Caller: My question is: Is there anything wrong with jumping up and down and clapping during a worship service because last month, there was a concert at my church and at some point the music got really loud and people were jumping up and down and clapping, and even I was jumping up and down and clapping for awhile but then I remembered all the bad stuff I’d heard about doing that so I stopped. After it was over people started complaining to the pastor and to other people and so I was wondering, is there anything wrong with that?
Pastor Doug: The Bible tells us that the Lord is not the author of confusion. All things should be done decently and in order. That’s 1 Corinthians 14:40. You have to ask yourself, What would Jesus do? What would the angels do? If you can’t picture Jesus in that environment, jumping up and down, then I would begin to question if it was God’s Spirit. I can picture Christians rejoicing. I think Christian’s rejoiced when Jesus rode down the hill on the donkey and they shouted ‘Hosannah’.
There is a time for rejoicing, but I don’t think Christians ought to lose control and composure, and if the music is taking possession of us, then we’re losing control of ourselves. We’ve got to be careful. There’s a very thin line between the music of rejoicing and the music of the world. I’ve seen a lot of churches where that’s crossed over the line, in my opinion. Whenever you’re in doubt, do the safe thing. If you’re wondering if this is glorifying God, then don’t do it. Okay?
I would also remind the caller that she can call the resource number for a book we have available called “Notes on Music” by Louis Torres where he addresses Christian music and principles of Christian music. He used to be in Bill Haley and the Comets, a rock band, and he has some good perspectives. The phone number is 1-800-835-6747.