"Yet worse was it that the unbridled delight of these men in dissipating enjoyments threatened to turn the church into a theatre, and the Preacher into a play actor. If he would please the multitude, he must adapt himself to their taste, and entertain them amusingly in the church.

"They demanded also in the preaching something that should please the ear, glittering declamation with theatrical gesticulation; and they clapped with the same pleasure as the comedian in the holy place and him on the stage. And alas there were found at that period too many preachers who preferred the applause of men to their soul's health."

Luther says in the Large Catechism under the 3rd Commandment:

"This commandment is violated not only by those who grossly misuse and desecrate the holy day.. . but also by that multitude of others who listen to God's Word as they would any other entertainment. . ."

Luther had strong words against any pastor who would lean toward gaining the approval of his hearers. And Dietrich Bonhoeffer says this about our corporate singing: "Our song on earth is speech. It is the sung Word. Why do Christians sing when they are together? The reason is, quite simply, that in singing together it is possible for them to speak and pray the same Word at the same time -- in other words, for the sake of uniting in the Word."

Then, Bonhoeffer argues that unison singing is the best expression of this. He writes:

"There is no place in the worship service where vanity and bad taste can so assert themselves as in the singing. First, there is the improvised second part that one encounters almost everywhere people are supposed to sing together. It attempts to give the necessary background, the missing richness to the free-floating unison sound and in the process kills both the words and the sound. There are the bass or the alto voices that must call everybody's attention to their astonishing range and therefore sing every hymn an octave lower. There is the solo voice that drowns out everything else, bellowing and quavering at the top of its lungs, reveling in the glory of its own fine organ." (Life Together)

Admittedly, Bonhoeffer is speaking of a particular form of congregational singing, but what he says stems from understanding corporate worship as an opportunity to be incorporated in the Word, not to be entertained. In all he says, individual achievement is diminished, and corporate confession is highlighted. It is the voice of the church that is heard in our Sunday singing, not the voice of the choir or the soloist or the pastor or the cantor.

Properly, then, we do not applaud ourselves. We speak/sing the Word. Does the word deserve an Amen from the people of God? Certainly! And that is why I wouldn't mind the congregation speaking an Amen after a particular word from the pulpit or a particular choral anthem. Amen, but applause? The first says: "Truly! This is most certainly true!" The second says: "Thanks! That was really nice!" The first says: "That is my confession, too!" The second says: "Gee, I wish I could sing like that!" In other words, a well-directed Amen retains the corporate nature of the praise which may have been voiced by one or several. But applause objectifies what was heard by heaping praise on that which was heard; it distances us by declaring ourselves observers, not participants -- an audience, not a corporate body whose voice is heard in both the one and the many.

Rev. Rick Sawyer
Good Shepherd (LCMS) -- Brandon, MS

Jim Heap, LCMS Laity, responds in kind:
Reference: l Corinth 14:28, (Paul speaks of an orderly worship) "If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God."

Although this is not a direct reference to applause, we can learn that those who feel *individually* moved by the Spirit should contain themselves from manifesting that "movement" if no others are present to ascertain whether or not the source is Holy Spirit-driven or party spirit-driven.

Also, in addressing Christian Freedom (as this is the basic argument for accepting changes to the worship and bringing into the Church those things of the world to Glorify God because they ~might~ work), Paul tells us (1 Corinth 10:23ff), "Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissable - but not everything is *constructive*. (My emphasis)

The example: There are many ways that we praise others in the World for the effort they put forth and across the cultures of the World, there are many also. If we are to say, "Bring this worldly type of praise into the Church because many feel it can be both Worldly praise and Godly praise." Then we can be certain that other types of Worldly praise can meet the criteria. After all, have not the good Christians said, "I feel moved by the Holy Spirit to use this type of praise in response to the offering (hymn/song/solo/etc) just given."

Other cultures, as I've said, have other ways for showing Worldly praise for the efforts, so should we not try these also if the good Christian has discerned that the Spirit moves him/her to this outward expression? So, it would come to good reason that after the Holy Supper, in response to Him that prepared the meal thru His "innocent sufferings and death", that - if we are so *moved* by the Spirit to respond in praise - that all who leave the table are welcomed to follow the Asian custom of *belching* a departing word of thanks and praise.