Introduction

Long before the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts came on the scene, I had been seeing preachers "roasted" at church banquets. The idea of honoring someone by kidding or insulting the person is nothing new. At a recent convention a United Methodist bishop (I'll call him Bishop Anderson) was roasted with this story: A recent Methodist arrival in heaven was being shown around by St. Peter. A couple minutes into the tour he saw an old friend of his. But it was a disturbing sight. Attached to his friends leg by a large chain was the most hideous blob of sticky protoplasm he had ever seen. "What is that?" he asked St. Peter, scarcely able to control his horror. "Oh," said St. Peter. "Well, you see your friend was far from perfect in his life on earth and this is his punisnment." A little…