FACE
FUNNY FOR
A REASON
BY: AMBER
WEIGAND-BUCKLEY
NAME: MICHAEL JR.
BIRTHPLACE: GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
BIRTHDAY: JANUARY 15
“CATCH THEM WITH THE COMEDY; KEEP THEM WITH THE
TRUTH. I THOUGHT THAT WAS A SLOGAN, BUT I FOUND OUT IT
WAS AN ASSIGNMENT.”
— COMEDIAN MICHAEL JR.
likes incorporating quiet moments into his shows. “Stuff
Little did 14-year-old Michael Jr. know when he accan be way too noisy. I like just getting the audience
cepted a dare from a friend to provide the entertainto a place where they are still and contemplating in
ment during a technical glitch at the cinema, that he
silence. I also move really slow, where I don’t even give
would be where he is now, sharing the stage with the
them the punch line so they can fill in the blank.”
likes of the comic greats like Jerry Seinfield, George
Whether in a Vegas club or a church rally, this
Wallace, Jay Leno and Chris Rock.
approach helps Michael Jr. administer the truth
As a young teen, and long before Michael Jr. became
a Christian, he made a pact with a friend that the two of everywhere he finds his feet.
YOUR TIME TO STAND UP
them refused to curse because it just wasn’t an intelliWherever you are in your journey, Michael
gent way to communicate. The threat of corporal punishment kept them accountable to the pact. “If I cursed, he encourages you to seek the wisdom of godly mentors and supportive people who can give you both
would be able to hit me in the stomach really hard and
spiritual and professional feedback, encouragement,
vice-versa,” Junior explains.
and direction. “It is critical. That’s what keeps
On the day that the movie screen blanked, the dare
to go up and tell a joke to the entire audience prompted me on track,” says Junior. Besides
his friend from Michigan that
the middle school student to move from his spectakept Michael committed to
tor’s seat to center stage. However, in that moment the
keeping the words of his
only joke Junior could think of was a dirty one. Since
mouth clean, Junior relies
he couldn’t pass up his friend’s dare, but didn’t want
heavily
to get punched by his other friend for cursing, on the
on the
way down to the front he cleaned up the joke. “There
counwere like 400 disgruntled people in this theater when
sel of his
the movie stopped. However, when I told the joke and
spiritual mentor
everyone laughed,” remembers the comedian. “Seeing
their reaction gave me this ultimate high — not that I’ve at his church in
California.
ever done drugs before.”
He also knows the
In retrospect, Junior recognized the purpose in what
importance of keephe was doing. “I could clearly see that this was God
saying, ‘This is what I have for you to do,’ even before I ing God’s Word at the
forefront. Proverbs 3:5–6
came to Christ.”
propels him forward daily:
LAUGHTER THAT MOVES YOU
Before his standup debut at the movies, the comedian “Trust in the LORD with all
your heart and lean not on your
says he’s always had a strange ability to take the munown understanding; in all your
dane and ordinary, flip it upside-down and wrong-side
ways acknowledge him, and he
out, and etch out life truths.
will make your paths straight”
That insight has helped Michael mold his approach
(NIV).
to comedy that packs a punch into the punch line. “If
I have a good hour, I will ask some questions,” says
Junior. “Then the audience gets really relaxed. Most an- MICHAEL JR. WILL BE ONE OF THE SPECIAL GUESTS AT DETROIT 2010 NATIONAL YOUTH
CONVENTION. FOR EVENT INFO VISIT <DETROIT2010.AG.ORG>.
swers are funny but every fourth one is serious.” Unlike FOR INFO ON MICHAEL JR., CHECK OUT <MICHAELJR.COM>.
fellow comics, Junior isn’t afraid of silence. In fact, he
ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM RED MEANS GO! BY AMBER WEIGAND-BUCKLEY. AMBER IS
EDITOR FOR ONCOURSE MAGAZINE. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION.
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