Several years ago the verbage in a church program caught my attention. It read:
“Please refrain from playing musical instruments during the service.”
I remember thinking, “who does that?“ “Who shows up to a church service and breaks out their own musical instruments in the crowd?” Maybe you’re asking the same question.  I can tell you that after this past week that stuff like that actually happens. Somewhere in the middle of our first song this past week I thought I faintly heard some maracas…but there were no maracas on stage????? Strange.
It wasn’t until after the service that I came to find out that a very nice person who was visiting Lifepoint for the first time decided to break out their tambourine and jam with the band.
No offense but…who does that???  Forgive me if this sounds cruel but we work very hard to produce music that absolutely rocks and connects with our culture. Trust me, if the song needed a tambourine we would’ve put one in there. We work hard to de-weird church and nothing could be more weird for a first time guest than for someone on their row to start shaking a tambourine. I cringe knowing that atleast one person was freaked out by this incident.
For the record we are all about crowd participation but this one went a bit too far.
uuummmm… We all know that I have a tendency to “participate” in a somewhat vocal manner, but I promise that I will leave my bongos, rainsticks, triangles and all other percusive instruments to our very talented band! And when my vocal zeal becomes a distraction please let me know and I will do everything I can to rein in my enthusiasm. So does this mean I have to leave my bag of snakes in the car?
About 10 years ago, we had guest ministers in that led worship. We had a guy who brought his saxophone with him and paced back and forth behind the back row playing it.
Our ushers are trained to, as discretely as possible, ask the tambourine bangers to stop. So, does this mean I can’t bring my harmonica with me to Lifepoint this Sunday?
i definitely agree with the “freaking people out” aspect of people participating… but look at it from another angle, what if one person there decided to accept Christ into their lives because of the option of freedom to express how they worship their God? Who are we to judge or make that call? what if God specifically speaks to her through that? Should we be allowed to stop her? i’ve always wondered that because when i was on staff at my church in tallahassee, fl we definitely had people who would worship in very unfamiliar ways… God’s grace would cover any sort of “weirdness” – ah, i suppose different strokes for different folks. although, i though she didn’t sound awful
)
I was right behind her working with Chapin when I heard the saw her reach into her bag of goodies and pulled out the tambourine, she had more than one musical instrument in that big bag. To be fair, she was only playing when it was rocking she did stop when the music got low or was a soft song.
It didnt make me feel uncomfortable to see her in the “zone” what does is when someone speaks out during your message. Now that weirds me out to her some one thinking way out loud enough to draw my attention from the message. Now that is weird to me
Uh-oh…! OUCH! I have very tender toes! I guess this is what I get for peeking onto the computer when I should be working…Cna I get a loud AMEN?! LOL
Time to install the stained glass windows, roll out the organ, put Jeff in a long black robe and get all liturgical….Shhhhhhhh! there’s church goin’ on in here…nobody gets excited and nobody gets hurt. “Hey! I thought the guy next to me was asleep, but I don’t think he’s got a pulse!”
I dont even go there but i am behind you jeff.. everyone has their own way to worship. But there is a time and a place for everything and if one person’s flavor of worship is distracting to a number of people then it is doing the opposite of drawing people in to worship and praising God. She may have been in her zone but while shes getting into her zone shes pulling everyone else out of theirs. But who am i to say im still stuck in clayton. Later Jeff
yeah really lee, come visit once in a while…geez!
Wow!! I read this, wept, and saw that acceptance of Christianity in America is based solely on the Westernization of the faith. Who does this????????? It is customary in African AMERICAN churches, African, Bolivian, Brazilian, and Biblical (1 Samuel 10v5,2 Samuel 6v5,1 Chronicles 13v8,Psalm 68v25,Psalm 81v2). I find this comment insensitive and indicative of the fight that I have faced as an African American, called by Christ to work towards racial reconcialtion. I don’t like “wierdness” in the body, but I found the comments extremely offensive. If the head is infected, the whole body will suffer.
As a member of C3 with a daughter at UNCW, I planned to approach you at the Leadership Conference to introduce her to your church and plug her in to a Bible believing church. It appears that she will only be welcome if she denounces her culture.
Look at the census figures. Are we reaching the lost African American, Latino, etc kids (who also accept Christ prior to 21 years of age)? Or do we only covet the souls of lost WASP youngsters.
I don’t expect that you would EVER respond to this. I just had to express my views as someone called to integrate C3, a great influence on your life.
Connie
Hey Jeff. I just ran across this particualar blog and I was thinking about when I was in Florida. My cousins go to a Pentacostal (sp?) church, and as you probably know, they go CRAZY! I thought it was totally cool at their church, and that it was awesome to see an old man and a little girl get out of their seats and run across the front. To see that vast gap of generations expressing their love for Christ was breathtaking.
But I do suppose that there is a time and place for everything. I think if someone was really filled with the Holy Spirit and they felt like God was calling them to run, then maybe, just maybe, someone in the crowd would be like “woah, that’s something different! There must be something different about them to make them do something like that! I want that!” You know? So I’m praying that someone at your service got something out of that and was amazed at how that one person expressed their love for Christ.
But as for if I think it was right or wrong? Well in….uhhh, I feel bad… It’s when they are talking about spritual gifts and ..(Acts?).. tounges in particular. And they talk about how you shouldn’t do anything if it would cause someone outside of the church to not hear about God in the best way they can (my version of it). So I think in everyone in particular it’s different(those leading a church). Like sure, Africa would be the place to do something like that because of their culture. But I think each church needs to decide for themselves how they can best reach people. And if that’s in letting people run around then that’s great, and if that’s in just jumping up and down and rasing your hands that’s awesome too. As long as it’s God’s plan it’s the right plan.
(haha, leadership conference rubbing off on me!)
Hope I didn’t take up too much of your time! I’m praying for you guys!
I never thought this post would generate such conversation. Please allow me to clarify…
I personally do not have a problem with personal expressions of worship such as tambourine playing. I don’t believe the issue is cultural but an understanding that there is a time and a place for everything.
During our weekend service our goal is communicate the love of Jesus to a disconnected world. Because of this goal, there are things we do and things we do not do. The reason I cringe when I see someone that is flamboyant during a service is because it becomes a distraction to those around them especially to those who are not familiar with such expressions.
1 Cor. 9 talks about how Paul does not cling to his way of doing things but instead becomes like those he around so that he might win some to Christ. Our Goal is the same.
I hope this adds a little clarity. Sorry for any confusion.
If playing an instrument is the only way that you can express your worship to God or doing jumping jacks, then you should be playing and jumping at work and in your car, at the grocery store and right now as you read this. Worship is a full time deal, 24/7.
I think we have reduced worship to 20 minutes on Sunday, where you stand and sing and do other things and that is sad. In my opinion, if your style of worship draws attention to you then you are stealing Gos’s glory. If everyone in the place brings and instrument or is speaking in tounges then go for it. If you are the only one, what do you think?
To think that this post was an attack on someones culture is a stretch. Especially if you didn’t see the person.
I met the lady after the service and she seemed to be a nice lady who loved the Lord. I think her intentions were pure and I think once she hears the vision of what Lifepoint is trying to accomplish on the weekends then she would either choose not to bring instruments or go to a different church.
We don’t expect everyone that comes through the doors to know what our mission is and we know our church is not the model church for everyone. Most of all this lady was not shunned or treat differently, from everything that I saw, she was loved like everyone else.
preach D!