Gospel Magic

Sep 2, 2007
1,182
119
31
Houston, TX
To start off, this thread is for the Christian magicians. I don't want this thread to become an argument so, if you have rude things to say about our Christianity, our beliefs, or if this thread offends you, please ignore it.

Onto the thread! I want to learn more about the Gospel side of magic. I also would like to know who else here is a Christian! So, I have a few questions!

1.) Do you guys know of any Christian magicians that use magic to spread the word of God?
2.) Where is a good source to learn Gospel magic? Is it easy to take any trick and turn it into a gospel based effect?
3.) Do you guys have any performance stories where you spread the word, or did magic in church or anything like that?


The most I have is that I did magic for my youth pastor. After a wednesday night service, I showed him some card magic and he was stunned. He loved it and he wants me to perform on stage for the youth group. I have no clue what I would do. Maybe you guys have any ideas on what I could perform?
 

CaseyRudd

Director of Operations
Team member
Jun 5, 2009
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Charleston, SC
www.instagram.com
I'm in class so I got to make this quick and expand on it later. Basically, when you go to church, listen for Bible Study discussion that can relate to a trick you do and apply that story to your effect. You may need to change up parts of the trick to match the story, but that shouldn't be a big problem. If you are inspired by, let's say, the Daniel in the Lion's Den, you could match patter that fits.
 
Oct 13, 2007
11
0
Good topic RK,...I agree with Casey...you can use some scriptures from the bible as patter that fits to the effect that you're planning to perform...or...you could just say like, "with God, nothing is impossible"...then show some magic to prove to them that indeed, everything is possible with God...

"The Wonders of Creation reveal God at work!"
 
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Aug 6, 2009
27
0
Going with what Casey said, you could have a random card change into a selection and be like "Jesus changed water into wine, this is similar, but not as amazing"... Or something along those lines.
 
Jul 17, 2010
75
0
My G.F's dad is a pastor, and we both work at this christian camp.
so me and him team up to bring some magic with God... turns out pretty nice
some of the things we've done include:

Three ropes and a baby (proff's nightmare) by Richard Sanders
- Spiritual App = we're all different but in God's eyes we're all the same..

Dove pan with a little model of eden
- Spiritual App = The Story of Creation.. we had kids put every element into the pan, like leaves, grass, and other things, and changed it to the model.. went really well...

Torn and restored newspaper
More of a personal patter with this one, about how before I felt torn and what not, about how I did every bad thing i could think off, and i start naming things i've done with every tear.. than say With God i felt whole.. and bam whole again!

just a few ideas..
 

SteveF

Elite Member
Nov 3, 2010
80
6
To start off, this thread is for the Christian magicians. I don't want this thread to become an argument so, if you have rude things to say about our Christianity, our beliefs, or if this thread offends you, please ignore it.

Onto the thread! I want to learn more about the Gospel side of magic. I also would like to know who else here is a Christian! So, I have a few questions!

1.) Do you guys know of any Christian magicians that use magic to spread the word of God?
2.) Where is a good source to learn Gospel magic? Is it easy to take any trick and turn it into a gospel based effect?
3.) Do you guys have any performance stories where you spread the word, or did magic in church or anything like that?


The most I have is that I did magic for my youth pastor. After a wednesday night service, I showed him some card magic and he was stunned. He loved it and he wants me to perform on stage for the youth group. I have no clue what I would do. Maybe you guys have any ideas on what I could perform?

You should ask Penn Jillette
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
You should ask Penn Jillette

That would go over well:rolleyes:.

Everyone else has given great advice. This isn't any different than thinking up presentations for other effects, in fact it should be easier because you already know your subject matter.

Just pick a few stories and think of what the story illustrates, then just find ways to show that with props that you can do magic with.

Any escape could be done in the light of 'freed from the bonds of sin'.

Rising card, Jesus rising from the grave or ascent into heaven.

There are tons of easy applications, just put your mind to it.
 
There are some fantastic illusionists that I have met who are really passionate about the furtherance of the gospel and god's glorification through magic performance arts. Danny Ray has a stinking amazing versions of Paul Gertner's metal cups and balls routine. Check him out at uprightillusions.com. Jared Hall is an amazing performer and a REALLY nice guy. When I was just starting out, I met him at a youth retreat and he spent hours talking with me. I have not met Brock Gill personally, but I have heard good things about him and seen his work online. All of these people are talented magicians, and really passionate about the gospel.
I personally find alot of the 'gospel tricks' very cheesy. I find that also that people don't remember the message while they are watching magic take place. What I do for youth groups and youth retreats is usually my typical show (depending on the venue) and then I'll tie in a message at the end depending on what they want me to speak about. I think that magic is powerful, and speaking God's word is powerful, but doing them both at the same time will take attention away from one or the other.
During my messages at the end I use verses like 2 Corinthians 5:7- For we walk by faith and not by sight. I relate back to the slydini paper balls and emphasize on how easily that we can be decieved.
It's good to see other Christian magician's passionate about using their talents for God. I'm not usually kicking around the forums, so if you would like to contact me further holla at sawyerbullock@hotmail.com.
 

Justin.Morris

Elite Member
Aug 31, 2007
2,793
888
Canada
www.morrismagic.ca
I agree that gospel magic is a bit cheesy. I feel it is better to use magic to create a platform for yourself to present, with effects that can support your topic. This is the same with any speaking that you may do weather in a school bullying show, or a corporate situation, where you are hired to talk about motivation.
 
Apr 11, 2009
4
0
the possibilities are endless with gospel magic, as you can share almost any story or testimony as long as you have a good routine. try and play around with the ambitious card routine, i use it to describe "life without Christ, where sin keeps on coming back..". from there you can do a color change and say that was when Jesus came into your life, etc.

you could do a card transposition routine and say, "Jesus took your place at the cross..", or a reverse routine to show how "God can see you wherever you are.." or something. you can try a triumph routine and say, "God can fix your messy life.. put direction to your life.. etc."

you could make a lot more routines by simply reading even the simplest Bible stories if you have a good knowledge of magic yourself. think about how you can relate the moves with the key elements of the story, and how you can alter the flow of a magic routine to fit the flow of the story.

try to make it simple and straight to the point. magic is a bit flourishy and fancy and sharing the gospel is a bit serious; it's your job to make them work together to form a beautiful gospel effect. try to perform for a small group of Christians first. ask them what they think about the routine you made, ask for opinion on how to make it better and a lot more catchy. then when your ready, go perform for people and make notes after every performance -- this helps a lot in developing a gospel routine that suits you, one that you perform most effectively.

magic is only limited by your imagination. gospel magic is almost the same thing, but this time you need creativity and a whole lot of skill.
 
Jul 13, 2008
382
0
My mentor is a retired professional Gospel magician and taught me a lot of his stuff. In fact, he is the main reason I got into magic. It might seem cheesy at times, but from personal experience, and from what I've seen, Gospel magic is a great tool that you can use to witness to children. I haven't performed any yet, (in fact I'm kinda taking a break from magic for a while), but it really does work.
 
Jan 16, 2008
379
0
I'm not much a gospel magic guy, but I definitely agree with Justin.Morris: A foundational question is whether you want to present the gospel with magic as the medium, or merely illustrate the gospel with magical examples.
I would recommend the latter approach, because you can go into deeper truths and ideas than if you try to find a trick that fits into your desired patter. Saves a bit of work too.
 
Sep 3, 2007
150
0
36
Kentucky - Temporarily
I can't stand Gospel Magic. Good intentions, but misrepresented. Check out anything by Brock Gill. I've done a lot of work with him and he is actually the most booked and popular Christian illusionist out there. Jared Hall is another one, but while his material is definitely great and well-performed, his speaking pales in comparison to Brock's.

Check this out for an idea of who Brock is: http://www.hulu.com/brock-gill-alive-on-stage

|| sean ||
 
Jun 6, 2010
796
0
Nashville, TN
You know, you don't HAVE to do gospel magic. I perform normal tricks for just about everyone in my youth group and youth pastors, performed in talent shows,etc. Check with you're youth pastor if you really have to do something that tells a bible story. If you have to then I don't really have much advice for that. Just try not to make it extremely cheesy. Gospel magic is used for little kids most of the time.
 
Mar 6, 2008
1,483
3
A Land Down Under
Watch the third season of arrested development. Gob gives a full show throughout the series.

In all seriousness i would not do it, unless I had at least a solid month to make everything I do now fit. Regardless of what you believe remember the people you will be performing for truly believe in the Gospel. Ask far as the ask Penn comment I don't believe that he would say or do anything. He makes it clear all the time he does not care what you believe in as long as you do not push it on him.

As far as the changing a card to replicate what Jesus did with the water to wine, even I find that disrespectful. There are methods out there that can really make water turn into wine. However comparing yourself to Jesus even by completely replicating his 'miracles' is still incredibly offensive. However most Christians will not say anything however you can tell they will be secretly pissed at you.

For the actual performance I would stay away from the actual religion aspect and focus more on presenting effects that suit the ideals of the religion. I have seen mentalists use the Bible in book tests and this can work well however forcing a passage is not really that impressive unless you give it a meaning to the person, and riffling the book may come across as being offensive.

Using the Professors Nightmare as a demonstration of being equal is a perfect example.

An other idea is to google parables and find the underlying meaning as to what they are about. Modernize it and figure out an effect to fit the presentation. Otherwise just do your show and leave it entirely the way it is (maybe cutting out things that Christians would not deem appropriate.)
 
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