His first decree was this? This was the most important thing in his approach to the ministry?
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Right? You’re in The Lord’s house. Dress appropriately.
Considering that he was wanting to attract a demographic who is both image-conscious and averse to traditional dress, it may not have been a bad thing.
Sometimes the “old saints” drive away younger demographics simply by not accepting different ways of doing things.
A story I heard many years ago:
A large church, near a university, held Sunday services where the elder men of the church served as ushers. One Sunday morning, a student strolled in, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, with sandals on his feet. No seeing a place to sit (the service was overflowing), the student plopped himself down in the aisle, near the front, sitting cross-legged.
One of the elderly ushers, walking slowly with a cane, came down the aisle to the young man unceremoniously sitting in the aisle.
“He’ll get it now!” was the thought of many of the congregation.
When the usher reached the young man, he carefully sat down next to him, painfully arranging himself much like the young man, welcoming the student in a manner no spoken greeting could ever convey.
Think about it. If a church preaches the gospel - the whole gospel - then the garb of the congregation is immaterial. It is the heart.
Need the designer coffees in the sanctuary too. Comforts and conveniences are Heaven—got to meet the needs!
Did he forget all about II Timothy Chapter 5, where Paul warns Timothy not to let men wear jeans to church?