Passion: Worship for 24,000

You think you know what a lot of people is...I've done things with lots of people there...but being in close quarters with 24,000 people for 4 days is massive.  There were more than 22,000 attenders and more than 1,000 volunteers.  SO cool.  There are so many attenders of Passion that they run two simultaneous live venues.  Philips Arena holds 15,000 and there are 7,000 that congregate in the Georgia World Congress Center (did you know the world meets in GA?  me either).  The time when the most people were together in one place was actually during lunch on day 3...outside on the rotunda.

What made being with these 24,000 fantastic people so special is that these people were here for Jesus...to give Him, to receive Him, to serve Him, to know Him.  Just being with these amazing people encouraged me.  It should go without saying that they were nice (but we know that not every one who knows Christ is nice all the time...because we aren't nice all the time).  But there was a feeling in the air...Jesus was almost palpable.  He was so present.  It was true pretty much all the time...I always felt a heavy reverence...but never as wonderfully present as during worship.

   (GWCC)

I love praise and worship...whether it is personal, with my church family or at events.  But there was something about the worship at Passion that was overwhelming.  Chris Tomlin ushers you into the presence of the Lord (more on him in another blog).  The outpouring of the Spirit was so abundant that I spent most of the time I was able to take part choked up...uttering my praise to the Lord...or singing at the top of my lungs hoping He would hear my heart.

 (Philips)

Most of the time, I spent praise and worship in a room designated for the volunteers.  I was so proud to be part of a group so willing to pour themselves out for strangers (again, a topic for another blog), but they showed why they were willing servants in their worship.  These people so obviously love Jesus.  I will never forget singing Marvelous Light with them.  It was the first night with the live feed, and it wasn't working well.  The feed would go in and out...so Charlie Hall was only singing some of the time but, man, we praised God the whole time...we were never in the wrong spot or off key when Charlie would join us again!  It was transforming because it was such a raw outpouring of the heart.
The thing about worship is it sets me at the feet of the Savior.  It readies my heart to hear Him speak to me.  It softens my desires so I can hear His.  It's almost like the Spirit in me is awakened because He recognizes an attitude of praise...it reminds Him of home.
I feel myself trying to cling to the feeling that I didn't have to work to find at Passion.  I spent those four days sitting at His feet so I didn't have to find the time to get there like I do now.  On our first day back in our "real lives," I told Troy I was experiencing culture shock.  Everything in my life felt ordinary but me.  I felt extraordinary.  I am clinging to that feeling...because, truth be told, I am extraordinary.  The same Spirit that left me speechless or shouting praise is alive in me. 

But I am missing worship with the 24,000 today.  It is eternity set in my heart.