"It's All About the Kids"
The Foxworthys Weigh in on Laughs, Love and the Lord
By Lisa A. Rice
Raise your hand if you've ever told a "You might be a redneck if" joke or if you have at least belly-laughed and pointed to your spouse or buddy as you have heard one. There seems to be a certain pride about realizing you're an official Foxworthy redneck... especially when it hits you that your husband really has used a rag for a gas cap at some point... or that four dogs actually did get killed when your Uncle Bubba's porch collapsed!
All over the world, Jeff Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country. Many recall his sitcoms on NBC and ABC as well as the Blue Collar Comedy Tour: the Movie. Jeff Foxworthy is also the largest-selling comedy-recording artist in history and has published more than 26 books, the latest of which spent 19 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.
We had the privilege of interviewing Jeff and his wife, Gregg, and though we shared tons of laughs, the greatest treasure was getting a glimpse into Jeff and Gregg's iron-sharpening-iron marriage relationship, their deep love for the Lord and their fierce commitment to children.
Comedy Club Romance
CL: Great to be with you guys. So how did you two meet?
Gregg: I was an actress and had done a movie in South Carolina. The guy that played my boyfriend in the movie was making an attempt at standup comedy, so I went to The Punchline Comedy Club in Atlanta one night to support him in a comedy contest. Jeff was in the show and actually won that night. That was in '84, his first time on stage ever.
Jeff: I didn't even recall driving there or home that night. I never dreamed I'd be up there on stage, much less winning the night. I'd been at IBM for five years, just doing impersonations of the boss in the break room. That's the only reason I did it.
CL: How supportive was Gregg of your comedy?
Jeff: She was amazing. She was the only one saying to me, ‘You could really do this... It's a gift.' No one in my family had ever been in the arts because basically there's no insurance in comedy. When others found out I was quitting IBM, they thought I'd lost my mind. ‘Are you on drugs?' they asked. ‘We can get you help.'
The Emperor's Kiss
CL: So what happened next?
Gregg: Jeff's goal was to get onto The Tonight Show, but it was hard to do that from Atlanta. People just don't take you seriously, even if you're headlining across the country. So we moved to California in January 1990, and we sold Jeff's first "redneck" book on the road. In March 1990, Jeff got onto The Tonight Show, did really well and was named "Comedian of the Year."
Jeff: Back then, you didn't have 700 TV channels to choose from, so everyone watched Carson. If he liked you, it was "the Emperor's Kiss," as comics say. But I remember going home and staring at the ceiling, thinking, Okay, I don't have a plan. I had gone out to L.A. kicking and screaming, but we ended up staying there eight years and having our two daughters there.
Gregg: I thought he'd be on the road a lot, which was not conducive to raising a family; but God laid things out in a phenomenal way. Doors opened and closed for us, all in His plan. But you sure don't understand that plan when you're going through it.
Jeff: Life makes more sense when you look in the rear view mirror. During those early days, I did stand-up every weekend... full week comedy clubs and then concerts on Fridays and Saturdays... 500 shows a year. Gregg quit acting and got a job at a dairy farm. She'd take a Greyhound to wherever I was playing, and I remember picking her up at bus stops in the worst parts of town. There she was-five feet nothing-holding her suitcase amongst all the drug addicts and pimps. I wouldn't have had a chance if she hadn't been such a sport.
Gregg: It was great; wonderful... The last thing I wanted was to move to the burbs... I saw it as an adventure.
Jeff: For a lot of people, it's ‘What will you be doing two years from now?' Well, I really didn't know. A lot of people don't want to live that way. I wanted the adventure, and I was intrigued by the mysteries of God. I knew if I could figure it all out, that would make me as smart as God, and that's a scary thought. That's one of the things I love about the Lord. Life would be boring if we travelled a long, straight road.
Re-ordering Priorities
CL: Tell us about your spiritual journey.
Jeff: Well, I was saved at age seven, and my mother sang in the choir; but when I was ten, my parents divorced. Dad married six times, and he drank, smoked and chased women while Mom sat in church. It was two totally opposite sides of the spectrum. I went to church regularly until college, but then my lifestyle made that too hard with the shows and being on the road. And I had no intimacy with God at that time (you can go to church but not be intimate with the Lord), but He began creating that hunger in me.
Gregg: I grew up Episcopalian in New Orleans, but mine was sort of a memorized form of religion. Like Jeff's, my parents divorced when I was eleven, and at that time my dad moved to Atlanta. Here God blessed me with an amazing outlet-Young Life-where I got saved. That really got me through high school. My parents stopped practicing their faith or going to church, but in retrospect, I see that Jesus had me in His stronghold. Now we're involved in Young Life, showing kids that faith can be relevant... even if it looks different than your grandma's worship. God is so infinitely creative and made us all in a billion different ways. We don't have to be in someone else's box.
CL: It doesn't take much searching to see that your love for kids extends in several directions. And now you have a kid's book-Dirt on My Shirt-out, and it looks like it's pretty popular. Is this your calling? To make kids and kids-at-heart laugh?
Jeff: You know, one of my favorite verses is in Galatians 1:10, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?" That's my compass. I thank God for this gift He gave me, and I've loved doing comedy. I love visiting kids in the hospital and seeing that they have my CD or book because I know I've given them a release valve in the form of laughter.
And I really love speaking at places like wild game dinners in the middle of a field. People come because they know I'll make them laugh. And after I make them laugh, I say, ‘But here's something else... I know God loves rednecks, and I'll tell you why.' I then tell them about all the rednecks in the Bible. In this kind of venue you have people who wouldn't step inside a church hearing the truth through the laughter. We rednecks laugh at ourselves, but deep inside we don't feel worthy. I tell them it's not about us; it's about Him.
Mushy, Gaggy Love Fest
Gregg: My husband is too humble to tell you the half of it, but I'll tell you. Jeff is not only one of the smartest and most creative people I've met, but he's also the best human being I know. He's my best friend. He does seek the approval of God on things and lives it out-not to the point of being weird or judgmental (although he does have areas God is working on), but he's truly got his priorities balanced. And you know what I love? It's that work is what he does... not who he is. His identity is not wrapped up in being the funny guy. He's so well-rounded! He reads constantly and can talk on a myriad of subjects. He adores his children and is a fabulous father. He talks, he listens... They have no idea how blessed they are.
CL: Jeff, you really married the right woman, didn't you?
Jeff: I am equally yoked for sure. And here's what she would never tell you... If I have been blessed in any area of life, it's with my wife. I knew the value of what I had in Gregg. At the end of a night, friends on the road would say, ‘Let's go to a bar and get some beer.' I knew those environments, and I also knew what I had at home. They made fun of me, but that's okay. I didn't know you could love someone more 25 years later than you did in year one.
CL: I had no idea you had an unbelievably gaggy love for each other!
Jeff: I start every day talking to Gregg, and that's how I end my day. In the morning, I let the dogs out, wake the girls up and then Gregg and I talk. At night, when she takes her makeup off, we talk. We can talk about everything in the world. I really call her five times a day. The stuff I do gets the spotlight, but the stuff she does is what impresses me. She's sitting in a corner listening to someone going through something terrible; she willingly takes on others' burdens. I did nothing to deserve this woman.
Accountability and Ministry
CL: What a love story! Is there time for outside friends and activities, too?
Jeff: We are so blessed in that area. I've been in the same men's Bible study that meets in the back of a barbeque place every Thursday morning for eleven years. It's made up of Braves and Falcons players and famous musicians...people that have a hard time blending in at normal church small groups. Our study has influential, powerful people who love the Lord, but we talk about our wives, our kids, praying for our kids' spouses... struggling with this and that. To these men, the group is one of the most valuable things in their lives. That is church. Gregg also facilitates Bible studies and invests in relationships.
CL: What about your children?
Jeff: Some people thought we were crazy to leave L.A., but the way things were going, I thought, you don't get a practice lap in life, so you better make it count. I turned down talk shows and sitcoms because our kids are more important to me. I told my girls, ‘I've got a few summers left with you, and I'm not giving one of them away.'
CL: But you finally found a show-Are You Smarter than a 5th-Grader-that had a reasonable shooting schedule.
Jeff: When I did sitcoms, it would be five 12-hour days. But for this show, I just shoot for three weeks in the summer. My daughter interns and we make it a vacation.
CL: And what a funny show! But how humbling for us poor folks who realize we're not as smart as a fifth-grader.
Jeff: Trust me, if I didn't have the answers in front of me, it would be a very short show.
CL: That's cool that your kids work with you. I hear they're all about missions, too.
Jeff: Our older daughter, Jordan, has been to Africa three times with a group from North Point Church led by Compassion International, 410 Bridge and Heart for Africa. We first went on a father/daughter trip three years ago, and out of that she co-birthed a non-profit called biteback.net. It's to build awareness for malaria and to spread the word about how easily-preventable that disease is. Last month she spoke about that at the White House.
CL: What advice do you have for your fellow believers in Atlanta and beyond?
Jeff: Find out what makes your heart sing... what brings you joy. Look for doors to open or close, and know that God can use you and your family in His bigger picture. As my friend Chris Tomlin says, ‘Whatever you do-whether it's going to Georgia Tech or being involved in a Moms & Me meeting-do it all to the fullness of Christ. Just reflect Him in whatever your hand finds to do.'
I feel as much like Jesus opening doors in the carpool line at school as I do any other time. And also-and this is important-seeing how messy other people keep their vehicles makes me feel much better about my own.
CL: Gregg?
Gregg: Take a missions trip... Be grateful wherever you are for whatever you have... And most of all, don't get caught up in letting the world identify you. Let God do that.
For further information on the Foxworthys and Jordan's ministry with Compassion International, please visit www.biteback.net.
