Christian Comedy?

Watching the Dane Cook videos and them talking about how they learned and do comedy makes me want to study and do that. But my immediate reaction is - oh I can't be a comedian because the Bible says we don't engage in silly talk and we're probably supposed to be too pure to use all that bad language.

Do you have to say f**k, s**t, c**p, and the even worse female anatomy part words to be funny? Are audiences so stupid that they have to be shocked into laughing? I don't think so- there are comics like Seinfeld and Steven Wright who I don't remember ever saying a bad word. I think it comes down to being yourself and doing your style- but it's tempting to go overkill and use the bad language and excessive body movements as a crutch. They have to be honest- but the truth is that honestly there are times when I think and say those words, so if I edit myself because I have to appear to be a good Christian, then I'm lying.

I can't think of a Christian comedian. And I have wondered numerous times why many Christians don't seem to have a sense of humor. Either they're too pure to find anything funny, or they're putting on a show.

Unsettled restless careerless vocationless

I am always searching, yet never settling on one course- and that is being unsettled, restless.

The only times I have rested have been in prayer or in a temporary understanding of my entire life and career. The latter changes frequently, so it is not a source of rest or satisfaction.

I have yet to find a way to use all my talents and feel they are in the service of God at the same time. I often think of this way of life as imperfect and that I need to break with it in some way- when I was younger I thought the solution would be to go live in the wilderness- like Jeremiah Johnson but without the snow. I visualized myself as a refugee hiding in a national park. Now I often see it as moving to another city and starting to invest in real estate or going back to school for a Masters in something Christian so I have the credentials to write...

Then I wonder if I'm really supposed to leave apart any of my interests and talents- e.g. if I write but do other things (stay busy multitask) then I have other experiences to bring in as examples and am not one-dimensional in my writing.

I watched all of Dane Cook's comedy tour series in the last 2 days. I'm embarassed to say what the name of it was and not excited about some of the things I thought were funny- there's a sense of how the Holy Spirit makes me pure, and when I think those things or absurd situations on South Park are funny, I feel a discomfort in my stomach. Anyway, when I watch comedians on tour, I want to be a comedian- "I'm funny," I think, "but I don't know anything about writing jokes and I'd have to go through all that performing and honing material and maybe I'm not really funny. I was funny when I taught medical terminology but that was making up jokes on the spot" whereas comedy routines require going from nothingness to the funniness in a planned way. If you don't plan it, you're doing the daring thing Jim Carrey did for a year or two of going to the club with no material... even when Seinfeld started trying totally new jokes after his TV series was over, it took him a long time to build up 30 minutes of material, and Jay Leno said "I could never do that, I couldn't let go of my material, it's too scary".

But the point was that I think I can do anything I hear about others doing- and I want to do it all right then and make it to the top and become famous in my head. Then I 'come to my senses' and realize I can't be the best at anything unless I commit to it but there are too many things I could do well and enjoy doing and I don't want to give any of them up. But unless I focus on one, I can't maximize my ability or production of any of them enough to be noticed by too many people... alas.

Obedience, Happiness, & Motives

so many thoughts and ambitions- but I suspect they're fleshly- add the confusion of a marriage in question with the drive to succeed, greed for wealth, desire for approval and success, and the tendency toward hypomania, the pattern of changing interests and inconsistent employment- you get a self-examining quasi-genius paralyzed by doubt- stop and start with blogs, careers, and ideas

I also believe and think I would be confirmed in bible study that what I'm called to do as a Christian what God wants us to do is quite different from what I do- that it takes guts and risk and that most of us rationalize not obeying with many excuses- we let the fear that drives capitalism and the personal success doctrine to rule our lives instead of Christ

Ken's path is inspiring- that he took a postoral job in TN making only a few thousand a year and living in gov assisted housing... someone like Medved would argue that someone had to pay for that but when we live in a fallen world, can we expect a government and nation composed mostly of non-Christians and disobedient Christians to have systems in place that fit truly obedient Christians? If a pastor/minister/whatever tells the truth and the church goes under financially, if Christians will only support churches that reinforce their disobedience, then how could a truth-telling minister be prominent and perceived successful in the world's eyes?

as usual, too much to research and think about, everything could be a book, and of course it should all propel me to prominence, riches, success, and a feeling of confident peace in my place in this world- but that's wrong isn't it? my feeling of confidence and peace should be about my place in the next world if I'm truly following Jesus. they hated him and treated him that way and we can expect no better- so if we get better treatment, shouldn't we wonder if we are pleasing the world and not God? If they approve of us, maybe we're hiding our light under a bushel, or however that goes.

even my desire to be honest and study the bible, bring it to light for people, to renew interest in the great preachers of old can seem like just another strategy for me to fulfill those fleshly ambitions for the happiness of this world.