THEY GIGGLED, then chuckled, then roared with laughter. A few pulled out their hankies and wiped away the tears brought on by so much laughing. The performance was hilarious. The man up front was really funny. He had them constantly "rolling in the aisles."
Who was he? Judging from the reaction of the audience, you might suspect that he was a professional TV comedian, perhaps brought in to raise funds for a favorite charity. Wrong! The man was not a comedian by profession nor was he remotely connected with Hollywood, though he would have made it big there had he chosen that route earlier in life. He was not a professional entertainer at all. He was a minister.
Are you shaking your head in disbelief? Join the club. That is exactly what I did as I listened to his constant barrage of jokes and watched his antics on stage. It repulsed me to realize that the holy, precious Word of God was coming to me via a channel of frivolity, hilarity, and utter nonsense.
The preaching style I have described above is all too common today. Not long ago, one of the major television net works presented a documentary en titled "Show-Biz Religion." It appears that show business and preaching have joined hands in our generation.
It seems to me that in this age of the popular entertainer there is a danger that intellectual ability, Biblical knowledge, and sound textual and expository preaching will be pushed aside and replaced by a shallow, show-business technique that features the garrulous, superficial entertainer-evangelist with a guitar strung around his shoulders.
Underlying all of this is the fact that the reading level of our American population has dropped from twelfth- to ninth-grade level. Even our universities are offering remedial English programs to entering freshmen. Johnny cannot read or write at any academic level. This calls for a simplification of the gospel message so that the largest number possible may hear it and read it in the style and language they understand best.
But this must be done with as much dignity as possible, without divesting the message of its essential holiness.
Regardless of our socio-economic background, the effect of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the same on all of us. It uplifts us. It gives a new hope and higher aspirations. I know that this is so, for had it not been for the gospel that reached me in Manhattan, New York, when I was age 15, perhaps I would have followed the example of some of my buddies who became drug addicts and common criminals.
The gospel gave me something to reach up for. It raised me up and implanted in my heart a higher goal than I had set for myself. I know from personal experience in the inner city that the gospel message does not have to be diluted or deformed in any way to reach even those in the lower strata of society. It has to be simplified, but care must be exercised not to distort it in the process of communication.
The problem is that many are on a relevance kick. But relevance has its limits when it comes to the preaching of the gospel. Only through prayer and the aid of the Holy Spirit can we deter mine exactly where that line of demarcation is that separates the holy from the profane.
In their attempts to be relevant, some ministers are desecrating the vessels of the Lord's house. Like Nadab and Abihu, they are offering strange fire at the altar. They also offend the sensibilities of cultured people. Their preaching is just not in good taste.
Am I down on humor? Absolutely not. Is there a place for it in preaching? I believe so. There is humor in the Bible. The question is, what kind of humor? Invariably it is pure and elevated.
The minister must be extremely careful in the sanctified use of humor. By jesting, joking, and trifling we are likely to deny Christ and wound the cause of God. We have not been called to amuse and entertain, but rather to preach the Word. Ours is a solemn responsibility, a high calling.
Preaching is not common, ordinary oratory. It has no kinship with the political speech or harangue, or with demagoguery. Certainly it ought not to have any connection whatsoever with show business. Its style differs radically from that of the professional entertainer or comedian. Its ultimate purpose is to save men and women, to stir them to make a commitment to Jesus Christ, not to tickle their funny bone. Preaching is a form of public address that is in a class all by itself, because it is God-ordained and God-inspired.
