FACES IN THE CROWD / Woodlands man mixes comedy and religion / Doug Wood entertains students with routines featuring musical hymns on banjo and harmonica

By LAURA ISENSEE
Staff

WHAT do you get when you cross a musician, a comedian and a seminary professor?

No, it's not a joke. But Doug Wood has the answer.

Self-professed doctor of comedy, Wood recently moved to The Woodlands to teach education and worship full time at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's campus in Houston.

Wood, 58, also is a professional comedian and entertainer, motivational speaker and youth and music minister. Highly educated, he earned a degree in music on a scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin, a master's in religious education and was the first doctorate recipient in youth education/adolescent psychology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's main campus in Fort Worth.

Humor and music thread his varied professions together. He brings both to the students in his classroom, to his church ministries and to the stage when doing stand-up or giving a motivational speech.

"I just enjoy seeing people laugh and have a good time. It doesn't matter the venue," said Wood, originally from San Angelo and father of four children.

Youth minister

As youth minister, Wood first began to use humor as a tool to reach teenagers and keep them interested at Champion Forest Baptist Church 26 years ago.

"He makes it fun what he's teaching," said Claude Hand, a friend of Wood from church.

Hand, who lives in northwest Harris County, became friends with Wood when he was the youth director at Champion Forest Baptist Church more than 20 years ago. During that time, Wood's youth ministry group included Kerry and Chris Shook, now founders of the Fellowship of The Woodlands.

"The youth really like him because he was interested in what they did. He also was funny. He would go to schools, have lunch with them, sit with them during lunchtime, he would become friends with him," said Hand, who worked in the same youth department at the church.

Comedy routine

In the 1990s, Wood's jokes and humor became an regular act. For more than seven years he did nothing except tour the country with his stand-up comedy routine and has appeared twice on the ABC show America's Funniest People and performed in movies and commercials.

Also a motivational speaker at churches and corporations, he finds that more and more people enjoy the type of clean comedy he does.

"It gives me an outlet to be funny and not be overly religious," he said.

In his stand-up comedy routine, Wood plays any of about a dozen odd instruments. He likes to be like the entertainers of old, who would joke, sing and dance, instead of nowadays just do comedy.

Raising his eyebrows and popping his eyes, he may play a hymn on the corn-cob harmonica, an instrument that puts six harmonicas together. He said his father, who did intelligence work for the government, got the instrument in Germany after WWII "when everything was on sale." He also jokes his father bought a banjolito, a small and narrow version of a banjo, after the first Gulf War.

Wood has also taught himself to play a psalter, an instrument named in the Bible which Wood bows and plays hymns like the classic "Amazing Grace," a mountain dulcimer, an instrument typical in American folk music, and a Japanese mandolin.

"If they heckle me, I love it," Wood says.

Natural medicine

The benefits of laughter guide Wood's philosophy.

"The Bible says a merry heart does good like a medicine," he said.

He said there are physical benefits to laughing, such as getting more oxygen in the body and laughter releasing endorphins, chemicals which are the body's natural pain killers. Laughter also eases tension and breaks down barriers, he said.

"Personally, it's the way I think God put us together - to laugh and enjoy life," Wood said.

Denny Autry, dean and professor of pastoral ministries at the seminary and who recommended that the seminary make Wood a full-time professor, said Wood has a healthy approach to life.

"Sometimes it takes a little bit of laughter in the storm. We need laughter after time like Rita or Katrina or the loss of a spouse ... I think the combination of intellect and joy is a good combination," he said.

. . .

DOUG WOOD

Age: 58

Community connection: Wood and his wife, Donna, recently moved to the village of Panther Creek in The Woodlands.

Fast fact: Wood can play about a dozen odd instruments, from the corn-cob harmonica to the banjolito to the mountain dulcimer.

Quick quote: "The Bible says a merry heart does good like a medicine."