Weekend Talk: Dancing for his glory
f my reason for attending church was to watch people dance, I would have joined the Church of Pentecost.
I have seen a local assembly of the church in jubilation, and, boy, you can’t help but admire the scene.
The apostles and elders descended from the elevated platform to the open floor below in suits and black shoes, with handkerchiefs in hand, and moving in a queue as if they had rehearsed the dance.
With their faces glowing in spiritual ecstasy, they bent slightly forward and moved methodically, swinging to the left and right, while the rest of the congregation followed in pure celebration with dance.
This is quite unlike some of our reformed traditions, where ministers and elders hardly dance, clap, or make a joyful noise unto the Lord to express themselves.
Vigorous dancing
Most vigorous dancing takes place during offering, and we learn from the Bible that Jesus once sat near the treasury and observed people offering their monetary contributions (Mark 12:41).
Could it be that just as the Lord sees the money we drop into the treasury, he also observes the dance we offer him?
And if the Lord observes our dancing at church, what might he be seeing?—Beautiful dancing?
Questionable moves? Seductive dancing?
Wicked strides? Holy dancing?
By the way, is there a holy dance and an unholy dance?
There may be a book on holy dancing, but I haven’t found one yet.
Scripture certainly has guidelines regulating our way of life, but does it include dancing?
What dance did I see at a congregation the other day?
Was that “kunfu dancing” or “azonto” or “one corner” or “aben wo ha” or “break-dancing”? Ei!
Women dancing
Because of how they are created, women tend to attract men no matter what they do: lying down, sitting, walking by the road or walking down the church pews.
And especially dancing.
Many centuries ago, a girl mesmerised a king with her dancing, and the king promised her half his kingdom.
The girl didn’t want a kingdom. Ill-advised by her mother, she asked for the head of Prophet John the Baptist.
You can argue that it was not the dance but the king’s moral weakness that led to the beheading.
That argument itself acknowledges that seductive dancing encourages immorality that leads to fatalities.
Question: Does seductive dancing occur in church settings, and can it result in the downfall of ministers and church leaders?
Youth dancing
The youth in all the congregations attended the same school of dancing.
They dance vigorously in active formation, exerting energy and making a joyful noise unto the Lord.
That may be another way of remembering their Creator in the days of their youth.
However, after spending their energies in enthusiastic dancing, they step out to cool down and end up loitering about.
The preacher would be halfway through the sermon by the time they returned to the auditorium.
Some of them get so tired that they easily doze off, especially if they spent the previous evening in some dance at a Saturday night wild party.
Some youth dance well, I tell you.
They don’t loiter about afterwards, don’t sleep at church, do missions and serve the Lord with their musical talents and gifts of teaching at the children’s service.
Kudos, young brothers and sisters!
Dance offering
Unlike King Herod Antipas, who was hypnotised by Salome’s seductive dancing, King David did the dancing himself, worshipping and celebrating the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
So Scripture upholds dance as worship. Praise and thanksgiving dance is self-expressive, connecting with our emotions in deep gratitude to the Lord.
When the Israelites miraculously crossed the Red Sea, Miriam and the women spontaneously sang and danced in praise of God (Exodus 15).
I remember the day I visited an older woman and parted with a few cedis.
Her jubilation seemed exaggerated, but seeing her dance with raised hands in praise of God was refreshing.
Dancing that honours God is scriptural.
Psalm 149:3 says, "Praise his name with dancing, make music with the timbrel and harp."
And the entire Psalm 150 urges us to praise God with dancing accompanied by musical instruments.
The missionaries who condemned African drumming and dancing in church because they thought it resembled idol worship got it all wrong.
Thanks be to God to prominent Ghanaian musicologists such as J. H. K. Nketiah, Ephraim Amu, Ato Turkson and others for their great work in African music and dance.
The Prophet Jeremiah, prophesying about the future joy and peace awaiting God’s people, said we shall rejoice with music and dance because the Lord will turn our mourning into joy, sorrow into rejoicing (Jeremiah 31:13).
If so, we better practise proper dancing right from here!
