Ministering at Burning Man 2016 - By Rob Mazza

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!

Friends,

Burning Man is a place of absurdity, abstractions, art and artful dodging of reality. Then God tells us to go there, and Samaria gets all too real with its hunger and lies all intertwined in the serpents folds. We feel both the promise and the darkness. It’s Monday morning, our first day of business. Everything has been erected - the coffee dome, the kitchen, the 100 foot encounter tent. The beautiful art is in place and the Spirit Dream signs outside shoulder the dusty playa winds. We are inside the encounter tent, doing our first day orders from the King. Intercession is at a higher level (it will increase in the next couple days). We have just welcomed and protocoled our twelve new members of the tribe of thirty eight. Their sponsors have hugged and spoke into their lives.

Suddenly the familiar first line of the Christmas song comes distinctly from the street outside our canvas walls. The distinct sound of “O come, all ye faithful…” What?
The team momentarily stares at one another with wonder. It is Burning Man. It’s incongruous. It makes no sense but it does. We quickly gather the wits and join with vocal abandon in the rest of the stanza.

Oh come let us adore Him

Oh come let us adore Him

Oh come let us adore Him

Christ, the Lord.

And no one can recall a ramp up to the song or where the song went after the first line. No trailing off of sound as the mutant vehicles that blast music from mega speakers would normally do as they pass by. We have sent another prophetic volley into the atmosphere - unscripted.

The week is full of what we expect Father to send us. Miracles of spirit to spirit connection occur for our Burner friends. Some meet their Creator. Others get moved forward in their journey toward and into light. Remy, a young man from Arkansas, a team favorite, comes back to us three times. He wandered into Burning Man alone with no agenda but to make a spiritual breakthrough. I’m privileged to be called out my greeter position by the encounter team to give Remy a father’s blessing. I feel I am hugging a broken bird and a giant in the making at the same time. I catch glimpse of Peaceful over Remy’s shoulder and she is having an encounter with Father too. Somewhere in the realm of “O the broken fatherless I love so much.” I cannot look for too long. Her tears are too great.

One sees a lot in the week there. It is to much for a finite head to process in even a couple weeks. The spirit receives much more than the head can tell. I do carry this - a few names and faces of those I did a father’s embrace with: Michelle, Andy, Guy, Corbin, Cloey and Max. Something went to a higher level for me. I found myself savoring Father moving through me. Having your name written in Father’s heavenly book is a peg in a secure place that grounds you to a place in life. You never want to move away from that secure place - not for money or fame or miracles or position. 

Edwin Louis Cole states, “Exchange is the basic principle of life.” The knowing of Father as Life giver explains the terms of that exchange. I take Kala aside (I had done a father’s blessing with her a few years ago. She actually fell to the floor when I did it.). I whisper to her, “You want to be married don’t you?” Her beautiful face surrenders to tears. Father knows her secrets. He batters the anti-marriage demons of the culture along the path to the heart. Kala will eventually fully see the quill marks of her name in heavenly places. Unstoppable this Kingdom.

I would be remiss to say it was an easy year for us. As near as we can understand, it appears God has picked an fight. The warfare we experience on the playa was over the top. May had to cycle out for rest. Katie, my bride, got two units of hydration fluid in a med tent. We had orders to obey the night watch and many found them selves up, walking, communing and crying out to God before the dawn. We had a lion banner made by our lead artist/intercessor Andrea Bareither that accentuated the territorial aspect of the King’s dominion. The lion is roaring. Amos said, “Who shall not fear?” We are still chewing on this. 

Andrea received this in intercessions on the playa: “The Burning Man movement [ http://burningman.org/culture/history/brc-history/afterburn/2013-2/related/burning-man-project/ ] has created a massive move globally which has had profound influence around the world. This movement has created a large spiritual gateway and highway for the demonic to move through. It is this gateway that He is so serious about, because it is destroying the people He loves. His desire is to close it. I felt the enormity of this task, and so I told Him I would need confirmation if I were to even go there. Then I saw a green door with a gold doorknob, and felt that He wanted me to ask of Him. I didn’t engage the enemy at all, but simply asked, 'Father, in Your wisdom, do what You need to do to close the gate.' I left it there.

Please join us in asking the King the relevant questions of what is next and asking that we have an ear to hear before we blow any trumpet of direction.

Thanks for every bit of prayer, tears and dollars wrung out for this important place. Hundreds of souls carry some measure of the joy of Luke 10 that we minister from. The Father has written and is writing still.


Oh come let us adore Him!

Much honor and blessing on you and your households,

Rob & Katie