Volume in worship is an ongoing issue of discussion and sometimes even contention, in many churches. Tastes, opinions and preferences are as plentiful as "food on a stick" at the Iowa State Fair!
If the volume is too low, people feel conspicuous in worship and tend to not participate. If it is too loud, people are frustrated and don't participate. Since participatory worship is the goal, we cannot afford to ignore the volume issue. So, how loud is too loud?
Personal preferences are hard to quantify. Every person in the room has 2 receivers, called ears, that no one but the owner has control over. Put 2 people in a car with the stereo on and wait a little while and there is likely to be a difference of opinion, especially if they are married to each other! :-) Trying to satisfy everyone in any worship service is virtually impossible. There are some things, however, that can help balance the issue: decibel level, frequency sensitivity and duration.
What are safe decibel levels? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has compiled a list of the decibel measurements (dBA) for common noises you might be exposed to each day at home, work or during recreational activities. A decibel is a unit that expresses intensity or power. Here are some examples of decibel levels:
Home:
75-85 dBA: Flushed toilet
110 dBA: Crying baby
130 dBA: Noisy squeeze toy
Work:
65-95 dBA: Power lawn mower
90 - 115 dBA: Subway
140 dBA: Airplane take-off
180 dBA: Rocket launch
Recreation:
70 dBA: Freeway traffic
110 dBA: Car horn
117 dBA: Football game (stadium)
157 dBA: Balloon pop
Rich Muchow (Saddleback music pastor) teaches that a worship service should be under 96. We work hard to keep our dBA under 95. While we cannot set the decibel levels at everyone's preferences, we can keep them within an appropriate range.
Work with us ... we're doing our best to do our best! :-)
Has anyone considered the possibility that these noise levels will permanently damage the hearing of young children?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dangerousdecibels.org/education/information-center/decibel-exposure-time-guidelines/
This suggests that at the 95dBA level the permissible exposure time before possible damage can occur is between 30 mins and 1 hour.
Offer head phones... lol....
ReplyDeleteI agree; can't please people all the time.
I like louder worship due to then being "free" to worship loud without bothering people or distracting others.
My hub and I were just talking about this.
For me worship is like a personal love experience and expression to Jesus.
The ability to just get alone with God yet corporately worship, great!
Pastor Nathan has a gift, no doubt, and I appreciate the worship at BAG.
I would like more lights, however... lol....