Saturday night our church held an all-night prayer vigil of worship and intercession. It was great -- about 30 adults (out of about 80 total we have in the church) showed up with their kids at 9 pm Saturday night to begin the 12-hour vigil. Most of the kids came in pajamas and went to sleep in sleeping bags in the back of the sanctuary or in a Sunday school room after the first hour or two.

For the rest of the adults, it was a wonderful time to pray, worship, intercede, and get to know each other. Around 3 am, it had the strange dynamic of spiritual intensity combined with the casual friendliness of a junior-high sleepover. Except with 35-year-olds.

It was serious and silly, desperate, laid-back, intense, honest, and absurd. It was, without question, the most important thing our church has done since I joined two years ago.