Just Dance...

A friend recently shared an interesting debate she encountered while organizing a dance for a Christian education institution, apparently there was some question regarding the music. Specifically, someone asked if Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” would be inappropriate. I mean she's a PK, right?

I don’t know, would it be inappropriate for an institution that advocates abstinence, purity, and combatting an “oversexed” culture to sponsor an event where Christian boys and girls dance together to a song discussing teenage romance, co-ed road trips, drinking, sex, and skinny jeans?

Hm, let’s pray about it.

But, honestly, this issue bothered me more than it should have. I suspect because I love dancing and…and I listen to Katy Perry.

Sure she celebrates kissing girls and wearing daisy dukes, but her music is fun--yes, it is--and who can hate on the song Firework?

This came up again on Easter when my brother broke out his recently acquired a Kinect and, with it, the game Dance Central. A group of Christians celebrating Resurrection Day by spending the afternoon dancing to Lady Gaga, Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne, and Pitbull.

Oh, and my 5 year old niece got in on the action too.

 *cringe*

But, oh man, we had a good time.

Maybe it's just me, I am, after all, a dirty girl with a potty mouth, but it has never sat well with me that, if I wanted to dance, I had to go outside the auspices of Christianity to do it. And widely outside of it.

The unfortunate truth is that I wouldn’t be comfortable playing this game with certain groups of my church friends.

(Not because I’m afraid I’ll look stupid, I’m an awesome dancer; I have Shaun-T and my Hip Hop Abs dvd)

I think the breakdown occurs when we equate dancing with sex and then, in turn, equate sex with sin (another conversation for another day).

But this doesn't have to be.

Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. Exodus 15:20

And David danced before the LORD with all his might… Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD… 2 Sam 6:14, 16

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. Romans 12:6

Maybe the question shouldn’t be, “is dancing a bad thing?” but rather, “Why don’t we dance around here?”

Maybe it’s time for The Church to reclaim the art of the dance (cue Spanish guitar riff).

I’m not exactly sure how to do that. The truth is, I can’t think of a lot of Christian dance music, though I think David Crowder could be a contender. Even so, I just can’t imagine shaking my booty to DCB the way I can to Lady Gaga. And I do like to shake it. I’m talking, like-a-polaroid-picture, shake it.

(It’s the timbrels, we need more timbrels...)

I’m hoping that I simply led a sheltered existence, are there churches wherein dancing is a thriving part of worship and fellowship? Where are they so I can start attending?

What do you think?

1. Why are we afraid to dance in the church
2. Which Christian artist would you dance to?

Church Music - Dance[!]

----UPDATE!!----

Because God likes thinks its funny to make an idiot out of me approximately three seconds after I posted this, someone mentioned Beckah Shae. I was pretty cynical because I don't have a lot of faith in Christian female artists (I know, sorry) but I'd dance to this. Virtuously!

It was also a huge oversight not to mention tobyMac, the patriarch and, arguably, the MVP of Christian hip hop.

(this is for you, Whit)

I'm Diving In...

Do you know that song by Steven Curtis Chapman?

"In diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I wanna be,
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I wanna go,
The river's deep, the river's wide, the river's water is alive,
So, sink or swim, I'm diving in."

I don't listen to much SCC anymore, but this was a good song. He wrote a lot of good songs, why don't I listen to SCC anymore?

This song came to mind this morning, in keeping with this year's One Word theme, I'm trusting in God and in my desires and diving in. I finally started organizing some thoughts that I have been gathering for the past ten years into something that could, possibly, be published.

I hate saying that. I hate putting that desire out there were it can be judged and where I am required to have a responsibility to it. Aren't dreams are easier to have when you know they can't be? It is easy to want to be a professional musician but it is scary to try to be a professional musician. It is easy to dream about being a writer while never trying to be published. It is easy to write a blog that your friends and family read but it is frightening to make it into something for others to read.

It's scary chasing dreams, isn't it. But why else do you have them?

So, I've dug out my dusty stack of journals, pored through, literally, hundreds of word documents with wonderfully descriptive labels like, "thoughts," "mindless ramblings," "rambleramble," and "musings" (yes, those are real filenames), and I'm writing.

I'd be remiss, even butting close to plagiarizing if I didn't mentioned the book, Quitter by Jon Acuff, author of one of the "Blogs I like" on the right. In addition to my amazing friends and family, God has used Jon, a stranger to help nudge me to this point. If you haven't read his blog, Stuff Christians Like, you should. Its very funny. I haven't read this book yet, as it's only on pre-order but you can view a good trailer (I know! Books have trailers!) here. I'm very excited about it!

So now that I've come out, let me ask you: what dream aren't you pursuing today? It's okay to be silly, this is a safe space. I'm a small town girl, with an associates degree, working as a receptionist...but I'm writing a book. What are you?

"Slow Dancing with Temptation" J. Acuff

This is a truly amazing post by Jonathan Acuff, author of "Stuff Christians Like." I highly recommend, I've subscribed to the blog and would order the book tomorrow if it wasn't in direct violation of my "stop buying things you don't need and simplify your life" covenant.

http://stuffchristianslike.net/2008/06/268-slow-dancing-with-temptation-the-dump-throwing-up-and-your-dad/