Thank You Paris, TX

Paris, TX was the best. I spoke 6 times in 3 days. 2 school assemblies, confession training for leaders, outreach event, Sunday morning service, and graduation banquet. Bethel Baptist Church, thank you for letting me be a part of what you’re doing.

I knew it was going to be a busy weekend so I made sure I planned out my Sabbath ahead of time.

At the schools I was reminded of my favorite part of doing assemblies.

Oh, and did I mention I was in the Paris newspaper?! How ridiculous is that?

Now I have to go record my Patreon exclusive podcast, How Did it Go Tonight, where I recap all the wonderful stories that come from my live shows.

Goodbye Paris

I was in the Paris newspaper (the Texas one) on Friday. I can’t get over how silly that is. Look at my dumb face trying to pass as “newsworthy.”

My long weekend is coming to a close. I knew it was going to be exhausting when it started (that’s why I already planned out my Sabbath) but I didn’t know it would be like this.

Isaac, who has traveled with me before, came to help out on this trip, and I'm so grateful he did. I don't know what would have happened to my brain if I had been here alone.

Tonight after the last service I spoke in, we bought a $5 basketball from Wal-Mart and played Around the World at the basketball hoops next to the Texas Eifel Tower (it's smaller in person). For most of the weekend if we weren't at church, we were eating, and if we weren't eating, we were sleeping. We needed to do something different.

Basketball was Isaac's idea. I feel like that's obvious. Sports is never my idea. I'm terrible at anything athletic. When I shoot a basketball I look like a toddler trying to catch a butterfly.

It's all over now.

I am so thankful for Kent Kirby, the youth pastor who thought to bring me in for this weekend. He used a lot of the ideas I give in my COMEDY OUTREACH EVENT info packet and I think they worked well for him. That's exciting.

Now I have to finish getting ready for camps.

And then it's Sabbath time, baby!

Not Used to Altar Music

7 years ago I was still getting used to ending my stand-up with a message. I had never had altar music play while I closed. It really freaked me out.

The first time a woman yelled "amen" while I was on stage it scared me even worse. I stopped in the middle of my sentence and said "oh, thank you" because I didn't know what else to do.

I have come a long way.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY NEW TOUR.

Comedy with a Message

Laughter has an incredible ability to bring down our walls and defenses. It can relieve the tension and make it easier to talk about the sort of things we’re usually afraid of. I didn’t always know I could use comedy for something bigger. 2018 marks the 10 year anniversary since I first tried stand-up. It's been a long journey to get to where I am now.

I’m so excited for my new material, new tour, and new message.

Learn more about my new show.

Most AWKWARD Prayer Time

What's the worst/least helpful thing someone has said to you when you've asked for prayer during an altar call?

That’s the question I asked my Facebook friends a few months ago. There were SO MANY responses.

Here are some highlights.

“I know a teenager who was visiting a church for ministry purposes. The kid tried to cast a demon out of a man he’s never seen before. That someone just happened to be the pastor of the church.”

One guy told me he was literally told “to ‘shut up and quit praying.’ I needed to listen to what he was praying over me.”

A woman told me “After a lady finished praying for me one time, she said, ‘You know, I would really like it if you married my son.’”

Someone said “The worst is when you ask for prayer for a specific thing and the person praying with you repeats it in prayer extra loud and at the quiet part of worship." I thought this was really funny and relatable. How many teen guys don’t ask for prayer because they’re afraid the leader will start shouting "LORD, HELP THIS PERVERT TO STOP LOOKING AT SO MUCH PORN!”

It can be so scary to take the leap and open up to a leader about what you’re going through.

To confess and ask for prayer is making yourself so vulnerable.

But it can be just as scary to be on the other side of that conversation.

To be the leader someone is choosing to be vulnerable with can be so intimidating.

You can feel all this pressure like you have to fix this person in the next few moments or you’re not doing your job.

That mindset can lead to more harm than good.

I want to help train leaders.

That's why in 2018 I'm partnering with churches for a special event that not only includes a free comedy show outreach event for the community, but also training for pastors, leaders, and parents on how to be there for someone opening up.