The Horeb French Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brooklyn, NY, recently presented a Friday night “dance ministry” performance portraying the resurrection of Christ, where a dramatized figure, supposedly Jesus, emerged from the tomb accompanied by choreographed dancers and loud music in a theatrical extravaganza. The scene shows Jesus performing and moving in sync with intense drumbeats, mixing the biblical event of Christ coming from the tomb with a style of expressive dance more commonly associated with contemporary Sunday worship productions.
Rather than reflecting the historic reverence and simplicity that have long characterized Adventist worship, the presentation leaned heavily on entertainment, blaring music, drama, and choreography to convey its message. This kind of performance reflects a growing trend seen in many dynamic worship services, where worship increasingly incorporates over-the-top entertainment, dance teams, and high-energy music as central features of the service. However, such methods have no real foundation in the history or practice of Seventh-day Adventism, which rejected similar displays in its early days and instead emphasized solemnity, biblical teaching, and a clear distinction between sacred worship and worldly entertainment.
Introducing dramatized dance and performance-based worship represents a departure from our unique heritage, aligning more closely with the kind of dancing and music associated with the worship of the golden calf:
“And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing” Exodus 32:15-19.
Dancing mixed with shouting and singing around the golden calf was a reflection and imitation of a pagan worship experience with its hypnotic beats and zombie dancing. Paganism is not dead. Our church today conducts dynamic worship services that incorporate the same elements seen in this world. What was once condemned as idolatry is now being repackaged as “spirit-filled” worship, removing the line between the holy and the profane. When emotion, noise, and spectacle replace reverence and truth, worship no longer exalts God—it exalts the passions and flesh, plays on our emotions, and is centered on outward display.
Drawing from Ecclesiastes 5:1–2, where we are told to “keep thy foot” and not be “rash” before God, along with Psalm 89:7 declaring that God is to be “had in reverence” among His people, the Bible clearly presents worship as a sacred encounter, not a casual gathering. Habakkuk 2:20 adds, “Let all the earth keep silence before him,” reminding us that God’s presence calls for stillness and awe, while 1 Corinthians 14:40 instructs that “all things be done decently and in order.” Together, these passages show that when we enter the Lord’s house, our attitude and conduct should reflect calmness, humility, and deep respect. Worship is not a place for loud, chaotic, or party-like behavior but for thoughtful, orderly, and reverent communion with a holy God.
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Are the members of the church aware that we are living in the judgment hour and the great day of atonement? I believe that this is the underlying issue because if they did, this type of conduct and other highly irreverent activities taking place in our churches would never be permitted. This is the Laodicean condition in verity. God is calling for a Revival and Reformation all throughout our ranks and a good starting point is the book True Revival by Ellen G White. It is a must read for anyone who is truly concerned about their salvation.