Hadley Montgomery
Executive Staff
As the table tents filled McClurg and the fliers were hung, many were skeptical yet intrigued by the Christian illusionist visiting the mountain January 27. Magician Jim Munroe was brought to campus by CRU, an interdenominational Christian organization on campus. CRU leader Jewlz Davis (C’16) said, “The Maze! Wow, what an experience! It was incredible seeing the illusions and trying to figure out what was going on behind the magic tricks. He was a captivating entertainer and incredible speaker. What I loved most was his testimony at the conclusion of his set. It really was astounding how Jesus showed up and showed out in this guy’s life.”
Excitement filled McClurg during the lunch rush as Jim Munroe began performing magic. Munroe started by guessing phone passcodes and went on to break forks in two by staring intensely at the utensil. These magic tricks culminated in Guerry Auditorium on Wednesday, January 27 at 7p.m.
Over a hundred students piled into Guerry to watch the Christian illusionist. Some of his tricks consisted of bringing students on stage. Among these students was JJ Clements (C’19), who was pulled on stage for a magic trick that involved picking a random phone number from the phone book and the digits to this number appearing under the table cloth. Clements said,“If I had to give it a quote or one word it would be ineffable as I cannot describe how it all even happened.”
Although the magic tricks were incredible, Munroe’s main purpose for coming to campus was to share his testimony with Sewanee. Munroe was a baseball player at the University of Texas until he suffered an extreme shoulder injury. He then began investigating the supernatural and pursued a career in magic. At this point in his life, Munroe believed every religion was false. By 2009, he became one of the most sought after magicians in the world. All was good until his life was ruined by tragedy: leukemia.
Thankfully, Munroe was able to beat leukemia with a bone marrow transplant from a 19-year-old girl. As Munroe continued his journey, now identifiable with XX chromosomes, he began his life with Christ, “Where do you turn when you have nothing but God to turn to? There’s something about facing death square in the eyes that changes your perspective… You realize that there’s something bigger than you going on behind the scenes of your life.” He admits that his magic is neither real nor even magical; rather, it’s a part of his story that went from focusing on despair and doubt to becoming renewed with Christ in his life.