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Question: Our church recently brought in a new teaching on worship. It includes expressive dancing and flag waving during worship time. Is this scriptural? I couldn't find any reference in scripture and it is very distracting. Could this be a form of new age creeping in?

Answer:

I want to answer from one short verse (2 Samuel 6:14) and its context: "14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD."

From my earliest memories, as a Pentecostal, I have seen dancing in the church. I have also read of it quite extensively in church history. One thing for sure, I am convinced that the choreographed (arranged and practiced) dancing in modern churches is a far cry from what I have experienced and what took place in response to the moving of God's spirit. This would take research to verify, but I think one of the problems with this modern church dancing is that they have confused dancing as an individual's expression of worship to God with dancing that was a part of Israel's national folk culture.

Thus, under the guise of spiritual worship, Jewish cultural folk dances are brought in the church and called worship. They are not. They are just Jewish folk dances (or an attempt to recreate them). The same goes for other choreographed dances, Jewish or not. Some seem to think that just because it is Jewish, it is spiritual. Certainly, that cannot be true. Now David's dancing is another matter. The whole incident is permeated with worship.

What made it different?

  1. It was spontaneous, not planned. The very spontaneity showed that it was an expression of the heart. Sure we practice songs, etc. But dancing is a dangerous thing involving the body as extensively as it does. It must be sanctified by the spontaneity of the heart. Naturally speaking, compare the dancing in the streets on Victory Day after World War II with a dance recital at a dancing school. In that comparison, one can get a glimpse of the difference.

  2. It was responsive, not catalytic. David was responding to the presence of God. He was responding to the spiritual emotion of the moment. The precedent of people slain in the Spirit in the Bible is an example of people's reactionary response to the felt presence of God. The same is true with this dancing. David was responding to the presence of God at the moment. It was appropriate. Today, dancing is used in churches to attempt to move people to emotion, ostensibly, to worship. It is a catalyst. The cart is before the horse.

  3. It was for the audience of the Lord, not people. Certainly people saw David dance on that day. His wife Micah saw it and mocked. But the point is, David wasn't doing it for the people. He was doing it "before the LORD." As far as David was concerned, the Lord was the only audience. It is dangerous to judge people's motives, certainly; but the very nature and performance of dancing in the church today dictates that it is largely done for the audience of people. An article on dancing in an encyclopedia will reveal that there are two types of dancing: (1) Those which do not require spectators and (2) Dances for presentation. David's dance was not for human spectators. Choreography is a dance of presentation for people. David's was a vertical expression, to God. Too often today's church dancing is a horizontal expression, to people.

  4. It was asymmetrical, not choreographed. I'm sure there is a better word than asymmetrical, but what I'm trying to say is that David wasn't attempting to follow some orderly steps of a choreographed dance. His dancing, although not unseeming or out of control, was an erratic, involved expression. It was probably rapid, and, if I could use the word, fierce. It was with "all his might." Have you ever heard of a clapping quartet where the song is carried by each clapping a part? David's dance was as different from choreographed dances as that kind of clapping is from the excited clapping of applause. David's dancing was a clapping of applause to the greatness and mercies of God. I'm not sure David's dance followed any set pattern of recognized dances of his day. It may have, but it wasn't planned in advance that day. Even if it was a recognized pattern of dance, it was certainly to the music of the spirit and not music of the ear.

  5. It was humble, not man-exalting. There is strong indication that one thing that angered David's mocking wife Michal, was that David took off his kingly garment and assumed the role of a servant in his dancing. It was servants and slaves that danced for the higher classes like kings. Yet, David the king danced as a servant. He was assuming a humbling role. It wasn't something that would bring him praise of being a good dancer.

  6. It was spirit, not body-centric. It is hard to say that today's church dances do not call attention to the form and grace and artistry of the human body. True worshipful worship solicits observation of "that person was really lost in worship" or "that person was really rejoicing in God," or "that person really felt the Spirit," not "that was a great dance," and "those were great dancers." Incidentally, any dancing in worship that accentuates the body, that is done in lewd, sensual movements, etc., is certainly not Spirit-inspired or acceptable.

  7. It was characterized by noticeable fervency, not noticeable form. Scripture does not say that David danced gracefully, artistically, etc., but "with all his might." What was noticeable about David's dance was its fervency, not its form. The church today has become too concerned for the aesthetics of its worship instead of the genuiness and spirituality of its worship. There are a few practiced participators and many deceived spectators. True spontaneity and heart-feeling in worship has been replaced with not only choreographed dancing, but from choreographed use of the gifts to a whole choreographed service.

David was a true worshipper in spirit and in truth. He didn't need a dance instructor to dance. He forgot the crowd, and, responding to the spiritual emotion of the moment, he began to express the tremendous spiritual fervency he felt in a humble, God-honoring dance with all his might unto the Lord. That was the kind of dance the was both Holy Spirit inspired and Holy Spirit anointed.


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