Is it Good to Continually Yell Amen During Church?

When a congregation is unwilling and/or unable to react out loud to a sermon at all or interact with the speaker at all, that is a problem.

However, does this mean that the quality of a church increases as people shout things like Amen and Hallelujah more often? What goes on in many churches indicates that many do believe that to be the case.

Why do many believe that they need to regularly yell Amen to communicate agreement with their pastor or whoever is speaking during the church meeting which they are attending? Who are they really doing this for?

Where did God command in the Bible to say Amen continually during sermons?

Besides a very specific instance in Deuteronomy chapter 27 where the people of Israel were commanded to say Amen numerous times, He did not command this. These Amens were to be said as confirmation of an oath rather than as a response to a sermon.

There are also instances of people spontaneously saying Amen in places such as 1 Chronicles 16:36 and Nehemiah 8:6. Yet along with the counsel in 1 Corinthians 14:16, this only proves that saying Amen is acceptable and normal. None of these are a command to do so nor does any of this prove that yelling Amen continually during church is a good thing.

God even made it clear in the Bible that He evaluates one’s response to Biblical truth based upon what they actually do with it rather than their immediate reaction to hearing it.

Matthew 21:28-31a: “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain (i.e. two) did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first.”

Though the preceding parable is just one aspect of a larger interaction (covered in other studies), it still illustrates the principle that one’s immediate reaction upon being confronted with truth is not what ultimately matters to God.

James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

What about saying Amen continually for the sake of the one preaching?

Hearing Amen might encourage one who is giving a sermon. Yet is that necessarily even a good thing? Perhaps. But do they need to hear Amen continually? It would be a bad thing if they are so insecure in their message and/or in the way they deliver it that hearing Amen continually would really make a big positive difference for them. This would indicate that they are dependent on the approval of people. If that is the case, they shouldn’t even be preaching publicly until they are not dependent upon continually hearing Amens from their audience.

Moreover, some people are perceptive enough to know that someone trying to encourage them excessively in the middle of their sermon would actually suggest that they are not doing well. This would then be more likely to kill whatever confidence they have.

Moreover, saying Amen for the one preaching can be done to try to impress them. Saying Amen for this reason is obviously bad no matter how many times it is said.

Hearing continual Amens, Hallelujahs, and other similar things from the audience could also very well be a significant distraction to the speaker.

What about saying Amen continually for the sake of others in the audience?

Maybe saying Amen would be edifying to others if it were done very, very selectively after the speaker made what one perceives to be an extremely important point. Yet saying Amen continually would obviously be counterproductive in this regard as highlighting points in a book obviously becomes counterproductive when more than just a little bit is highlighted. And if the sermon actually teaches a valuable lesson and there are no lies mixed in, then distracting the people who are hearing it would really be a bad thing. This would only be amplified if one were yelling Amen repeatedly in the sections which are the most insightful.

There are several sinful reasons why one might say Amen as they hear preaching. Perhaps they are trying to impress the preacher. Perhaps they are trying to project a general image of spirituality. Perhaps this is done as an attempt to gain the acceptance of certain people in the congregation or the acceptance of the congregation as a whole. It can even be done to project an image of spiritual superiority over the others present. These reasons for shouting Amen are all wrong. They can also be attempts to cover up sin which one is hiding and/or to mask all manner of spiritual problems which one is dealing with.

Sometimes people will even shout “Come on!” as the preacher is getting excited and/or talking really fast. What does this communicate if it is not an attempt to publicly bolster one’s moral and spiritual status before the others present? It could also be done if they view the sermon as entertainment. Or perhaps, as with continually yelling Amen during church, some have simply been trained to do this. Recognize the corruption of such training.

The environment of many churches makes it evident that something is seriously wrong when it comes to the continual shouting of Amen, Hallelujah, and other such things. The leadership which has caused this environment, or at least enabled it, is promoting sin by allowing this and not teaching the people better. Such environments are common in Independent Baptist churches, Pentecostal churches, and churches which are offshoots of these. People who leave such churches often don’t shed this influence. They rather bring it into the churches which they start afterwards. These might be labeled as non-denominational.

People continually screaming Amen during sermons, especially when that is a predictable norm, is an empty ritual which is really an expression of Emotionalism. Regular screaming from the preacher (when people could still hear them well at a lower volume), unnecessary volume and/or length in public prayer, using music to try to extract decisions out of people, and deliberately exaggerated emotion in singing are other common ways in which Emotionalism prevails in churches. This corrupts worship by turning it into a show and a means of providing emotional satisfaction for people. Emotionalism isn’t any better when practiced in the name of Jesus. It is rather a lot worse.