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June 6, 2008
Dancers Delight
In my high school, we were not allowed to have any organized "dance" type event until my freshmen year. I was on the student council and I got to help plan the dance. I love planning big parties, so this was a great time for me. The dance itself was a little bit like the movie "Footloose" except that in that movie, the teens all of a sudden know all these complex break-dancing moves even though they've never danced before. At my school, we just flopped around with glee at the freedom we were given. (By the time I was graduating, I started to wonder if the ban on organized dances was not such a bad idea. Our "Christian" student body quickly learned how to bump and grind as if it was MTV Spring Break.)
Even though in our brokenness, we often abuse the freedom to dance, I believe that dancing is a good gift from the Lord that can even be used in worship. I have challenged the NCF Music Team to memorize some scripture every weekend and this weekend's verse gives a specific call to get on the floor and move your body.
Psalm 149:3-4 3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. 4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
There are two classic narratives (that I can think of) that refer to dancing in the bible. One is the story of David dancing before the Lord, making himself undignified in fear of the awesome power of the Lord's holy presence. The other is Miriam taking up a tambourine and dancing after the Egyptian army was swallowed up by the Red Sea. In both stories, their dance was a response of reverence mixed with joy (see John Frame's "Worship in Spirit and in Truth" for a discussion of reverence and joy). This is a great way to tell what kind of dancing is appropriate in worship. Does it reflect reverence? Does it reflect joy?
Let me explain what I mean by dancing. Dancing is any thing you do to move your body in time with the music. Swaying is dancing. Clapping and tapping your feet are dancing. Moving your shoulders or your hips is dancing. Hand movements that demonstrate the meaning of the song like in "Ain't No Rock" are dancing. Dancing can be organized like a praise dancing or mime; it can also be spontaneous.
Psalm 149:4 gives us a reason to dance. First of all the Lord delights in you. I love that word, "delight". (Not just because it's the name of the early '90s classic dance group that gave the world, "Groove Is In The Heart.") Delight is a word that is very strong. I might appreciate time alone, but I delight in my wife. I might enjoy the company of friends, but I delight in my children. The Lord delights in His people, and that means that we can get undignified when we dance.
It also says that the Lord crowns the humble with salvation. He delights in us, but he also was to see us embrace the same humble heart that the Man of Sorrows had. As we worship with celebration and gladness, we do it with humble hearts before the Lord knowing that we have been blessed beyond what we could ever earn or deserve.
Sometimes, when I am leading worship at New City Fellowship, I can see somebody who looks like they would never move an inch in a million years start to twitch and then start to sway a little. Sometimes, they start to bob their head with the music (doing the "white man's overbite.") Sometimes that person completely forgets about the fact that they would never stand a chance on "So You Think You Can Dance?" Sometimes, they are filled with a kind of reverence and joy that envelops them in such a powerful way that their whole body starts to praise His name with dancing.
Groove is in the heart indeed.
Church Musican , Following Jesus , Worship | By Kirk Ward | 10:03 AM
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Comments
Deeelightful post.
I think the stories of Miriam and David are great examples of dance glorifying God. In college I took a sacred dance class that discussed the difference between dancing for God "sacred dance" and dancing just to enjoy the gift of movement (which can also be for God, but in society has become increasingly sexual). We also discussed why dance was frowned upon in many churches and what kind of things set the “Christian dancers” apart from non-Christian dancers during the time of David. For example, many pagan dancers, danced to appease the Gods: to bring fertility, good fortune, favor. Where as Christians danced because it was a natural response to the joy, reverence, awe they were experiancing. It was a neat class.
Party planning...I'm doing that right now for my coworker’s birthday! It IS fun.
Posted by: Heidi Vincent at June 6, 2008 11:01 AM