Who says you have to hear bad language and see “adult-only” content to be tickled to the funny bone?
Certainly not Debbie Childers. This wife of a retired (very tired) pastor takes the humor she sees in everyday life and turns it into a comedy show, or an after-dinner speech, or as part of Bible lessons. She is a Christian comic. A clean comedienne. A Biblical humorist.
Debbie has been booked for a show on Tuesday, April 29, in Oxford at 2 p.m. It will be free to the public with no tickets required. The show is at the Oxford Performing Arts Center in historic downtown Oxford in its Studio venue. Get there early, as a full house is likely. Some folks who might not actually pay to get in to see Debbie Childers might come because it’s free (just gotta laugh).
Debbie Childers has “sort of always done comedy,” but she first realized she could combine her desire to teach the Bible with her love of humor during a breakout session at a Woman’s Missionary Union event. WMU is a women’s auxiliary of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“I did a comedy thing based on Martha Stewart and Martha in the Bible and compared the two. It was a good lesson, but it ended up being hilarious,” Childers said.
Her first "Martha Stewart and Martha in the Bible" had a great response. The crowd doubled during the second session, and, for the third, there were women sitting in the hallway trying to listen.
Childers thought, “This might be something I want to do.”
She started teaching Sunday School and began adding humor to the lessons. For her, it was a natural fit.
Childers’ breakthrough in Christian comedy came when she entered and won a contest. She admires humorist Jeanne Robertson, has mimicked her style and dreams of meeting her.
“Pretty much my style is a lot like Jeanne’s style. I tell different stories, but I tell them in the same style,” Childers said.
Childers’ Sunday School class knew about this desire and talked her into entering a contest Robertson held for fellow humorists. The prize was performing as the opening act for Robertson for one show and being mentored by her.
Childers won and ended up getting to perform with Robertson four times. And sometimes when Robertson wasn’t available to speak at an event, she would refer the group to Childers.
Here is just one example of Debbie Childers showing the humor in everyday life:
Debbie Childers: You Gotta’ Hear This — ‘Riding around’ memories
One of my favorite activities in high school was to go “riding around” with my best friend. We loved driving by our friends’ houses to blow the horn, stopping to get a snack for the road, and screaming as we sped by the couples parked on the local “Lover’s Lane” at night.
A couple of weeks ago, my high school best friend and I took my husband’s new jeep out for a ride. We quickly realized that times have changed. There are lots of differences in “riding around” in the 70s and “riding around” when you are in your 70s.
1. We had to schedule it around our doctor’s appointments. She was preparing for an upcoming surgery, and I was wearing a heart monitor.
2. We made no effort to dress up in a cute outfit in case some boys chased us.
3. No boys chased us.
4. We didn’t have to stop for bathroom breaks back then.
5. When I got to her house, I blew the secret horn blow we used back then. It took her a while because she had fallen asleep in her recliner.
6. When she tried to get in the car, she had to start over and use her “good arm” to pull.
7. When she got in the car, I had to turn the radio down so I could “see” to drive. In the 70s, we turned it up as loud as it would go.
8. We dropped in on friends who had been working in their barn when we got there. I do not remember them being tired and sweaty in high school.
9. I had to drop her off at 8 p.m. because neither of us can see to drive in the dark.
10. Nobody goes parking anymore, so we couldn’t scream to scare anybody as we did way back when.
Without a doubt, time is passing, we are growing older, and life is changing daily. But as I age, I become increasingly assured of the goodness and faithfulness of my God who NEVER changes. He makes future dreams exciting and memories of the past enjoyable.
Debbie grew up in Valley View Baptist Church in Leeds. She and her pastor/husband, Tim Childers, have served in churches across central Alabama – Sylacauga First Baptist, College Heights in Glencoe, and Emmanuel in Tuscaloosa.
Who knows? Maybe in Tim Childers’ retirement, Debbie Childers’ career will take off. He preached the good news in the pulpit, and she shows the good news through the funny things of everyday life.
If you can’t make it to see Debbie Childers live on April 29, here is the next best thing — a video of one of her shows, “Sometimes You Gotta Laugh.”
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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