Out of Control

by Mark Lowry

Mark Lowry can make you laugh louder than most of what you're likely to hear on The Comedy Channel and make you think deeper than much of what you're likely to hear in church. With his fresh and wacky style, Lowry's humor shines light on the important aspects of a life of faith.

Genres: Humor, Christian, Autobiography, Nonfiction, Religion

208 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 1997

About the author

Mark Lowry was born in Houston, Texas to Charles, an attorney, and Beverly Lowry. He often uses anecdotes of his young life in his comedy, as well as speaking of his experience with hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder in his performances. Lowry is a self-described "Poster Boy for Hyperactivity".

While attending Liberty Baptist College (now known as Liberty University), Lowry joined a college evangelistic team made of Charles Hughes and David Musselman and began singing. Lowry's comedy career inadvertently began from here. There would be an elongated pause in his singing performance while he waited for the soundtrack to be changed. Lowry began to fill this pause with a monologue. Lowry soon realized that the audiences at his performances were laughing not at him but at his monologues.

In 1978, Lowry was badly injured in an car accident near Carlisle, PA, while touring with a college evangelistic team. He sustained eleven broken bones, and spent a good deal of time in physical therapy recovering from the accident.

In 1988, Lowry was approached by Bill Gaither and asked to join the Gaither Vocal Band as the baritone. Lowry's career with the Gaither Vocal Band spanned thirteen years during his first stint with the group. During this time Lowry's on-stage antics became popular with audiences. As a result, Lowry became the co-host of the many concerts and shows performed by Gaither and the Vocal Band with Gaither playing the straight man to Lowry's antics. In June 2001, Lowry resigned from the Gaither Vocal Band after performing longer with the group than any previous member except Bill Gaither himself. After that, Lowry released several solo albums, including I Love to Tell the Story, A Hymns Collection.
On January 14, 2009, it was announced that Lowry would be returning to the Gaither Vocal Band.

Mark Lowry currently resides in Houston, TX. Lowry is single and has no children. He has two siblings – an older brother Mike of Lynchburg, Virginia and a younger sister, Melissa "Missy" L. Carter also of Lynchburg. He also has three nieces and three nephews.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Lowry and I have an interesting history. In the late nineties, my mom became a fan of the Gaithers, and would watch the weekly broadcasts of the Homecoming Hour specials every Saturday night. Though I'm not much of a Southern Gospel fan--I preferred, and still do prefer, my music to be more contemporary, i.e., dc Talk, Relient K, or Rebecca St. James--I did like Mark Lowry's brand of comedy. Around Y2K, my mom went to see the Gaithers in concert, and brought home an autographed copy of this very book, which is still part of my collection of literature, and, barring a fire or other devastating disaster, always will be. Mr. Lowry was also the first CCM act I ever saw in concert; he toured alongside the now-late pianist Anthony Burger, whose life story was just as inspiring as Mark's, and the McRaes, who have since faded into obscurity.

While my mom is still a Gaither fan, she doesn't watch them as much anymore; she did recently buy a bunch of their DVDs at a garage sale, but, she has only popped one into our Blu-Ray player. (I know because she can't watch anything that isn't on our Verizon box without my help.) She still listens to the CDs sometimes, but, she has had many of those for at least a decade. As for Mark Lowry, he left the Gaither Vocal Band, rejoined, and then left again; he still has an active social media following, though. Though I had flipped through my copy of Mr. Lowry's first book over the years, I hadn't actually read it cover to cover since I got it over two decades ago...so, I figured, why not give it another whirl?

Mark Lowry's comedy is in the same vein as Bill Cosby's; he takes true stories of childhood craziness and other life experiences and tells them in a humorous way. While I remembered some of these stories, reading about Miss Barth, or Mama Lowry's confrontation of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, or Bill Gaither's snoring made me smile. Some of these stories require knowledge of Christian culture, but, most people who read this book would know that very well.

All that said, one thing this book suffers from is recycled material. If you've seen one of Mark's solo concerts, or watched and/or listened to one of his stand-up comedy performances (Remotely Controlled, For the First Time On Planet Earth, etc.) you've likely heard some of these stories already. As someone who has always loved telling stories from "back in the day," I can tell you that there's only so far you can go with such accounts. After a while, people get tired of hearing about your old neighborhood friends, or your cat that was named after an android. By now, I hope that Mr. Lowry has come up with new material...because most of his fans have heard many of these stories time and time again.

[C. J. Scurria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book that might be hard to find but it is worth it. It is a "rare-y" but goodie!

Mark Lowry, a well-known Christian singer-songwriter tells you about the Lord and how much He has impacted his life. There is a lot you can learn about him as this book is funny but tender-hearted and hits a point home about the Lord.

The songwriter of "Mary Did You Know?," his works for God have become popular as he has not just the gift of writing but the gift to sing for Him as well.

I don't know what else to say about this book other than I enjoyed it immensely (but it probably was his first book, just to warn you, so you might not get as much as you would from Max Lucado or as extensive as Rick Warren) and that it will touch your heart for God and make you laugh said heart off as well. This is not "cute" humor either cuz I know cute ain't funny (hahaha) but real genuine jokes and lots of stuff that is good for the soul. I gave it four stars.

[David Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alot like Joel Osteens "Your Best Life Now" book. It is basically his on screen jokes on paper. I've heard most of the stories in this book on youtube and such. Good stuff. Other stories are new. Gotta love Mark, he has brought comedy to the Christian world for years. Proving to the world that Christians (well some) have a sense of humor. He's hyperactive, I'm hyper-inactive, we have lots in common. Anywho, the book is very entertaining to read. A refreshing change from the books I've read lately. I think hearing these story jokes in his videos helped me laugh more. Just picturing him say the things I read made it funnier. Also the footnotes in the book. Good stuff, I wish I would have thought of that. Very creative. Fun book, take the time to buy one and read it. Take a break from the Twilight obsession and read something entertaining and uplifting.

[smalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I simply smiled as I read. But by the 4th chapter, I found myself laughing out loud! It is a quick read! This book is a great biography, testimony, humor, and all around fun book!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loosely autobiographical. Several laugh out loud moments....

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea who the author was. I am always open to reading an autobiography. It was easy to read and very inspiring. He reminds us all that God has a plan for us.

[behsforensics]

Look at My Mama the Screamer
Lowry, Mark

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summer read-aloud since the children are off to here and there and everywhere and don't always get a consistent hearing of our read-aloud. The kids love Mark Lowry's humor and we often took a break to check out Mark's youtube versions of the written word. Of course the adults often found humor where the kids didn't and vice versa.

[Bandita · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5/3.75. I liked this book a lot.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amaizing book and mark is an amaising writer!!!!!!! I couldn't put it down!! I really can't say anything else other then this book is awsome!

[Josh Strnad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much just a written rehash of Mark's standup stuff. Good for some nostalgia (I was a huge fan as a kid), but it loses something in translation to ink and paper.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first introduction to comedy as a child. Fond, fond memories.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sometimes humorous look at Mark Lowry's life as a Christian.