Position on Dancing

On 9/29/94 the Chapelgate Session took the following position:

• It is biblically permissible for Christians to engage in social dancing. The Bible does not command against it. In fact, dancing was a rich part of O.T. Jewish culture. It may not have been precisely like current social dancing, but involved various kinds of body movements that could have been observed lustfully by a sinful human heart. The Mosaic literature, with its summaries and applications of the Law of God, did not disallow or regulate this cultural phenomenon, nor did the prophets address it in their denunciation of cultural deviations from the Law of God.

  Also, there is no basis from N.T. principles and commands to disallow it.

  Let us therefore protect the following doctrines:

  1. Sanctification—it is by grace through faith which produces obedience.
  2. The Law of God—it is wrong to add to or take from it.
  3. Christian Liberty—it is wrong to, by policy, bind the conscience or establish boundaries (canon law) in areas where there is not clear biblical warrant to do so.

On 6/19/2007 the Chapelgate Session added the following position:

• Given that the Session has already (1994) declared it's belief that social dancing is permissible and that the Bible leaves this squarely in the realm of Christian liberty, the Session will not forbid what God permits, but—as always—will look to ministry leaders and, in the case of events with minors, chaperones to encourage and admonish as necessary.
• Session will ask Church staff to modify the Wedding Policy and Guidelines to remove the restriction on dancing.
• Session will ask the Director of Communications to communicate this change to Chapelgate's ministries.