FOW Tracy Radosevic | Wesley Theological Seminary

Faces of Wesley: Biblical Storyteller Dr. Tracy Radosevic

No one brings Scripture alive like biblical storyteller and Wesley Doctor of Ministry graduate, Dr. Tracy Radosevic.

“I wear three vocational hats,”says Dr. Radosevic, an adjunct faculty member at both Wesley (since 2007) and St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute (Baltimore, MD) while also dean of the Academy for Biblical Storytelling (https://www.nbsint.org/academy-for-biblical-storytelling/). The ABS offers a one-year certification program in biblical storytelling, with an optional master-level certification, through the Network of Biblical Storytellers, International (https://www.nbsint.org). “Narratives from the Judeo-Christian sacred texts are my wheelhouse, with the entire Gospel of Mark as one of my trademarks,” says Dr. Radosevic.

In addition to those “hats,” Dr. Radosevic has been a full-time freelance performer and educator for the past 22 years: “retreat facilitator, seminar teacher, workshop leader, keynoter ... pretty much you name it!” she says. This ministry has taken her around the world for a multitude of opportunities, including leading spiritual storytelling pilgrimages to Israel/Palestine, Greece/Turkey and Italy.

Dr. Radosevic loves watching her students come into an awareness of the power of Scripture when told orally as a biblical story.

“In my classes, I often talk about pre-Gutenberg and post-Gutenberg understandings of the Bible, “ says Dr. Radosevic. “It’s almost impossible for us to get our heads around what the experience of the Bible would have been like before the printing press, but that experience was the reality for a much longer period of time than the reality since! It’s delightful to help students recognize this fact and to guide them in discovering how reclaiming the engaging, relevant, and powerfully embodied and performed experiences of the Bible can impact virtually every aspect of their current and future ministries in profound and life-changing ways, “ said Dr. Radosevic.

Growing up in Canton, OH, Dr. Radosevic holds a BA – Christian Ministries and Elementary Education (Grove City College), MRE (Duke Divinity School), MA (East Tennessee State University) and a Wesley Doctor of Ministry degree (Spirituality for Life Together track.)

Dr. Radosevic discovered biblical storytelling while a Director of Christian Education in a North Carolina church. “ A brochure advertising a Network of Biblical Storytellers-sponsored one-night retreat landed on my desk just before Advent; I was intrigued, so I went. The story we concentrated on was the Luke birth narrative of Jesus, so I was able to immediately go back to my church and perform it. The response was overwhelmingly positive and quite enlightening — I hadn’t paraphrased or put the story into a modern context but had “stuck to the script” straight from the Bible and yet people didn’t recognize it as the Bible; they thought I had written the script myself!” she said.

“I began using biblical storytelling throughout my DCE ministry, and soon started receiving invitations to either perform or teach others. After earning my MA in Storytelling, I launched my freelance career,” said Dr. Radosevic.

The Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion and Wesley’s commitment to the arts and theology is the seminary’s particular gift to both the church and world, in the opinion of Dr. Radosevic.

“Thanks to (Luce Center Founding Director) Cathy Kapikian’s vision 40 years ago to explore where spirituality and creativity overlap, Wesley has a four-decade jump on any other seminary in the way that all the arts are now part of the required curriculum and creative expressions are hard-wired into the DNA of the school. And that’s how it should be! How are we to even come close to understanding a creative God, in whose image we believe we are created, if we limit, or totally ban, anything other than a left-brain, intellectual-only experience of the divine??” she said.

What is a fun fact we don’t know about Dr. Radosevic? “I play the accordion!”

Finally, words to live by for Dr. Radosevic? “Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.”

#biblicalstorytelling #artandtheology #onlyatWesley

Do you love the arts AND the church? Do you feel called to serve God's people? Only at Wesley can you respond to God's call with both your passions! Or are you already in ministry, and would like to deepen your theological reflection and use of your artistic talents?

It is possible to bring the arts and theological education together - and Wesley is the pioneer in American divinity schools and seminaries to offer Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry programs that respond to the bi-vocational call of artistry and ministry.

With the rich resources of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion, you can take non-degree courses in art and architecture, participate in our annual icon writing workshop, and/or work towards a Certificate in Art and Theology.

While pursuing a Master degree at Wesley, you will be able to take a range of art courses that are both practical and scholarly. You will also have opportunities to meet leading international artists and view their work at Wesley's Dadian Gallery on our main campus in Northwest D.C.

For those seeking additional graduate level study, our Doctor of Ministry degree program in Art and Theology will provide a space to deepen and integrate both theological and artistic reflection.

We are currently accepting applications for Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Study and Master of Arts programs, as well as our Doctor of Ministry degree programs.

For more information, contact Admissions at (202) 885-8659 or admissions@wesleyseminary.edu or chat with our Admissions staff via iChat on the Wesley website homepage, wesleyseminary.edu.

Faces of Wesley is a weekly profile of one of the members of our Wesley Community - faculty, students, alumni, staff, administration and other friends of Wesley. You can read it weekly on our Facebook or Instagram platforms or on our website's home page.