Expression v. Reverence at Church

Hello again!

I recently had a very good conversation with a friend about the role of expression and reverence at church. My friend, who shall be called Billy, shared that he had attended both charismatic and evangelical churches on a consistent basis over the years. He had found that he didn't much like the expressiveness of his charismatic church and favored the more traditional teaching-focused church that appeared more reverent. He didn't intend to generalize all charismatic churches into one category, but was simply sharing his experience.

Then during the service the pastor joked about how much more engaging and expressive the congregation is on Sunday mornings after the Razorbacks win a football game compared to when they lose.

After the service Billy said that the pastor's comments bothered him. He cited an example where another church has done an experiment. Billy described how the pastor in the experiment told the congregation he would show them two video clips and instructed them to respond naturally. The first video clip was of their favorite football team scoring an amazing touchdown. Naturally the crowd went wild! The second video was a baptism, and the crowd gave the classic 'golf clap.' Of course the point of the experiment is to expose our lack of excitement as demonstrated by our lack of expressiveness at church. Why would be cheer, jump and shout at the top of our lungs for football but not for God?

I found this a funny inconsistency with Billy's comments before the service, but perhaps I misjudged. It brings up a good discussion, however, about expression and reverence. For instance, some people wear what they call their "Sunday best" to church, usually formal attire like a suit. Others dress casual or even bring their dancing shoes (you know who you are). Is one more reverent? I don't have an answer because I don't think it's about our attire, ultimately. Maybe it's both! What about the difference between one who raises their hands during worship and one who sits?

Your answer may be determined by the way you were raised, but I am encouraged to look beyond the action and into a person's sincerity. Ah, no, sincerity is the wrong word... because you can be sincerely wrong (trust me I know). I mean how/if that person is genuinely relating to God. I think both can be great! Inexpression is not always the absence of passion, and expression is not always the absence of reverence. Perhaps what we all must learn is how to judge a little less.