From the Pastor’s Desk (67)
We had our annual pulpit exchange last Sunday. Pastor Chai came to New Life and gave us the message as I did the same to the Korean congregation. It was good to hear from many of you that you truly appreciated and learned a lot from Pastor Chai’s message. I also had a great time worshipping with and delivering the message to them.
Whenever I go over to the Korean congregation to speak I always put on a suit and a tie. I do it because it’s their culture and it’s expected of me to do it. They would have a very difficult time hearing my message and being blessed by it if I were not in formal attire during Sunday worship. It’s unthinkable for a first generation Korean pastor not to dress up on Sunday. It’s like their 11th commandment! And this is not only true with them; it’s true with many other traditional churches all across ethnicity and all across the world!
When I came over to the gym after the Korean congregation’s second worship service was over, many of you saw me and complimented me by saying how great I looked. And I thank you for that.
I thought it would be a good time to tell you of my personal conviction regarding Sunday dress. There is a reason why people started to dress up on Sundays when they went to church to worship God. It all goes back to the 4th century AD when the Roman Emperor, Constantine, allegedly became a Christian. After he saw the cross of Jesus Christ in his vision, he started to encourage and promote Christianity all over the empire. He allowed people to build huge church buildings with expensive materials and often went around to visit different churches in different cities. When people would find out that the emperor was coming to their town to visit the church, they all decked themselves with fine clothes and went to church, not to impress God but to impress the emperor. The church worship service, unfortunately, often turned into pageantry!
This is how it all began and I think you will agree with me that is not a good reason to dress up on Sundays. I have a very difficult time picturing Jesus dressing up to go to a synagogue to worship his Father!
There are a few other reasons why I choose not to dress up too formally. The first is the functional reason. Often there are things that need to be done on Sundays either before or after worship. We need to set up and clean up the worship area. We serve in our infants and toddlers’ ministries and often need to hold them to take care of them. We carry things around from here to there. These would be very uncomfortable to do if we are all dressed up and become hindrance to serving. Therefore, I prefer functional over the formal.
The second is to prevent showiness in the church. We are to present our best to God in worship and that includes honoring God in our dress. That means clean, good, modest attire that do not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves, because it’s all about God, not ourselves. But many of us have had church experiences where too often, in the name of honoring God, wealth or worldly values were exploited. Worship services looked more like fashion shows like the Constantine times. Many seekers are either tempted to keep up or turned off by them, never to give the gospel a chance.
The third is the climate reason. Houston gets very hot and humid. I don’t like to sweat and suffer wearing formal clothes. Jesus told us to work hard and suffer for him and his kingdom as we share the gospel message with those around us, but not by wearing suit and tie!
These are the reasons why I wear functional, comfortable and business casual attire that everyone can afford. For the Korean congregation or whoever’s culture should demand, I choose to dress appropriately in order not to offend them or be a stumbling block and shortchange the gospel message I carry. My desire for NLF, however, would be that you would also choose to dress to worship and serve God best.
I think it will be fun to dress up on Sundays every once in a while, but wearing comfortable and functional clothes that don’t hinder you from serving in various ministries is more desirable. Remember, God is more concerned about your inner motive and desire for wearing certain clothes on Sundays than how you look on the outside.
Your pastor,
Eric
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