35 ratings | 5 reviews | avg rating:4.63

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Susan Sparks

Goodreads Author

Born

Charlotte, NC, The United States

Website

http://www.susansparks.com/

Twitter

revsusansparks

Genre

Humor and Comedy, Spirituality, Self Help

Member Since

May 2013

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As a trial lawyer turned standup comedian and Baptist minister, Susan Sparks is America’s only female comedian with a pulpit. A North Carolina native, Susan received her B.A. at the University of North Carolina and a law degree from Wake Forest University.

After ten years as a lawyer moonlighting as a standup, she left her practice and spent two years on a solo trip around the world, including working with Mother Teresa’s mission in Calcutta, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and driving her Jeep Wrangler solo from NYC to Alaska. Upon returning home, she entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she earned a Master of Divinity and wrote an honors thesis on humor and religion.

In May 2007 Susan was installed as the 15th Senior Ministe As a trial lawyer turned standup comedian and Baptist minister, Susan Sparks is America’s only female comedian with a pulpit. A North Carolina native, Susan received her B.A. at the University of North Carolina and a law degree from Wake Forest University.

After ten years as a lawyer moonlighting as a standup, she left her practice and spent two years on a solo trip around the world, including working with Mother Teresa’s mission in Calcutta, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and driving her Jeep Wrangler solo from NYC to Alaska. Upon returning home, she entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she earned a Master of Divinity and wrote an honors thesis on humor and religion.

In May 2007 Susan was installed as the 15th Senior Minister of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City. She was the first woman pastor in its 170-year history and she remains there to this day. (Y'all come visit!)

A TEDx speaker, Susan's work with humor, healing, and spirituality has been featured in O (The Oprah) Magazine, the New York Times, and on such networks as ABC, CNN, CBS, and the History Channel.

A professional comedian, Susan tours nationally with a stand-up Rabbi and a Muslim comic in the Laugh in Peace Tour. In addition to her speaking and preaching, Susan writes an award-winning nationally syndicated column through GateHouse Media distributed to over 600 newspapers reaching over 21 million people in 36 states. She is the author of Laugh Your Way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor and her newest book, Preaching Punchlines: The Ten Commandments of Comedy.

Susan is the 20th recipient of the John L. Haber Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts given by the University of North Carolina (and comedian/alum Lewis Black), as well as a recipient of the Intersections International Award for interfaith work to promote justice and reconciliation among diverse communities.

Most importantly, Susan and her husband Toby love to fly-fish, ride their Harleys, eat good BBQ, and root for North Carolina Basketball and the Green Bay Packers.

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Susan Sparks's Blog

PRAY. WORK. REST. REPEAT.

This blog is a sermon that will be broadcast by Day 1 on November 2, 2025.

Early one Sunday morning a few months ago, our Sexton Troy walked into our dark sanctuary to open the church for worship.

As he reached for the master light switch, he heard what sounded like someone snoring. Now maybe that makes sense IN worship. But not at 6am in the morning!

So Troy flipped on the lights and there on

Combine Editions
Susan Sparks’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 246 ratings · 37 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Laugh Your Way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor 3.80 avg rating — 205 ratings — published 2010 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Miracle on 31st Street: Christmas Cheer Every Day of the Year - Grinch to Gratitude in 26 Days! 4.63 avg rating — 24 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Preaching Punchlines: The Ten Commandments of Comedy 4.82 avg rating — 11 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Grace-Filled Gratitude: A 40-Day Joy Journal with Inspirational Scriptures it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love, a Tiara, and a Cupcake: Three Secrets to Finding Happy it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Susan Sparks…

Susan is Currently Reading

Susan Sparks is currently reading

Grey Bees

by Andrey Kurkov

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Apr 27, 2023 08:51AM

Susan Sparks is currently reading

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

by James Webb

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Jun 24, 2022 04:34PM

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21 Lessons for the 21st Century

by Yuval Noah Harari

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Mar 01, 2021 03:18AM

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Susan’s Recent Updates

Susan Sparks wrote a new blog post PRAY. WORK. REST. REPEAT. This blog is a sermon that will be broadcast by Day 1 on November 2, 2025. Early one Sunday morning a few months ago, our Sexton Troy walked into ou Read more of this blog post »
Nov 14, 2025 02:09AM · 1 like · like

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Quotes by Susan Sparks (?)

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.” —Henry Ward Beecher, nineteenth-century clergyman and reformer”
― Susan Sparks, Laugh Your Way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor

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Susan’s Quotes

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
― Paul Boese

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