Dear Sir,
Further to the exchange in these columns over humour in the pulpit, is there not a golden mean between slamming the door entirely and keeping it ajar responsibly? If so, may I make the following suggestions as guidelines for its proper use?
Use humbly: egoistic pride can slip in here. We need to examine our motives honestly. Use directly: the humour must be directly relevant to the theme and not dragged in by the scruff of the neck. Use gently: hollow levity is to be deplored but not a gentle touch of irony here and there. Use sparingly: the preacher who begins every sermon with humour is on a dangerous track. The listeners will be looking out for this far more than for the theme of God’s Word. Use aptly: humour may be appropriate at the beginning or middle of a sermon but never, surely, at the end. The Christian gospel deals with the immense issue of our eternal destiny. Our hearers need to be left with the seriousness of this.
The right use of humour at the start can relax a congregation as they come to realise that the preacher does not think of himself as first cousin to the angel Gabriel but an ordinary human being! On the larger canvas, the church is never so ineffective than when she is miserable. ‘The joy of the Lord is our strength’ (Nehemiah 8.10).
Yours sincerely,
