Study Bibles and Swaying Hips

There is a Pentecostal spirit on the west coast. You can go to the most traditional church in California {or Washington for that matter}, and you will see people dancing during worship in the front row. If you survey the more reserved worshipers in the back aisles, you still might catch some hands raised or hips swaying in time to the music.

I first noticed this difference when I moved from Seattle to Texas for college. In the Bible belt, I learned so much about theology and learned how to deeply study God’s Word. I grew spiritually at my church in Texas, but worship looked different. A bit more serious. Few hands raised. No one dancing.

I am a girl who loves God’s Word. My giant study Bible is one of my most precious possessions. I believe Scripture should be studied deeply, memorized, meditated upon, and applied to every circumstance of life. My theology is reformed, and I believe the Bible clearly shows that salvation is ordained by God for his elect, by grace alone through faith alone.

But I am also a girl who loves to dance. I love the feeling of dancing before the Lord, lifting my hands to worship our maker. I love the idea of praising God in creative ways – through song, poetry, essays, photography, painting, and the list goes on.

I went to a meeting recently at a school with a Pentecostal heritage. A faculty member there explained to me: “A Calvinist church in the area will be more focused on theology, but we are more focused on living life empowered by the Spirit.”

Does this have to be an either/or issue? I don’t think so. I believe we can live in a way that is deeply informed by God’s Word, with minds that seek to know the doctrines of the Bible and hearts that are in tune with the Spirit’s presence and promptings.

Let’s not be “Bible people” or “Spirit people.” Let’s be people that write in the margins in our Study Bibles and sway our hips during worship.