The quiet before the storm...

It's late Friday night. I'm in a hotel in downtown Nashville. From where I sit in the corner, cribbing wifi and typing as quietly as possible, I can hear the rhythmic breathing of my four children and my wife - all asleep in the beds. The occasional Harley roars down Commerce Street ten floors below, still managing to rattle our windows.

Tonight I mc'd an all-worship night in the hotel's Grand Ballroom. Three amazing groups and an even more amazing crowd. The hotel told us the room sat 2000. They didn't give us an estimate of what it would hold if we crammed them in there like sardines, shoulder to shoulder in the aisles and down front. The hotel also didn't expect three and a half hours of what they heard and saw - all those people on their feet, often dancing as wildly as space would allow them. This was not the church meeting they anticipated when I booked the room

For me, Pocket Full of Rocks was a highlight because I'd never heard them - I was blown away. I will buy me some o' that music. You should too. In fact, buy two or three or nine copies. These guys have great hearts and a phenomenal sound...and when I transitioned them, their only concern was "did we play too long?" No prima donnas here!

Of course, the bands have all packed up and the gear is stowed. People have filtered to their rooms all across the city in anticipation of tomorrow, when we gather at LP Field. We have no way of anticipating how large the crowd will be right now, but indicators are that it will be massive. Jumbotrons are already in the parking lot. My kids are incredibly jazzed - they want to hear 100,000 voices sing the same song. So do I. I think God does too.

A few other highlights of the day

• Seeing some of our peeps from Cincinnati
• Grabbing a bit of time with Sean and Danielle from LA
• Reuniting with the gang from ICLV. During one of the transitions tonight, I declared Las Vegas my newly adopted hometown. Many whoops followed - primarily from their group down near the stage!
  
• Deciding that 'heck yeah, I've made some good hiring decisions" with my team right now. Sarah and Alysha - you two rock! Looking forward to working with them and the others that we're assembling in the next few weeks. Leading a fun, effecive team has always been fulfilling for me and it looks like we've got ourselves some winners.
  

I'm going to bed....or rather, going to sleep. I think the beds in this room are full! I hope I can rest....I'm going to need it. In all the anticipation, I'm reminded of Russell Crow's line in Gladiator - "At my signal, unleash hell."

Tomorrow, we unleash heaven.