On the 2018 Download festival at Donington Park, it was my first time as a volunteer with their welfare team. The main reason I end up with them was because is run by The Order of the Black Sheep, a Metal church based in Chesterfield, England.
As someone that received a vision from God to start a metal church in the area where I live at the moment it was a catalytic experience to get involve with them.
At that specific Download something weird and the same time exciting happened.
Between two of my shifts I went to see At the Gates. Not that I’m a big fan of them, but I was free, they play Death Metal and there was a mosh pit (of course).
And this is where that thing happened. It was actually inside the pit that I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit becoming really tangible.
It was there, in the middle of a family crisis, that God was telling me, ‘It doesn’t matter what is happening in your life and how desperate you feel about it. What it matters is to where I want you to be.’
That wasn’t the mosh pit, irrespective of how much I love them, but waking in the path He put me in about the Metal community. Another way to say is, God told me ‘My grace is enough’.
The moment you feel God telling this is not like the well known stupid worship song.
It’s a moment that may make your heart sink because there is no indication whatsoever when or if you will able to get yourself out of this shit.
But is also a moment of a bizarre Spirit filled peace.
The even weirder thing that happened in that same mosh pit was that the Holy Spirit gave me the inspiration for this blog.
So, there we are. My own Tale from a Moshpit.
The mosh pit is like God’s presence.
You enter with dread but also with an anticipation to be part of a strong community.
As it should be inside the church, into the pit we are all brothers and sisters. We may never know each other’s names but we share a bond like no other, I can only likened it with the bond Jesus’ followers we have in Christ.
We enter the Pit with the awareness of an aggressive place and sometimes dangerous. Just try to mosh on a Cannibal Corpse set.
The same time it’s also a safe place. We may come out of it with bruised arms but it’s a place where a dad with his 6 years old son can enter and everyone is subconsciously aware that this little lad has to be come out safe and in one piece.
It’s a place that you will never belong if you think only for yourself and don’t give a shit about other people.
The pit looks chaotic but it has something of the Holy Chaos of the Holy Spirit. While it may look completely out of control, when someone fells three things happen.
One, some of us will use our bodies to stop the pit and protect the person on the ground. On a Wall of Death I went down with someone else landing on the of me, the next second a circle of people formed around us to stop others stepping on us. All this time didn’t feel unprotected at all.
Second, someone will lift you up.
And third, will be thrown again inside the pit.
God’s presence is a dangerous place but most of all is a safe place where we should be having fan.
When a brother or sister fells, active worship has to stop. People on the ground of despair first of all they need protection, and we must create a circle of protection around them and make aware the rest of us what happened.
No one’s is allowed to remain on the ground but when you been helped up you join the fan and the worship, even if have to be carried for some time.
During my darkest times in life, it was really therapeutic when I allowed the Holy Spirit to make His presence visible and enter actively into worship. Something like entering God’s presence.1
The mosh pit is a place where people with disabilities they’re not left out, as it happens of many of our churches. Just have a look on the countless pictures of wheelchairs crowd surfing.
Now you may tell me that there are also a few twats in the moshpits, and yes you are right but I found more inside churches and the wear suits.
Bilbo
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1I know that when Jesus Spirit comes in us, God’s presence is with us all the time but we have let it manifest in through our bodies
Thanks , I have really enjoyed reading this. It has given me food for thought, quite challenging really. Tim.