SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 2025 - CHURCH IS NO PLACE TO DANCE
Church is No Place to Dance
I’ve been attending this church on and off for about 13 years now and although
I’m sure those are rookie numbers to many of you, that is exactly half my life. In honour
of the 70th anniversary, I thought I might start by sharing an event that I think is partially
responsible for leading me into ministry. It wasn’t a big thing but it has always stuck in
my mind. About 10 years ago or so, there was a young girl who attended our church
who would always walk up to the front of the church during worship. She must have
been three or four. If there were flowers at the front, she’d walk over to them, get a good
look, then walk back. Sometimes she’d wave to the people at the front before running
back to where her parents were seated. However, if it wasn’t obvious before that there
wasn’t a shy bone in her body, then you should have seen her when the music started.
She would run out of her seat and start dancing in front of everyone. As she continued
doing this, eventually the other teens and children would get out of their seats and join
her, dancing during the opening hymns before they went down for Sunday School.
I bring this up as a happy memory but I know at the time it was a bit
controversial. There were people saying that she was a distraction and that she was
acting inappropriately for a church setting. I remember seeing a few glares as she ran
up to the front to see the flowers or to dance. The sanctuary is no place for a young girl
to be running around, that’s what Sunday school is for!
Now I don’t know about all of you but my least favourite times to go to church
were communion and days where there wasn’t Sunday school as it meant I had to sit in
my seat for a long period of time. I was a kid with a lot of energy and having to sit there
and watch people talk for up to an hour made me incredibly antsy. I would have loved to
run up to the front and maybe say hi to everyone but I knew that I would get in trouble
for that kind of thing and that it just wasn’t right. Church wasn’t for fun, it was for people
to be told about god and to sing about it sometimes. Excitable kids would just have to
deal with the boredom for an hour.
When I first saw that girl walk up, I was immediately concerned. I think my first
thought was along the lines of “she can’t do that!” and "that's not allowed!” As she
continued to walk, not seeming to care about any of those things. Next I was worried
that she’d get in trouble. That someone would come up the aisle and pull her aside.
That never happened of course and I was left perplexed. She seemed to be comfortable
and no one was stopping her so is there even a problem? I felt like there was supposed
to be but the world kept turning and the worship went on.
I mention that this was an incredibly defining moment in my worship journey as it
was probably when I recognized that I want to make children feel welcome in our
church. Like they can walk up to the front and dance all while being encouraged to do
so. We always talk about people discovering their faith in different ways and there not
being one right way to learn, and yet I was always expected to sit quietly in my seat and
take in whatever I could. How can we expect children to feel welcome and called to be
in community with the church if we don’t allow them to be kids?
The verse that was read today has always been one of my favourites. I know from
a minister's son you probably expect a deep cut, something only the most
knowledgeable of the Bible know, but this is a verse that’s always made me feel safe.
As a kid, this is a Bible verse that told me that I was safe. That this was a place that I
belonged to. I visited many churches as a kid and some felt welcoming to children and
others not as much. However, I knew that regardless of whether or not they were
accommodating, Jesus had stated that I belonged there.
The disciples were so quick to turn the children away. To inform them that this was
not the place for them, that Jesus didn’t have any time for them. They didn’t seem to
see the children as worthy of Jesus’s attention. Jesus tells them off of course and then
says that “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter
it.” This is a line that I think about a lot. What does it mean to receive the kingdom of
God as a little child? The first thing I immediately think of is an undying curiosity and a
thirst for new knowledge. Something else that comes to mind is high energy and
engagement. Maybe it’s the inherent risk taking that children take on everyday without
much worry for the consequences.
I like to envision that young girl running to Jesus and Jesus embracing her with
open arms. Blessing her and telling her just how brave and strong she is to approach
him with no worry. Though the people may be confused and the disciples may try to
shoo her for interrupting his teachings, I know Jesus would never turn a child away.
That Jesus would ensure that the girl knew that she belonged at his side.
So, am I saying that children should be running around the church during service,
pushing and shoving, interrupting the sermon, and overall just causing mayhem? I like
to think I’m a bit radical when it comes to children and youth ministry but I’m not that
radical. I think there is obviously a respect for the people around them and for the
people trying to pay attention that should be acknowledged, of course. However, if
children are getting bored and want to run to dance or check the decorations in front, I
think that should be treated as their form of worship. As their form of reverence for the
church and Jesus’s teachings.
I’m also not saying that there isn’t a place for a more traditional sermon like the
one I’m doing right now. I promise, the irony is not lost on me. Drastically changing our
worship to cater to kids primarily would only serve to alienate the adults who may prefer
to have a more solemn sermon, focused more on quiet reflection. As much as my focus
today is on welcoming children, it defeats the entire purpose of a church community if
our solution excludes a different group.
No, what I’m trying to communicate is that there needs to be a focus on ensuring
that when children are up for worship, they feel like they belong there. That this space is
their space just as much as it is all of yours. Let them come up to dance, let them sit up
close so they’re in on the action up front. Let them know that there is always room for them on Jesus’s lap.