Dancing Together

I love to dance… and I love to watch other people dancing.  Dancing is an expression of joy that has been a part of the fabric of life throughout history… even in biblical times, as we heard from our scripture passages today.  Since I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ a dozen years ago, my life has been filled with joy and I have seen my walk with God as a dance through life.  Throughout my life, it has been amazing to me to watch the infinite variety of dance, both within our culture and in various cultures around the world.  I have also seen how dance has changed through the years.  When I was younger, I watched “American Bandstand.”  I saw the transition from the more sedate styles of dance in the early sixties, to the uninhibited craziness of the early seventies, to the more complex disco rhythms of the early eighties.  Dance, in my youth, seemed to be more about individuals strutting their stuff than about couples doing anything together.

But, I have also been a fan of old black and white movies… to my son’s endless dismay.  And some of the movies I enjoyed the most were the movies that featured Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.  I was always in awe of the beauty and the elegance of Fred and Ginger as they waltzed around the floor.  How could two people glide so effortlessly around the room together, in perfect time to the music, dressed in tuxes or sequins and feathers that seem to float on the air, without bumping into other couples or crashing into the walls?  I suppose that it was only natural that, at some point, I would take some dance lessons to find out.  Many years ago, that opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it. 

In my dance lessons, I learned three things.  First of all, there are patterns to the dances that allow couples to dance together without crashing into each other… or crashing into other couples… or crashing into the wall.  Secondly, there are an infinite variety of variations to those basic steps so that it is possible to dance the same dance in many different ways once you know those basic patterns.  Finally, while it is possible to walk through the steps alone to rehearse the basic patterns, I learned that it is not possible to fully understand the dance until you have a competent partner and music to dance to.

I will never forget learning how to two-step when I was on a business trip to Austin from Chicago, where I lived for many years.  I came to Austin to provide training to some employees at Motorola.  During one class, I mentioned that I had always admired those who could two-step and hoped that I would have the chance to learn it one day.  An electrical engineer named David offered to teach me.

Now, David was a brave soul who put up with my ignorance and my wayward feet every night for one solid week.  “Why are we dancing a three-beat dance to four-beat music?” I would ask.  (Musicians have trouble with things like that.)  So, I would mutter the pattern out loud:  slow-slow-quick-quick… slow-slow-quick-quick… slow-slow-quick-quick.  But, it seemed that no matter what I did, after about eight measures, my brain would rebel… my feet would end up on top of David’s beautiful ostrich leather boots… David would roll his eyes and sigh deeply… and then, we would stop in the middle of the dance floor and start over again.

Slowly, things got better.  At the end of the evening on Wednesday, David looked at me and said, “Your final exam will be on Friday night.  If you can dance an entire set of country music without counting the beats out loud, without stepping on my boots, and somehow mange to carry on a normal conversation with me during the dance, you will graduate.”  I worked hard on Thursday night, but I still wasn’t there.  Friday came and I met David at the dance hall.  The music started and we began to dance together.  In the middle of the second set, they played a waltz and, suddenly, it all came together!  I was floating on air!  Everything felt like magic!  My feet and my brain were working together and, it didn’t matter where David led me, it all happened effortlessly.  I danced the rest of that set and two more without any mistakes, jabbering away the whole time about how wonderful it was, and grinning from ear-to-ear like an idiot!  I was “in the Zone!”

OK.  Some of you are sitting out there saying to yourself, “This is a great story, but what does it have to do with the Advent… or our life in ministry together… or this church… or me?”  Today we embark on two great journeys of life together… two dance sets, if you will.  The first is our journey through Advent and the church year toward a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and a deeper faith in God… and the second is our journey in Christian service as pastor and congregation in mutual ministry to our community and the world.  The two are remarkably similar.  Let’s look at our journey together in Christian service as pastor and congregation first.

Beginning today, we… you and I… begin to dance together in this wonderful work that we call ministry among God’s people.  It is a joyful work… filled with happy times… challenging opportunities… meaningful interaction with others… and celebration.  But, as Jesus said to the crowds who came to see John the Baptist, what you find may not be what you expected.  And, it will not be a dance that we will do smoothly together… unless we take time to prepare.  What?? … you may say.  It doesn’t just happen automatically?  We don’t just turn on the music and effortlessly two-step through this ministry thing together?  When the clock struck twelve at midnight last night and November 28^th began, the beautiful Blue Fairy didn’t wave her magic wand and give us the skills we needed to dance together as she gave Cinderella and Prince Charming?  No… we don’t… and no… she didn’t… and, no, God didn’t either… though God can certainly help us.  We will have to work at this to get it right.

Now, there is no doubt in my mind that many of you believe that you are competent dancers in this work of ministry among God’s people.  I also think that many of you believe you have found a competent partner for this dance… though some of you may still be skeptical… and I believe that I can be a competent partner in the ministry of this congregation.  But… new partners change the dynamics of the dance... and it takes awhile to get the feel of the dance with a new partner.  Oh, trust me… we are going to step on each other boots many, many, many times before we get it right.  We will argue about who is leading and who is following.  We will argue about the music that we are dancing to.  We will stumble… we will slip… and we will slide… and sometimes, we will fall.  Sometimes, we will manage to catch each other before one of us hits the floor. Other times, we will grab for the rail as we go down.  But, sometimes, despite our best efforts, we are going to land right on our keesters.  Oh, it ain’t gonna be pretty… but it’s all part of learning how to dance together.  It is painful.  And it is sometimes humiliating.

OK.  So, we’re going to learn how to dance.  Now, what was it that I learned in my dance lessons?  I learned three things.  Number one:  There are patterns to the dances that allow couples to dance together without crashing into each other, or other couples, or the wall.  It’s really, really important, as we begin to dance with a new partner, for us to go back to the basic patterns of the dance and review them together.  We need to start slowly.  Don’t make any assumptions.  Count the steps out loud.  Ask a lot of questions.  Smile a lot… forgive a lot… start over a lot.

What are the basics?   Well, here are some:  What do we believe about Jesus Christ and his saving grace?  What do we believe about the Church and its role in society today?  What do we believe Jesus was telling us to do as disciples and how does that translate into action in Stephenville, Texas?  What are the fundamental principles of our faith and how will we teach that to others? What do we believe about the love of God and God’s relationship to humanity?  What is the role of children in the church today?  And the role of women?  What do we believe about the unchurched?  About visitors?  About those of other faiths or denominations?   We need to ask each other these questions and many others.  We need to listen carefully to each other.  We need to share.  These are the basics.

What else did I learn in my dance lessons?  Number two:  There are an infinite variety of variations to those basic steps, so that it is possible to dance the same dance in many different ways once you know the basic patterns.  Will you allow your new pastor to dance in a different way… to make some changes to the old dance?  Are you ready to try a new turn … a new twirl … to face a different direction … to promenade where you used to do-se-so … to do a left-hand star when you have always done a right-hand star?  Will you allow her teach you some new steps?  And I ask myself the same questions:  Am I ready to learn the way in which you have danced in Stephenville… to try a twirl or two that is unique to this community of faith?  Am I ready to listen to some new music... and to follow a new partner?

Let’s see if we can test our willingness to try some new steps in this dance:  How many hymns should we sing on Sunday morning?  Will children help to lead in worship?  At what point in the service should the anthem be sung?  When will announcements be made?  When will we take communion to the shut-ins?  How often will the Session meet?  Will we have joint services with other churches in the community?  How often?  How will the Lord’s Supper be celebrated… and how often?  You know, I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.  How open are all of us to listening to a new voice?  To trying a new step?  To listening to the music in a new way?  I can hear some of you now.  “Oh, she can do anything she wants… but, you know, our Bible study group has always met on the second Tuesday.  She’d better not change that!”  Well now, shoot!  Did her boots just get the way of my feet again?  I didn’t step on them!  They just got under my feet!  If she would just move them out of the way, I wouldn’t step on them at all!

There was something else I learned in my dance lessons.  While it is possible to walk through the steps alone to rehearse the basic patterns, we will never fully understand the dance until we have a competent partner and music to dance to.  All of us have been called by God to this place…called by God into ministry to God’s people.  But here is the secret:  God does not choose the equipped… God equips the chosen.  You and I are not here because we are more competent than anyone else… or more skilled… or more prepared.  We are here because we have been called.  You have all heard the expression:  “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”  Our job is to get ready.  How fortuitous that it happens to be the Advent season when that is the purpose of Advent… to prepare for Christ’s coming!  Our Savior is coming!  And he is coming not just to redeem us, but also to teach us how to be Christian… to reveal to us, in his life and his ministry, what it means to be a follower.  What have we done to prepare for His coming?  Because, you see, in order for us to dance effortlessly together in ministry to God’s people, both of us have to be competent in the steps of the dance.  It is really hard to dance with someone who doesn’t know the steps.  How well have you learned the basic steps of this dance?  How well have I learned them?  Are we ready to hold our own … or do we still have some work to do to get the basics down?

When we look at the second journey… the second dance set… our dance through life as Christians, moving toward a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and a deeper faith in God, are we not confronted with the same three lessons?  Don’t we also need to know the steps to that dance… and to review the basics before we begin again?  That is the purpose of Advent… to prepare for his coming… to take time to review the basics, so that when our Savior arrives, we can move competently and confidently into the dance.  And what are the basics of our Christian life?  Are they not the reading of scripture… prayer… the worship of God… and a life of service to others?  What a great time to focus on these things again, for isn’t Advent a time of the year when those who have been alienated from the church return to visit?  What a great time for all of us to reach out in love to brothers and sisters who are seeking something more from life… and to share what we have found with them!

And, in this second dance set, are there not an infinite variety of ways in which we can seek a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and a deeper faith in God?  Can we, together, explore new avenues of spirituality and a study of the scriptures?  Can we meet to worship… and to pray together… in new and different ways?  And, in our quest for a new relationship with Jesus Christ and a deeper faith in God, might we find a competent partner… and new music to dance to?

Which brings us to a critical question in this dance of ministry:  Who is leading and who is following in this dance?  It is really important to know this when you are dancing.  You see, the person who leads sets the pace… determines the direction… and moves through the intricacies of the dance, guiding the way.  The other partner follows.  So… it is a good question.  Who is leading and who is following?  We can argue this point today… and from time to time, I am sure that we will argue this point… but it really is a moot point.  You see, there is only one who can lead in this dance, for there is only one who appointed by God to be the head of the Church and that is Jesus Christ.  That’s right.  It’s not your new pastor.  She has a special function, yes, but she is one of you.  God forbid that you ever expect me to be perfect, for there is only one who is perfect and that is Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and he is the one who leads in the dance.   We follow… all of us, pastor and congregation together.  (Pause)  It makes for a strange picture, doesn’t it?  Three of us, dancing together... pastor, congregation, and Jesus Christ.   But, remember, that we are all one in Christ – bride to his bridegroom, and partners in the dance.  He leads, and we follow him.

Now, some of you are thinking, “Oh, well, that’s easy.”  Oh no, it is not!  I cannot tell you how many times I have had a dance instructor walk over to me during dance class and say, “Sharon, let your partner lead.”  Why?  I know the steps.  I can hear the beat.  I’ve done this before.  “Sharon, let … your partner … lead.”  Why?

Actually, the reason is very simple:  you see, we are going backwards down the line of dance.  We can’t see what lies ahead in our path.  We don’t know what the future holds.  We know the steps… and we can hear the music, but the only one who can see the way ahead is our partner, Jesus Christ.  He is only one who can see the obstacles in our path.  Therefore, he must lead.  And we, with our eyes on his face, wrapped in his arms, in constant conversation with him, and trying desperately not to step on his boots… we are called to follow him.  Come join the dance.  As God told Jeremiah, it will be a joyful time together.  Amen.