Some folk suffer from a serious malady that can result in a threat to their souls. They have the mistaken notion that it is a sin to laugh at church. Ah, but I beg to differ. I have concluded that ministerial mirth is a gift of God and to be treasured. Even some clergy miss this important truth. One of my favorite ministers of mirth was the late Milton Berle. He was also a great poet. He said:

          “A young theologian named Fiddle
           Refused to accept his degree,
           For, said he, it’s enough to be Fiddle
           Without being Fiddle, D.D.”

     I say Uncle Miltie was a darn good minister—funnier than most.

     He also was a fair-to-middling counselor for those seeking romance. Here is a piece of his advice:

          “My lady be wary of Cupid
           And listen to the lines of this verse--
           To let a fool kiss you is stupid,
           And to let a kiss fool you is worse.”

     Now-a-days there are lots of preachers who preach a gospel of prosperity and proclaim that their followers can get rich pretty quick. What is undeniable is that those preachers get rich quicker than a wink. When it came to money, Brother Berle mostly cautioned how a man could lose his loot in a wink:

          “There once was a man from Nantucket
           Who kept all his cash in a bucket;
           But his daughter named Nan,
           Ran away with a man,
           And as for the bucket, Nantucket.”

     Now, there are many good reasons for humor in your preacher’s sermons. However, I think one of the best reasons is to train y’all people in the pew to pay attention to the most important part of the sermon—what comes at the very end. For example, listen to this story. A sharp young feller decided to move from town to the country and become a farmer. So he bought a horse from another guy who had gone broke from farming. He paid 200 dollars for the horse.. Next day he went to get his horse but he learned that his horse had died. Surprisingly, he was not upset by this sad news. He said, “Well, just give me my money back.”

     The original owner of the horse was amazed and asked, “Didn’t anybody complain?”

     See what I’m saying. You gotta stick with it to the very end. This is especially important in sermons. You don’t want your mind wandering off just at the point where the preacher is trying to close the deal. Listening to a good story is good training for listening to a good sermon. Humor in church is not simple frivolity. Your soul may be at risk! So encourage your preacher to add a little levity. Laugh out loud, for heaven’s sake. A little old belly grin is not enough. You gotta get serious about this!

     Now for the benediction, a word to the wise--as usual, a beneficial blessing by Rev. Miltie:

          “He asked her for burning kisses
           She said in accents cruel,
           ‘I may be a red hot mama,
           But I ain’t nobody’s fuel.”

• Back to Archive
• Back to Media Gallery