In free churches like mine, we are often looking for ways we can involve different people in the service. For many churches, the most obvious place to do this – or one simple way at any rate – is to let someone else do the Bible reading. If you have a one-leader-to-lead-them-all setup; that is, the same guy leads and preaches, it might seem like the only place you can involve anyone else at all.

Now, I am a fan of involvement. I think it is good to have built into your service opportunity for everybody to participate. We all agree that happens in the congregational singing. But I think there is something particular to be said about making space and opportunity for different voices to be heard, as voices in their own right, in your meeting. It is a particularly helpful way to visible show that those at the front are no special caste of people when, if you’re in the church several weeks on the bounce, you might hear a range of different voices from the front. But I would make a (small and not vociferous) case for the Bible reading to be kept under the auspices of the one preaching the Word.

Biblically, though I wouldn’t want be hard and fast about this, it does seem to me that Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13-15 include dedicating himself to the public reading of scripture. It is clear that the dedication to exhortation and teaching are specific to Timothy and not simply farmed out to others, so I’m not entirely sure why the instruction concerning the public reading of scripture would be seen as different. It seems publicly reading the scriptures, along with exhorting and teaching, was Timothy’s particular charge. Which, it seems to me, is the pastor’s charge. Which, it similarly seems to me, suggests we probably ought not to give the public reading of the scriptures we are going to teach from to others to read publicly on our behalf.

Practically, I think there are good reasons to do this too. The public reading of scripture is not always equal. To be frank, there are good and bad ways to publicly read the Bible. There are ways to read the scriptures that emphasise and highlight what the author was trying to emphasise and, by the same token, ways to read it out loud that unhelpfully cause you to miss it. And it just seems fairly obvious that the person who has done the sermon preparation – who has put in the work of thinking through what the main point of the passage is – is the one most likely to read the scripture in such a way that the verbal emphases land in the right place and serve, rather than obscure, the main idea.

I also think there is something to the particularly practical consideration of “warming up your voice”. As with any public speaking, there is always a bit of feeling your way into it and getting into your stride. I think the reading can provide that for the preacher. The reading offers the opportunity to find your speaking stride so that when you get to the preaching itself, you can more seamlessly get into it.

The question – if the preacher is the one to read the passage he will preach – is how do we include anyone else in the service as another voice? There are lots of ways you might do this otherwise that will depend on your understanding of what you think the elements of a service ought to be and the forms they ought to take. But, in no particular order, you can include other voices by:

1. Having a different meeting leader from the preacher
2. Allowing someone else to lead the prayers (or having open prayer so everyone can be involved)
3. Having other readings, that are not being preached, that other can read
4. Having a time of testimony so different voices can reflect on the Word
5. Having others lead the time of sung worship

There may be other ways of getting different voices involved. You may not even feel any great need to include other voices at all. I don’t think this is a biblically prescribed thing. But I do think we serve the preaching of the Word, and serve our people best, when the one who will be doing the preaching is the one to read the passage.