In the past, I have struggled with clapping for musicians in church. First off, why should I even care? I imagine it’s the last thing on anyone’s mind today. It comes down to my deeply held belief that music in church is not a show. It is simply a form of worship. When we go to a show, we clap. When we got to church, we pray, and if we are truly, moved we say amen. When I see this in writing I can see my Presbyterian roots coming out; a particular Presbyterian church where intentionality is a core principal of worship. What that means is that not a thing is done in worship without it being carefully considered and decided upon. Clapping in church? Does it have a place in worship? Let’s bring it to the worship committee.
My current church is a clapping church. The main thing they clap for is wedding anniversaries, more theatrical than normal announcements, but mostly for music. No clapping for any other piece of worship. Why is this? Well isn’t it courteous to clap at a concert? So then shouldn’t we do this in church? But there’s really more to it.
In My Thank You Problem, I expressed a discomfort with praise directed to me during worship. Then my brother, John wrote:
If God enjoys praise so can we!
And I do believe that God loves our praises, not because he has an ego, but because it’s a celebration of a relationship with his children. And maybe that’s what happens on Sunday morning. We celebrate each other.
After he wrote this to me, I began shuffling through my old writing on the subject. I was quite bitter about this at one point. And I found a quote from a friend.
This is how we lift the music and the musicians up in gratitude.
How can I argue with that? That is such a beautiful way of expressing it. It’s not perfect though. Some churches still seem to have a problem with clapping. I attended a church for many years where the congregation clapped, but only when they were truly moved to do it as a group under no obligation. When the choir raised the roof, for example. But when they sang a deeply moving, spiritual song, the congregation would respond with quiet reverence. This never bothered me.
The problem arises with obligation. What do you do if one Sunday the choir makes you want to get up and clap and say amen, but the next Sunday it doesn’t happen? If there is an unspoken obligation to clap, then you clap in a quiet, courteous way…in a let down way? I don’t really know. That changes things to me, though. Then, instead of coming out to worship, which is only measured by God’s pleasure (I believe it’s always his pleasure), we’re getting judged by the congregation’s pleasure. I usually know when we didn’t accomplish our mission to compel people to worship in their hearts and now I have a clap-o-meter to confirm it. I’m used to it. There’s no way we can inspire everybody with every anthem. Sometimes we fall short of that, but God makes it holy for us. Our worshipful hearts make it holy. But the ego in me does notice how loud and long they clap.
It’s really a small thing, this clapping thing. It’s not something I walk away from on Sunday morning feeling bad about. I confess there’s a Presbyterian in me who just wants to say “That’s it! No more clapping! No response, is the only equal response.” What an awful thing for a church leader to do. It’s been done.
But maybe that’s not a Presbyterian thing so much. My brother Paul is a Presbyterian minister, and here’s what he said (paraphrased)
David, it’s my job to do one of two things. Get them to tone it up or get them to tone it down. And you know what, I’ve never had to get them to tone it down. And so when they clap, I’m excited because they’re toning it up and getting involved. If you have a church that needs toning down, then I call that a blessing.
I attend two services, a toned down early service, and a very enthusiastic late service. It’s all we can do to get them to sit down and be quiet. They love to be with each other. They love to clap for each other. They love to be in dialog with our new pastor as she preaches her sermon. This is GOOD no matter how loud or soft people clap. Clapping is something that only the living do. It’s a sign of life. We have a living congregation in a wonderful and spiritual sense.
Yes, that quiet Presbyterian boy with all the rules sometimes just wants a little peace and quiet. I’ve never been a good fit for the party crowd, but I certainly don’t want to be the one who spoils it.
When Sunday morning comes, and my choir sings “Triune Blessing” with their beautiful harmonies, the congregation will clap. And I will say this to myself:
Lord, thank you for friends that care enough about us and our offering to show it.
Import complicated 