From Laughter to Devotion: Bill Engvall’s Deepening Faith Journey
Picking up his cross and following Jesus, renowned comedian Bill Engvall has announced his final comedy special, “Here Is Your Sign It’s Finally Time: My Last Show,” will be released this winter on Dec. 5.
Engvall gained immense fame as part of the four-man “Blue Collar Comedy Tour” that took the country by storm from 2000-2006. Joining him on the stage were the titans of rural comedy: Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy.
But comedy has changed a lot since Engvall was at its peak. Now, cancel culture routinely attacks those who are found to be “offensive,” and Engvall believes that has no place at a comedy show.
“Comedy is the best thing in the world, to be able to go to a place and laugh… Don’t go with the attitude that you’re gonna try to find something that’s offensive. If that’s what you’re wanting to do, then I don’t know where to tell you to go, but just please don’t do it at a comedy show,” he says.
This new act for Engvall is a more spiritual role, as opposed to the funny-man routine that earned him fame and fortune.
After becoming an ordained minister, Engvall continued his journey to know the Lord better and deeper by studying at the Christian Grand Canyon University. He would go on to receive a degree in Christian studies.
Engvall shared with Fox News about this new season in life, leaving comedy behind and making God the priority moving forward.
“You know, I always considered myself probably what we used to call a C&E—you know, church was Christmas and Easter,” he jokes. “I have become an ordained minister. I have the great honor of baptizing both my grandkids, and I’ve got a couple of weddings coming up. And it’s just really, really fun.
“My relationship with God—I feel like one of the problems that we’ve had in religion is that we all feel like we all have to have the same relationship with God, which we don’t. Mine will be different than yours. Yours would be different than someone else’s,” he adds.
This new direction has impacted his final comedy special as well.
While never known for working ‘blue’ as a foul-mouthed comic, especially compared to many of the prominent acts of today, Engvall has made a conscious effort to ensure his special can be enjoyed and viewed by everyone.
“I feel like, honestly, that my show is probably one of the cleaner shows out there,” Engvall says. “I mean, there’s no swearing, there’s no dropping F-bombs and all that. … It’s something that I really have felt strong about. … I didn’t feel that any of the material on there was offensive. It’s, you know, it’s what I’ve done my whole career, and that’s obviously worked for whatever reason.”
Re-prioritizing the things of life also helped Engvall come to the decision that it was time to hang up the mic and spend time with family, which he missed while touring.
“It seemed like I was missing out on stuff … the same kind of stuff I had missed out on with my kids. … But I didn’t want to go through that again. I wanted to be able to really spend time with my kids and my wife and our grandkids. And so, I just knew. It was one of those things you just kind of know.” {eoa}
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
