Christian performer Mark Lowry brings his show to Turlock

Mark Lowry is a Christian comedian who said he started making people laugh early in life.

"I tried, you know, because if people were laughing, they weren't hollering at you. I was just trying to have fun. My dad used to whip me for cutting up in church. Now I come into churches and make people laugh and get paid for it."

Lowry, a Texas native who broke into the entertainment business as a musician, will be in concert Friday at Monte Vista Chapel in Turlock. The award-winning headliner will perform song and comedy in his "Be the Miracle Tour." Pianist Stan Whitmore will share the stage.

Although Lowry's specialty is comedy and song parodies, he also wrote the lyrics to "Mary, Did You Know?" The Christmas song has been recorded by artists such as Kenny Rogers, Michael English, Wynonna Judd, Natalie Cole, Reba McIntire and Clay Aiken.

The Bee caught up with Lowry at his Texas home between a radio interview and his morning shower. Here's what he had to say about pushing the envelope, working with Bill Gaither and his definition of wealth.

Q: Tell us about growing up, getting disciplined and your work as a Christian comedian.

A: I asked God recently, can I have some new material that doesn't hurt? Usually I'm telling stories about breaking my leg on a motorcycle or

something else that's painful. It's not fun, but if you keep your eyes open, you usually see something eternal. Life is a boot camp, to learn to walk by faith if you're a believer. We're here for some reason. We might as well look around and see what's there.

We had a "switch tree" outside our house. (Our parents) used to make us get our own switches. Timeout? What's that? I would have killed for a timeout. It was never abusive; my dad is one of the nicest men I know. You can't fault them for what they didn't know. That's all they knew.

Our jobs as Christian musicians and entertainers is to woo people to Jesus, the bridegroom, not to tick them off. That's what I figure my job is. I do that through humor and music and whatever tools are laying around. I'm looking forward to coming back to California; it's been a long time since I was out there.

Q: Your biography says you were with the Gaither Vocal Band for 13 years and that your humor onstage became a hit on the Homecoming tours. At a recent Gaither concert in Sacramento, there was a guy playing the guitar who picked on Bill and made everyone laugh. Have they continued that tradition because of you?

A: Probably because it works. Bill is such an easy target. He loves being picked on because it humanizes him. You probably haven't heard the news. As of yesterday, I'm going back with Gaither band. Michael English is going back, too. I've never had more fun than singing with (English). When he left, it was never the same to me. It was better in many other ways, but not musically, which is what he brought to the party. When Bill called me, he had already nailed Michael down. I went to my prayer closet, which is my shower. Of course, the Lord never speaks to me audibly; I'm a Baptist. He just told me, "Wherever you end up, I'm going to use you."

Q: Comedy is hard enough; Christian comedy is really tough. How do you make it work?

A: You push the envelope, but you don't tear it open. If it's a sacred cow, go for it, but don't hurt people. I'm not destroying their sacred cows; I'm destroying mine. I know it works because I get the e-mails. They think of (God) as someone in the sky waiting for them to mess up. I disagree with that. If he's good, as I think every indication says he is, I'm right and he really does love the world and he's out to get them by loving them. Humor's just a tool to tell them that.

Q: Describe one of your concerts. Do you do songs with comedy mixed in? Or some stand-up comedy mixed with songs?

A: I talk until I get bored, and then I sing. If I get bored, I know the audience is right behind me, so I make sure that doesn't happen. I don't do a program. Everyone who travels with me just knows, hang on. They don't know where I'm headed. It's like a trapeze with no net. It's risky and scary, but it's fun.

Q: I've heard (Christian singer/songwriter) Buddy Green tell the story of how you guys were together for some sort of concert and you threw a piece of paper across the table and said, "Here, see if you can do something with this." He was expecting something funny, and said he was taken aback by the deeply spiritual words of "Mary, Did You Know?" Can you describe how you came up with those words and how you feel as you hear yet another big name recording it?

A: It's always exciting. It's like it's got a life of it's own now. I even heard David Archuleta (last year's "American Idol" runner-up) sing it at a banquet.

My pastor called me in 1984 and said, "Would you like to write the Living Christmas program for our church this year?" I hadn't written any music; I'd written lyrics. I decided I could take all the Christmas songs I loved and put words between them. The words "Lamb of God" kept coming up in my mind. I started wondering, what was Mary thinking when Jesus was born? Her mama's hand wasn't to be found. No epidurals. She didn't know angels were going to sing. "I'm pregnant; I'm on a road trip." How horrible. Compressed and compacted into that 8-pound package was God. The one who spoke the worlds into existence was making unintelligible noises. What was that like?

I wrote all these questions to Mary — Did he ever do miracles around the house, and if he didn't, how did you know he could? Some of the lyrics rhymed. I got chills when I put those together. I gave it to (several Christian recording artists and musicians) and nobody could do anything with it. Buddy Green called me on the bus and sang it to me. For me, the music and the words have to connect. I said, "That's it."

There even is a disco version by Kristen W. out that played all over these disco places this year. I downloaded it and it was incredible. The words are very clear. There were all these kids out there dancing to "Mary, Did You Know?"

Q: You're 50. Do you have a family — wife, kids?

A: No, I never did get married. You've got to learn to live with the cards you're dealt. (The apostle) Paul was right; there's something positive about staying single.

Q: What impact has this bad economy had on Christian comedians and musicians?

A: Crowds are down; people can't afford tickets. But I have a different definition than most about wealth. If you can sleep on clean sheets every night and if you can eat anytime you want to eat, you're rich. Everything else is a bonus. The key to gratitude is lowering your expectations.

Bee staff writer Sue Nowicki can be reached at 578-2012 or snowicki@modbee.com.

This story was originally published January 16, 2009 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Christian performer Mark Lowry brings his show to Turlock."