A few weeks ago a lady wrote to “Dear Abby” expressing dissatisfaction with the popular practice of applauding during worship. We were amazed that anyone would write such a letter in this age of “Don’t-be-judgmental-and-have-religion-your-own-way.” We were not amazed, however, at the protest that appeared in February 7th’s column. Below is Nancy Whitford’s (from Champaign, Illinois) response.
Regarding the woman who complained about clapping in church: She should relax and enjoy. Worship doesn’t have to be a somber and expressionless experience. The Psalmist tells us, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
How can people relax and enjoy what they do not consider to be spiritual or Scriptural? [Come to think of it, was not this Bobby Knight’s advice to women being raped?] The fallacy of this argument is that if several people enjoy it, this woman should, also. In other words, if the majority thinks a golden calf would be fun to worship, everyone should enjoy the revelry. The problem is that Nancy does not question whether the practice is right or wrong, which is the appropriate question to ask. Her comment here basically amounts to: “If it feels good, do it.”
The second fallacy in this paragraph is the false dilemma posed: either worship is an expressionless experience or we must clap our hands. How ridiculous! When Moses was in the presence of the burning bush, did he applaud God? When Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, did they applaud His bright appearance?
This comment assumA few weeks ago a lady wrote to “Dear Abby” expressing dissatisfaction with the popular practice of applauding during worship. We were amazed that anyone would write such a letter in this age of “Don’t-be-judgmental-and-have-religion-your-own-way.” We were not amazed, however, at the protest that appeared in February 7th’s column. Below is Nancy Whitford’s (from Champaign, Illinois) response.es that the minds and hearts of people are not nearly so important in worshipping God as their hands are. How preposterous to think that we can only be involved in worship if our hands can smack each other with precision. Fervency in worship is provided from within, not by some artificial, external stimulus.
The third fallacy is the appeal to the Old Testament for our standard of worship. We are under a new and better covenant now (Heb. 8:6-7). The law of Moses has been nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14). To go back to the Old Testament as authority for anything in worship or practice carries with it two dangers.
First, to appeal to the Old Testament as authority for even one practice obligates one to obey the whole law (Gal. 5:3). Some Jewish converts in the first century church wanted to bind circumcision on Gentiles. Paul told them they could not just take that one item; they would be required to keep the entire law. Are there any who really want to be bound by the law? Do they want to offer the blood sacrifices required in Leviticus? Do they want to abstain from all work on the Sabbath day? Will they remove pork from their diets? The law requires all of these things–and more.
Second, anyone attempting to be justified by the law has fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4). Now these are very strict statements, but Paul is trying to make the point very clear: We are not under the Old Testament, and we cannot appeal to the Old Testament for New Testament doctrine, worship, or practice.
“What’s wrong with church members expressing their enjoyment of worship? Amen and hallelujah!” Nancy writes (on page 9A of The Denton Record-Chronicle).
Excuse me, but for whom is the worship designed: God or us? Are we gathered together to please ourselves? The philosophy of the “me” generation has finally been applied to worship. People have whined, “I didn’t get anything out of the worship”; so religion (in general) has responded by saying, “What would you like to have?” If you want 15-minute sermonettes, you’ve got them. If you want dramas, we’re with you. Do you want games? Bingo! Do you like bowling? We’re right up your alley. Do you want choirs with a modern sound and a rock beat? We can handle that. Why doesn’t somebody just revive the Ed Sullivan Show? It was entertaining without being overly religious.
“Oh, but all of this is for God.” Sure it is–just as the animals that Saul was to kill (but instead brought back alive from the Amalekites) were for sacrifices to Jehovah (1 Samuel 15). Modern churches have adopted the Roy Orbison approach to worship: “Anything you want, you got it.”
Of course worship should be joyous. What we offer to God should come from a heart that is overflowing with praise and gratitude, but it should be directed to Him, not ourselves. The problem with much of today’s “worship” is that it is directed first at the “audience” and only secondarily (if at all) to God, the reason being that worship has become entertainment.
When the choir or soloists use their God-given talents in a worship service, worshipers should be free to express their appreciation. We clap at the church I attend. Yes, there are a few silent types who seem shocked at the vocal majority, but most of us believe there’s nothing wrong with showing our appreciation to those who use their God-given musical talents for the rest of us to enjoy (9A).
The last sentence reaffirms that worship is designed for the enjoyment of those present rather than God. But consider also the idea of clapping for the “performers.” Does that include the one presenting the message? As Dave Miller said, perhaps all of the elders should line up to give him “high fives” after he has presented the message. Neither Moses, the prophets, the apostles, nor Jesus our Lord ever spoke to receive the praise of men. In fact, those who do are called ear-ticklers (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Those who allow their pulpits to be prostituted for the sake of pleasing the multitude are worthy only of contempt. The applause they hear is the only reward they will receive (Matt. 6:1-2).
These men bear no resemblance to those who preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), to those who preach the truth in and out of season (2 Tim. 4:1-2), or to those who risked death for the Word of God.
Of course, the musical talents to which the writer refers are probably the ability to play musical instruments, a practice not authorized in the New Testament. And neither are choirs or soloists, which are also designed to please the ears of men rather than the mind of God.
It is amazing how simply following the New Testament would resolve the perceived problem of non-participation. All Christians are exhorted to sing. We are to speak, teach, and admonish one another while singing praises to God (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). If all were singing as they should, then all worshippers would be expressing themselves to God (and would not have to rely on someone else to do it for them).
Only one man can speak or pray at one time, but all can sing together, give together, and observe the Lord’s Supper together. But even if one man is leading the prayer, we are still all praying, listening to his words in order to say “Amen” at the conclusion of the giving of thanks (1 Cor. 14:16). Only one man may be preaching, but all are attentive, as the Bereans were, to see whether the things that were said are so (Acts 17:11).
God never designed worship as a spectator sport or as entertainment for the masses. It was designed as a way to praise God and edify one another by the enthusiastic participation of all.
Handclapping in worship (during announcements or at baptisms) is nothing more than another carnal influence of the world upon the church; it cheapens worship and accents worshipping “in spirit” to the exclusion of worshipping “in truth” (John 4:23-24).
The following paragraph well sums up the current practice of so many. It is from Dave Miller’s book, Piloting the Strait.
Current culture has groomed and conditioned us to be entertained. Television and the cinema have so developed in their sophistication that they are able to stimulate us and hold our attention with little or no effort on our part. As Neil Postman describes in his bestseller Amusing Ourselves to Death, we have allowed ourselves to shift away from rational assessment of truth in exchange for substanceless emotional stimulation. So in religious practice, worshippers appear driven by that which is “better felt than told” (232-33).
Although some may think that handclapping is a minor issue of no importance, it should be remembered that this action itself is not so much the focus of attention as are the attitude and philosophy it represents. The absence of applause does not make worship less spiritual; its inclusion does not add anything spiritual. Applause is not praise for God; it is praise for mankind–for our “performance.” Would it not be better to honor Him with the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15)?