America in the mid 1800s was a brutal place, both for the wave of American settlers moving to new land, and for the native Americans already living there and fighting both the invaders and other tribes. The tally of battles, raids and utter chaos on both sides is staggering, history yet again showing us how bad things can get between people where territory is concerned.
A well-known figure from that era was Quanah Parker. His father was a native American and his mother was a European-American girl, abducted in a raiding party, called Cynthia Anne Parker. Quanah was a war leader of the Kwahadi band of the the Comanche Nation, a tribe that had dominated for a long time.
The Comanche were wild and nomadic; they had a fighting and raiding range of about 400 miles, which for the time was massive. One of the things that enabled their rise was the use of horses. The Spanish mastery of horses, and the huge culture of breeding horses and breaking them was absorbed into Comanche culture; they saw it and used it. Quanah Parker has been depicted riding one of his stallions bare-chested, with a war bonnet of eagle feathers, face painted, hair braided and a bow made from animal sinew. At the time, it would have been a real problem seeing him ride into your town.
Why does this matter? Well, Quanah Parker is also known, and criticised by some, for later becoming a rancher and adopting some European-American ways of life, for letting go of some of his own historic culture, dress, speech and more, although he always kept his braids. The horseback warrior changed; to some, he sold out.
We live in a time of confusion, of fluidity, of people searching for identity in a tide of shifting culture that says “This is it, this is who you need to be to be understood and accepted”. So how do we navigate it? Should we be the mounted warrior with a war bonnet, or blend in and assimilate as best we can?
For me, there is a different culture, a different set of codes or patterns to live by. Found in the Bible is the fruit of the spirit; things that will direct me towards living well, and living with my creator. These might feel like passive, defensive things, but when lived out correctly, you’ll be a warrior, with or without the eagle feathers.
Each year around the time of the Summer Solstice, another significant event occurs. The Gathering is an annual men’s festival which has been run for over ten years by CVM – Christian Vision for Men. So why did 1500 men gather in a field near Swindon? Bob Fraser was one of them, he reports for Sorted Magazine:
Bob writes:The Gathering is an annual men’s festival which has been run for over ten years by CVM – Christian Vision for Men. It always takes place in a field near Swindon. This year we saw an eclectic mix of activities like five-a-side football, sword fighting, wrestling, archery, axe throwing, climbing wall, Zorb football etc. and some indoor stuff like Scalextrix, board games, darts, and chess. There was an array of classic and high performance cars on display and a bar.
Carl Beech (on stage) addresses the crowd in the main tent.
It was something quite unique, and this year 1500 men booked in, many between the ages of 20 and 40. Free tea and coffee was available for the duration of the event. There was a doctor’s surgery, some inspirational stories, various seminars, some very silly moments, and a bag piper. Many of the men attending were from CVM groups located around the UK. Many others were invited along by a mate. I met several fathers who had brought their sons along. (you have to be over 18 to attend).
A number of those I chatted to were part of an army of stewards. These are the guys who work behind the scenes looking after car parking, marshalling events, providing catering for the team and guests, keeping the toilets clean and helping set up and dismantle the site.
Main sessions started off with Steve Legg (Founder of Sorted Magazine and all-round funny man) leading a sing-along and then hosting a darts competition. The Saturday evening main session included an international tug-of war competition, which England won, and a fancy dress theme, which this year was ‘Christmas’. There were some bizarre entries but the winning outfit was a close run thing between Bruce Willis and Baby Jesus, but Bruce Willis inevitably triumphed against overwhelming odds!
But alongside all the fun and nonsense there was some more serious stuff about life, faith and hope. With his inimitable humorous style Carl Beech, CVM President, gave a clear and heartfelt call for men to respond to the Gospel. Nathan Blackaby, CEO of Christian Vision for men said: “This year was incredible. We saw about 120 guys come forward in response to the Gospel appeal from Carl, through the worship, the seminars, and the powerful testimonies.”
There was live music, of course, and later on the Saturday night, a Madness tribute band performed, before the evening concluded with a huge fire pit to gather round. Main sessions saw worship from Graham Kendrick and the band, which this year included a pedal steel guitar player and a brass backline. Their version of Chain Breaker became a solid favourite of the weekend.
John from Bolton was at The Gathering for the first time and had been really moved by the testimonies and all that Carl Beech had said. He also attended a seminar given by Tania Bright and Bekah Legg entitled What women want men to know. I attended that seminar along with about 400 others and afterwards John said: “I wish I’d known before I got married what I now know from attending that seminar!”
Inside the mess tent at The Gathering 2024.
Jonathan came for the first time with a group from Leyland near Preston. He compared The Gathering to other Christian festivals he’d been to and said: “There’s often an expectation to come as a model Christian man, whereas at The Gathering, it feels very open, very welcoming, and you can come just as you are.”
Matt was another first-timer who enjoyed banter and conversation with other blokes: “I loved all the activities, the humour, the testimonies and all the activities on offer.”
Many men don’t have much experience of worshipping with 1500 blokes. Neil from Leyland commented: “Worshipping with 1500 brothers in Christ was just amazing”. Andy from North Wales said: ”I’ve loved seeing Christian men coming together and being men! I’ve just had a go at the axe throwing and was rubbish at it! But we’ve come together and worshipped the Lord and it’s been great to be part of it!”
Carl Beech (left) and Paul Gask (right) enjoying the Christmas fancy dress competition.
Before I left the site to head home, I chatted with CVM Director ‘Gasky’ (pictured above right). He said: “I’ve had the privilege of serving with the CVM team and there’s been so many amazing stories of guys getting rid of all sorts of garbage that none of us is immune from, and surrendering it at the Cross. It’s been a fantastic weekend.”
I believe that The Gathering truly is a unique event. Many blokes have already taken advantage of booking in already for next year’s Gathering at a discount rate. So many of the men I spoke to over the weekend were blown away by the atmosphere and had not come across anything like it before and were unsure how they might describe it to their nearest and dearest, or indeed their church friends when they get home.
Bob Fraser caught up with Carl Beech (President) and Nathan Blackaby (CEO) of Christian Vision for Men (CVM) to chat about CVM resources and their annual men’s festival The Gathering.
For some time now church has been a place in which many men have felt uncomfortable, and it’s got nothing to do with the seating. CVM President, Carl Beech, explained: “There are very few men attending church who are between the ages of 18 and 35. There are even less working class men showing up. Church activities are pitched largely at the women and children as they are the ones mainly attending.
“Many churches have no events on offer to enable the men of faith to invite a friend to, confident that it won’t put their friend off. Something needed to change in order for men to engage with the message of the gospel and equip the church in that task.”
In his 2005 ground-breaking book Why Men Hate Going to Church Canadian author David Murrow was amongst the first to point out that many churches have no strategy to connect with men. In fact many churches have very few men showing up at all. The same is true in the UK. He researched statistics and established that, in many churches, there are between two and three times more women attending than men. He suggested that the men who do show up seem, on the whole, passive, bored or uneasy.
CVM CEO Nathan Blackaby said: “We looked at the UK statistics and this revealed that those least likely to be attending church are single, working class men. (Source: Office National Statsitcs/Tearfund 2007 BBC Survey) and only 33% of men felt comfortable in church (Source: YouGov 2014/Sorted Magazine) Clearly, a strategy was needed to reverse this trend.”
Styles of leadership, worship and discipleship are also factors, and for many non-church blokes there are fears of being associated with something that isn’t particularly manly. Church scandals and wrong perceptions abound, all contributing to the notion that if you want to meet up and do something with a few mates, it’s unlikely to be in a church environment. And Carl explained why it’s not just a problem in traditional churches with liturgy and pews. He said: “Even in more contemporary church expressions, some worship songs have lyrics which reflect a romantic view of Jesus, which a lot of men will find hard to align with. There was a time when the hearts of men were stirred by a traditional hymn. Those same men would find some of today’s worship songs difficult to sing with integrity.” Well aware of the challenges with men and church, CVM came up with a strategy for a different way of connecting with men.
The CVM strategy consists of four levels of activity
Level One is about creating activities or opportunities to bring men together where there is no great spiritual context. It’s all about enjoying some fun stuff together, building genuine friendship and trust beyond the walls of the church building.
Level Two is about creating events where there is some kind of spiritual input, like a breakfast or a curry night with a guest speaker, when believing men can invite their friends along. Men will often show up if food is on the agenda, and hearing stories of how life has changed after someone encountered Jesus holds the potential to open up a conversation about life and faith.
Level Three is about developing the conversation by perhaps offering a series of meetings where men can explore in more depth what it means to follow Christ. Men might discuss the values they aspire to and the changes that may need to take place in their life, their priorities or their thinking.
Level Four is about helping churches develop an ongoing and sustainable strategy to connect with men and change the environment in church services. Men will bond more readily when they engage in a shared activity, but as many churches have a shortage of men turning up, the starting point for all this connection may need to happen elsewhere.
Nathan enthused: “CVM has a growing number of men’s groups partnering with them, operating at a local level. Some belong to one church, others a combined effort involving several churches. There are also regional events and we also produce high quality resources for use by individuals or small groups.”
The group which I run in the North West has made use of some of these resources and they’ve been effective in bringing a focus and getting a conversation going. In particular Carl’s book 52 Men of the Bible provides enough material for a year’s worth of discussions if you meet weekly, or four year’s worth if you meet monthly.
In addition to hard copy books, a significant amount of CVM’s resources are now downloadable. The Code is another well used resource with 12 game changing statements written by men for men. Each statement looks at what it’s really like to follow Christ wholeheartedly.
CVM have created an interactive platform: Winning Men is available as a Smartphone app. It includes a four level course, top tips for men’s activities, a church audit tool and loads of helpful ideas. It’s all available free, and the platform thrives on helpful interaction, comments, questions and engagement.
The Gathering
In 2014 Carl Beech founded a men’s festival called The Gathering. This has become an annual event which takes place, now somewhat famously, in a field near Swindon. In 2019 the attendance rose to 2400 men.
The Gathering has live comedy, cool cars, a five-a-side tournament, a bar, live music, walking football, axe throwing, Zorb football, inflatable games etc. Alongside that there is worship, relevant bible teaching, life stories, scalextric, bonfires and loads more.
The Saturday night meeting usually has a theme for the dress code and in 2019 it was the medieval age. That experience will live long in my memory. In 2023 the theme was animals!
Photo: The Gathering2023 Darts Competition with Sorted Magazine’s very own Steve Legg – Steve Legg, Magician and CVM’s John Stockley dressed as a Unicorn!
