by Steven Norris
This week, I sat in the old fellowship hall of a Baptist Church on St. Simon’s Island, strumming my four-stringed ukulele and singing along with about 75 others gathered there: “Take it easy, take it easy / Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.” I know, the picture of a church group from Griffin playing 70s-era yacht rock music on the beach could boggle the mind, but it is true.
On Monday, eighteen members of the ukulele ensemble at our church made their way to the beach to serve as the evening entertainmentment for a senior adult retreat of our state denominational group. We sang hymns in the worship that preceded our little performance, but sitting around the tables, putting homemade cake in our mouths, we “let our hair down” with a set list comprised largely of songs by The Eagles. (It was pretty funny watching a room full of Baptists singing “Tequila Sunrise” without having to refer to the lyrics at all.)
When the show was over, I was surrounded by a number of folks who could not say enough about how much fun that was and how much they had been blessed by it. One gentleman said, “A group of Baptists playing The Eagles on ukuleles was not on my Bingo card for tonight, but I loved it.” The following morning, multiple pastors came up to me saying, “You don’t realize what a wonderful thing you have going on in Griffin.”
I assured them that I did know what a good thing we have going, but it made me pause and reflect: Christians in general (and Baptists in particular) have a reputation for not celebrating well. In times of seriousness — illness, pain, or death — the church is one of the first places people think to go. When it is time for a party, however, they tend to look elsewhere.
To fight this misconception, I have a button in my office. It looks similar to the “easy button” made popular by the office supply store, Staples. When you press it, a Scandinavian voice says, “30-second dance party” followed by 30 seconds of techno dance music. The rule is that if anyone comes into the office and presses the button, everyone has to stop and “dance it out” for 30 a seconds — a few moments of joy and laughter in a silly place. I may have scandalized our congregation this past Sunday when my sermon included a “30-second dance party” where the children and I grooved for a few moments in the middle of a lesson.
Have we forgotten the instructions of our holy scripture? Psalm 30 contains a song of praise, testifying that “You [God] have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.” We are still in the midst of the Easter season — a season celebrating victory over defeat, joy over mourning, and life over death. So break out your dancing shoes — this is a season to “cut a rug” and remind the world that followers of Christ should be leading the parade. Why? Because Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.