Carrie Murphy: How Laughter Brings Healing, Hope, and Joy | NRB 2025 Interview

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In this inspiring and joy-filled episode of the Covenant Eyes Podcast, recorded live at NRB 2025, we sit down with Christian comedian Carrie Murphy to explore how faith and comedy collide in the most beautiful ways.

Carrie shares her journey from growing up in a strict religious environment to boldly embracing her God-given gift for humor. Learn how laughter can be a holy act, a tool for healing, and even a source of comfort in unexpected places—including funerals.

We also dive into the challenges of doing comedy in the Church, how the Holy Spirit influences her material, and why Jesus might just be the funniest guy ever.

✨ Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes that encourage, equip, and entertain!

🔗 Connect with Carrie Murphy:
Instagram: @TheCarrieMurphy
Website: https://TheCarrieMurphy.com
Watch her series on K-Love On Demand

Learn How Covenant Eyes Works:
https://cvnteyes.co/4gb6xme

🎙️ Hosted by: Karen Potter & Rob Stoddard
📍 Recorded at: NRB 2025 Conference

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Welcome & Intro to Carrie Murphy
00:34 - Carrie’s Journey into Comedy & Faith
01:38 - “Let’s Be Weird for God” – Stepping Out in Faith
02:20 - The Healing Power of Laughter
02:38 - Comedy at a Funeral: An Unforgettable Experience
03:45 - Using Comedy to Serve & Minister
04:45 - Balancing Faith and Humor in the Church
05:26 - Is There a “Box” for Christian Comedy?
05:56 - Comedy as a Tool to Release Shame
06:45 - Writing Material with the Holy Spirit
07:32 - Making Fun of the Church—With Grace
08:18 - Where to Find Carrie’s Work & Upcoming Shows
08:58 - Final Thoughts & Farewell

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Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hey, everybody, welcome backto The Covenant Eyes Podcast.
We are so glad to be here todayat the NRB Conference,
and we have got an amazingguest joining us.
Rob, I am so excited.
Carrie Murphy is here.
She is a comedian.
She is a Christianand just all around
amazing person.
So welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much.
I'm so glad to be herewith you guys.

(00:27):
Thank you. Yeah.
Well, Carrie, can you start out,just tell us a little bit
about yourself,how you got into comedy and what
you're doing now?
Absolutely, yes.
Well, my name is Carrie Murphy.
I'm a Christian comic.
And I would say all my lifeI wanted to do comedy,
but I felt likeif I'm a Christian, comedy is

(00:48):
not something I can do.
I kind of put God and humorinto different boxes, and I
grew up in a very fundamentalistenvironment, and
I think sometimesChristians, all of us,
can take our faithreally seriously.
We can be white knuckledabout our relationship
with Jesus.
So I just had themin two different boxes

(01:09):
comedy and faith.
And then God startedprompting me,
I made you into thisunique individual
who's weird and quirky,but I made you that way.
And you can steward your giftsand your personality
for my service.
And so finally,I just decided to

(01:30):
take the plungeand I said, okay, Lord,
if you're giving me permission,let's just be weird for God.
I it, life is too shortto be serious.
I believe that laughter is holy.
Laughter is something Godcreated for us.
And so really, it's harnessingthe power of laughter
and comedy as a service,as respite to this hard thing

(01:55):
called life,the living experience.
So I started doing comedy.
I left a full timejob at a church
and, put on a onewoman, one hour comedy show,
and someone from K-Lovewas there and gave me my first
special, oh, so Godreally just opened doors.
And I have been trying to walkthrough the doors

(02:16):
ever since then, and just seeingwhere he leads me.
I love that, I love that, yeah,well, you know,
humor can be so healing,you know?
I mean, when we laughsometimes it is
just so therapeuticto the medicinal.
Yes, it really is. Yes.
So talk to us a little bitabout how you've used comedy
in that way.
You know, especiallywhen you're traveling
and presentingat churches and shows.

(02:37):
Yes.
So I'll tell you a unique storyof comedy
being used as a respite.
I, I get contacted by manydifferent entities,
many different people.
I never expected Iwould get contacted by,
a lady who had lost her husband,and she was in a
really dark time,but she reached out

(02:59):
because her husband,who I just passed,
hated to be sad, loved comedy.
And so she actually hired meto do his funeral.
And so I interviewed herfor several hours
about her husband,and then did a custom
set for him at his funeral.

(03:19):
And so I never expectedto take my, my comedy
into a setting like that.
But I think that givesa clear picture of how
we can use it as, as a servicefor good.
So that was definitely unique.
And, I was gratefulfor the experience
and it truly taught me, man,this really can be

(03:41):
given back to the Lordand who knows how he'll use it.
Yeah, that's an amazing story.
I've never heard of a comedianat a funeral.
Do you. Know either.
That's amazing.
Yes, that's so cool.
It was interesting.
Yeah, yeah. Good. Well,along the same lines, have
you had trouble at timesbalancing the faith

(04:02):
and the comedy,especially in churches?
Have you gotten any pushback?
Anything?
Yeah, even from, you know,everyone has different
opinions, differentthresholds, different
all that stuff.
So, I try really,really carefully to listen
to the Holy Spirit.
And I have also what I calla little integrity team.

(04:24):
So like sometimes if I'm like,is this okay?
Yeah, I run itby some other people.
So I just trust thatthere's grace, you know, there's
grace for it.
And someone asked me, you know,do you feel like you have to
stay in a boxwith Christian comedy?
And I think it's more.

(04:44):
There's no box, right?
We're kind of Christian comicsare kind of building
something new. Yeah.
And there's notthere's not many of us
at this point.
So, it's exciting to kind of beforging that new path
and showing people that comedycan be redemptive.
It can be God honoring.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that.

(05:05):
You know, comedy to me is just,I, I don't know how we can get
through the daywithout laughing.
I mean, it just brings so muchjoy and happiness.
And I think, youknow, humans in general are just
funny creatures.
I mean, we're funny.
We're all we have.
That we.
Hide that pretty well, right?
Our flaws and whatever.
But I think there's somethinghealing and there's something,

(05:26):
comedy releases shame.
Yeah, it normalizes us.
Yeah, it humanizes us.
And it takes vulnerability.
And so leaning into that kind offeels scary.
But the minute that we can laughor crack a joke or whatever,
it's like the whole room justtakes a collective deep
breath like, oh, okay, it'sokay, I'm okay.

(05:46):
But certainly using it to,to get us through some hard
times is really important, too.
Yeah.
How do you come upwith your material?
Do you have, like, a routineor is it just
come to you naturally?
Are you walking through the malland you're like, that's funny,
I got to write that literally.
I always have my earsopen and eyes open.
Yeah, that, never turns off.

(06:07):
And so justhave a running, notes
list on my phone.
But another way is,sometimes I'll be doing
something random, and it's likethe Holy Spirit
downloads it to me.
Like some of my bestjokes have been from the Lord.
Like, very directlylike that, where I'm not trying
to think of it.
And so my writing trulyis a collaborative

(06:30):
process with the Lord.
Which sounds crazy,but it's true.
It's true.
Yeah, yeah.
It sounds amazing.
Yes, I know Jesusis the funniest guy ever. Yeah.
Yeah, it's a lot of humorin this world.
Especially in the church. Yeah.
Oh my God. Yes.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah.
So how muchhow much liberty you do.
You have to make fun ofthe church.
You know, Christian people.

(06:51):
It goes better than you would.
Yeah.
I think we're all waitingto laugh at ourselves.
And we all kind of hold these,maybe points of tension
or points of shame,and then I give
people permissionto get it out, you know?
And that's fun.
I kind of like.
Pushing the.
Challenging just a little bit.
And that way, and.

(07:14):
Yeah, like I said,going back to the grace,
you know, grace. Grace.
But I think it's funto to challenge
the church in that way.
And I thinkit's really healthy to
sometimes laugh at ourselves.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Because there's alot to laugh, you know?
Yeah.
It's just although.
It really does.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
I can't take ourselves tooseriously I can't.

(07:36):
Yeah I don't at least.
No I don't either.
No especially I'm a momso you know that.
Oh yeah. Yeah yeah.
You can write material for me.
Yeah yeah.
Oh my God, that's crazy.
So talk to us a little bitabout how our listeners
can learn more aboutyour ministry.
Your you know, where youmean, like, where do they go.
Absolutely. Yeah.
So they can follow meon Instagram at TheCarrieMurphy.

(07:59):
And they can go to my website,TheCarrieMurphy.com.
And they if they want to seemy stuff, they can go to K-Love
On Demand.
I have a nineepisode comedy series.
Excellent, awesome, awesome.
Do you haveany tour dates coming up
or are you doing.
Yeah, yeah.
All my calendar.
Everything's on my.
Website.
Yeah. Okay. Great.
So this keeps you pretty busy.
How often do you doshows? Yeah, I'm.
I'm kept pretty busy.

(08:20):
Yeah.
And if I'm not doingthe shows, I'm writing,
I write a lot, and,a lot of the times
I'll do custom stuff.
So if a church hires me,I want to read all
about their website,read all about their pastor,
and do some, like,personalized stuff.
That's great.
So, yeah, whatever.
The Lord brings my way, I'm openhanded to, That's.

(08:40):
Yeah, that's.
Well, Carrie, it has been a joygetting to know you today.
I'm glad that class.
Yeah, I know I'mgoing to be tapped
in, and I just wouldencourage people to check out
your website,go to one of your shop.
Come find me.
Come on, let's be friends.
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you for what you do.
Thank you for bringing joyand laughter into the world.
We might say.
We need more love and joy,more naturally in the church.

(09:01):
Yeah.
So so thank you for doing it.
Absolutely.
Thank you, listeners,for tuning in to this episode
of The Covenant Eyes Podcast.
Take care. Bye bye.