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The best experience for my own comedy career came out of the Knoxville Comedy Theater, started up by my good friend Phil Glasgow, where we performed three shows a day (talk about a comedic work out)!  It forced me to learn how to hone my act into a tight, consistent performance.

But when I first met Phil, I had no idea that he was a Christian.  I just knew that he had access to some of the greatest golf courses, including Augusta National… at least he did.  Almost the second after I had to turn down Phil’s invitation to play the Master’s course, his friend who was a member passed away.  And I’ve never been invited to those hallowed greens since.

But it wasn’t all glitter and gold for Phil.

You see, earlier on – through his twenties – Phil experienced several ups and downs personally and in business, culminating to his marriage being an absolute mess by the time he turned 32.  It was then that he came face to face with God and chose to allow God to turn his life around.

(Maybe it was just God’s elaborate plan for Phil to lose his shirt in a comedy club just so that I could learn my trade)

From there, God took Phil on a journey that included real estate investments, golf course developments, he was the Vice President of Sales for Mary Kay Cosmetics, VP of a network security corporation, all adding up to a real comfortable life in Dallas, TX.

It was through this process that Phil recognized that God had called him to make a difference in the world.  One such way was to help promote and elevate a new type of stand up comedy at the time:  clean comedy.

And although he lost several billions of dollars in that Tennessee comedy club, Phil still contends that it was one of the greatest things to happen to his life.  Of course, he enjoyed the niceties that all that money was able to buy, but it pales in comparison to the maturity and perspectives that God has taught him and his wife over the years.

As a spectator of that season of Phil’s life, I found him and his wife nothing short of an inspiration as they never complained once even though money seemed to continually swirl down the tank.  They may have felt confused, but still set an amazing example of prayerful faith through tough times.

And it really was tough, not just on Phil and his wife, but Phil also felt responsible for his investment partners who lost money.  It’s one thing to know that you’re learning from life’s tough blows yourself, but it’s entirely something separate when you’re learning with someone else’s millions.  Yet, not one of them were actually concerned about their own losses, they were actually all more concerned about Phil.

You see, like Joseph in the Bible, Phil understood that God wanted to use him to do something significant in God’s Name, but kept seeing things go in a different direction that what he understood God’s plan to be.

And also like Joseph, Phil learned that he is not in control, but when you let God steer your life, great growth and blessings will abound.

Today, Phil is part of Links Players – a group of Christian men and women rooted in God’s word and growing at golf courses and country clubs around the world.

One thing Phil and other Links Players leaders have found is that many golfers lack a larger purpose and significance in their lives.  They also tend to possess an aversion to church going.  So, why not bring God’s teachings and discipleship to the golf courses where these men and women spend so much time searching (for a purpose-filled life and their tee-shots)?

It was exactly this method of reaching out and revealing who God is while out on the fairway that Phil began to impact my life and marriage, simply by pointing me toward God and encouraging me to let God go to work.

For more laughs and insights, check out JeffAllenComedy.com