I wish Qwerty had a verse for us. Now I have to look one up...

My experience with my childhood church is exactly like this (the baptist one, not so much the lutheran one). We were a poorer family in the church, and as I was involved in youth group and such, I was always kind of a loner because I didn't have the cool clothes and such. And I don't think that's right.

And it's also my experience that the scruffy Christians have the much cooler music and a much more...authentic relationship with God (that isn't true of ALL Christians, however...don't get me wrong).

From my own experience, the days I had to dress up for church were the days I was playing church. It didn't mean anything beyond going to school, etc.

I wear a suit to church.

Why? Because when I was a child, that's what my mother taught me to do. I don't wear it to show off the fact that I, in fact, own a suit (because, let's be honest, I wear a shirt and tie every day of the week and hate it), I wear it because my mother taught me "that's just what you do".

Count us in the group that doesn't wear super flashy clothes to church. Although we wear clothes that are clean and in good repair.

There's one notable exception to this. Growing up, the one time a year we were guaranteed to get new clothes was Easter. We wore brand new clothes to church every Easter Sunday.

After I became a Christian, it became important to keep this tradition. Why? Because (to me, at least, and that's all that really matters here) the new clothes represent the new life in Christ.

That's cool. I never thought about it this way Gid.



Dress has nothing to do with that tho Jythier. You can play church regardless of what you're wearing.



hahahah this is what mom's do I guess. I also taught my kids to dress appropriately for church. I never let them wear shorts and flip flops because I didn't think it was appropriate. But neither did I insist on shirt and tie either. When they would see grown men with shorts they would ask questions about this....."how come they can?" But I wouldn't relent and would insist on collard shirts and at least khakis. I actually thought these guys were not leaving the younger set a good example. I'm not talking guys off the street but men who are committed to God and are regular members in good standing.

Plus, I was a missionary for two years. All I ever wore was a suit. It would feel . . . foolish . . . to suddenly stop wearing such attire in a house of worship.

I'm pretty sure God has seen me nekked.

well if he did Mason....I'm sure he'd make you some clothes out of fur.

  



somehow I can't picture you in a suit SC. Don't know why....just hard seeing it. Ha! Maybe you don't write like a "suit person."

I most certainly do not. But the only day of the week I'm not at least in shirtsleeves and a tie is Saturday . . .

I'm reasonbly sure God is more concerned about what is dressing your heart than what is hanging on your body.

I feel the same, but it's just how I feel I can show my respect to God. It's definitely a personal thing, but that's just how I roll, people.

Hey, no judgement coming from me. I can dig it.

I don't think its an "either-or" thing.

The body can be made up of many diff types of people. Some people feel the need to dress up in church. Some people feel the need to come as they are. For some come as you are is a business suit, for others its shorts.

I don't believe for a minute people dress nice for church to please God. They may tell themselves that's why they do it...but then I have to ask..how is your worship the rest of the week? Do you put on special clothes everytime you worship? Is it any less meaningful to God? Or are you only worshipping on Sunday?

The veil was torn to the Holy of Holies so that ANYONE can approach, sans washing, sans special clothes, etc.

Adam and Eve worshiped Naked. If clothes were so important TO GOD, then why didn't he make them something special to wear when He was in the garden? Or some special ritual for their face time with Him?

The problem that I see with the whole "dressing for church" idea is.....people who can't afford to dress, or whose "best" is just their everyday stuff, don't "fit." So what you say? So then they don't come because they can't dress "appropriately."

If dressing up was truly about honoring God with our best, then people would do it in the privacy of their prayer closets too, or anytime they come before the Lord.

I think it is better to be naked and dirty in church than to be well dressed with a millstone as jewelry.

Of course not, that would be utterly rediculous, I doubt anyone with even minimal sanity is even remotely alluding to that, let alone suggesting it. Too often dress is seen by the brain dead as the be all and end all of life.

Dress is a mark of respect, nothing more. People should do what they can, no more no less. "Designer Christians" who look down their nose in a $3000 suit at jeans & sweatshirts have no business being in the church, social bigotry is hardly what its all about. By the same token, totally ignoring the issue when you are able to respond in a more formal manner, is, I believe, taking advantage of that particular Faith, to be either lazy or wanting to be seen as "Trendy" - both just as bad as the "Designer Christian".

As you rightly say its not "either-or",there is no "standard", social cache's are for the brain dead - what matters is the reasons you are wearing what you do, not the excuses you make whilst wearing them - beit a $3000 suit or jeans and sweatshirt.

The fact that its ultimately irrelevant what dress "standard" a person adopts is no excuse if you have the ability to be more formal (aka turn up in a suit). Its easy to be lazy, it takes effort to show a simple mark of respect. If its "the best pair of jeans" great, if its a $3000 suit great, the effort is being made. Second only to Faith itself, its the fact that the effort is being made as a mark of respect, that is the important thing - not being "Trendy" or "Designer Christian", both the latter are as obnoxious as the other.