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Dance, Stand, Run: The God-Inspired Moves of a Woman on Holy Ground
A more abundant life is within your reach. Join Jess Connolly as she casts a fresh vision for how to break free of cheap grace and empty rule-keeping and change the world rather than be changed by it.
Grace is always good news, but it's not cheap. True grace compels us to change, and that's where holiness comes in. Jess Connolly--beloved writer, speaker, business coach, coauthor of Wild and Free, and author of You Are the Girl for the Job--will be the first to admit that not long ago, like many women, she embraced God's grace, but found herself forgetting holiness altogether.
Dance, Stand, Run charts Jess's discovery that holiness was never meant to be a shaming reminder of what we "should" do, but rather a profound privilege of becoming more like Christ.
In Dance, Stand, Run, Jess shares the truth that changed her life and her faith once we've gripped the grace that Jesus has given us by faith and planted our feet on his holy ground, we become ambassadors of life, hope, truth, and love.
Jess will give you the encouragement you need to
Claim your identity as a holy daughter of GodLive out your holy influence with confidence before a watching worldDiscover your true purposeDance, Stand, Run is an invitation to God's daughters to step into the movements of abundant dancing in grace, standing firm in holiness, and running on mission.
Grace is always good news, but it's not cheap. True grace compels us to change, and that's where holiness comes in. Jess Connolly--beloved writer, speaker, business coach, coauthor of Wild and Free, and author of You Are the Girl for the Job--will be the first to admit that not long ago, like many women, she embraced God's grace, but found herself forgetting holiness altogether.
Dance, Stand, Run charts Jess's discovery that holiness was never meant to be a shaming reminder of what we "should" do, but rather a profound privilege of becoming more like Christ.
In Dance, Stand, Run, Jess shares the truth that changed her life and her faith once we've gripped the grace that Jesus has given us by faith and planted our feet on his holy ground, we become ambassadors of life, hope, truth, and love.
Jess will give you the encouragement you need to
Claim your identity as a holy daughter of GodLive out your holy influence with confidence before a watching worldDiscover your true purposeDance, Stand, Run is an invitation to God's daughters to step into the movements of abundant dancing in grace, standing firm in holiness, and running on mission.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 24, 2017
234 people are currently reading
1565 people want to read
About the author
Jess Connolly
35 books334 followersJess Connolly is a gal who is in the thick of it herself. She is the founder of the Naptime Diaries print shop, co-founder of the Influence Conference + Network, and she is passionate about using her words to point women to Jesus through writing and speaking. She and her husband planted a church in Charleston, South Carolina, where they live with their four children. Blog: www.jessconnolly.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
July 25, 2018
I read this book as part of a book study with my church, and I will admit that I am not the target audience for this book. I think the author’s audience probably matches that of her blog which from this book I could best describe as stay-at-home Christian moms who like to read encouraging and uplifting (although not necessarily challenging) books. That said, a couple problems beyond just the target-audience issue are below.
TOPIC: The book is about grace and holiness in the Christian life and how that should propel us to missional living. (“Dance in grace. Stand on holy ground. Run on mission.”) That is the title, the subtitle, and the basic content of the book.
CONTENT: The author uses scores of pages to tell personal stories about her own life and musings on the above-mentioned topics, yet she fails to even mention traditional terms such as justification, sanctification, and glorification which one would normally expect in a book about holiness. Her lack of traditional or defined terminology actually lead to some misunderstanding and confusion at points in my study group. (Note: The glossary at the end is not at all helpful in remedying this problem.) I learned a lot about Jess Connolly in this book but not much about doctrine or the Bible.
USE OF SCRIPTURE: There wasn’t much Scripture used because The Message isn’t Scripture (it’s a paraphrase) and there were only limited passages quoted which used an actual translation of the Bible. Those which were used often had very poor exegesis. For example, Luke 1:35-56 is not about interpersonal communication between women in the church - it is prophecy, inspired directly by God and in the format of Old Testament prophecies or songs of praise - therefore, the author’s take isn’t exactly a valid interpretation of that passage and its subsequent application is ungrounded.
DOCTRINE: The author’s church is non-denominational, but her doctrines are solidly Southern Baptist.
STYLE: The book uses a conversational blogger writing style which means it 1) used a lot of expressions that just got annoying like “friend,” “messy,” and “meaty,” 2) was overly wordy and rambling with very little actual content, and 3) contained minor grammatical errors that are generally accepted in conversation/blogs but not in published works.
USE FOR A GROUP STUDY: The discussion questions are not very “expansive” - some are too personal for people to want to share, some just don’t provide opportunity to discuss beyond a short word or sentence answer. Your group is probably going to have questions or be generally confused, and you need to be prepared to figure out what the author was trying to say in the first place and then how to present it more straight-forwardly and in a manner that will be conducive to discussion.
So again, I was not the target audience for this book, but the above constitutes some serious problems that one might want to consider before using this book for an independent or group study. The author clearly thought she was teaching (James 3:1). However, the book was so devoid of Biblical content or educational terms that, at best, it is a vaguely Christian life-coaching book and, at worst, it is a Biblically inaccurate waste of time.
TOPIC: The book is about grace and holiness in the Christian life and how that should propel us to missional living. (“Dance in grace. Stand on holy ground. Run on mission.”) That is the title, the subtitle, and the basic content of the book.
CONTENT: The author uses scores of pages to tell personal stories about her own life and musings on the above-mentioned topics, yet she fails to even mention traditional terms such as justification, sanctification, and glorification which one would normally expect in a book about holiness. Her lack of traditional or defined terminology actually lead to some misunderstanding and confusion at points in my study group. (Note: The glossary at the end is not at all helpful in remedying this problem.) I learned a lot about Jess Connolly in this book but not much about doctrine or the Bible.
USE OF SCRIPTURE: There wasn’t much Scripture used because The Message isn’t Scripture (it’s a paraphrase) and there were only limited passages quoted which used an actual translation of the Bible. Those which were used often had very poor exegesis. For example, Luke 1:35-56 is not about interpersonal communication between women in the church - it is prophecy, inspired directly by God and in the format of Old Testament prophecies or songs of praise - therefore, the author’s take isn’t exactly a valid interpretation of that passage and its subsequent application is ungrounded.
DOCTRINE: The author’s church is non-denominational, but her doctrines are solidly Southern Baptist.
STYLE: The book uses a conversational blogger writing style which means it 1) used a lot of expressions that just got annoying like “friend,” “messy,” and “meaty,” 2) was overly wordy and rambling with very little actual content, and 3) contained minor grammatical errors that are generally accepted in conversation/blogs but not in published works.
USE FOR A GROUP STUDY: The discussion questions are not very “expansive” - some are too personal for people to want to share, some just don’t provide opportunity to discuss beyond a short word or sentence answer. Your group is probably going to have questions or be generally confused, and you need to be prepared to figure out what the author was trying to say in the first place and then how to present it more straight-forwardly and in a manner that will be conducive to discussion.
So again, I was not the target audience for this book, but the above constitutes some serious problems that one might want to consider before using this book for an independent or group study. The author clearly thought she was teaching (James 3:1). However, the book was so devoid of Biblical content or educational terms that, at best, it is a vaguely Christian life-coaching book and, at worst, it is a Biblically inaccurate waste of time.
December 11, 2017
This book looks girly but it is MIGHTY. Grateful for Jess and her wisdom, heart, soul, and fire for Jesus. This book will make you want to grab hold of grace like never before, to step into holiness like you never knew how, to fire on all cylinders for your calling. This one is a powerhouse, ladies.
January 25, 2018
This is not a fluffy book so don’t be deceived by the pink cover 😝. It is full of deep truths that are presented in a practical and applicable way. Jess Connolly points to a life of abundance that is found in the balance of holiness and grace and the purpose of a life on mission. We’ve been given grace so let’s dance. We’ve been purchased from sin and purchased to holy ground. So we live holy lives because God has called us holy. And we run on mission so others can experience the same freedom and holy standing.
“We are not the saviors; He is. We are not the answer; we just know the One who is. We are not the solution; we’re still kind of the problem. And we can lose heart here or we can be bolstered by the good news that this is what our Father is in the business of: using messy people to bring other messy people to the light.”
“We are not the saviors; He is. We are not the answer; we just know the One who is. We are not the solution; we’re still kind of the problem. And we can lose heart here or we can be bolstered by the good news that this is what our Father is in the business of: using messy people to bring other messy people to the light.”
September 30, 2017
Jess Connolly has a way of sharing truth couched in kindness & humor. Insightful & practical, this book illuminates the topics women of faith need to consider in order to follow God faithfully. Each chapter shares basic principles, personal exeriences from Jess’s life & ends with a related Scripture study. Meaningful, easy-to-understand & timely. Perfect for teens, young believers & new believers. Recommended.
October 24, 2017
I’m not quite sure why I didn’t like this book. I agreed with the message, but I found myself getting bored with the book regularly. I felt like it just had too many words to illustrate the point and would’ve been better had it been more direct. Maybe it just wasn’t for me?
June 22, 2022
Jess Connolly has an amazing way of tackling hard subjects with holiness. She has a way of writing to a reader that can make you feel like you don't have to drastically change. Or not make you feel that if you don't then there is something alarmingly wrong with you.
She puts it in a way that causes you to desire to make small changes instead of feeling like you have to be to be a holier person to God.
She writes a lot of truths in this book that I encourage you to write down or mark as you read in the book.
This book is powerful on the subject on holiness, and I encourage anyone to read it.
She puts it in a way that causes you to desire to make small changes instead of feeling like you have to be to be a holier person to God.
She writes a lot of truths in this book that I encourage you to write down or mark as you read in the book.
This book is powerful on the subject on holiness, and I encourage anyone to read it.
September 26, 2017
Oh man. This book is SO good. In a world where bloggers or social media influencers are coming out with books every week, it seems like, this one is unique and not your average "self help, Christian life" book. It is gospel-centered and challenging and convicting in the best way.
Jess talks about three main topics: grace, holiness and the call we all have as believes to run on mission. I found myself reevaluating my relationship with the Lord in a whole new way, and reignited to live in the confidence of the gospel and my security in Christ.
The topics are heavy, for sure, but somehow Jess made it a light read and her illustrations and stories were so relatable. In short, this book is changing my life. Highly recommend!
Full disclosure, I received an advance copy of this book, but all the opinions are my own. :)
Jess talks about three main topics: grace, holiness and the call we all have as believes to run on mission. I found myself reevaluating my relationship with the Lord in a whole new way, and reignited to live in the confidence of the gospel and my security in Christ.
The topics are heavy, for sure, but somehow Jess made it a light read and her illustrations and stories were so relatable. In short, this book is changing my life. Highly recommend!
Full disclosure, I received an advance copy of this book, but all the opinions are my own. :)
August 21, 2017
I'm on the launch team for this book and am currently reading it... It is such an encouragement to remember that grace and holiness walk hand in hand and our journey isn't complete if we are not running on mission.
Thank you Jess for this much needed word!
Thank you Jess for this much needed word!
October 12, 2017
In Jessi Connolly's words, her new book Dance, Stand, Run is "for women who want their lives and their faith walks to feel purposeful. It's written for women who know there is something more out there, but they're not sure what it is." And since I have now read it from beginning to end (twice), I can honestly tell you the book is that and oh so much more!
Jessi has written a book that will bring you to your knees in prayer and confession one minute. Then the next minute, pull you to your feet in proclamation of the holiness and grace you can claim as a woman of faith, as well as the holiness of the God who is drawing us near to Him.
She has threaded her personal story of struggles, confessions and triumphs with solid teachings from Scripture that pull you in and help you see how your own story is one that can be used to bring others into holiness. And each chapter ends with a set of questions to help you not just read, but to soak in the truths she is speaking over you.
There is a prologue and 10 chapters of solid teaching, a call to living more and downright preaching to the heart to become the women God has called us to be. This is a book that you could sit with over and over again and the truths wouldn't grow old.
So, go pre-order a copy for yourself, one for a friend or five for your small group over at www.dancestandrun.com to have it arrive on the day it releases (October 24th!) and earn some really amazing, beautiful free goodies as a thank you.
And join Jessi, me and many others as we learn to Dance in Grace, Stand on Holy Ground and Run on Mission.
Jessi has written a book that will bring you to your knees in prayer and confession one minute. Then the next minute, pull you to your feet in proclamation of the holiness and grace you can claim as a woman of faith, as well as the holiness of the God who is drawing us near to Him.
She has threaded her personal story of struggles, confessions and triumphs with solid teachings from Scripture that pull you in and help you see how your own story is one that can be used to bring others into holiness. And each chapter ends with a set of questions to help you not just read, but to soak in the truths she is speaking over you.
There is a prologue and 10 chapters of solid teaching, a call to living more and downright preaching to the heart to become the women God has called us to be. This is a book that you could sit with over and over again and the truths wouldn't grow old.
So, go pre-order a copy for yourself, one for a friend or five for your small group over at www.dancestandrun.com to have it arrive on the day it releases (October 24th!) and earn some really amazing, beautiful free goodies as a thank you.
And join Jessi, me and many others as we learn to Dance in Grace, Stand on Holy Ground and Run on Mission.
June 5, 2018
It took me a little over three months to finally wrap up this book. Don’t get me wrong - I liked the message. However, I found myself getting bored with it after the fifth chapter or so. It was a bit repetitive and wordy, and it jumped around a lot. Honestly, I feel like this is a book that could be condensed to half its size and still manage to say the same exact thing. “DSR” just wasn’t for me, I guess.
October 12, 2017
“What a great time to be women in the church. I don't believe we’ve gone the full distance in the American church to embrace women, to equip them and utilize the gifts God has given them for the glory of God and the good of the saints, but I believe were making progress, and we continue to make progress.”
Holy cow. This book is truth, inspiration, instruction, and armor in a pretty pink package. Jess Connolly has filled this book with God-inspired truth and teaching, and I hope it rocks your world like it did mine. It’s a reminder that grace and holiness work together- you need both in healthy amounts to be a healthy Christian. This book will inspire you to build a deeper relationship with God and love others right where you’re at, and you’ll fall in love with Jess’ candor and honesty and willingness to “share first”. I can’t recommend this book enough!
Holy cow. This book is truth, inspiration, instruction, and armor in a pretty pink package. Jess Connolly has filled this book with God-inspired truth and teaching, and I hope it rocks your world like it did mine. It’s a reminder that grace and holiness work together- you need both in healthy amounts to be a healthy Christian. This book will inspire you to build a deeper relationship with God and love others right where you’re at, and you’ll fall in love with Jess’ candor and honesty and willingness to “share first”. I can’t recommend this book enough!
September 26, 2017
This book is fantastic. Ladies who need something to PUSH you - this is it. Order one for yourself and everyone you know! Just getting into your faith?? This book will lay out your goals, what maturity is going to look like, and what to stand firm on as you grow. In a long term relationship with the Lord already - get ready to shake things up. With purpose, gentleness and a whole lot of truth - Jess lays out the challenges for women in this generation of faith and how to step into our inheritance.
November 7, 2017
I said yes and amen the whole way through. Jess does a great job of addressing grace, holiness and mission for our generation of women. The book is full of freedom and hope and has the potential to send out waves of women on mission with Jesus! If you’ve ever felt like grace and holiness are opposed to each other and you can’t figure out how to hold them both together- this one’s for you!
November 28, 2017
I resonated with this book. That we get to. That when we truly understand grace it is a game changer and that we are already holy! I loved the chapters on prayer and Gods Word especially, and the one on life giving words. I think every single one of my friends should read this book! I loved listening to it because the author is so passionate.
August 14, 2022
Jess Connolly did a great job at addressing a lot of topics related to holiness when it comes to being modern Christian women, without being condescending. In fact, it was more uplifting than I expected.
TRIGGER WARNING: Chap. 7 If you are a baby loss mom I suggest skipping chapter 7. It may be considered triggering to grieving mothers.
TRIGGER WARNING: Chap. 7 If you are a baby loss mom I suggest skipping chapter 7. It may be considered triggering to grieving mothers.
October 24, 2017
Love this book. It is beautifully written and so applicable to life. Jess is so real. There are so many times when I read a sentence or chapter and find myself thinking "Yes!" This. This is what I needed to hear, or this is what I have been thinking for a while or this is a practical way to pursue holiness and grace. This book is written on a level that is easy to understand, with vocabulary and illustrations that make an impact and push you towards Christ. I find myself thinking about this book and holiness throughout the week. Definitely recommend that you read this book.
December 18, 2017
Seriously the prologue was worth purchasing this book. The author’s thoughts on these pages about our lives standing on holy ground and coming into agreement with God may cause a profound shift in the reader’s life.
February 1, 2018
Exceeded my expectations and I definitely recommend! I was refreshed and encouraged by the Gospel in a powerful way. It asks good, hard questions like: if I believe in grace, why isn't it transforming my life? What do I do with my sin as a holy daughter of God? Beautiful, refreshing, full of truth over and over.
July 28, 2018
This has been an amazing and outstanding book to read and study. I’m always reading and re-reading parts of this book. Jess Connolly has a way of diving into those difficult subjects and dissecting scripture so it’s easy to understand and digest. I love this bible study and recommend it to any woman who is looking to understand stand what standing on holy ground is all about!
August 19, 2024
"Here stand the daughters of God, they're free and they're holy, and because He's said so, no one can say otherwise."
"We confuse the purpose of our mission, thinking it's about ourselves, and we miss the holy trust that's been handed to us"
"We confuse the purpose of our mission, thinking it's about ourselves, and we miss the holy trust that's been handed to us"
September 25, 2017
I started this book along with 1500 women on the launch team for DSR and I couldn’t be more excited for this book than I am now having almost finished it! Jess and Holy Spirit spoke so CLEARLY on what we GET to do and how grace, holiness and running on mission is really like. I will recommend this to every woman seeking something new to read because it is clearly written from God to us. Thank you Jess for allowing to be used as the author and shepherding this book and topic among women!
October 12, 2022
3.5⭐️ rounded up: A little bit cringey in some places especially the motto “dance with grace” but had some hard hitting truths and on the whole was very encouraging and worth the read
July 9, 2018
This book was chock-full of vulnerable stories, lessons learned the hard way, deep insights into Scripture and culture, and a fresh new perspective on how we as women of God can embrace our true identity and move forward in grace and on mission. It was an empowering, motivating read! I highly recommend it!
August 30, 2017
I'm on the launch team for this book and let me tell you, this book will give you so many heart feels. You'll feel called out (in the best way), spurred on to be more like Christ and to live in the holiness you already have! Thank God for Jess, her words and her amazing insight into God's will and work. I can't even put into words how much I recommend this book.
December 12, 2020
Two years ago, I would have given this book 5 stars.
I'm torn because, on one hand, this book came in a week of spiritual dryness and refreshingly reminded me of my God's best qualities. It drove me to prayer and Bible study and some meaningful conversations with friends. It stoked the fire, and I'm grateful for that.
However, the author is clearly rooted in Southern Baptist beliefs and I'm deconstructing my beliefs from those same roots. She would make an excellent point, phrased in a way that allowed me to think of a concept from a new angle, but then she'd make a sudden swing in a direction that I neither saw coming nor agree with. Or there would be theological assumptions (like total depravity) mentioned in passing that no longer sit well with my spirit.
The result was that I spent time evaluating every sentence and trying to discern the truth. Which is always a good thing! That's how Christians should be reading anyway. So really, this review says more about who I was two years ago... that I would have taken every word at face value and automatically implemented any advice into my life.
To future readers: there are some beautiful truths about God in this book. Ask for wisdom as you read. Question everything and make sure the "givens" align with what you believe.
I'm torn because, on one hand, this book came in a week of spiritual dryness and refreshingly reminded me of my God's best qualities. It drove me to prayer and Bible study and some meaningful conversations with friends. It stoked the fire, and I'm grateful for that.
However, the author is clearly rooted in Southern Baptist beliefs and I'm deconstructing my beliefs from those same roots. She would make an excellent point, phrased in a way that allowed me to think of a concept from a new angle, but then she'd make a sudden swing in a direction that I neither saw coming nor agree with. Or there would be theological assumptions (like total depravity) mentioned in passing that no longer sit well with my spirit.
The result was that I spent time evaluating every sentence and trying to discern the truth. Which is always a good thing! That's how Christians should be reading anyway. So really, this review says more about who I was two years ago... that I would have taken every word at face value and automatically implemented any advice into my life.
To future readers: there are some beautiful truths about God in this book. Ask for wisdom as you read. Question everything and make sure the "givens" align with what you believe.
February 13, 2018
As someone who grew up in the church, went to seminary, now I am a pastors wife, I found myself not being the Christ follower I knew I could be. I wasn’t reading the Word, prayer was a weekly thing at the most. I knew all the things I “should” be doing but my passion was gone.
While reading this book, I found my passion again. I let the “should” things exit my mind and let the “get to’s” enter my soul. Praising and serving the Lord shouldn’t be something we are shamed into doing, it’s something we get to do, we get to enjoy. The Lord doesn’t need us to do anything, but we get to now to enjoy the Kingdom here on earth.
Thank you Jessi.
While reading this book, I found my passion again. I let the “should” things exit my mind and let the “get to’s” enter my soul. Praising and serving the Lord shouldn’t be something we are shamed into doing, it’s something we get to do, we get to enjoy. The Lord doesn’t need us to do anything, but we get to now to enjoy the Kingdom here on earth.
Thank you Jessi.
April 6, 2018
Probably needed to be two books
This was a good book-it had plenty of things to consider and think about; however, it would have been better (in my opinion) to be made into two books- one as a narrative, and the other as a complementary bible study to go along with it. Both sections were good, but I often had a hard time going back and forth between narrative and bible study. It wasn’t entirely narrative, and it wasn’t entirely bible study - in breaking it up, you could have dig deeper into bible study and possibly gleaned more from the narrative sections.
This was a good book-it had plenty of things to consider and think about; however, it would have been better (in my opinion) to be made into two books- one as a narrative, and the other as a complementary bible study to go along with it. Both sections were good, but I often had a hard time going back and forth between narrative and bible study. It wasn’t entirely narrative, and it wasn’t entirely bible study - in breaking it up, you could have dig deeper into bible study and possibly gleaned more from the narrative sections.
October 6, 2019
This book really helps you open your eyes back on your heart and mind and think, "where am I more like the world than I am like Christ?" The whole point of this book is about our personal holiness as believers in Jesus Christ and how we can live where we are and what we are doing to bring Him glory. Convicting and encouraging with a lot of Scriptural passages to back up the points being made.
October 25, 2017
Dance Stand Run: The God-Inspired Moves of a Woman on Holy Ground is a book that author and pastor’s wife Jess Connolly (co-author of Wild and Free) felt led to write after trying to convince three different women that they needed to watch the show Pretty Little Liars. In church. On Easter Sunday. And then, as she tells it, she went home feeling disappointed and let down, and as she prayed expressing her confusion as to why their congregation didn’t experience the spiritual awakening and revival that they’d been hoping and praying would happen, she remembered those three conversations, and a thought struck her: “Have we forgotten about holiness?”
This is, at its core, a book on the fundamentals of Christianity. That might strike some as being too elementary, but the hard truth is that we all need a refresher course on the fundamentals of faith. I think we all know church bodies — as well as individual believers — who are so legalistic they’ve forgotten about grace. Just as we also know those who emphasize grace to the exclusion of holiness, righteousness and sanctification–fearing that to even mention the idea that receiving God’s grace should transform us to be more like Jesus is a slippery slope that leads to legalism and bondage.
In Dance Stand Run, Connolly firmly but gently presents a Biblical case that grace and holiness go hand-in-hand, and that to focus too much on one and not enough on the other leads to a faulty Christianity. She makes the case that, while it’s certainly a blessing to rejoice in our deliverance and what we were delivered from, we also need to remember what we were delivered to — to a life of transformation and sanctification made possible by the Holy Spirit. Grace says we don’t have to be holy — but that we get to be holy.
I especially appreciated the chapter that talks about drawing a circle around yourself and your own holiness. I and the Holy Spirit in my are the only ones who get to decide what holiness looks like in my life, just as you and the Holy Spirit in you are the only ones who get to decide what holiness looks like for you. So if I’ve decided that I can’t watch Game of Thrones that doesn’t mean I get to decide other Christians shouldn’t be watching it, either. And if you feel like you shouldn’t read Harry Potter you don’t get to decide other Christians shouldn’t read it.
Connolly doesn’t pull any punches, even delving into that touchy subject of alcohol, and getting a big ol’ YES AND AMEN from me when she points out that we can get drunk on all kinds of things–things that might be innocent on the surface and perfectly fine for someone else can be crutches or stumbling blocks if our motivations and our relationships with these things aren’t what they should be. She invites each of us to examine our own lives and encourages us to focus on identifying the planks in our own eyes and not getting distracted by the specks we see in the eyes of other people.
I also like that each chapter includes a section of Bible study, taking a close look at a relevant passage of scripture, as well as questions to aid self-examination and personal application. I haven’t read it myself, but I know that there’s also a Bible study guide available to go along with the book.
This book confirmed a lot of my own beliefs, which might bias me in its favor, but it also convicted me more times than I’d like to admit. I think this is a timely book that’s needed in today’s Church, full of life-changing truth and encouragement. It could just spur the kind of spiritual awakening and revival that Jess was hoping for on that cringe-worthy Easter morning.
This is, at its core, a book on the fundamentals of Christianity. That might strike some as being too elementary, but the hard truth is that we all need a refresher course on the fundamentals of faith. I think we all know church bodies — as well as individual believers — who are so legalistic they’ve forgotten about grace. Just as we also know those who emphasize grace to the exclusion of holiness, righteousness and sanctification–fearing that to even mention the idea that receiving God’s grace should transform us to be more like Jesus is a slippery slope that leads to legalism and bondage.
In Dance Stand Run, Connolly firmly but gently presents a Biblical case that grace and holiness go hand-in-hand, and that to focus too much on one and not enough on the other leads to a faulty Christianity. She makes the case that, while it’s certainly a blessing to rejoice in our deliverance and what we were delivered from, we also need to remember what we were delivered to — to a life of transformation and sanctification made possible by the Holy Spirit. Grace says we don’t have to be holy — but that we get to be holy.
I especially appreciated the chapter that talks about drawing a circle around yourself and your own holiness. I and the Holy Spirit in my are the only ones who get to decide what holiness looks like in my life, just as you and the Holy Spirit in you are the only ones who get to decide what holiness looks like for you. So if I’ve decided that I can’t watch Game of Thrones that doesn’t mean I get to decide other Christians shouldn’t be watching it, either. And if you feel like you shouldn’t read Harry Potter you don’t get to decide other Christians shouldn’t read it.
Connolly doesn’t pull any punches, even delving into that touchy subject of alcohol, and getting a big ol’ YES AND AMEN from me when she points out that we can get drunk on all kinds of things–things that might be innocent on the surface and perfectly fine for someone else can be crutches or stumbling blocks if our motivations and our relationships with these things aren’t what they should be. She invites each of us to examine our own lives and encourages us to focus on identifying the planks in our own eyes and not getting distracted by the specks we see in the eyes of other people.
I also like that each chapter includes a section of Bible study, taking a close look at a relevant passage of scripture, as well as questions to aid self-examination and personal application. I haven’t read it myself, but I know that there’s also a Bible study guide available to go along with the book.
This book confirmed a lot of my own beliefs, which might bias me in its favor, but it also convicted me more times than I’d like to admit. I think this is a timely book that’s needed in today’s Church, full of life-changing truth and encouragement. It could just spur the kind of spiritual awakening and revival that Jess was hoping for on that cringe-worthy Easter morning.
June 24, 2024
This book overall was enjoyable and easy to read. I didn’t read it straight through because I did find the author’s style a bit wordy, and I would get restless for something else to pique my interest, but this was a great read to fit a chapter in between other books. The piece lead to a lot of reflection and is structured so you can pick it up and put it down and come back to it when you so choose. I loved the uplifting and encouraging words Connolly used to emphasize that no matter who we are, how human we are, and how unworthy we truly are, Jesus has saved us through love and he will never turn from us or deny us once he is in our hearts. To use Connolly’s metaphors, we can dance in the knowledge of Jesus’ love, stand strong in it, and run the race of life knowing that we are saved by him, through him, and because of him and him alone; the pressures of perfection we feel in today’s world don’t matter because we are daughters of God and he makes us beautiful and worthy through our faith in him and his sacrifice for us. I would recommend this to any reader — it was a great piece to return to when my heart needed to focus on God and my life in him.
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