Psalm 149:1
Praise
the Lord.
Sing
to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
Growing up in an academic setting for most of my life, there
were always excellent bands, orchestras, and choirs. I felt the joy of the
Spirit in the Rutter choral anthems, the lively sacred Holsinger wind symphony
works, and the majestic Handel, Beethoven, and Saint-Saens orchestral
masterpieces. We were always chasing a nearly perfect performance, with every
accidental and minute phrasal ending individually practiced and then group
rehearsed. We finished every service with a rousing exclamation point to enthusiastic
applause, even from the smallest, most conservative churches. Somehow,
everything was OK, as long as it was classical.
But one day someone rang an alarm in my head that I have not
yet been able to shake. I was serving in a worship meeting with Pastor John
Nixon, and speaking to a dozen music professionals in the room, he said, “I
could never finish a sermon to applause and take a bow for the work I had done
on behalf of my master.” That saying
continues to challenge me every time I step up on the platform.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I love a good rousing postlude and sending
the people out on an upbeat note after services. However, it is in the way that
I accept applause or let it pass through me to its rightful place that makes
the difference. It also sets a tone to the ensemble I am leading.
In recent years I have been more thoughtful of the “why”
questions in worship. For most of my early career it was largely about the
“how.” When I reflect on singing a “new” song to the Lord in worship, I use
this application. Of course, on the surface level, creating, finding, and
singing new songs will forever re-energize the body as we discover new facets
of our King and Redeemer and new musical means to do it. However, as with so
much of scripture, one of the double meanings is singing (playing) the song
with a new heart. This is what the Master wants - my complete and total
surrender and acknowledgement of him. This is what worship is about; I can no
longer take the applause.
I hope today that you might sing a “new” song and reflect on
who really deserves the credit!
Richard Hickam
How about this thought...I agree with you the applause shouldn't be for you but the talent you are using for the Lord. That being said I think it is a natural response for people to clap because the talent you shared moved us inside and awakened the spirit inside of us. Let's face it the world and everything we have to face on a day to day basis can make us feel like we are drowning whether big or small. A great talent showing and awakening our souls is sometime just what we need and applause follows sometimes just from the pure joy of the awakening.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said, Cora!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cora, I am often compelled when on the congregation side to applaud as well. I agree with your rationale. It's just when I am performing that I have to check my head and my heart. It is very easy to make an offering of worship about me as a performer, it becomes even easier when folks start clapping.
ReplyDeleteI frequently attend a pentecostal church where clapping is a regular occurrence during service BOTH during praise and worship and often during sermon. What I notice in a church where applause happens frequently is it is used as a form of giving God the praise and coming into agreement with the main point of the song or a point in the sermon. It is not used to grant (or withhold) approval or grade a performance. When it is used as a typical tool of worship, a lot of the idea of the performance or performer earning the applause just seems to go away. As you're already aware, Richard, throughout the Bible, communal worship was quite loud and noisy with a lot of the instruments being percussion instruments. Since most of us in church attendance don't travel with our cymbals or tambourine, clapping is probably a natural evolution of active involvement. Good thoughts in your post!
ReplyDeleteHmmm . . . gives me an idea. Maybe cymbals and tambourines should be distributed before it's time to sing! :)
ReplyDeleteI am not so sure how to feel about applause in church. If it were not used so often in non-religious settings, I would probably agree that it would be a little more acceptable. Just really can't make up my mind. No condemnation, just don't know.
ReplyDeleteI don't think worship with the instruments listed above (cymbals, tamborines, etc...) ever took place in the sanctuary.... Also, it seems that applause does bring glory to the person performing instead of to God..... I think you have to be ever so careful, and i would prefer to take the most conservative approach...
ReplyDelete