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Some time last year, you may have had the unfortunate pleasure of being asked to watch that video on YouTube where the lady who looks like one of your mom’s friends stands on a stage in a big auditorium and sings the “William Tell Overture” with all these funny lyrics about being a mom. If you were like me, you instantly got the feeling this lady was a Christian and that she was onstage at some kind of convention of Christian women. The jokes were tired and cliched, but the audience loved it. I didn’t. But then, I was not the intended audience.
The William Tell Mom, as she is sometimes identified on YouTube, is named Anita Renfroe. She is 45 and lives in suburban Atlanta with her husband, John, a Southern Baptist minister […] Last Mother’s Day, at the urging of her kids, she posted on YouTube the film clip of her performance at the Dozier Center for the Performing Arts in Kennesaw, Ga., and promptly forgot about it.
By October, 8 million people had seen it. She’s been on Good Morning, America. She’s been featured on iTunes. “After that, Renfroe was fending off offers like a Hollywood starlet.” And in case you think this lady is something small, she’s big enough for the New York Times Magazine to do a feature on her. That’s a big deal for a “Christian comedienne,” although it testifies as much to her popularity as to the Times’ wonderment that this is news.
Christian comedians are in the same category as Christian novelists or Christian painters, which is to say, artists aiming themselves at a very small demographic with a very specific purpose. This puts limits on the craft, but can mean large chunks of market share. The article says that her success and the atmosphere of her appearances (at Christian women’s conferences) owes “as much to Oprah as to Joel Osteen.” I’m not sure either comparison is a compliment, but the lady is a hit.
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Off-key
As some people know, I listen to a fair amount of Christian music. My favorites include Randy Stonehill, DC Talk, Rich Mullins, Steve Taylor, Petra, Phil Keaggy and Lost Dogs.
I listened to them when I was a devout Christian. I kept listening to them even when I was a skeptical agnostic. And I listen to them now when I have no obvious spiritual identifier.
The reason I listen to them regardless of whether I agree with their lyrical content is that they are great artists. In their songwriting and their performance, they all rank highly just as music.
I sometimes wonder if appending the modifier “Christian” is a good thing or not. U2 expresses Christian theology and thought in their lyrics and three of their four members are practicing Christians. They don’t suffer any stimatization because they’re labeled “Christian rock,” and so they — perhaps alone among the ones I named — are not just preaching to the choir, as it were.
Alice Cooper became a Christian some years ago and released three albums that were infused with his developing spiritual beliefs. They sold well, but not in the Family Book Stores.
Meanwhile, if something happened to my copies of Randy Stonehill’s Return to Paradise, I’d have to hunt high and low on eBay and Amazon to replace it, because those companies apparently don’t earn enough to keep all of their artists’ back catalogues in print. (I have two copies of RTP on CD and also have it on my computer and iPod, all for the sake of making it unlikely to lose.)
I understand the idea of identifying a Christian novelist or Christian comedian or Christian band for the sake of making it easier for people specifically seeking those themes to find them, but the downside is, for the most part people who are not specifically seeking them will never hear of them.
Most people, no matter how plugged in they are to contemporary music, will never hear of Rich Mullins or Steve Taylor, and I think that’s a real shame.
grr… I meant to say, U2 doesn’t suffer any stigmatization because they’re NOT labled “Christian rock” …
As a writer, I have come accross this already in my short writing career. The Christian arm of a secular publisher rejected a book proposal of mine with what she had hoped the actual story would be: the stereotypical Christian pablum that marginalizes Christian arts and artists.
I feel that the secular art machines that seek to make a profit on Christian talent also seeks to keep it in its pigeonhole.
Am I a Christian Writer? Or am I a writer who happens to be a Christian? Unfortunately, I think we Christian artists are complicit in our own marginalization. We play to our safe audiences, preaching to the choir, but are we being salt and light in the world? It all depends on the label we choose to wear.
Yeah, can’t say I thought that was funny!
Weird. My thought process were almost exactly what HSK’s were: looks stereotypically upperish middle class conservative Christian soccer mom. Something about her haircut, dress, and humor made me feel like I’ve met this lady at every church potluck I’ve ever attended, and I had this strong hunch that she was a Christian speaking at a women’s conference. And she wasn’t that funny.
My wife thought she was hysterical, though. But then, my wife wasn’t raised in the kinds of churches I was, so perhaps the lady and her jokes didn’t seem quite so banal to her. Or maybe mother humor covers a multitude of sins.
It’s funnier if you’re a mother, but it did go on a little too long.
Anita Renfroe is a lovely woman in real life.
Every mother can relate to what she said. There is a reason why this stuff is cliche. It is common to every mother I know. I thought it was funny, but then I’ve lived it.
What I liked about the article was the way the reporter simply let her be her. There was very little of the snide. And probably because I have a soft spot for mother jokes (hard for a guy, I know), I liked the jokes in the article.
Klasko has it right. Every mother can relate, and so it is funny to us.
Harrison, you often come across as a rather high-brow snob. Is that really the image you want to portray?
I love Christian music. And, I’m an upper middle-class, conservative, Christian, soccer mom. Does that make me somehow uncultured or ridiculous in your eyes?
I also got straight As in college in my upper level work and can read classical literature and analyze it right up there with college professors. Does that make me somehow better?
Honestly, we all really need to stop pigeon-holing people.
So, did the person who wrote this, and ended up with two typos in a three-word quote, grow up in the church? Clearly, this group had come a long way from “Wither though goest, I will go.” (Should be “Whither thou goest” or “wherever you go.”)
Harrison is not saying that if you find this comedy funny that you are automatically low-brow or uncultured. The very fact that this sort of niche, Christians-only comedy exists is the topic of his displeasure.
As Christians, we should excel at whatever vocation God calls us to, and should try to present those gifts which He has given us on the largest stage possible; this woman is the next in a long line of “crossover” Christian artists of various stripes who have made it out of the Christian bookstore ghetto into a level of noteriety where they’re able to have a broader audience. What Harrison is advocating is (rather than building up a captive audience on the Christian circuit), that Christian artists present their work on the broad stage first.
It’s not snobbery or a judgement on taste; just a philosophical distinction on approach.
U2 is about as Christian as the Rolling Stones.
Wit and humor is one thing; “comedy” is another thing entirely. Wit and humor brighten our lives, but comedy is always destructive. Most people don’t realize it, but it is. I think it was Orwell who said “every joke is a tiny revolution.”
Comedy is destructive, but when done well there’s no denying it’s fun to watch. It’s also undeniable that very few female comedians are any good. It’s the rare woman who can be anywhere near as funny as a mediocre male comedians , and it’s always unseemly to see a woman who should be home raising kids up on a stage making a fool of herself. Watching women do standup is about as much fun as watching a WNBA game. There are a great number of things women shouldn’t do, and comedy and basketball are both near the top of the list.
Hmm….I didn’t know that the South was considered fly-over country. Missouri, sure, but the South?
The video was hysterical, and all the moms well-understood it. The article was OK, given the writer is likely discovering this new world of current religious comedy, and trying to understand it.
Though I did think the complainers on YouTube had serious issues.
Everything but LA, NY, and Miami is considered flyover country.
I watched it 30 times in one weekend and cried streams of tears each time. I could write one for each room of the house, it gave me lots of ideas and stress relief
I saw it. It was lame.
Rob Hays - “What Harrison is advocating is (rather than building up a captive audience on the Christian circuit), that Christian artists present their work on the broad stage first.”
Nicely said. Case in point: Mr. Bruce Cockburn. No limits on his craft or his market share.
Night Train - “U2 is about as Christian as the Rolling Stones.”
WorldMag did a pieace on Bono and his faith last year. I recall reading a Letter to the Editor the following week from a woman who had gone to see Bono speak. She said something like: “I went hoping to see if he was truly a Christian. After hearing his words, I came home wondering if I was one myself.”
Kenneth Copeland is a good Christian comedian. Un-intentional comedy counts too, right?
Night Train: U2 is about as Christian as the Rolling Stones.
Open-minded as always, I see. Have you actually heard U2?
You broke the bonds
You loosed the chains
You carried the cross
And all my shame
All my shame
You know I believe it. — I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
And the battle’s just begun
To claim the victory Jesus won — Sunday Bloody Sunday
I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song — 40 (based on the 40th Psalm)
I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard while the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice while they pierced his side
But I’ve seen love conquer the great divide — When Love Comes To Town
Sorry you have to hit everything with your Mighty Stick O’Judgment, Night Train, but U2’s body of work is infused with Christian themes.
Travis: Great quote about Bono.
Thanks, SteveG. That saved me the trouble of getting out my 8 or 10 U2 cd’s to refresh my memory. Other than having spent years listening to U2, and buying their albums, I’m otherwise unfamiliar with their lyrics. So thanks again!
Lots of artists use biblical imagery. It doesn’t make them a Christian. Show me any quote from Bozo saying that he’s trusting Christ for salvation, or that Jesus Christ is his lord and savior. I have no doubt that Bozo is some sort of “spiritual” person, and finds a lot of comforting passages in the Bible. I’ve never seen any evidence whatsoever to suggest that he’s any kind of orthodox or evangelical Christian. To the contrary, I’ve read lots of interviews of him, and he makes it quite clear that his set of beliefs are not compatible with the tenets of orthodox Christianity. He no doubt believes in a “god”, and he references the Bible a lot, but there’s no evidence he’s what most Christians would consider to be a Christian. He probably has more in common with you and Jon Rowe than with evvies.
WorldMag did a pieace on Bono and his faith last year. I recall reading a Letter to the Editor the following week from a woman who had gone to see Bono speak. She said something like: “I went hoping to see if he was truly a Christian. After hearing his words, I came home wondering if I was one myself.”
Well, yes, if you define a Christian as a rich tax dodging hypocrite peddling White Guilt, then Bozo is certainly a Christian. I”m quite familiar with The Speech he gives, and he pretty much only gives one: Jesus demands that we raise our taxes to send money to Africa, and oh yeah, we need to forgive their debt, and one more time, the true test of whether or not we love Jesus is if we’re willing to raise our taxes to save Africa. He’s been giving that speech for several years now. And then a couple years ago Bozo and his bandmates moved their headquarters to Holland or somplace in order to lower their taxes. This was not long after Ireland’s government had taken his advice and raised their levels of aid to Africa. When the glaring hypocrisy of an artist/band worth hundreds of millions of dollars moving their HQ to a foreign country to lower their taxes, while Bozo runs around demanding that every white country on earth raise taxes on ordinary working people, he said it was a “business decision”. Of course it was. As is that makes rank hypocrisy palatable! “Hey, get off my back! I’m doing it for the money!”
Bozo is just another liberal hypocrite who happens to be a great songwriter.
I’ll confess I have a general aversion to anything that attaches the name “Christian” to it, be it music, books, movies, or comedy. I’ve generally found the quality to be poor. I know there is a lot of crap made by non-Christians too. But at least in the secular arena there is room for a wide variety, which gives rise to good material.
That said, I’ll confess to having a cd by DC Talk that I really, really like. I also got hoodwinked recently when I purchased “Dreaming Out Loud” by One Republic, which is apparently at least a semi-Christian band. I couldn’t help it - I absolutely love that song “Apologize” (Timbaland remix)!
But my favorite is Tonio K, who is on the fringes of Christianity, but makes some really awesome music.
As for female comedians, I think of Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin, both of whom I really like. I know they both would be offensive to Christians though.
I thought it was “magical creation”. Sorry.
Night Train at #19:
Lots of artists use biblical imagery. It doesn’t make them a Christian. Show me any quote from Bozo saying that he’s trusting Christ for salvation, or that Jesus Christ is his lord and savior.
OK
Here’s one: But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep s—. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.
Here’s another: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled… . It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.
Here’s a third: [In response to the question of whether it is “farfetched” to believe Jesus is the Son of God):
No, it’s not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You’re a bit eccentric. We’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don’t mention the “M” word! Because, you know, we’re gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you’re expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he’s gonna keep saying this. So what you’re left with is: either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we’ve been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had “King of the Jews” on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that’s farfetched …
From Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, by Michka Assayas, copyright © 2005 by Michka Awwayas.
There’s more. From an article in Christianity Today, 2003:
The idea that there’s a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with, if you believe it. Actually, maybe even far-fetched to start with. But the idea that that same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in straw and poverty is genius, and brings me to my knees, literally. To me, as a poet, I am just in awe of that. It makes some sort of poetic sense. It’s the thing that makes me a believer, though it didn’t dawn on me for many years.
That enough? Or should I send some more?
Put away the Mighty Stick O’Judgment, Night Train.
Oh, and I see you changed his name to “Bozo.” How clever you are!
Bozo? That’s a real Christian attitude you have there, Night Train. No doubt Jesus would be proud.
NT at #19: I’ve never seen any evidence whatsoever to suggest that he’s any kind of orthodox or evangelical Christian/
Nor did I say he’s an evangelical Christian. There are many Christians who are not evangelicals, you know.
You demanded to see quotes where he acknowledges Christ as savior. I provided four that I found in five minutes of searching, and there are plenty more.
I get that you don’t like his politics, but you have no grounds, it seems to me, to question his faith.
I’ve now watched the video, and while agreeing with Mr. Key’s points about the Christian subculture in general, I confess I found it kind of cute. I mean, we do tend to laugh at what we identify with, and some of those lines are SO my mom.
The big problem, I think, comes when we Christians proclaim something great art solely because we identify with it, regardless of the quality of the work. And there is a lot of that going on.
SteveG, I wasn’t dodging you. I’ve been on an incredible rush on the poker tables and I’ve been focusing on that for the past couple days. Runs like the one I just had don’t come along very often, and you have to milk them for all they’re worth.
I must say I hadn’t seen those quotes from Bozo. Either he likes to talk out of both sides of his mouth, or he’s changed his tune in the past few years.
At any rate, a lot of evangelicals think he’s one of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. I found an interview with him from TIME where he says he doesn’t go to church, but if he lived near San Francisco he’d be attending Glide Memorial church, because Cecil Williams is his kind of preacher. Williams was conducting gay marriages way back in the 1960s, when a lot of people wouldn’t even say the word “homosexual” out loud. A few years ago he was Grand Marshal of San Fran’s gay pride parade. He also likes to thunder from the pulpit that much of the Bible is, and I quote, “bullsh*t”. That’s Bozo’s “kind of preacher”.
Oh, and I see you changed his name to “Bozo.” How clever you are!
Thanks, Steve. A lot of times I feel my posts on WoW are, frankly, unappreciated. It means a lot to me when someone finally shows some appreciation for what I do on here.
Bozo? That’s a real Christian attitude you have there, Night Train.
I’m not a Christian. Why should I have a Christian attitude?
No doubt Jesus would be proud.
I’m sure he would. He went around calling the highly esteemed hypocrites of his day, who were also regarded as “deeply spiritual” by the masses, “snakes”, and “sons of Satan”.
Why wouldn’t he be proud?
Night Train: But I didn’t say he was an evangelical. There’s a lot of argument amongst those evangelicals who even care about such things whether or not Bono is “one of them.”
But he certainly believes in Christ.