The Holy Hand Clap

http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2012/01/the-clap-offering/

The link above is a blog post on Jon Acuff's blog called "Stuff Christians Like". It's great. It is a great reflection on the church and the Christian subculture in a funny and unique way. Like this post. In "the world" (which we all live in), if we are appreciative of something, we clap. We clap if it's good, we clap if it's not so good. But what about church?

It comes down to why is music offered in worship? It's been something I've been pondering for a while. Particularly in light of a few not so positive comments shared in our recent congregational survey on worship regarding my organ treatment of hymns. That's another post for another day. But why is music in our worship services? It's Biblical. That's the easy answer. But, I'm thinking on a higher level here. A month ago, I was at a conference in Dallas and the (not-Lutheran) pastor shared some thoughts on Christmas and singing. He said why is it that Mary, Simeon, and the angels burst into song? His thought: Music goes farther emotionally than mere words can. And I think that's spot on. If I just speak words to God, there's power there. But if I match it to beautiful music, you have powerful words and powerful music connected at a much deeper level.

So, back to clapping. Why don't we clap when the reader speaks the Old Testament lesson filled with really difficult names without stumbling? Why don't we clap when the Pastor is done with the sermon and did a great job of expounding on Law and Gospel? Why don't we clap at anything else outside of music in our worship service? I just don't get it.

Am I saying don't clap? No. Just trying to figure out why we do it. I've spent many years trying to figure it out, and probably will continue to. To me, I don't share music or encourage others to share music to gain applause of the people in the pews. That's not what it is for. It is to praise God for the blessings He gives and the joy that comes from serving Him!