Are We Relevant to Those Around Us?

What do you wear to church? That is a loaded question for some. For many of us, we cling very tightly to what we are accustomed to. Change doesn’t come easy, so a lot of people would answer saying that they wear their best suit or dresses on Sunday. This is a culture many have engrained within them.

I didn’t grow up in a home that enforced going to church on Sunday’s. However, on the few times that I did attend one was expected to dress in business attire. I remember my grandmother telling me that I had to look my best, and wear the best I had. She would tell me, “Men should be seen wearing suits complete with jacket and tie. At the very least he is expected to wear a pair of casual khaki pants with a collared pull over shirt.” I never had the lecture on what women should wear (My parents had three boys, we didn’t have a sister to bully us around) but Ladies generally wore a dress or a skirt. Some could also be found to wear a pair of dress pants paired with a blouse to pull off the business look.

When I first started out in the ministry as a pastor I can remember dressing in the best clothes money could buy. Every Sunday I would put on a double breasted jacket with matching pants, a silk shirt and tie, and a perfectly polished pair of shoes. That’s what a pastor’s wardrobe was expected to be. As I would look out over my congregation, I would see much of the same thing every week. People dressed up as if they were attending a black tie event.

I can remember inviting a few friends to church one Sunday, and they gave me a response that changed my entire outlook on how to dress at church. They looked at me and said the same words I had used as an excuse to stay away from church a million times. I was told, “We don’t have anything to wear to church.” My friends were everyday working people that rarely had a need for anything more than standard casual dress. They wore jeans, t-shirts, sports shirts, and the like. These people were not poor. They owned nice things. In fact, the clothing they wore fit in with the styles and trends that were around them. They did not stand out in a restaurant or other social gathering. They did not see a need to purchase dress clothes. For them to attend church meant they would have to purchase a different wardrobe.

I remember encouraging them. I told my friends that no one cared what they wore to church. I told them that they were dressed just fine. They agreed to worship with us, and kept their word. However, when this couple arrived at church you could see just how uncomfortable they were. They did not fit in at all. It looked as if they had walked into another dimension. To make matters worse, people were staring. Don’t get the wrong impression. The people in the congregation were nice. They smiled, welcomed my friends in, and they carried on conversation. However, there was an obvious wall due to something as simple as clothing. I felt like an idiot, and I realized that I made a huge mistake in simply inviting a couple of friends to worship with me in church. That couple never set foot inside that church again.

I started thinking, “Why do we dress to such an extent when attending church?” I started doing research, and from this I saw a lot of churches that were breaking what I thought was a church law. The first church that caught my eye was Saddleback Church in California. The pastor there never wore a suit. In fact, Rick Warren could be found each and every Sunday wearing a brightly colored shirt that was untucked, a pair of khaki pants, and deck shoes without socks.

I was instantly intrigued and impressed. Rick Warren’s church is located in one of the most affluent areas of California, and yet he was able to grow one of the Country’s largest churches while looking like he was ready to hit the beach or go sailing at any moment.

As I began investigating more, I noticed what was at that time a growing trend and change in church culture. I was seeing the beginning of the “Contemporary Church” of today. I became aware of churches like “North Point Community Church” in Atlanta, GA; “Willow Creek” in Chicago, Il; Fellowship Church” in Grapevine, TX; and many others. What began as a simple investigation concerning attire opened my eyes to something I had failed to see. These churches were making those that didn’t go to church (like the friends I invited) feel comfortable within a worship environment. These churches were communicating the gospel and were introducing new people to Jesus on a continuous basis. These churches took traditional dress codes, music, and seating and threw it all out the window. These churches looked like coffee houses and concerts. There were no pews, stained glass, or hymnals. In fact, I noticed a few churches using lights and smoke machines. I was perplexed to say the least.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I tried to judge these churches and condemn them for being “modern”. I criticized the café, the light show, and the full concert. I even criticized the way people were dressing in church. I was astounded by the fact that people were sitting in the sanctuary drinking coffee while the pastor spoke. My immediate reaction said that these churches were nothing more than people pleasers trying to trick people into coming through the doors so they could boost the Sunday offering.

I was so wrong. What I began to realize is that many of today’s churches are failing in growth because they are basically turning people away due to man-made traditions. I started to see that there was a huge communication barrier between my first church, and the culture I lived in. The church was not growing because we had slowly disconnected ourselves from the people that need Jesus. The church I was a part of, like thousands of others, were alienating the people Jesus desired for us to reach. We had become a group of people that could be accused of the same hypocritical actions that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were confronted with. We were expecting people to become like us and follow our rules. They needed to dress like us, talk like us, sing like us, and even understand the Bible like us. It was then that we would try to introduce people to Jesus. We were doing things backwards. Jesus never asked anyone to change until they realized who He is and who they are? It was then that Jesus would tell the new follower, “Go and sin no more”. (….and not once in scripture did Jesus command us to dress in a business suit to worship.) Guess what, as a church, I started to notice that we were the people pleasers. We were trying to please those within the walls of the church in order to maintain what we had rather than doing what was necessary to follow Christ. The fear of the opinions those within the church walls were keeping us from reaching those that needed to hear about Jesus.

I didn’t change overnight. It took me years to realize that the church really has nothing to do with worship styles, dress codes, buildings, music styles, hymn books, theater style screens, or programs. The church is a body made up of normal, everyday people that have given their lives to Christ. The Body of Christ exists to do one thing, lead a lost world to the Savior. The church is people doing people business.

I have fallen in love with Paul’s assessment in I Corinthians 9:19-22 For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law to win those

under the law. To those who are outside the law, like one outside the law—not being outside God’s law, but under the law of Christ—to win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some.
What this verse basically says is this; “Communicate with people in a way they will understand and comprehend. Speak in their language, eat their food, dress in their clothing, and even listen to their music. However, under no circumstance compromise the truth of Christ.” Make people feel comfortable so that they will be able to focus on the message rather than on the superficial things such as man-made tradition. In other words, when in France speak French. Our churches should speak clearly to the cultures around us without compromising God’s Word. Our churches exist within a mission field. How different would you do church if you were in another Country?

I no longer wear a suit and tie (unless there is a special event, wedding, funeral, etc). I’m not saying there is anything wrong with dressing up. The times I do dress up, I enjoy it. It feels good to look in the mirror at a fitting suit that screams class. However, there isn’t a need all the time. Would Jesus have worn a suit and tie to speak to most people today? I don’t know, but I can assume He wouldn’t. Jesus could be found speaking to common, everyday, regular people. In fact, the Pharisees and other religious people of Jesus’ culture ridiculed Him and called Jesus a friend of sinners. Jesus called them hypocrites and vipers because they were defiling God’s message and character by turning away those that needed to know the truth of God. With that being said, I think we would find Jesus wearing jeans and an untucked sports shirt. He would look just like the everyday average people found at the mall, the bookstore, the local coffee shop, or other gathering place.

I no longer see a church as being traditional or contemporary. I see it as being relevant or not relevant. You may see my view as being a little extreme. That’s OK, there was a time I didn’t agree with what I have said. Ask yourself this though; “Are we sacrificing our youth and those that are far from God in order to keep our traditions”? That isn’t my quote, it belongs to Andy Stanley, but it makes an eye opening impact when it sinks in. Are we allowing the opinions of others as well as our resistance to change hold us back from the commission of saving souls?