4
WELCOME
From your editor…
PEOPLE DON’T WANT
ENTERTAINING FLUFF, OR
A BIT OF LIGHT-HEARTED
BANTER – THEY WANT PROPER,
CHALLENGING, EDIFYING MEAT.
T
he topic of this issue – preaching
and comedy – was decided
on long before the survey we
commissioned ahead of the
Sermon of the Year finals revealed
the surprising fact that humour is
rated by the vast majority as the least
important feature of a sermon (see
page 10). The person in the pew wants
more content than comedy. Men in
particular (49%) want to hear biblical
exposition in a sermon (women 39%).
Women want to hear even more
practical application (44%) than
men (36%). A sense of humour is only
perceived as important by 2% and
personal anecdotes by 1%.
I think this statistic is rather
encouraging. People don’t want
entertaining fluff, or a bit of lighthearted banter – they want proper,
challenging, edifying meat. As Rowan
Pelling wrote in response to the
survey in her Daily Telegraph column,
‘Call me awkward, but I do like to
feel [the preacher] has undertaken a
profound examination of a mystery
that utterly confounds me, rather
than done a brief course in stand-up.’
That being said, stand-up comics
are able to hold an audience rapt by
the power of their words in a way
many preachers would give half
their worldly goods to achieve. In
this issue, we have communication
tips from the comedian Bentley
Browning, a whistle stop tour of the
Bible’s funnier moments from Russ
Bravo, and a strong argument for
why churches should echo to the
sound of a good belly laugh now and
then by Paul Kerensa. Enjoy!
COUNCIL OF
REFERENCE
David Bracewell – Zoe Ministry
(zoeministry.co.uk); author; and previously
Rector of Saint Saviour’s Church, Guildford.
Kate Bruce – Director of the Centre for
Communication and Preaching, Deputy
Warden and Tutor in Homiletics, St John’s
College, Durham University.
Charlie Cleverly – Rector of St Aldate’s,
Oxford and author of several books, most
recently Song of Songs.
Ian Coffey – Vice Principal (Strategy)
and Director of Leadership Training,
Moorlands College.
Malcolm Duncan – Chair of the Spring
Harvest Planning Group; Senior Minister
of Gold Hill Baptist Church; Founder and
Director of Church and Community.
Andy Frost – Director of Share Jesus
International.
Ruth Gee – President of Methodist
Conference 2013/14 and Methodist minister.
Richard Littledale – Baptist minister,
author and broadcaster.
Mark Meynell – Associate Director,
Langham Partnership International;
author and cultural commentator.
Calvin Samuel – Academic Dean of
St John’s College and Director of Wesley
Study Centre, Durham University.
Preach resources, available in print
and online, are provided by LWPT.
Editor
Jo Swinney
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Jo Swinney
Editor
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