Over the years I have certainly heard the argument that Gospel Magic is of the devil…
that it’s associated with witchcraft or sorcery… that we are in league with Harry Potter etc. And for those situations, I have always had with me either a document by Randy Christensen: “The Magical Method”
…Or Bob Hill’s: “Should a Christian Do Magic?
Just copy and paste the text into your favorite word processor and create a document or brochure you can hand out – be sure to include the author’s name and copyright information.
But to be perfectly honest with you, the biggest complaint I’ve heard over the years from people about Gospel Magic is that people end up remembering the magic and NOT the message. The performer or presenter was a great magician… but had a tough time “Marrying” the Method and the Message together.
The second complaint I’ve heard over the years is that the magic was just a gimmick to get the audience interested in what the presenter had to say… the presenter, then, turned out to be a very boring and/or long winded speaker. In which case, they don’t remember the message and didn’t care about the magic because the audience felt duped into listening.
The reasons I hear this complaint are as follows:
- Wrong Motivation
- Poor Prep
- Poor Presentations
- Un-Assessed Presentations
- Performers/Ministers Unwilling to Make the Changes
Come on people! WE can do better than this!
We are talking about presenting the Word of God. And the last time I looked into my Bible, it says that if we aspire to teach others the Word, we will be held to a higher standard:
“Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
–James 3:1
I don’t care if you are a Pastor, Evangelist or a Performer who presents the Word… YOU have be entrusted with the greatest message in the world! Take that as a challenge to your motivation, preparation, presentation, assessment and the willingness to make the change.
Good stuff right here. An illusion is a method, just like a prop, or an object lesson, puppet, etc. The REAL work is all about preparation and anointing.
We have to be minister’s first, and magicians second. The illusion is all about the message, not vice-versa.
Agree 100%. Too often Christians who are magicians try to use their magic performance as an evangelism / teaching tool, but unfortunately they don’t have the teaching skills or gift. In addition, many don’t have the performance skill either which makes for a doubly poor message.
I have witnessed the “This red scarf is Jesus, now He is gone” presentation type more than once. You see these folks on the ‘Magic Cafe’ Good News forum, asking if anyone has a good Gospel routine for…(insert their newly acquired trick).
A Gospel magician must be a good teacher, with a specific worded message that may be enhanced visually by the use of a magic effect.
BTW, does anyone have a good Gospel routine for the Baffling Bra trick??? (yes tongue is in cheek)
Great post and great challenge to do our best. Years ago a mentor of mine shared the 5 P’s with me. “Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.” Years later another mentor, a professional speaker, changed it to “Prior Preparation Provides Perfect Performance.” Now I have a version for negative and positive days. Either way if I, as the presenter, fails it’s probably because I wasn’t prepared with good content and ready to deliver it. That’s my part, God does the rest. 🙂
Kelly,
You’re right – it’s a method… thanks for the encouragement.
Doug,
Skills and giftings are important – that’s a tough concept for some to capture. Thanks for your thoughts!
Barry,
I like the 5 P’s – I’m going to use that.
I find that folks forget a Duane Laflin rule – folks have to like you first to accept you have a right to be heard share a message. You have to stay likeable to keep their attention..
Also I feel we need more role models – there are relatively few big name Gospel performers compared to other entertainment forms. And few attend conferences in UK nor USA to learn from them. We need to get more to go and LEARN.
Rob,
I think most people don’t know that rule. Greg Phillips and I were just chatting about how can we help those who want to do Gospel Magic better. Maybe a workshop tour is in order 🙂 or maybe we need a series of videos online that will drill some of these concepts home.
Perhaps Greg will join us and weigh-in.
The quote comes from Zig Ziglar “If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”
Building relationship is the most important thing you can do in “winning the right to be heard.”
As for methods, Jesus used many but was truly known as a Storyteller. I like to think of my self as a Storyteller that uses “props to illustrate my point.” Some of my props or objects have “surprise endings.” Some do not. I have traveled for many years training and teaching performers and children’s workers. many were looking for the “easy formula” to accomplish their lessons and programs. Using the “7 P’s Formula” helps us to prepare the methodology but before anything else is done have you prayed and acted on what you believe God has said? many ” “Gospel Performers” haven’t done their prayer preparation and will just be “clanging gongs!”