I am motivated to write about dance because the Bible tells us to dance and we don’t—not in church—and because dance has been taken away from Christians at the cultural level by worldliness. It became personal when my daughter told me about the horrors of her first prom—the immodest dresses were one thing (a neck line that went down to a girl’s navel), but the grinding line that stretched around the gym was pornographic—she and her friends, however, were left to stand by and do nothing; they didn’t have a dance alternative.

Holy dance that celebrates God or right human pleasure is so far removed from our culture that Christians feel too ashamed to dance or compelled to apologize for doing so.

In the Bible, dance serves essentially two functions: to worship God (2 Samuel 6:14, Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:4) and to celebrate life, good fortune, and victories (Exodus 15:20, 1 Samuel 18:7, Job 21:11, Ecclesiastes 3:4, Jeremiah 31:4, 13). These are two good reasons Christians should, in a godly way, participate in dance and bring it back to our culture.

We can return dance to our services of worship in several ways, from actions that are not intrusive or awkward to more elaborate and direct activities. First, worship services that allow for standing, clapping, and at least toe-tapping already put us in the position to move rhythmically with the songs we’re singing. It isn’t much of a stretch from this position to encourage people to sway or side-step if they want to.

Second, we can try doing what we say we’re doing in our songs. If we sing, “We bow down, and we worship you Lord” we should mean it and do some bowing. If we sing, “I stand in awe of you,” we should stand up. Otherwise let’s start being honest about what we sing: “Though I’m sitting here comfortably in the pew, I stand at least in a symbolic way in awe of you.”

Many churches have “special music” during the offering. How about a “special dance” once in a while? The Christmas play and the Easter Cantata could include dancing easily enough. Here’s my most radical idea: we take our junior high and high school kids (a few at a time) and load them into a van without telling them where they’re going. We take them to a dance studio where they are paired up with trained college kids who have agreed to help out, and we teach them how to dance in ways that are fun, appropriate for Christians, and contemporary enough to interest them.

I asked a group of college students to give me some feedback on the topic of dance: “What kind of popular dancing would people your age be attracted to?” and “Why is dancing good for couples—why is it a pleasure worth pursuing?” Cassie suggested that as far as interest or trendiness are concerned, the kind of dancing doesn’t matter so long as you have a group of friends who want to learn together. She’s had fun with line dancing, swing, two-step, even waltz. Amanda said, “Swing dancing . . . takes the same kind of energy the grinding type of dancing does, but is not nearly so erotic (a good mix).” She also likes Salsa and line dancing (though she notes that line dancing isn’t so much about couples).

As for why dancing is good for couples, Amanda answered, “Dancing teaches a man how to lead and a woman how to follow. It is a good exercise in communication. After dancing with [my husband] Tim for a few years now, I can follow him with my eyes closed. . . . It is a great way to build trust. . . . There is [also] that physical contact that is a part of affection, but it need not be so overwhelmingly touch-oriented as the sexual dancing of pop culture. The total experience of leading, following, and moving as one unit is very powerful. . . . [Dance] teaches a man to touch a woman with respect and teaches a woman to respect herself enough not to be pushed over.”

Stacy added that modern club dancing leaves something missing—the respect and leading of a man. She likes waltzing because it “makes a girl feel beautiful, like she isn’t an object.” And Cassie pointed out that couples dancing “can give guys confidence” and since girls like dancing so much, guys “should take a hint—girls love a guy who can dance!”

Out of all the ideas I heard, I especially like the idea of intimacy with restraint. If we could through dance go back to teaching young men to touch young women with respect and purity, I think it might go far toward helping them satisfy needs for intimacy and social interaction with members of the opposite sex within the boundaries of true love and holiness. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells