Written by Benjamin Porter, Editor in Chief & Founder of Love Is Moving

You walk on the stage, lights go up, but where is the microphone? That’s just one of the outlandish moments of Matt Falk’s adventures as one of Canada’s top clean comedians.

“I did a show in a basement for four people who were sitting on a couch,” he recalls. “I got up and talked in front of them. It was very weird, there was no separation. It was for a small company that just blew their entertainment budget on me standing up in front of them.”

Falk, who is from Niverville, Man., has shared the stage with superstars like Rob Schneider (SNL, Adam Sandler movies), Gilbert Gottfried (Aladdin) and Dave Coulier (Full House).

So, how did this proudly Mennonite kid from western Canada become a rising star on the comedy circuit?

“The purpose of high school,” he says, “is to figure out what you are good at so you can do it for a career. When I was cracking jokes in math class and getting kicked out, I knew I wasn’t going to be a mathematician. I would get up and tell jokes in science class and was kicked out – I knew I wasn’t going to be a Scientologist. So, it dawned on me that maybe there is a career where I could crack jokes and get thrown out of places. Stand-up comedy!”

But don’t most comedians use a lot of vulgar language in their routines? “The world has taken the gift of humour that was created by God and has perverted it,” says Falk. “We need to bring it back to its original intention. Humour is meant to be pure and in line with God.”

He’s making every effort to do his part in redeeming comedy. “Redeeming comedy is not making it some kind of lesser art form. It is bringing it back to its original and superior art form.”

Many comedians will do anything to get ahead, to get a part on a sitcom or movie. Falk has a different goal – to live life day by day following God’s will. “I know He can use me wherever. I want to see what He has for me,” says Falk.

He enjoys what he’s doing and laughingly shares that he may leave comedy if a job as a food critic would open up. “Mmmm these French fries are absolutely amazing from this small Scottish restaurant with the yellow arches, so good!” What about church life – is there a place for humour there? Falk points to Proverbs 17:22 – a “cheerful heart is good medicine” and to Nehemiah 8:10 – “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

“We get freaked out that we will make God angry” by joking around, says Falk, “which can lead others to believe Christians are pious. If we think that God will be disappointed in us when we laugh or are having a good time, then we do not know our Father.”

He finishes our interview with a challenge. “You have to look into what God thinks about you. If you do not know what God thinks about you, you are missing out on something amazing. If you think it is something scary, you are being lied to. Go through the Bible and meditate on who God says you are. When we mess up, we beat ourselves up. When you fall, you can get up and say ‘Thank you God that this is not who you say I am.’ When you truly know that God loves you, it will change you forever. You will begin seeing others as God does, and you will begin to realize they need Jesus. It will move you to start loving others because you cannot stand for them to go another minute without knowing the truth that God loves them!”

Falk’s service through comedy testifies to a refreshing approach of sharing God’s love.

Check out MattFalkComedy.com to see when he is on a stage near you. Watch his routine “First World Problems” at youtube/Zh0AnPr_fj8

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