42. If you find yourself having to continually get youth to quiten down, consider doing an anonymous survey. Minimal talking is expected these days, even among adults. And there will always be the new people who don't "get it" yet. But when talking becomes a major distraction, something must be done.
In one group, I handed out an anonymous survey, asking youth to tell me what they liked and disliked about our meeting. I included the question, "Does it bother you when some students talk and distract?" Significantly, I found that most of the youth were very bothered by youth that talked and cut up during worship. (Some of the ones who indicated they didn't like distractions were the distractors themselves!)
Reporting back to the group that most of the youth themselves were bothered by the talkers gave me great ammunition. From then on, I wasn't enforcing an adult norm on the youth. Instead, I was trying to enforce what the youth group itself wanted. If people were distracting I could say, "Hey guys, youth in the group have told me they are really bothered when people distract their worship. Let's show some respect." We simply can't allow the irreverence of a few short-circuit the true worship of many.
43. Deal with distracting worshipers. One of my youth went to a revival where the leader told the audience that they should forget about what other people thought. Rather, they should shout or do whatever they felt to worship God. His application of this teaching was to shout in the traditional adult service. Although it may have expressed his heart, it didn't help others worship! A group who experienced "holy laughter" at a retreat seemed to fully enjoy their worship, but distracted the rest of the campers from worship. If leadership fails to deal with such distractions, they will become stumbling blocks to many.
The Bible never says that we should do everything we feel like doing in worship. In fact, Paul tells us clearly that leaders must enforce limitations. To the charismatic Corinthians, Paul said that their prophecies must be tested (I Cor. 14:29). Tongues had limitations. (I Cor. 14:9ff). If attending unbelievers think we've gone mad, something's amiss, no matter how much you feel you're led by the Spirit. (I Cor. 14:23). Love's more important than expressing my worship any way I please (I Cor. 13:1-3). As leaders we must urge distracting worshipers to not allow their preferences to hinder the worship of others.
Steve Miller wrote "The Contemporary Christian Music Debate," and collects youth ministry resources at www.reach-out.org . Copyright Steve Miller, August, 2002, Acworth, Georgia.
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Experiencing Worship, The Study