As a preacher, I’ve often been impressed with stand-up comedians, especially those who are master communicators. I think that preachers can learn a lot from comedians when it comes to timing, surprise, story telling, and understanding your audience.
A few years ago, I stumbled upon Shayne Smith, when he did his first special for Dry Bar Comedy – an Utah-based clean comedy company. I enjoyed his cadence and style, so I searched for other videos of his comedy, and looked him up on social media.
What I found wasn’t great. His comedy outside of Dry Bar was raunchy, and from his social media I realized that he lived a very hedonistic bisexual lifestyle. As a result, I unfollowed him online.
However, a few months later, a new Shayne Smith special came out on Dry Bar (“Alligator Boys”), which I knew would be clean, and I really enjoyed it. I shared with my friend Mike, who leads Expositors Collective, a group that trains preachers, that these specials were masterclasses in communication that preachers could glean from – but, I also warned him that I didn’t recommend any of Shayne’s stuff outside of Dry Bar.
A few years later, much to my surprise, Mike sent me a podcast episode, in which Shayne was the guest, and he was talking about how he had converted to Roman Catholicism. In that episode, he shared that he was a singer in a hardcore band, talked about his love of punk rock, and about his newfound faith in Jesus.
Since that time, Shayne has been talking more and more about his faith in Jesus, which is particularly remarkable considering his previous lifestyle.
Last week, my wife and I went to see Shayne live here in Denver; the tickets a gift from Mike. Prior to the show, I came across this video, which I watched, and then shared with several friends. In it, Shayne tells the story of his journey into progressive ideology and lifestyle, and what it was that cause him to see the cracks in its foundations, and how he came to believe in Jesus. I highly recommend the video; it’s incredible!
I’m not Catholic, and I disagree with Shayne’s broad-brushing of “non-denominational” Christians. He strikes me as a young Christian, who isn’t yet overly familiar with Roman Catholicism, nor robust theology, or conservative Protestantism. I do appreciate the charitable work of the Roman Catholic Church, and the fact that they have refused to budge on issues such as marriage and sexuality, and abortion and the sanctity of life. It also strikes me that the way Shayne talks about Jesus as his “Lord and Savior” sounds very evangelical! Personally, I hope he will make that step! And yet, I rejoice to see Shayne believing in and seeking Jesus, and that he has clearly repented of his sins. At the show we went to, he mentioned three times that he had converted to “Christianity.”
One part of Shayne’s testimony that sticks out to me the most is how he realized that Christians are the people who actually do things like loving their neighbors and forgiving those who sin, and that those who follow Jesus tend to be happier and more content.
A Broader Trend
Much has been said in recent months about the changing trends in church attendance, with young men (Gen Z in particular) coming to church in large numbers. We have seen some of this trend in our church, especially in our online offerings, which are consumed mostly by young men. We’ve also seen many coming in person and seeking the Lord.
Anecdotally, friends of mine who are pastors, have reported similar trends. I have also seen it amongst my teenage son’s friends. It seems that many young people, particularly young men, have become fed up with, and seen the hypocrisy and flaws of the progressive policies which have been pushed on them from schools and public institutions for years, and they are pushing back and seeking for something that tells the truth, is based in really, and calls and challenges them to transform and become better.
Recently, I got to interview Justin Brierley of Premiere Christian Radio in the United Kingdom for the CGN Podcast, about his new book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers are Considering Christianity Again, and the anecdotes and research behind it. You can listen to that episode here:
From Doubt to Faith: The Quiet Revival – with Justin Brierley – The CGN Podcast
This trend has been dubbed by some as “The Quiet Revival,” based on a report from the UK Bible Society.
Justin Brierley recently stepped down from hosting the “Unbelievable?” show, which he hosted for 17 years, to start this new project, which also involves a podcast and social media videos. Check out The Surprising Rebirth Podcast to hear more discussions and stories about this phenomenon.
How about you – are you seeing this trend where you are?
Let’s pray that God draws many young people to himself! Just as we rejoice in the current surge, we also desire to see a prolonged revival! May the Lord bring more people into churches, and may churches be prepared to make disciples!
Theology for the People 