"....no, I didn't go last week.....I had nothing to wear, and neither did the kids..."

Have you ever said that? Most people have, at one time or another.
But........

What do you mean people at Journey wear JEANS? (GASP!!)
We are pretty non traditional about dress, Yes.
It’s never been a big deal.



If God’s the father and the church is our family, should we view going to church services as a formal event or a family event? What would you wear to a family reunion? A tie? A starched shirt? Dress & heels?



If we are to welcome the poor and otherwise socially outcast, does a dress code essentially push those people away from our churches?

If people become overly worried about their appearance instead of their heart, are they like the Pharisees that Jesus chastised for only washing the outside of the proverbial cup?

Is the church building somehow a magical sacred building like the Old Testament Temples? Or is it simply a place where God's people gather that is no more sacred than the homes we live in?

Do we think that Jesus, who was born in a barn, was dressed up when He held church outdoors?

Why should we press for formal dress in church when one of the only passages in the New Testament that speaks about what to wear to church rebukes women for dressing up to the degree that they turned church into a fashion show of sorts?(1 Timothy 2:9-10)



NIV version: “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

At our church Jeff & Ryan usually preach in a button-up shirts or polos, & jeans. Our worship bands, known as the Praise Band, play in t-shirts, jeans, and flip-flops (except Taylor, he is shoe-less).
Guess what. No one listening to them notices. I bet there are a lot that have attended that have never seen Taylor’s socks.




God is everywhere all the time. So, before you ever got to church, you were in the presence of God. He saw your hair sticking up in 25 different directions this morning, before your shower, before you brushed your teeth, or your hair. He has seen you at your physical worst, so the idea that you are going to impress God with your appearance goes *poof*. Up in smoke.



Christianity teaches us all that OUR bodies are the temple of God, not the church building itself. For that matter, Christians are the Church and not the building, so here too the idea that you are "going" to ‘God's house’ falls flat. If you are saved, you can't leave God's house because you are already there, all the time. Ya never go elsewhere. Make sense?


"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"1 Corinthians 3:16"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"1 Corinthians 6:19


Christ did not judge people based on appearance alone. He was a poor carpenter, so it would be really hypocritical if he said the poor are not welcome because they cannot afford khakis and a tie. Christianity is about your soul. Not who, where, or what you ‘seem’ to be. Anyone can put on a front for two hours a week on Sundays. It has to be real. Anyone can say I really care about people, blah-blah, but truthfully, human beings can smell a hypocrite a mile away, surely no one thinks that God can't? You have to love your brother (every other human being on the planet) for REAL! You can't fake anything with God. To God everyone is equal, whether they are wearing a gorgeous silk skirt and high heels, or dressed like a homeless person off the street. (Did Christ die for the homeless as well at the rich....?..........think so…) God judges the heart, not what you wear.

****all this was brought on by a story in the Ar Dem Gaz Saturday about appropriate church attire*** :)