# Propriety of congregational "Amen's" in church..



## Jash Comstock (Jul 12, 2013)

In regards to the RP what are y'all think about "Amen's" in church? I grew up in a very small southern Baptist church where the congregation was very responsive during the sermon, and later attended a very small southern Presbyterian church where "Amen's" and other responses were still very very common. Now that I am in the North, services are very very quiet, and I was wondering if that is just a cultural thing, or if there is biblical precedent? I know in the OT we see the people of Israel being very responsive to the reading of the law (during covenant renewals, reading of the law etc...) but don't know about the other side


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## SeanPatrickCornell (Jul 12, 2013)

1 Corinthians 14:16 might be construed as touching upon this.


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## GloriousBoaz (Jul 12, 2013)

I'd say Psalm 150 gives warrant for it, but there is definitely a cultural inhibition up north whereas people down south are generally more uninhibited. But there are those churches that changed "amen" to "booyaa" and i guess they could've used some inhibition when they made that choice lol.


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## jwithnell (Jul 12, 2013)

Here's a thought (and I've been in both kinds of congregations and acted accordingly). What are you trying to convey? "So be it, that's true" would be the meaning of Amen, right? Well, if you say that regarding God's word, it's rather repetitious because God's word is authoritative whether we agree with it or not. And if we are affirming something that the pastor is saying, are we not making a commentary regarding the one that God has set before us to give us his word? That doesn't quite seem right either. We sit under authority.

After a hymn, prayer, or benediction, amen is a kind of response and signals our participation and affirmation of what we've sung, prayed, or received.

I don't think "amen" during sermons has been the practice in reformed circles, I suspect for the reasons I've given.

(Not that I'd beat anybody over the head over an "amen;" I live south of the Mason-Dixon line  ) Just a few thoughts I've had on the topic.


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## Contra_Mundum (Jul 12, 2013)

What sort of "Amen!" are we talking about?

Do we mean the kind of individual, publicized "affirmation" (Yea! that really hits my sweet spot, Preach), interjecting a worship-contribution from this seat or that in the gallery?

Or a more unified, corporate response, which is what is described in Dt.27 or 1Cor.14:16?

I do think it is possible to grant a little "cultural" leeway, and even a moment of uninhibited personal excitement; but honestly (my cultural bias may be showing) I believe the individualist catcalling that becomes _de rigueur_ in many services--even in reverence--lacks the cultural universalism represented by silence, and corporate response where appropriate, see Dt.27:9, or Hab.2:20.


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## irresistible_grace (Jul 12, 2013)

jwithnell said:


> Here's a thought (and I've been in both kinds of congregations and acted accordingly). What are you trying to convey? "So be it, that's true" would be the meaning of Amen, right? Well, if you say that regarding God's word, it's rather repetitious because God's word is authoritative whether we agree with it or not. And if we are affirming something that the pastor is saying, are we not making a commentary regarding the one that God has set before us to give us his word? That doesn't quite seem right either. We sit under authority.
> 
> After a hymn, prayer, or benediction, amen is a kind of response and signals our participation and affirmation of what we've sung, prayed, or received.
> 
> ...




The only thing I would add is that due to the corporate nature of worship when one member says/shouts "Amen" randomly during the preaching of the Word it is not only disorderly but rather individualistic. The "Amen" should be saved for the end as a response to a Psalm, Prayer/Benediction, etc. and done corporately!


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## SolaScriptura (Jul 12, 2013)

The degree and manifestation of congregational response during a sermon is somewhat cultural, but in general I believe they are both warranted as per biblical examples, but I think they are helpful and encouraging for both the congregation and the pastor.


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## irresistible_grace (Jul 12, 2013)

Contra_Mundum said:


> What sort of "Amen!" are we talking about?
> 
> Do we mean the kind of individual, publicized "affirmation" (Yea! that really hits my sweet spot, Preach), interjecting a worship-contribution from this seat or that in the gallery?
> 
> ...


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## Philip (Jul 12, 2013)

My father, as a young man, was once asked to preach in a church where spontaneous "amen"ing was the norm. The way he describes it was that it wasn't just spontaneous, nor was it individualistic. The way he describes, the sermon, in this mode, became a kind of dialogue between the preacher and the congregation, with the preacher giving the word and the congregation affirming it. This wasn't disorderly, nor was it simply emotion. Incidentally, it also keeps the congregation from falling asleep.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Jul 12, 2013)

I have preached more than once (and will preach again soon) in a local African-American missionary baptist church and I have to say the constant interjections and shouts cause me to be more energetic than I already am.

Though I do honestly wonder sometimes whether or not they are actually paying attention to the _content_ of what I am preaching because I know it doesn't fit with their expressed theological convictions.


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## Jack K (Jul 12, 2013)

It crosses the line when it praises the performance of the preacher rather than the content of his sermon... or when it it becomes preachy as a personal interjection meant to tell others in the congregation that they should like what the preacher is saying.

Neither of those is what the Bible affirms in the passages that mention "amen" in worship.


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