Wave Your Hands In The Air

Jon Acuff recently wrote a blog post about holding your hands in the air while worshipping in song.  Of course, his post was a humorous take on it.  I read it and commented.  Why?  Like Jon, I don’t raise my hands while worshipping.

Why?

I commented and  said that it was because I wasn’t raised like that.  I also asked if I should hold my hand up while I jumped on a bridge.  I jest, I jest.

I grew up a traditional Southern Baptist.  I mean, what would have happened if we had raised our hands?  We would have gotten the same looks as the first lady who wore pants to our church got.  I mean, that was scandalous.

In 1986, I began attending a good Baptist college.  We couldn’t have dances on campus.  We couldn’t even advertise having dances off campus.  We could, however, advertise our off-campus ”foot functions.”

I went to one such ”foot function” in a dilapidated skating rink.  Word Up by Cameo was a popular song at the time.  I even danced, or foot functioned, to the song.

What would have happened if the choir director (this was before the days of Ministers of Music or Worship Pastors) at our church had said while leading music, “Wave your hands in the air like you don’t care!!!”  We may have broken every Baptist law about dancing ever devised.

Now days, of course, it is very common to find good Southern Baptists putting their hands in the air.  My church is a traditional, non traditional Southern Baptist church.  There are people putting their hands up and lots of clapping.  Sometimes I think I’m the odd one by not doing it.

Let’s make sure that we don’t move in the opposite direction. Let’s leave room for those like me who don’t put their hands up.  I promise that sometimes I will beat the pew to the music.  Just like last Sunday.

How about you?  Are you a hands up or hands down kind of person?