APPLAUSE!

“Clap your hands, all peoples!  Shout to God with loud songs of joy!  For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.”

                                                                                   -Psalm 47:1

What about clapping in the worship service?  It depends!  Why are you doing it?  Some places seem to frown on clapping or raising hands in worship and others have adopted it fully in their worship. In his book, “Raise Your Praise!” Chip Vickio who is a good friend of mine and the worship minister at the Lewes Church of Christ, in Lewes Delaware has some very good thoughts I wish to share.

“As a worship leader, many times when our praise team finishes a song, the congregation claps. I sincerely hope that the reason they are applauding is more for the song’s message, and not so much for our performance or for our talents. After all, to display our talents should be the last reason we are worship leading. Instead, we want simply to be effective in prompting people to worship the Lord. If we were to sing a song in which the lyrics described how great God is, and there is applause at the end, I always consider the applause to be like saying, ‘Amen!’

I fully agree! In our worship we need to be reminded that it is all about God. It is not about putting focus or undue attention on ourselves. All applause should be an expression of praise being lifted up to the Lord and not in recognition of any person or group and how well they may have performed. We do not come together to praise those singing special music or those leading the praise for the service. We are not here to attend and witness a performance…we are here to worship the God of the universe and our Savior. Those who sing or lead in other capacities during the service are facilitators striving to help us enter into the very presence of God. So, let your applause be like shouting aloud, “AMEN” or “PRAISE THE LORD!”