It was not a question of appropriate behavior, it simply was not done . Both expressions are related more to the pleasure of the performer or the listener than to the glory of God. But your applause, even if well intended, has robbed us both of that opportunity and privilege. Even if only for a few moments, you turned a worship service into a concert . The issue of applause in worship is evidence that music in the church is accepted as performance not ministry.
Solutions are difficult to find.
Perhaps this article will begin a thinking process about the topic. God calls us to worship, God enables us to worship, and God is the subject of worship. In Reaching Out without Dumbing Down , Marva Dawn discusses this subject eloquently. Whereas many worship services allow congregants to be an audience viewing the pastor and musicians as actors, genuine worship happens when everyone knows that God is the audience. And yet, we must add paradoxically, because God is the subject, we always remember that we can only be actors because he acted first .