Dance Like Matt

Have you seen "Where the Hell is Matt?" on YouTube? If you are not familiar, "Dancing Guy" is a "joyful and charming.. newly minted YouTube Celebrity" (there is a great article in the Atlantic) who travels the world and, well, dances. Awkwardly stomping out the simplest jig an untrained dancer could muster up, Matt finds himself in places that most could not track down on a map or globe. He seems to be celebrating his own presence in the location with unfettered glee. It's silly, but fun to watch for reasons unexplainable. Today, the Dancing Guy posted a different type of video. Having parted ways with his typical tap, he instead flashes before our eyes attempts at learning new dances that would be popular in that culture. It's still awkward and silly, yet honest, authentic, and beautiful. What makes this video truly special is best stated by MIT's Ethan Zuckerman when he said, "Matt goes from dancing around the world (to) dancing with the world." I wish Christians did that. As Christians, we often fall into the trap of attacking the world. We complain about nearly everything we can find to complain about with all the fervor of the Pharisees. While there are moments when Christians must speak out for what is right, I think that Christians should spend more time learning to dance. What do I mean by "learning to dance?" In short, I mean moving in the rhythms of the culture. Culture is not a bad thing. To complain about culture as a whole is as ridiculous as a fish complaining about water. Arguing against culture must be done from a cultural perspective; it is a reality that you cannot escape. While culture, like water, can be toxic, it is not always. So, when culture is good (which is often the case) we want to celebrate it and move to the rhythms like Matt. How can you move to the rhythms of culture? First, when you learn to dance, you watch and try to know what the moves are before you jump in. In culture, learn to understand culture on it's own grounds. Remember, you are part of it and you contribute to it. You are not a 3rd person objective viewer. You are fully submerged. Some good questions might be, what is this particular expression saying? Why is this important to those expressing it? What values, beliefs, ideas are being expressed? This is about understanding, not critiquing. Second, in dancing you try out the moves you know you can do. In culture, seek to affirm as much as possible. People live in God's world and therefore cannot escape affirming some truths about God's world in cultural expression. Some good questions might be, what is good, true or beautiful about what is being said? What lines up with Biblical values, beliefs and ideas? What can we affirm and support about what is being said? Christians are great at complaining, but I think our first response ought to be affirmation where possible. Third, in dancing you may not try moves that will harm you (flips, etc.). In culture, there are patterns and practices that will harm our soul if we live them out. These are the things that we should speak out against as Christians. Not because we are angry, but because we care about people. Some good questions might be, what would you question or be concerned about? What patterns/practices might end in harm for the person? What values, beliefs, and ideas fail to promote human flourishing? While we may need to complain about certain things in culture, we do so from a heart that cares about the welfare of human beings. Finally, in dancing you move to the rhythm with other people; it's a collaborative and community event. In culture, we want to interact, engage and dance with other people. You are in community with the people around you regardless of whether you agree or disagree with what they are doing/believing. In light of this, some questions might be, how can I build a bridge to the gospel for this person? How can I help people live in God-honoring ways? How can I express myself in a winsome/attractive way? What are some moves (beliefs, ideas, values, practices) that I can interject in a positive way? As I said, earlier, culture is not a bad thing. While culture can have harmful ideas/practices (etc.) we must remember that we are always in culture and to even reject an aspect of culture does so from a cultural perspective. The goal of our dance is not necessarily perfection or performance, but gleefully offering our gifts to the world because of Jesus and dancing to the rhythm of culture that leads them to His arms.