FCM Atlanta Chapter Minutes for March 9, 2017
The March 9, 2017 meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the FCM was held at the home of John and Julia Jefferson. Those in attendance were: John and Julia Jefferson; Leland Davis; Mark Childers; Bill Darby; and our guest and new member, Mike Ellis!
We missed our absentees and do hope all will be able to attend next month.
Our next meeting will be Thursday, April 13, 2017 at the home of John and Julia Jefferson at 6:30 p.m.—feel free to show up sooner!!
Our meeting was productive and heartwarming. We are looking forward to next month.
Following is a summary of our meeting:
Keep the “SON” Shining…
John Jefferson
MINUTES:
We opened with prayer and then John shared a couple of announcements. He reminded us that our International FCM Conference will be in Indianapolis, IN from June 19-23. It is an 8 hour drive and the registration for 2 people is $180. John and Julia will be staying at the Caribbean Cove, which is where the convention will he held, but others have found rooms through Air B&B, etc. We do hope several will attend as it is always a blessing to a gospel magician’s ministry!
We do miss our friends who were not able to make it to the meeting. They are in our prayers
We were delighted to welcome Mike Ellis to our group. He has officially rejoined the FCM! He is a friend of Eugene McBrayer and is now our friend! Because Mike was new, we introduced ourselves and discovered that Mike is residing near Rome, GA with his family. He has been interested in magic since he was a child and had performed for many years. He is a former pastor and now is a chaplain at an assisted living home. God is opening many doors for him to share the gospel using illusions!
It was time to share and Leland brought out a blue balloon with a magic marker sad face. When we are sad and things start to build up in us and we do not know what to do, we feel like we are going to fall apart—Leland pops the balloon. But the Lord wants to be peaceful and happy— Leland then brought out a blue balloon with a smiley face on it. Even though we may feel “blue” and often sad, if we know the Lord, we will count it as all joy and will be able to conquer our doubts and fears. So, when life makes us feel like we will be destroyed (Leland sticks a needle in the smiley face balloon but it does not pop!!), Jesus gives us the strength to keep our faith and to be strong! Great object lesson that brings a WOW from the audience!
Leland then poured milk in a glass and when he pulled it out, there was candy in the glass!! Leland asked for suggestions as to prevent the candy from rattling—use tiny rubber balls; freeze gummies or use sour gummies!! We had not had dessert (our sweet Judy was not able to attend) so we ate the candies! Thanks, Leland. It’s a great trick and yummy, too!
Bill then shared his million dollar gospel tract he buys from Way of the Master. He also shared how he uses the coins that John has given out, as a great way to attract children and then leave them with a message to take home.
Bill shared his Snap Change effect that he had made to use as a pocket trick. He showed a card with a King of Hearts on it and asked, “Who wants to be king of your heart?” He said that Jesus does, but that Satan is always competing. The only way to make Jesus the King of your heart is to REPENT. Bill produced a card with a picture of Jesus, Satan and the word, REPENT as he did the effect. He performed it beautifully!!! Such ingenuity!
Well, Starbucks does come in handy. Bill shared his “stick in the bag” effect (similar to the toothpick in the handkerchief effect) that he does, using a Starbucks paper bag and a long stir stick! His message was that we all have problems and feel broken; but, we can repent of our sins and become whole again in the eyes of the Lord. He has done this effect many times to share Jesus in Starbucks! Great idea and great message.
Mark began by sharing that his wife is very ill and he would love to have our prayers for her. She will have several surgeries in the coming weeks, and is now suffering from a spinal headache. We have asked Mark to keep us updated.
Next, was the Sparkling Moon Zombie, illustrated by Mark. He showed us the beautiful lighted ball and noted that we are often drawn to shiny, beautiful things even if they are sinful! We want to possess the sin and we quietly revel in “guilty pleasures”. We try to hide our sin, but it always “shines” through our hiding places, letting the world know our hearts. The only way we can be forgiven for our sins is to put them at the foot of Jesus and repent and they will disappear so that Jesus sees us as white as snow. Great illustration, Mark! We look forward to hearing that you shared the gospel using this very effective illusion!!!
Mark then showed us his great pocket trick with the changing bills from $1 to $5 to $10 using the parable of the talents. We hear you have used it in many long lines at the stores where you shop!
Mike then shared some coin tricks with great dexterity. He shared that he has performed many standard effects, using them to get the attention of the audience and then close with a gospel magic. We are looking forward to having Mike share more with us in future meetings!
John then shared his gospel message, “Five Little Words”. He asked us to think of five words we could use to share the gospel. There are many great answers, and John’s words were: “Trust Jesus as your savior”. He then asked us to use only 4, then 3 then two then only one. At the end, we can see that we can actually share the gospel with only 15 words! John and Julia used this at their last Bible study and the audience really appreciated the message! The message follows:
Trust Jesus as your savior.
“Why?”
Jesus died for you.
“Why?’
Jesus loves you.
“What must I believe?”
Jesus lives.
“Who do I call on to save me?”
Jesus!!!
Next, John shared a mental trick—Book Test. John gave Mike the envelope with the prediction inside. He asked several people to tell him a 3-digit number. He then added the numbers and asked Leland to select one book. John asked Leland to turn to the page represented by the first 3 digits of the number and then go to the number of the word on the page represented by the last digit. The word on the page was, heaven. Mike then opened the prediction and showed the word, heaven! John’s message is that we don’t always understand what happens in our lives, but the one thing we do know is that if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for us, and we let him come into our hearts and lives then, just like the effect, our destination will be…heaven!
We ended with prayer for safe travels, our families and our absent friends.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone in April!
Until next time…Julia