By Dr. Ann Stevenson

Restoration of All Things 

The disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3, “…what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” 

His answer to them reads like today’s headlines—persecution, hatred, false prophets, wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, etc. Yet, Scripture also tells us, “…that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive [retain] until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets…” (Acts 3:20-21 NASB). 

As the signs of the times reveal that the end is drawing near, so must the restoration of all things as spoken by the mouths of the prophets take place before the return of Christ.

My heart is filled with a message of simple truths, which I desire to share with all who would have ears to hear. These truths concern the restoration of a precious gift from our Creator, and this gift is dance. The Body of Christ has been deceived and robbed of this gift having its proper place in the Church as a powerful tool of ministry in worship, warfare, and celebration. 

Satan has successfully convinced many Christians that dance is carnal in nature. Some believe, without question, that there is no place for dance within the Church today. 

This is an understandable point of view, for the only example of dance previously known to most has been that of a worldly nature. With the world as our standard, we have most often witnessed a distorted, perverted version of what God originally created for a pure and holy purpose. 

God’s Original Purpose for Dance 

God has placed a desire in my heart to see this gift restored in purity to His glory, honor, and power. It is time for God’s original intent and purpose for creating dance to be taught in balance and in accordance with God’s Word within the Church at large. I have witnessed a great deal of imbalance in the Church, which has resulted in two major extremes. 

On the one hand, there are those who are taking a stand for what seems comfortable, proper, and trouble-free, concluding that the safest policy is to have no dance at all. Their philosophy seems to be, “If you want to avoid the risk of drowning, don’t even put your toe in the water.” This is a group that I want to stir up and inspire to break the chains and bondages of religion and the traditions of man. With them, I see myself at the reins saying, “Come on, let’s go.” 

On the other hand, there are those who are experiencing an “anything goes,” or over-zealousness, in the dance without any sound teaching according to God’s Word. This acting in zeal without knowledge can bring great confusion to an already skeptical, wounded Church. 

Let’s be careful not to take just one portion of Scripture on the dance, such as, “Let them praise His name in the dance” (Ps. 149:3a), and run with it. A little knowledge can be dangerous. To this group, I see myself pulling back on the reins, saying, “Whoa! Slow down!” This group seems to have no knowledge of the dangers of deep waters, and are jumping into an area over their heads where they won’t know how to swim or even stay afloat. 

Dance Restored in Spirit and Truth 

We are living in a time when things are moving very quickly in the physical world as well as in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God. This can be exciting and dangerous at the same time. In today’s generation, our culture has trained us to desire and expect instant gratification; however, this is the opposite of the training necessary for developing the Christ-like character we as the Church were created to be formed into.

This rushed training nourishes and satisfies our carnal nature, while enforcing and adding fuel to the already raging battle between soul and spirit. The dance that God longs to see restored is one of spirit and truth, not flesh and soul. 

Many pitfalls await to ensnare the Church, which can bring discouragement, doubt, and fear. Many churches start out with a bang, in a hurry to experience the fullness of what God has for us in dance, only to crash and burn shortly thereafter. 

Another victory for the enemy is gained as these churches often never want to have anything to do with dance again. We must realize that the true restoration of dance in holiness and purity cannot be rushed. Desire without knowledge is not good, and to be over-hasty is to sin and miss the mark (Proverbs 19:2 AMP). 

Dance of the Restored 

Another important truth concerning God’s order in the dance is that God will always begin by redeeming and restoring the man before dealing with that man’s gifts or ministry. He cares more about who we are in Him than what we think we can do for Him.

Obviously, before one considers the dance, he or she must have a true revelation of and a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It would be a vain and empty process to attempt to go through the motions of worshiping a God that you have never known or loved. 

Unless there has been an inner transformation of the spirit-man, dance used in the capacity of praise and worship is nothing more than physical exercise to Christian music. God is far more concerned with the re-creation of your spirit than the physical recreation of your body.

It is not the restoration of dance itself that pleases the heart of God, but it is the restoration of dance that is birthed as an overflowing expression of love, joy, victory, and thankfulness through those who are spiritually restored in Christ. Therefore we can say, “God seeks not the restoration of dance but the dance of the restored.” 

At this point in time, as we seek to find success in repossessing this land we call dance, there is a great spiritual warfare against its restoration to the fullness of God’s original intent and purpose. The goal of Ann Stevenson’s book DANCE! God’s Holy Purpose, is to cut through the deceptions of the enemy with the sword of the Spirit that we may  renew our minds according to the order of God’s holy Word.

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Dr. Ann Stevenson is internationally recognized for her apostolic leadership as a biblical teacher and pioneer in the restoration of dance to the church. Teaching since 1970 Ann directed one of the largest Christian dance ministries in the nation, while traveling extensively, promoting high standards of holiness for dance.