Why Laughing (And Road Trips) Are Good for the Soul
Plus a summer update on writing projects and other such things
It’s been a while since I’ve sent out a newsletter, mostly because our family is taking some extended downtime. We are currently spending time in Southern California, whose weather is unmatched. We’ve always been a road trip family, and given that our kids are getting older and these trips with all of us together are likely coming to an end at some point, we are savoring each moment. Well, maybe not each moment, especially the crankiness after long car rides. We’ve enjoyed the beach. We toured the Ronald Reagan Library (a required pilgrimage), and are presently making our way toward Yosemite, the Hoover Dam, Palo Duro Canyon, and finally home. We also toured the lovely campuses of California Baptist University and Biola University, two fine schools.
One of the things we love about road trips is the time we spend together as a family. I love hearing my four kids joke and laugh. I even like hearing them make fun of their very old (in their minds) parents, especially when we try and fail to understand the latest Gen Z lingo (rizz, cooked, sus anyone?).
Laughter is good for the soul. This is the subject of my latest column for World on the meteoric rise of comedian Nate Bargatze. It has been fun to watch his career. We lived, for eight years, on the same side of town in Nashville as Nate. I’ve never met him, but I know people who know him, and they often say how good a person he is.
What I love about Nate is that he’s a Christian who does “clean comedy,” but his comedy is so good it doesn’t have to be dirty to get laughs. I’ve always felt this kind of comedy is the hardest to do. I believe humor writing is the hardest writing there is. Here’s a bit of a quote from my piece:
Nate Bargatze’s secret is not merely that he’s safe and clean, which is often a label given to folks who just happen not to be funny. Bargatze’s secret is that he’s actually getting laughs. He’s funny enough for people to spend time and money to see him perform. He’s funny enough that he doesn’t resort to the easy rhetorical crutch of vulgarity.
For the serious Christian, it is tempting to see entertainment like this as trivial, but to laugh is therapeutic and good for the soul. The wisest man in all the world once wrote that “a cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Scripture promises that God will “fill your heart with laughter (Job 8:21). To laugh is not incidental to being human. It’s a necessary part of the way God created us. Excellent comedy that avoids cruelty or crassness is a mental palate cleanser, a form of rest from the stresses and difficulties of life. In his essay, “Laughter,” G.K. Chesterton observed, “Laughter has something in it common with the ancient words of faith and inspiration; it unfreezes pride and unwinds secrecy; it makes people forget themselves in the presence of something greater than themselves.”
Christianity is a deadly serious mission. But that doesn’t mean we have to take ourselves so seriously. Thankfully, Nate Bargatze believes this and, through his unique calling, is bearing witness with his gift of humor. That should make us smile.
You can read the whole thing here. I’m cheering for Nate.
Here’s an update on a few other items:
My dear friend Kathryn Lopez at National Review asked me for some reflections on the third anniversary of the overturn of Roe v Wade, and I shared them with her here.
My book, In Defense of Christian Patriotism, is releasing in the fall, and I’m working with my editors on all the fun stuff: back cover copy, blurbs, etc. I will let you know as soon as it’s available for pre-order.
I’m working now on a short book for B&H on everyday ethics. This is sort of a lay-level biblical wisdom on topics pastors face from churchgoers. Will be out in 26.
I’ve also just signed a contract with Moody for a Christmas book for 27. More on that later.
Lastly, I have a project I’m collaborating on with my friend Dennis Greeson of BibleMesh for Harvest House. It’s on parenting and culture/worldview.
But for now, that’s all. Back to our merry road trip.