DRESSING UP

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I should probably make it very clear that not EVERYTHING I write on this blog is: A) completely original with me (most blogs AREN'T) or B) something I personally agree with.

As far as "A" goes - some things come from extensive reading in books, newspapers, online - or talking to other people - or listening to the radio and television - in other words, from a variety of sources. Of course, much of it comes from my own little brain, but nobody writes in a vacuum. That said, I let you know when it's from some other source besides me.

As far as "B" goes - I don't just write about things I agree with. MOST of the time, I believe in what I'm writing. But when I don't, I'll give a disclaimer such as: "The views herein are not necessarily endorsed by the management," or "Never mind," or "Gotcha!" or something equally clever.

Having said that, TODAY'S blog is partly "A," having done some recent reading on this subject -- but definitely not "B" at all. I DO agree and believe with what I'm writing today.

My mom took me to church from the time I could breathe on my own. Before that, actually. And from my very earliest memory, I wore suits to church. Even as a 3-year old little guy, I had the cutest miniature suits to wear, courtesy of J.C. Penney and The Jones Store. When I graduated to be an elementary school tike, I also graduated to BIGGER suits from the same stores. I was blessed to live during the time of leisure suits - which were popular when I was a teenager. I dutifully wore them to church in shades of peach, lime green, lavendar and Granny Smith apple. It was all very chic and 'in.' Trust me.

College - early ministry as an adult -- and now middle ministry as an adult -- we're just NOW coming to some new conclusions about how we should DRESS when we go to church - or if there should BE a 'SHOULD.' It has been a long thought process. Some of us still aren't sure about it at all.

Dressing up for church SEEMS like it's been happening forever, but in truth it is a relatively recent practice. It didn't begin until the late 1700s and didn't become widespread until around the 1850s. Not that long ago.

Before that, 'dressing up' was only known among the wealthy. That was the whole point. Only the wealthy could AFFORD nice clothing. Common folk had two sets of clothes: WORK clothes for labor -- and LESS-TATTERED clothes for going out.

With the invention of mass textile manufacturing, finer clothing became more accessible to the common person -- and voila! -- the middle class was born. To demonstrate their newly-found freedom, they could now 'dress up' for social events like the rich people did.

Even as late as the mid-1800s, people like John Wesley were preaching AGAINST dressy, expensive or flashy clothing. The Methodists turned people away from their services if they were dressed too nicely. Imagine THAT today! "We don't allow fur-collars in church, ma'am. You'll have to go back to your car, unzip that thing from your neck - then please feel welcomed to come on in."

But in the 1860s, a Connecticut minister argued that sophistcation and refinement were attributes of God (chapter and verse on that one?) and that Christians should emulate them. And THUS, the 'fancy-dress-and-suit-for-church' concept was born. And persists today. And I guess that's FINE, but it has nothing whatever to do with the Bible, God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.

'So what?' you ask. I agree. 'So what?' It is hardly a burning issue. It is what it REPRESENTS that is the burning issue. To think that God cares one whit if you wear dressy clothes to 'meet Him' is a violation of the New Covenant. Then there is the thought that 'dressing up' actually goes against the reality that the church is made up of real people with messy problems -- but who put on colossal smiles and cashmere as a way to cover it up.

The real fact is, the early church believers did not 'dress up' to attend church meetings. They met 'as is' in living rooms. The book of James even rebukes believers for trying to dress richly and separating themselves from the poor.

And yet, many Christ-followers are under the false delusion that it is somehow 'irreverent' to dress informally when attending weekend services. Read Mark 7:1-13 here.

If you personally feel that dressing up for church is a positive thing and you can do it with pure motives, then by all means, go ahead. But we should NOT look down or judge those who don't dress up.

In our church, we changed from wearing suits a few years ago to what we call 'business casual' on weekends today. Have we stopped worshipping? No. Has our 'reverence factor' decreased? Don't believe so. Have people stopped coming because we're not dressed up? Not at all.

What's next? Jeans? Gasp. Say it ain't so.

And be blessed.