is only one voice. It is the difference between hearing a solo cornet, versus a cornet plus a trombone plus a flute plus an oboe. Having the readers look at the audience draws the audience in, and keeps their attention. Also, the eyes of the congregation are forced to move from one person to the next as each one speaks, keeping them very alert. (With this in mind, remember there is no need to have each reader stand right next to each other. Spread them out across the platform, or some above and some below by the mercy seat). This brings us to the next idea:

2. Make use of space. Your readers do not even have to be on the platform. Imagine beginning a service with Psalm 150: Without warning someone from the congregation jumps up and yells “Praise the Lord!” Then another congregation member (from a different pew) jumps up shouting “Praise God in His sanctuary!” The next jumps up and yells “Praise Him for His acts of power!” And so on and so forth. (Note: in this case, once a congregational member has shouted, they automatically sit down – don’t have them remain standing for the duration). Have all the shouters stand up and shout together the last line of the psalm when it gets to that point: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” Do you think this would get the congregation’s attention? You bet! Do you think they’d remember the opening to this service for quite a time after? I’m sure they will!

3. Form a club of want-to-be-actors who are willing to memorize scripture passages. Using technique number one above, several readers now recite their parts, alternating voices, and in various places across the platform or below. Because they’re reciting, they are now freer to move, and look at the congregation. They are free to walk as they recite. They are not holding anything, so they can move their hands to express the passage. Even one voice reciting scripture that is memorized, using voice and facial expression, moving their body and hands, will make a huge impact on the congregation. It has now been 25 years since I first saw someone recite scripture from memory as a dramatic monologue. The reciter was none other than Colonel Gwenyth Redhead, who was guesting at Peterborough Temple in the Ontario East Division. And I have never forgotten! The bonus to all this is that anyone who memorizes scripture to present it will find that the scripture will transform them personally in the process. Guaranteed.

4. Use mime: Parables are great for this. Have someone with a strong voice read the passage, pausing between sentences so actors can mime what is happening. Use some basic props, if needed, and have the actors use the front of the mercy seat as their stage (unless you are the rare corps who actually has room on the platform). What’s great with this is the actors don’t necessarily have to rehearse. The speaker can pull appropriate people from the congregation, including teens or mature children, to act the parts spontaneously, according to what is read. If you have ever been to a venue where street actors recruit audience members for their “play”, you will know that this works, and the congregation will be right into it.

5. Use a narrator, with actors. If your scripture passage is a story where the characters have dialogue (for instance, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3). The narrator reads the narration parts, and the characters who speak, each speak their own part. A bit of costuming and small props can add to the drama.

6. If you have a songster brigade , have them rehearse the scripture, using combinations of whole chorus, men only, women only, three readers speaking at once, and individual voices. When the three speak together, make sure they are also standing together in the choir. This mix of textures is very captivating to watch and hear.

7. If someone in your congregation is adept at sign language, or interpretive dance, how about having them accompany as someone reads a psalm? Soft music in the background would also add to the effect. Along a similar vein, if you have an accomplished artist in your midst, use them to “paint” the scripture as it is being read, on a large canvas placed on the platform.

8. Assign musical “motifs” to words or characters in scripture. Take the parable of the sower, for example. Using a brass band, when the narrator reads the first sentence “A farmer went out to sow his seed”, the band plays a happy little tune (short – four bars is plenty). As the narrator reads the next sentence (“Some send was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up”), the band members start playing all the wrong notes, quickly dwindling off to nothing. For the next sentence (“some seed fell on rock”), the band plays broad, full chorded notes, fading away as the narrator reads “the plants withered for lack of moisture”. Continuing with “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants”, the band can play some ominous music, squelching the sound, or even verbally coughing, at the appropriate moment. Of course, with the seed that yields “a good crop”, the band will go back to their happy tune. It is important here for the narrator to pause between each phrase so that the musical motif can play on for a couple of measures. In the absence of a band, a pianist or organist can accomplish the same effects. The whole process is then repeated in the interpretation of the parable.

9. The congregation themselves can become the various characters , by being assigned certain words during a scripture passage. Take the story of David and Goliath, for instance (1 Samuel 17). The congregation can be divided into various sections. One section represents Goliath. Every time they hear the name Goliath in the story, they are to yell in unison “Wow! Is he big or what?” For the section representing David, they yell out “a man after God’s own heart” every time they hear his name. For the section representing Saul, they can yell “Hail the King” each time they hear that. Other appropriate phrases can be assigned to Jesse, David’s brother Eliab, the Philistines, the Israelites, etc. This technique works very well in Sunday School or youth gatherings. It forces the audience to listen intently so they don’t miss hearing their assigned “name”, and it puts a smile on everyone’s face in the process.

A similar technique is to assign a word trigger to a congregation. For instance, have someone read Genesis chapter one from The Message. Every time the congregation hears the word “good”, they are to echo with “so good!” If you have a creative percussionist at your corps, you can have him play low toms, hand drums, or the bass drum, throughout the reading of the scripture, changing tempo and dynamics to express the different items being created. By limiting the percussion instruments to the list above, you will ensure that the speaker will not be drowned out by the percussionist.

Along the same vein, I have used the following reading of Psalm 23 in services with great effect (see below), by putting them on PowerPoint. The leader reads the font in normal text (put that in its own color in PowerPoint), and the congregation quickly responds with the capitalized bold text (in an alternate color), yelling it out similar to a cheer at a football game. As an alternate, the passages can be done with two readers, or with a reader and the songster brigade or members of the brass band acting as a chorus. The PowerPoint slides should be moved through quickly, to keep the pace of the reading upbeat and lively:

If your corps has already been exploring creative ways to present scripture, or specialized readings, please forward your ideas on to Kim_Garreffa@can.salvationarmy.org. All ideas will be considered for sharing in a future issue of our worship newsletter, E-Worship, or in HELPSonline.