Compliments at Church

[J_Mimbs]

Mark, that's a great idea. That might be the perfect time to try it.

Now I just need to get a nice kilt; I'm not sure my SWK Economy will cut it!

[Father Bill]

Good grief, lad - anybody's welcome in my churches in anything except that which is blatantly disrespectful of religion or people. Pony tails? Sure! Long hair? Sure!

By the way... who said Jesus had long hair? Although a lot of folks in that day and place did, I'm not aware of any contemporary photos to corroborate the fact.

[Tobus]

And per the rest of the thread, I've never understood the basis for most of the dressing conventions for church other than it is a cultural tradition. Even after years of Bible study to figure out other's issues with my beard and pony tail I don't get it. It's so nice to know that there are many more congregations that, while following their Biblical teaching, don't get all caught up in the the "traditions made by men" and just love folks.

While it may be "traditions made by men", and largely irrelevant to actual worship, one cannot necessarily discount the issue of respect and decorum. Church is very much indeed a social gathering, and one cannot escape social conventions without inadvertently causing offense or feelings of disrespect.

Of course, every congregation will be different, and there are no hard-and-fast rules that apply everywhere.

But in the end, church is not necessarily the place to make fashion statements or social statements. That would be contrary to the purpose of it. Church is for meeting with fellow parishioners for the purpose of worshipping. Given that worship, by definition, entails respect and humility, it makes perfect sense that man-made traditions for proper church dress would revolve around garments that are respectful and humble.

I certainly don't mean to preach at you about it (pun intended), but that's just the traditional way I was raised (being the son of a Methodist preacher). I was taught that worship services are not the place to make it about "me", but about the actual worship. After-church activities like luncheons, group activities, etc., are more suited to wearing clothing in the more casual category, with plenty of room for personal flair.

Obviously none of this should have anything to do with whether the folks at church love one another, etc. But the older I get, the more I see the value in the art of decorum that is appropriate to the event. For worship, it all revolves around respect and humility. A beard and ponytail are part of who you are, and I would agree that these things shouldn't be changed (although they should be clean, combed, and otherwise well-groomed for church). But exterior things like clothing, which are daily choices on how one presents oneself to others, should be chosen with appropriateness in mind.

Is it a man-made tradition? Well, of course. But a good many church traditions are. And again, each church (as well as each congregation) will have its own traditions and levels of tolerance for bucking tradition. You just have to play it by ear in your own situation. But if you feel like you're pushing the edge of tradition, then chances are everyone else thinks so too. And I would almost guarantee you that whether they say something or not, they will at least be thinking in their minds that it's a tad disrespectful.

I hope my comments are taken in the spirit they were given; not trying to be judgmental or anything. Just responding to the point you brought up.

[lukeyrobertson]

I'm a pastor and I often wear my kilt to church, usually on Sundays when I'm not the one presiding. I am sometimes conscious of "standing out" and often find that a bit of a balancing act because the THCD style of dress is eye-catching to say the least and for the most part unconventional. So we kilties do have to be somewhat mindful of that within the context of Sunday morning worship and fellowship. That being said, my congregation is becoming more accustomed to seeing me as one of their pastors in a kilt from time to time. It's becoming less of a distraction for the most part. And that's what I hope for. When people at church sachet up to me and say, "What's the special occasion?" I say, "It's Sunday!"

[biblemonkey]

I'm a pastor and I often wear my kilt to church, usually on Sundays when I'm not the one presiding. I am sometimes conscious of "standing out" and often find that a bit of a balancing act because the THCD style of dress is eye-catching to say the least and for the most part unconventional. So we kilties do have to be somewhat mindful of that within the context of Sunday morning worship and fellowship. That being said, my congregation is becoming more accustomed to seeing me as one of their pastors in a kilt from time to time. It's becoming less of a distraction for the most part. And that's what I hope for. When people at church sachet up to me and say, "What's the special occasion?" I say, "It's Sunday!"

Aye. And now my fellow worshipers notice more when I'm NOT in a kilt!

[lukeyrobertson]

That is good news, good sir. I think that's starting to happen at my place too.

[Mike_Oettle]

lukeyrobertson wrote: “When people at church sashay up to me and say: ‘What's the special occasion?’ I say: ‘It's Sunday!’ ”

That’s my response too (on Sundays, that is).
The rest of the week I just say: “I like wearing the kilt.”
Regards,
Mike

[Riverkilt]

Kinda weird that as thick as "The Book" is there's not a quote in there somewhere to support a man in a kilt. With all the Padres and theologians on this board I'm guessing we'd have found it by now if there was.

And while, as pointed out earlier, there is no photographic evidence - it seems that over the ages painters have chosen to represent "The man" as long haired, bearded, and wearing unbifurcated garments.

If I were ever confronted about any of those three conditions - all of which I'm guilty of - I'd just silently point to one of those paintings.

[Bugbear]

Kinda weird that as thick as "The Book" is there's not a quote in there somewhere to support a man in a kilt. With all the Padres and theologians on this board I'm guessing we'd have found it by now if there was.

And while, as pointed out earlier, there is no photographic evidence - it seems that over the ages painters have chosen to represent "The man" as long haired, bearded, and wearing unbifurcated garments.

If I were ever confronted about any of those three conditions - all of which I'm guilty of - I'd just silently point to one of those paintings.

Well, Ron, Mike_Oettle and I have discussed John the Baptist's clothing being somewhat similar to the belted plaid.
I'm not a bible scholar, a preacher, or a theologian, though, so I really have no idea.

I do have long hair. I usually point to the long-haired, American founding fathers, like George Washington, that are depicted on our money and such, when it comes up.

Ehh, what do I know?

[Mike_Oettle]

The long and the short of it is that nobody mentioned in the Bible wore trousers.
The garments were all unbifurcated.
And in all of Israel the only men you would find wearing underpants (if you had the temerity to look) would have been the priests in the sanctuary of the Temple.
So much for what men are expected to wear in church.
Regards,
Mike