When Baptists Go Wild

Here is a video from our Youth fundraiser at our traditional Winter Follies gathering:



I do have to say I am proud of our Youth and how they serve Christ and the world around them---so since I saluted the elderly in my last post, it is only natural that I salute the youth as well as part of the celebration of Pentecost. This Summer the Youth of FBC-Wilmington are going to Carolina, Puerto Rico (which ironically enough I got a hit from the other day). Anyways, I must salute the Youth Group of FBC-Wilmington as well as Youth Groups around the world who serve Christ, their churches and communities.

Blog Posts Of Interest 3

On spiritual meaning in the High School Musical phenomenon: Spiritual meaning in ‘High School Musical’ (really).


On the possibility of Pope Benedict XVI being a Barthian Catholic: Narrative and Ontology: Is the Pope Barthian?.


On Indiana Jones being denied tenure: C. Orthodoxy: Indiana Jones Denied Tenure.

Preteens use dance to share faith

Here's an interesting article from York Daily Record / Sunday News that I found when I was looking up something on Contemporary Christian Music:

Preteens use dance to share faith
'Worship dance' company performs at churches
By MELISSA NANN BURKE
Daily Record/Sunday News

Article Last Updated: 09/25/2008 12:24:53 PM EDT

Allison Smith, center front, dances last week with other members fo Believe, a worship dance company at the Greater York Center for Dance Education. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - BIL BOWDEN)

The preteen dancers look like others you'll find stretching in contortive positions on the hardwood floor of any American dance studio.
Black leotards, pink tights, locks pinned into hair-netted buns.

But when these girls take the stage, they don't tendue and tour to Tchaikovsky. They sashay to Steven Curtis Chapman. Instead of jazz hands, they bring their palms together in prayer.

They stretch their arms heavenward, wishing to be closer to God. At other points, dancers bow their heads in submission, miming a plea for forgiveness.

Their dance company is called Believe, a 3-year-old troupe based at the Greater York Center for Dance Education and performing in a style that blends elements of ballet, modern and lyrical dance.

Marina Rosario, a dancer with Believe, rehearses with the worship dance group. The troupe performs at local Christian congregations. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - BIL BOWDEN)

"I thought this was a good way to connect the two things I love most -- my faith and my love for dance," said 13-year-old Rebecca Swartz, an eighth-grader at Central York Middle School.

"The music is spiritual. It pleases God, and it's not like hip-hop, where the words can be bad or mention drugs."

Eleven-year-old Sarah Hoffman said, "If God gave me the gift of dance, I should express it back to him by using the talent he gave me."

The girls said they love the freedom of creating their own routines -- something they aren't permitted to do in other classes.

"It's more heart-driven dancing," said Lori Pergament, GYCDE's artistic director.

"It's open. Spiritual. If they're feeling moved by something, they can contribute to the choreography."

Performing at church services and other congregational events, Believe is sharing its form of worship dance across the county, said teacher Breanna Rufle Gruver.

"We just try to get across a positive message," said Gruver, a Catholic who began dancing at age 5.

"I'm a teacher in a lot of classes but I feel a special connection to my girls on worship team. You just feel closer to somebody when you have that spiritual connection."

Gruver prays with the dancers before rehearsal. At performances -- usually two or three each spring -- they gather in a circle and ask God to bless their performance and communicate his love to their audience.

Believe charges nothing to congregations who ask them to perform. Their only requirement is space -- roughly 30 feet by 10 feet.

771-2024; mburke@ydr.com

ON THE WEB

· Celebration of Dance

· International Christian Dance Fellowship

· Christian Dance Fellowship USA

· Dance in Christian Worship

-Find more news about faith, values and belief locally and nationwide in our new "Faith Life" section

Brings back memories of Youth Group and interpretive dance classes that were often offered at Youth camps like Centrifuge. What are your thoughts?

How to Share Your Faith Using Hannah Montana

How to Share Your Faith Using Hannah Montana Written by: Jane Dratz
Position: Editorial Coordinator
Posted: 11-05-2007
Culture Commission Archives
Tweener phenom Hannah Montana's (aka Miley Cyrus') whirlwind tour is packing concert venues across the country. If she hasn't already descended on a city near you... trust me, when she does, you're going to hear about it before, during and after her entourage sweeps in and out of town! Like it or not the buzz is deafening. Scoring a ticket has become a notable event in and of itself, if not for the swoon effect exhibited by ultra-devoted Hannah Montana fans, then for its potential resale value. Hannah's buzz is so intense and intentional that ticket prices on the resale market start at $300 in most concert cities and have reached a reported $2565.00 for a single ticket to the Charlotte, NC show.
Perhaps you are already more aware of this phenom than you want to be, but for the benefit of those who are still Hannah-oblivious, here's the crash course...Disney's Hannah Montana is a normal teen by day and a rock star by night - but this dual life is a secret from all but her family and her closest friends. Fanatical fans, world travel, shoes, hot clothes - did I mention shoes? - fill her world when she's inhabiting her rock star persona. But each morning a regular day-life awaits her as a typical teen with the normal teen joys and challenges - so what's not to love? As the song goes, it's "The Best of Both Worlds." Who wouldn't want to live their stardom dream AND keep their normal life?
And maybe that's the appeal. Deep down we all want to live our dreams. But how do you figure out in the first place what your dream is? What will really satisfy you in life? And if you're a believer, where does God fit into your dreams for the future? (Read more: Here).

For something different---go: Here---for what seems to be a subtle attack on the Emerging/Emergent Church though as usual confused with Rick Warren and the Seeker-Sensitive Church.

Anyways, here's a Hannah song that I think speaks to Dr. Queen's message from this past Sunday:

The key verses are:

You... You need to discover
Who can make you feel free
And I, I need to uncover,
The part of you that's reaching out for me
Hey hey hey!

I know where I stand
I know who I am
I would never run away when life gets bad
I'ts Everything I see,
Every part of me
I know I can change the world, yeah, yeah, yeah!

---these verses also remind me of Cassie Bernall.

So do you know where you stand and who you are in Christ? Do you stand against the things that Christ stood against? (Predjudice, racism, classism, bigotry, judgementalism, literalism, self-righteousness, materialism, sexism, social and individual sins, etc.) And do you stand up for the ones Christ stood up for? (The poor, the oppressed, the enslaved, drunks, homosexuals, prostitutes, tax-collectors, the elderly, the disabled, etc.)

Religion And Pop Culture

For those who haven't seen this site you should check it out: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~jporter/pop-culture.html .


One of my favorite links on there is The Gospel According To Degrassi --because it engages religious issues, in a way that young people can relate.