HOPE — Sometimes it can be tough to tell when John Thomas Oaks is being powerfully, vulnerably honest and when he is being remarkably, dry-wittedly funny. Ask him why his equally vulnerable and equally funny father Tommy chose the gospel of Mark to memorize and the son will answer without missing a beat.
“Because it’s the shortest (in the Bible),” he said.
There you have it — funny and serious all at the same time.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, pair of traveling Christian ministers and entertainers, long popular with Bartholomew County churches, will present their newest, two-hour, spartan production “Mark … My Words” at 6 p.m. Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday at Willow Leaves of Hope, 326 Jackson St. in Hope.
It involves Tommy Oaks, with a master’s degree in storytelling, reciting from memory the 16 chapters word for word — and John Thomas Oaks playing an original soundtrack on his Casio keyboard to give those words extra depth and feeling, along with the help of some basic lighting a few props.
The two have been teaching, enlightening and entertaining in this area for more than 15 years. They clearly know how to draw crowds, including attracting about 900 people years ago for a local presentation of “The Legend of Wiley Jake,” their comical, Western take with a serious point on Old Testament brothers Esau and Jacob.
But this particular production, from introducing John the Baptist in its opening passages to closing with Jesus’ ascension, is serious from the outset.
“What we do, I think, is very cinematic,” John Thomas said. “It’s almost like you’re watching a movie. I can see people in the audience kind of getting lost in it.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
