I have been working on a book entitled Love Big or Go Home over the beginning of this year. It is a theology of mission based upon the idea that the Gospel is inherently nomadic, and that this nomadism informs how we approach the world. By saying this I do not mean to assume that … More Love Big or Go Home nears completion
Premier Christianity Magazine in the UK, and the Church Mission Society have posted a couple things from me in the last few days. The Church Mission Society posted an interview about Halloween, Burning Man, Witches, and festival work. I was a speaker at their conference about “Mission among People who are Spiritual but not Religious”, … More Halloween Blog Post and Interview in the UK
Burning Religion is certainly my most ambitious literary project to date, but it would not have been conceived without the long hard years of working as a pastor in the rather (in)famous little city of Salem, Massachusetts. Almost 20 years of monthlong Halloween entertainment and outreach projects, and befriending the Witchcraft community in Salem helped … More The Reformation of Halloween: Where Burning Religion Began
My last days of summer mission in the UK involved a week and a half of Welsh language in the National Eisteddfod. The Eisteddfod is a Welsh language, poetry, music, art and culture event. It is the largest event of its kind in the world, and brings over 100,000 Welsh speakers together each year. This … More Learning Welsh, Facing Poverty, and Meeting Pagans in Cardiff
“Who are you?” said the caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I-I hardly know sir, just at present- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then,” said Alice. “What do you mean by … More The Problem with Finding Ourselves: Lessons from the Desert Fathers
This is the first time Easter has been on April Fool’s Day since 1956. In fact, this is only the 15th time Easter has been on April Fool’s Day since the advent of the King James Version of the Bible. A little known fact, is that the year Jesus rose from the dead, it was … More The Importance of the April 1st Easter Resurrection
Phil and Priscilla arrived in Dayton, TX at the home of Paul and Joy Burwell at the end of February. The plan was to stay a month in Texas. First stop was north of Houston with the Burwells. The second stop would be Austin, and the final stop would be Brownwood with the Browns, but … More Adventures with Priscilla in Texas
After leaving the Ocala, Florida Rainbow Gathering, I was told to watch out going through Mississippi. The hippies told me that Mississippi was known for Missing Hippies. To the contrary, I am still here, and having a great time. Don and Amy Rylander have a Thursday evening gathering in a Coffee House in Brandon, MS, … More No Missing Hippie in Mississippi!
The above video is a clip of the Brown family from Brownwood, TX. Below, Sandi and the girls share their stories about being involved in festival ministry in Salem, and at the Stonehenge Solstice. From Sandi: I have been involved in several different streams of Christianity, from Baptist to Charismatic, to now not really affiliating with … More Thoughts from the Browns about Festival Outreach
The English word “weird” comes down to us from an Anglo-Saxon and Germanic etymology. The Anglo-Saxon word “wyrd” was defined as destiny, and in the 15th century the English word “weird” was still defined as “destiny”, or “having the power to control fate.”[1] Today the word “wyrd” is used among the Nordic heathenry. They consider … More I am Looking for Wyrdos
“God never asks you to do anything you are capable of doing.” I first heard these words a long time ago. It was at a Pastor’s Conference in Portland, Oregon. Roy Hicks Jr. was speaking. These words were the main focus of his message, but before he could describe the paradoxical nature of their meaning, … More Called to the Impossible: Navigating the Impossible #1
I am catching up on things I did not have time to do this October, even as I close up the last little loose ends of a busy, busy month. The things that happen in October embody some of the dreams I have for the rest of the world. A growing group of my friends and … More A Jew and a Gentile walk into a Cigar Shop…
I gave a primer on ministering in festival settings, more specifically in Salem, MA in October with a touch of information on the changing face of Neo-Paganism as it is expressed currently. Lauren Hallee recorded it onto Facebook Live. Thanks Lauren! And so I thought I’d share it with the wider world of Phillowers (those are Phil … More Lessons on Ministering in Salem, MA in October – video
I am coming to the 10th anniversary of being splattered onto the front page of the Wall Street Journal. The article was entitled, “Befriending Witches Still a Problem in Salem, Mass.” Those were difficult days, and the next four years would be filled with even greater difficulty, but looking back, I can say, I would not … More Befriending Witches Still a Problem: Looking Back, Looking Forward
“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Growing up and becoming serious about life may be the step just before death. Certainly, it is the death of much of life’s vibrancy. Watching children play, watching them express wonder in … More Our Clown Fears: Wildness, Weirdness, and Wrongness are NOT the Same Thing
Burning Religion 