Our church encourages people to “come as you are.” But this has generated a casual atmosphere that diminishes the dignity of worship. How can we welcome all people at church but maintain appropriate expectations for dress?
I must confess a certain penchant for many traditional choices, particularly regarding etiquette, grammar and style. I rather prefer every day not become “casual Friday,” and yet I’d rather not give up casual Fridays altogether! The cultural rules that once governed how we show respect to one another easily translated into our worship services. We live in a world where the actions and language of respect are shifting, and church worshippers often are caught in the middle. Given shifting cultural expectations, “inappropriate dress” could mean women wearing pants, students in shorts, or T-shirts with heretical slogans. So, it’s difficult to provide specific instruction.
Even so, the Apostle Paul had quite a number of things to say about conducting worship in a way that doesn’t bring disorder. I suspect some considerations—like modesty, for instance—still ought to guide our decisions about attire during worship, as well as outside of worship, for that matter.
And yet I am convinced my preferences on all matters of dress are not biblical mandates. Often, the prophetic writers decried the fact people were too caught up in outward expressions and had forgotten what it truly meant to be the people of the Lord. In Isaiah, for instance, the people are told God “hates” their sacrifices, Sabbaths and festivals. How could God hate these things? Didn’t God establish the requirements for them?
Yes, but God desired outward signs of worship to match lives that sought justice, rescued the oppressed, defended the downtrodden and comforted the lonely. I can only imagine Sunday dress wasn’t high on God’s list of priorities, either, when there was still so much to be desired in the people’s way of life.
If we follow the lead of the prophets, perhaps the place to begin addressing appropriate expectations for dress in worship is within our own hearts. Have we come to worship adorned with love and grace? Have our weekly interactions with the members of the body given insight into who they are in Christ or merely to their wardrobe selections? Do we judge merely on outward appearance?
If you truly want to welcome all people in your worship services, then sometimes people are going to come as real people come—shiny and scuffed, clean and dirty, over-dressed and under-dressed. Some will come in clothes that express their personalities; others will attempt to cover up for ways in which they feel inadequate or unworthy.
As you truly spend time loving the body of Christ in your midst, you’ll begin to know their hearts and your own. Together, perhaps you will find ways for your outward appearances to be fitting to your inward heart expressions.
Emily Row Prevost, director of leadership development
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East Texas Baptist University
Marshall
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