Together 2016-A Native Perspective
Thousands filled the National Mall for Together 2016: Reset. This gathering was the vision of Nick Hall who had hoped to gather a million people. It was billed as "unprecedented", generation defining", and "historic". But Creator had a different agenda and used the weather to reset the schedule.
Pope Francis and U.S. President Obama sent greetings and the lineup of guest speakers included Francis Chan, Dr. Tony Evans, Sammy Rodriguez,and Nick Hall. Guest musical artists included Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, Hillsong United, Lacrae and others. Lacrae (above) sings his well-known song "Welcome to America".
Ya'at'eeh. My name is Mark Charles and I am the son of an American woman of Dutch heritage and a Navajo man. After living on the Navajo reservation for more than a decade, last summer my wife and I packed up our belongings and moved with our three children to Washington DC. Living in our nation's capital has been quite an adjustment from our quiet, simple life on the Rez. But one of the best parts of living in such an urban center is the numerous opportunities we have had to attend events, meet people and connect with organizations. In the past year I have been able to attend many events and join numerous conversations merely because they took place in the city where we live.
Together 2016 was one such opportunity. On Saturday, July 16, thousands of people filled the National Mall for this event which was also known as Reset 2016. This gathering was the vision of Nick Hall who hoped to gather more than 1 million people and result in 100,000 conversions. It was billed as an "unprecedented", "generation-defining" and "historic" event which required more than 5 years of prayer, planning, and promotion.
Hall is the founder of PULSE and has become a rallying voice for the millennial generation throughout the dominant culture of our country. According to his bio on the PULSE website, "Nick Hall didn't set out to found PULSE, he set out to share the hope of Jesus on his college campus-and so many people's lives were impacted that PULSE was founded to help keep the message spreading."
The vision behind Together 2016 was based on the conviction that "Jesus changes everything."
"Our generation is the most cause-driven in history," Hall stated. "But our causes are pulling us apart. Even religion doesn't unite. We believe only Jesus can bring us together."
The goal of Together 2016 was to bring together a generation of young people, setting aside the divisions caused by race, class, politics, social media and religion, and gather around Jesus as "one family and one body." Another major goal of this gathering was RESET. This word is related to technology where a reset clears past errors and gets the system working toward its created purpose.
"Each of us needs a reset, and Jesus offers everyone a supernatural reset."
Pope Francis and President Obama sent greetings. And many well-known speakers, artists, pastors, and evangelists were scheduled to be on stage throughout the day including: Lecrae, Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith, Amena Brown, Sammy Rodriguez, Francis Chan, Hillsong United, Josh McDowell, Crowder, Ann VosKamp, Dr. Tony Evans, Jeremy Camp, Christine Caine, Passion, and Nick Hall. And the entire event was free!
Now, to be honest, I am generally reluctant to attend such large public Christian events because as a Native man I have learned and experienced that a majority of the time the message is geared primarily towards the dominant culture and such large numbers and mass publicity can tend to draw our focus away from Creator. But my wife, Rachel, was interested in attending (so I wouldn't need to go alone). Plus, I was intrigued by what I was hearing about Together 2016, so I decided to attend.
The weather in DC has been extremely hot and muggy this summer, and while the National Mall contains a lot of open spaces to gather, it doesn't offer much in the way of shade and protection from the weather.
Because of this, we arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon, and the Mall was packed. I never learned the official estimate of the crowd but there were easily tens of thousands of people in attendance. The sky was clear and the weather was very hot and very humid. Signs everywhere were cautioning people to take frequent breaks out of the sun and to also drink plenty of water.
We eventually found a shady place to sit down and tried to figure out who was on stage and where things were in the schedule. One of the first speakers that I recognized was Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow. He gave a message about finishing strong.
Around 3:05 PM, just as a small cloud rolled in front of the sun providing some much needed shade, Nick Hall came on the stage and asked "Does anyone believe that Jesus changes everything?" And the crowd cheered. He went on "Is anyone thankful for that cloud?" The crowd roared its approval.
Nick went on to talk about the theme of RESET, which technically was not on the schedule until later that evening. He then introduced Matthew West (Second Chapter of Acts band) who led a chorus and was followed by Lecrae who performed his hit song "Welcome to America." I was thrilled that Lecrae had been invited because his message directly addresses race and racial injustice.
The event was scheduled to last from 9 AM to 9 PM but Hall was forced to come back on stage and deliver the impending news. Due to the heat and the large number of people who were experiencing heat-related symptoms and illness, the emergency personnel and local authorities were asking that the event be shut down early.
The next 45 minutes included a parade of hastily arranged speakers and artists (Including Francis Chan and Hillsong United) and then, nearly five hours early, Together 2016 ended.
It was an odd and abrupt conclusion to a day that was promoted as "unprecedented," "generation-defining," and "historic." And the fact that it was the weather which caused it to end early, led me to reflect on who, ultimately, we were there to please. I do not doubt the sincerity of Nick Hall, nor do I question the motivation of the speakers, artists and other organizers. But after living on the Navajo Reservation for more than a decade, I have grown in my understanding that God is not very impressed by numbers and He tends to define "unprecedented" and "historic" vastly different than we do (Matthew 6:5-6 and Mark 12:41-44).
Mark Charles is a speaker, writer, reconciler, who moved with his family to Washington DC for the express purpose of networking and exploring ways to initiate a national dialogue and develop the vision for a national Truth and Conciliation Commission in 2021. He heads up 5 Small Loaves, a non-profit organization which partners with the Christian Indian Center in Denver.
