John Armstrong and the Thin Place Gathering

November 9-11 The Gathering will be holding a conference we call The Thin Place Gathering. John Armstrong will be here to teach about missional church life. "Missional Church Life" is shorthand for living in Christian community with healthy sense of mission to the world. Make plans now for the event.

Join Us for Ministry in October

Headed to Eisteddfod

Thursday our team (Carlos Zeisel, Elizabeth Steadman, Mizumi Graham, Kevin Menasco, Josh Rivera, Pastor Phil) head for the UK. During this time we are there we will spend a week at the Royal National Eisteddfod working in Y Gorlan on Maes B. Translated that means we will be working in the sheepfold (a name for the food service tent run by a Christian organization) on the Youth Field where all the drinking and rock and roll occurs.

The above photo is a discussion occuring in front of some art whcih our team did on outr last trip to Eisteddfod 2 years ago. Please keep us in prayer.

Hiking Franconia Notch

Hey GatherGang,

Meet us at 8am for the trip to New Hampshire, and the day of hiking Franconia Notch. It will be an all day event, and those who are interested can call the church office at 978-744-8444. If you have already told Carl and Melissa you are coming, then you are in. Remember: bring water, a lunch, comfortable hiking shoes, and a little cash to help the drivers with gas (maybe some for dinner on the way home.) If you can drive, let us know. This will be an all day event - expect to be gone for about 9-12 hours.

Sanjaya - Tonight!

Okay, so Josh Rivera is not really Sanjaya, but he sure could win a look alike contest. Well, Josh is playing at The Vault tonight to raise money for our mission to Wales. Josh Rivera, Carl Nystadt, James Wilcox, Phil Wyman, Peter Mercier, and maybe even Bev Wyman laying down some flute tracks. $10 at the door. 7:30pm. Hope to see you there.

Christian Lindbeck - If You Missed His Message on Father's Day

Even if you didn't miss it, check it out again. It is filled with information worth meditating on. He's a great teacher, and we'll miss the family greatly as they make the move to Seattle. You will find his message here.

Beth Maynard's Message on mp3

You can access the message from Sunday morning from Beth Maynard now. Beth and her husband lead a Neo-Monastic community in Gloucester Crossing in Beverly, and she was our guest speaker on Sunday morning. So if you missed the message, and want to hear it, you can find it here.

Elijah Does the Inconceivable!

So Elijah has a kidney transplant on Wednesday. He gets out of the hospital on Saturday evening, and comes home to have some lemon chicken rice soup (if you haven't been to Cafe Kushko for lemon chicken rice soup, you should go and try it - it is great soup and it is sodium free!) So this morning Elijah rises earlier than usual, despite having a big ol' scar on his belly. He's a musician, and musicians get up sometime around lunch time - right? Then he walks to church. Okay it's only about 12-15 minutes from our house to the church by foot, but this silly boy just had organ about the size of video game controller placed in his body a few days ago. Yeah Elijah! Go! So you can see he's doing fairly well. Then he joined us for lunch with our guest speaker Beth Maynard (message to be appear online soon) at Beerworks.- but, no beer for Elijah, at least not for about three months.

Walked to church? Inconceivable!

Elijah Wyman Made it Home!

Here's the latest news on Elijah and his Kidney.

Jason Rozen (the donor) went home about noon today. He was feeling fine, and he's our hero.

Elijah's rashes have subsided. They occasionally pop up, but not nearly as bad as initially.

Usually a kidney transplant patient does not go home until after the fourth day. Elijah spent three nights in the hospital, and was doing well enough to come home this evening. We ordered Lemon Chicken Rice Soup from Cafe Kushko, and they delivered it shortly after he got home.

He has named his new kidney Otis - as in "O dis ain't mine."

Bev and I ran around disinfecting everything - the doorknobs, the floors, the counters, Elijah's cat (okay we didn't really disinfect the cat, but we thought about it.) We had to send Crash (Elijah's dog) off to be baby sat for a few days, because Crash fulfills his name, and runs and jumps on Elijah's belly when Elijah is laying down. Crash will stay with Rhonda's sister for some time.

Elijah is upstairs playing his guitar and singing at this moment, and although it usually is a bit of a disturbance when he taps his foot on the wood floor above my head, it is a very comforting sound right now.

So, if you were going to visit the hospital - don't. Elijah's not there anymore.

I am sorry I have not been able to respond personally to every one of you who have sent your support, and questions to us. I've had hundreds over the last few days. I do want to thank you from the bottom of my heart however. Your prayers, and your concerns, and your words of support have meant the world to us.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, a gwyn eich byd,
Phil

Update on Elijah's Surgery

For an update on Elijah's Kidney Transplant go to The Why Man.

Elijah's Kidney Transplant - Wednesday Morning

Our son Elijah is going in to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on Wednesday morning. Sometime around 9:30am he is scheduled to have the transplant. His friend Jason is donating the kidney, and will be in for the surgery about an hour before. Your prayers for Jason and Elijah would be greatly appreciated.

For those who have asked about donating to the Elijah Wyman Kidney Fund - click here.

For more info on what is happening Tuesday the 5th see The Why Man Blog.

Friday Night $1 Movie at The Vault

That's right it has returned! The Dollar Movie at The Vault. The month of June features Pirate Movies, and they're guaranteed to be better than Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - okay, that was just Pastor Phil's prejudice showing. Anyway here's the lineup. Join us at 8pm each Friday

June 1st:
The Crimson Pirate: Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat Director: Robert Siodmak (1952)

June 8th:
The Black Pirate - silent film ~ Douglas Fairbanks, Fred Becker, Charles Belcher, Sam de Grasse, and Billie Dove (1926)

June 15th:
Captain Kidd - Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, and John Carradine (1945)

June 22nd:
Captain Blood - Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, and Basil Rathbone (1935)

June 29th:
NO MOVIE - Concert by El Rivera! A fundraiser for the Mission to Wales.

Interview with Relevant

I was asked to answer some questions for a leadership newsletter, and it seemed appropriate to place it here on the church blog since the answers have to do with us, and how do things at The Gathering. So here it is:

The church you pastor recently sponsored an event that featured, among others, Tony Jones and Jay Bakker. Can you tell us what the vision of the seminar was?

We have seen a growing number of people who identify with God, but struggle with organized Christianity. Among non-Christians - particularly Neo-Pagans, which Salem is famous for, God is an easy topic of discussion, but once organized religion enters the dialogue there is often little positive they have to say about it. Jesus has a good reputation among the people we know, but the Institutional Church has a bad reputation. Recognizing that this appears to be a trend in our society, we developed the seminar to speak to the issue, to hear from people who typically dislike church in order to find out why, and to discuss how we might make the discovery of God easier for people who don't like church. We expect that this seminar was the first of many on this topic.


The topic of the seminar was "God: For People Who Hate Church." What was it about those speakers specifically that made them a good fit?

Jay Bakker has a strange and difficult history with the highest levels of American Pentecostal and Evangelical Christianity. As a young boy his parents became the central focus of one of America's largest religious scandals. Despite this history he has navigated his way back to God, and even into ministry. His history, and the fact that he holds church in bar in New York City were tailor made for the topic.

Tony Jones has been a pivotal voice in the Emergent Conversation. That conversation began as a consideration of the cultural shift in Western society, and a concern that the church had done little to respond to the transformation occurring. Youth were dropping out of church, and message of the Gospel appeared to be couched in a style and in terms reminiscent of the 50's. His work in thinking through this issue, and being a voice for change made him a perfect fit for the conference.

Our third speaker, Jim Henderson from Off-the-Map.org (of the atheist who sold his soul on e-bay fame), was the motivating factor for getting the conference started. Jim was in the area for the dates of the conference, and from there we put it all together. Jim teaches evangelical Christians to share their faith without loosing their reputation - or at least that's my version of what he does so well.

Karen Ward from the Apostles' Church in Seattle was also at the conference, and joined us for an open discussion on rethinking the way we "do church." Her unique style of doing church as a celebration (or as she calls it a "party") of life, and of the liturgical year was a refreshing new way to view church life.


You've personally been involved with some unique outreach. How did you become involved with reaching out to the Pagan community of Salem?

We moved from Southern California 8 years ago to plant a church in Salem, MA. The two most famous things for which Salem is noted are Witches, and Halloween. I knew that I needed a missional response to these people called Witches, and to the month-long season of Halloween in Salem.

Having been active in missions to non-Christian religions for 20 years, I understood the basic beliefs of American Neo-Pagans, but I wanted to understand their culture - how they thought, and how they lived, and so I embarked on an anthropological study of Witches, Wiccans, Druids, and assorted occultists, and what I discovered was that I had been wrong concerning a number of assumptions we Christians believe about this misunderstood demographic.

Once we moved to Salem we determined to treat Neo-Pagans like any other people group, and give them the basic respect due to everyone. I hate to admit that this was unique for an evangelical church to treat Witches like they were regular people created in God's image, but it was apparently a new approach in our city. I suspect this might be true in most American cities. But, we stuck to the plan, and simply treated Witches with the same respect we give everyone else, and consequently have developed good friends among Salem's Neo-Pagan population.

We also decided that instead of gathering in the church during the Halloween season, we would take our faith to the streets in the form of a party. Salem was already an enormous Halloween party, so we decided to create a party within that party. It started off with a little favor from the city leaders, and since that time has grown to 7 days of live music, a children's day with 2,000-3,000 in attendance, 10,000 cups of free hot cocoa, a variety of workshops, and ministry tents offering spiritual counseling to thousands of people each October. This Halloween outreach has grown exponentially in the last 8 years, and has become a training ground for people interested in learning to minister in post-modern, and Neo-Pagan contexts.

Note: For anyone who would like to join us for our outreach during Halloween, we have a week long training experience in postmodern and Neo-Pagan outreach. click here for more info.


Your ministry has drawn some criticism. Were you surprised at the negative feedback from some of your peers who said you crossed the line?

Yes and no.

No, we were not surprised, because I remarked early in our move to Salem, that it would not be the Witches who would cause us trouble, but Christians. Like Jesus, Who was not persecuted by unbelievers, but by the religious leaders, we anticipated anger and misunderstanding from certain Christian circles. I assumed Witches would be pleasantly appreciative to be treated like real people instead of enemies. I also assumed that many Christians would be fearful, and perhaps even superstitious about being around Witches, and this turned out to be true.

Yes, we were surprised, because our biggest troubles came from our former denomination. They supported our vision, and even gave us a significant grant to increase our outreach to the Neo-Pagan community, but when one of the denominational leaders falsely accused us of aberrant practices, they refused to listen to our side of the story, and kicked us out. Everyone who visited our church and our outreaches thought we did a great job, and effectively preached the Gospel. Our accusers had never even visited us, and made assumptions off hearsay.


Right now there are lots of books and resources for people interested in church growth, technology and church and even church marketing-topics centered around reaching people who are unchurched. Generally, there aren't too many that discuss connecting people who "hate church." How has this message been received?

We have had almost unanimously positive responses both locally, and from afar, among Christians, and those who do not follow Jesus. The conference was generally understood to be a discussion about re-visioning the manner in which we gather in our pursuit of God, and finding ways to make God relevant to our society.


For pastors and leaders who want to reach communities in their areas that contain people that do "hate church," how do you recommend connecting with them and telling them about God?

Hang out where they hang out. Find out what they like to do, and go do it with them. Find ways to serve people outside the church walls, and make yourself available for community events.

We bought a trailer, and filled it with a sound system, outdoor chairs, tents, a helium tank, and other party supplies. When the city needs extra help at events they call us to run sound and live music, put up tents and chairs, paint children's faces, and give away balloons.

We have held events such as our philosophy discussion group which we call the Dead Philosopher's Society. We have $1 Movie Nights in the church and show old movies.

We run an online discussion called Circle and Cross Talk between Neo-Pagans and Christians, but we do not allow either Pagans or Christians to get preachy. People are allowed to share their beliefs in a safe environment. We have even held live Circle and Cross Talk gatherings.

We open the doors of our meeting place for free Dream Interpretation times, and like Daniel seek to speak into people's lives through their dreams. We by no means assume every dream is from God, but we have discovered that God is both wooing, and warning people today through their dreams. We also offer times for confessions, and we do the confessing - apologizing for the sins of the church through the ages (a la Don Miller), and even for our own failure to live like Christ. These ministries have helped to pave the way for people who normally distrust churches to identify with us in a positive way.

These types of outreach will not work in every community. Salem is unique. Yet there are creative ways to reach every community, and a little listening can go a long way in learning about people.


What's the biggest challenge in going into communities that "hate church"?

Us.

Christian leaders are the biggest challenge. We do silly things like assume that if people avoid church they must also hate God, or are uninterested in spirituality. We hang out our shingle, or throw our little Christian parties, and expect people to show up. We have developed ways of doing church which may work for some people, but are uninteresting, or even offensive to others. Instead of changing our style of gathering for those who don't appreciate our Christian culture, we change our style of music, and expect that to be the answer.

Our inability to adapt to another culture makes us the biggest challenge in connecting with those who dislike church.


A lot of up-and-coming pastors and leaders are truly interested in being missional and creating culturally-relevant ministry. What's your advice to them?

Listen to the people you want to touch. Learn how they feel about Christianity, and why they feel that way. Don't become quickly defensive, and jump to the rescue of the Church. Many people have legitimate complaints, and their voices can be valuable guides in helping you adapt your outreach to their needs, and their spiritual passions. This does not mean changing the Gospel message, but it may mean adapting our style of gathering, and our vocabulary.

If you come into contact with people who are part of a NRM (New Religious Movement), or are involved in the occult do not consider them as enemies to your faith. Treat them with the same respect you would give anyone else. You may end up being surprised to find that they are as normal as you - maybe even more so, since they aren't waiting for some guy on a white horse to come riding out of the sky like we are. ;-)

Find out what people like to do, where they like to go, and find a way to join them, and serve them there. It usually works well to find a need and fill it. We saw that people were attending city events in the park like the Chowder Fest, and the Ice Cream Social, and they had no place to sit, and there was no music. We offered the use of our $5 plastic outdoor chairs (we have 100), and our sound system. People loved having a place to sit, and we helped make the city look good. This kind of service is a win-win situation.

Don't be afraid to serve alongside the people who dislike church. Neo-Pagans have helped us set up for events. I have an atheist friend who helps run our movie nights, and is my sci-fi trivia expert for the times we do sci-fi series. Musicians who are not Christians, and do not like church help provide entertainment on our stage during October. These things have helped us to gain a good reputation among the people who do not attend church in Salem.

But of course...expect a few critics.

Elijah's Rotten Kidney's Videos

Dan Stevens is making some videos for Elijahs Wyman's Kidney Transplant Fund. Check out this one.

Elijah's Kidney Fund - Help Needed

Elijah Wyman will facing a kidney transplant within the next two weeks. It has been a rough road over the last ear and a half since he was discovered to have a life threatening, rare kidney disease. Your prayers, words of encouragement, and even financial support through this extremely expensive process are deeply appreciated now. You can donate through The Gathering to Elijah's Kidney Fund.

It is during these times when we discover what it means to have others help us with those burdens which are too great for us to carry on our own. You can visit the donation page HERE.

Blessings on you, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Phil, Bev, Rhonda, Crash, Puppy, Holly, Forrest, and especially Elijah Wyman

Front Page Yahoo!

Our conference made the front page of Yahoo.com as the featured story today. Woo-Hoo! The story from the Christian Science Monitor was posted as the feature article. Fun - fun.

Here's were "Christians and atheists start a calmer dialogue" can be accessed directly.

Conference Makes the News! - Christian Science Monitor

The conference made the news. Jim Henderson and I look pretty darn handsome there. Okay, I'm blowin' smoke, but heck we're making news.

Melanie took the photos, and we laughed a bunch through the experience. Jane Lampman who wrote the story was very easy to talk to, and she reminded me so much of my own Christian Science upbringing. I enjoy watching Jim in these interview situations. He's been there - done that, and really has a great way of turning a quote, and making the interviewer feel comfortable and cared for. Now that's a turn of events, eh?

So, here's Christians and atheists start a calmer dialogue. Read on reader -->

Best Tour(s) of Conference and Salem in the Blogiverse!

Check out Agent B's tour of Salem, and the Conference God: for People Who Hate Church. It is so well done.

One more to add: Dustin did a great job catching the conference too, at Here's the Beef.

Emergent and Pentecostalism?

At the end of our conference "God for People Who Hate Church" I asked Tony Jones (our final speaker) this question, "How can the Emergent conversation connect better with those from Pentecostal traditions?" I asked this question because I know other Emergent leaning Pentecostals, and they have had some struggle feeling as thought the really fit, or were welcome in the Emergent conversation.

Why might this be? Is there something inate to the conversation as it began which makes Pentecostals feel unwelcome? or is the other way around? Is there something inate to Pentecostalism which makes the Emergent discussion difficult for them to be a part of? Perhaps it is simply that the discussion has not reached deep enough to find enough Pentecostal ears.

Personally, I feel that I am navigating these relational waters fine, but there are others who are struggling. What do you think, and what is it you observe.

For Tony's answer to this question check out the podcast of his message, and jump ahead to the end of the message. There you find my question, and his answer. Does the answer hit home? Does it speak deeply enough for you to become an answer?

On my personal catharsis blog I question who I am on the basis of this strange but growing alliance.

Pagan Discussion Panel is Up on Podcast

John Smulo and I led a discussion group with three Pagans from Salem. Teri Kalgren from the Witches' Education Bureau, solitary Wiccan practitioner Krista Grillo, and Druid Suzy Wade were the panelists. The podcast is up in two parts. Altogether it was almost an hour and a half of discussion and Q&A time. Check it out at the Salem Gathering Website.