Topeka ? The Rev. Michael Jamison, of Topeka’s Unity Church of Christianity, has no aspirations to land a role on Broadway one day.

He’s not even sure he’s going to try out for a part in a Topeka Civic Theatre production.

The Rev. Michael Jamison, pastor of the Unity Church of Christianity, left, and Bradford Davenport of Davenport Construction Inc., stand outside the new Unity Church of Christianity being built in Topeka. Davenport is the general contractor for the project.

But that’s not really the point of his taking acting classes, which he started in January.

“Everything I do,” he said, “is to enhance my ministry.”

Jamison, 54, realizes there is a lot of competition for people’s interests these days.

He also realizes that ministers and clergy, such as himself, have their work cut out for themselves.

That’s why he’s constantly trying to improve himself and his proficiency at doing his job.

“We’re selling something that’s really hard to sell,” he said. “And that’s people working on their own, inner spiritual self.”

As a result, clergy need to be on top of their games.

If acting classes can help, so much the better, Jamison said.

“You’ve got to bring people back,” he said. “Like any other type of entertainment, if you’re not good on stage, they’re not going to come back, and they’re not going to tell their friends.”

For those who would be offended at the thought of a minister performing on stage, Jamison would say two words: Get real.

“For any person in the clergy to take offense at that is silly,” he said. “You’ve got to deliver, and you’ve got to deliver with such quality that they want to come back.”

Before he started taking acting classes, Jamison got involved in Toastmasters, an organization that encourages its members to become better at pubic speaking.

Jamison said he resisted joining Toastmasters for years, believing that he already had public speaking down pat as a result of his ministerial career.

“I went to that first meeting,” he said, “and found out, ‘Oh, my, there is a lot more to learn about public speaking.”‘

In his four years with the Toastmasters organization, Jamison has ascended quickly through the ranks, receiving a number of honors and holding several positions.

Toastmasters requires members to complete a variety of speeches, each with a different area of concentration, such as vocal variety and gesturing.

The ultimate goal is to put all the different parts together in a way that helps communicate the message.

Jamison and his congregation are looking forward to moving soon into a new building, set on a hilltop west of Topeka.

“It’s virgin territory,” he said. “High prairie. The church is built into a hillside, with a five huge windows facing solar south.”

Besides offering a calm, tranquil setting, the new location also promises to offer youths in the church with a place to camp in the summer and look at the stars away from the city lights.

As the church has been under construction for several months, members occasionally drive out to see how the work is coming along.

“They go out during the week and watch the progress,” Jamison said. “I think the workers mind their cussin’ a little more when they’re out there.”