Christian comedy: And he saw that it was funny ...
Comic Jeff Allen works church audiences — not bars or clubs — and although he's not in comedy's mainstream, he says he's making a good living in front of a mostly untapped audience.
 

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'Let them see you, not me'

After Allen became a born-again Christian, he tamed down his act but continued working in clubs. He said it did wonders for his comedy. Allen was forced to find humor without relying on expletives, which made him a more focused writer.

After working the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas — on Sept. 11, 2001 — Allen decided he was done with nightclubs and casinos. He asked his manager if churches would hire him. It began with one church that first year, then it snowballed. Allen averages two shows a week now, and he's no longer away from home for month-long stretches. He and Tami celebrated their 25th anniversary in July.

"What I do now is the most comfortable I've ever been in my skin," said Allen, who now lives outside Nashville. "I know it's not clever, not hip, not edgy, but I'm over trying to be something I'm not."

Two weeks after the Pekin show, Allen was inside the Grand Ballroom of the Oak Brook Marriott Resort, performing for 500 lawyers at the Christian Legal Society's conference. He prayed before going on stage:

"Lord, let them see you, not me."

The house lights went dark and Allen went 75 minutes straight, a machine gun of words, all muscle memory at this point.

"I believe teenagers are God's revenge on mankind," he said. "One day God is looking down over his creation and says to himself, 'Hey, let's see how they like it to create someone in their own image who denies their existence.'"

Allen doesn't do too many religious jokes, but that line drew the night's heartiest laughs.

"I looked through the Bible cover to cover, and it never mentions how old Satan was when he finally rejected God's authority. My guess? Sixteen."

A few bits from Jeff Allen

"I got knocked unconscious once by a chairlift. Of course the insurance company refused to cover the head injury. Guy called me up at home and said, "You got hit in the head by a chairlift. That makes you a moron, and we consider that a pre-existing condition.'"

"My oldest son was 7 when he was diagnosed ADHD. Doctors wanted to put him on Ritalin. Of course I said, 'Sure. Based on my family's history of alcohol and drug abuse, let's get the kid on the crank as soon as possible.' One chromosome from my side of the family and he'd be 9, saying, 'I don't think the 5 milligrams is doin' it for me, dad.'"

"My wife's idea of dessert is rice cakes. Are you kidding me? Cake? I think 'caulk' would be a better word. It's not food; it's insulation. Told her we could save a few bucks and just eat the Styrofoam peanuts that came with her ThighMaster."

"I have ADHD, and I am a hypochondriac. But this is how God looks out for his children. It's my ADHD that keeps the hypochondria manageable. On those days that I am convinced I am dying and need an ambulance, by the time I get to a telephone to call one, I have been distracted four or five times. Usually wind up in the kitchen holding a telephone and can't remember why. And that's when I order the pizza.


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