Engage the Emotions

Some people in the church world have found that clowns are attention-getters. They draw crowds. We’ve all experienced that. A clown walks through a park and he becomes the Pied Piper! Children come from everywhere!

Sometime ago, an acquaintance shared with me that he remembered seeing a person dressed as a clown holding juggling clubs, yelling, making noise and drawing a crowd. The clown imitator announced that he wanted to show them something. Once the crowd had gathered, the clown held the juggling clubs and preached to the crowd. He never juggled. He simply held the clubs. Yet, in his mind he had accomplished his goal. He had used clown make-up to fool the crowd. They thought he was going to be entertaining. He wasn’t. He was a street-corner preacher wearing make-up. Many left disgusted. They were angry at the costumed person and now wanted nothing to do with the message because they had been tricked by the messenger. Friends, let me clearly say, “That is not clown ministry.”

Many gospel clowns, those who desire to share a Bible-based message through their clowning, have great passion and strong convictions about the messages they are sharing. It’s a good thing to know what one believes and why. And it’s not a negative for a person in the United States of America to verbalize one’s beliefs. It’s a free country and people can certainly stand on a street corner and preach.

Yet, it saddened me to hear that the person dressed in clown attire did not understand the power of the method that he had at his disposal. Clowning may be a wonderful method to share a multitude of messages. Obviously, he knew that the make-up could draw a crowd. Unfortunately he didn’t deliver on his unspoken promise to engage his audience in an entertaining experience.

I believe that effective clown ministry presentations must deal not only with scriptural lessons, but also with emotions. It’s not enough to wear clown make-up and preach like a normal person. One must engage his audience.

In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation it says, “Conveying a certain feeling is the essence of communication in any art form. The response of the viewer is an emotional one, because art speaks to the heart.”

Did you see that? “Art speaks to the heart.” This is why religious expression can be so wonderfully portrayed through the art of clowning. First of all, true clowning is not about following a set of prescribed rules and becoming some mechanical clone. Good clowning involves the heart. It only becomes an art once techniques become second nature and the performer may put his whole heart into it.

True ministry also is from the heart. It’s not about following a set of man-prescribed rules and becoming some mechanical clone either! God has made each of us unique, each with an incredible capacity to love and laugh and enjoy!

Earlier I stated, “One must engage his audience!” What I specifically mean is this: To truly gain the rapport and respect you want from your audience, you must endear yourself to them. You may do this by making them laugh. You may do this by presenting a routine that shows your unique reasoning process. You may do this by performing various bits and interacting with your audience. You make it so that they become interested in your character, and THEN (and only then) will you have the right to share a message with them. You must earn the right to be heard. Putting on make-up is not enough.

Once again, here’s another quote from The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation:

“Our goal... is to make the audience feel the emotions of the characters, rather than appreciate them intellectually. We want our viewers not merely to enjoy the situation with a murmured, ‘Isn’t he cu-ute?’ but really to feel something of what the character is feeling. If we succed in this, the audience will now care about the character and about what happens to him, and that is audience involvement. Without it, a cartoon feature will never hold the attention of its viewers.”

The same holds true in clowning. Make it so that your audience CARES about you, and they will be willing to listen to what your perspectives are on issues that are important to you. This is what Disney is doing. There are specific issues that are important to them, and people are listening to them because Disney understands what it takes to engage their audience.

I encourage you to examine your clown ministry presentations. Ask these questions: “What emotions am I displaying through my clown character that people may relate to?” “Am I including a few good laughs in each of my presentations?” “Am I only doing one-dimensional clowning sharing only one emotion, or am I engaging my audience with a number of different emotions?” “What am I doing that brings about positive emotional responses in my audience?” “How may I increase that?” “Am I doing something that’s bringing negative emotional responses from my audience?”

God desires clown ministry folks to not only deal with scriptural passages, but also with emotions. Steve Dawson shares, “Only through our emotions do we truly experience life.” We affect not only intellectual perceptions, but also the heart. We not only deal with fact, but we deal with feelings. They are tied together in positive and also negative clown ministry presentations.

Yes, know your message well. Be fully persuaded that it’s what you should share. But don’t neglect the emotional needs of your audience. Don’t be satisfied with simply presenting a message without first of all engaging your audience. They deserve to see a real clown in action, and be challenged not only in their minds, but also in their hearts. Tickle their funny bones. Make them laugh and they’ll begin to love you. If you will engage their emotions, they will also be willing to listen to your message