dressing for church

[vrjenny]

How did this go from tigger's husband feeling comfortable in a suit & tie in church to what we should wear to church?

I say we take up a collection so tigger can get her husband some nice suits so he can go to church and not feel awkward or out of place. It's about what makes him feel comfortable, not what is acceptable.

So glad he does not feel most comfortable in a toga.

I hope that my post was not misunderstood...the point i was trying to make is that is acceptable to go in whatever he finds comfortable ...the Lord will not be looking at what he is wearing...I don't see the Lord focusing on the outfit...He will be looking at the heart of a person.

I myself was raised that we had to wear the finest...and to me..that was uncomfortable...it made feel awkward...at the time though..i also had no true relationship with the Lord...i felt He was a far off God sitting on this big throne that was unreachable...or you had to at least have some formal invitation to speak to Him. He was a God to me...but not my Lord. Now that i have a deeper relationship with HIm....see Him a living and personal...I am comfortable in wearing "the nicest i have" which does not include a dress..or dress slacks. Now...all this is just for me...how i perceived things...I am not in anyway making reference to the condition of tigger's husbands relationship with the Lord...or anyone else's for that matter.

I am truly happy that her husband is wanting to go to Church...PTL! Tigger...dear...if i had any money...I would send ya some...actually...if a collection is taken up...i would like to know...i wanna help...bless someone...as i have been blessed.

God Bless, jenny.

I

[Guest stevej]

Just my 2 cents worth..but...I don't think Jesus did an inspection of everyone he came in contact with or ministered to.

There is an old story about a beggar who appeared at the front door of the church. People avoided him, ignored him, chastized him for begging in front of a church. No one invited him in or offered to meet his need.

What a surprise when the pastor of the church introduced the speaker for the morning and it was the beggar.

We are told to treat strangers with kindness because it may be angels visiting. Be careful of any church that judges initially on the basis of dress.

I agree that in reverence to God proper attire should be worn..however, for some this is a learning process that we need to be careful about passing judgement on.

Tell Charlie to go as he feels comfortable..not to meet a standard.

[Leonard]

Two more little stories.

I read this one in Readers Digest years back. A retired couple were vacationing in Hawaii, and hadn't packed any 'dress clothes,' but when Sunday morning rolled around, they decided to go to church, and were very surprised when the Pastor of the small congregation of about 60 asked the man to help take up the offering.

After church, the man commented to the Pastor: "Back home, we always try to ask somebody in a suit and tie....."

To which the Pastor responded: "Here we try to ask somebody who's wearing SHOES!"

Then, one from my own experience. I was serving as a Preaching Elder at a small church in Arizona (about 100 people--which seems VERY BIG to me now!). There was one dear lady, who was having a lot of personal problems, and the poor thing wasn't too intelligent either. In fact, she may have been slightly retarded. She was nontheless, an active member, and a good Christian.....with some distracting eccentricities!

She was poor financially, but was usually in the best she had, but suddenly appeared several weeks in a row, really dressed very shabbily. I knew she had better, but for some reason, she was dressed in these 'godawful' raggedy-muffen garbs for weeks. I never gave it much thought, except when I would notice her at church, and never mentioned it to her, assuming she would eventually go back to wearing her nicer clothes.

When the Pastor asked me to preach on a Sunday evening. I frankly hadn't given her manner of dress any thought at all. What a sight she was when she came in that Sunday! I mean; she looked like she belonged at the circus, or perhaps at a dog fight! I thought: "Well, the poor thing obviously doesn't know any better. I'll invite her out after church with my wife and I, and gently make a suggestion to her in privacy, and see if she needs a little help right now."

God, however, HAS OTHER PLANS. None of my 'wisdom' was needed, for God was doing something else. Just before my sermon was to begin, He gave me a word of Prophecy for her comfort, and IMAGINE! God didn't even have ONE WORD to say about her clothes!! The word i gave her was fulfilled absolutely LITERALLY in just a short while, and I frankly never thought about her clothes again!

PS: I still think we should all TRY to look our best, all the time, not just at church, but ESPECIALLY at church........ But you'll never hear me complain!

[RGR]

As long as one isn't showing up buck naked or dressed suggestively, what's the problem?

[Oh Hamburgers!]

Church should never be a fashion show; you are there to praise God, not be the prettiest girl at the dance.

However you also shouldn't dress like a homeless person either.

My rule of thumb would be to think about how you would normally dress going out anywhere in public, and then dress 1 notch above that.

[Smalcald]

Its hard to go to a new place or meet a new group of people under any circumstance. So I don't think we should add one more layer of things to worry about, that being clothing.

I think a healthy congregation would have people dressed in a variety of clothing from jeans to ties. If people are really dressed up some people will not go, as they would feel ashamed if they do not have the right kind of clothes, in some ways it would be good to have some of the congregation NOT be dressed up, it might be more welcoming.

In fact this topic is addressed specifically in scripture:

1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor.

[Iryssa]

Its hard to go to a new place or meet a new group of people under any circumstance. So I don't think we should add one more layer of things to worry about, that being clothing.

I think a healthy congregation would have people dressed in a variety of clothing from jeans to ties. If people are really dressed up some people will not go, as they would feel ashamed if they do not have the right kind of clothes, in some ways it would be good to have some of the congregation NOT be dressed up, it might be more welcoming.

In fact this topic is addressed specifically in scripture:

1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor.

BOO-YEAH!