There have been a multitude of things over the years that have been done in the name of God or 'for Jesus' sake'. Wars have been fought in His name and atrocities have been committed in the spirit of furthering His Kingdom on earth. Most, if not all, I'm sure He would rather not have His name associated with. But now, in a little studio outside of Houston, Texas, some church-going ladies are taking their Jesus loving to the pole. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...Pole Dancing For Jesus! Hallelujah!I couldn't make this up. It is 100% true. The second Sunday of every month these women get together after church and perform their pole workouts to upbeat contemporary Christian music. The studio's owner (a former pole dancing alumna) believes she connects clients to God by directing them to a more joyful life. I'm sure they all feel closer to God when they grind their bodies against a metal pole. I know I do....
At the Best Shape Of Your Life Studio, pole dancing is described as a way of taking care of the body that God has given you. To gain admission to the class, these proselytizing pole dancers need to bring a church bulletin showing that they went to church. The church bulletin also allows each woman to wear a pair of those transparent acrylic stilettos. Chick-a Chick-a Bang Bang!
All right...so a group of Church-going women want to get together, play Christian music, and grind their 'secret garden' against a pole while they hang upside down with their legs spread. I guess it is no worse than Christians who give the appearance of piety on Sunday mornings and then go home and watch DVD's with sex, violence and language filthy enough to make my grandmother blush (and she's dead). While I don't condone either ritual, at least the movie watchers don't make the claim of Watching Dirty DVD's for Jesus.
I have always used this question as a barometer as to whether I'm doing something Jesus would approve of..."Could I bring Jesus along with me while I was doing this?" If I wouldn't be comfortable enough having Jesus there with me, then I most likely shouldn't be doing it. I somehow think Jesus might not approve of the suggestive nature of pole dancing. I'm pretty sure that other fitness classes burn the same amount of calories.
What's next...Pub Crawling For Christ? I think sometimes it is just better to leave Jesus' name out of some things and Pole Dancing is one of them.
Be Well.
Bill
