The place was packed and spirits high as Christine Sneeringer stepped onto the stage.  Her comedy show, Not PC To Be Me, was spot on. As a former lesbian, she certainly is not “politically correct” to be doing Christian comedy.

The applause grew in volume. This was it. This is what she had been hoping and actually (literally, yes) praying for. A crowd, a pack-the-house, fill-every-seat crowd. And she got it, over 500 assorted bodies. Christine was definitely going BIG. She did a slow turn to show off her large bedazzled rhinestone belt. Then she confessed it was borrowed and grinned at the audience.

“Enough about accessorizing let me tell you how to get out of a traffic ticket!”. . . . and we were on our way down the Christine Sneeringer road of comedy. She did not disappoint.

 

Relatable

Comedy is tough. You have to relate to people, take them to a familiar place, and then reveal how funny that place can be. We all live it, but we don’t always see the humor. This night, we all went to those familiar places and laughed, really laughed, head thrown back, tears oozing kind of laughter.

But Christine’s comedy goes beyond that because, unlike other Stand Up Christian Comedians, Christine was a lesbian — a lesbian who met Jesus, surrendered her life to him, and walked away from the lesbian lifestyle. She gave up what she thought was the only way to live and was restored to her true self. And she’ll tell you all about it. Some of her story was hard to hear, and some of her story was just – FUNNY.

She started out soft, with a cross-her-heart true story of being stopped by a police officer in the middle of changing her clothes from formal dress to shorts and t-shirt, all while exceeding the speed limit. She then confessed to being a young entrepreneur, who stole and then sold her neighbor’s avocadoes, and then about being on a church baseball team, “cussing and swearing in the outfield.” A couple more familiar places, and then she moved into the harder stuff: her life as a lesbian.

Poignant

We all sat suddenly quiet as she told about her early life; her alcoholic, abusive father; her years of sexual abuse by a cousin and brother. She came to the conclusion that, if this is what sex and the love of a man is about, she didn’t want to be a girl. Her natural athletic gifts and boyish looks made it easy to look and act like a boy. And when her best girlfriend in high school proposed more than a friendship, but a sexual relationship, she accepted the first kind and caring love she had ever experienced.

When she was introduced to Jesus, her God, her Creator, her Savior, He changed her heart. “It didn’t happen overnight; it was a journey. But, I understood that I wasn’t a mistake. I was fearfully and wonderfully made with my gender, the way He intended me to be. And my gender became a blessing, not a burden.”

Now, identifying as a woman, being a woman, was a whole new ball game. And Christine needed help. She didn’t know how to start, how to act, to walk, to dress.

“I was totally traumatized by my first purse. I didn’t know what to do with it or what to put in it. ‘Stuff,’ I was told.  So, I put in three things; a Swiss army knife, a money clip and a crescent wrench.”

Again the laughter started to roll throughout the room as she demonstrated attempts by a friend to teach her a more feminine way to walk, and her first impromptu eye make-up lesson by a flight attendant at 35,000 feet;    utter astonishment at the weight of nail polish, how she felt that she couldn’t lift her hands above her waist, they were so heavy.

The laughter increased as she rolled through all the surprises of becoming a woman; her reactions, misunderstandings, awkwardness, pets, jobs, dating. And then she wrapped it all up with why she did this. Why comedy? Why make fun of this journey?

 

Why comedy?

“God called me to share about sexual redemption.  And, he’s using comedy to get me in the door.

I never intended to be a comedian, but He called me to do just that.”

She went on to explain that she wants to use her platform as a comedian to become a better spokesperson for Christ, to share with others who are hurt, confused and searching, that they have a choice – God’s choice. He can and will restore you to your best self, the person He created you to be.

We must all, straight or gay, lay down our lives for Him, and then God fulfills our potential, and we become the best of ourselves.

In order to better equip and train herself to be that “best spokesperson for Christ,” Christine has been invited, and accepted, an invitation by world evangelist Ravi Zachariah to attend the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics, at the prestigious Oxford University in London. The cost is $50, 000 (that includes room and board and all expenses). She’s raising the money through her comedy and speaking engagements, her T-shirts “Keep Calm and Go BIG” and accepting any and all donations.

This was Christine’s first Comedy Show, and she hopes to book many more to fund her Oxford training. Christine’s next comedy shows will be on Friday, July 29 at Calvary Chapel Miami Beach and on Saturday, August 13 at the Harbour Church in Pompano Beach. Go to worthycreations.org for information and tickets. Help her laugher her way to Oxford.

She also is also available to speak on Sexual Redemption. If you would like to book Christine for either, you can reach her through her office at Worthy Creations 954-970-9900 or through her website; worthycreations.org.

 

This review was written by BJ Behnken, president of teamwork3, implementing great ideas