Message From the Pastor
Somehow I never pictured myself watching ballroom dancing on TV, on purpose. I guess I was expecting another "Lawrence Welk Show," but when I first watched "Dancing With the Stars," I was pleasantly surprised.
Twelve celebrities - six men and six women - are competing on live television, with the help of their professional-dancer partners. For some of them, ballroom dancing is not so much of a stretch from their regular jobs, as Broadway performers, musicians, or even a figure skating champion. For others, it is definitely not what they are accustomed to, such as the magician, comedian, and professional athletes.
For all of the celebrities, the challenge is to learn something new, something uncomfortable, and then demonstrate their accomplishments in front of judges, a studio audience, and millions of viewers on television. The degree of their success depends largely on their willingness to trust their professional-dancer partners. Each contestant is given scores by a panel of judges and by viewers who call in their votes. Each week the dancer with the lowest score is eliminated from the competition.
It occurred to me that, in some ways, the Christian life is not so different from competing on "Dancing With the Stars." We are all amateurs in the dance, but we have a professional to show us the way, the Lord of the Dance. We only need to be willing to trust as he leads and to learn the lessons he provides. Our "performance" will be seen by many witnesses every day, and it is not only our reputation that is being measured, but also the reputation of our Teacher.
But there's one very important difference between the Christian walk and a TV dance competition. No matter how many mistakes we make along the way, or how imperfect our steps may seem, we will never be eliminated by a panel of judges, as long as we are trying our best and are willing to keep practicing.
So let's go. One-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three ...
Peace,
Pastor Elisabeth
Twelve celebrities - six men and six women - are competing on live television, with the help of their professional-dancer partners. For some of them, ballroom dancing is not so much of a stretch from their regular jobs, as Broadway performers, musicians, or even a figure skating champion. For others, it is definitely not what they are accustomed to, such as the magician, comedian, and professional athletes.
For all of the celebrities, the challenge is to learn something new, something uncomfortable, and then demonstrate their accomplishments in front of judges, a studio audience, and millions of viewers on television. The degree of their success depends largely on their willingness to trust their professional-dancer partners. Each contestant is given scores by a panel of judges and by viewers who call in their votes. Each week the dancer with the lowest score is eliminated from the competition.
It occurred to me that, in some ways, the Christian life is not so different from competing on "Dancing With the Stars." We are all amateurs in the dance, but we have a professional to show us the way, the Lord of the Dance. We only need to be willing to trust as he leads and to learn the lessons he provides. Our "performance" will be seen by many witnesses every day, and it is not only our reputation that is being measured, but also the reputation of our Teacher.
But there's one very important difference between the Christian walk and a TV dance competition. No matter how many mistakes we make along the way, or how imperfect our steps may seem, we will never be eliminated by a panel of judges, as long as we are trying our best and are willing to keep practicing.
So let's go. One-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three ...
Peace,
Pastor Elisabeth