Buechner on jokes
See why I like the book?Many ministers include in their sermons a joke or two which may or may not be relevant to what the sermons are about but in any case are supposed to warm up the congregation and demonstrate that preachers are just plain folks like everybody else.
There are two dangers in this. One is that if the joke is a good one, the chances are it will be the only part of the sermon that anybody remembers on Monday morning. The other is that when preachers tell jokes, it is often an unconscious way of telling both their congregations and themselves that the Gospel is all very well but in the last analysis not to be taken too seriously.
6 Comments:
Yup, I do see. I read that book a while back and loved it. Happy reading!
Buechner's right, of course. On the other hand, jokes in preaching have their place. Research shows (or so I've heard) that people remember points made immediately after they are laughing better than they do points made at other times.
Nothing to excess, but I don't think a well-placed, relevant joke actually makes people think the Gospel is not worth being taken seriously. If every sermon were a David Letterman or Jon Stewart monologue, that would be a different story.
I don't mind the occasional moment of humor if it fits in with an object lessons or something of that sort, but I don't like it when every sermon must begin with a joke.
Thanks, Bob!
Good points, bibliomike. Thanks for the input.
I agree, Kim.
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