JP: A Party for 30,000

Every now and then someone will ask me, "how can I increase my prayer life?" Typically I would suggest more time reading and studying the Word, having a list of specific things to pray for, specifically scheduling time, and really just gritting your teeth and going for it. However, now I have a new, sure fire solution - come spend New Years Eve at our Onething Conference with approximately 30,000 young adults filled with the joy of the Lord and celebrating His love for them in total abandonment.

If you watch it on the web, I'm sure that it probably looks like any of a number of emotionally charged, high volume, rock concerts complete with choreographed light system and a mosh pit. Yep, yep, yep, and yep. We even have the mosh pit! So, what's the difference?

First, it's free. They don't have to worry about getting their moneys worth. Secondly, it's not about what they can experience or get, it's about what they can give back. Too often we are weighed down with the cares and stresses of life and our lifestyles to even think about God. The only time we acknowledge the Lord is when we want something or when times are hard.

So, what makes these young people turn into human Mexican Jumping beans on New Years Eve? They truly believe the first six words of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world..." And Isaiah 62, "But you will be called Hephzibah (My delight is in you). As well as Zephaniah 3:17, "...He will exult over you with joy...He will rejoice over you with singing." The Hebrew word for exult is yagil which means to dance or to spin around with joy.

They figure what's good for the goose is good for the gander so the saying goes. Or to put it in IHOP lingo, what's good for the Bridegroom King is good for the bride. If He sings and dances while delighting in us, why can't they do the same in response? Who are we to hinder them from emulating God in response?

Thus you have the human Mexican Jumping bean sensation. Children of the King wanting to have fun and relish the joy of the Lord. Jumping, dancing, singing.

And we have the privilege of experiencing this as part of our job! I love to walk from the front of the auditorium to the back just watching all these people from all over the world worshiping our Savior as one body with the same joy. What a great way to ring in the New Year!!

And if the worship doesn't increase your prayer life, then the floor of the convention center bouncing up and down 3 - 4 inches while all 30,000 dance in unison definitely will!!