The place: Sri Lanka, a primarily Buddhist country.

The star attraction: Illusionist BJ Harris.

He had dazzled the crowd with one seemingly impossible stunt after another. They literally sat on the edge of their seats as BJ made a table move, no strings attached.

After the show, a woman approached him and mentioned that the Buddhist down the street had the exact same table and made it float but claimed it was because spirits gave it the power to do so.

BJ calmly looked the woman in the eye and said, “Ma’am, the Buddhist in your neighborhood bought his table through the same prop company in the U.S. that I bought mine. You need to know this is merely a trick. You could order the same table, purchase the rights to perform the illusion and do it yourself.”

And therein lies BJ’s passion: Helping thousands of people realize how easy it is to become deceived. “If we can so easily be tricked into believing something that’s not real is real, it stands to reason that non-Christians have been duped into believing that Christianity is a lie. I want to show people the truth,” he says.

It All Started When . . .
When BJ was 9, he was hoping for a baseball glove under the Christmas tree but instead received a magic set from his grandmother. “I was really disappointed,” he remembers. “My hopes were high. The box was just the right size for a baseball glove, and I just knew that was it! I was completely devastated to get a box of magic tricks.”

BJ tossed the gift in a corner and tried to forget about it, but he got bored waiting for school to start again after the holidays, so he finally picked it up, learned his first trick and performed it for his folks. That was all it took; he was hooked.

BJ explains that illusionists and magicians either create their own tricks or purchase the rights to perform them. “The table trick cost me $1,800,” he says. “This gives me the right to perform the illusion, the table, instructions and a video with tips on how to make the illusion look its best.”

But the table trick may only fill five minutes of an hour-and-a-half show. So to dazzle an audience often means BJ is pouring $20,000 worth of illusions into one single performance.

“But when I was 16, I was only doing a $200 show, and it was still amazing to people. As I’ve gotten more exposure, I’ve chosen certain illusions that are more expensive. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend big bucks to perform.”

BJ sometimes purchases exclusive performance rights to an illusion that ensures that he’s the only one allowed to perform that particular trick. And he also creates his own illusions and sells performance rights to those.

“A lot of this industry is based on relationships,” he says. “There are magic creators who have 12 performers they work with. They’ll create a brand-new illusion and think, This really fits BJ’s personality. I’ll call him and see if he’s interested in purchasing this. And if I like the illusion, I buy exclusive rights to it. That means you’ll never see any other magician perform this specific illusion.”

Isn’t Magic Evil?
Back to the Buddhist in Sri Lanka. He was obviously using an illusion to deceive people and give credit to satanic forces. BJ uses the art of magic to teach people and to share the Gospel.

“Every art form can be misused,” he explains. “Dance and music have both been extremely misused. Just because something is used for an evil purpose doesn’t mean the art form itself is evil. Every art form has a good side and can be used to glorify God. But Satan loves to twist it into something bad.”

People often rationalize that if a psychic says his show is simply entertainment, what he’s doing can’t be wrong. “Just because something isn’t real, doesn’t mean it’s healthy for us,” BJ says. “A lot of people are afraid of magic and think it’s evil. But the Bible actually tells us almost 400 times not to fear. The only thing we’re supposed to fear is God. And that should be a healthy fear.”

BJ is quick to say that tarot cards, Ouija boards and psychics are not real. “It’s deception,” he says. “It’s all deception. And it’s also really stupid—and dangerous—to sit in a room with an Ouija board and ask Satan questions. Satan is real. He was created by God, and his capabilities are limited, but he’s a real being capable of deceiving us.”

What About Those Psychics?
Perhaps you remember a show on TV a few years ago called “Crossing Over” with psychic John Edward. What you may not remember was the three paragraph disclaimer on your screen at the end of every show that lasted 1.5 seconds. “I actually recorded the disclaimer,” BJ says. “I wanted to slow it down and actually read it. It’s very eye-opening. He’s basically saying that none of this stuff should be considered factual in any way whatsoever. All the information was received from third-party sources.

“It’s television! People walk into the room and sit down. The producers know who’s in what seats. They ask the audience whom they want to contact. The audience, who’s already superstitious and willing to be deceived, jots down all the information they’re asked for. Half an hour goes by, then: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome John Edward!’

“And he walks on stage with a bunch of memorized information that he’s able to repeat back to people, and they’re amazed.”

BJ explains what psychics call cold readings. “I can spend two seconds with someone and figure out if he’s outgoing or not. A psychic uses this for a tell. He’ll make a generic statement such as, ‘You’re outgoing.’ And he’ll get a tell if you respond positively: ‘Oh, yeah! I am that kind of person.’ Or if he’s wrong, he’ll instantly get this confused nonverbal communication and realize he’s going the wrong way. If he’s going the right direction, he continues that way. If he’s heading in the wrong direction, he’ll change his course. The same is true whether he’s reading your palm, claiming to read your mind or reading tarot cards. He’s counting on you to give him a direct hit or to send him in a different direction. It’s all deception.”

The Good News
BJ performs for churches, middle schools, high schools and college campuses. He shares the Gospel during his presentation and is quick to teach his audience that what they’re seeing isn’t real. “Anyone who’s willing to spend the time and money can do this very illusion I’m doing,” he says.

And for those interested in using illusion as a way to share Christ’s message of salvation? “Start with a simple magic set,” he says. “Your local library will have a magic section. If it’s a small library, the magic books might be found under the arts and hobbies section. You can learn some simple tricks that way.

“I have a DVD called ‘Secrets’ in which I teach you step by step how to do some of the tricks that you see me doing in front of a crowd. There’s an organization called FCM (Fellowship of Christian Magicians) that includes a big variety of arts: clowning, magic, balloon artistry, juggling, ventriloquism. They teach you how to use these forms as object lessons in ministry.”

BJ has a huge heart for missions. He and his wife, Katie (who subscribed to Brio during her teen years), travel overseas often and have been instrumental in planting a church in Franklin, Tenn.

If you’d like to see BJ up close and personal, he’ll be performing on the first night of our Brio missions trip! For the scoop on BJ, go to bjharris.com. For the scoop on our missions trip, go to briomissions.com.

Senseless
BJ and Katie are currently touring with his new show, “Senseless.” He challenges his audience not to live life by their senses. “Just because you can see and hear something doesn’t mean it’s real,” he says. “The theme is found in 2 Corinthians—walking by faith and not by sight.

“I explain that walking by faith is senseless. The world around us should be saying, ‘I don’t understand the way you live.’ They should be intrigued by our lives as Christians.”

Ouch!
BJ and his wife, Katie, were working on a trick that involved placing Katie in a box with swords. They were rehearsing in their home in front of friends, and BJ accidentally speared his wife!

“It’s called a sword basket,” Katie says. “I climb inside the box, and BJ takes five swords and puts them all the way through the box. Four swords went in . . . and the fifth one went right to my leg! I screamed.”

“She started crying,” BJ says, “and she wouldn’t get out of the box. I’m going, ‘OK, we need a little more work on this one.’ ”

“It was a dull sword, so it wasn’t that bad,” Katie says. “It just tore off a little skin, but it still drew some blood.”

BJ remembers another mishap: “We do this one trick where I’m inside a box, and she’s supposed to unlock all the locks and free me. She lost the keys!”

Pharaoh’s Magicians
You may remember the Old Testament story in Exodus: God called Moses to tell Pharaoh to release His people from slavery in Egypt so He could lead them to the Promised Land. When Pharaoh refused, God sent several plagues. Pharaoh’s magicians seemed to duplicate the miracles.

“I hate to use the word duplicate,” BJ says. “It was more of a false-signs-and-wonders thing . . . the key word being false. Pharaoh’s magicians were able to deceive people into believing they were actually duplicating the miracles of God. So to them, it didn’t matter if it was real or not; they perceived it to be real. But even then, their ‘miracles’ were short-lived. It was actually Pharaoh’s magicians who finally went to him and said, ‘Look, we can’t continue duplicating these tricks. The stuff from God is the genuine thing.’

“If I can convince someone I can read her mind, does it have to be real? All that matters is that she actually believes it. Satan can make lots of things look legitimate, but again, you have to remember that he’s the master of deception.”