Seriously Funny (by Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve been a huge fan of the Christian writer Adrian Plass since the late 1980s when his first ‘Sacred Diary’ book was published. I didn’t come across Jeff Lucas until over twenty years later, but have enjoyed - and collected - his books too, since then. I was delighted to discover that they had written a couple of books together and first read ‘Seriously Funny’ in 2010. It was more than time for a re-read.

I had remembered that the format was that of letters - the two writers take it in turns to write to each other. I don’t know whether this was real correspondence, later turned into book format (after, I assume, some editing) or whether the letters were written specifically for the book. It doesn’t much matter; the topics discussed are wide-ranging and interesting, including plenty of the somewhat self-deprecating anecdotes that both Plass and Lucas are known for.

While these two writers are from somewhat different Christian traditions, Jeff Lucas being primarily a speaker/preacher living in the US, and Adrian Plass primarily a writer in the UK, they also have a great deal in common including a quirky, sometimes cynical way of looking at the world and the church. They admit to boredom in church services and meetings, and to thinking thoughts they really shouldn’t about ways of getting rid of particularly dull or annoying speakers.

But they also agree on much more important matters - that of caring for everybody, no matter how unimportant they might feel, of finding Jesus in everyone, and of trying to be a follower of Jesus, expressing his love for those around them. So, as the title of the book suggests, the book is both serious and amusing; humour is used by both writers to good effect to introduce significant issues and to explore questions of theology, morality and ethics.

Each letter is just a few pages long and I read two or three each day, finding much to ponder. Having said that, when I started writing this I couldn’t really recall anything said other than a few of the anecdotes. But as with most books like this, the content eases its way into my subconscious, and I will recall what is needed at appropriate moments.

There are no great theological discoveries or solutions, and even when I read this for the first time, I don’t think there was anything new or dramatically different. But I love the way both these writers look at the world, accepting people for who they are, with no need to wear metaphorical masks, no need to be competitive or to make up personalities for the world. Both these men have had troubled pasts in different ways, both have worked through extremely difficult periods, and both are honest - sometimes embarrassingly so - about their mistakes.

Probably not of great interest to anyone outside the church, but a refreshing and fairly quick read for anyone who might have found church meetings boring, or who gets irritated when people imply that everything is wonderful all the time. it's not hilariously funny, but amusing at times, poignant in places, and quite thought-provoking.

Definitely recommended.

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