Loudness In Churches.

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by shag

I've thought for quite some time now, how would temporarily removing all of the modern day sound systems in all the modern day "apostolic Pentecostal churches", affect all the modern day...

(aisle runnin, hollerin back at the preacher "preach it", jumpin around, Rollin on the floor, loud screams, cheerleading-"if they can make noise at the football game, then how much more should we praise our God", on and on like I see where I attend)

...stuff referred to as praise or a " move of God"???

I have a feeling without all the hi tech loud noise making, we'd be a lot more like those that are considered "dead and dry churches where God doesn't move.

In fact, it is made obvious when folks when the music is blaring, then when the loud volume goes down the fades away, then when it gets loud it shows up again.

That is a very valid point.

[Praxeas]

Anointing is not loudness.

[Praxeas]

Nobody has been in a prayer meeting without a PA system or loud music and not have it loud??

[shag]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Nobody has been in a prayer meeting without a PA system or loud music and not have it loud??

I think we should always be able to cry out to God, whether having personal commune with God, or as a body together. Some denominations really don't allow for that need when meeting as a body, I think, and to me that is a mistake. On the other hand, while "Pentecostals" dont fall short in that area, I think they often overkill trying to convince folks in order to be "apostolic" or "worship in spirit and truth" they MUST needs to make some loud noise, in preaching and music, and also the crowd in response to the loud preacher and loud music.

While I have been in loud prayer meetings, primarily in small rooms with a lot of other Pentecostals, oftentimes(but most likely not always) it has been loud due to folks trying to hear themselves over the other, or because they think that's part of what it means to be apostolic.


Again tho, I believe one must ALWAYS be comfortable crying out to God with the body of fellow believers. We can't ever lose that.

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Nobody has been in a prayer meeting without a PA system or loud music and not have it loud??

I've definitely been in some good prayer meetings where the Lord was moving strongly and it got pretty loud in there.

[shag]

I think too, that it's quite possible that oftentimes "our" Sunday night presentation of "being apostolic by being loud", can hinder folks from genuinely personally connecting and crying out to God frm their heart, by the distractingly loud noise of Pentecostals "cutting loose"..

But maybe that brings some closer too....??

[Scott Hutchinson]

If the sound gets loud in prayer rooms due to alot of folks praying that's one thing,but people jacking up the volume on the PA system because they feel that moves The Holy Spirit is yet another.

And what about when people pray they feel like they have to be loud,cause being loud moves God or so they think ?

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Scott Hutchinson

If the sound gets loud in prayer rooms due to alot of folks praying that's one thing,but people jacking up the volume on the PA system because they feel that moves The Holy Spirit is yet another.

And what about when people pray they feel like they have to be loud,cause being loud moves God or so they think ?

It's culture a lot of times Scott. It's what people saw their parents, their grandparents and others they respect do and it has become part of who they are.

I often "sing" my prayer. There is a man of my youth who was a great influence to me and I spent many an hour in the prayer room with him as a young man and as a child. He did the same thing. I never conciously said "Hey... I'm going to pray like him" but it has become the way I pray partially because of hearing it so often and I'm sure it has something to do with the respect with which I viewed the brother.

We often do many things because it is what we saw growing up. That is what my point remains to be in this thread. There's no reason to see what anyone else does as bad as long as it is done in a spirit of prayer or worship.

If the music is loud in a church it's because that is the way those who are showing up and practicing for hours feel their worship should be. Everybody is so free to knock the people on the platform for the way they do things and yet I don't ever hear people wanting to join in the effort it takes to make it happen.

We judge why people pray the way they do and we come to the conclusion that it's because they equate loudness to spirituality. Maybe it's because they feel the spirit? Maybe it's because that's how they learned how to pray?

We judge why people crank it up in church and we come to the conclusion that they live by the premise that volume equals God. Maybe it's because that is their way of praise? Maybe it's because they are feeling God? Maybe it's because they feel a "wall" up in the spirit that comes from the synical complainers group and they are trying to push through it so we can have a move of God in the service and this is the only way they know how. (and believe me... I can testify)

I'm pretty amazed at the constant judgments we've come to in this thread knowing the hearts and intents of other people.

if they are too loud then they, apparently, worship in a different way than others but, you know what, they are the ones willing to put in the hours and hours of practice it takes to be ready to sing every week and, generally speaking, those who would judge their intents are generally not so willing.

The judgers are, most often, the pew sitters.

Those who get judged are, most often, those doing all the work.

And, again, I can testify.

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by shag

I think too, that it's quite possible that oftentimes "our" Sunday night presentation of "being apostolic by being loud", can hinder folks from genuinely personally connecting and crying out to God frm their heart, by the distractingly loud noise of Pentecostals "cutting loose"..

But maybe that brings some closer too....??

.... Becoming Pentecostal? Probably so. Be it good or bad, the fact is, Pentecostals are huge on traditions. Being loud and noisy is certainly one of them.

I think the decibel level in particular is an argument found in many denominations today - Pentecostal and nonpentecostal.

There is a fair number of the Pentecostal constituency that has as a goal for the service to speak in tongues, or achieve an altered state of consciousness "in the spirit". I think they see it as a refueling and a
needed function for daily life in an ungodly world. When leaders are of this mindset, they will intentionally
create segments of time within the service with lots of high volume white noise so congregants can refuel
without appearing out of order or impromptu. This may be why a minister will ask the church to pray while loud music is playing, then will loudly pray into the mic himself instead of removing the mic and joining as a congregant.

I see the decibal level in Pentecostal churches as a tradition and a means to foster tongue speaking in the assembly.

[Scott Hutchinson]

My intent is here not to be judgemental or critical however we might find that we all may have religious traditions that are just that and are not founded on scripture.

It's easy to look at the church world and point fingers at them and look at their traditions but it's quite another to look at our own.