Stand-ups for Jesus
Andy Kind
July 1, 2007
British clergy are seeking preaching tips from stand-up comedians. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (rimshot) In February, the annual Leicester Comedy Festival introduced a new workshop to help clergy preach better. Leader and comedian Andy Kind wants to make Christianity more accessible to average people. The course focused on improving body language, voice modulation, and overall performance skills. Kind wants to build the preachers' confidence and self-awareness, while encouraging them to be engaging and relevant. "Christianity can be seen as something terribly serious, but Jesus must have been a great laugh to have had such a following," Kind says. "He used humor and so can we." Bishop David Urquhart agrees. "Laughter is essential for our life together as the Body of Christ, and I am convinced that the first disciples and apostles would not have stuck together through those years of intense joy and intense suffering without a good deal of fun and laughter." The preachers practiced their new skills in front of an audience at Leicester Cathedral later that day. Liz Jepson, a communications officer for the diocese, was quite optimistic about the results. "We want our vicars to inspire and entertain, and the fact that they want they want to learn how to do this is very encouraging," she says. "I look forward to hearing some excellent sermons in
the future!" Not saying this is a tough crowd, but … (bring your own rimshot.)
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