Remembering Gallagher

Like many in my generation, I discovered Gallagher comedy specials rerunning back-to-back on Old School VH1 weekends back in 1990.

Between his ridiculous roller skates, the microphone that literally hung around his neck, and bits of watermelon flying through the air via his “patented” Sledge-O-Matic, Gallagher provided an entry into stand-up comedy for this impressionable Gen Xer.

In high school, I somehow convinced my Mom to take me to my first Gallagher show at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa. Before his stand-up show, the crowd was lined up to meet Gallagher in the lobby as he signed autographs.

Wearing my freshly-purchased Gallagher t-shirt, when I got to the front of the line, I asked him to sign my t-shirt. Gallagher instructed me to lay down on the table, whereupon the famous comedian straddled me and signed my chest!

Another time Gallagher returned to the same theater — it was the comedy tour where he revealed his head had been shaved. I’ll never forget that particular comedy set because he was making Superman jokes on the literal date that Superman Died (it was the Fall of 1992).

Several years later when I saw him live again in 2007 (pictured above), I relayed the t-shirt story to an older Gallagher. He said he didn’t remember that moment, but admitted it was definitely something he would do.

I’m going to miss Gallagher.

Fighting Your Fears Through Laughter

The late Dr. Martin de Maat had a profound impact on my life (I wrote about that here).

He was not only my professor and mentor, he was a close friend (Martin was even one of my wedding groomsmen!).

Dr. de Maat taught me so much not only about improvisational-comedy, but more importantly about the joy of doing life together:

"What happens... in being with each other in acceptance and Yes And-ing each other, is that you as an individual start to believe in yourself because you begin to see yourself in the others' eyes.

Your ensemble, your group, your team, your committee, is the one that's believing in you and you pull it together to do it for them.

You know, it's simply recognizing you're not alone. It's love and unconditional acceptance.

You put yourself in a place of support, unconditional acceptance and love for who you are, the way you are and your uniqueness, and what you do is grow. You surround yourself with people who are truly interested in you and listen to you, and you will grow.

And it doesn't take much to start advancing you, it doesn't take much of that support, it doesn't take much of that love and that care and you can do it. You can play act with people. You can be in a state of play together."



This is how comedians create new material.
Yes And leads to trust leads to contagious unity leads to childlike creativity.
It's how leaders might lead teams in the 21st Century.

Don't settle for the loneliness of leadership isolation.
Dream of and strive for a team of church leaders who are accepting of one another's uniquenesses. After all, we each bring different strengths to the table.

I love what Martin would say about the group dynamics of creating comedy through Yes And:

"There's a lot of laughter that goes on. Since we're laughing together, we're true community. It's a very safe place to confront your fears. The minute somebody says, 'Perform!' your fear comes up..."


As we Yes And, may we as leaders embrace contagious unity and laughter.
By refusing to perform and instead choosing raw, authentic community, we may just lead at a higher, deeper, more spiritually-sensitive level than before...

Fight Your Fears by Making 'Em Laugh

The late Dr. Martin de Maat had a profound impact on my life (I wrote about that here).  He was not only my professor and mentor, he was a close friend (Martin was even one of my wedding groomsmen!).

Dr. de Maat taught me so much not only about improvisational-comedy, but more importantly about the joy of doing life together:

"What happens... in being with each other in acceptance and Yes And-ing each other, is that you as an individual start to believe in yourself because you begin to see yourself in the others' eyes.

Your ensemble, your group, your team, your committee, is the one that's believing in you and you pull it together to do it for them.

You know, it's simply recognizing you're not alone. It's love and unconditional acceptance.

You put yourself in a place of support, unconditional acceptance and love for who you are, the way you are and your uniqueness, and what you do is grow. You surround yourself with people who are truly interested in you and listen to you, and you will grow.

And it doesn't take much to start advancing you, it doesn't take much of that support, it doesn't take much of that love and that care and you can do it. You can play act with people. You can be in a state of play together."

This is how comedians create new material.
Yes And leads to trust leads to contagious unity leads to childlike creativity.
Its how leaders might lead teams in the 21st Century.

Don't settle for the loneliness of leadership isolation.
Dream of and strive for a team of church leaders who are accepting of one another's uniquenesses.  After all, we each bring different strengths to the table.

I love what Martin would say about the group dynamics of creating comedy through Yes And:

"There's a lot of laughter that goes on. Since we're laughing together, we're true community. It's a very safe place to confront your fears. The minute somebody says, 'Perform!' your fear comes up..."

As we Yes And, may we as leaders embrace contagious unity and laughter. 

By refusing to perform and instead choosing raw, authentic community, we may just lead at a higher, deeper, more spiritually-sensitive level than before...

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