Sermon humour, is it ok?
I was listening to Robert Forsyth, Bishop of South Sydney, talking on the ABC radio last Friday. His topic was the place of humour in sermons. His basic argument is not that it’s wrong, but often misused. As someone who has quite a dry, twisted sense of humour, who doesn’t take myself too seriously, I find the topic very interesting. You might be surprised to know I agree with him. A preacher must be himself in the pulpit. A person who is funny, and likes to laugh should naturally be that way when preaching. A person who is serious, and not naturally funny should not be different in the pulpit. I think a temptation for preachers is to 
be different to who they are in daily life.
The best definition I have heard to define preaching is “truth through personality” = God’s truth, through an individuals unique personality. At the end of the day, different personalities will appeal to different people.
Charles Spurgeon, “the Prince of Preachers” from the 1880’s was often criticised for using humour in his sermons. His reply was “if you thought that was funny, you should hear the things I left out!”
Jim Mobbs,
Assistant Minister