What is proper attire for public worship?

[hebrews_beauty]

Personally, I go to a contemporary church. Some people dress up nice, and some are very casual. I'm one of the very casual ones. I think people should feel comfortable in what they wear coming to church, within reason of course.

[nebula]

In counseling, as part of your observation you notice the care some one takes with his/her personal appearance. One of the first signs of depression or instability is giving little or no attention one's personal appearance.

Err . . . guilty.

[David from New Bern]

In counseling, as part of your observation you notice the care some one takes with his/her personal appearance. One of the first signs of depression or instability is giving little or no attention one's personal appearance.

Err . . . guilty.

Have you ever worked for one of the news networks? Not the intent of the post, read it in context...not a statement of judgment...but it is a political year...I guess I need to hire a manager to proof my releases

[nebula]

It's OK - I know you weren't making a judgmental statement.

I'm just willing to admit my additude about "proper attire" might be a bit skewed.

[Brandli5]

A few years ago, my children and some of their friends and other relatives started having a Bible Study at my sisters house. After a few months about 6 of the kids decided they wanted to be baptised.

My son Eric, started attending church services with us, he was so excited because he felt like he had finally opened up and let God in to lead him. Let me add this, I attended a pretty "wealthy" church, Designer everything, everywhere you look, not everybody but a majority of the church is well off. My son came home from church one Sunday evening and was very upset, he said he was never going back to that church again, he would never tell me exactly what happened, but with tears in his eyes he said " what difference does it make to God what kind of clothes I wear, does he care about that" so I'm certain something was said about his attire. He stopped attending church and 2 years later was killed in a car accident. Now I can hear, he shouldn't have let what other people say change or destroy his walk with God, but a person with new faith, well it is very easy to do that with sometimes the smallest thing.

I don't care what clothes people wear, thats between them and God, I need to be worrying about my own garments, "who are we to judge another mans servant".

I agree with you so much. Clothes are just outer appreance. Jesus looks inside our hearts. Some people might not have the means to buy "fomal wear" I for one feel that if we made that a staple in church then most sinners would not ever get a chance to enter the open doors.

I do think it's resecpt to dress and cover up, but its not required and should not be a reason to lite up on someone, because that might turn them off of church.

I feel that once a person is saved, or close with God where they should be, then they will learn by there heart what to do. I myself choose a church where it does not matter if your rich, poor, Black, white, brown, tan, yellow, Mean, or nice Your accepted, and greeted by everyone. If there is a problem with resecpt Let God deal with it unless it hurting someone.

[David from New Bern]

It's OK - I know you weren't making a judgmental statement.

I'm just willing to admit my additude about "proper attire" might be a bit skewed.

Nebula, thanks for your good spirit...This is probably more of a cultural question than what we realize...I have two teenage sons 15 and 18 and it is hard to find dress clothes for them...I have a 21 year old daughter who says she has a hard time finding dresses that are both dressy but modest enough for church... When we debate we have a tendency to to speak and think in extremes. It has been years since I have seen attire be a major issue in church. I remember as a child the first woman to wear slacks to Sunday morning worship...ooooh Now, most ladies are wearing slacks in church and no one cares. Now shorts are becoming more frequently seen. The isolated incident spoken of in my church in the OP is the only true incident of someone being disturbed by someone elses attire. The musician/speaker was 22 and the concerned person was 75 and from an independent Baptist background. I visit and have contact with a lot of churches and pastor of various denominations here in the Bible belt and there doesn't seem to be a class war being fought out over the issue of suits and dresses.

12 years ago as a seminary student in the Raleigh/Wake Forrest area in the mid-90s, a fellow student and I would visit a different area church on Wednesday night and see how we were received. We intentionally dressed down like we were going to Barbeque rather than church and to see how we were received. On one particular night, my friend who is rather large physically wore shorts to a large independent church and I wore a Promise Keepers shirt. There were 200 people there on a Wednesday night very well dressed. We sat on the second pew and no one said a word to us. We had agreed ahead of time to make eye contact but say nothing unless spoken to. We filled a visitors card, but no one ever called. What does this prove? By the way we probably visited 100 churches over 3 years and this was the only one that gave us the cold shoulder under similar circumstances. So is this a major problem? In this particular test situation 1 out of 100.

[Fiosh]

I often see folks here state, " speak where the Bible speaks, and remain silent where the Bible is silent"...or something like that.

What does the Bible say about how to dress for worship????

This is all I could find:

I Timothy 2: 9 Similarly, (too,) women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hairstyles and gold ornaments, or pearls, or expensive clothes,

10 but rather, as befits women who profess reverence for God, with good deeds.

Are there more?

Peace,

Fiosh

[buckthesystem]

Can't resist saying this David, but for the funeral of your uncle you should hire the suit, not buy it. Unless of course you have a series of events coming up that you will have to wear a suit for, and even then people might say "hey, isn't that your funeral suit"?

I am also a "blue collar worker" (if that term is appropriate for women) and I no longer have any "dressing up clothes". When I realised that I'd probably never need them again, I gave away my "dress clothes". I have a three quarter length black shirt that I bought to wear in the supermarket where I used to work and that will do for any funerals I may attend. The last funeral was a bit hurried, and I had to travel a long way and sleep in the truck so there wasn't any room for "good clothes" and I found that that didn't matter at all. Some of the people there were "dressed up to the nines" and I was wearing my old jeans and work boots, but I didn't have a problem with that and I figured neither would anybody else if they were to think about it.

I feel pretty much the same way going to church. Our pastor went to help out the mission in Thailand two years ago and he came back with some brilliantly coloured locally made shirts which (he says) "his wife makes him" wear to church along with his "cargo" shorts or trousers.

Some of the women at our church (particularly the elderly women) really dress up. Some of them, in particular, have a wonderful sense of "what matches what" and look just great. It is really a pleasure to see them sometimes. But me, my daughter say to me "you have the worst taste in the world" and my mother used to tell me "all your taste is in your mouth", so I don't even try and just wear my old working clothes to church. I figure as long as they are clean and not in disrepair they will be OK. Church is not a fashion parade and I am sure that the Lord doesn't care about what we wear.

[David from New Bern]

Can't resist saying this David, but for the funeral of your uncle you should hire the suit, not buy it. Unless of course you have a series of events coming up that you will have to wear a suit for, and even then people might say "hey, isn't that your funeral suit"?

I am also a "blue collar worker" (if that term is appropriate for women) and I no longer have any "dressing up clothes". When I realised that I'd probably never need them again, I gave away my "dress clothes". I have a three quarter length black shirt that I bought to wear in the supermarket where I used to work and that will do for any funerals I may attend. The last funeral was a bit hurried, and I had to travel a long way and sleep in the truck so there wasn't any room for "good clothes" and I found that that didn't matter at all. Some of the people there were "dressed up to the nines" and I was wearing my old jeans and work boots, but I didn't have a problem with that and I figured neither would anybody else if they were to think about it.

I feel pretty much the same way going to church. Our pastor went to help out the mission in Thailand two years ago and he came back with some brilliantly coloured locally made shirts which (he says) "his wife makes him" wear to church along with his "cargo" shorts or trousers.

Some of the women at our church (particularly the elderly women) really dress up. Some of them, in particular, have a wonderful sense of "what matches what" and look just great. It is really a pleasure to see them sometimes. But me, my daughter say to me "you have the worst taste in the world" and my mother used to tell me "all your taste is in your mouth", so I don't even try and just wear my old working clothes to church. I figure as long as they are clean and not in disrepair they will be OK. Church is not a fashion parade and I am sure that the Lord doesn't care about what we wear.

I enjoy your candor...the funeral was just an illustration...You would probably fit in well with my congregation...we are just exploring the motivations of our actions and looking to be true to principles...

[David from New Bern]

I am getting into this late because I was out of town when it started. This is how I feel about it. There are different issues to take into consideration. First is the issue of respect for the house of God. When I was a child, all the men wore a suite and tie and the women wore a dress to church. That was done out of respect for the place we meet to worship God. I still believe that is the way we should come to church. I always wear a suite and tie. If I were going to meet with someone like the President I would not show up wearing jeans and a t-shirt so I certainly shouldn't to meet with God. I know others don't feel the same way, but I guess I was just brought up different.

Then we get to what I consider to be a bigger issue. I believe that much of the clothing that women wear today are no differen't in appearance than what men wear. That is forbidden in scripture. Deuteronomy 22:5 says "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." I realize that there are many who have no regard for the Old Testament today, but I am not one of them. I believe the laws that are dealing with God's standard of holiness still apply to us today since He is the same yesterday, and today and forever. If it was an abomination (something disgusting) in the eyes of God for a woman to wear that which pertaineth unto a man before, it still is. In addition, in 1 Corinthians 6:9 one of the sins mentioned is effeminate. The word effeminate is from a Greek Word malakos, which means soft, i.e. fine (clothing) fig. a catamite, effeminate, soft. Many have claimed that this word means homosexual, but it has a larger meaning. It has to do with a man taking on the attributes of a woman and vice versa. It is wrong for a man to wear clothes that give him a feminine appearance and this goes hand in hand with the scripture in Deuteronomy.

While I do not like the lack of respect shown to God's house in the casual dress movement, I can live with this to some degree. This is more a matter of upbringing than a sin issue. The greater problem to me is that this has lead to the acceptance of cross dressing on the part of women in the church. It is one thing to wear an inexpensive house dress that perhaps came from Family Dollar. That is casual dress and I have no problem with that, since it is all many can afford. At the same time, I believe it is an abomination for women to wear jeans and a sweat shirt. It is one of the reasons I don't attend church anywhere today. To me this is inviting a sinful practice into what is supposed to be a house of worship. I have already heard all of the arguments about people wearing robes in the past as well as all of the arguments about women wearing pants in other cultures or men wearing kilts in Ireland. This still doesn't change the fact that the clothing women are wearing in America today mirror what men are wearing, and I believe this unisex movement is of the devil.

Before someone else brings these scriptures up, I will go ahead and post them and give my opinion of them. James 2:1-9

1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile rainment;

3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thought?

5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgement seats?

7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well:

9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

The issue here is one of wealth. The Bible is saying we are not to prefer the wealthy over the poor. This has nothing to do with the issue of wearing something sinful in the church. If a man that was a member of the church and supposedly a Christian came in wearing a dress, I know of very few churches that would accept his attire. At the same time, a woman can come in wearing jeans and a t-shirt and we are supposed to accept her. We are told we are being judgemental not to and that we must be tolerant. This blatant double standard has been going on for the last 40 plus years. Most work places require men to have short hair, but women can have anything from long hair to being bald and are accepted. The Bible makes it clear it is a shame for men to have long hair and women to have short hair, but everyone ignores that today and says it is a cultural thing. I would say that the Bible is my standard and I do not care what is acceptable in the culture. If it goes against God's Word, I will reject it if I am the last person willing to take such a stand. It is the same with the casual dress movement in the church. If I am the last person holding to my position that it is wrong, so be it.

What would you say if I suggested the main difference between male and female clothing practically for Hebrews was the plainness of the robe and the adornment of the hair? Pants came along much later.