Last night before our evening service we had a BBQ, which we do pretty regularly. For whatever reason it got started a little late, so I had to herd mostly a college age crowd into the building for worship mid-bite into their burgers with the grill chefs just getting a steady rhythm going. The windows into the sanctuary were open and a steady billow of smoke was filling the room. During my call to worship I mentioned that some churches opt for candles and incense to help aid their worship, but at Kaleo we've decided to take it up a notch and use holy burger smoke. This, of course, got the laugh I was looking for and eased the tension that typically surrounds this group of worshipers. Most of them are under 25 and are too cool for school, if you know what I mean.

It got me thinking about the place for humor in worship. My pastor and I are both pretty sarcastic people (I think most Gen-Xers are), so humor is something we've struggled with in worship, because sometimes we think we're being funny, but to most of our congregation it can come across as distasteful or arrogant or not appropriate for a worship setting. Our God has a sense of humor. Duckbill Platypus, anyone? I rest my case. You find sarcasm and humor and wit in the Prophets, Jesus and Paul. Although you can fall prey to using humor on Sunday for humor's sake, which makes worship just a yuk-fest, I think there is an appropriate time and place for it. And I'll admit that it is a fine line to walk.

Public worship is hard for a lot of people, especially if they didn't grow up in the church. They just feel uneasy. For visitors and unbelievers that are just there to seek some answers, there is a certain amount of baggage they will bring into worship (much of it negative). Worship seems to be a place where every emotion is appropriate in some measure. Look at the Psalms. Joy, pain, questioning, repentance, and celebration all walk hand-in-hand as worshipers struggle with the claims of their God and their frailty as sinners. There are times during worship where tensions can get so high that you can cut them with a knife. You know what I'm taling about. Maybe during a sermon, or after a confession of sin, or even at the beginning of a service? It is during these times that worship leaders and pastors can intentionally use a degree of levity to bring a sense of relief; to let people know that they can breathe. When used in this way, the response is always pretty awesome as the congregation realizes you are sensitive to what's emotionally going on inside them.

For example, after my little joke at the beginning of our service last night, I could physically see tightened shoulders and faces relax. And for the first time in weeks, I heard this young group of Jesus followers really sing from the bottom of their hearts, which was a great blessing to me.