Confession. I’m a Doo-Wop fan. The Shirelle’s, Ben E. King, The Drifters. Love. Them. I am convinced I was born in the wrong decade. I was meant to have been a part of the generation who grew up knowing how to swing, twist, and shag (and did so every Friday night at some fun beach party). There is nothing I find more romantic than a turn around the dance floor to tunes like “This Old Heart of Mine” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”





(Amen.)

The thing about Christianity is that we can’t decide if we’re line dancers or interpretive dancers. Are we all supposed to do the same movements to the tune we hear? C’mon, you know that’s totally fun sometimes…the stomping, the sliding, the boots, the fringe?? (Wow, I really have moved to Texas, haven’t I?) OR are we supposed to uniquely interpret the tune we hear and respond with our own free-form movements?

What if it’s a little bit of both?

Take, for example, the little dance Noah and I shared as I tried to teach him about the cross. Explaining crucifixion to a three-year-old is somewhat out of the question. So at this point, our lesson is about symbols and what they remind you of. Noah has seen crosses in our house, on jewelry, and in our worship space. And I’m grateful that we have a sanctuary in which Noah can play a game of “I spy” (of sorts) to find the cross in the back of the sanctuary and then watch the acolyte carry it to the front to begin the service. The symbol of a cross is quite a familiar one in Noah’s life.

So one day I grabbed an opportunity to begin explaining the cross to him. A “Cross 101” course, if you will. I pointed to the silver cross on my necklace and said to him, “Noah, this is called a cross. Can you say ‘cross’?” Check. “It’s there to remind you that Jesus loves you…that Jesus loves Noah. Can you say, ‘Jesus loves Noah’?” Double check. Way to dance in line, kiddo!

Then one day, about a week later, Noah reached out and picked up the cross on my necklace. Totally time for a parental quiz, no? We had had a lot of practice over the last few days, so there was no reason to believe that he would answer out of “line”.

“Noah, what is the cross there to remind you of?”

I fully expected to hear exactly what I’d been teaching him: “Jesus loves Noah.”

But, as Noah tenderly cradled this little silver symbol in his hands, he looked up at me and answered, “Jesus loves you, Mama.” Then he reached around me with his clumsy toddler arms and gathered me into a hug.

Thanks for reminding me, kid.

Interpretive Line Dancing.

You oughta give it a whirl. (In your own way, of course.)

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When the walk of faith is more like a dance, ya gotta find some great dance partners to help keep you moving to the music. You need someone who can boldly sashay, shimmy and shake to the tunes of the big “D.J.” upstairs. You need a partner who can keep in rhythm with music while they respond to and anticipate your moves. But the most exciting dance partners, the ones you really want to seek out, are those who delightfully run the risk of occasionally, and unexpectedly, breaking out some freelance movements of their own, taking your faith in a direction you never saw coming.

I know such a dancer. He is three and lives down the hall from me. Thanks to Sandra Boyton (“Banana” song, anyone?), and our evening dance parties, I know the kid has got rhythm. He can also do more than just sashay, shimmy and shake. He can already respond and anticipate my moves to the music. I know this because I’m a cunning and wise mama, and I’ve been teaching my unsuspecting Noah the likes of the Foxtrot, Swing, Twist, Charleston and Waltz too. And can the boy freelance? Oh yeah…with a fervor reminiscent of Elaine from Seinfeld.

Noah seems to think faith is just a big a dance party too. I figured, as he got old enough to begin to understand his faith heritage, we would have a kind of teacher-student thing going on. I mean, how lucky is my kid that his mama is a seminary-educated, retired youth pastor??

But when we start talking about faith, it’s as if Noah can hear music. We share a little back-and-forth as we “dance”. And as you might have guessed, while I’ve tried to impart my “educated” dance moves, I’ve been surprised to discover something unexpected and delightful.

Noah is a cunning and wise little shorty.

The shorty has been teaching his unsuspecting mama some new moves across the dance floor of faith. And this week, I’ll share them with you. Get your soft shoes ready.

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