Stand-Up Preaching

Homiletical Insights from Contemporary Comedians

Jacob D. Myers

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781666702804
  9781666702811
• eBook ISBN:
  9781666702828
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Few vocations share more in common with preaching than stand-up comedy. Each profession demands attention to the speaker's bodily and facial gestures, tone and inflection, timing, and thoughtful engagement with contemporary contexts. Furthermore, both preaching and stand-up arise out of creative tension with homiletic or comedic traditions, respectively. Every time the preacher steps into the pulpit or the comedian steps onto the stage, they must measure their words and gestures against their audience's expectations and assumptions. They participate in a kind of dance that is at once choreographed and open to improvisation. It is these and similar commonalities between preaching and stand-up comedy that this book engages. Stand-Up Preaching does not aim to help preachers tell better jokes. The focus of this book is far more expansive. Given the recent popularity of comedy specials, preachers have greater access to a broad array of emerging comics who showcase fresh comedic styles and variations on comedic traditions. Coupled with the perennial Def Comedy Jams on HBO, preachers also have ready access to the work of classic comics who have exhibited great storytelling and stage presence. This book will offer readers tools to discern what is homiletically significant in historical and contemporary stand-up routines, equipping them with fresh ways to riff off of their respective preaching traditions, and nuanced ways to engage issues of contemporary sociopolitical importance.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Dick Gregory between Jokes and Justice
• Chapter 1: Seriously Funny
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Daniel Sloss between Punch Lines and Provocation
• Chapter 2: Homiletical Humor
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Hari Kondabolu between Humor and Harm
• Chapter 3: Language Games
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Dave Chappelle between Comedy and Critique
• Chapter 4: Narrating Experience
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Hannah Gadsby between Deconstruction and Dehumanization
• Chapter 5: Staging Identity
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Wanda Sykes between Invective and Irony
• Chapter 6: Bodies Matter
• Stand-Up Spotlight: Hasan Minhaj between Identification and Alienation
• Chapter 7: Just Joking
• Stand-Up Spotlight: John Oliver between Seriousness and Stupidity
• Conclusion
• Works Cited