Professor Poppy is awesome! He is also a good friend and brother in Christ. His real name is Brent Varner, and he started doing Gospel Illusions over two years ago, if memory serves me well. Last night, he presented his show at Poplar Heights Baptist Church in Jackson, TN.
Poplar Heights is another special place where I have many ministry friends, so it was extra special seeing these folks come together for a night of music, ministry, and a bit of eye-trickery! As you will see from the photos in the gallery below, the evening was fun but meaningful to everyone who attended. The church gathered and started with a nice time of food and fellowship (that’s just the Baptist in us) and followed up with some praise and worship music before PP came up to do his show.
Last night Brent had a special guest assistant, Hurricane Andrew (as he is lovingly known). Together, they made us scratch our heads more than twice. They also brought up a few helpers from the congregation to do some of the illusions. Last night, I saw the “prediction chest” for the first time, and it was VERY cool. Brent also did my personal favorite, a discussion about eternal life on a piece of newspaper. My buddy Winston the Sheepdog also made an appearance, and he certainly has the “Awwwwwwwwww” factor 🙂
If you are reasonably local to West Tennessee and would like to organize an outreach event while having fun along the way, give Brent a call. He would love to talk with you about it. Visit his website for contact information. Oh, if you are worried about having a Christian magician in church, know this. Brent is careful to present his show in a way that emphasizes spiritual concepts and openly states that Jesus Christ is the ONLY one who can do real miracles. He also admits this: “I am only tricking your eyes and your brain.” Now, for my photo gallery… enjoy!
