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!
"...In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed" ~ Ex. 31:16
After all of the Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection services, now is a good time to take a step back and rest. It's easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of activity and lose sight of the real purpose of what we do...and even more important than what we do is our relationship with God. We can be called upon so much that our time with Him gets pushed aside, and then we wonder why we are exhausted. May I suggest that we take a moment, however long that moment may be, to do three things? The three things I'm suggesting are to Rest, Refresh and Rejuvenate.
Rest is very important to God, in fact so important that the Bible says that God rested on the 7th day of creation. It does not say that He created anything else on that day, but that he rested.
By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.
Genesis 2:2-3 (CEV)
The word "rested" here is from the Hebrew word shabath which means to repose, i.e. desist from exertion. If God rested from His work, why shouldn't we? He looked on all of his creation and it was flawless. While we are resting, we have time to think about what we have done, what we could improve, and even what we need to cease from doing. We have time to be more prayerful, take "time outs" to go walking, go to the beach, the library or the park, spend time with family, and be refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to get new direction or continue with the task we were completing. In our rest time, we can listen to what God is saying and also pay attention to our bodies to make sure everything is in tune. We have more time to read the Word and get revelation and insight into Christ and the world around us. Rest is one of the most important things we can do!
So, while you are putting away the garments, props, and scripts, make plans to rest...you will be glad that you did!
Selah
Please enjoy this refreshing video from the Blueprint Dancers from Traveler's Rest Missionary Baptist Church...to Nothing Without You by Jonathan Nelson:
Therefore,
brothers and sisters, be eager to confirm your call and election.
Do
this and you will never ever be lost.
2
Peter 1:10 (CEB)
“Stay in your
lane” is a saying that literally means to know your place and purpose in this
world, and to not move out of it. So many people are lost, unhappy, confused,
frustrated and discouraged because they are traveling in a lane that is not for
them, either because they have allowed others to put them there, or they themselves are trying
to fit into a mold that is ill-suited. Sometimes parents want to push their
children toward certain career choices to assure financial success or even
because they vicariously live through them, instead of encouraging them to
prayerfully research and explore all of their options before making a decision.
This can result in burn-out, stress, emotional and even health problems later
in life.
Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
Ps. 90:12 (NLT)
It’s important to
know your purpose in life as well as in the Kingdom of God, where people often
seek after titles and positions of status that have no bearing on anyone else’s
well-being, other than to exalt the person who carries the title. Why would anyone want to be called a prophet
or prophetess, yet they never have an encouraging word for someone else? Why become
a pastor when you don’t really love people?
Maybe your calling in life is to feed hungry people on the street. That’s
an awesome mission that often goes unnoticed and probably won’t get front row
recognition in a church building, but God sees…and He will reward you
openly. So many ways of serving and helping
others have no official credentials on paper, but the spiritual effects are
great. Everyone will not be a mega-church pastor or have an international
ministry, but everyone can find his or her place in life and be at peace with
who we are, which brings our greatest joy. If you know that you are being led
by the Lord, don’t allow people, groups, or organizations to convince you that
what God put in your heart to do is unimportant, or that you need to be doing
something else. Usually when others do this, it’s for their own benefit and not
yours, and certainly not God’s.
Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market
is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be
practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of
people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.
~Matt
7:13-1(MSG)
Your place in this
world is unique, and is based on God’s plan and purpose for your life. Are you struggling with “staying in your lane”? Keep looking forward, and don’t get
distracted, because if God is guiding your journey, you’re going in the right
direction!
*This is a repost from February 2011...Enjoy! You can't give it
Til you live it
You can't live it
Til you give it away -- Israel Houghton*
Imagine for a moment that one day, you opened your Bible and it read something like this:
Though I worship in the aisle and in the balcony, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of singing and understand all musical styles and all technical skill, and though I have choreography that moves the congregation, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I produce books and DVD's, and though I wear beautiful praise garments, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
I'm definitely not trying to tamper with God's Word, so please don't be offended.The point is that God is Love, but many times we have forgotten this in the midst of our outward activities. We have excitement and zeal, diligence and excellence, but no Love! Now, if God is Love, yet there is no Love in what we do, that means that God is absent from it. Selah...
Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love.
I John 4:7-8 (CEB)
God is very concerned with the way we treat others, so much that He even says that if we don't show love and kindness to towards other people, we can't even identify with Him. He is more interested in love, than He is in how much we do, how we perform our duties, how much we give, or how spiritual we seem to be. We can do nice things for people on the surface, but God knows our intent. Sometimes what appears to be a loving action towards others is actually an attempt to control them. If you are fortunate enough to have large sums of money at your disposal, what is your true motivation for giving? Do we give just because we want to share, or do we really want to manipulate them into doing our bidding, giving us a position, platform or favor in return? Let's look at I Cor. 1:1-3 again:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. I Cor. 13:1-3 (NKJV)
This passage of scripture lists many things that we can do, that amount to nothing if we lack the love of Christ. Israel Houghton's song: Love God, Love People says that "We can't give it, til we live it, we can't live it, til we give it away". Let's be sure that in all of our serving, that we are truly doing it from heart of God's love.
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!
The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom!Get understanding before anything else. ~ Proverbs 4:7 (CEB)
The holiday season is upon us, along with a new year that brings new ideas, new goals and new energy...but somehow the same issues keep coming up over and over again. There are more praise ministries in the church than ever before, yet some of us seem to be quick with presentation without the preparation that goes on beforehand. All of these things I'm about to write have been read before, heard before, and said many times already, but for those who have never heard, it bears repeating:
IF you are going to dance to a song in church...especially if it is a popular one...please make sure you understand the song, the Biblical/spiritual meaning/who is speaking/to whom are they speaking/ and that your moves demonstrate the words of the song. it's not always about looking like a polished dancer, but you cannot beat your chest like Tarzan and jump around up in the front like a monkey and call it praise dance, dance ministry, mime, pantomime (they are not the same) drama, worship arts, human video, or any combination of the above.
I recently saw a video in which the dancers were literally hopping around in a frenzy, doing the same movements alternately in the chorus of the song. It seemed as if they were sometimes attacking the audience instead of ministering to them, and at one point, it looked like a duel between the two of the dancers when the lyrics were actually not about them, but about who God is. I'm sure that wasn't their intent, but that was the look. Now... it's one thing to do that in the privacy of your own space, but to present that in a worship service is something quite different. People may say "Amen...Go head...Werk!"...but in reality they are probably responding to the music, and not to whatever is going on in front of them . . . and while they may not know any better they deserve better. It's equivalent to a minster going into the pulpit and doing a lot of shouting, but never bringing a real message that anyone can actually use. Because he or she knows how to get the crowd's attention, people will respond emotionally, but spiritually, they received nothing because nothing was given to them.
This is in no way meant to put anyone down, to be mean, or critical. When I have the time to watch dance ministry videos, I'm blessed by what I see, all ages and cultures of people who love to worship the Lord in movement, some are highly skilled, some have very simple movements, but it doesn't matter as long as they are offering their best worship to Him and have taken the time to think about what they are dancing about and to whom they are sharing the Good News of Christ with. Good dance/movement ministry always contains these elements:
(1)A song or music that is Biblically based; (2) Clear movements that express the message or essence of the song; (3) Connection to the music by all who are ministering - including facial expressions, and wholehearted participation (in other words, look like you really want to do it, and not like you did someone a favor to show up);and (4) Appropriate attire - does not mean expensive but should be modest and fit well (no body parts out of place on anyone, no cleavage on women); which brings us to the net point: A lot of us are eager to put on dance conferences and give workshops when we need to go and learn what to do before we try to teach someone else. If we don't, all we are doing is perpetuating slackness and mediocrity. All of us will not look like professional dancers, but all of us who God has called to minister publicly in any way, should do everything that we possibly can to be at our best.
If you have a desire to start a dance/mime/step/flag/drama ministry, please be prayerful about it. The worship arts ministry has been exploited and misunderstood, and still does not receive the respect that it should have, mainly because people are unwilling to take the time and learn how to minister properly. Take time to seek out knowledge from seasoned ministers in your area. Avail yourself of DVD's and books that are worth the investment of time and money. It's not necessary to attend every conference and workshop that is given, but let God lead you to the one He would have you to attend. Otherwise, we will have to keep playing this same message on repeat...repeat...repeat...
*If you would like information on worship arts ministries, please click on the links under "Dance, Drama, & Literary Resources".
Please enjoy these ministry presentations by different groups. All have different stylistic elements and abilities but the one thing they have in common is that the Good News of Christ is very clean and clear, and done excellently!
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
I Cor 3:25 (NLT)
November is known for the many preparations we make for the Thanksgiving season, whether we believe in the tradition of celebrating for one day or just enjoy gathering with family and friends over delicious meals, we can all agree that we all have much to be grateful for everyday. Even when we think that we have nothing to give thanks for, as long as we are still alive, we can be thankful for hope. Someone else is watching how we deal with our situations so they can learn how to handle their own difficulties.
During this season, it's also a blessing to learn how to enjoy the things that we have already received, as we watch the blessings that are already in progress. The temptation to focus on what we don't have can be very great and can keep us in a cycle of constant frustration and unhappiness, which is a trick of the enemy. Sometimes it's a challenge to be happy for others when their lives seem to be progressing at a faster rate than ours...but as worshipers of Christ, we must always remember that our life path is a combination of God's will and our choices. We can't change His plans but we can make changes that are in our control. What is out of our control, we must learn to accept! If we think about it long enough, there are many things that we can change that can make our lives more manageable:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
This Thanksgiving and all year, let's look at life from a place of gratefulness, and enjoy what we have right now. Tomorrow is not promised...so ask God to give us a heart and mind to appreciate everything good that is around us. Life becomes so much more beautiful when we are grateful!
Please enjoy this video by my artist friend, Cherie Romar:
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!
