The Humour in Ministry

Read, reflect and study: https://leadingvoicesfrombelow.com Can you laugh at yourself, especially when you get another culture wrong? In Session 9 of Conversations from Below, host Adriaan Adams is joined by Bill Taylor (“Uncle Bill”) with guests Decio de Carvalho and Samuel Chiang to explore Chapter 10 of Leading from Below: 😄 Blessed Are They Who Do Not Take Themselves Too Seriously — Learning from Cross-Cultural Goofs Humour is more than comic relief. In this conversation it emerges as a spiritual discipline: laughing at yourself builds resilience and guards against shame. Bill and the guests draw a clear line, though. Tell stories at your own expense, never at another culture's. A leader who can't laugh at their own cultural goofs reveals ethnocentrism and a posture of “leadership from above.” ✅ In this episode we explore: Humour as a spiritual discipline that builds resilience and guards against shame Why we tell stories at our own expense and never at another culture's What a leader's inability to laugh at their own cultural goofs reveals How Bill's father taught him to laugh at others, at situations, and at himself Bill's 1966 InterVarsity failure and the lesson that humour must serve the message Cana miracle jokes Bill used to try to win over a mixed wedding audience, and the “Moishe and the Pope” story Samuel Chiang's story of Bill putting an olive pit back on the tray, and the relaxed freedom from anxiety that cross-cultural work needs How humour builds trust and psychological safety in global teams, as long as it never draws attention to self This episode is especially valuable for: Pastors • Mission leaders • Cross-cultural workers • Global team leaders • Preachers and communicators • Leadership teams • Christian educators Don't forget to: Subscribe to the channel... Share your thoughts in the comments below... Like this video if you found it valuable... Get your copy of Leading from Below: William Carey Publishers (https://missionbooks.org/products/lea...) Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Below-...) Takealot, South Africa (https://www.takealot.com/leading-from...) ITSI Store (https://store.it.si/za/book/leading-f...) Goodreads (  / leading-from-below  ) Logos (https://www.logos.com/product/389265/...) The Nile (https://www.thenile.com.au/books/bill...) VitalSource (https://www.vitalsource.com/nz/produc...) Rakuten Kobo (https://www.kobo.com/in/en/ebook/lead...)