David danced, Moses freed

Don't judge me, but one of my favorite scenes from a movie occurred in Footloose (you knew it would be Footloose, didn't you?), when Ren addressed the town council, attempting to convince them to allow a high school dance.

Ren: [addressing the town council, reading from his notes in the Bible] "From the oldest of times, people danced for a number of reasons. They danced in prayer... or so that their crops would be plentiful... or so their hunt would be good. And they danced to stay physically fit... and show their community spirit. And they danced to celebrate." And that is the dancing we're talking about. Aren't we told in Psalm 149 "Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song. Let them praise His name in the dance"? And it was King David - King David, who we read about in Samuel - and what did David do? What did David do?

[paging frantically through Bible]

Ren: What *did* David do?

[audience laughs]

Ren: "David danced before the Lord with all his might... leaping and dancing before the Lord."

[smacks table in front of Reverend Moore]

Ren: *Leaping* and *dancing*.

[stands up straight]

Ren: Ecclesiastes assures us... that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to laugh... and a time to weep. A time to mourn... and there is a time to dance. And there was a time for this law, but not anymore. See, this is our time to dance. It is our way of celebrating life. It's the way it was in the beginning. It's the way it's always been. It's the way it should be now.

Brilliant. He knew his audience. He spoke their language. He was so passive aggressive. Ya gotta love it.

I'm pretty certain that if there is ever a sequel, we will see a much older Kevin Bacon addressing the jury, just as eloquent, always speaking to his audience, verbalizing with words they understand. Because I'm sure he grew up to be a lawyer.

After this weekend of research and note taking and expert finding, I'm pretty certain I missed my calling and I, too, was supposed to be a lawyer. I've done my research and we're ready.

Can't you hear it now:

Cindy: [addressing the group] And what did Moses do? What did Moses do? What *did* Moses do?

[group laughs]

Cindy: Moses said, "Let my people go."

Yeah, something like that.

If you think about us today, we ask for your prayers. We ask for favor, divine favor. We ask that light and love and forgiveness would ooze from our being. We ask for the wisdom of Solomon. We ask that chains would be broken and mountains would be moved.

And we ask for the right words at the right time, in language our audience will understand.

And what did Daniel do? What did Daniel do? What *did* Daniel do?

Daniel prayed.

Because it matters to this one.