I was right out of college, working part time as a youth pastor and spending the rest of my energy trying to travel as a stand-up comedian. I had no idea what I was doing and I was dealing with a ton of insecurities. I wanted to find a way to make stand-up comedy my full time job but HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK?!
I wasn’t good at “putting myself out there.” I barely knew what that meant. Most of the time I was performing in churches and, if I’m going to be really honest with you, I was embarrassed about that. I was becoming a “Christian comedian” and I hated it. It was embarrassing and I didn’t want to tell anyone outside the “church world” about what I was doing.
In my mind Christian comedians are comedians that only Christians find funny.
I DID NOT WANT TO BE THAT.
My Brother My Brother and Me is one of my favorite podcasts. It’s an advice show. Kind of. People send in questions looking for advice and the three brothers use that a jumping off point for all their silly goofs.
I actually went to them for advice on what I was going through. I was insecure about being a Christian trying to do comedy and I wanted to hear from a non-Christian perspective. I knew all the things people in the church might tell me. I wanted to hear from a different voice.
It really freaked me out the week I heard them read my question on the show. They said some really incredible and encouraging stuff. I’ve listened back to this a few times as I’ve gotten ready to post this and, MAN, it’s still so good.
Here’s the clip from the episode. I’ll warn you here that there is some NSFW language.
My Favorite Moments:
Just be true to yourself and you’ll end up with something original and sincere that people will be more interested in than if you just did what you think would be popular.
You might actually be able to change some people’s minds about what Christians are like and that could be a really cool thing.
You can be anything and also be funny.
When Justin said the thing about changing people’s mind, that really hit me. I feel like with today’s culture a lot of what it means to share the gospel in America today is just doing PR work
A lot of people have some really negative preconceived notions about what it means to be a Christian. It could be from people in their life or just what they’ve seen in the media, but it’s our job to be open about our faith and also not be a jerk or weirdo or someone who makes them uncomfortable, you know?
The guys from My Brother My Brother and Me really helped me be ok with being a Christian (who is also a) comedian.
Thanks, guys.