I wore a robe today

I performed the baptisms in church today which is an amazing honor. I love sharing in these life moments with people. It also means that I wore a robe. It's pretty much the only time you will ever be required to wear a robe at Calvary Church. I liked wearing the robe. I actually think I would rather wear robes than wear a suit. A suit is so stiff. I'm not sure if I would rather wear a robe than jeans and a button-down shirt. Sometimes I have the desire to have a "uniform" as a minister so that people could come and talk to me if they have a need or concern.

This reminded me of my desire to post on clothing in church.

This link discusses what pastors should wear in the 1500s in Scotland. Plaid was bad.

Here is a quote from an article on Presbyterian dress in 1897.

Now, a word or two as to objections that are sometimes raised when plainness of dress is advocated. Some say, "Oh, if the heart is right, one’s dress does not make much difference. We should be engaged chiefly in examining our hearts." To this it may be replied that it is invariable a sure proof the heart is wrong in important respects when vain attire is indulged in, and also that in the large majority of cases it is a real sign that the heart is not right at all. No one can consistently claim credit for anxiety as to the state of his or her heart who is not equally anxious to cleanse and reform outward behaviour according to the directions of the Word of God.

This quote is funny because in my view in advocates dressing less fancy and more simply to church or to honor God. The suit or dress is more "adornment" than jeans and a button-down shirt. It also shows the side wanting to dress more fancy using the argument about focusing on the heart that I tend to use as well.

There's some people that think women should cover their heads in worship according to 1 Corinthians 11. I'm not totally sure of the contextual stuff, but it seems to have more biblical basis than a suit.

This crazy guy thinks that wearing paisley means that you are allowing demons into your life. Check the site and see how ridiculous his logic is.

People take clothing way too seriously. We'll talk more.

Clothing in Church

I need to get back to blogging. This silly MySpace competition with Victor was eating up all my "internet time." But now that I have soundly defeated him I can get back to blogging and I can use MySpace for its intended purpose - connecting with friends, not competing for friends.

So I'm going to begin a new little study on another issue in the church that I think people get really worked up about - the clothing we wear to church. Now, I will say that as a pastor/teacher I understand how Paul says to be "all things to all men" and that a speaker must understand and dress according to what will help him connect most with his/her audience. I get that. I want to look at the issue more from a theological/historical context and see why in the world people think that it is important to dress a certain way when they go to church. Respect, comfort, culture, etc.

My view is that one should wear clothing to church that is comfortable for worship so that they can give their all to God spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. I want to be able to raise my hands, get on my knees, and even lay on my face. This is difficult to do in a three-piece suit as I feel like I can't even move my neck from side to side in one of those things. I personally like to wear a collared shirt because this helps me feel a little "dressed up" while still feeling comfortable. That is just my preference.

This quote was interesting for someone with my perspective on the issue.

That it is shallow to judge by appearances is a well-known saying. That it is shallow to dismiss appearances is a lesser-known truth.
- Poet Yahia Lababidi, quoted in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and taken from The Week.

So I believe that I will show that clothing does not matter to God. I could be proved wrong though. But I also understand that to dismiss clothing altogether is just as shallow.

I hope to look next at the history of clothing in church and then what Scripture says on the subject and finally whether or not it should matter what the current cultural context of a specific church is for what clothing is worn.