Feeding the Sheep or Amusing the goats?

[None]

I know of churches that have lost members because they have become overly casual..

Then these members are snobs, and these members don't care about the state of a persons heart. if they cared, they would not make a issue of clothing.

Though, it's inappropriate to dress in clothing that might cause other members to desire flesh.

Swimwear or nonswimwear.

Quite frankly, someone that wants to desire flesh is going to desire flesh whether a person is dressed in a swimwear or sackcloth and ashes. It is nothing more than where the state of that persons heart is to begin with!

So, lets all just go naked. Is that what you're saying? Lets not even try? No limits? Garden of Eden style service.

"They'll lust for it, anyway..."

I agree, we should never judge by the tangible senses, and people will see what they want to see and think what they want to think no matter WHAT you're wearing...

If a person can sit in a church in a bikini and feel no guilt whatsoever that they may be sending out wrong signals, well, maybe God hasn't spoken to their heart yet. If God doesn't speak to them about it maybe God is not IN that church in the first place and, you're right, the people there probably have sin corroding their minds already.

I'm sure a church of wolves DOESN'T mind a half naked sheep wandering in.

[Zadok Rox]

Boy, it seems like people are fearing one extreme or another. Group 1 fears Group 2 wants people completely covered from head to toe while Group 2 fears that Group 1 wants everybody buck naked.

Hello? John the Baptist? Greatest prophet according to Jesus? Wore camel hair and a leather girdle?

[Eliyahuw]

That is a bunch of bull! Such lack of concern for others shows the state of the heart of the person who clothes themself in a manner to draw lust.

ROTFLMAO, This body wouldn't draw anyones lust!

But Why is it anyones business how anyone else dresses! If you can't control your lust, that not my problem. It's called personal responsibility. Not anyone elses responsibilty, but yours.

[Eliyahuw]

So, lets all just go naked. Is that what you're saying? Lets not even try? No limits? Garden of Eden style service.

"They'll lust for it, anyway..."

No thats not what i am saying, i am saying that churches, and religious people make mroe of a issue of being naked than there really is!

I agree, we should never judge by the tangible senses, and people will see what they want to see and think what they want to think no matter WHAT you're wearing...

If a person can sit in a church in a bikini and feel no guilt whatsoever that they may be sending out wrong signals, well, maybe God hasn't spoken to their heart yet. If God doesn't speak to them about it maybe God is not IN that church in the first place and, you're right, the people there probably have sin corroding their minds already.

I'm sure a church of wolves DOESN'T mind a half naked sheep wandering in.

I don't know thats the case. I do know that it shouldn't matter one whit! if your doing Gods work, then a bikini won't make a difference.

You see, one thing for me I have found my soulmate, someone i love with all my heart mind and soul, and i could look at some of the most beautiful women on earth naked, and they don't hold a candle to my sweet love! I wouldn't even have a lustful thought for any other person on earth!

[None]

So, lets all just go naked. Is that what you're saying? Lets not even try? No limits? Garden of Eden style service.

"They'll lust for it, anyway..."

No thats not what i am saying, i am saying that churches, and religious people make mroe of a issue of being naked than there really is!

I agree, we should never judge by the tangible senses, and people will see what they want to see and think what they want to think no matter WHAT you're wearing...

If a person can sit in a church in a bikini and feel no guilt whatsoever that they may be sending out wrong signals, well, maybe God hasn't spoken to their heart yet. If God doesn't speak to them about it maybe God is not IN that church in the first place and, you're right, the people there probably have sin corroding their minds already.

I'm sure a church of wolves DOESN'T mind a half naked sheep wandering in.

I don't know thats the case. I do know that it shouldn't matter one whit! if your doing Gods work, then a bikini won't make a difference.

You see, one thing for me I have found my soulmate, someone i love with all my heart mind and soul, and i could look at some of the most beautiful women on earth naked, and they don't hold a candle to my sweet love! I wouldn't even have a lustful thought for any other person on earth!

The thing is, I've heard this before, many times. By people who ended up cheating...many times,

on this "soul mate" of theirs.

Better "out of sight, out of mind", don't you think?

Why else would God make Adam and Eve clothing before He sent them off, out of the sinless Garden of Eden,

into the world. He obviously knew more than someone who thinks it "wouldn't matter one wit" if they were still naked.

[Eliyahuw]

The thing is, I've heard this before, many times. By people who ended up cheating...many times,

on this "soul mate" of theirs.

Better "out of sight, out of mind", don't you think?

no not really, cause your not going to be able to avoid it. You see it every day, outside, on tv, ect. I say that if someone cheats on their soulmate or mate, then they didn't love them to begin with and they need to move on. Without love, there isn't anything of substance in that marriage!

Why else would God make Adam and Eve clothing before He sent them off, out of the sinless Garden of Eden,

into the world. He obviously knew more than someone who thinks it "wouldn't matter one wit" if they were still naked.

Might be to protect them from the thorns that would be growing and the cold in the winter. Theres a host of other reasons for clothes besides someone might lust after someone else.

[hopper]

Edited April 17, 2008 by hopper

[None]

Not to in any way denigrate the actions of God, but He easily taught us how quickly the hearts of His people turned in the midst of the miraculous displays of power in deliverance from Egyptian bondage. The hearts of His people were not won over by such dramatic encounter, and in the end neither was that of the pharaoh who told them to go. The hearts of God's people were won over by grace through faith, just as they are today.

That's an excellent example of worship and what worked and what didn't work. The Israelites were a generation who had Egyptian ideals planted into them from birth and it didn't matter that their parents knew and taught the ways of the God of Abraham. The seeds of evil were still there and growing in them. They fed each other's garden, so to speak. Part of the reason they lasted as long as they did in the dessert was because God was waiting for that generation to die off while planting seeds to be grown in a people worthy to be called the people of God when He brought them into the Promised Land.

Had Moses adjusted downward, compensating for their flaws, moreso than he did, God would have eventually killed them there in that dessert. The laws Moses laid down were so strict because they had to be, given what the Israelites had come out of and had planted into them. (When Jesus came, He shed light on the many flaws in THOSE laws and corrected imbalances,example.)

What many churches are doing today is adjusting downward. Where will we be in 20 years, I wonder, if we keep on in this direction.

[damo1]

from damo1

it depends wear you are comming from our church does what it can to be effective and our dress code is casul dress as well though in big churches like my old church in canberra we had a good worship band over 25 talanted people who wear able to use there gifts to worship the lord and our pastor did a survay and most said they come to hear the band and the sermons as i like wear prophetic teaching is taught and i go to a church in sydney which is called hillsong and its a big church with a big worship band this church has every thing big screens and its got satalite as well to wear the services are broadcasted all over the world even the youth pastors do this in there youth services wear they are doing what ever they can to win the youth over to the lord they use up beat worship rock rap and hip hop to draw the crowds in if you have not experianced this it is mind blowing to see it for the first time at first i wonderd if we are to go to the extreem to win the lost yet if we are to survive then we need to be doing what ever we can to reach out to the lost

yet some do go to far for example the anglican church has church in the pub every sunday there is some one from the anglican church and they sort of have trivia wear bible verses are thrown to the public in the pub and then a short message is preached at the end most are drinking while they do this and the people love it

and from what i have heard my old church is now doing church in the mall each sunday night the chess pit is turned into a church service and this is going very well and also one of the new members is a mangager to a pub in belconnen and he asked if the church can do something in the pub he runs so each sunday a diffrent group does this wear sevral share ther testimony and a short message is preached so i see nothing wrong as long as you are doing this to win the lost

from damo1