A Theology of Fun

Published in our church's August 2011 newsletter:

By the time you read this, several of our church members will have had the opportunity to experience being covered in baby food, cool whip, raw eggs, and shaving cream.  They’ll have slid in spaghetti or found treasures in Jell-O with their feet.  Already, church members have sung silly songs together, made up goofy walks, and told funny and embarrassing stories about themselves.  Where does all this happen?  Family Fun Nights.  Why does all this happen?  Well, that’s a bigger answer.

Raise your hand if, when you think of church, the first word that pops into your head is “fun.”  I’ll wait just a minute… Anyone?  Yes, you, the four year-old in the back.  Thank you for raising your hand.    No one else?  I kind of suspected that…

Somewhere around age six, church stops being fun for most of us.  It becomes serious, weighty, a thing of somber reflection.  Indeed, church is one of the few institutions that provides a place for us to gather and reflect on who we are as moral beings.  But I would argue that this does not have to exclude fun and laughter.  In fact, those things are absolutely integral to a healthy faith!

Theologian Conrad Hyers has said, “Faith without laughter leads to dogma, and laughter without faith to despair.”  My friend Susan Sparks, who is both a professional stand-up comedienne and an ordained minister, suggests in her book Laugh Your Way to Grace that humor and fun are absolutely essential to the Christian faith.  They serve as bridge-builders to forgiveness, protect us from the great sin of sanctimoniousness, give us a sense of perspective on what is really a tragedy and what is just a bump in the road, and serve as a healing balm for sadness and grief. 

Most importantly, though, humor and fun are bonding agents in a community.  In being lighthearted together, our guards are let down, and trust is built up.  On our first Family Fun Night this summer, each participant was given the chance to take as many M&Ms as they wanted, only to find out later that they would then have to share something about themselves for each M&M.   As we went around the circles, hearing about favorite foods, movies, and outdoor activities, and then about memorable and important moments in each others’ lives, I could see barriers breaking down, new relationships being built.  “You, too?”  “I’ve always wanted to go there!” “I LOVE that movie!”  All these comments began new opportunities for deeper intimacy.  Across generations, children taught older people about fun things in their lives, and older people found commonalities with the children.  With every bit of laughter or joy, we became more and more of a church family. 

As the summer draws to a close and we begin to gear up for another active year together, I encourage you to embrace it with love and humor.  Come to our last Family Fun Night on August 16^th; join Parish Life for a concert on the lawn; plan what you’ll perform for the theatrical revue in October…. Opportunities abound!  If you find yourself stuck for inspiration, look to the children; they know how to have fun in church!

"And a little child shall lead them..." in a silly dance!

Finally, I leave you with a joke from comedian Dwayne Kennedy: “Two things they talk about all the time in the bible: wine, and things that are hard to believe.  I think the wine came first…”