Biblical storytelling

Lore & Background

Biblical storytellers place themselves in line with the oral tradition of the biblical time-period, when the normal mode of engaging with the Bible was through public reading or retelling of stories. The term 'memorization' is rarely used; instead the process is called 'internalization' or 'committing to deep memory,' with the expectation that the storyteller will achieve about 95% content accuracy and 75% verbal accuracy. Techniques include breaking the story into scenes, identifying key words and locations, investigating characters, tracking the emotional journey, and understanding the story's wider context.

Reader's Guide

Biblical storytelling borrows techniques from acting but is a distinct art form: the storyteller describes the entire scene in the audience's imagination rather than taking on a single character. Because storytelling is usually done without many props or sets, the storyteller visualizes the scene and describes it physically. Techniques include using consistent locations in the space, reacting as an emotional guide, gesturing to show imaginary objects, miming interactions, acting out events, and using different tones or stances for characterization. Types of performances include single-person performances (e.g., in church meetings or special events), epic storytelling (where different parts of a longer story are distributed among multiple tellers), and ensemble storytelling (where multiple storytellers may act as non-verbal characters, part of the set, or add soundscapes). Boomershine also founded and chaired the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media group in the Society of Biblical Literature, which researches the art and practice of biblical storytelling in ancient and modern worlds and how different media disseminate biblical material.

Did You Know?

• The Network of Biblical Storytellers (NBS) was founded in 1976 by Tom Boomershine and Gil Bartholomew (now Adam Bartholomew).
• Biblical storytelling guilds formed internationally, with one in Australia in 1990, one in Canada in 1996, and later ones in the United Kingdom and Singapore.
• The term 'internalization' is preferred over 'memorization' because the latter implies rote learning; the goal is about 95% content accuracy and 75% verbal accuracy.

Roots in Oral Tradition and the Founding of a Discipline

Biblical storytelling draws its legitimacy from a lineage stretching back to the era in which scripture was first shared. In the world of the Bible itself, the primary way people encountered sacred text was through public reading aloud or through the retelling of narratives by memory. Modern practitioners consciously position themselves as heirs of that oral culture, treating the spoken word as the natural vessel for scriptural material. The discipline as a formalized practice, however, has a more recent origin. Tom Boomershine, a longtime professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, began experimenting with committing biblical narratives to memory and performing them live during his seminary years. In 1977, he partnered with Gil Bartholomew—who later took the name Adam Bartholomew—to launch the Network of Biblical Storytellers. That single initiative rippled outward: guilds sprang up in Australia by 1990, in Canada by 1996, and subsequently in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Boomershine also established and chaired the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media group within the Society of Biblical Literature, a body dedicated to researching how storytelling and various media have carried biblical material across centuries.

Internalization: Committing Scripture to Deep Memory

Practitioners deliberately avoid the word memorization when describing their preparation, because that term carries the connotation of mechanical, rote repetition. Instead, the process is framed as internalization or committing a passage to deep memory, suggesting a far more organic and embodied relationship with the text. The working expectation is that a storyteller will deliver a narrative with roughly ninety-five percent accuracy in content while allowing about seventy-five percent verbal accuracy, meaning the words shift slightly from telling to telling but the substance remains intact. To achieve this level of absorption, storytellers employ a structured set of preparatory moves: they ensure the script reads smoothly, divide the narrative into distinct scenes, highlight pivotal words and phrases, map out the physical locations involved, dig into the motivations and arcs of each character, trace the emotional trajectory from beginning to end, and situate the passage within the broader biblical narrative. This layered approach transforms a static text into a living story that can be carried in the body and spoken with genuine presence.

Presentation: Building Worlds with Voice and Body

Although Biblical storytelling borrows heavily from the craft of acting, it carves out a distinctly different territory. Rather than inhabiting a single character from start to finish, the storyteller paints the entire scene within the audience's imagination, becoming a kind of verbal and physical illustrator. Because performances typically unfold with minimal props and no constructed set, the teller must first visualize the setting in vivid detail and then describe it through gesture and movement while speaking. A toolkit of specific techniques supports this work. The storyteller assigns consistent physical spots in the performance space to different locations and characters, so the audience can orient itself. They react emotionally to guide listeners through the mood. They gesture to indicate where objects sit in the imagined scene, mime interactions to lend tangible reality to things and figures, and act out events as they narrate them. Characterization comes through shifts in vocal tone, accent, and physical stance, giving each figure depth and distinction without the need for costumes or multiple performers.

Formats, Gatherings, and the Global Storytelling Community

Biblical storytelling takes many shapes depending on context and company. The most common format is a single teller performing one memorized passage, whether filling the slot where a scripture reading would normally occur in a church service, staging a special dramatic piece for a season like Easter, or sharing a story at a gathering of fellow practitioners. At larger events, a format called Epic Storytelling brings together multiple tellers who have each been assigned a section of a longer narrative before the gathering; on the day, they weave their portions into a continuous performance. Ensemble work adds another layer: in a theatrical production with several storytellers, only one speaks at a time, while the others contribute as silent characters within the scene, as living elements of the set, by delivering lines in unison for dramatic punch, or by generating a soundscape of cheering, mourning, laughter, or ambient effects. Beyond these formats, the discipline has grown into a genuinely international community, with active guilds in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and the United States, all tracing their lineage back to the 1977 founding of the Network of Biblical Storytellers.