The issues we see in churches

[p_rehbein]

down here in the south, where in many cases going to Church is a culture thing, the small country Churches have the best dressed people and tend to look down on " underdressed". the bigger Churches tend to be more casual.

shoot, where do you live in the South? Here in Bama, or at least in North Bama, it's pretty much just the opposite.......just saying... Last time I wore a suit to church? um, well...........hmmmmmmm, oh, yeah, for the Funeral Service of one of our dear Sisters that had passed away......that was about 18 months ago......Oh, wait, it wasn't a "suit" per say, 'cause the pants were a different color from the coat...........but I did have on a white shirt and a tie.......

I do suppose going to church is a "culture" thing, well, for me it is.........it's a "Christian culture."



(edited)

Suppose I should add that I am a member of the Board of Trustees.......so when I show up to church on Sunday wearing jeans and a proper enough shirt or sweater, narry a soul "looks down on me........" Well, ok to be 100% truthful, Brother Tom does.........but then, he's about 6'4", and I do good to hit 6' on my best day........so, he does tend to look down on me.

 

[reject-tech]

John the baptist wore rags and stank.

If read carefully, there are two aspects to his baptism, the "wilderness" and water.

We only think we stink, because we are taught by each other that we stink.

Mankind is supposed to be hairy and washed only in plain naturally occurring water, not a soapy "bath".

If we had been raised naked and smelling like natural human beings, we wouldn't consider each other smelly, and we wouldn't be tempted by having to imagine the opposite sex as naked. Our appearances wouldn't be sexually charged with things like "hoochie clothes" and jeans halfway down to our knees.
Or "handsome" and "powerful" tailored suits and ties.

Modern nude jungle cultures still witness an innocence.

But, what can we do about it now? Just dress like our peers I suppose until it all gets fixed by God.

 

[BradC]

There is really no specific mandate as to how we are to dress in the household of God. We dress to honor God and his people based upon conviction we have in our heart and within our menas (1 Cor 6:19,20). We may imitate others and there's nothing wrong with that. There is a few things that we can consider in scripture as to outward appearance. God put a difference between Israel and the Egyptians (Ex 11:7 the world at that time) along with the difference between men and women in how they dress in (Deut 22:5). These other scripture do also help.

1 Tim 2:9,10, Rom 12:2, 1 Pt 3:3, Rom 14:21,

 

[gb9]

I live in north Ga. the bigger Church I go to is very casual. the small country Churches that some of my family go to are very formal.

 

[p_rehbein]

why can't people dress however they feel they should dress when going to church without being critiqued?

IT'S OUR HEARTS God is concerned with is it not?

[what ever happened to edification of the church? to edifying each other?]

 

[doll]

i agree..I want to be myself and cant afford church garments. I think God like sme the way I look right now.

 

[Kerry]

why can't people dress however they feel they should dress when going to church without being critiqued?

IT'S OUR HEARTS God is concerned with is it not?

[what ever happened to edification of the church? to edifying each other?]

Because, some would come half naked and be a distraction. I have seen it happen. We decided that Sunday night service would be causal dress and we had to stop it, because young ladies were coming to church half naked and one lady came in her night gown and bedroom shoes. We have to set standards. By the way how many of your churches still have Sunday night service or does it interfere with football?

 

[marrion]

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye SHALL PUT ON. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?(matthew 6:25)
As long as we are covered and do not dress in a way to cause our brother or sister to stumble I don't think Jesus minds what kind of clothing we put on.
I Timothy 2:9. I Peter 3:3.I Corinthians 11: 16 etc all give MORE SPECIFIC instructions on dress code

 

[breno785au]

Because, some would come half naked and be a distraction. I have seen it happen. We decided that Sunday night service would be causal dress and we had to stop it, because young ladies were coming to church half naked and one lady came in her night gown and bedroom shoes. We have to set standards. By the way how many of your churches still have Sunday night service or does it interfere with football?

I think we ned to use some common sense here. If a believer comes to church half naked, their hearts need to be transformed by Christ in that area still and should be corrected in love since we know setting rules and regulations do not transform hearts, it only restrains. If an unbeliever walks in half naked I wouldn't question them about it. Not specifically talking about you Kerry but from what I have observed some peoples view of church requires a big board of rules needs to be posted outside it's doors for all to see before anyone enters lol I don't think it should be that way

 

[Kerry]

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye SHALL PUT ON. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?(matthew 6:25)
As long as we are covered and do not dress in a way to cause our brother or sister to stumble I don't think Jesus minds what kind of clothing we put on.
I Timothy 2:9. I Peter 3:3.I Corinthians 11: 16 etc all give MORE SPECIFIC instructions on dress code

Amen to my highlight. If you don't set a standard you won't have one.

 

[marrion]

breno785au I hear what you are trying to say but to be honest if we look around in our society dresscodes are a normal acceptable part of everyday activity.it seems to me when it comes to church people tend to have a problem.
whats wrong with giving people guidelines concerning appearance and dress code when it comes to attending church?
Police,fire stations,bus drivers,retail stores,restaurants etc all have their own requirements for dress code and uniform and nobody complains about their requiremens which are far more stringent than any church is asking for.
Even some of the nightclubs I used to frequent have specific dress codes one must adhere to before being allowed entrance and I never heard any complaints from anyone.
Some mcdonalds restaurants and others are now posting dress code guidelines for people whose pants are sagging.
They are simply asking people to pull up their pants before entering otherwise they will be refused service and I don't think there is anything wrong with this.
This is not about trying to change a persons heart from the outside in, which would be the wrong way,
its simply about common decency and morals and respecting oneself and his fellow man enough to dress decently.
What is decent would be totally up for debate if we did not have the guidelines that are given to us in the Bible.

 

[Kerry]

Any takers on my Sunday night service. Hey. Peyton Manning is playing against his old team the Colts next Sunday night. where is your priority I wonder.

 

[breno785au]

breno785au I hear what you are trying to say but to be honest if we look around in our society dresscodes are a normal acceptable part of everyday activity.it seems to me when it comes to church people tend to have a problem.
whats wrong with giving people guidelines concerning appearance and dress code when it comes to attending church?
Police,fire stations,bus drivers,retail stores,restaurants etc all have their own requirements for dress code and uniform and nobody complains about their requiremens which are far more stringent than any church is asking for.
Even some of the nightclubs I used to frequent have specific dress codes one must adhere to before being allowed entrance and I never heard any complaints from anyone.
Some mcdonalds restaurants and others are now posting dress code guidelines for people whose pants are sagging.
They are simply asking people to pull up their pants before entering otherwise they will be refused service and I don't think there is anything wrong with this.
This is not about trying to change a persons heart from the outside in, which would be the wrong way,
its simply about common decency and morals and respecting oneself and his fellow man enough to dress decently.
What is decent would be totally up for debate if we did not have the guidelines that are given to us in the Bible.

I totally get what your saying Marrion though i don't think it's something that should be preached from the pulpit, the pulpit is not for telling people what to do (though I dont think your saying that) If anyone were offending and raising in issue within the congregation they could be approached personally. I know at one church I used to attend we had a case like that, she was privately approached by one of her friends, she didnt actually realise what she was wearing can possibly cause a brother to stumble and changed what she wore.

 

[RickyZ]

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone here who has a "negative" comment about churches/or a particular church ALSO INCLUDED some positive comment about churches/or a particular church?

WOULDN'T THAT BE EDIFYING?

View attachment 60355

Seems to me it would be..........uh, no, wait........

View attachment 60356

this thread isn't about EDIFYING the church is it?

hey...............my bad...........

LOL!!!

I always find mockery (and it's supporters) to be edifying...

NOT!

 

[Elizabeth619]

down here in the south, where in many cases going to Church is a culture thing, the small country Churches have the best dressed people and tend to look down on " underdressed". the bigger Churches tend to be more casual.

I live in the south, and I don't pay attention to what others wear. I always wear a dress because that is how I was raised. Some do not. The only issue I have with dress is when it is too revealing and the dresses are too short.

I do find that complaining on either side of the spectrum is wrong and pointless. Why complain that someone wears a suit and tie, and why complain if someone wears a tshirt? If people spend that much attention on ones apparel while sitting in church then theyre mind obviously isnt centered on God.

 

[Elizabeth619]

shoot, where do you live in the South? Here in Bama, or at least in North Bama, it's pretty much just the opposite.......just saying... Last time I wore a suit to church? um, well...........hmmmmmmm, oh, yeah, for the Funeral Service of one of our dear Sisters that had passed away......that was about 18 months ago......Oh, wait, it wasn't a "suit" per say, 'cause the pants were a different color from the coat...........but I did have on a white shirt and a tie.......

I do suppose going to church is a "culture" thing, well, for me it is.........it's a "Christian culture."



(edited)

Suppose I should add that I am a member of the Board of Trustees.......so when I show up to church on Sunday wearing jeans and a proper enough shirt or sweater, narry a soul "looks down on me........" Well, ok to be 100% truthful, Brother Tom does.........but then, he's about 6'4", and I do good to hit 6' on my best day........so, he does tend to look down on me.

North Alabama? You arent too far from me. I am on the TN/Alabama line

 

[RickyZ]

How people are dressed doesn't much matter to me. Among those who attend regularly I think there should be presentation of honor and respect, but if a skanky ho walking down the street gets called in by God, by all means come sit with us sister and let's answer our calls together.

What concerns me more is, what are the churches clothed in? Are they draped in human philosophy, totally ignoring the place of God in human relations? Are they in rags and tatters, adhering to old things that have no true covering? Are they in sackcloth and ashes, mourning things they think have passed away? Or are they in fine linen, loving and shining with every-single-word-of-God, even unto their deaths?

I think there is evidence to call into question the 'edification factor' of churches these days. Way too many of them cater to edify the flesh. Tickle the ears. Lipstick the pig. Not enough of them seek to edify the Spirit, even unto grave clothes.

I wonder, if a crazed gunman were to run into a church and yell "anyone who loves Jesus gets a bullet", how many in the congregation would suddenly be just visiting? How naked they would be.

Well, enough about clothing; how does your armor look?

 

[marrion]

breno785au that's one way of doing it but I think the preacher or pastor should determine how he wants to address this particular topic depending on their particular congregation.
For example if one church has a lot of members coming to church scantily dressed I think it should be addressed from the pulpit whereas if its only one or two then it can be dealt with individually.
At some point it needs to be taught on just for the fact that the whole council of God needs to be preached.
I don't see nothing wrong with preaching about dress code from the pulpit especially when its in the new testament instructions for righteousness and holiness.
The pastor is like a shepherd to his flock and should be willing to preach on anything that will prevent harm from coming to his sheep and to be honest the way in which someone dresses can bring a lot of harm,disrespect,prejudice etc.
its just like a dad seeing his daughter leaving the house with a mini skirt on with cleavage showing and his son leaving the house with his pants sagging.
Any loving father would call them back in and not only make them change into something more appropriate but explain why the way they are dressed is not appropriate and ungodly.
Too many pastors shy away from teaching on dress code because they don't want to offend anyone or lose their meal ticket.
They should preach the truth no matter what and be more worried about offending God than man.
In stead they preach that Jesus does not care about how you dress and that he is ONLY concerned about the state of your heart which is a complete lie.
Jesus is clearly concerned about our inward AND outward holiness otherwise he would not have inspired apostle Peter and Paul to write us instructions on this very topic.
Jesus himself spoke about people who caused others to stumble would be in grave danger.

 

[Abiding]

my church has a dress code...wear clothes

 

[KJV15John11]

Any takers on my Sunday night service. Hey. Peyton Manning is playing against his old team the Colts next Sunday night. where is your priority I wonder.

And that is why we have recording devices available, so that we can entertain ourselves AFTER God gets our first fruits. Besides, it won't be much of a game. Peyton will be epic in his homecoming. Huh, the Baltimore Colts drafted John Elway but he refused to play for them so he went to Denver. The Indianapolis Colts released Peyton and he is now playing for Denver better than he ever has before. I wonder if Andrew Luck is looking for a house in Denver now for his future move?