My acting student was mumbling lines from a Tennessee Williams masterpiece. I was straining to hear him from the back of the room. “But I was really feeling it!” he said later.

“That’s great,” I replied, “but you need to let those feelings live. You need to share them with the audience.”

Later, in my work as an acting teacher, I developed an exercise called “Feel it, Live it, Show it,” trying to help actors move from the inside out. I believe wholeheartedly in the value of internalization. A good actor must connect with the inner feelings of a character, but those feelings need to come out, finding their natural expressions. And on stage, when some audience members might be hundreds of feet away, those authentic expressions may need to be magnified.

The same is true when we’re working with a different sort of masterpiece, the Bible. As we read and meditate, the Spirit connects with us internally, confirming that we are God’s children (Rom 8:16). This is a wonderful feeling, but it seems that many believers stop there, without finding the natural outward expressions of that internal reality. Like my acting student, they’re “really feeling it!” but not living out those feelings.

Of course Scripture itself urges us to be hearers and doers of the word (Jas 1:22). We work out our faith (Phil 2:12; Jas 2:17). But there’s a further level, too—showing our inner truth to others. While the Bible warns against proud displays of religious acts (Matt 6:1-4), we are still asked to let our light shine (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:15). Feel it. Live it. Show it.

This is one of several lessons the acting craft has taught me about Bible reading. As you lead people in their interaction with the Scriptures, you might find some new approaches in this ancient art.

Like Me and Unlike Me.

Any character I play is like me in some ways and unlike me in others. I can play the similarities by remembering my true responses to situations in my own life. For the differences, I need to employ more imagination, observation, and imitation.

As I seek to connect with the Bible, I also encounter similarities and differences. Some passages seem to address me directly, and I identify strongly with some Bible characters, but I also need to remember that these things were written a few millennia ago and half a world away. I can’t always cut and paste individual verses into my life. I need to employ some imagination to fully engage.

Enter that World.

Dramaturgy is an important part of the acting process, with many professional theaters hiring researchers to help everyone get into the world of the play. If I’m playing Oedipus or Hamlet or Willy Loman, I need to understand the customs, styles, and language they would use. In the same way, the world of the Bible may need some unpacking. I might have to explore the cultural or historical background of certain parts of Scripture to know what they mean.

Lose Your Tricks.

Some actors have “tricks”—faces they make, funny voices they slip into, mannerisms they use—that sometimes get laughs from an audience but generally get in the way of authentic acting. I find that some Bible readers have their own tricks. To be honest, I’ll have to include myself in that mix. We have our pet subjects, our personal interpretations, our pre-arranged theology—and sometimes those obsessions keep us from reading what the Bible actually says. One reader uses every Bible text to complain about the decline of modern morality, whether that idea is in the text or not. Another finds the Second Coming in every verse. “Tricks” allow an actor to hide from the truth of a character, to avoid vulnerability by relying on a tried-and-true approval-getter. And Bible readers often hide from the genuine challenges of a text by resorting to comfortable truisms. It’s hard to break those habits, for actors or Bible readers, but it’s worth the effort.

What’s my Motivation?

Dramatic scenes are driven by desires. Good actors know what their characters want and what they’re doing to get it. Bad actors are often aimless. Good scenes crackle with life when highly motivated characters interact, with actors crystal clear on their intentions.

The same could be said about Bible study. What do you want when you come to Scripture? And what does God want from you? What was Paul’s desire for the ornery Corinthians, and what kind of life did Naomi want for her daughter-in-law Ruth? What motivations drove the biblical authors and characters, and what drives you? You’ll find new energy in Scripture study when you start paying attention to motivation—the characters’, the authors’, yours—and God’s.