Amen! Amen!

    One of the first church debates that I recall as a child regarded the use of applause in the church service.  Interestingly, it is also the earliest point at which I realized that I tended to favor traditionalism over the new form of Evangelical service.

    As a child, our church practiced two verbal forms that fell out of use fairly rapidly as the 1980s wore on – the use of the Amen and the practice for adult believers to address each other as Brother and/or Sister (er, usually just one or the other).  While I clearly recall both verbal forms being readily and commonly employed, I have no clear idea as to their actual historicity or whether they relate to the Mennonite heritage or to the American Evangelical heritage of the church and conference.

    The Amen controversy centered on the perceived correct response to special music, music in general and other special presentations during the church service.  Since the 1960s, at least, the basic program or protocol for the evangelical Mennonite church service included individual laic participation with a strong focus on special music.