Plenty of studies have demonstrated that laughter is good for our health both physically and emotionally. One of the fun experiences that I remember from each of my congregations is a final celebration when they decided to “roast” the preacher. It was both fun and rather amazing the good humor that emerged in such an experience.
I wonder if it would contribute to the health of the congregation and the preacher to have a somewhat broader experience of the “roast” that would include the whole congregation.
The idea would be to plan an evening congregational dinner. Announce well in advance that the idea would be to “roast” the congregation, the preacher, educator, musician, church board, choir, youth group, etc. Anyone could contribute but it would be good to specifically identify some of the well known humorists in the congregation to preprare some material. You might also ask certain groups, such as the youth group, to prepare a roast. Their perspecitve could be very enlightening.
The purpose would be to invite laughter to nurture the soul of the congregation and the individuals within it. Have a night in which we make fun of ourselves. You might even introduce a “Guess who” moment in which someone would act out some exagerated characteristics of someone in the congregation and let the audience guess who they are portraying.
Of course one would need to build in some protections against the misuse of humor that could hurt but imagine the possibility of humor that can heal. Sometimes we can get too serious in the church and lose sight of the genuine fun of being together in community. Who do you suppose could come up with the best funny line about the pastor, the session, the congregation as a whole. It would be a fun evening to see the results.
