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Why Serious Preachers Use Humor (Part 4)

Discernment for light moments with a weighty purpose.
An article by John Henry Beukema


This is part four in a four-part series.

This week we look at seven more characteristics of effective humor.

Focus on a common truth

Talk about experiences others identify with. Ken Davis ties into a common feeling among men with this observation:

There's proof in the Mall of America that men weren't supposed to shop. The proof is the 180 miles of benches, and there are no women on those benches, only men. I saw an 80-or 90-year-old guy with cobwebs hanging from his head. The sad part was that he wasn't 90 when he went into the mall.
Humor based on truth, then in this case exaggerated, gets people nodding and laughing in agreement. It may be something overlooked by the average person until you focus on it.

Be yourself

While Ortberg and Davis agree that we must work at humor, especially those of us who are not naturally funny, nevertheless we shouldn't try to become someone we are not. Humor must fit our personality and style. Haddon Robinson says, "If you don't do it within conversation, you are wise to avoid it in public."

While Ortberg and Davis agree that we must work at humor, especially those of us who are not naturally funny, nevertheless we shouldn't try to become someone we are not. Humor must fit our personality and style. Haddon Robinson says, "If you don't do it within conversation, you are wise to avoid it in public."

While Ortberg and Davis agree that we must work at humor, especially those of us who are not naturally funny, nevertheless we shouldn't try to become someone we are not. Humor must fit our personality and style. Haddon Robinson says, "If you don't do it within conversation, you are wise to avoid it in public."

Ken Davis says, "It's important to know your own style and ability. My tendency is to be way out there." But Davis admires comedian Steven Wright, who speaks slowly and unemotionally. He simply puts together truths that are rarely observed. For example, Wright points out that if you drop a buttered piece of toast, it will always fall butter side down. And if you drop a cat, he will always land on his feet. "So the other day I tied a piece of buttered toast to my cat's back."

If Steven Wright tried to act like Robin Williams, it wouldn't work. But he delivers lines in a way that fits his personality, and it's hilarious. Davis says, "Humor isn't necessarily that 'lay on the floor and laugh till you're sick' kind of thing. Sometimes it's just a comment that makes people smile and think, Man, that is so true. That's humor."

Be gracious

Poking fun at someone other than yourself is a minefield. Sometimes speakers feel that an infamous celebrity is fair game. That celebrity's lifestyle is so out of line with biblical morality that the speaker thinks little of holding that person up for ridicule. Haddon Robinson uses this guideline, "If that person was sitting in the front row when I made the remark, would they feel it was a cheap shot?"

Humor that is suitable for preaching tears down no one, no matter how justifiable it feels. If a celebrity or anyone the hearer appreciates is mocked, the point being made is lost. "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt," (Colossians 4:6).

Be honest about exaggeration

Exaggeration is legitimate in humor, and using hyperbole does not cause hearers to stop taking us seriously if we signal to hearers that we are using humor. Ken Davis says, "It's important to maintain integrity." He says at some point there needs to be something like a wink to the audience. Davis says that with his gestures and tone he becomes bigger than life. This clues in the audience that he's telling the story bigger than it actually happened. He suggests there may be a need to say, "You know it didn't happen quite that way," or to roll your eyes.

Preachers get themselves into trouble when they insist that a story is true when it exceeds the bounds of reality. To qualify with the words, "I don't know if this story is true," doesn't take away anything from it and gives the audience permission to have fun rather trying to determine the veracity of the speaker.

Keep the surprise

Introducing something funny by calling it funny is disastrous. It's harder to surprise people. For some people an automatic resistance kicks in. They cross their arms and think, I'll be the judge of that. The story had better be funny, or the speaker is climbing out of a deep hole for the rest of the talk.

Credit sources

Nothing dampens the effectiveness of humor more surely or our credibility more quickly than presenting someone else's humor as our own or someone else's experience as our own.

Giving proper credit does not take away from the enjoyment of the story. I once told a Ken Davis story in a sermon. I acknowledged him at the beginning, and everyone still laughed hard. Afterward a number of people mentioned to me they had heard the story before. Had I failed to give credit, I would have paid for it.

Transition carefully between what is serious and what is light

John Ortberg believes it is much easier to transition from light, fun material to serious issues like guilt and sin than it is to move in the other direction.

Ken Davis gives this example of a sudden shift from light to serious:

I read the response of children to what they thought love was. One little child thought love was when "a boy puts on cologne and a girl puts on perfume, and then they go on a date and smell each other." One little girl said, "I think love is when my grandma can't move anymore; she's in a wheelchair, and my grandpa clips her toenails even when he has arthritis, and he can't move his hands."
When going from seriousness to humor, in general we should do so gradually, in a step-by-step process. Otherwise, Ortberg says, "I'm going to trivialize everything I've been saying." A sacred moment will be intruded upon and lost.

An unexpected benefit of a humorous story

In a sermon on the supremacy of Christ, I used my personal feelings humorously to make a serious point. I said weddings are my least favorite pastoral duty. There was nervous laughter. I said I felt that way because so much could go wrong. I feared two outcomes: the mother of the bride would hate me, or I would end up on America's Funniest Home Videos.

I went on. As a pastor in training I'd been warned about photographers. They were the enemy, seeking to disrupt every ceremony. It didn't take long for me to see this was no idle threat. Photographers ran up and down center aisles, blinded us with flashes, and whispered stage directions during the vows. The worst was the guy who got on his hands and knees and crawled behind the choir rail. I heard him scurrying along behind me, and then every few feet he would pop his head over the rail and snap a few pictures.

I acted all this out. It was a riot. I concluded with these words.

The way I see it, weddings are the legal, spiritual, public joining together of two lives. They are not primarily a photo opportunity. Someday I'm going to grab one of those photographers by the throat and scream, "It's not about you." You came here today with something on your mind. Maybe you were consumed with your plans, struggling with loneliness, anxious about your marriage, or worried about money. These concerns are all secondary. The gospel shouts, "It's all about Jesus."
This proved to be a powerful story. "It's all about Jesus" is a popular theme in our church. And I'm asked to do fewer weddings.

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