Shorts in Church

One might think I am running out of ideas but this one came to me as I was entering church today at Brown's Bridge Community Church. I am nearly sixty years of age and my estimation is that I have attended church services on at least 75% of Sundays since my birth. That is about 2,200 church services in various denominations in the U.S. On many of these occasions I wore a tie or a suit. Gradually the ties went away and then we went to khaki slacks and polos, then no socks and then the khakis were replaced by jeans and finally today for the first time I wore shorts with boat shoes (no socks of course) and a nice golf shirt. My grandfather one of the greatest Baptist deacons of all time probably did a flip in his grave and I can even hear my mom talking about wearing your best to services.

It was interesting but no one seemed to notice at my church. It helps in that our pastor, Andy Stanley came out on stage with jeans, a polo not tucked in and that some of the members of the band have rings in ears, noses etc and that the common trend at the church seems to be not to put a lot of emphasis on dressing up. I truly think this is all a relief to many folks. They do not have to meet a certain dress code or standard. If they don't have the latest fashion trends they can still come to our church and feel comfortable. I do have a few hangups though about what one wears to church as follows:

*You really should wear clothes that have been laundered and pressed
*You really should comb your hair and perhaps shower and shave before attending
*I am not ready for flip-flops ( I guess I am still a little conservative)
*Ladies..I don't think swim suit cover ups are appropriate
*I do have a little problem with ladies wearing strapless gowns with tattoos on their shoulders
*Also I think bare midriffs and short skirts don't quite fit at church
*Guys I think you need to leave the logo tees at home as well as old SEC champions tees, etc.

It's kind of interesting that a few months ago I commented to my wife that a lot of the guys looked like they barely were out of bed when they grabbed the nearest pair of wrinkled shorts and t-shirts, threw on the flip-flops and headed off to church. As mentioned above I do have a bit of a problem with this but I find that I am perhaps more understanding in this age of dress down. I admit that I like the idea of casual wear to church.

I realize that the subject today may be a bit controversial as some churches today still require a stringent dress code especially for pastors, deacons and leaders but also for those who might want to be in these positions but I really wonder what God might be thinking about all this? I'll ask a few questions to sum up:

*Does God look more on the outward appearance or what's in the man's heart?
*Did the early Christians dress up for services or gatherings in their house churches?
*Were there fashion trends in the early church?
*How about more recently, let's say the 1800's, did men wear coat's and ties or a clean pair of overalls?
*Does the Bible spend a lot of time on fashion? I recall a passage about not wearing anything that might distract from worship, but that is about it.
*Is it possible to worship God and be touched by God while wearing a pair of shorts?
*Does it really matter to seekers if we are all dressed up at Church? Do they feel more comfortable if we are not overdressed? Do they feel that they don't have to fit a certain dress standard and does this make it easier for them to attend services?

It is hard for me to believe that what we wear can be a point of contention in many of our churches today but it is. I do know that I probably would not want to be a part of any fellowship that would think less of a person because they do not meet the criteria established by this body. I am thankful that my own church has figured out that this is not high on God's list of priorities for the church. I truly feel that He is more interested in what the person's heart is all about and what he does with the gifts and talents that God has given him.

Does all this mean that we throw away all tradition such as music, Bible teaching etc. Absolutely not. But when our emphasis on man designed criteria takes the place of the true reason for worship then we do have a problem in the church. Another question I will pose is why for the most part is church attendance and membership declining? Perhaps it is the inflexibility of the church in general today. Not meeting people where they are and how they are and the famous words of the dying church "we never did it that way before".

One thing I don't mean to do is to belittle those who choose to worship via traditional means. If one wants to attend services where everyone wears a suit and tie and sings traditional hymns and reads only from one version of the Bible this is fine. These folks should not however looked down on those who choose a different path. The gospel is the same..always has been and always will be...In the meantime I just received a pair of madras shorts for Fathers Day and I've got to get a shirt that will match for next Sunday's services.