The subject of dancing is one that elicits varied opinions all around the world. While a school of thought believes it comes with therapeutic benefits; and another believes it is spiritual and biblical; there are various extremist Christian groups which believe dancing is inherently sinful and should be proscribed in general or during religious services.
For the purpose of this intervention, the seductive instrument that dancing is fast becoming or has become in Celestial Church of Christ vis-à-vis its spiritual significance is the central focus of this piece.
It is not clear when dancing became an activity for humans. But from the early records of civilization dancing, at one point or the other, dancing was an act used for mate selection, the invocation of fetish spirits, initiation to secret societies, and worship of pagan gods – it was either ceremonial or ritualistic. And as civilization progressed it morphed into an activity for social functions, a form of mere entertainment, displayed especially in night clubs. We all know clubhouses to be a centre for extreme profanities, a space that does not agree with our Christian beliefs. However, in recent times, some of these dance steps displayed in clubs have been surfacing during worship, in our churches. And the question now is: why are we bringing the unholy to the house of holiness?
The word dance or dancing, in all its forms, appears multiple times in the Bible. And they are two interpretations to it. The first could be translated to mean jumping up and down in (un)controlled excitement depicting joy. The second could be translated to mean indecent bodily movement, which was always condemned in passages where it appeared. Primarily, dancing, especially for women, is to some degree, a seductive expression of body movements. It was why the women of old used it to seduce fetish spirits they sought favour from, or, as was the case in mate selection, to seduce and attract a potential partner. Therefore, the act of dancing can induce lust and lead to fornication or other sinful acts. A biblical account lucidly explains how dancing led to an atrocious act by the great King of Galilee, Herod and Herodias’s daughter. In Mark 6:21-22, Apostle Mark wrote, “Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.’” Salome, encouraged by her mother Herodias, asked for the head of John the Baptist. And King Herod, under the seductive spell incited by Salome’s dance moves, consented. He slew the man of God and served John the Baptist’s head to Salome. This is an example of how extreme the power of sensual dancing can be, and the damage it can bring. Under the influence of its seduction we can go to extremes and commit acts we should not involve with, as Christians. It is why we shouldn’t bring this ungodly movement of body parts into our places of worship.
In early July 2019, a video of a young member of the Celestial Church of Christ went viral on the internet. In this video, the young man was doing a dance redolent of masturbation, a dance that was popularised by a Nigerian musician Naira Marley. This dance we all know as Soapy. And this young man, with his palm folded into a fist in front of his crotch, moved to our Christian praises with his immoral dance step, rocking the folded fist back and forth to mimic stroking. At that time, the video sparked a lot of controversies, of how young Christians are letting pop culture slide into our religion, of how these young Christians, with their sensual dances, are desecrating God’s holy ground, of how they are painting the church in a bad light. This young man could feign ignorance and say he didn’t know the implications of his actions. And that is why it’s important we have this conversation. The question I’ll ask is this: When you move your body in a way suggestive of sexual activity, what image would you be putting in the minds of people around you? If you answered honestly, you’ll agree that you have, at that moment, planted unclean thoughts in their heads. In short, you have led them to sin. For fear of sounding judgemental, can you beat your chest, come clean and say you are not as guilty as those whom you have led astray in their innermost thoughts even if they did not physically manifest the lechery in their head? Also, about a month before the Soapy dancer’s video, another video of a Celestial member had gone viral too. And in this one, a young woman was dancing in front of seated elders of the church. She twisted her waist and moved her backside to the rhythm of the drumbeat in the background. It’s a dance popular among ungodly women known as ‘twerking’ – a dance that has no place in the church of God. This video made outsiders say all sort of things against our church. Many who do not understand our values began to condemn us because of the act of this young lady, saying our church has become a clubhouse. Is this the image we want to project? Anyway, these are the ones that went viral because they crept into the internet, but how about the ones that didn’t? Dancing is an activity of the body, requiring the movement of the shoulders, waists, and feet, a movement that can become sexually suggestive depending on how you move. In our churches, it’s been noticed that most of our ladies, while dancing, end up shaking their behinds in worship, even their breasts too, which can prove provocative for the men around them. Sandra Humphrey, author of What Do You Communicate, said, “No healthy man will deny that it is sexually arousing to watch a girl swing her hips and breasts suggestively to music.” It’s a biological reaction and the best way to surmount any lustful temptations is to flee. We can’t pretend the sway of hips and twist of waist women do in church is not sexually suggestive or not dropping lascivious ideas in people’s minds. For example, if you were one of those elders seated before the twerking lady, what thoughts do you think would creep into your mind? Even if by the grace of God, you avert the temptation and chose to not act on it, it doesn’t negate the fact that a lewd thought was established. In Matthew 5:28 Jesus said, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” And if your sensual dancing was responsible for men lusting after you in church, won’t you be guilt-ridden at the fall of those men? Many may say they only danced to glorify God and not to tempt the opposite sex. But the question I’ll ask is when this suggestive movement of the body is corrupting the hearts of the opposite sex in church, does the dance glorify God? In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8) Take note of “whatever things are pure”. Now, if your dancing was pure would it plant impure thoughts in others? Remember that anything that is of the Lord is pure. And if the endpoint of dancing leads to impurity, then it is safe to say that dancing is not of the Lord. And we should desist from it. As committed members of the Celestial Church of Christ, we should always look back to our foundation to be sure we are not breaking away from our roots. The first primary mission set by our founder, Reverend Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa, is: “To worship God Almighty in holiness and reverence.” Dancing provocatively in the church is in opposition to this mission. It may feel innocent to indulge. And one could say they are only dancing to the glory of God, in praise and adoration, as King David in the bible danced with reckless abandon. But remember that David was a bad dancer, so his dancing was putting his image, if caught by another eye, at the risk of embarrassment. He had something to lose. And his poor dancing skill, instead of pulling or drawing the eyes seductively, instigated mockery. Michal, daughter of Saul, even condemned David for his dancing: “But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. … When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, ‘How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!’” (2 Samuel 6:16, 20) But David retorted, saying he was willing to look more foolish than he did, even to the point of humiliation, in celebration for what God has done for him. The things to pick out of this are: David danced out of excitement and he lost control. David knew he was a bad dancer, so him dancing before those people was a thing of embarrassment for his image, which could make some people lose respect for him. And we all know how important people’s respect is for a king. And David also knew but was putting his self-respect at stake. So, when you chose to reference David as an example when you’re dancing recklessly, ask yourself: What do you have to lose? What is the personal/important thing you are putting at stake? Some of us do it because we feel it is the way of the world now, and we’re evolving alongside. But remember what John wrote, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17) The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes: We can tell where these two forms of lust can happen at once: dancing. And as children of God, we shouldn’t corrupt our morality with the ways of the world. We shouldn’t let the want of the flesh to lead us to sin. The Bible was always particular about the dangers of sexual immorality and promiscuity. Whether we chose to admit it or not, dancing is sexual. It is an erotic stimulant. Dancing breeds lust. And with lust leading sexual advances will follow. And if the spirit is weak, church members can fall into the sin of fornication or adultery. In the book of Galatians 5:19-21, Paul wrote, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, … and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The word we’ll pick out here is sensuality, also referred to as lasciviousness in other translations. Its root meaning is: moving the body in a way that arouses sexual desire. And if we should compress that definition into a modern-day word, wouldn’t that be dance? You can see that the dancing, in itself, can deprive one of inheriting God’s kingdom. There are many ways through which we can glorify God without having to put up seductive dancing shows that make our Christian virtues questioned; many honourable ways through which we can express our joy and gratitude for Him. Yes, God has turned our mourning into dancing but the dance does not have to project those trending carnal dances. God sees our hearts. He knows if we are deeply thankful. He knows if we are truly worshipping. Shaking your body in a way that could lead others to sin is not necessary at all. Singing praises to His name is worship enough. Giving offerings and tithe is enough to show gratitude. We should abstain from this act that may lead us to eternal damnation and focus on worshipping God the right way, the way our founding father followed.
The leadership of the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria had said that the Church is a single entity and is being controlled by a leader recognized by the Corporate Affairs Commission and other law of the land in person of Baba Alakoso Pro. Dr. Clement Taye Olatunji Olagoke JP.
Speaking in Lagos recently through a message tagged “Ye Shall Know the truth and the truth shall set you free”,the Church said that it has decided to make use of the recent Publication to get across to the general public and members of The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria on the True Position of the Church.
The concerned leaders of the Church have observed that during the recent upgrading of Banks in Nigeria, some of the branches are having difficulties in the running of their accounts and “we don’t want to leave them in that critical situation since some of the requirements to activate their account are in our custody and we did not attack or mention names in our publication and we are very careful of our choice of words to give room for peace’.
Continuing, Baba Alakoso Pro. Dr Clement Taye Olatunji Olagoke, head of The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria warned the general public against the echo of the self styled Baba Alakoso Solomon Adegboyega Alao who was said to have been banned by Federal High court in Lagos but now hiding by parading himself as the Olori of C&S Unification and that the said Alao was admitted to The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria as an OBSERVER in 1984 from his registered Church called ” Holy Mount of Salvation C S Church surulere Lagos.
And that “he later coined the name to deceive people as ” Holy Mount of Salvation (C S) Church” of The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria, maintaining his registered name Holy Mount of Salvation C& S Church as account name”
Baba Alakoso Pro. Dr. Clement Taye Olatunji Olagoke JP said the Church is not interested in trading words with any body or bodies, ” But we want the general public to note that The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church headquarter is located at Orita Bashorun Ashi Ibadan Oyo State which is one of the properties of the Church in Nigeria, He stressed further that anybody armed with illicit weapons can only hold the landlord into ransom which is just for a while but when the assertion were to be made, your landlord will show who is the Imposters is as stated in your publication.
The Baba Alakoso asked the so called self styled leader in the person of Dr. S. A Alao to proved his authenticity by answering the following questions, that is to come forward with the Original Certificate of The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria with reg. No 324, the Original Certificate of SCULM from EFCC. for the registered certificate,Certificate of Tax Identification Number (TIN) for the registered certificate , show to the general public and the 550 Parishes the names of the living board of Trustees among other things.
The Sacred C&S Church said the only leader recognised by the movement and Baba Alakoso who is also a member of the board of Trustee recognized by Law is Pro. Dr. Clement Taye Olatunji Olagoke JP, The General Superintendent and supreme head of The Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria and that whoever parades himself as Baba Alakoso other than Clement Taye Olatunji Olagoke JP will be reported appropriately for questioning.
*POPULAR GOSPEL ACT, P-CENTRIC WINS BIG AT CAMA 2024 AS THE MOST VERSATILE.*
It was really a big day for so many representatives from several industries and the religious spheres as multi-talented gospel act P-centric happened to be one the recipients of the 14th edition of Classic Africa Merits Awards CAMA 2024 as the most versatile gospel artiste of the year for his tremendous contribution to the gospel industry.
The glamorous event was held at the prestigious Lagos Airport Hotel on the 17th of November 2024.
Likes of Dr. DK Olukoya of MFM, Dr. Anene Nwachukwu of Rhema Ministries were also recipients amongst several religious leaders physically represented on the colourful day.
Prosper Anozie popularly known as P-centric is no new name in the Nigerian gospel music terrain.
Known for his velvet voice and exceptional songwriting skills with great altar ministrations.
Prosper has garnered himself recognition across West Africa to the United Kingdom where he is currently based through his excellent musical compositions and worship leadership.
He has been professionally active in the kingdom business for over a decade.
A well committed servant of God
His smash singles, My Anchor, I’m Yours, Realms of glory ft. Sister Wisdom are still available online for download.
He expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards the organizers of the award in one of recent posts on social media and also keeping fans abreast of his next music projects in the year 2025.
The Limit Breaker Texas : Instructions Breaks Limitations – Dr Chris Okafor.
… best way to serve God is to be foolish before him.. Okafor
To break out from every Limitation militating against once greatness is to understand the Principalities and Technicalities on how to forge ahead in Life.
Speaking at Day 2 of the ongoing Program The Limit Breaker Conference in Texas Houston United States of America, The Generational Prophet of God and Senior Pastor Grace Nation Global Dr Chris Okafor the Problem of Most Christians is that, though they go to church to pray but many of them have in mind what they want God to say about them, they ignore instructions.
The Generational Prophet of God also remarked that Every instruction the spirit gives might not be convenient but when you listen and implement, you will break out of Limitations.
The Clergyman who teaches on the Topic “Breaking Limitations” said when you accurately implement the instructions Elohim gave, What will come after will blow your mind, Limits in your life, Jobs, Marriage, Finance, Health, will be broken.
In conclusion Dr Chris Okafor explained that when you pray and sacrifice, sometimes it might seem nothing is happening in the Physical but in the spirit realms the mega plan of God Is ongoing and not too long the Breakthrough will be so feasible that the world will call you a true child of God cause instruction breaks Limitations.
It was all-round Healing , Deliverance, restoration and Solution to Problems during the realms of the Prophetic at the conference, God used his servant Dr Chris Okafor in a strange way to profile Solutions to different case files brought before God, while Testimonies are flying in from Participants who attended the day one of the Conference.
If you are in Houston Texas and environs and you miss the first two days of the Limit Breaker Conference you can join God’s servant on Day 3, (i.e) 20 November 2024, The Venue is Holiday inn West way Park 4606 West way Park Blvd Houston TX 77041 and the Time is 4pm.