Should we applaud during worship services?

http://www.therodeobullcompany.com/Clap-O-Meter.html

It could be a replacement to last-generation’s “Amening”

How I feel about it

As others noted, clapping does not always equate with applauding for the performance. One person described the overabundance of joy. Yes, for many who would clap at the end of the song, clapping is a way to demonstrate the joy generated by dwelling on the powerful truths of God as a congregation and proclaiming them in unity. Perhaps a soloist or a group will sing a song that resonates so strongly with the congregation that spontaneous applause celebrates truth, not performance.

However, some who might believe that clapping is always wrong could condemn a clapping congregation, asserting that clapping is always applause. The clappers might not be celebrating a performance (applauding), and the disapproving spectator would sin in his judgment of the clappers. We should be careful not to judge the motives of others—ESPECIALLY cross-culturally.

I may have shared this life experience with the group in the past. If so, please ignore it and go on to the next valid post.

I grew up in a church that was VERY conservative in matters of worship. There was obviously no applause when music was presented. There were no shouts of “A-MEN” during the service. (Of course, where I’m from, they don’t say A-men at all: they say Ah-men. :-) )

Years ago we were asked to participate in a 50th Anniversary celebration for a church down here. The Pastor was a graduate of The University. His son had just completed his freshman year at The University. Obviously, all of the previous pastors had not been of the strongly conservative “stripe” as was the current pastor. Many musical groups made up of former members were asked to minister in music. The songs they presented were of the Southern Gospel style common and familiar in this area of the country. The songs were exciting, and the response was applause. My dear wife and I sang last. There was no applause, but the unison “A-MEN!” in response to our ministry nearly shook the roof. The people could easily differentiate between performance and ministry.

We now attend the church God has led us to (as members) in Panama City, FL. Our congregation shouts, applauds, even occasionally runs the aisles. Our Pastor has been known to “walk the pews” - stepping from one pew to the next over the back of the pew. Many of our members have encouraged me to “Cut loose, Brother Karl!” They love me, and I love them dearly, but I can’t do it. I will “say” A-men (I have learned the Southern pronunciation) at an appropriate time. But I just can’t “cut loose” as my beloved brethren have encouraged me to do. I discussed it with my Pastor a while ago. His response: “God is pleased with our loud shouts of praise, but he is also blessed by the thundering sound of a single, falling tear.” And believe me, as God continues to bless me through the ministry of our church, there are MANY tears of joy, rejoicing, appreciation, gratitude and love shed.

Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Seriously????l After TWENTY-FIVE years of discussion this topic is coming back AGAIN?

Can’t wait for the MacArthur/Blood post, the bus ministry thread and the article on wire rim glasses.

smh

[Dan Burrell] Seriously????l After TWENTY-FIVE years of discussion this topic is coming back AGAIN?

Can’t wait for the MacArthur/Blood post, the bus ministry thread and the article on wire rim glasses.

smh

…oops, I mean, “Amen!”

I have been perusing the threads and forums being discussed on SI today, and I had an odd thought. (Not a slam, not a complaint, not a judgement: just an odd thought.)

I have recently heard several firsthand accounts about “The Underground Church” in places where true, Biblical faith in Christ is a capital offense. They risk death when they proclaim faith in Christ. They risk death when they meet to worship - every time they meet to worship. They risk death every time they share the gospel with someone else.

They haven’t grown up with a Bible in their homes. They ask for a copy of the Scriptures, and the READ IT. They STUDY IT. They ask those who are more learned what it means, and then they LIVE IT. And by walking in faith, walking like Christ walked, they attract others to faith in Him.

Here’s the Odd Thought:
I wonder what their reaction would be if they were to log on to this website and see us discussing “Should we applaud during worship services?” “What translation of the Bible should we use?” “Which is better: Fundamentalism or Conservative Evangelicalism?”

Bro. Karl, they’d probably be shocked by 3 meals a day plus snacks, $4 coffee at Starbucks, closets full of clothes we never wear (probably because of the 3 meals a day plus snacks) and if they walked into our air conditioned churches with ceiling fans and chandeliers and them there indoor toilets… and potlucks with tables of food practically bowing with the weight of meatloaf and lasagna… well, now you’ve gone and done it- I’m all hungry.

We talk about what we talk about because it is relevant to our culture. Perhaps we can toss these ideas around because we aren’t scared and tired and hungry. Maybe we have too much freedom. But I’m not going to complain about that. Anyone who wants to go on a diet of rice and fish guts is welcome to it.

[Rev Karl] Here’s the Odd Thought:
I wonder what their reaction would be if they were to log on to this website and see us discussing “Should we applaud during worship services?” “What translation of the Bible should we use?” “Which is better: Fundamentalism or Conservative Evangelicalism?”

Or whether women should wear “braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes”. After all, the Word of God would never consider such petty matters important to address.

[Dan Burrell] Seriously????l After TWENTY-FIVE years of discussion this topic is coming back AGAIN?

Can’t wait for the MacArthur/Blood post, the bus ministry thread and the article on wire rim glasses.

(Somehow my original post didn’t display properly. Here’s what I posted…)

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP…oops, I mean, “Amen!”

[Dan Burrell] Seriously????l After TWENTY-FIVE years of discussion this topic is coming back AGAIN?

Can’t wait for the MacArthur/Blood post, the bus ministry thread and the article on wire rim glasses.

smh

Hi, Dan. Thanks for reading my blog. It’s kind of an honour, since I’m really just a nobody serving way off in a little church in Scotland. A far cry from your ministry and the culture in which you serve, in some ways.

I’m glad to learn that you stopped clapping 25 years ago. I’m quite sure that is what you meant by the above statement, isn’t it? ;) Of course, not everyone has worked it through yet, so you’ll have to be patient with those of us who weren’t in such a good place 25 years ago. Back then I was attending a school where they always clapped, so I’m afraid I’m a little behind you. :)

But brother, you know what is amazing to me? You would never believe this. It isn’t just clapping that gets talked about. To slightly paraphrase your comment above, “After TWO HUNDRED years of abstinence discussion the topic of alcohol keeps coming back http://www.danburrell.com/?p=982] AGAIN ?” :D

I really do enjoy your blog, friend. I’ve been reading it off and on for a while. I don’t agree with everything you say, of course, but I still find profit in reading most of it. It’s good to think, and to consider even that with which I might not agree. It sharpens me. At the very least, it helps me to understand my brothers charitably when I read what they are saying, even if I disagree. I don’t usually clap when I read it, but I often appreciate it.

Lord’s blessings on you and your ministry.

JG….I will confess that I did not actually read your blog article until recently. I was more or less responding to the filings thread. You’re definitely not a “nobody” and certainly every bit as entitled to discussing the topic as the myriad other mundane-to-maddening topics that are discussed all over the blogosphere. And I would suppose that things in Scotland are also quite different than in the US.

Twenty-five years ago when I was just a pup of twenty-five (wow, it seems like just yesterday), I wouldn’t have clapped if you had put a gun to my head. Yet, I was in a church where shouting multiple versions of “Amen” (as in Ah-men, Yep-man, Ayah-main, etc…) was quite acceptable and the only clapping permitted was nonsensical utterings of encouragement shouted during over-wrought renditions of Southern Gospel musical “specials” (specials being code for “performance” and use of the term “musical” should be interpreted in the broadest sense of the word only.) So, I’m not sure there was a great deal of difference between “yelping one’s approval” at an extended harmonious note at the conclusions of a song or perhaps those regular exercises in listening to some string-bean progressively drop down as “bass” as he could possibly go and clapping one’s hands moderately-to-vigorously in appreciation for the message or delivery of some other number. Of course, we could nod our heads in rhythm, perhaps pat our legs and even gently tap our feet in our church. But clapping? That was as appropriate as belching one’s approval at the opera. And let’s not discuss raising one’s hands higher than one’s shoulder unless there was a handkerchief attached to the hand.

I do award points however on your rebuttal asking about abstaining from alcohol — and a few bonus ones for obviously reading one of my recent blog entries. :-D As I said to someone just today, I guess we all do have our pet “lines” — even people who deem themselves relevant or progressive — they are just different lines. Sorting them out can be maddening.

But please know I wasn’t intending to take a shot at you personally – I just hadn’t seen this discussed in a few years and my knee suffered a quick spasm of the “jerking” kind. :-)

I enjoyed strolling through your blog and intend on visiting again frequently. I always like reading people that poke me in the brain!

My whole post was intended to be light-hearted.

I agree (as I mentioned in my article) that applause by “amen” is not really any different from clapping. Perhaps it doesn’t have quite the same connotations to a new believer, but they quickly learn it is just applause.

The alcohol thing was just too good to pass up. I’d only read it the day before. I like to think it was preordained. :)

Blessings.

This thread may have died already as it is now buried beyond page one, but if anyone is still following it, I have a question for the “non-clappers”.

No ulterior motive, just a desire to understand the thinking of others…

If clapping is at some level demeaning to authentic worship and perhaps even wrong or incorrect (whether or not one would consider it sinful to do so may not necessarily be relevant to this question unless the responder would simply care to include their position on that), what should a traditional believer of Western or European descent say in response to or evaluation of an African-American, Latino or actual African congregation where the cultural practice of clapping is an expression of jubilation, joy, praise, agreement, appreciation or perhaps simply participation? I’ve worshiped and spoken in each of these kinds of congregation and the absence of clapping throughout the service would be considered odd to the point of awkwardness — perhaps even rudeness — by congregants of that culture. Are they incorrectly worshiping? Would a Western speaker or missionary serve them well by educating them and/or requesting that they cease or change?

Curious as to how this is viewed by anyone.

This thread must not be quite dead, since people are still coming through to my blog from it. Since you asked the question there, I’ve given my own personal answer there, but I’ll post it here, too, since some people are obviously still following this.

***

Dan, very good question. I could perhaps boil down part of my comments above to simply this: I’ve argued that clapping in ancient Hebrew culture bore different cultural messages than it bears in most Western cultures today. Thus, we should not assume that the Scriptural mentions of hand-clapping endorse what we do today.

A second aspect of my post could be boiled down to say that clapping (at least as applause) in our cultures carries cultural messages (praise of man, etc), if not always at least frequently, that don’t belong in corporate worship, and thus it is unwise (at best) to include applause in that setting.

So my response to your question would be that clapping is not the issue, it is the cultural messages it conveys. If one is in a culture where it conveys different messages, then one has to evaluate those messages to decide whether it belongs in corporate worship or not. This wasn’t really, if you look at it, an “anti-clapping” post, it was an “anti-applause” post.

As a visiting speaker who is not extremely knowledgeable of the culture, one should undoubtedly assume it is appropriate and respond accordingly. As a missionary serving in that culture, careful evaluation would seem necessary — just because something is accepted in a culture obviously doesn’t mean it is a good thing. If clapping conveys inappropriate messages, it is time to do some teaching (although there may be higher priorities, of course).

I’ll add this. I find it hard to believe that the “applause factor” isn’t there in African-American culture, because they are just as tuned in to the entertainment world as other Americans. I think the same would be true of the Latin churches you mention. So if I were ministering in one of those churches frequently, I might challenge the leaders, at some point, to think about the things I’ve written here. They are the ones who are 1) a lot more knowledgeable about cultural connotations in their culture than we are and 2) responsible that things be done decently and in order. If I were to raise the issue, it would be with leadership alone, and I would do so in a way that leaves the ball entirely in their court.

That’s my thoughts, for what it’s worth. A very good question.