Laughing Like Lincoln

There has been a lot of blogging about Lincoln recently, as it is the 200th anniversary of his birth. As this post reveals, Lincoln was a much funnier man than many of us might imagine from the photos of him, and used stories to great effect.

Though he carried a great burden, he used stories and jokes to persuade people and to break the tension. He enjoyed sharing an anecdote, a joke or a story with nearly everyone he came into contact with. Battle correspondent Henry Villard recalled that “None of his hearers enjoyed the wit—and wit was an unfailing ingredient—of his stories half as much as he did himself. It was a joy indeed to see the effect upon him….A high-pitched laughter lifted up his otherwise melancholy countenance with thorough merriment. His body shook all over, and when he felt particularly good over his performance, he followed his habit of drawing his knees, with his arms around them, up to his very face.”

Christian leadership also requires the ability to use humor to lighten burdens. Churches should be full of laughter, as well as making space for tears.