Passioneer® Rev. Susan Sparks, Stand-Up Comedian, Minister

[private][private]A trial lawyer, turned standup comedian and Baptist minister, Susan Sparks is America’s only female comedian with a pulpit. After ten years as a lawyer moonlighting as a standup, she left her practice and spent two years on a solo trip around the world, including working with Mother Teresa’s mission in Calcutta, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and driving the Alaska Highway. Upon returning home, she entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City where she earned a Master of Divinity and wrote an honors thesis on humor and religion. Currently, the Senior Pastor of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City (and the first woman in its 160 year history), Susan has been featured in the New York Times, on such networks as ABC, PBS and CNN, as a regular guest with country music star Naomi Judd on “Naomi’s New Morning” on Hallmark Channel, and in numerous comedy clubs, including Carolines in New York City. Her new book, Laugh Your Way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor, is due out in June 2010. You can reach her at www.susansparks.com.

On Wednesday, June 9th, 9am PST, we’re interviewing Rev. Susan on our Blog Talk Radio Show, The Passions and Possibilities Project.  Join us live or view streaming radio with your own insights and questions about thriving at what you love!

Dial in or stream in live with your questions and insights into thriving at what you love!  (347) 205-9028 or www.blogtalkradio.com/passionsandpossibilities

Rev. Susan’s Passioneer Q&A

My definition of passion:

Passion is something that comes from deep within.  It is the feeling that something or someone is a part of you.  In terms of work or career, passion means finding a path that makes you feel whole.  My “path” or “passion” took a while to find….

After ten years as a trial lawyer, I left the practice to pursue a career in ministry and standup comedy–a job that frankly, didn’t exist.  I had felt a call to the ministry for some time, but was unsure how a comedian would ever fit into organized religion.  I decided to travel around the world hoping to find some – any kindred spirits. I traveled for two years doing everything from working for Mother Teresa and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to driving my Jeep Wrangler from NYC to Alaska.  Everywhere I went, whether it was the laughter of Buddhist monks or the Sacred Clowns of the Navajo, I found examples of how comedy – joy and laughter – was an integral part of the Holy.  Consequently, I returned and entered Union Theological Seminary, graduating with an honor’s thesis on humor and the sacred.

Today I have turned that dream into a reality, as I am the senior pastor of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City (and the first women in its 160 history).  I am also a working standup; my most recent shows were a tour with a standup Rabbi and a standup Muslim comic.     http://www.rccongress2010.net/speakers/multifaithcomedyteam.shtml

Most exciting my new book entitled “Laugh Your Way to Grace:  Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor“ was just released!

What are the key factors in your success and what one word best describes it?

Believe.  That’s the one word that describes it.  You have to follow what your heart calls you to do—no matter how improbably it seems.  As a standup comedian, where was I going to find a home in the church?  Please.  But, paths open up that you never expect and here I am negotiating a career that up until now did not exist.  Whatever you do, don’t wake up one morning after a long career in something you hate and realize forty years are gone and you can’t get them back.  Believe.  Just believe…

What technique or exercise gets you through the challenging times?

Humor.  As a comedian and a breast cancer survivor, I know first hand about the healing power of laughter in hard times.  In fact, an entire chapter of my new book is dedicated to it.  I entitled it “Into the Ark” from a poem by Nobel Laureate poet Wislawa Szymborska: “An endless rain is just beginning. Into the ark, for where else can you go.”   To me, humor is that ark.

Humor is the ark that will allow us to rise above life’s hard times. It is God’s way of lifting our burdens, if just for a split second, to allow us a moment to breathe and to heal.

Suffering is not who we are; it is what we are experiencing.  When we find something to smile about in a place of pain, the balance of power shifts and we reclaim control. We take life back.  Laughter reassures us that no matter what comes at us, even if it defeats us, it will never define us.

Who drove you to be who you are?

My mom was my encouragement.  She grew up in a time when women did not have the full opportunities to work or pursue their dreams.  She not only encouraged me to go after my dreams, she taught me to honor the freedom and privileges I now have that she never did.

My biggest challenge in leaping into my passion for serving others and how I addressed them?

1-Not having any role models.  Sometimes you just have to blaze a trail.  Just because the world isn’t doing it yet, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

2-Money.  I had significant student loans and couldn’t afford to leave the practice of law to pursue seminary.  I decided to take a huge risk, leave my job at a large established bank and take a job with an upstart bank that could well have gone under.  Instead, within a year they were bought out and I almost instantly had enough money to pay off my loans and go to seminary.

Who is my biggest “hero” in my life and why?

My partner Toby is my biggest hero.  He worked in a high stress, difficult job for years—commuting three hours a day back and forth into New York City.  He finally reached a point where he could keep working and simply make more money, or he could retire, live a modest life and do what he loves.  He took the latter option, left the desk job and today spends his time but as a woodcarver, fly fisherman, long distance Harley rider and chef.

Do you have a quote you would like to share that speaks of you and your passion?

I think my motto is best summed up from a quote in the movie Kung Fu Panda:  “Our destiny is usually found on the road we take to avoid it.”[/private][/private]