Burning Man
Here in South Korea we pretend to be a gambling family. That cigar was not actually lit, nor had we ever played any kind of gambling game. We did not let that minor detail stop us from dressing up to snap a few photos. In Christ, we can and should strive to understand the cultural context where we live, in order to better adapt our witness of the gospel to those around us.
Burning Man is self-described as a "temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance." However, the management is becoming increasingly desirous of protecting the commercial value of its entity.
Energy Consumption
The Temple of Burning Man:
“The one consistently memorable moment we have had though is our Temple walk. The Temple is one of the only sites where there is no party. No loud music. Occasional singing and acoustic sounds like a guitar/sitar but nothing caustic. It is where people go to say goodbye to a marriage and leave their certificate after their divorce. One of the most heartbreaking items and reflections left this year was the hat of a man who had attended and died. There was a note accompanying it from his parents who had come to the festival just to leave it behind, say goodbye and then watch it burn to the ground along with everyone else's heartaches and disappointment. It is honestly impossible to walk through that space and not tear up.”
“The night the man burns is a party. The night the Temple burns there is silence,” he said. “50,000-60,000 people just sitting their silently letting things go and heading home to reflect and focus. Our first year we sat next to a woman who had met her second husband at Burning Man after the passing of her first nearly 25 years prior. He had also passed away. She brought some of the clothes she had met him in to watch burn as she said thank you for the years spent together.”
The powerful sense of loss emanating from this quote above is haunting and should properly tear at your heart. Herein the message of 1st Peter 3 would fit well with the spirit of this Burning Man festival. I sense a paucity of hope in the message above, They bring memorabilia of a dearly loved one and sit heartbroken watching the items burn, ostensibly having no sure hope they will ever see these people again.
This is most contrary to the hope so profoundly woven through the Bible, where we have every assurance and hope from the God who created this entire universe ex nihilo. If the promises of the Bible are not true, then it is surely the silliest of all books and the believers are surely the most pitiable of all people.
The Resurrection of the Dead (KJV)
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (1st Corinthians 15:12-19)
“My camp as a larger group build a massive sheep shaped art care with full sound system to host parties that are a truly inclusive place for all LGBTQ individuals,” the festival-goer went in-depth about Burning Man 2019 with Bored Panda.
“We also let anyone ride our car and ensure it is a place of inclusivity. Overall, the community of Burning Man avoids the discriminatory pitfalls of the default world and is a true alternate universe and example of what the world would be like if we valued each other more than the things we personally have. The week is full of kindness and excitement. Sure it is dusty, but that environment is simultaneously useful in its ability to disarm even the fanciest of attendees.”
Tradition is Not Preserved:
“My husband is an engineer and loves the urban planning and engineering aspects of it. If you could rebuild NYC once a year from the ground up, would you change the road names? What about the street directions? Where would you locate the most important facilities like the ER? Burning Man gets to redesign itself each year and it is super fun to watch urban planning get a second, third, etc. chance. That just doesn't happen in regular life.”
“The most memorable moments are rarely the loud ones. They are the trips home in the crisp air at dawn with your partner just reflecting on how crazy the world can be,” Travis revealed the more romantic side of the festival. “Wondering what it would have been like if you never knew this pocket of fabulously cool people even existed because you never were persuaded to come years ago.”
And Tradition Seeking Preservation:
“Those who have been deeply affected by a Burning Man event or experience have often asked, ‘How can we bring this beyond the event?’ ‘How can we make this really matter?’ And we too have wondered, ‘What would it mean to have a year-round location beyond the playa? What if we had a place to experiment with and apply the Ten Principles 365 days a year, in addition to the one-week event?’”
This is where the rubber hits the road, and reality asserts itself. Evanescent Dreams expire when responsibility to recognize the authentic existence of others comes to the fore. The NT command to Love God above all else and then Love your neighbor as yourself" is therein revealed to every genuine, persevering seeker of the Truth as being far and away the most challenging task among all challenges that the world has to offer, and the expensive (having to sacrifice one's proud conception of himself, counting his accomplishments in life as "dung," as the Apostle Paul does).
Leadership Model from Burning Man:
"You can absolutely help someone achieve their vision, but Burning Man culture encourages you to have your own vision as well. So the most common criteria for leadership simply don’t apply in Burning Man culture, and are even counter-productive.
Burning Man’s own descriptions of its leadership practice have never fully addressed this issue. They have mostly centered around communications trainings and identifying 18 leadership qualities that they believe effective leaders should have. These are:
- Inspiring
- Collaborative
- Actively Listening and Communicating
- Accountable
- Self-Aware
- Patient
- Appreciative
- Acts with Integrity
- Emotionally Intelligent
- Comfortable in the Gray Areas
- Looks for the Greatest Benefit vs. The Immediate Goal
- Perceives the Big Picture Excellent Principle. Jesus keeps a searing focus on eschatology. He gives the most dire warnings on Hell, and speaks more on hell than on Love or Marriage.
- Leads by Example (Amen! Jesus does precisely this, washing the disciple's feet, among so many other things.)
- Leaves Ego Behind
- Leads outside of the organization, in the community
- Open to New Ideas
- Curious
- Fun!!!! (Not always, particularly when you are called to sacrifice yourself. Getting burned at the stake for an unwillingness to recant your faith in Christ. Or, losing your job to a Cancel Culture Zealot for the same reason; you refuse to check your faith at the door.)
These seem to me to be excellent traits for a leader to have — but in a way that applies to any leader, anywhere. Wouldn’t we want a corporate CEO to have these qualities? A President of the United States? A college professor, a Boy Scout leader, and a tennis coach? Yes — I think we would."
Agreed. We can learn a lot about how to manage evangelical churches from this synopsis on leadership principles from Burning Man. And we could add a few of our own:
1. Obedience unto the LORD.
2. Check your pride at the door.
3. Think more highly of others than yourself (Philippians)
4. Do unto others as you would be done by.
5. Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, revealing an indwelling Priesthood of the Believer.
Burning Man Reveals Its Plan To Be The First Festival To Go Virtual In Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic
While the possibility of reconnecting in Black Rock City remains unclear, the team has extended a spiritual invitation of sorts. "This year’s Burning Man theme is an invitation to emerge from our collective isolation, to explore the unfamiliar contours of a changed world, and to reimagine ourselves, our community, and our culture in ways that might not have been possible before this period of plague and pause," the post reads.
The post's author, Stuart Mangrum—director of the Philosophical Center of Burning Man Project—further explained the idea behind the theme, writing that it stems from our "longing to reconnect" after a dismal year. "It is in that spirit that we propose it as a watchword for this new age of exploration, fueled not by dreams of conquest but by a passion to rediscover ourselves – and each other – in a radically altered psychic and social landscape," he wrote.
https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/12/9316421/burning-man-threatens-legal-action-after-quiznos-parody-video
The nonprofit behind Burning Man (unsurprisingly) lacks a sense of humor, and it didn't take well to the parody trailer, which mimics The Maze Runner as it sees a group of millennials enter into the strange, strange world of Burners.
Perhaps Burning Man would be better served by seeing if there's any truth in the advice a hardened Burner gives festival-goers in the parody trailer: "You kids won’t last a day out on the playa without subtle exposure to corporate influence."
Burning Man's debauchery in the desert | Daily Mail Online
Quote: "This week, the festival had to be put off for a day after highly unseasonal torrential rain hit the 1.5-mile diameter campsite. The scenes were almost Biblical in their desolation — a sea of mud stretching in every direction and tens of thousands of people stranded in a desert that suddenly became a quagmire."
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