LCMS - Dress code

Just a sidebar....

In 1960-61 I was two or three years old. The style of the day was to dress your little boys in sailor suit, complete with hat, lanyard and wistle. Always navy blue.

While I can't remember it, my late parrents used to laugh about how one Sunday morning I discovered the wistle on the end of the rope and left fly with a shril blast during the words of institution. Dad promptly de-activated the offending instrument with his pocket knife, but did not remove it!

I invited my friend on Sunday and she came in blue jeans...and no one cared (granted we were sitting in the back row).

In the WELS church that I grew up in (late 1960s through 70s), jeans would have been scandalous as well, so the very casual look took me awhile to get used to. But...

Didn't the host of the banquet insist the ragged beggar sit next to him?

TCat said:

I would suggest "business casual, nice collared button down and slacks are generally appropriate anywhere.



I guess it depends on your point of view, if I were visiting a king or queen and the occasion called for formal dress then I would dress that way. If I were visiting a beloved relative, my Abba, then while I would dress acccording to the standards of the occasion I would keep in mind that I was really dressing to conform to others around me not to impress my beloved father who loves me and sees not my outer appearance but my inner heart and is not concerned about what I look like but where my heart is in realtionship to Him.
I spend a great deal of time in my private daily worship time, generally dressed in my pj's, God is not offended at all.

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I certainly don't dress for every prayer, either. My comments were directed toward public worship.

ricg said:

I certainly don't dress for every prayer, either. My comments were directed toward public worship.

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Of course, but who are we trying to impress with our outer appearance by "dressing up"? I agree it is appropriate to dress in clean, conservitive clothing so a not to offend those around us but "dressing up" does not impress God and if we are scandelized by jeans or pants on women in church then it would seem to me a matter of the heart of the worshiper.
In Sunday school a few months ago we were dicussing pet peeves and were directed to approach someone we did not know and share a personal peeve with them. An older women came up to me, she was dressed to "the nines" and said in a very snotty tone that her pet peeve was people wearing flipflops to church. Oh my! Give me a break!

I don't really care what clothes people wear. It's just those plunging neck lines and tight jeans on women that aren't the best for concentrating on the service.

It is important to try not to draw attention to ones self, and away from worship, grubby, fancy, provocative whatever.

I am sure that our Lord does not care how we dress unless we do it intentionally to catch someones eye, or to offend or scandalize. Adam and Eve were naked until they sinned.

This may seem petty (I am trying to get over it) but the thing that I now find most distracting and offensive (and I likely shouldn't) are piercings; lip, eyebrow, tongue etc. (thank God that I can't see the ones I can't see) and tatoos. I may never get over it, but I'm trying.

Mark

Do guys only wear real diamonds and women mostly wear fakes? I was wondering because it seems now that at any public concert, there are always guys with earings and such and theirs are really bright. I'm assuming it's the diamond ones that are really bright. Noticable shining even when small. But mostly the ones the young ladies wear aren't noticable from more than a few feet?

It's just one of those things I started wondering about. I first really noticed it when a daughter of one of our former pastors came back to visit and she had a little nose stud (gone now, we all still loved her and it wasn't treated like a big deal and so she grew tired of it). And it wasn't that noticable up close because it was pretty small, but you could see it flash from the back of the church if she was up front under the lights.

And I noticed the same thing at the last couple choir concerts at our school. These really bright earings, only it was kind of funny in a way because it was only the boys that had such bright earings.

Marv

Newer jewelry flashes more than older jewelry (whether genuine or not) and it's probably true that real diamond jewelry maintains a shine longer than the fakes.

It could be that guys with earrings is seen by many as being abnormal so they are simply more noticeable.

yup people aught to be dressed for church.
can't have a bunch of naked people all over the place.

God more than likly thinks if you look like most of us people do the more clothes ya put on the better.

I think adam and eve before the fall were a mighty handsome couple . but look at the centuries since that first sin . centuries of sin surly has affected our looks even the most fair
amoung us would look so much the better with heavy clothing and perhaps with bags over their heads to boot if they were able to stand next to adam and eve in all their magnificant splender before the fall.

we poor sinners can't even Imagine if sin had not entered how much smarter and better we would look now.

I have a real diamond ring...but that's cause it's an engagement ring All my other hand jewelry is sterling silver celtic knot rings...except the wedding band which is white gold.

TCat said:

Of course, but who are we trying to impress with our outer appearance by "dressing up"? I agree it is appropriate to dress in clean, conservitive clothing so a not to offend those around us but "dressing up" does not impress God and if we are scandelized by jeans or pants on women in church then it would seem to me a matter of the heart of the worshiper.
In Sunday school a few months ago we were dicussing pet peeves and were directed to approach someone we did not know and share a personal peeve with them. An older women came up to me, she was dressed to "the nines" and said in a very snotty tone that her pet peeve was people wearing flipflops to church. Oh my! Give me a break!

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By dressing up, we aren't trying to impress anyone. We do it to honor our King. It is part of worship and homage, just like we try to have beautiful music, church buildings, live rather than plastic flowers, vestments, kneel for communion, etc. -- a matter of respect. This all used to go without saying.

I agree 100% that it is a matter of the heart of the worshipper. It is not a matter of being scandalized; nor am I trying to legalistically prescribe what should be worn, but it seems to me that we (the church in general, and particularly in the United States) are misusing the fact that we should not exclude someone based on what they wear to worship to make a different and false argument that our dress for worship irrelevant, so long as it does not offend. Such a rule, of course, begs the question of what's offensive, but beyond that, misses the point of what worship is.

Naturally God is most concerned that we appear with a broken and contrite heart. But if there's any point to church architecture, fine music, bells, vestments, and to name biblical examples: palm waving, anointing with fine oil and perfume, bowing, kneeling, etc., then for anyone who thinks about, it would seem to that flip flops should be out. The whole point of the worship exercise is to show the sacred nature of what is occurring: the Word of God is being preached and the sacraments administered. These are extraordinary gifts, so the response should be worshipfully extraordinary: special building, special vestments, special music, and yes, special dress.

I realize that those appearing in jeans and flip flops mean no harm and that there are those out to impress by dressing-up, but it's a bit shallow to think that's the reason our predecessors in the faith wore their Sunday best for Sunday worship up until the 1960's. It doesn't impress God, but, He accepts it as His due.

"flip flops are out"?

Sounds like what our Lord may have worn. Or did he have Wing Tips?

I would think He was barefoot more often than not.

Ok...I wore a black turtleneck and new red sweater, with jeans, on new year's eve. I even went up for Communion.
My girlfriend that went with us to church, could not believe I wore jeans. We had to take her home to put on her jeans before the little get-together at our home that evening.

Am I being offensive to others? I hope not.