Loudness In Churches.
 

I'm for people praising The Lord and expressing themselves in Praise and Worship.

However where did we get the idea to equate loudness with anointing ?

There are churches who are so loud that you can hear everything that goes on across the street just as loud as if you were the building.

Why do some group insist on extremely loud music and preaching ?

I certainly would not want to attend a Church or Christ service,but why so much volume in a lot of Spirit Filled congregations.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Why not? :)

We crank it up pretty good at our church and you can sure hear us in the parking lot. I'm not sure about across the street though.

But... we're giving a praise and we're giving it all we've got.

Dunno. volume for volumes sake isn't going to accompllish anything but I'm not afraid to give it my all and not look back.

We have drums, keyboard, electric guitars etc and all those things make noise. Then we have 6-8 singers on top of that and we're generally singing it out with all we've got. You could probably hear us in the parking lot if we didn't even have mic's.

But... I do know that you are a bluegrass/southern gospel fan and that type of music remains more subdued. I would imagine that music taste would have something to do with it too.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I understand what you are saying,but sometimes folks think if the music not loud,or if a preacher is not screaming then The Spirit can't move,or if a church is not mega loud then it must be dead.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Right... and I don't agree with their assessment in those cases.

We had a visiting preacher come here once and he preached a good sermon but... MAN... what's up with all the screaming. It's actually online and I could provide a link but then that would name the preacher and I don't want to do that. But he was screaming to the point that his voice became just a noise and I couldn't understand a lot of what he said. But what I could understand was a good thought.

I'm just glad that isn't the what we hear every week. :)

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

We do the music in a church that used to be more bluegrass oriented before we came and we have the same folks that complain every week about the noise. They'll say it's too loud and we'll do nothing and during service we'll get a thumbs up.

The deal is that they come in during practice when the church is empty and it's too loud they say but when the church fills up... it fits. But... every single week we go through the same thing.

Now... those who aren't on the complaining committee get with us and we have some wonderful moves of God. We have a group of young people who love God... give Him all their praise and know how to follow the spirit in a service and we have some amazing moves in the services.

But... next week... there will be a knock at the pastors office door again. And the next week... and the next week... and the next week...

This has been for nearly 2 years now.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

If it is too loud you are too old.:heeheehee:happydance:thumbsup

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Scott, this topic deserves serious discussion. I will respond a bit later. Thanks for starting the thread! (please don't start posting dozens of videos of church of Christ and loud Pentecostal services lol!)

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

no vids of people rolling into the baptismal tank then i take it?

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I'll lay off the videos and this is not meant to be critical,nor am I against modern Praise And Worship music.

But here's the thing suppose a teacher or preacher is a studious person and a person of prayer and burden and he or she is softspoken then they are labeled as boring and dry often times.

I understand some Christians are demonstrative than others,some are more reserved.
But to equate loudness with anointing would seem to be religious tradition.

God is not dead,neither is He deaf either.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Great discussion, Scott.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I like various kinds of services
sometimes praise and rejoicing and lively music
sometimes weeping and a deep moving of the Holy Ghost, gifts of the Spirit in Operation
sometimes conviction and repentance, God coming to make a change in us
sometimes He is in a still small voice
sometimes He is in a prophet pointing his finger at you and declaring "thou art the man"

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

:thumbsup

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Indeed... some Christians are demonstrative and others are more reserved but that should only affect each individuals manner of praise.

If one is demonstrative they shouldn't condemn someone who isn't when they give their praise. Each persons praise is a product of who they are as a person as they offer a praise to God that comes from the core of their being.

Someone would think ill of someone who had a problem with someone who offered a more reserved praise. That would be terrible.

It seems to me that people find it more acceptable to have a problem with someone who has a more demonstrative praise. The reality of the issue is that our personal tastes should enter into what we give as a praise but we should be accepting of others particular genre of praise when they are giving their praise.

If someone has a particular taste in praise/worship music then they would do well to either participate themselves or encourage others of like tastes to sing often in the service schedules.

The problem I find is that often there is an older caste of people who do not like the music being sang and want a new generation of singers to sing "their" songs. I constantly encourage the older singers to continue to bring songs to the services but it's hard to get them to consistently bring songs.

It is not, though, very difficult to locate some ridicule because we don't do it "like they did it way back when".

Often the reason there isn't "my style" of music is because those who sing that style rarely contribute anymore but still want others to continue in their traditions.

There is one common tradition... praise. But when people want an older style to continue in a new generation it can become problematic.

The songs of yesteryear were "what was hot"... "What was popular"... "what was today" for that day just as it is today.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Are we talking loud as in when a Karen Wheaton song is being sung, or loud as in when a Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, etc song is being sung?

As for good 'ole Wheaton, I've been in a number of services (from back in the day) where we sang that song of hers "Takin' It Back," the one talking about taking back what the devil stole from me. Talk about a crowd stirrer!

Then, again, I've been in services (more recently) where tears flowed, hands raised, people on their knees, crying, talking to God, whatever you want to call it. It was nowhere near as loud as the musiciains and praise singers.

Honestly, when the congregation is louder than the platform, something's gotta give. Simply too much noise at that point. And I'm not old. :thumbsup

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

When were designing our building and having it built, we had to sound proof the part of the building where the auditorium is. Something to do with city ordinance...

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Be still and know He is God.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I'm talking about ear ringing loudness,Brother Dagwood.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I like worship but agree it can be too loud...I like services where the spirit of the Lord is moving...whatever His order may be for the service is fine with me...

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

There is one church that I know of,that if you go down to the altar your ears will ring,and don't kneel near a monitor.It's loud right in their parking lot.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I don't have a problem with exuberant praise, but when the decibel levels are in the range that can cause deafness, it's too loud.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Everybody has there own interpretation of what 'loud' is. There is a limit though. A good sound man, knows the limit. I like it loud, but not too loud. I like a good mix, which can only come from a "good sound man" and "good sound system"! Bass/low end is always good too, I like to feel it. ....but yes I agree, there is and should be a limit. I've noticed, from traveling with groups and working with other churches that it always seems to be the smaller churches that struggle with this.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Well the obvious followup question would seem to be...

In those experiences with smaller churches... does it seem that the real issue is that it is truly too loud or that there are some who have issue with this even though it's not really such a big issue?

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I doubt you really enjoy music at such a low volume ;) ... It doesn't take much for the decibel levels to officially get damagingly loud.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I wonder is its become a church culteral thing.

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There have been times when I have walked out of a service because of the unbearable noise level. (These were UPCI churches.)

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

You are old and loud.........
:smack

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I think, BOTH! Smaller churches tend to have very opinionated people in them, hence why they are small. lol

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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 :shockamoo when the music is blaring, then when the loud volume goes down the :shockamoo fades away, then when it gets loud it shows up again.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

I guess our music is pretty loud, especially to the older people. I like it pretty hot. But we have several decibel meters around that are monitored pretty closely so it doesn't get crazy. However our preaching is never loud, because Eddie isn't a screamer.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Emotional ism?

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

That is a very valid point.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

Anointing is not loudness.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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....??

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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 ?

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

.... 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.

Re: Loudness In Churches.
 

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.