In the last edition of the ACR’s journal, we included several articles from different perspectives that emphasised the systematic reading of substantial portions of Scripture in our church gatherings as a core theological principle of Anglican liturgy. How do we do this well? The ACR spoke with Jen Richards for some practical advice for our churches.
ACR: It’s great to chat with you, Jen. Can we first ask you where you’ve been involved in church over your life as a believer?
Jen: As a child, I attended Kurrajong Anglican Church on the outskirts of Sydney. I’ve been involved in evangelical Anglican churches in Sydney and Melbourne for most of my life. Now, I live in Canberra and worship at Stromlo Christian Church.
ACR: What experience do you have with reading the Bible at church and teaching people about reading the Bible?
Jen: I call myself a “word wrangler” because I’ve spent much of my life dealing with words. Today, I am a writer and author of both fiction and non-fiction. But for the first part of my career, I worked with spoken words. I trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) to be a voice and dialect coach. I coached actors for performance, but also worked with non-actors on voice and presentation. This included teaching Bible reading in various seminars for churches and Bible colleges, and running workshops to help people apply creative voice skills to the practice of reading the Bible aloud.
ACR: Why do you believe it’s important to do Bible reading in church well?
Jen: I’m convinced that Scripture is powerful material! When I worked with actors, I might have said that about Shakespeare. But Shakespeare pales in comparison to God’s material. We know this from Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” We want people to listen to this incredible text.
Now thankfully, God’s word is so powerful that it works regardless of the quality of the reader. So we don’t need to worry if we don’t feel up to the task. But why would we not strive to have this powerful material read aloud in church services in a way that makes it come alive for the listener? If it’s read in a dull monotone, with stumbles, or with someone not thinking through the meaning or misjudging it before they read it aloud, then people tend to just tune out. That’s what happens if people don’t put effort into the reading.
We once had an elderly lady in our congregation who had been a radio actress back in the day. She brought her experience to her Bible reading. It wasn’t a performance; it wasn’t about her. But she read the Bible in such an engaging way that everyone listened throughout. That is what we should be striving for: that the people are actively listening as we read the Word of God aloud.
ACR: What traps can church leaders fall into when it comes to encouraging public Bible reading?
Jen: I suspect that the majority of people in our churches can read and speak, which are key to Bible reading. This can lead us to the trap of thinking that public Bible reading can be done easily, by anyone. So we make it a low-barrier serving task: if someone volunteers, they’re on the roster. But that can mean we don’t ask volunteers to invest in preparation. Don’t get me wrong: public Bible reading isn’t super hard! But it needs to be approached with some thoughtfulness and preparation. After all, we expect the musicians to have rehearsed at least once beforehand. And we expect preparation from the service leader and the preacher. We should think of Bible reading the same way.
ACR: Do you have any practical tips for preparing well?
Jen: It’s not as hard as the kind of preparation that a musician needs to do. My suggestion is that you read the passage three times before you stand up in church.
The first time, read it through to yourself. That makes sure you understand the sense of it.
The second time, read it out loud but quietly to yourself, engaging your mouth as you do. That helps you to get your mouth around the words and understand what you might stumble over. It also means you’ve sounded out those tricky names at least once beforehand and it helps you realise where you might be going too fast.
The third time, practise aloud as though you were reading in church. That involves a bit of projection, practising the passage from beginning to end at the pace you would in church.
ACR: When it comes to actually getting up and doing the Bible reading, what tips do you have for us?
Jen: First, don’t launch straight into it. Take a deep breath to centre yourself. Even if you feel fairly confident, you can still experience nerves. When we’re nervous, we can forget to breathe, which makes it even harder to read. Taking a breath also helps people to look up the passage before you start.
Second, remind yourself to slow down. It is possible to read the Bible too slowly, but most people rush, especially when nerves are high. Going too fast leads us to stumble.
Third, project your voice beyond the microphone. You might think that if you have a microphone, you don’t need to speak loudly because the microphone will do that work for you. That is true: a microphone makes you louder. But if you put a little bit of effort into projecting your voice, it usually sounds fuller, more resonant and has energy that helps to engage listeners. You don’t have to try to be heard at the back of the church. But think about being heard in the front row.
Fourthly, think about speaking clearly. Concentrate on opening your mouth where you can and be conscious of articulating the consonant sounds, especially when they come in groups. That makes the words clear for people and brings out sense. We often talk about Australians having quite tight jaws when we speak. Putting in conscious effort to open your mouth can feel quite strange if you’re not used to doing it. You might think you sound silly doing this, but most of the time you won’t. You’ll just be clear.
ACR: Are there any other pitfalls to be aware of?
Jen: One common pitfall for readers is how to handle direct speech (that’s text inside quotation marks). Some people feel like they need to “do the voices” of the characters, like their favourite audiobook narrator. But that’s not what you want to do in church. The purpose of Bible reading in church is to help people understand the meaning; putting on a character voice usually detracts from that purpose. A better way to achieve that purpose is to look for clues in the text that tell you about the intention behind the speaker’s words. So when Jesus overturns the tables in the temple, for example, he’s angry! So rather than trying to “do the voice” of Jesus, think about conveying the intention behind his words. He’s telling people off. To convey this, you might raise your voice a little, speaking with more punch. That brings a helpful energy to the speech, but it isn’t doing a voice.
ACR: You talked a little about training. How could a busy minister train people for Bible reading?
Jen: A good start is to simply give their readers a copy of this interview. Hopefully it has some good pointers!
ACR: Thanks for your time, Jen!
Find out more at jenrichardswriter.com.
This article was first published in the ACR’s 2026 Synod Journal.
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