Change is constantly occuring. For example I’ve seen change in Sunday dress at worship services. Shorts for one thing. This is something unheard of just 10 years ago in this particular church. Yet it seems to be a common occurance these days. Almost as if someone were vacationing in Hawaii.
Yet I have made comments on this blog about how I enjoy worshipping in a relaxed environment away from the stuffiness of a formal worship service. I’ve remarked how shorts should be allowed on mission trips in tropical environments.
So why does a change in dress code leave me scratching my head? I guess its that old saying that you should offer God your best in your worship service. So why would some churchgoers tend to dress down…to shorts…on a Sunday morning? In an office environment, for whatever reasons or another, we are expected to wear suits or at least khakis. Why does an office environment get top billing in the wardrobe environment compared to Sunday morning worship?
I think alot more unchurched people are visiting our worship service these days. This is a good thing. After all salvation should never be an inheritance passed down from generation to generation, never shared with those on the outside.
I guess we’ve become relaxed. Maybe. Relaxed about certain things. Uptight about other things.

But Jesus said to them, �A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.�
Mark 6:4
I have preached at a handful of congregations in the past. Notably twice in Scottsville. I’ve given devotionals, taught classes, among many other duties. The place that I do get the most anxious about is doing so at my own congregation. I would never think of giving a short devotional at my home congregation. In some sense, I am even apprehensive about teaching a Sunday school class at my home congregation. As the verse states above, even Jesus was rejected in his hometown.
It’s the same concept when you go back for your high school reunion. You always try to highlight your successes. But somehow you always see yourself being pigeonholed into the same label you were given in high school. Which is probably why I skipped my 10 year reunion.
Now imagine being at your high school reunion every Sunday. People who have watched you grow up are there. Whether they view you in a negative or positive light is not really upto you. Instead they judge you from what you did 20 years ago.
Sure, the church family tends to have a turnover of such every five years or so. I experienced this phenomenon when I came home from college and found I really didn’t know anybody there anymore. However there are still people there who knew you as a child or teenager. People there who are willing to unfairly judge you.
I think people who have grown up in their church, and still attend their church well into adulthood face some diffculty in asserting themselves socially. Older members will tend to unfairly put one up on a pedestal. Being an elder’s son, I consciously seem to think that people put me up on an even higher pedestal, expecting more out of me than I can produce. Still others don’t give me the benefit of the doubt, choosing instead to treat me like the child which grew up there.
So in a sense, I feel more comfortable being a visitor at a small rural congregation in Sumner County or Kentucky, rather than being a member in my own home congregation. Psychologically it can be draining.

Just looking back I’ve realized that I miss my home church. You see, somehow my eyes have been opened to how things really do work. Unfortunately I’ve seen the nasty side of things, which I don’t want to revisit. I wish I could go back to a simplier time. The only thing that should matter is one’s personal relationship with the Almighty.
So I miss how things were. I miss the innocence of it all. I miss being able to trust people. I know that I’m a stronger man for having gone through certain negative situations. I’ve grown because of it. Yet this growth was unexpected, but terribly needed. Growth is never expected. Sometimes it comes as a slap in the face.
Churches, like all earthly institutions, will have its faults. I don’t know of a perfect church out there. Churches are made up of imperfect people who are made perfect through divine intervention.
Maybe its not my home church that has changed. Maybe its me that changed.
And maybe I need to realize that it’s not *my* church, but the bride of Jesus.

I was going through some old church bulletins and found this article from April 29, 1984. (queue Footloose theme)

Parents Please Don’t Let Your Teens Go to the Prom
Dancing is a sin. Wait, don’t quit reading. Let me explain. Simply defined, “Dancing consists int he rhythmical movement of any or all parts of the body in accordance with some scheme of of individual or concerted action which is expressive of emotion or ideas.” – Encyclopedia Britanica. Notice, “…body movements…expressive of emotions….” This is the problem of dancing, whether it be the embracing or standing apart and moving the body. The real appeal of dancing is the sex appeal. if not, why do men not dance with men and girls with girls? Can a person with normal sexual drives embrace another or see the movements of the modern dance without being excited? If one can, can his partner? If both can, how long could they? If both can, what about their influence? What does sexual excitement lead to?
Not only that, but dancing is scriptually wrong! It is clearly in the class of “lasciviousness” which means among other things, “…inciting to lust or wantonness.” – J. H. Thayer. Lasciviousness is condemned as one of the works of the flesh, Galatians 5:19-20. It is condemned in 2 Corinthians 12:21; Ephesians 4:19; 1 Peter 4:3 and Jude 1:4. Galatians says that “…they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Does this not mean something to a Christian parent who loves the soul and morals of his child? Does this not mean something to Christian young people who want so much to please God?
Supervising the dance cannot make it right either. Supervision cannot control the mind of the dancers. All the school teachers, police, and parents in town can’t do it. If it’s wrong in the night club, it’s wrong in the school gym.
Parents, please, please, consider these things and impress the importance on the minds of your children. DON’T LET THEM GO TO THE PROM.
The 20th Annual Junior/Senior Christian Banquet will be Friday Evening, May 4 at the Opryland Hotel. Parents, encourange your young people to attend this banquet.
–The Wingate Winner

The line about “Supervision cannot control the mind of the dancers” is classic. Supervision cannot control the minds of attendees to the Junior/Senior Christian Banquet either. Who knows? Those attending the banquet might have an impure thought about their date.
I’m not going to argue about lasciviousness being a sin. Obviously it is a sin. However putting so much emphasis on one act – dancing at the prom – is overkill. In today’s day and age there are alot worse things which could be done besides dancing…

The ACLU could potentionally have a field day with this one.
It’s not that I don’t care for Gospel Meetings. I just find it unusual/amusing/strange that a church would be advertising on a public school marquee. Doesn’t this violate the idea that the government should endorse religion?
Someone at WWMS must have some kind of pull. I’m trying to decide who it might be. Maybe its even the guy who has a key to the lettering box.

These scriptures were told over and over to me growing up.
If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Matthew 5:41
..If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 5:39
Its important to remember that Jesus was speaking to an oppressed people under Roman domination. The scriptures above deal with how they should interact with their oppressors. The Jews were a proud people. They felt good about their heritage. They were looking for the Messiah to redeem their people from their earthly oppression. These verses were meant to show a sense of humility and love for one’s enemies.
However too many times those with low self esteem tend to take the above verses to an extreme. You can only go the extra mile so many times and turn your cheek so many times before you break down emotionally.
Above all else is the 2nd greatest command:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22:39
The requirement for loving your neighbor is to love yourself. How can one love their neighbor if they do not love themselves? Having a good image of oneself is in God’s plan.
Too many times I have bent over backwards to please others in order to feel better about myself. The mistake that I was making was that I was trying to be a people pleaser. I felt that I had to be perfect in order for others to like me. Subconsciously others saw this and took full advantage of my willingness to help. I was used. Many times people waited until the last minute to give me things or to plan activities. And I gleefully accepted in order to win their friendship.
God doesn’t want this. God wants me to feel good about myself because I am a unique individual created in the image of God, not because of what I do for others. I should want to do good because of God’s grace, not because I feel like I have something to prove. I shouldn’t feel obligated to help someone just because they request it. The best word for me right now is “no.”

On my way to work I pass by 2 things which I seem to take for granted.

• Old Hickory Lake – Even though this is a manmade lake, sometimes it provides some spectacular views….such as those cold mornings where fog creeps off the surface of its waters. There are those times when I’m driving home and see the sun setting on the horizon on the waters. The unfortunate thing is that I never visit the lake. There are some people living in ordinary corn fields of Kansas who have no lake in sight, who would love to have a lake like this in their backyard.
• Andrew Jackson’s Home – The Hermitage. Bordered by encroaching commericalism – a Kroger on the east side; a Sonic and Retirement Home on the west side – this estate provides a brief route of beauty in a concrete jungle of capitalism on my way to work….Untouched fields of scenery…Tall trees which were damaged but not destroyed by a 1998 tornado. Regardless of what you think of Andrew Jackson himself, one cannot argue with the beauty of his estate.

Both of these places started out as something ordinary. God turned them into something extraordinary.
God took a group of fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, among many others and turned them into great leaders of the faith. If Jesus had not come into the lives of these people, no doubt they would have continued to be ordinary people.
He turned ordinary water to wine at the wedding of a friend (John 2:1-11). No doubt many wedding guests were too drunk to realize the unique taste of the wine, nor the miracle that had just occurred. They were too busy with their own lives.
Many times we fail to see the beauty in life. We fail to allow God to use us to make our lives extraordinary.

I had been told all my life that you should always wear your Sunday best to church. I’ve been doing some research on this, and as it turns out, dress might not be that important to God.
It is very possible that Jesus did not have fine apparel. Jesus did not have a permanent place of residence (Matthew 8:20). It is likely he carried around all his possessions with him on his journeys. I feel fairly certain that Jesus probably only had one outer garment. Who knows – it might not have been white as the movies and tv shows would have us to believe.
John the Baptist was even more poorly dressed according to our standards. He wore the skins of camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4). If someone showed up church with the equivalent of John’s wardrobe…perhaps with a shirt and pants that he or she made, would they be acceptable for worship?
Guess what? God doesn’t care how you’re dressed. In fact He condemned showing partiality in James 2:2-4. Don’t judge someone according to how they are dressed. Don’t wear fine apparel to be showy (1 Timothy 2:9).
I am not sure why we choose to dress up for Sunday morning, and then dress down for Sunday night and Wednesday night worship services. Anytime we worship God is equally important, no matter where we are. Could it be that sometimes we get caught up in tradition with wearing ties for Sunday morning. Are our hearts right when we worship God? Are we too concerned with the latest fashion and who’s wearing what, rather that our own personal worship with God? Are we becoming too dressy on occassion and discouraging people who don’t have the lastest fine apparel from worshipping with us?
Our heart HAS to be right with God. If it isn’t, then all of our showy apparell and worship is in vain. Your “Sunday Best” might be your heart.

One thing that’s been notably absent from the late night monologues is the death of the pope. Sinead O’Connor taught us that lesson. Don’t offend Catholics and you’ll keep your audience.
VH1’s Best Week Ever didn’t mention the death at all, only making a passing reference to the audience campaigning to be the next pope. The answer to their arbitrary question of “Who is having the best week ever?” It’s certainly not the pope.
Yet this situation has provided for some good banter around the workplace.
Most notably:

• They didn’t embalm the body. Somehow the verse John 11:39 comes to mind: “..By this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days…”
• The pope’s ruby red “there’s no place like home” slippers. I suspect it was the house that killed him.
• Could the Vatican afford a casket for viewing purposes? Did we need to show the pope…including ALL of the pope just laying out there for the whole world to see? No thank you. I’d rather not see a corpse early in the morning as I eat my breakfast.
• An ongoing questions I’d ask my coworkers each day is “Is the pope still dead?” Yes, he’s still dead. I just checked CNN. I’ll let you know if the situation changes. I guess some people might expect him to rise after 3 days.

Catholicism seems to be a religion frozen in time. Just watching Pope John Paul II’s funeral reminds me of how life was like during the Middle Ages of Europe. This is all strange to me. The dress of the clergy, which probably hasn’t changed since the Middle Ages; Using Latin as the language of choice for much of the service… It all ads up to a religion who’s prime was during the Middle Ages, and has refused to change to adapt to society.
Certainly all the Pomp and Circumstance is always very interesting. But I think they’ve lost the fact that God is love. God doesn’t neccessarily care for empty rituals. He cares about your heart. Catholics have been caught up in empty rituals and forgotten that God is love.
It makes me glad to be a part of a fellowship which is so simple. Adhering to the Bible and without much rituals.
Interesting piece: John Paul II, a popular pope, but not a great one