It was a while ago

so I can technically be let off the hook;

I was a student pastor

at Mt. Moriah Christian Church

in a little blip on the map

called Butler, Kentucky.     .     .

It was a warm Sunday morning and someone

had taken the trouble to pick a

magnificent bunch of flowers

and arrange them in a beautiful vase

on top of the altar.    .     .

In my attempt to not only bring people’s attention to it,

but also comment with a

‘Grateful Heart’

I inadvertently told the bold group of worshipers

“This is one of the most beautiful  CENTERFOLDS  I’d ever seen.     .     .”

The Church Organist has nearly recovered from that faux pas

.      .      .Nearly 40 years later, I’m still getting remarks

for not saying  CENTERPIECES.      .      .

Ohhhhhhhhh, it’s not been the only time.          .          .

There’s been malfunctioned zippers.      .      .

There’s been me introducing my brand new wife with my ex-wife’s name.     .     .

There’s been botched toasts.       .       .

There’s been misspellings in bulletins and newsletters.        .       .

There’s been wadder leaks and me getting more wet than the kids I baptized.    .    .

There’s been plenty of times I’ve been laughed  A T

but not as many times as I have actually

LAUGHED    AT

m          y          s          e          l          f.              .              .

Y O U ?

Well.             .             .

there’s some good news

if you’ve actually had a good

ga-faw 

at your own expense.      .     .

There’s two distinct studies that have shown that people

who have the ability to laugh at themselves

displayed positive and desirable qualities.     .     .

The first of these studies

conducted by Ursula Beerman

and Willibald Ruch

show that people who know how to laugh at themselves

tend to be more cheerful

and less serious

than those who remain solemn.       .       .

The second study

conducted by Colette Option, Julian Barling, and Nick Turner

found that in the workplace,

leaders who are able to laugh at themselves

and not at their colleagues

were viewed  as more

l i k a b l e

c a r i n g

and   t r u s t w o r t h y.      .     .

M  O  R  E

the studies

shows a surprising link between the ability to laugh at yourself

and   l e a d e r s h i p   potential

In essence.     .     .

The Researchers hypothesized

that when a leader

joked about themselves

in a critical way

people would view them as someone who values jokes

and shows concerns for others.             .              .

“We chose humor as a mechanism through which leaders express their concern for others (vs. the self) because of the potential for humor to be both a weapon to harm others and a tool to  build relationships,” the Researchers wrote.

“By making fun of themselves the leaders showed disregard for the difference in status between them and their workers and this was viewed as concern for others.”

The study ultimately concluded,

The Leader who poked fun at themselves was rated as more trustworthy and a better Leader

There’s so many,

m       a       n       y

ways to be a

C A R I N G     C A T A L Y S T

but being able to not just

s     m     i     l     e

at yourself

but actually

laugh  A T

l    a     u     g     h       w i t h     others

at yourself

is absolutely one of the most powerful

and

fun ways.               .              .

The  World is in

d e s p e r a t e

need of a laugh.       .       .

give’em  a  reason

and throw in a few smiles

for  free

just for memory’s sake

for years down the road.        .       .

It’s one beautiful

C      E      N      T      E      R      F      O      L      D 

that’ll      always      be     in

b    l    o    o    m

B           E           S           I           D           E           S

U     s     u     a     l     l     y

when    you    give    the    World

a   reason   to   smile

I   T        W   I   L   L