My Vison for the People

For too long the Church has been held back from a full and joyful worship because of the false presumptions of the Church. These presumptions have held back dance, music and the arts. Various churches have told the people that dancing is evil, that drumbeats are evil, that adorning ourselves is evil, that creating any type of image is evil.

A closer look at scripture should quickly dispel these myths. Why these Bible-reading believers continue to hold on to these myths is really a cultural issue, not a scriptural issue. Because of tradition and peer pressure people conform to the cultural norms of the church, scriptural or not. These cultural norms have tangled up the believers and have kept them from a full worship and a full experience of God.

Every so often is good for us as believers to erase the slate of our list of rules and re-examine the scripture. In this process will emerge principles of scripture that will be far easier to govern our lives by than a long list of rules.

Built within every human being, saved or unsaved, God has created a complex set of needs and talents. Originally these needs and talents were meant as a joyful exchange, both to and from God. These talents include dance, music and the arts. Yes, that is right, unsaved people are given gifts and talents from God along with the believers.

It is my vision that in exploring and expressing ourselves in the arts (in a pure and non-sexual way) that we will discover new facets and fullness of God. It is also my vision that struggling unsaved people will not only experience a new vision of their own beauty and talent, but will also begin to see the beauty of God.

We must therefore explore the arts in our worship more, and invite those from the outside to explore the arts with us. We must open the doors wider for the arts, more people must be allowed to be in the bands, more people must be allowed to sing, more people must be allowed to paint and create, more people must be allowed to dance. We must invite outsiders to experience this with us.