Wild and rambunctious hordes of uncontrolled enthusiasm. Sound like fun?

Outrageous and riotous crowds of untamed lunacy. Wanna join in?

No, we're not talking about the protests of the 60’s or even the streaking of the 70’s. We're referring to the more recent phenomena among college students (and other slightly eccentric “adults”) who simultaneously converge on unsuspecting locations to perform — as a group — a pre-planned, but totally illogical, act. Yes, they all meet somewhere together — even though they're all absolute strangers.

It’s called a “flashmob” and it's the latest and greatest fad among the “Internet generation” who receive their recreational marching orders from the little box on their desk connected to the world. They log on to www.flashmob.info to find out where and when the next harebrained “performance” is scheduled in their city or campus. I noticed they had 63,000 hits yesterday alone. (That's "yesterday" as of the day I'm writing, of course.) And they do stuff like this:

• In Cambridge, Mass., nearly 200 people descended upon the Harvard bookstore, mobbing the store’s greeting card section, all looking for a card for a friend named Bill.
• In Denver, Col., a large group appeared for 10 minutes at a mall, counted backwards from 60 to zero, mimicked playing ping pong against the floor — and then they were gone.
• In Sao Paolo, Brazil, 100 people showed up in the middle of the city’s main avenue, took off one of their shoes, repeatedly banged them on the street, and disappeared.

I counted 75 postings listing flashmobs all over the U.S. and in other countries. From Seattle to Jacksonville, from London to Hong Kong, everyone gets in on these moments of temporary insanity.

We dare not print post #75, though, recorded at 12:12 a.m. last night, lest we quench all this youthful hysteria. Okay, here it is anyway:

What is the point of this . . . are you all social degenerates? Get a life and do something more worthwhile than this! How incredibly sad.

Robert Zazueta, founder of Flocksmart.com, another organizer of flashmobs, counters disparaging post #75: “Some people see it as performance art, others a social outlet. Still others just see it as a way to freak out the tourists!”

The more I think about it, the more I believe flashmobs aren’t anything new. In fact, one of my favorite reads — the Bible — records a number of unruly, “out of control” human convergences that literally changed the world. This best seller of all time gives us incredible insights into the human psyche by describing God’s version of four flashmobs that He used to turn the world rightside up. Let me describe them:

Flashmob #1 at Shinar — Genesis 11
After the flood, God once again commanded the people to spread out, be fruitful, and multiply. Instead, they all chose to assemble at the plain of Shinar (modern day Iraq) and build a tower reaching up into heaven. Their goal was to combine their common language and strengths to oppose the plan of God and to “make a name for ourselves.”

If they were not going to voluntarily obey the Lord’s decree, then He would need to take action against this flashmob of a crowd. It was here that God gave every family a different language and thus forced them to “scatter abroad over the face of the earth.” The Lord of creation wanted the whole earth to be filled with His glory, not just Shinar.

Flashmob #2 in the Upper Room — Luke 24
Jesus had been brutally killed — unjustly nailed to a Roman cross. Now, His disciples were on the run, hiding from the authorities, afraid they might face the same fate their Master had. Like desperate criminals, they rendezvoused at a secret location, making sure the door was dead-bolted. Suddenly, the feeble, traumatized disciples froze, paralyzed with fear. Before their very eyes stood Jesus Himself telling them “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see . . . .”

At that moment, Christ opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, challenging them to leave their holy huddle and to proclaim repentance and forgiveness in His name “to all the nations.” This late night encounter with the resurrected Christ instantly transformed this pitiful little flashmob into a growing band of radical revolutionaries, now ready to risk life and limb to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Flashmob #3 at the Jerusalem Gate — Acts 6-8
Right before He ascended, Jesus delivered His last sermon to His followers, commanding them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). But Jerusalem was their city of choice, full of other believers and the comforts of life. And so . . . they stayed put. But the expansion and excitement of the newfound church encountered a major speed bump when the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious council) decided to call in Stephen, an unsuspecting Christian leader, who was about to receive the grilling of a lifetime.

Responding to his interrogators, Stephen boldly proclaimed the gospel, finally pointing the finger at the Jewish leaders as the ones who murdered Jesus. They all “cried out with a loud voice, covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.” Talk about a perfect description of a flashmob! The Sanhedrin and their followers then drug Stephen out of the city, and there, by the gate, stoned him to death. When word got around what had happened, a “great persecution against the church” broke out. The believers’ safe and sound bubble of protection burst and they were finally forced to do what Jesus had told them — to scatter throughout the regions and share the good news of salvation.

Flashmob #4 around the Throne — Revelation 7
The first three episodes I’ve described are historical and can only be re-enacted in our minds. But this fourth one is yet to come and, if we choose to, we can actually experience it. I’m telling you, you don’t want to miss this one! It’s going to be the mother of all flashmobs and a “by invitation only” gathering that God Himself will pull together. It began a long time ago with the aged apostle John who was exiled to the island of Patmos. First, God caused a deep sleep to come over him, and then proceeded to invade his mind with a series of mind-blowing visions describing the culmination of all of history.

We enter the scene in heaven where all of God’s angels, elders, and living creatures are falling on their faces in worship of Jesus Christ, the Lamb seated on His throne. But John also sees a huge assembly of people packed in like sardines around this illuminated throne, with the glory and radiance of God Almighty emanating from it. With white robes on and waving palm branches, John described this throng as “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues…”

With every imaginable skin color there, what a gorgeous tapestry of human diversity God has woven! With every language on the planet represented, what a beautiful symphony of praise God has mixed together in perfect harmony! If you’re a white, middle-class, Protestant American, you will no longer know what it means to be in the majority.

No, if you are there at the throne, you’ll be surrounded by black skinned Africans jumping up and down, repeating their praise chants to God. Across the way you’ll spot millions of Asian believers bowing low in quiet and humble adoration of their Savior. Glancing left and right, you’ll be overwhelmed by the variety of dress, customs and worship styles.

This flashmob, though, is not just a 10 minute interlude of mindless frivolity created to escape the pain of an empty life. No, around this throne, time and eternity stand still as every believer that has ever lived and died is now in the very presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

A word of advice, then: You’ll be spending all of eternity worshipping God, why not get started now? Y’know — just to get in practice!

Yes, our God is a gathering God, but He’s also a scattering God. At Shinar, the Upper Room, and Jerusalem, God told His people to scatter — to spread out and take His name and His glory all over the earth. He wasn’t pleased with their man-made flashmobs designed to thwart His worldwide plans to launch His children across the entire planet and give every human being a chance to be part of His ultimate flashmob — the one around the throne in heaven someday. The Lord took some pretty drastic steps to get His people out of the stands and into the game. Take the test below to find out if you’re a player — or just a spectator.

A Final Questionnaire:
1. Do you spend daily time worshipping Jesus, the Lamb of God?
2. Have you “scattered,” so that God can use you to reach the unreached?
3. Are you “co-gathering” with God, recruiting others to join you at the eternal flashmob?

Sorry, but you’ll have to grade yourself. I’ve gotta go. I need to log on and post an upcoming flashmob. This is how it will read:

Let’s all meet in heaven, around the throne of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Bring a white robe, a palm branch, and your favorite worship songs. Oh…and pass the word. We want this to be the biggest and best flashmob ever!