Eugene Cho has a thought provoking post on this video over at his blog. You should check it out.
Most of the time its downright dangerous to stand out, speak up, or rock the boat. Then there are moments when the music inside just won’t stay hidden. Like our friend the “Dancing Man” above, also known as Collin Wynter of Calgary, Canada. Ignoring the warnings from his friends and nearby onlookers that his performance was being recorded by countless others in the crowd, Collin persisted in getting his groove on.
Between the bombastic beats, the lyrical chant; “I’ve got to be unstoppable,” and Collin’s uninhibited performance something began to happen within the crowd of onlookers. A mob of spectators slowly became a group of participants. One can only speculate as to why the second guy got up and joined Wynter. Perhaps he thought it would be cute to mock him? Perhaps his fear of what others might think eroded at the sight of Wynter giving himself fully to the dance? We don’t know. What’s apparent is that he opens the door for the others. Shortly after welcoming the third dancer, an avalanche of dancers begin running to the scene. Its like they were waiting for a chance to break out from their confinement to the status quo of, “look cool, unaffected, and in control.”
Am I making much ado about nothing here? Certainly! But the visual illustration is a beautiful one nonetheless. If followers of Jesus want to be the answer to Christ’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” then they will need to start dancing out in the open for all to see. Just any ole beat and lyrics won’t do either. The tune needs to be that which Christ embodied — the tune of love. A love that is most definitely “unstoppable.” A love that drives out fear — that gives good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. A love that liberates us unto what it means to be humans, made in the image of God.

5 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 30, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Jonathan Brink
Actually this is an edited version of the video. The guy actually dances by himself for quite a while before the second guy joins him.
June 30, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Zach Roberts
Jonathan, I picked this version for its brevity. Not sure readers would have wanted to watch the full length experience.
July 6, 2009 at 1:05 am
Nathaniel
the sermon I heard today echoed your sentiment. Using the story of “the rich young ruler,” the minister said that whatever grace God has given us we should give back. Be a blessing because we are blessed. This video is a more visual illustration.
July 11, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Stop Whining, Start Dancing « When the Church Hurts
[...] like what Zach Roberts had to say about this video over at Baptimergent. If followers of Jesus want to be the answer to Christ’s prayer, “Thy [...]
July 18, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Less Whining, More Dancing | Open Table Theology///Live, Write, Learn
[...] like what Zach Roberts had to say about this video over at Baptimergent. If followers of Jesus want to be the answer to Christ’s prayer, “Thy [...]