Clap Happy


Every church has traditions. Some are good if they draw us closer to the Lord. Then there are practices I don’t care for. One is a preacher telling the congregation to “turn to your neighbor” numerous times to say something. Another is excessive clapping during services. A couple of evangelists I respect often encourage believers to “give Jesus a handclap.” I heard another one exhort us to “give the Bible a clap offering.” Although these are sincere gestures to honor God, I avoid doing those things. 

In his book “Plans, Purposes, and Pursuits”, Kenneth E. Hagin stated: “We’ve just gotten ‘clap happy’ in Charismatic circles, and it grieves the Holy Spirit.” He gave a detailed explanation of why clapping is not worship (this article shares more excerpts from Brother Hagin’s book). Applause shows appreciation to man. 1 Timothy 2:8 says we are to lift holy hands to the Lord. I’ve sat in meetings when someone started to clap while the rest of us were listening to a prophetic utterance or basking in His presence. It was disruptive.


When I recently wrote about that on my social media pages, a few friends quickly pointed out Psalm 47:1, “Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!” I’m not saying clapping in itself is wrong. There is a time and place for that. I’ll do so with the beat of an uptempo praise song or when a guest speaker comes to the pulpit. Clapping is mentioned a few other times in the Bible, but they are all in the Old Testament. We are under the New Covenant.


Whether or not someone claps to the Lord won’t affect their eternal destiny. However, if Brother Hagin (who I esteem as a father in the faith) heard directly from Jesus about this matter and backed it up with Scripture, then I believe it’s something to take seriously. I won’t dismiss this as a “theological theory” as one friend suggested. We can enter into deeper realms of worship when doing it in ways that pleases Him.


“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:24

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