To glorify whom?

I have strong Southern Baptist roots and, although I have gone to a Pentecostal Holiness church for the past several years, I still feel myself reacting to things in the sanctuary with a "Baptist" frame of mind. You would think I'd be used to people saying "Amen" during the service by now (I've even thrown in a few of my own, too), and I am for the most part. What I'm not used to, and will probably never get used to, is people saying more than just the standard "Amen" during a sermon.

I have a hard time staying focused when I'm subconsciously waiting for someone to shout something out. It's distracting. It's sometimes irritating and sometimes annoying. There is one lady in particular who is very vocal. She's very nice and very sincere but I really wish she was a bit quieter.

When someone is constantly saying things like "Come on!" "Preach it, Brother!" or "That's right!" during the sermon it is very distracting. Who does that glorify? God? Not in my mind. I think it's glorifying the speaker instead. I don't think God needs for us to constantly reinforce what the preacher is saying. He obviously is preaching what he believes God has led him to preach, so why do we need to add a commentary to it? I know that it's sometimes hard for the speaker to know if people are understanding the true meaning of the sermon or if it's going right past them so some "Amen" comments are very good. But, even if people weren't getting it, if he's following the will of God, that is all that should matter. Some people need to have fewer distractions during the service to get everything God wants them to receive from the service.

I know I do...

Amen to that!