If the reason why I go to church was to watch people dance, I would have joined the Church of Pentecost. I’ve 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 their 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 to the 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 or even clap or make a joyful noise unto the Lord to express themselves.
Most vigorous dancing takes place during offering, and we learn from the Bible that Jesus once sat near the treasury and observed people offer 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 that regulate our way of life, but is it inclusive of 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!
Because of the way 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 so mesmerised a king with her dancing that, 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 agrees that seductive dancing feeds into immorality that causes fatalities. Question: Does seductive dancing take place at church and can it cause the downfall of ministers and church leaders?
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. By the time they return to the auditorium, the preacher would be halfway through the sermon.
Some of them get so tired that they easily doze off, especially if they spent the previous evening in some kind of dance at a Saturday night wild party.
There are some youth who 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!
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 old woman and parted with a few cedis. Her jubilation seemed exaggerated, but it was refreshing to see her dance with raised hands in praise of God.
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 worshipping got it all wrong. Thanks to God for prominent Ghanaian musicologists like J. H. K. Nketiah, Ephraim Amu, Ato Turkson and others for their great works 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!