Listening to a Christian talk show, host said.. You shouldn't clap after choir songs... How would you show appreciation to their efforts? What recommendations?
I have never heard of that, and whenever we had singers in church, we always clapped afterwards. It seems to be a natural way to express that we enjoyed the song, or choir performance. Other than clapping, I am not sure of any other way that people could acknowledge someone’s song.
That depends on the church which is, to some extent related to the region it is in, and probably the times. When I lived in the Midwest, the only time anyone would applaud a performance in the church was during kid's events. Here today, some churches do that, while others don't.
At the church I grew up in, after a performance, the minister would say, "And the congregation says..." and the congregation would respond with a resounding "AAAAMEN!" We didn't clap. I guess that was our equivalent.