The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Music during prayer? Music during communion?

What do you all think?

The kind I am thinking about is soft, keyboard or organ type music. I don't treally get why we feel the need to have soft music at the end of a prayer.

Also, what do you think about starting the singing of a hymn part way through the moment to greet one another? It seems like one is torn between shakimg the hand of the person behind you and starting to sing. It seems a tad disorderly.

I know these are small things, but if we are to worship God as He wants to be worshipped, then these things have to be addressed.

I prefer not to have soft music with prayer.

I really disdain the concept of taking time in worship to greet those around you. It is so manufactured.

Why do you think it's manufactured? Is the problem the manufacturedness of it, or is it not good altogether to have it?

Paul told the churches he wrote to to greet one another or to greet a particular person. But where did the practice of greeting those around us in worship come from? Is there a Biblical backing to it? I have never been to a church where they didn't have a time to greet one another.

I've never been a part of a church that did it. I've seen it a few times while visiting other churches (Methodist or Baptist).

I have not thought of the Scripture command of greeting, so I need to think about that. However, my initial reaction is that what I have seen those few times is not the greeting that the epistle writers had in mind. When on cue by the Pastor or Worship Leader, everyone stands up to say hello to those around them just seems manufactured by me. IMO, there was no genuine greeting of a fellow brother/sister.

Did the early church have a formal time of greeting and I guess we can add communion? My impression is that the early church did not crunch all elements of worship into an 1-hour or 1&half-hour worship service. They had plenty of time for greeting each other, not just the 1-minute time frame.

There's a quote by Francis Schaeffer, that I can't remember off the top of my head, but it states, basically:
People are afraid of silence because it forces them to look inward to occupy themselves. People are terrified to look inward because they cannot tolerate to see themselves as they really are.
Anyways, that's my opinion on the subject.
troy

I think that this may be a baptist thing. Like you, I have only seen this in churches I visited.

Maybe I am being overly strict. But I question anything that breaks the sense of Worship in a worship service. For some time my home church has had the announcemnets at the beginning, before the prelude. I complemented my pastor when a few months ago he switched from doing the announcements from behind the pulpit to standing at the front end of the main ailse. It communicated that this is something we do as needfull but it is not a part of worship.

I think it came from the charismatic movement as did the music. It was a fad that swept many churches and they forgot to get rid of it. It isn't a baptist thing in particular, it is in many groups.

One morning our pastor just finished some thoughtful comments with, "we too often get tied up with things and people rather than God" then he said, "Let's take a moment to shake everyone's hand!" Now if that isn't a people centered thing I don't know what it is.

As mentioned, it detracts totally from any part of worship that you might have brought to the service thus far.

I have noticed in most churches it replaces getting to know visiters when they come in and leave - get your duty done during the worship time when you don't have to do much but say hi.

We visited one church for quite awhile and during the greeting time it was super friendly, but absolutely no one has taken an interest in us otherwise - We get to worship which is always good :-)

I also suspect that some pastors use it so they have a friendly church without him doing it.

It can be a very effective time, in my mind, - not that it is Biblical in particular - if each person singles out one other person to greet and spend a moment or two with getting to know them. It is especially helpful if a visitor is met with a one on one contact.

Visited a large church once when the pastor had the congregation stand, then he asked the visitors to sit down, then introduced the greeting time. Can you imagine 200 hands coming down at you as you cower in the pew <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wow1.gif" alt="" />

I heard Jack Hyles (in his early days) get all nasty about men that had music with their prayer, said he didn't need music with his prayers. The next morning my wife happened onto his radio broadcast - you guessed it, music with his prayer <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/bingo.gif" alt="" />

On a similar note: Have you been in a church that "passes the peace?"

Was in a good southern (tobaco growers) baptist church when the pastor announced that we were going to have the passing of the peace. I turned to my wife and asked, "A piece of what?" (sorry if this is one of your sacred cows.) about that time the woman next to me tapped me on the elbow, quietly but firmly clasped my hand and elegantly said, "Peace be with you brother."

? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/nerd.gif" alt="" /> -- duhnnno

GottseiEhre,


Great quote, and I have to agree with you on it. I also agree with both John C. and J.Schultz that the "greeting" is a forced and acted greeting, and should not be included in worship. It certainly takes away from the sense of holiness to be respected in a time of worship, I would think that after worship is over would be the time to greet others. I always found that a big gathering at the church door as you enter, takes away from the preparation to present one's self before one's holy God in worship.

In His Hands,

Ruth

This has nothing to do with the Biblicalness of greeting during service, but when I was going to a church that set aside time for that, I was invariably sick during the week. Maybe you want to consider that.

It seems forced to me too and to me, it takes away from thoughts of worshiping. Our worship begins at 9:30 and ends around 10:45, so we have 15 minutes to visit, eat donuts, and drink coffee before our Sunday School begins.
I vote for no music with prayers. I don't object to music during communion, but we don't have music at our church during communion, and the silence is fitting then too.

I am agin both music during prayer but adamantly opposed to the invoked "greeting" during the worship of God. Corporate worship is NOT about "fellowship" with one another, albeit it is the gathering of the saints together. But rather it is about "fellowship" with the Lord God; communing with Him as the people hear His voice through that of the one who speaks His Word and administers the sacraments.

I just love this parody: The Order for Morning "Fellowship".

In His Grace,

I also don't particularly like the idea of a forced "shake the hand of the person in front of you" part of the worship service. This has not added to the worshipfulness of any Baptist or Presbyterian service I have ever attended, in my opinion.

Oddly, when I attended a Lutheran church (ten to fifteen or so years ago, now), we had a "pass the peace" portion of the liturgy--and for some reason that never struck me as anything *but* reverent. My thinking on this is that the two types of greeting had different perspectives and thus resulted in different perceptions.

In the church I now attend we do have music in Communion, but not specifically at the end of a prayer, or during the prayers.

Theo

Marie,

It seems more appropriate to me to greet each other before and after the worship service rather than making it a part of the service. After all the worship service isn't a social event, it's a time of availing ourselves to the means of grace through the preaching of the Word, the Sacraments, along with offering our prayers, praise, and gifts to the Lord.

The idea of embellishing our prayers with musical background seems to be aimed at making the most out of your worship experience. It may actually be entertaining for some but distractive for others. Some people get nervous when its too quiet but I don't think it's a bad thing.

I think the parody Pilgrim provided in his post shows where this could go. Let's guard our worship services from such man-centered focus and give our full attention to the drama of God-centered worship.


Wes

Well then just sit there ya ole poop. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

But tell me something John do you like the parishioners that attend your church? Do you know most of them? I know I don't know most of the people in my Church so I take this time to catalog their names and faces. And what is manufactured about saying "please to meet you". Shouldn't we be please to see people in Church ready to worship God?

This need for a spartan worship form does worry me at times. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/Ponder.gif" alt="" />


Pete