Is Mime Ministry Biblical? (Pantomime) Re-examining Artistic Ministry

Updated on August 4, 2012

Originally Posted Jan. 7, 2008

The more we desire to be holy and study the Word, the more God reveals. 

I have removed the original post because of my own convictions about mime ministry. Not all of it is wrong, but some of it is not right according to the principles of Scripture...to be clear I am not talking about Mime as a form of praise. I am addressing the issues a commenter made about the presentation of some Mime ministries. The same holds true for Dance Ministry as well. For example, some Dance Ministries have not been taught the proper way to dress so that they can avoid being a distraction and detraction from their purpose. 

Why was I convicted? This is why:  

This is a comment that I made in 2009 in response to a question someone asked. It is also available for you to read here in this post. 

Before I discuss the comment, I want to say that there is a lack of teaching and understanding in some of our ministries. Most of us who mime really don't know why we paint our faces for example. We may do it because it is the way it has always been done (on TV, clowns, other mimes who may or may not serve the Lord). If we have a lack of teaching and understanding, we may find ourselves going forth in ministry following the crowd. This is why I am re-examining my ministry. I humbly admit regarding some aspects of my ministry that I was simply following the crowd and not the Word. In some areas of my ministry I did not know what I was doing and why I was doing it. I just knew that it was how it was "supposed" to be done. I did not know why I believed what I believed about Dance Ministry for example. I did not study for myself. I took what someone wrote in a book or felt in their spirit as "law." So I got a little weird. I began attributing power and authority to things like colors and inanimate objects I used in worship as an extension of my body and an enhancement of my praise expression to God. I believed as I waved my flag I did damage in the devils kingdom because I was engaging in spiritual warfare. I viewd my flag as something powerful, my dance as something...powerful. This is wrong. Scripture teaches us that as believers we are supposed to be prepared to able to give an answer to everyone who asks about our Christian hope or in this case why we do what we do unto God (1Peter 3:15). 

In re-examining our ministries we have to know what we are doing and why. Below is a comment I made answering a question someone asked that caused me to study and prepare myself to give an answer to everyone who asks me why I praise God in the dance, wear the garments I wear, mime, use flags and so forth.

Comment by: praisedancecentralministries made on : August 10, 2009 at 2:32 am

"I really don’t know the meaning of why some paint their faces in the church that way. I believe and I hope many who use the art of mime in the church are painting their faces to reveal their exaggerated facial expressions since they are communicating with their bodies. That should be the primary reason their faces are painted. Unfortunately many don’t agree with this type of artistry in the church because they think this art has evil roots. Pantomimes or the panto originated in early Greece. Mime means imitator. It was simply a dance of bodily movements and facial gestures preformed by actors. It was considered as speaking theater. Some mimes performed dances and plays in honor of the god of theater, Dionysus in Athens. Others used it to make fun of the God's. While yet others simply used it to portray everyday life situations and comedy. Mimes were used in Greek religious ceremonies and banquets also. Some used masks some didn't. One of the first recorded pantomime actors  known at that time was a Greek named Telestes. Anyway, later when the Romans adopted pantomime, homosexual men and bisexual women would paint their face or use masks so you could not tell who’s who. Performers used mime for all kinds of different plays and entertainment. Many actors, especially in Rome, used mime to put on lascivious plays. When Roman mimes performed at private banquets and courts all over Europe they honored the fertility goddesses and naked mime actresses would perform (just a little info for you to know)."  Comment ended

Basically, this comment was addressing why some shun mime. They shun it because of the history. However, we can say that about dance as well, especially today. Should we shun dance because stripping in the strip club is popular? Not all who used mime back then did it to promote evil. Just like all who danced did not do it to promote evil. All things were created by God and for God. The devil cannot create anything, only pervert that which has been created. 

This is my response to another comment relating to some concerns with the presentation of Mime in the church: Comment to Miss. V (in 2012)

"However there are some concerns that were voiced about makeup (some just look down right scary), garments (too tight, spandex tights with booty shorts on top attached with suspenders on top of a tight fitting shirt) and the look of the art presented to the saints which is understandable. This is why I put in the post some is not right according to scripture or how the scriptures teach we should represent Christ and I am in the process of studying as we all should be about certain things (that I see in ministry and will soon share). I agree with everything you have expressed. In re-examining ministry (not just mime, but dance as well. There are a LOT of misconceptions, teachings and beliefs about dance ministry that are not according to scripture) we have to know what we are doing and why. That is why I said in the post, “In addition we have to teach what distinguishes us from how the world does it and why they do it. I believe this will clear up a lot of confusion and rejection some people in the body of Christ has against dance, mime, and other expressive art forms.” Comment ended


This comment was based on some concerns that Miss. V saw and was saddened by because it did not represent Christ. It looked more like the world. There was no separation. 

Like any art form people use it to glorify certain things. Some perverted it, others don't.
There is nothing wrong with expressing praise and adoration to God through movement, but we do have to step back and look at our presentation if we cannot explain it in view of the Word. We don't want our presentation to be associated with evil or cause someone to stumble (1Cor. 8:9).

Fellow Ministers...some of  our brethren are stumbling because of us! Many of you have written me about the presentation of Mime Ministry and Dance Ministry and this is the main concern that some saints have as well. In presentation - I am talking about makeup, style, costuming and etc. Yes I do see some of the styles and costuming and some of it is questionable that is why I am re-examining - not just mime ministry, but all artistic ministry so that I can be right in the eyes of the Lord and I suggest you do the same.

Here are some hard questions I had to ask myself and I ask you the same today...
One of the questions I want to ask is have we lost our focus in our liberty in Christ?.

Scripture commanded us to be separate from the world and to have no friendship with them (1Peter 2:11, 2 Cor. 6:17, James 4:4). No matter how much we like something (style, sound, presentation or the type of garments we choose to wear) we have to be honest with ourselves if we want to be in the light as He is in the light.

One question I leave with you as you conduct your own study to see what the Word says about adopting anything as a form of worship and praise unto the Lord and how it is presented is this: Is that style/look/concept/idea/action/terminology popular and embraced by the world? When watching and listening to our artistic expression is there a difference?

To give you an example, take dance. In adopting ballet, jazz or lyrical forms of dance, as  praise dancers we should not wear tight, low cut, short or revealing garments. We should not move our hips in a way that promotes sensuality. We make sure we are totally covered and our movements are honoring God and not our bodies. I am sure many of you saw the youtube video "Sexy Praise Dance." Those girls took the world (style, their way) and brought it into the church. It was totally inappropriate. The dance was nice but the garments were a poor choice. (this paragraph was added in May 2014 because it is an excellent example of what the heart of this post is about) 

This is what the heart of this post is about - re-examining how we express ourselves. Is there a difference!

• Where are we getting our inspiration from? 
• Is our presentation like what we see on the latest BET video? 
• Can the world look at it and say, "that belongs to us."

How we express ourselves before the Lord and God's people should follow the same pattern of holiness that we should adhere to when we dress ourselves in the morning. For example, as a women, I will not put on garments so tight that it reveals or show the outline of certain body parts. My shirt will not be so tight and low cut that my breasts are showing. My earrings will not be so large in size that it covers the whole side of my face. This look is not modest and becoming of a saint. Sadly in our ministries, especially ministries predominately represented by youth, this is what we are seeing. This is why most of us are concerned and this is why we have to re-examine some things. It first starts with a firm foundation, teaching and standards.

My question to anyone reading this post: (all things mime or dance aside, this is just a general question. I believe if we keep this perspective in mind regarding anything creative, we will be able to stay within the confines of biblical boundaries.) 

Is it holy and right according to the Word to take what originated in the world for evil/sinful purposes to flip it, put a Christian flare on it, and then offer it up to God? To make it clear Mime was not originally evil. A lot of actors adopted it and used it for their lascivious purposes.

Just a question...what do you think? I would love to receive input on this.

FYI: The original post is below. I did not write it (I only wrote the section on Mime Ministry Tips). I simply copied it from another ministry site a long, long time ago. Some of it is true and some of it does not tell the whole truth. We have to keep this art form in proper perspective. Again, I am not saying it is wrong.

This is why I don't believe mime/interpretive movement or dance is wrong: The world is not the only one who knows how to use their bodies in an interpretive manner. We can do that as well, but in accordance to God's holy standards (motive, purity). This is why it is important that anyone in this kind of ministry be taught (based on Scripture) why we do what we do. In addition we have to teach what distinguishes us from how the world does it or why they do it. If we re-examine our ministries and do so, then it would not matter if mime for example was used centuries ago for the purposes explained above. If that is the case - and if it does matter - we can say that we all should stop singing because those who partake in witchcraft use the art of singing (this may not be the greatest example, but I hope you get my drift).

Just to give you an example of doing what we do with holy standards and making sure it is done in purity - I remember when I taught my youth Sunday School class an end of the year routine to expressively and artistically interpret a couple of Scriptures. I knew nothing about Pantomime and why they painted their faces white. I really didn't care either. I liked the idea of painting the face because it reveals facial expressions better and allows for people far away to see it better. The same with the white gloves. This is the reason why I adopted the face paint and gloves. My motivations and intentions were pure and based on love. When mime came about in the Greek culture (I should say became popular because there is nothing new under the sun -Eccl 1:9), or acting without words, many adopted it to simply portray a story through movement and no sound. Others took it, like the Romans and perverted it - adopting the art form to lift up whatever was popular in their culture.

When we re-examine what we do, how we do it, and why we do it with love, purity and teaching - then it will help us answer the question of it being biblical or not. I believe this will help clear up a lot of confusion and rejection some  people in the body of Christ has against dance, mime, and other expressive art forms. There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9)  and God created all things for Himself (Col. 1:16). Again, I am not saying that the art form is wrong. I am saying that we should  not adopt certain styles of makeup (some of it does look spooky), costuming, and the like. If the costuming is vital in the message, then it is warranted. But if we want to tell of God's love and part of our face is black and the other red and striped with white, then it hinders the message. It may look cool, but it takes away from the message. People will be focused on the makeup, not the movement. Many of you wrote and gave examples of what some mimes looked like and many of you said they were scary looking, looked like circus clowns and so on.  Remember, expressing ourselves by telling a story or proclaiming a message through movement without words is not sinful. It is simply just  a form of human expression and we are all at liberty to use it. 

Here is more of the comment made to Miss V made on our wordpress blog.

"Hello Ms. V, I really don’t know who you are addressing this comment to, but I would like to answer you. Yes there are a lot of comments on this blog that disagree with mime because of some of the history associated with it and how it is presented. I do not hold the same views. As I said in one of my comments, “Unfortunately some believe mime has evil roots…” and I have given some of the history about mime that some believe. From the tone of your comment, I see that you are upset or disappointed (is a better word) about what some believe. People are going to criticize anything good or evil. Like I said in the post, mime is not wrong. It is a form of expression through movement just like dance is. However there are some concerns that were voiced about makeup (some just look down right scary), garments (too tight, spandex tights with booty shorts on top attached with suspenders on top of a tight fitting shirt) and the look of the art presented to the saints which is understandable. This is why I put in the post some is not right according to scripture or how the scriptures teach we should represent Christ and I am in the process of studying as we all should be about certain things (that I see in ministry and will soon share). I agree with everything you have expressed. In re-examining ministry (not just mime, but dance as well. There are a LOT of misconceptions, teachings and beliefs about dance ministry that are not according to scripture) we have to know what we are doing and why. That is why I said in the post, “In addition we have to teach what distinguishes us from how the world does it and why they do it. I believe this will clear up a lot of confusion and rejection some people in the body of Christ has against dance, mime, and other expressive art forms.” Comment ended

Let me know what you think...Also to help other ministries and give advice, tell us:

How do you teach your ministry mime or dance according to the Word and separate from the world?

Why do you wear the garments you wear? What do you wear?

Why do you paint your faces? Why don't you paint your face?

Why do you move the way you move?

Why did you adopt that style? (there are different mime styles so to speak - some are sign language based, some are dance based, some are dance and interpretive/or expressive mixed together, some strictly interpretive and expressive, some is based on acting, and some contain all of these elements such as the mime ministry of K&K Mime)

Please let your comments be based on scripture, not opinion or experiences (this is partly the reason for some of the confusion and rejection of art forms being expressed in the church). People don't really care about what we personally have experienced or believe. They want to know what Scripture teaches...and they are exactly right because God's Word always has the final authority.

God bless you.

Here is the original post about Mime Ministry that I took down. I took it down because I was convicted. I did not really study and search out the info. I simply copied from someone else...

What is Mime Ministry?

By Praise In Motion

Mime ministry involves drastic movements, facial expressions, and hand signs to depict God's Word, God's will, life's struggles and accomplishments.

The responsibility of every mime is to bring the word of God to life with great intensity and divine excellence!

The Origins and Development of Mime and Mime Ministry

The language of gestures was born with man and is reborn every day as part of his need to express himself. Before the human voice developed, gestures served not only to communicate but to aid in the development of vocal sounds. Later they were incorporated in the first forms of written language of, for example, the Egyptians, the Aztecs, and in the pictographic writings of the Hebrews. Gestures and expressive movement were also utilized in ancient religious dances and ceremonies. And from the ancient ceremonies in China, Japan, India, and Egypt emerged the actor, who was at once a dancer, singer, and mime.

The following article was excerpted by Annette Lust from her book, From the Greek Mimes to Marcel Marceau and Beyond: Mimes, Actors, Pierrots and Clowns: A Chronicle of the Many Visages of Mime in the Theatre

The Word and Mime

In the Old Testament, Ezekiel was a prophet that was called to announce God's judgment on Israel, and other nations, and to proclaim restoration for God's people. His preaching was not well received by the Jews who were with him in captivity, Chapter 3, so God gave Ezekiel many methods, illustrations and demonstrations to help get the message across to the Jews, Chapter 4,5. Ezekiel acted out most of the methods, and did illustrations for Israel. Israel later became restored again and God renewed the Temple and a New Jerusalem, Chapter 40.

Ministering Mime is interpreting gospel music, using illustrations and non-verbal methods to allow the congregation to understand what you are doing, just like Ezekiel demonstrated in the Old Testament.

For more information about the origins of mime ministry or about Praise In Motion Mime Ministry click here.

Mime Ministry Tips From PDCM {This is the part I wrote and I still believe that these tips are very helpful and necessary ☺}

Tip 1. Pray! Pray! Pray!

Tip 2. Worship! This is an important aspect of mime as it is in any aspect of the Christian life style. When we worship God and meditate on his message and purpose for the transformation of our souls and encouragement in the faith, choreography itself become clearer as we receive instructions directly from God as to how we should approach a particular movement.

Tip 3. Worship is more important than technique. When we worship, God can teach us all of the technique that we need to know, he can teach us through one day's worship experience what it may take students years to learn at a Ministry training school or University. Technique however is important because the combination of it with the truth that is in us can relay a powerful message.

Tip 4. Beginners in mime ministry should learn to use actions outside of their regular zone of comfort (our regular expressions).

Tip 5. To be a good mime minister, you must learn to surpass limited movement and exaggerate your actions to communicate effectively the same way a singer or actor projects their voice to the audience at the back of the auditorium.

Tip 6. Get it together! Get your mime ministry together and work as a team. Remember that there are no "BIG I's and little u's". We all make up a team for one purpose and that is to edify the people of God by glorifying God. If you mime solo get your thoughts together and allow yourself to flow through the Holy Spirit.

Tip 7. God created you uniquely to be you and not like anybody else. As long as you are trying to be like someone else you will never grow into who God made you to be ..the best you will ever be then is number two!

Applying and Removing Mime Makeup

Grooming

Men:

Make sure you shave before you put on your makeup! If you forget you'll probably only forget once. It's a nightmare trying to outline your face with stubble in the way.

Women/Men:

If you have long hair: Put your hair back! (and always pull your hair up or back while ministering. Hair flying all over the place is a distraction to you and to those to whom you are ministering to).

Makeup Tip

Go slowly. It's hard to fix mistakes afterwards. Leave yourself (more than) enough time to put on your face. Even after you have put on your face many times you will still want to leave yourself about 30 minutes.

Putting on Your Makeup

1. White base

You can get cake (water based) vs. Clown white (grease based) makeup. Cake may appear streakier than grease makeup. Some cake makeups (Ben Nye or Mehron) are simply pressed powder while others (Kryolan) are glycerin based. Clown white (Kryolan, Mehron) provides a heavy grease base and has talc powder that makes it go on thick. You can also get waterproof clown white (Kryolan). Applying skin moisturizer (not cold cream which is just more grease on your face) before beginning to apply clown white will help the grease makeup to spread easier.

A suggestion is to outline your face (shape) in white and then starting from your nose out to the perimeter. If you choose to have anything than an oval face one suggestion is to put perimeter 'dots' on your face and then to 'connect the dots' with lines before filling in your face. You can do all of this using your fingers, a pencil (see below) or a brush.

Don't go too wide with the outline of your face; otherwise it's very difficult to outline your face with black by yourself. On the other hand you can choose to not have an outline and fill your whole face and have the makeup go right up to your hair.

It is much easier to put the markings over cake makeup than (un powdered) grease makeup. Powdering grease makeup is recommended before putting on black, red or any other markings.

When applying the white base around your mouth it is better to accidentally get some white on your lips than to not go all the way up to your lips. You can always wipe it off.

2. Powder

Once again, not all mimes powder and for those who do there may be times when they decide to not powder.

For the white it is best to use a super white powder (Ben Nye). A cheaper but not as good alternative is (Johnson's) baby powder.

Shake off any excess powder after putting powder on a puff or brush and before touching your face. You can do this by flicking the back of the puff or the end of the brush with your finger(s). If you put too much powder on your makeup will crack.

Powder your face lightly. If you're wearing grease based makeup you will know that you have powdered enough when your face doesn't feel 'sticky'.

3. Markings (Black and Red)

For the black you can use either a paint, pencil or liquid eyeliner. Paints (Kryolan, Mehron) are simply applied with a paint brush. You can get thin or thick grease pencils (Mehron). If you are trying to keep the grease makeup away from your eyes you can use a charcoal pencil (Mehron) for right around your eyes. Charcoal pencils are not recommended for use elsewhere on your face - grease pencils are best. There are also cream based pencils (Ben Nye). Liquid eyeliner (Kryolan, Mehron) is easier to apply over a white grease base than a pencil but it can also run. Pencils tend not to run. Most in mime ministry don't use eye or lip makeup.

Removing Makeup

1. For cake (water based makeup) soap and water will work just fine.

2. For clown white (grease based makeup) you can simply use Pond's Cold Cream. You can also purchase makeup remover lotion that is mineral based (Mehron). This type is good for removing makeup around the eyes. You can also get makeup oil (Kryolan, Mehron) (that looks like Vaseline) As a last resort you can use (Johnson's) baby oil or Crisco oil.

3. You can use cotton balls to get makeup off from around the eyes. You can buy cotton squares. Tissues and Q-tips are also good.

4. After you have removed greased based makeup it is best to have an alcohol based stringent handy (Sea Breeze).

More about Mime http://www.mime.info/history-lust.html http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/genres/mime-iid-2489