Carelessness and Casualness in worship

The Middletown Bible Church ^ | 08/19/03 | various authors

[BenR2]

Ill bet they wore their best clothes on Saturday.

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You can bet it all you like, but it is an argument from Scriptural silence, and, therefore, of no weight.

[BenR2]

I often go through all these tests when making a split-second moral decision, don't you?

(end sarcasm here)

[HiTech RedNeck]

When will we stop trying to baptize America into Christ and measure the success of Christ among His people by how well that has happened? Think remnant.

[RaceBannon]

I dont know anyone who does all 67, either! :)

However, it does cover an awful lot of bases.

[RaceBannon]

AMEN!

I was wondering why we had to explain it!

I do believe that if a man owns a suit, he shold be ashamed to NOT wear it on Sunday, and his wife should be dressed as nice, too.

It is the LACK of dressing up that shows where the people's heart is, the jeans, shorts, sandals, t-shirts with wild sayings on it...

[RaceBannon]

If you arent showing it on the outside, people have no reason to believe they see it on the inside. And I am not talking about peoplein poverty, I am talking about you and me.

Walking around with a Metallica t-shirt in church just doesn't make it.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It's funny, but because man looks upon the outward appearance and God looks upon the heart, George W. Bush will care infinitely more about the fine suit than God will. (Actually if visiting on the ranch, I think Dubya would be fine with a cowboy shirt, boots, and jeans. Yeehaw!) God will care much more about whether your actions are creating needless offense to your neighbor. If I visited Bannon's church I would not dare wear anything but my finest suit... not because I think it will make me any nearer to God in and of itself, but because that's what the congregation would expect and not doing it would cause them needless offense.

[RaceBannon]

Once again, a person who twists words like you just did...

If you own a suit, wear it to show respect. If you refuse to wear a suit because you just want to wear whatever you want, you are guilty of dressing down before worship, making light of worship, in favor of pleasing your flesh.

This is quite simple, you should be able to understand this.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If you arent showing it on the outside, people have no reason to believe they see it on the inside

GAK [choking noise] what judgmentalism (and I say that with all due respect). Some congregations hold the formal dress as a matter of indifference. Some don't. The customs of both should be respected.

[RaceBannon]

250 people, eh?

See how many came back this coming Sunday.

Now, How many people attend your church? What was the attendance last year? What was in 6 months ago? What was it last month? What was it last Sunday?

How many have come forward in the last year and claimed they got saved?

Now, is your church bursting at the seams?

I didn't think so.

[HiTech RedNeck]

"Their worship is but rules taught by men."

[RaceBannon]

I didnt say we sang them all or them exclusively, but we do sing most of the same style as songs back then, many y Isaac Watts, Wesley, Luther, many from havergail and such.

If Michael W. Smith ever gets played at the church I attend, it can be assumed to be after the rapture!

[hellinahandcart]

But I'd far sooner see someone wearing blue jeans coming to church, than not coming to church at all because we harangued them about a dress code.

We get a lot of tourist traffic in my church; people come off the street "as they are", and that's just fine. The regular members all dress for the occasion, to one degree or another. It's not something anyone had to be harangued into doing, we just do it.

At one time a harangue wouldn't have been necessary; people used to just have a sense about these things. My own guideline has always been that if I wouldn't wear it to work, I wouldn't wear it to church-- but when I take a look at some of the "workplace" attire these days, wow. Too many girls don't see the difference between dressing for work and dressing for a hot date.

[Rebelbase]

I guessed it was you who posted this before I even opened the thread.

You might consider changing your screen name to Pharisee.

[RaceBannon]

Taught by men? No, Not at all, but we stand before men, declaring ourselves to be worshipping God, while wearing whatever we want, and then wonder why people do not take Church seriously.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If this was a matter held in grave importance by the congregation, might they have been a bit more gracious about it, such as saying nothing till they could meet with him privately about it, preferably OFF the church grounds? Instead it sounds like he was greeted with... "ahem, ahem, we noticed you weren't wearing a suit and this is the custom at our church."

[Wiser now]

Amen, Texan. Our choir has the world's hottest robes and a group of about 20 elderly women who are always cold. On a particularly hot morning last spring, my husband the music director opted for "no robes". Because it was Communion Sunday, several of the older choir members had a fit, insisting robes were required for Communion. Since the choir leaves the choir loft before the Communion service begins, my husband saw no real problem. Choir members don't wear robes when they sit among the rest of the congregation during the summer months after all. There were nasty comments made about the attire of a teenage member of the choir being on display, within earshot of this young woman and her mother, I might add. The whole incident was topped off by our Pastor's wife, who, when she saw us, cried jokingly, "You're nekkid! You're all nekkid!" Laughing, I wispered "We've already had that sermon". I met with my Lord Jesus in my bathrobe this morning. I don't think He minded..
As for the music, that controvery rages at our church too. It's the words that matter. God gave us all kinds of instruments with which to praise him. I believe the early church used what it had available and I believe it's quite possible that the first hymns were set to the music of the day. God may speak to us in the silence, but He also said "Make a joyful noise". My Bible says nothing about the sanctification of the organ and piano as the only instruments acceptable for worship. Our form of worship today is merely tradition. I don't believe it bears any resemblence to the original love feasts practiced by the early Christians. To do that we would all have to copy the Amish, and we all know how likely that is.

[RaceBannon]

We get a lot of tourist traffic in my church; people come off the street "as they are", and that's just fine. The regular members all dress for the occasion, to one degree or another. It's not something anyone had to be harangued into doing, we just do it.

Sounds like a great place to go !

[HiTech RedNeck]

Yes, taught by men.

[RaceBannon]

I would rather pray to be one of those accepted:

(1 Cor 11:17 KJV) Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

(1 Cor 11:18 KJV) For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

(1 Cor 11:19 KJV) For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.