A Step Up

The Lord blessed me by having my parents raise me in a conservative, godly environment. Our family attended traditional churches growing up, in which the men and women wore nice clothing to the gathered assembly. By nice, I mean that it was more than casual. Like most kids, my parents dressed me until I was in the latter part of elementary school. This meant that each Sunday I showed up in slacks and a button down shirt. The older I got, the more I dressed down. I had to fit in with the "cool" crowd, after all. By junior high, nearly the entire youth group wore to church what we wore the rest of the week (jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes). I have dressed casual to church ever since. It was a running joke that the only times I dressed up for church was when I would attend an LDS meeting before our services. You knew I had met with Mormon elders (aka missionaries) if I was wearing a pressed, white, button-down shirt, black slacks, dress shoes and a tie to match.

We had been attending Grace Community Church (Tempe, AZ) since I was in elementary school. By the time I reached college the church had a massive overhaul. We transitioned from the conservative style of the church's founder, Guy Davidson, into a Seeker Sensitive church. More and more folks dressed casual to church, which was already the dominant dress style in youth/college ministries. Often from the pulpit we would hear the call to "come just as you are." Many of us applied this to our appearance. But some resisted the change. There were those who persisted in wearing suits, ties, slacks; for the ladies: dresses, nice pants, blouses. I couldn't understand why one would go to all the effort of dressing up when God clearly stated in His Word: "...for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). I argued that because God only cares about the condition of our hearts that we should not bother with dressing up for church.

My position was more legalistic than you might think. I frowned upon those who dressed up. I saw them as arrogant people. How else could I explain their attire? They must be old-fashioned. Do they not realize that this style of dress may turn away unbelievers visiting the church? Or so I thought to myself, deeply affected by the seeker sensitive movement. I was proud to dress casually. This demonstrated how much more spiritually mature I was than those held back by old traditions. Ha! These were the same people who wanted hymns instead of praise/chorus songs! It would be best if these people would simply leave and form a new church... that wouldn't draw in new members anyways. 50 years from now we won't even see boring churches like the ones they want.

I was clearly carrying around a lot of baggage. I hope you now have a better idea of where I was coming from up to this point.

In July 2003, I resigned my membership from GCC. The Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church was the first church I visited and later became a member. There are quite a few visible differences between GCC and PRBC. First, I recognized that most of the congregation wore semi-formal attire to the services. I stood out like a sore thumb in my khaki shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. One might expect that I received judgment and condemnation. But rather, they were welcoming and inviting towards me.

A year and a half have passed since I began attending PRBC, and you are now probably aware that I am reconsidering how I ought to dress to church. I would like to share with you a few of my experiences that have caused me to rethink my position. Here goes nuthin...

(1) One of the first Sundays at PRBC, I was sitting in the pew behind the Whites (James, Kelli, Josh, Summer), when Elder James made a joking remark about me wearing shorts. You have to understand that James and I had become friends over the past year, so I took his comment as he intended it to be: a joke. But I suspected that some of James' convictions in this area were coming out a bit. I knew he held the conviction that if you would dress up for someone you respect (he used the President of the United States as his example), why would you not then dress up to worship the Lord? I kept these thoughts in the back of my mind.

(2) The next critical event took place about three weeks ago while listening to Dennis Prager's radio talk show. For those of you unfamiliar with Dennis Prager, he is a Jewish, conservative man, who talks about politics and practical life issues. On this particular show Dennis was talking about a bad experience he had at the theater to watch a play. He described the audience as sloppy and in grubby clothing. He argued that the atmosphere that evening was drastically affected. Later in the program, a caller made a passing comment that "it doesn't matter how we dress to church." Dennis abruptly interrupted the man and countered with saying, "I firmly disagree with your statement. How you dress to church demonstrates how much respect you have for your place of worship." What amazed me about Dennis' remarks was that this was coming from an unbeliever. How could an unregenerate man believe so strongly about this? It was this segment of the show that got the wheels turning upstairs *points to his head* to examine how I dress to church.

(3) Following the Sunday morning worship service, we have our Lindy Hop private lesson. When I arrived at the dance studio, Simon and Kelli had already finished changing into dance clothes. I, on the other hand, had no need to change from my jeans and button down American Eagle shirt. Simon then began poking fun that I will wear to church what I dance in. Again, the Dark Knight (aka Simon) was intending to kid around with me, and meant no harm. Immediately I knew something was wrong when I will wear the same outfit to church that I will get all sweaty in as a result of dancing.

(4) Last Wednesday evening was our annual congregational meeting. Near the end of the meeting, Pastor Fry asked Jim Broyles and his wife to exit the room so we might talk about them behind their back =). You see, Jim was being considered for the Diaconate (being appointed as a Deacon), and the pastor examined Jim with us by asking for any concerns we have about his character. Our pastor was going through the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3, and focused upon how a Deacon ought to be a man of dignity. Jim is certainly that kind of man. He is not addicted to wine (or addicted to other substances). He manages his family well. He already is a man serving the church (which is what the term, Deacon means). Jim carries an honorable and dignified quality with his appearance in the church. ... Yes, you guessed it. My mind began processing all this information once more.

(5) During my entire time at PRBC it is clear how my elders view the office of elder. They take their position in the church very seriously. Elder James has mentioned on more than one occasion how much awe he should have to preach from the pulpit. As Reformed Baptists, we believe it is the highest honor to bring God's Word to the people of God. It is a great responsibility, one that should not be taken lightly. I know that this is one reason why both of my elders (James White and Don Fry) dress nicely. More than this, they dress up because it is the house of the Lord.

The result of all this is felt conviction towards my nonchalant attitude about how I dress to church. Each of the above situations that the Lord brought into my life contain valid points.

Elder James was correct that I would dress up for the President of the United States. I would even dress up for a date! Why would I not want to dress up for the God who saved me from sin and death?

Dennis Prager is correct that how one dresses is a reflection of how important the event may be to him. In the case of the gathered church, I know that one may worship the Lord in casual clothes - but isn't this being inconsistent then to dress up for other special occasions but not for the Lord?

Simon was right to point out that it is not proper to wear the same clothes to church that I will go dancing in and get drenched in sweat!

Pastor Fry is correct that we, as the people of God, should be dignified in our appearance. How we dress can communicate how we feel about worshipping the Lord our God.

Finally, considering the honor it is to hear God's Word proclaimed, to hear the whole counsel of God, to sing to the Lord hymns of praise, to lift up our voices in prayer, and to fellowship with the Saints, I believe out of respect for these things we should dress appropriately.

A couple verses to consider:

Romans 12:1, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."

How we live and how we appear matters to God.

The apologist in me well knows what some are thinking: Wow. I had no idea Casey was going to take a turn into legalism. Whoa boy. How do I respond? For starters, I believe that one has the right to dress however they want to church. However, I believe it is disrespectful towards God to wear casual clothing to come into His house, to hear His Word preached, to pray to Him, to fellowship with His saints, and then to dress up for other events and occasions. It is inconsistent to be so irreverent towards worshipping God, and then to show reverence for lesser things. Why I also believe I have not crossed over into the dangerous realm of legalism is because I don't look down on those who dress casually. Maybe folks have never thought about this before? Maybe they can't afford nice clothing?

The point I have attempted to make is this: if we are willing to dress up for important men and activities, why would we not want to dress up for our worship of the Creator? If God has blessed you with nice clothing, wouldn't you want to dress your best for the Lord?

These are some of my thoughts. I hope you can tell I have thought long and hard about this. I want nothing more than to honor my King in all things - my motivation for having this discussion. And yes, I will be dressing more than casual on the Lord's Day.

Rusty