No Skirts. No Suits. No Service?
I’ve been thinking about clothes a lot this week. I have been reading a discussion online about appropriate church attire. It has opened my eyes to a huge problem within the Church today. We judge the righteousness of others based on their clothing. Yikes! Now, I’m not talking about modesty. I think it’s important but not the focus of this essay.
James 2 immediately comes to mind “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Now, I cannot remember the last time someone came to our church with an obviously expensive outfit and someone else having on “vile raiment.” I think we could apply this to our culture this way: we see someone in a long skirt and think, they must be really spiritual. Then we see someone in jeans and think, they must not know any better. We then respect the person dressed in a suit or long dress as good and righteous, and the person in jeans as inferior. It seems from this passage that the problem is not with our dress but our attitudes.
However the obvious is true as well, those in vile raiment are probably poor people. I believe we do not see extremely poor people in our churches because of our dress codes.
Whether church dress codes are spelled out or implied they keep people from coming to church. At some point it seems like what we are wearing is more important than our attendance. That’s a problem and not Biblical.
There have been times when we were coming home from a vacation and could have made it to church. However we did not go because we did not have time to change into something acceptable. We were modestly dressed but not in ‘appropriate” attire. Man’s laws and ideas about clothing kept us away.
And so we come to the poor. It has been my experience that our dress codes keep poor people from our churches. We have a mega church here in Greenville, 80% of the church is considered poor by anyone’s standards. They go to this church because they are accepted. If their best is jeans and a polo shirt, that is what they wear and it’s not an issue. I realize that there are other factors to the mega church, loud music, dancing, etc. Still, I know that when people go to a church that is super formal and they can’t afford to dress appropriately, they leave and go where they fit in. I don’t want these people to leave. I want them to stay and learn the Truth of God’s Word!
The Bible is also clear about the faith of poor people and the difficulty for the wealthy to come to Christ. The book of Matthew tells us “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” I believe this is because a wealthy person does not have physical needs and does not see their need of a Savior. It’s not impossible for them to be saved, but close because they don’t have need. Our churches are filled with people who do not have real needs. Hence the reason we often do not see many adults coming to Christ in our churches.
James 2 continues : “Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?Those who are poor are rich in faith. They see their need more easily and believe.
So at the end of this ramble I think a few things are clear. We are focused too much on clothes. We are working very hard to fit into a man made mold in order to appear righteous. In so doing we also look down upon those who do not fit our mold. This is sin.
Should our clothes be modest? Of course. Is there anything wrong with dressing up for church? Of course not.
There is something wrong with dressing for the approval of others. There is something wrong with looking down our noses at those who are not dressed “right”. In order for there to be revival in our churches we must win people to Christ. We need to love people, not what they are wearing. Grace should be applied instead of judgment.
I think the question of dress should be is it Biblical or simply a tradition?
Anonymous
1480 days ago
My husband and I didn’t attend church at Calvary the week before last because we are in the process of moving with 5 children and I had forgot to leave out his church pants. All he had was jeans. I had of course left out dresses for the girls, khaki’s for the boys and a long skirt for myself although I forgot to leave out church shoes, so we ended up going to another church in Greenville where we wouldn’t be looked down upon if my husband showed up in jeans rather than miss church altogether. Your article really hit home for us since we just experienced this.
Joe Leavell
1480 days ago
Great article Keri!
Keri
1480 days ago
Anonymous, Thank you for sharing your story. I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels that pressure. I’ve been wondering since I posted this whether that pressure is real or imagined. I wonder if our Pastor feels this way or if we just assume he does since he wears a suit to preach. I know the pressure from others in our church is real. I have experienced that first hand.Have a blessed day!
Karen
1480 days ago
I understand what you are talking about…don’t have the mind to think and discuss much right now. Maybe when dad is better. BUT I did want to share…When my brother was deployed my family went to the airport to see him off on Sunday morning. We ended up staying with my sister-in-law and family and bringing them to church with us at Calvary that night. I was wearing pants, and all of my brother’s family were wearing jeans and t-shirts. Several of my kids were in jeans also. I felt awkward because of myself, but only one person seemed surprised. (Considering I don’t wear pants a lot anyway that isn’t a shocker.) However, I know specifically that a lot of people went out of their way to make my brother’s family feel welcome even though they did not know “why” they were dressed that way. When we were talking to Pastor Taylor, my sister-in-law mentioned it (She grew up in Greenville, and would have expected negative feedback probably.) Pastor Taylor was very clear that that is not what mattered at all, and he was so glad that they had come. He prayed with my sister-in-law and her family, and it was a great encouragement to them. That was the general reaction we saw then and other times. I think that even a lot of the general membership at Calvary has had some change in view also. I don’t know their thoughts, but I have mentioned to my children that I want to put extra effort into how we look for church as a way of worshiping God. He is worth the effort. Just as my husband loves me when I am not wearing makeup and nice clothes, but I still try to look especially nice for him. I am also comfortable knowing that no matter what I wear my relationship with God is no different, and that when God looks at me He is satisfied to see Jesus. Just some scattered thoughts from a distracted friend…
Keri
1480 days ago
Karen- I’m really happy that your experience was different from my own. That is encouraging. I did not share my pants story in this post, but I do have one and I was not well received. Several comments, it was clear that what I had on was a big deal. This was just this past winter. The question this leads me to is: Do people who are dressed down feel comfortable when they visit our church, specificially those who don’t know anyone?I understand and agree that we should dress nicely for church. My question is whether or not the high standard is necessary. But where did the idea that suits and long dresses were the only appropriate attire. Is this Biblical? I mentioned to the anonymous poster that I’m not sure whether this pressure to look a certain way is from Pastor Taylor or just a vibe we get from others in the congregation. I’ll be praying for your Dad today. I hope he gets better soon!
barb
1480 days ago
Is the issue about wearing pants to church or wearing anything you want? I fully understand that what you wear does not make you spiritual, but what you wear does say alot about you. I remember seeing pics of you meeting Mike Huckabee. You would not have thought about wearing jeans and a t-shirt to meet him…..why? because of who you were going to see and of who he was. i think the same principle apply’s to church. People will feel welcome in our churches if we genuinely care for them and genuinely show them love, not because we are dressed or not dressed a certain way. The change is not in our dress but in our heart. Music, dress, whatever the issue, I believe if we passionately reflected the transforming Love of God in our lives, our churches would not be able to hold all the people! I have observed casual dress leads to a casual image of God. God is God….he is not just another one of “us.” God is Holy. He is perfect. He is beyond what our minds can fathom. Isaiah 40 is one passage that reflects His character. Is our purpose in church to make people feel comfortable or is it to reflect the transforming effect of God’s love in our life?Keri, I gotta get to work….love the debate!
Keri
1480 days ago
Well, technically I was dressed in Sunday clothes to meet Huckabee because I was coming from church:) I doubt you have ever seen me dressed down for a Sunday Service. I like dressing up for church, and absolutely I agree that we are coming to worship a Holy God. If I do not have time to change though, should I stay home or come? What about people off the street who come into our church? They might feel uncomfortable based solely on their attire. I know I’ve gone somewhere and was dressed “wrong” and felt uncomfortable myself. I’m not questioning the choice to dress up for church. I’m questioning the motivation behind the choice. I’m questioning the attitude of those of us dressed “appropriately” towards those who are not. An even bigger concern is that the poor among us may not feel welcome because of what they can afford to wear. Are we looking down on someone because they do not meet the standards we have created. In Luke 20 we have another passage where Christ tells about the scribes “And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46″Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” The scribes were dressing and putting on a show to make themselves and those around them think they were righteous. They were not. I know I have been guilty of this. It is part of my reason for raising the questions.
Deanna
1479 days ago
I am impressed! Your artical was well to the point of a discussion I have recently had with someone. The thing is and has been for YEARS is Satan wants us to loose focus of why we are really in God’s house. It works out both ways, we can “over dress” as well as come in to worship “as under dress”. As with my grandchildren we are teaching them what’s really important and that is our relationship with God and our testimony to others. It’s not the dress, tatoo’s and etc…that seperates us from God.I have had many many negitive experiences with dress mainly the “pant vs coulots” and I have forgiven those that have been negitive and turned it around and work on my “own” attitude towards things. I am not surprised with Karen’s statement about our Pastor because he is truly a man of God. I feel like Pastor Taylor and Pastor Altizer have truly raised me these last 14 years at Calvary to look to God and not to MAN! Thanks Keri for keeping us in focus to what the bible says! You have an awesome gift!
Dean Taylor
1479 days ago
No Suit, No Skirt, No ProblemThis will be brief – I wish I could say more but can’t right now. I agree with you Keri, and think you are stating your concern well. I know you are dealing more with the heart issue than pants/skirts etc. I hate it when “church” people don’t come because of how they happen to be dressed, concerned about what people will think. I hate the thought that “nonchurch” people might not come because they feel uncomfortable not dressing up – whether they can’t or just don’t want to. I also believe that there should be an accommodating and grace-driven attitude toward one another within the body of Christ regarding this and many “externals.” I will be preaching two messages May 17 and 31 am at Calvary on Worship On Purpose and will say more about this issue – both heart and practice. Blessings!
Keri
1479 days ago
Deanna, You are such an encouragment to me! I have been amazed by the comments from people telling me that this issue has been on their minds as well. It seems the Spirit is speaking to hearts.Pastor- Thank you so much for your comments. You are right about grace from everyone. I am fairly certain that if someone went to a more “casual” church all dressed up, the sentiment would often be the same way.
Martin LaBar
1469 days ago
I’m glad to attend a church where several men have worn jeans to the morning service on a regular basis. (Others wear sport coats, ties, and dress pants, or, sometimes, even a suit.) In most cases, after months or years, they have changed, and worn something less casual. I’m afraid that, if every man did that, it would keep other men, who possess only jeans, from coming to our church more than once.
The Par Family
1394 days ago
Ha! My husband just preached on this last Sunday a.m. using the John 12:1-8 passage and correlating it with Malachi 1:6-to the end of the chapter. My thoughts would be closest to Barb's comments and in a post I deleted earlier I ended it with "Give of your best to the Master." There was more I wanted to say so I deleted that one and started a new one.
(NOT because I made a mistake and I didn't want that out there for all to see! 
lol)There are so many thoughts running through my head but I'll start with this one. We live in a slob culture, or maybe it's a grunge culture now–take your pick. We also live at a time when "church" has become an evangelism tool and has very nearly lost what it actually was created to be . . . a place to WORSHIP a HOLY God. Worship or WORTH ship is giving our all, our best, sacrificially to the Worthy One. He is supposedly the MOST important person in my life, so I sincerely would make the "time" to dress myself UP in clothes to reflect that He's not just casually a last minute choice. I think I'd rather be a few minutes late to a church that truly holds God in that reverent and holy place than on time to one that I could attend as if I were in my "living room." I’m sorry if that sounded condescending . . . sincerely, I do not mean for it to be so. I am very passionate about giving back to God His glory and His worth-ship which really seems to be lost in the evangelical world/churches and now is creeping into fundamental circles. As far as whether or not Suits and Skirts are in the Bible — well there are a lot of things that are not in the Bible . . . Sunday School, Sunday evening services, etc., etc. I don't believe God would be pleased with me staying home from them just because I can't find them in the Bible. In John 12: Mary thought Jesus to be "worth" the very expensive ointment that was equivalent to a year's wages. Jesus was special; others did not warrant that devotion or sacrifice of a year's wages. In the Malachi reference the priests were being chastised for offering as a sacrifice a crippled animal, blind or blemished (not the best for the Lord–they were saving the best for themselves). That reference is perfect . . . "would you give a blind sacrifice to your 'governor,' why not see if he will think it a kindly gesture?" We are going to church to show that God is worth much more to us than being comfortable or making sinners comfortable. Church is for the believer to bring glory to His name, not for the sinner. Again, that does not mean we don't welcome sinners and love them to Christ. But I'm not going to dress down for the sinner who I'm trying to win to Christ–I'm dressing up to reflect my reverence and respect for Him alone.
Diane Heeney
1393 days ago
Hello Keri,Please pardon me for posting this here. I didn't know where else to put this inquiry, since the email address given on the home page does not seem to work. I came peeking around to see what was new, and noticed that our exchange on this post was deleted. If I said something offensive, please give me an opportunity to make it right. If you'd prefer to email me, that's great too. I know you have it. Thanks very much, friend.Blessings,Diane
Keri
1393 days ago
Hello,Diane- I do not remember ever deleting or reading a post from you on this article. I do remember one on my "Modesty" article, and I believe it's still there. You've never offended me in any way. I will figure out what is going on with my e-mail link! Please feel free to leave a comment~! The readers benefit from your godly wisdom.Par Family – I will post a response a little later. I am out of town so I'll have to wait until my kids get settled down. I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Dave Wolfe
1393 days ago
Par Family, I am sooo glad you decided to use so much scripture in your post! Since that's what really matters…let's talk about that. Hmmm, in the passage of John, it seems that the clothes topic is ignored. God doesn't say "Bless her b/c she honored me with beautiful clothes and an costly gift." Likewise, the gifts the priests were chastised for half-hearted giving (Malachi) were gifts that God commanded them to give (unlike clothing which God doesn't say anything about)…or does He? In 1 Pet 3:3 and 1 Tim 2:9 God says not to wear [paraphrasing] gold earrings, braided hair, and expensive clothes. My point here is that Paul would have only said this if these were things women were wearing (obviously). Apparently women were wearing their best, or something really close to it. Maybe Paul was wrong, maybe by some change in the last 2000 yrs, now wearing your best to church now displays the inward beauty from within. MAYBE now EXPENSIVE clothes = EXPENSIVE ointment to pour on Jesus' feet. For my part I'll just keep wearing my slacks and collared shirt which is definitely not my best.
Diane Heeney
1392 days ago
Keri,Thanks, dear. I thought perhaps it was another post similar to this, but when I clicked "modesty" in the side bar, I only came up with the link to Pastor Dean's sermon with the inner link to this post. Oh well. I appreciate your patience in any case. I was home ill yesterday, not rested, and thinking fuzzy. You are doing good work here. I still think you should get linked into the SI blogroll. I need some company over there. =)Blessings,Diane
The Par Family
1391 days ago
Sorry, it's taken a bit of time to get back here–not enough days in my HOURS!!
Enjoying the "debate." 
This would be in response to Dave Wolfe. I think first it would be good to establish whether or not it is possible to sin against God with one's appearance or clothes (Proverbs 7:10; Deuteronomy 22:5; I Timothy 2:9-10)Secondly, do clothes communicate a message? I believe all of the previous mentioned passages would say so. Also, in I Corinthians 11 the head covering communicated at this time–submission. Therefore, in a church worship setting are we to do everything and to present ourselves to God in such a manner that would communicate "what He is?" (Psalm 96:8, & 96:1-9). How one dresses, in any setting, is a reflection of one's evaluation of the importance of the host and the setting itself.Also, let's not misinterpret Mary's oil as it being the cost of the oil that demonstrated her worship to the Lord because annointing people with oil was an everyday, common event. However, when she did it "for the Lord" she did it "differently" in order to demonstrate He was different and deserved more from her.Lastly, "Paul cannot write under the power of inspiration" (cf. I Corinthians 2:9-13) and get anything wrong; that would be a direct assault upon God Himself. The verses you quoted were in the context of women dressing in an unseemly way that would draw undue attention to themselves most likely for sensual reasons. Likewise, {I want} women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, I Tim 2:9 NASB