No Joke

I was challenged by a couple of people as to whether it was appropriate to joke about the Emerging Movement. I didn't respond immediately, and haven't spent too much time thinking about it, but here are some of my thoughts:

--I'd hate a world without humor. Shouldn't we as believers be the most willing to laugh? Shouldn't we also be the most gracious about our differences with one another? We all need to take ourselves less seriously. (Myself included).
--Cussing is an issue. Not in every emerging body, obviously. But many of the publications and sermons you can get from people in that circle have a different definition of proper language, and they are not afraid to expose that difference. In fact, in several publications I have observed, the lanugage is used to express liberty and to shock...therefore, they should not be surprised when they receive reaction.
--Sensitivity may mean something is wrong. Just like brushing is healthy, but can be painful if your teeth have something wrong, a joke tends to bring a little pain if something may be wrong. If a joke about improper language is overly sensitive, it may be an indication that cussing may not be the sign of Christian maturity it is couched to be.
--I didn't make that joke up. Ok, that has nothing to do with an arguement. If it's improper, whether it originated with me or not is not the issue. However, I thought it was funny when I heard some sort of derivative, and want to give credit that I didn't come up with it. (Didn't want anyone to think I'm more clever than I am...not like that would happen anyway).

Sure, I believe in sensitivity to one another and respect. However, I do think it is a shame if we feel it is inappropriate to joke with one another. We shouldn't sweep our differences under the rug, but should handle them in a way that is unashamed.

If you appreciate good, creative humor, Marc Heinrich's purgatorio is one of the best I've seen.

And if you appreciate the cheesy, old-school type of "Christian jokes," check out this post.