the word embodied richmond virginia - vaumc · “yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch...

The Word Embodied Small group activity, May 2014 Richmond Virginia

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“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him… then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.

Job 11:15-16 Exercise 1: Blocking the Text (20 minutes) Choose roles: crowd members, Jesus, woman, little girl, Jairus, Peter, James, John and narrator). With your group, decide how to move through the action of the story physically. Choose one narrator to read Mark 5:21-43 aloud while each “actor” focuses only on movement. Then act out the scene a second time, improvising as desired. The goal here is fostering and imaginative and faithful engagement with the text. After you have moved through the scene discuss how this exercise shaped the text. How awkward did you feel? How did you decide on action for you character? How did embodying the text shape the emotions of wailing, laughter, amazement and disbelief? Did physical proximity change your understanding of the pressing crowd? Would this experience change the way you might preach this text? .Exercise 2: Scripture Tableaux (15 minutes) The tableaux exercise is designed to elicit an engaging and discussion-provoking interpretation of a scene from scripture. Participants will as a group, chose one passage from the list below. Read the text of the scene you have chosen either aloud or silently, then spend a few minutes creating together a physical snapshot of your scene and hold that pose for about 10 seconds. There is no dialogue or speech in the tableau; it is a physical interpretation of one moment from the biblical scene. It is sometimes helpful to have one person play the role of director. Do not be limited to only the persons in the scene, but consider how you might portray inanimate objects, animals etc. Once you’ve designed your “scene”, we will reconvene in the conference room and perform your “freeze frame” for the group.

o Parting of the Red Sea Exodus 14:21,22 o The Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-6 o Women discover the empty tomb Luke 24: 1-5 o Jesus is betrayed in the garden John 1 o The Last Supper Matthew 26:17-30 o Daniel is thrown to the lions Daniel 6 o Water from a rock Exodus 17:4-7 o The Stoning of Stephen Acts 6:11 o Jonah, the Sailors and the Storm Jonah 1 o Jacob steals the birthright Genesis 27:21-29 o Gideon’s Army Judges 7:5 o Jael’s Tent Judges 4:21 o Calling of Peter and Andrew Matthew 4:18-21 o 12 Spies Numbers 13 o Food from Heaven Exodus 16

The Word Embodied Small group activity, May 2014 Richmond Virginia

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The Word Aloud Richmond VA Small Group Text/Subtext Activity May 2014

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“Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation, and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.”.

Pair activities: Exercises in text and subtext (10 minutes) Divide into pairs. Read the statement from the first column to your partner. Imagine the subtext that follows, and allow your face, voice and body to reveal the subtext differently each time you repeat the statement. Alternate speakers.

Text: Subtext: 1. “More coffee?” I’m so mad at you I could spit.

I’m head over heels in love with you!

2. (Answering the question “Do you think this shirt is my color?”) “Yes.” Can we leave the store yet? Who cares? Wow. You look fantastic in that!

3. “I’m eighteen.” So don’t tell me what to do!

And they just reinstated the draft!

4. “Silence!” The kids are finally in bed. This is a library! That’s what I love about this cathedral.

5. “Then they served huge broiled lobsters with melted butter and corn on the cob!”

My favorites! Just as I was starting to feel seasick.

6. “I’ve got tuberculosis” Whew! I thought it was cancer Don’t come any closer!

7. “The baby’s asleep” Finally , after two hours of rocking

Please play more quietly!

8. “Great sermon, Preacher” I’m so grateful for that message. Glad that sermon’s finally over.

9. “How much longer is it?” About a boring lecture Awaiting execution

Until dinner

10. “I could kill you!” Lover spent too much on lavish gift Genuine death threat

11. “Come over here right now.” To child who has misbehaved To a long-long old friend

12. Are they going to do anything about it? Exasperated for some action to be taken After a terrible diagnosis


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Small group activity: Text/subtext (15 minutes) Break into groups of 4 or 5 for the following scripture exercise in text, subtext, and emotion. Choose one of the listed subtests for the passage. Try reading aloud the text while changing the subtext listed WITHOUT telling your group which interpretation you have chosen. See if your group can glean the subtext from your vocal interpretation of underlying emotional state alone.

Text: Subtext:

“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who had not known Joseph.”

• This is a minor detail • This is big, now it’s going to get

interesting • This is bad, here’s the scary part.

“But the midwives feared God, and they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded”

• Don’t mess with midwives • Only fools disobey the king’ • God could take the Pharoah any

day, the midwives know THAT.

“This is one of the Hebrews children!”

• What a cute baby! I didn’t know Hebrews had cute babies.

• Oh the poor mother. • I’ve had it with my paranoid father.

“Have this child go with you and nurse him for me, and I myself will give you your wages.”

• That’s an order. Got’ it? • So, you’re his mother, I am so

sorry. • I can’t say it plainly; my maids will

hear. Trust me. This will work.

“Who made you prince and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’

• I ain’t scared of you, Pharoah Boy. • Why are you picking on me? • One move, buddy, and I’ll blow the

whistle; I’ll tell everything.

“For what reason then have you let the man behind? Call him, that he may eat bread with us!”

• Where are your manners? • Finally! Husband material! • Daughters. What airheads.

“God saw the Children of Israel, God knew”

• Of course God saw, you idiot. • God cares about every injustice. • And was God mad.


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The Word Resurrected Richmond, Virginia Notes and Resources May 2014

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"A voice of one calling in the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Isaiah 40:3-5

Vocal exegesis is the art of giving your voice and inflection fully to the oral reading of scripture in such a way that the text speaks through you in new and believable ways, making the text alive in the hearts and minds of the hearer.

All scripture can be divided into three basic types: (R. Jacks) Vital (stories, dialogue, action, adventure)

Vitality dominant Action moves the telling Narration + characterization Direct eye contact Internalize character’s thoughts and feelings Emphasis = energy of the story, action moves delivery Pauses shape story into sequences

Mental (epistles)

Thoughts dominant Ideas move the telling Sharing of thoughts Direct eye contact Internalize clear thought patterns: progression of ideas, phrasing

and emphasis Emphasis=inflection, thought flow moves delivery Pauses shape progression of thoughts

Empathic (psalms, wisdom literature, etc)

Empathy dominant Images move the telling Sharing of feelings Indirect eye contact Internalize depth of felling Emphasis= extended sound, feeling moves delivery Pauses enable empathy.


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Practice text: John 8:3-9 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery;

and making her stand before all of them,

they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.

Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.

Now what do you say?" (They said this to test him,

so that they might have some charge to bring against him. ) Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him,

he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it,

they went away, one by one,

beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman,

where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you.

Go your way, and from now on sin no more."


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Isaiah 12:1-6 (for four readers) Reader 1: You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. Reader 1 & 2: Surely God is my salvation; Reader 3: I will trust, and will not be afraid, Reader 4: for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. Reader 1: With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Reader 2: And you will say in that day: Reader 1,2: Give thanks to the Lord, Reader 2: call on his name; Reader 3: make known his deeds among the nations; Reader 4: proclaim that his name is exalted. All: Sing praises to the Lord, Reader 4: for he has done gloriously; Reader 3: let this be known in all the earth. All: Shout aloud and sing for joy, Reader 1: O royal Zion, Reader 2: for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Don't try to fit every passage into some "theological bag" or confine it to whatever

image you may have of a minister/communicator. Submerge your personality to become a servant of God's Word.

Do read Scripture with imagination. If it's a story, let the drama come alive, in technicolor, in your mind's eye. See it happening, and try to communicate that picture to your listeners. Are you sharing thoughts? Think the thoughts, and bring them to life - thoughtfully. Is it heavily emotional? Feel the feelings, voicing them as you respond to them.

Don't read Scripture as if its message were intended for everyone in the congregation - but not for you. It's probably intended especially for you, or God wouldn't have "happened" to put the passage in your hands. Ask yourself as you study the passage: What is God trying to get through to me in this particular passage?

Do read with a receptive mind. Read it as though it were written for you, as though were reading it for the first time. Expect it to inspire and excite you - then think what it could do for your listeners! Read it with a responsive mind. Ask yourself: What would I do if I took this seriously? Would I see persons or situations differently? Would I do anything differently?

Don't think of yourself as being "RESPONSIBLE" for the Word. GOD is, not you!!! Do let yourselves be "RESPONSIVE" to the Word! LET IT COME TO LIFE IN

YOU! Better yet: LET IT BRING YOU TO LIFE! Pray some more!!!


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Psalm 98 (Stand and read your lines with as much enthusiasm and energy as you can muster. Don’t wait for a pause between speakers, at the very last word of the speaker that precedes you, begin your line to create progression and movement)

North: O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.

South: His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

East: The Lord has made known his victory;

West: he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

North: He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.

West: All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

South: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

East: break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

North: Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.

South: With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

East: Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.

West: Let the floods clap their hands;

East: let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth.

North: He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.


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Additional Resources and References: Bartow, Charles L. (1997) God's Human Speech: a Practical Theology of Proclamation. ISBN: 0802843352Grand Rapids, MI, U.S.A. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan Boone, Daniel (1991) Is Your Voice Telling On You: How to Find and Use Your Natural Voice. ISBN: 1565938119, Singular Publishing Group, Inc, San Diego, California Campbell, Charles (2009) Introduction to Christian Preaching, lecture Jacks, G. Robert (1995) Getting the Word Across: Speech Communication for Pastors and Lay Leaders, ISBN: 080284152X, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan Jacks, G. Robert (1996) Just Say the Word: Writing for the Ear,. ISBN: 0802842623, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan Sherer, Paul (1944) For We Have This Treasure, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan Schmit, Clayton; (2002) Too Deep for Words: A Theology of Liturgical Expression, ISBN: 0664223923, Publisher: Presbyterian Pub Corp Schmit, Clayton & Childers, Jana (2008) Performance in Preaching: Bringing the Sermon to Life, ISBN: 9780801036132, Baker Academic, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids. MI


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The Word Unleashed Richmond, Virginia, May 2014

1. Write a one sentence description of some ordinary object in your kitchen. Use as fresh and vibrant

language as possible.

2. If Jesus were a woman today, what three things would he always have in his purse?

a. b. c.

3. Imagine a typical summer day in your early to mid-childhood. Be there. Without much consideration, quickly write the first 7 pictures that come into your head, Try to include at least three of the 5 senses.

a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

4. Write a one word synecdoche evoking death:

5. Think about: If peace were a bomb, how would it explode?

How would it feel to put on a coat that was forgiveness? If serving the poor were a sonata, who would be the composer?

6. List three memory smells of your mother:

a. b. c.

7. Craft a phrase using assonance, alliteration, or rhyme to convey a similar meaning to one of the following phrases:

“the night fell quickly” or “a difficult task”

8. Of the 48 colors in a box of crayons, which is the color of justice?

The Word Unleashed Richmond, Virginia, May 2014

9. Choose 8 of the following overused phrases and write a synecdoche or “snapshot” phrase that means the same thing in stronger, more sensory language. For example “personal illness” could be re-written: “that shadow on the x-ray”.

a. Physical disability

b. Unemployment

c. Marital problems

d. Unhappy singlehood

e. Unhappy work environment

f. Anxiety/isolation

g. Drug or alcohol addiction

h. Loss of a child/miscarriage

i. Infertility

j. Wayward teenager

k. Disparity of wealth distribution

l. Social injustice

m. Economic depression

n. Problem with pornography

o. Mental illness

p. Caring for aging/ailing parents

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