So this is what tailgating for the soul looks like.
Lawn chairs and space heaters. Cornhole boards and coolers. Footballs and beanbags. And long lines stretching down the grass medians and both sides of Elevation Church.
"This is history," says church member Stephanie Pittman. "In our day and time, just look at how many people are tailgating for hours to hear The Word!"
Here at Elevation's performing arts center in Blakeney, we're two hours away from the start of the Wednesday installment of "Code Orange Revival." The 12 days of worship are drawing thousands each night to south Charlotte for a contemporary take on the traditional Christian ceremony of spiritual renewal.
Building on its trademark, high-energy, high-production worship style, Elevation has produced a service that is equal parts rock concert, YouTube video and full-immersion social-media experience.
As with any revival, there's plenty of fervent preaching and prayer. But in keeping with Elevation's custom, it is backed by light shows and the throbbing bass and pounding drums of live Christian rock. Most nights feature a prominent and charismatic guest preacher (Is there a better name for the job anywhere than Stovall Weems?).
What many prefer as a private communion with God has gone high-def, big-screen and viral. It is not contemplative. It is not for everyone. But Code Orange's style of performance-art worship offers a boldness and power that Weems, in his sermon, says the world sorely needs.
God Swagger, he calls it.
"Astounding," says Chris Killian, a 19-year-old Charlottean who heard about the revival through Facebook and came to see it for himself.
Amber Nealey of Fort Mill, S.C., and Tori Frazier of Cherryville have been coming all week. They met in line Monday. By Wednesday, they were best friends.
They've had plenty of time to get acquainted. Nealey, the first in line Wednesday, got to Elevation about 10 hours before the doors opened around 6 p.m. Frazier joined her an hour later.
In conjunction with Code Orange, Elevation has launched its 24-hour "Elevation Network," on which viewers can watch the revival live or on replay at 10:12 p.m. While the church expects up to 40,000 souls to attend the celebration, creative pastor Larry Hubatka says the ceremonies are being watched in 116 countries. Tweets, 25,000 and growing, have come from as far away as New Zealand and Brazil.
Tuesday night, Elevation baptized more than 200 attendees. Across the world, a small church in Thailand timed 27 baptisms of its own to coincide.
"I'm a country boy from Moncks Corner, S.C., and I didn't never know that God (would give me the chance) to affect somebody's life in Bangkok," Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick tells the crowd at the start of Wednesday's ceremony.
"This is a worldwide revival. We're reaching nations. You can sit there and be cool if you want to ..."
Furtick's words draw a roar and the crowd to its feet. Arms wave. Fists pump.
The message is clear: Jesus is entering the building.
Tech-fueled worship
Across the country, houses of worship "have found an ally in technology," says Jim Long, managing editor of OutReach magazine, which writes about congregations and faith.
"Churches continue to innovate to convey to as many people as possible a very personal message of hope," he says.
Lifechurch.TV may have created the industry's interactive model, Long says, with online church services and a free copy of the Bible that's been downloaded more than 30 million times.
Elevation, a Southern Baptist congregation and one of the fastest-growing evangelical churches in the country, has launched its enhanced online ministry from the hometown of Billy Graham, who a half century ago masterminded using radio and TV to preach to a mass audience.
Elevation spokeswoman Tonia Bendickson, citing the demands of the revival, said Furtick was not available for questions Thursday. But in an online video message, he says that Code Orange symbolizes a new urgency for Christians to examine their relationship with God in 2012.
Bendickson says donations from church members are paying the Code Orange bills. The costs won't be known until after the revival ends Sunday, she says, and the church wouldn't disclose what the visiting preachers are being paid.
'All beautiful for Jesus'
Outside the Elevation-Blakeney building on Wednesday night, orange is everywhere. Pittman, wearing a Team Jesus jersey, wanders through the crowd painting orange replicas of Elevation's insignia on the cheeks of the waiting.
"There you go, girls," she tells two tiny blond clients. "All beautiful for Jesus."
The doors open, the seats fill. It is a young crowd, but older worshipers are well represented. Entire families are here. Many have attended every night.
As a large digital clock counts down, the big screen above the sanctuary offers a stream of incoming tweets (#codeorangerevival). I want to Tebow on the stage. What would Jesus tweet? If you live ANYWHERE in the country and can get to Charlotte, get here before it ends.
The clock approaches zero. The band members of "Elevation Worship" take the stage, offer a welcome, and then blast into their set. The crowd sings along. Furtick appears. Elevation's 31-year-old leader wears an orange polo shirt buttoned to the top.
Before he brings Weems to the stage, he urges the crowd to "fill the house with hunger and responsiveness. SHOUT HIM DOWN in this house of God."
Weems, head of the 13,000-member Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Fla., speaks of the revival as a "lay hold moment," a chance for the audience here and around the world to "lay hold" of God's purpose for their lives.
Toward the end of his sermon, Weems' voice rises and the words boom across the sanctuary. Thousands, again, are on their feet. Furtick on stage moves side to side like a boxer warming up before a round.
"The city of Charlotte thinks it needs a lot of things. What it needs is a revelation of the son of God," Weems shouts. "This is the lay-hold moment. Code Orange Revival is not going to stop when the rally nights end. It's going on for the entire year. IN CHARLOTTE. ALL OVER THE WORLD. AND IN YOUR LIVES!"
Fifteen minutes later, it ends.
On codeorangerevival.com, though, the tweets roll on through most of the night. Several just home from the revival say they plan to relive the entire experience on their computers before they fall asleep.
