If you're ever in Salem during Halloween...

Salem, MA

Let me take you to a recent scene in the heart of New England.

It's the night before Halloween.  The late October temperatures cause the tourists and locals alike to wrap their jackets and scarves a little bit tighter.  The streets of Salem, MA are already beginning to fill with the throngs of people who have traveled to this small town for the annual witch festival.  This town truly revolves around witchcraft.  Whether it is seen as a real supernatural power or not, witchcraft thrives in Salem because of the tourist attraction that it has become.  It is a symbol, a Mecca, for those involved and intrigued by witchcraft.  But it is on one night during the year at the very end of October that over 100,000 people throng the quaint, village like Main St. in Salem.  And that's why we came.  On one of the darkest nights of the year, in a place that has become a hub for the spirits of darkness to gather, we come to burn brightly, passionately and continually.

We have gathered two blocks from where all the "festivities" will take place - rituals, seances, necromancy, a psychic fair, etc...  Tucked away in a beautiful brick church built over 125 years ago, the kingdom of heaven is breaking out in explosions of worship, praise and declarations of revival.  Somewhere between 60-100 people have gathered from all over the east coast to take part in a 60 hour, non-stop prayer and worship service.

This is what we call a Burn.  An unbroken sound of worship carrying on throughout the day and throughout the night.  Each worship set lasting 2 hours, some sets full of the rambunctious expression of celebration before the Lord, others sets carrying an atmosphere of stillness before the Lord as people rest in His presence or pray out the Scripture.  Different groups of people are assigned to the sanctuary to sustain the prayer and worship, while everyone else joins in or take short breaks in the back of the church.  Sleeping bags are unrolled in the basement and upper room of the church.  Sleep comes in very short shifts, but it almost feels like you aren't asleep but just soaking in the worship that echoes throughout the entire building all night long.   There is an eternal pot of coffee in the back of the church to help shake off the sleep before entering back into another worship set.  We do this because we believe there is a kingdom that is greater than the kingdom of darkness in Salem.  And we know that this kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, is attracted to the sound of passionate, abandoned worship released by hearts that are fully in love.

Wild dance party in the church

Back to the scene I was painting...

On this particular night, the night before Halloween, the night before the darkest night of the year, heaven is indeed invading this small church gathering.  It seems as though the hours of incessant worship has pierced through into greater realms of His glory.  It's something that really can't be fully explained, but when you are in the very middle of what is going on, you know that it is real; it's more real than even the darkness that surrounds us.  The spirit of fear and intimidation is completely cast off as some 100 people dance wildly to the tribal drum beats that bounce off the sanctuary walls.  Joy is spilling over the brim, threatening to flood outside of the building.  Shouts of victory released, banners of freedom raised, an appeal to boldly and fearlessly love the lost goes out amongst this body of radical people.  Anyone peering in through the stained glass windows at this very moment would be caught off guard by this almost frenzied scene.  We are not burying our heads in desperate prayer, begging God to show up.  We are rejoicing with the good news that He has already shown up and He wants to encounter and heal the lost, the broken, the prisoners, the witches and the psychics more than even we do.

Are you there with me?  Did you feel the excitement rising in your spirit?  Did your ears ring with hope and encouragement?  Did the picture of abandoned worship catch you up into His glorious presence?  Well it was with this sight still flashing in my mind, these sounds still ringing in my ears, and this experience filling my heart that I walked out onto the streets Halloween night.  It truly was a sight to see.  Around 50 of us marched out of the church, skipping with excitement, literally running towards the witches and psychics and every frightening scene imaginable.  As we arrived to the dark yet crowded streets, we split up into groups stationed on the sidewalks.  Signs waving above our heads that read - "Free spiritual readings" & "Free spiritual healing" - definitely drew the attention of many curious people looking to have a good time.  We weren't like the doomsday preachers on the benches, evangelizing hate and condemnation.  We weren't like the psychics at the booths, cheating people's pocket books on a counterfeit power.  We were different.  We carried the real power, the real Jesus.

4 AM worship

What I experienced that night was completely revolutionary.  Now you have to understand; I am no stranger to street evangelism.  I have gone to every supernatural, prophetic, healing, evangelism conference.  I have gone to 3 years of ministry school.  I practically grew up doing outreaches.  But this felt almost foreign to what I've always known of outreach.  I have heard the message of "ministry flowing from intimacy" preached from every pulpit in regards to outreach.  I myself have preached this message from my own pulpit.  But never have I experienced it so much a reality as I did in Salem.

Outreach has always felt like a massive pressure on me - pressure to see results, pressure to fit a certain description of an evangelist, pressure to hear God's voice, etc...  In my mind, I have always concurred with the truth that we need to go out without an agenda, but still that unspoken expectation looms around every corner of my heart.  I have dealt with this demon of performance more times than I can count.  And yet at times I wonder if it is even worth it.  I would rather not go on outreaches than to have to bear the pressure of fitting a role that is not me.

The Haunted Happenings festival Halloween night

But, like I said before, Salem was different, Salem was revolutionary, Salem was a reality I have not experienced before.  Our goal was not to have a successful outreach.  Even though this might offend some, our focus wasn't even to reach the lost.  Our priority the entire time we were in Salem was simply to worship Jesus, to give Him the praise and adoration that He deserves.  And we did just that for 60 hours straight.  The outreach was the after-party of that.  It was the post-game celebration.  And with that attitude, pressure and expectation were completely stripped of authority.  The rug was pulled out from underneath spirit of performance.  Of course there still was an intense spiritual battle going on all around us, but we were in a reality so far above that the darkness didn't even faze us.  I had more fun than I have ever had during an outreach.  I saw more fruit than I ever have during an outreach.  And it was so easy.

I have countless stories of people encountering Jesus and having their lives changed - both the spiritual seekers and the cynical mockers.  Real witches encountered the God of love.  Broken teenagers wept as they heard about the Father's heart.  Every person we prayed for physical healing got healed.  We saw people get saved right there on the streets.  You could literally see a light turning on in the eyes of hopeless people.  It was by no means a "hard" spiritual environment.  Honestly it was like ministering from an open heaven.  I was seriously blown away by it all.

In the very middle of everything going on that night, I had a brief moment with Jesus.  I was so full of thanksgiving, I couldn't help but stop what I was doing and marvel at how good and faithful He is.  He placed this dream in my heart for such a long time - to intentionally go to the darkest places without any agenda but to simply worship Him with all of my heart and to burn so brightly that people come to watch.  This was happening.  This was reality.  And now I just want to say to anyone reading this post - He really does want to use us.  He really does put dreams in our hearts for a reason.  And He really does love showing up in what the church would label as the hardest and darkest places.  That's His specialty.