Improv for Preaching
Photo by Howard Wang on Unsplash
I am not a funny person. Entertaining, maybe, thanks to silly mistakes or slips of the tongue, but I am not known for intentionally making jokes, and certainly not from the pulpit. To me, preaching is serious, life-changing work. But that also means I am continually trying to learn. So, when the opportunity presented itself to take a continuing education class called Improv for Preaching, I was intrigued and signed up. I expected improv to offer new ways to help people connect with the Good News more deeply. What I didn’t expect is that it would expand my own understanding of how to lead not only from the pulpit, but also in all aspects of ministry.
On our first day of class led by John Haynes, former pastor and long-time leader in the improv community across Minnesota, he introduced us to a standard Improv exercise: What’s In The Box. We lined up in two straight lines, with the first people in each line facing one another. Person A asked, “What’s in the box?”, and Person B, holding their invisible box, responded with the first thing that came to their mind: “Jumbo lollipops.” Person A reached their hands out to receive the invisible box and responded, “Jumbo lollipops. Thank you!” They then went to the end of the line so the next two people could repeat the exercise. As simple as that.
“What’s in the box?” “Index cards.”
“What’s in the box?” “Hairy spiders.”
Whatever was in the box, the response was “Thank you!”
“What’s in the box?” “A million dollars.” “A million dollars. Thank you!”
“What’s in the box?” “A thousand Mondays.” “A thousand Mondays. Thank you!”
It’s a simple enough activity that reflects a not so simple idea. As Haynes taught us, “When you accept the idea, you accept the person.”
How many of us have…
* been in a church council meeting where only a third of the people feel empowered to speak?
* had someone email a thought after a brainstorming session that they weren’t comfortable sharing in the group?
* offered a congregation focus group that inactive members or new members don’t feel confident in attending?
How can we strengthen an invitational culture within our congregations, where people know their ideas are important and valued as part of their unique gifts and talents from God? What if beginning a meeting with a simple improv exercise could help members feel safe to give and receive ideas freely? What would happen if we invited our congregations’ committees to try “What’s In The Box?”
Of course, no one would suggest that every idea is an appropriate idea for a congregation. And it’s important to note that even in a brainstorming session, ideas that are harmful or discriminatory need to be called out as such. But a founding principle of improv is “Yes, AND.” Improv actors know that they are building upon one another’s ideas in community. If an improv actor starts a scene by saying, “Gosh, my back hurts after that,” their scene partner wouldn’t respond, “Did you know that Norway is the Land of the Midnight Sun?”, because that dismisses the idea that their partner started the story with. The scene partner might choose a wide range of responses, but they all honor their partner by building on that first idea: “Mine, too, moving is exhausting!” is just as possible as, “The new gym instructor is intense!”
How can faith communities, like improv actors, “Yes, AND” people’s ideas across our ministry? How can we embed this value of invitation and culture that values diverse perspectives throughout our congregation? When a committee is brainstorming, how can our theological belief that all people are honored be clear?
Another improv exercise may help: Invite everyone to sit or stand in a circle. Ask one person to go to the middle and give them the prompt, “Clams are…” (Or any noun you choose!). They can then declare something that clams are, whether it’s true or silly. “Clams are found in the ocean.” And everyone in the circle says, “Yes!”
“Clams are nearly as big as skyscrapers.”
“Yes!”
“Clams will walk me down the aisle at my wedding.”
“Yes!”
No matter how silly, the circle responds, “Yes!” When someone in the circle feels the person in the center might need a break, they tap them on the shoulder and take over in the center.
Now, transition this exercise to true brainstorming. Whatever idea is shared, as it is written down, instruct everyone in the room to say “Yes!” To have one’s idea validated immediately, whether it’s going to happen or would never happen, is incredibly powerful and inspires more ideas to come forward. How might such silly exercises embed the deeply sacred value that everyone’s voice is needed and worthy in your community?
The participatory nature of these exercises might feel unnerving to some, but it is also true that faith and leadership are meant to be shared in a congregation, not held only by paid staff. The professionalization of faith is hard to overcome, and, at times, worship becomes more of a performance of preachers instead of an interactive sacred experience in community. But what if our church worship looks a little more like improv: while not everyone is on the stage, the audience responds to prompts, and everyone’s ideas contribute to the experience together.
Preachers, what would happen if you emailed a few people the week before to get their thoughts on a scripture text to inspire or incorporate into your sermon? In what other ways can we help people see their worship experience as participatory or recognize that they are as needed in the faith community as the paid staff are?
God’s story is full of examples honoring the diverse gifts and talents of the full body of Christ. We cannot be whole without every person in community. 1 Corinthians 12 is just one of many scripture reflections on the unique, sacred roles of every person in the community of Christ: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” While surprising, perhaps the tenets of improv might help us live out this core Gospel message that everyone in the community is valuable, needed, and celebrated. What might happen if we respond to this invitation with, “Yes, AND…”
