Categories
church worship

Should I Raise My Hands In Church (And Other Questions)

Should I raise my hands when I pray (or sing) in the local church? Which music should we use in our local church worship? Should my kids be allowed to dance during a good praise song at the assembly? Shall I be allowed to say “amen” after any song I feel particularly touched by during worship service? Can we change the complete structure of the meeting of the local church? Should we say the Nicene Creed at the gathering of the local church?

In all of these questions we’re really just asking, “What am I allowed to do?” I’ve said it in another post but before answering the questions you have to actually figure out why we come together at all. After you identify that purpose for gathering you then figure out your freedoms within that gathering. In other words, first you ask “why do we assemble?” then you ask, “What should I be doing when we’re assembled?”

Why we assemble is the main question to answer but I think Scripture would have us ask several probing questions that help tie down both the purpose of the church while examining any of our actions.

Categories
church history worship

The Beat of Just One Drum: Music in Church

In Politics, certain subjects took on a political endangering quality. Social Security has been labeled the Third Rail of American Politics specifically because it’s so charged and touching it meant death for a person’s political career. In the same way certain subjects do the same for professional careers, conversations and churches. For churches in particular, the third rail is Music: time for me to waltz on it.

You go into any Church during their service, listen to the music and note your first reaction. I don’t mean the piety of your reaction, like the part that you say “Praise God!” I mean the part of your reaction where you decide that the specific sound you’re hearing is a Good Expression of True Worship.  That reaction will clue you in on what you’re approach to music in church is.

Is there a right approach to music or is it just a matter of taste? Does Music have a place in Christian worship or is it more a distraction that what it’s worth?