Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Theology of fun

OpinionJason Coker  |  February 3, 2016

To have fun in the face of evil and turmoil and ugliness is almost revolutionary.

Coker_Jason_Column_NewIs your stole draped over your shoulders or tied around your neck? That’s a pseudo-serious question for all the pastor types in our Baptist world — and even for the laypeople. If you don’t know what a stole is, well …. I think we take ourselves too seriously. We need to laugh more, especially in church. Will Rogers is credited with the saying “If you can’t laugh at your religion then it’s not true religion.” That’s actually worth thinking about!

Our world is so full of terrible, sad and painful events. Just a quick look at the news is enough to make us all depressed if we paid just a little attention. Many of us who care about the world rage against this machine of evil, and commit ourselves to incredibly important movements — crazy things like the Kingdom of God. There are so many evils that we rightly need to confront: racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, human trafficking, payday lending, the list goes on and on and on. Every one of these evils deserves our attention and our seriousness.

In the long shadow of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday that we just observed last month, we should all recommit ourselves to the two fundamental aspects of the Beloved Community: justice and love. But as we confront the biting issues of our time as people of faith, we must refuse the inclination to become curmudgeons. We should declare a moratorium on surly Christianity! No one likes Debbie Downer Deacons (Google SNL Debbie Downer right now — you will laugh)!

And we really need to laugh. Maybe it’s just me that needs a good laugh, but I think we all need a good laugh break. I have more life experience than Scripture to stand on here, but there’s little that does more for my soul than a good laugh — to have fun. My kids are great teachers to me in the department of fun. Recently they all got a balloon for some reason or another. These were the simple balloons, not the fancy helium kind — just the kind that sinks straight to the floor. Nevertheless, my 4-year-old daughter might as well have won the $400 billion Powerball!

That thing is fun to her. “Daddy, you want to play the balloon game?” This is the made-up game where you hit the balloon back-and-forth and try to keep it from falling to the floor. You can play this game anywhere (and at any time). She asks me this question when I’m brushing my teeth in the morning and when I put down the mail in the evening. She is an expert at fun.

When I’m in good student form, I can learn a lot from her. Just this morning before breakfast, we played the balloon game in the middle of the living room — close enough to the hearth to be dangerous. Every time she hit the balloon she laughed out loud. Every time she laughed out loud the funnier the game was, and the more fun we had. By the time we were finished with our game — it took nearly three minutes — we were both ready for breakfast and ready for our day. The fun was on!

When you are in the middle of the living room early in the morning keeping a balloon from hitting the floor and you’re nearly 40, you just can’t be taking yourself too seriously. What a gift! She is truly a good teacher. This fun is so good and right it must come from God. It is innocent and good for the soul.

I think God wants us to have fun. To have fun in the face of evil and turmoil and ugliness is almost revolutionary. Fun is the nemesis of evil in some ways. When fear and terror and evil raise there ugly heads and demand our attention, demand our seriousness, demand our lives, what would it mean to just laugh back at them? Our capacity to find fun tells all this chaos that it cannot control us. It is almost a declaration of holy indifference to laugh and have fun in the face of such things — it’s nearly a mockery of their ineptitude. Fun can be powerful; it usually is.

Life is not always nice, or at least it hasn’t always been nice to me. I think that’s probably the case with most of us. Grief is one of the most profound common denominators of all humanity. But I think fun is equally profound, which is why I believe true fun comes from God. The truth be told, the friends and family that I love most are the ones I have the most fun with. And it is those friends and family that I turn to when I need to grieve and cry and mourn the most. There is a thin line between laughing and crying, and you usually share that with your closest companions.

Life can’t be fun all the time, we all know that, but I don’t want us to neglect the holy aspect of fun while we try our best to be good Christians. In fact, if you actually searched for SNL Debby Downer and watched any of those videos, the funniest and most fun parts of the skits are when the comedians started to laugh at themselves. Watching them have fun is what is so fun. It helps us have fun. In that way it is a good sort of contagion.

Fun needs to be a part of our Christian lives. I’m pretty sure it’s in the Bible — somewhere.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
More by
Jason Coker
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • BNG dinner will bring together Anthea Butler and Beth Allison Barr for a conversation on race and gender

    Two of the most prominent voices speaking to the American church about race and gender will appear together at the Baptist News Global dinner during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Dallas this June. Get your tickets now!

  • Featured

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      Opinion

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      Opinion

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      News

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Welsh First Minister ‘regrets’ that Franklin Graham is coming to Wales

      Welsh First Minister ‘regrets’ that Franklin Graham is coming to Wales

      May 20, 2022
    • Willow Creek announces major layoffs amid post-COVID struggle

      Willow Creek announces major layoffs amid post-COVID struggle

      May 20, 2022
    • Ohio House passes bill requiring colleges give students 3 days of absences for religious observation

      Ohio House passes bill requiring colleges give students 3 days of absences for religious observation

      May 20, 2022
    • ‘Conversion therapy’ ban falls short in Minnesota Senate

      ‘Conversion therapy’ ban falls short in Minnesota Senate

      May 20, 2022
    Read Next:

    ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Author considers how to mourn what’s lost when the faithful leave church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What I learned about Polish hospitality toward Ukrainians: There but for the grace of God

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • As joblessness rocks South Africa, fake pastor diplomas are in demand

      NewsRay Mwareya and Nyasha Bhobo

    • Why breaking up is so hard to do for United Methodists: Connectionalism

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Stop using Jesus to disguise your predatory patriarchy

      OpinionJessica Abell and Stephany Rose Spaulding

    • Becoming UNSTOPPABLE Christians

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Oklahoma legislators say life begins at ‘fertilization’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Why American democracy is threatened in Ukraine

      AnalysisRodney Kennedy

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Author considers how to mourn what’s lost when the faithful leave church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • As joblessness rocks South Africa, fake pastor diplomas are in demand

      NewsRay Mwareya and Nyasha Bhobo

    • Why breaking up is so hard to do for United Methodists: Connectionalism

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Oklahoma legislators say life begins at ‘fertilization’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Bailey and Perrin named Vestal Scholars

      NewsBNG staff

    • Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • SBC presidential candidate wants ERLC leader fired for joining 75 other pro-life leaders in urging compassion for women who have abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • $100 million gift to Samford is state’s largest to higher education

      NewsBNG staff

    • No formal name change proposed for SBC, and entities report back on use of NDAs in annual Book of Reports

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Accountability to God increases sense of well-being, study finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Campbellsville University custodian receives degree after stopping education in the 1990s

      NewsLinda Waggener

    • Progressives need to stop letting Christian nationalists set the agenda, author asserts

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In reelection year, Texas governor proposes statewide voucher program for private schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • There’s a path for Ukrainian refugees to the U.S. but the process remains too slow

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • After days of unrest sparked by religious clashes, Ethiopians are beginning to get back to normal life

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • What I learned about Polish hospitality toward Ukrainians: There but for the grace of God

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • Stop using Jesus to disguise your predatory patriarchy

      OpinionJessica Abell and Stephany Rose Spaulding

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Choose Life: Putin reminds us how bad theology can turn nuclear

      OpinionJillian Mason Shannon

    • I’m disappointed with the world but still wanting to hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Racism from the perspective of a white man

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • ‘The Religion of the Lost Cause’ is back, and it may be winning

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What is a Baptist?

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Assessing the damage Twitter has done to American Christianity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • In our dystopian world, I’m leaning into the Korean concept of han

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Letter to the Editor: Wingfield is wrong on ‘performative Christianity’

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Do or donut; there is no try

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Will we be silent as stones or voices of light?

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • It is a lie

      OpinionDwight A. Moody

    • Welsh First Minister ‘regrets’ that Franklin Graham is coming to Wales

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Willow Creek announces major layoffs amid post-COVID struggle

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ohio House passes bill requiring colleges give students 3 days of absences for religious observation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Conversion therapy’ ban falls short in Minnesota Senate

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A rabbi who ‘speaks to Christians’ condemned them on Twitter. It cost him his job.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deadly explosion damages historic church, Baptist offices in Cuba

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith on the ground in Buffalo: Voice Buffalo executive director Denise Walden

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What Is Antisemitism? Evangelicals Favor Different Definitions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russian Religious Communities Opposed To Ukraine War Face Pressure And Censorship

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s recipe to heal his painful knee? A shot of tequila

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Not All Pro-Lifers are Celebrating

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana pastor J.D. Hall, Pulpit&Pen founder, charged with DUI, carrying weapon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Grove City board accepts full CRT report, says college promoted CRT

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What you need to know about the antisemitic ideology behind the Buffalo shooting

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What is ‘personhood’? The ethics question that needs a closer look in abortion debates

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Interfaith group asks Starbucks to drop vegan milk surcharge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Cuba hotel explosion badly damaged major Baptist church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Op-Ed: Conservative Christians will regret overturning Roe. They’re sacrificing religious liberty to do it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Global COVID-19 Summit left children off its agenda. The church should not.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deconstructing? There’s a coach for that.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • No more murder charge for women in Louisiana abortion bill

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS