more physical expressiveness

Bob Kauflin posted another in his series on Physical Expressiveness. In this latest post, he addresses the question, "are we really commanded to clap our hands?" The discussion is interesting but the application/challenge questions are excellent.

1. Assuming that God wants us to exalt Him with our bodies, what physical expressions of praise in Scripture do you think ARE appropriate in corporate worship? How do you distinguish between what’s appropriate and what’s not?
2. Do you think that all forms of physical expressiveness are natural, or that they can be learned?
3. Is there a possibility that your resistance to physical expression is more rooted in laziness, lack of understanding, or a craving for people’s respect? How do you know?
4. Is singing appropriate for worshipping God? If so, why not shouting? (Ps. 71:23; 81:1)
5. Are there any physical expressions of worship modeled or commanded in the Bible that you’ve never engaged in? If so, why not?

Regardless of where one comes out how to apply this "command", I find that most arguing against type of thing really struggle with the questions Kauflin so nicely outlined.

These can be applied to more than physical expression during worship. So many use the "God is not a god of disorder" rule. When the truth is they have narrowly defined order to fit their tradition and not that of the Bible or the majority of the world's population. I have seen this done with controversial topics such as method of prayer in worship, method of prayer for healing, talking in tongues, "holy laughter", etc..

I think there is much to be discussed in Scripture on these but often I find the discussion isn't of value because the other parties are arguing from their experiential base - which is ironic because the accusation is typically those that do these sorts of things are placing experience over Scriptural truth.

For me, I want to experience Scriptural truth.

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