One word can change the atmosphere...whether it's spoken, written, or communicated through movement. This is a blog about Worship Arts,and especially for learning about how we can make more powerful statements through what we present to others through our writing, choreography, theatre or visual art... or a collaboration of two or more. Anything is possible. It's the Poetry of Motion!
Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach to goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven.
~Phil. 3:13-14 (ERV)
Happy New Year to everyone, and especially to all of my 41 followers who have taken time to join my blog over time. Lately, due to time constraints I haven't been adding to the blog as often, and because I realize that you have many reading choices online, I've always promised to only write when I actually have something to say. So...if you don't see a new post, it's for that reason and I feel that I owe you something fresh every time. As I mentioned in a previous blog, there are a hundreds of prolific writers addressing different perspectives of the same topic, so if you can't find it here, it's out there somewhere. I also wanted to expand my blogging beyond dance and dance ministry to focus on worship as a whole, which will continue to include dance/drama/poetry/music/art as I'm led. The wind has shifted my sails again and although I'm still blogging, I'm taking my time to carefully write my next post. Please look for it soon, and again...thanks for reading. Keep worshiping Christ!
Please enjoy this video by the Get Lifted Ensemble:
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do,and he will give you success. ~ Prov. 3:5-6 (NCV)
2014 has officially arrived, along with all of the New Year's Resolutions, goals, aspirations and good intentions that we promise to fulfill in the coming months. Some of them are realistic, and sometimes as humans we make promises because others are making them and we don't want to feel left out, knowing that we don't have the drive or real intention on following through with what we said that we would do. But...I have a suggestion: Why not think about the things you were working on, struggling with, or moving towards, and instead of making new resolutions, continue your work on whatever you were doing in 2013? If you were planning to start a workshop that God inspired you to do, and it didn't happen last year, prayerfully look at your plans and rethink them, seek out guidance from a trusted source, and keep focusing on your goal. Have a budget and a target audience, do your research, find your facilitators and plan your deadlines. Think about how much everything will cost and count the cost of the entire project. Good events require a lot of planning to be effective, and need many hands and much prayer to be successful. In fact, a very wise Prophetess, Pastor Sarah Morgan of Women of Vision L.A. states: "Whatever is not birthed in prayer, is illegal"*. That is a very profound statement, but it means that if you haven't spent time praying and getting guidance from God in what you do, it should not be done!
While we are on the subject of goals, what are you doing to improve your dance ministry presentations for the coming months? There are always new ministries being formed, some have knowledge of how to start and maintain a dance ministry, some have the heart for ministering but no idea of how to prepare themselves. Maybe God has called you to be a solo worshipper, and you need to know about choreography or exactly what to do with your singular ministry. Find out where your place is, and assume the position! There are several sources available to help you in your endeavors that are of good quality, easily accessible, and an affordable investment. Many ministries are faltering because of lack of preparation, or they fail to invest the time in learning about their art. The ministry is whatever God wants to accomplish through your art form, whether it is dance, poetry, theatre, mime, step or flagging. Just because we call something a ministry does not automatically make it one, which is why we can look around and see so many things going on in church that do not glorify God and actually bring confusion and disgust to the church. So many are turned off when they see us calling ourselves ministries (servants) but what we are serving is not fit for consumption. Selah...
My mind goes back to a video I watched in which there were two dancers presenting a song to the church. The song was about who God is to us. Instead of one dancer representing God speaking to the other dancer, they appeared to take turns being God, and neither one was receiving what the other was giving. At one point in the song, it looked like a war between good and evil. It was a very beautiful song, but extremely challenging to choreograph if you don't study the scriptural basis of the song and plot out your movement theme based on (1) Who is speaking? (2) Who is being spoken to? (3) What is the through-line or pervasive message of the song? (4) What is the resolution? (The end point of the song). If you don't take time to study that, your audience will walk away confused, empty, turned-off, or even think that what you are doing is comical. Although they may never tell you this, they may tell it to other people. Don't be the ministry that people start texting on or decide to go to the bathroom on because you are not effective!
Again...make this the year that you make plans to attend a workshop in your area, take classes, or avail yourself of some of the many media resources for dance ministry that are available online, on DVD, or in e-books. All of these are relatively inexpensive and are brought to you by people who have many years of experience and want to share their knowledge with you. There are also many ministries who have taken time to study and are eager to have you join in their learning journey along with them: A few are:
The Praise Dance Life with Jocelyn Richard - Minister Jocelyn Richard of Visual Praise Ministries has a wealth of information on dance ministry, choreography, garments, technique, nutrition, music, and many other resources on DVD and in e-book form. She also has podcasts that are archived that you can listen to, teleconferences, and does local workshops as well as some traveling to dance conferences where she teaches classes. You can find out more about her ministry at: www.thepraisedancelife.com.
Dancing for Him Ministries with Pastor Lynn Hayden - Pastor Lynn has a profound ministry that focuses on the prophetic in movement and dance, and holds regular worship dance workshops around the country. She also has many resources in book form, and on DVD for dancers on all levels that you can use in the privacy of your own home. For more information, you can find her at: www.dancingforhim.com.
All of these ministries have video on YouTube for you to see, and find out which one would be best suited for your needs. There are many wonderful worship dance resources to choose from, but these are the three that are being highlighted this month. More will be shared as space and time allows.
Whatever you do, acknowledge God in all your ways, and allow Him to direct your ministries this year. Be original, and be your best!
*Quote from Pastor Sarah Morgan, Women of Vision/Trees of Righteousness Mentoring Class
- www.womenofvisionla.org
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11 (NIV)
I would like to send Holiday well wishes and thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their busy year to read Poetry of Motion!...especially to my 40 followers. You have many choices in what to read online, so I'm glad you chose to add your name to my list.
I look forward to writing more in 2014, as I am led. I don't post just for the sake of posting, I only put up a new blog when I feel that I have something to say. That being said, enjoy your holiday season, glorify God in all of your presentations, be safe, and hope to see you in the New Year!
With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgement. Always let him lead you,and He will clear the road for you to follow.
~ Proverbs 3: 5-6 (CEV)
New Year's Eve/Old Year's Night and a New Year is quickly approaching...with new opportunities to learn about ourselves, our God and following His will. We can make the choice to continue in the direction we are going if it's a good, one, or make changes that will benefit us all. What have you learned this year? What mistakes have you made, and what would you change, if you could? Who is it that you need to forgive, release, or reconnect with? Many times we sing and dance about moving forward, but are hindered because of small things that get in our way...think for a minute and some faces and situations will come to mind. When they do, ask God for wisdom in how to handle each one, wait for His answer, and be open and willing to do whatever He directs you to do.
This doesn't mean that we are not supposed to think for ourselves, but whenever we ask God for guidance, we have to allow Him to lead us when we don't know what to do. Don't be afraid to ask!
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.
He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
~James 1: 5-6 (NLT)
Are you being led to start/join a new ministry, or take your ministry in another direction? Have you felt God leading you to become more creative in your presentations? He has already provided you with the means and the way to get it done. He is waiting...
I would like to thank everyone who has been following my blog for the past two years. We are now up to 25 subscribers! I hope that you have read something that has been helpful and encouraging to you. All the best for the New Year, and keep worshiping Christ!
"20X" is coming to an end. It's been a year of High Dimensional Communications for many of us, and hopefully we have been successful in communicating a clear message to others. Even if we haven't always been as successful as we would have liked, we can learn from our mistakes and improve on our shortcomings.
It’s not that I’ve already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 (GWT)
Have you started thinking about some of the things you want to accomplish in the next year? It's not too early to start planning and strategizing. Too often, we do a lot of talking about what we would like to see happen, but never seem to be able to move past the initial idea. It's not about making resolutions, but setting realistic goals for ourselves that are doable and measurable. This time, let's make a sincere effort to put some of those plans into action through Prayer, Fasting, Strategic Networking and Forward Motion. What happened to that book, blog, play, choreography, ensemble, workshop, class, business plan or outreach ministry that got shelved? Let's write the vision, and make it plain so we can run with it when God says: "Move". We have so much to do, and not necessarily a lot of time left to accomplish it. No more procrastinating...'cause in 2011, it's "on and crackin'!"
Then the Lord answered me,
“Write the vision.
Make it clear on tablets
so that anyone can read it quickly".
Hab. 2:2 (GWT)
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my blog this year, and especially for you 18 faithful followers. I hope that something that I've written has challenged and encouraged you in whatever you do for God in your season. See you next year!
Please enjoy this video of Moving Forward from last summer's Purify Conference in New York. It was a blessing to be at that praise party!
Hi! I'm Wynne! Thanks for visiting my pages today. Please click on the links under "My Blogs" for Poetry of Motion!, a Worship Arts Blog where we'll learn how to communicate more fully through the arts; MindScape Poetry, my poetry blog; and UrbanArtsLive!(TM), my Children's Creative Arts website featuring a slideshow of creative projects I have worked on with public school students on the East and West Coasts.(If you're on UrbanArtsLive, please scroll to the bottom of the page to view the slide show). You can e-mail me at: Urbanartz212@gmail.com. Tel: 347.841.6790. I hope to meet you soon!
