Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the 2025 online Festival of Biblical Storytelling organized by the Network of Biblical Storytellers Canada. The NBSC is an association of individuals from a variety of denominations whose mission is to engage with the presence and spirit of God through the gift of biblical storytelling by teaching basic skills, offering theme presentations, enrichment workshops, and opportunities for storytelling and networking.
I first heard about NBSC through Linnea Good. Her name may sound familiar because she is a well-known singer-songwriter, worship leader, accredited biblical storyteller and Christian educator. She lives in Summerland and has travelled the world leading conferences, missions and worship animating experiences for the wider Church. Chances are you may have sung some of her songs – i.e. Make a Joyful Noise All the Earth, Living in the Light, and Like a Rock.
So, what is biblical storytelling? Linnea describes it as “telling the scriptures by heart like it’s your story. They are words that belong to you that you want to share. …It is for those who want to share the scripture from inside out.” It is NOT straight memorization of scripture. Of course, this takes practice and a bit of courage so I can understand why many might prefer to stick to reading the scriptures aloud. In my experience, however, even those who present the weekly readings clearly, with good vocal tone and accurate pronunciation don’t always connect with their text or deliver it in a way that draws their listeners in. Dennis Dewey, master biblical storyteller, says this about biblical storytelling, “It is a spiritual discipline that entails the lively interpretation, expression, and animation of a narrative text of scripture that has first been deeply internalized, and then is remembered, embodied, breathed, and voiced by the teller as a sacred event in time and space in community, and with an audience/congregation.”
How then, do we learn to tell these stories? The easiest way is to sign up for some workshops through NBSC, which uses a five-step method that can be found in detail on their website. Following is my paraphrase of it.
1. FOCUS ON THE STORY – Pray, inviting God to speak through you; read the passage aloud three times; in your own words describe aloud the story as it happens, taking note of its sights, sounds, and smells; put yourself in the position of the various characters; meditate on all of this.
2. FOCUS ON THE WORDS – Format, and then print the written text, giving each new line, phrase, or event its own line on the page; note words and phrases that repeat; know what has happened in the story prior to your particular passage; consider the who, what, where, and when of the text.
3. LEARN THE STORY BY HEART – Walk as you read or speak the text; draw a storyboard of the events; Put gestures to key words (for memory help, not necessarily for presentation).
4. PRACTICE – Get away from the text; practice saying the story aloud everyday to internalize it; if you forget a part, wait for the words to come to you.
5. TELL IT – Rehearse your scripture by telling it to another person before you tell it publicly. Keep telling your stories.
At this workshop, I learned that one should aim for 75% word accuracy and 95% content accuracy. This is your telling of the story. When telling scripture as part of the worship liturgy, stick to the translation that your denomination uses and don’t insert elements from other gospels, books, or songs. (Anglicans use the New Revised Standard Version.
To learn about biblical storytelling, search online for Network of “Biblical Storytellers Canada” or “Network of Biblical Storytellers” International. Also, search “Linnea Good bible storytelling” on You Tube to hear her tell many biblical scriptures from the heart.
