DRESS UP! ARE YOU CRAZY?

I just returned from a great retreat with my campus students (a few of them in the picture) who are training to become leaders within the Campus Ministry. It was a wonderful time of discussing the Bible and issues that surround us today. The last morning we were there I went off alone while everyone, but the other leader that went along with me was asleep. During this time I read some of the Old Testament, which I have been reading lately during my devotions. It was here that another issue hit me regarding the church we attend on Sundays.

In the Old Testament we never see them refer to the church the way we do today, though back then it would be the temple where the ark was contained. For the purpose of this blog I will refer to the church and the Old Testament temple the same, because both places are and were used for worship purposes. They are both utilized as a central location where we come to pay homage to our Creator and give Him the praise and glory He rightfully deserves.

Why is it today we take going to church so lightly? We treat the church as if God is not there. During the time I was director of an inner-city ministry outreach in Charlotte, NC, I would have to ask people for money on a regular basis in order for the ministry to function. When I would go to meet with the donor(s) I would dress in a nice outfit and many times with a tie and jacket. As a matter of fact if I would have gone in just jeans and a t-shirt I probably would have not received the money, because they would not have believed that I was being respectful to them and did not truly care about what I was doing in ministry. Now, there were times when I did wear jeans and t-shirts, but it was when I was playing with the children I worked with or just going to spend the day in the office. But when I was to meet with people that could have an effect on the ministry, I was dressed appropriately and respectfully.

So, why is it we do not treat the church we attend with the same respect? Why do we allow our kids treat a place we go to worship our Savior as if they were going to a rock concert or to a local hang out. We tell people that God is first in our lives and that we are there to worship, but why not with the way we present ourselves for worship? We have downplayed this aspect of our worship and it has shown by the way we act and portray ourselves within the church. If you don’t believe me on this aspect, than try this little experiment. For a few weeks dress in your best outfit and go and worship at church, then dress in your blue jeans or shorts and a t-shirt and see if you mentally see the difference.

Why do you think counselors, psychologists, salesmen, and multi-level marketers tell you dress in your business attire even if you are not going to meet with anyone in person? Because they know that when you dress with a purpose your posture will line up with it. Why do you think they tell depressed people to make sure they groom appropriately? Because it helps start a positive attitude about yourself. Why not dress in a manner that will line us up with worshipping Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? He definitely deserves our best!!!

One example I always used with the young adults and college students I work with when they get angry for people judging them on their dress, is telling them that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is probably a duck. Meaning that if you walk like and dress like a gangster, skate boarder, goth, or banker then people will think you are those things. That is what you are portraying. What does our statement make when we you walk through the doors to worship God? Does it say you are there to commune and give respect to the Exalted One, or that you are more worried about being part of the cool crowd, attracting the opposite sex, or just plain do not really care?

Of course we all cannot afford Armani suits, but we usually have at least one pair of nice pants, and if not you can get a nice pair cheap during a sale at a department store. The woman who poured the perfume on Jesus did not grab the cheap bottle, thinking that it did not matter whether or not it was cheap or expensive as long as I made the attempt. No! She used the most expensive perfume to anoint Jesus. Why? Because He deserves our best. We don’t dress to impress others or to attract others, but we dress to demonstrate what we think about coming into the house of God.

Just as in Old Testament times and the New Testament, we need to build respect back into our worship. We need to come into the church demonstrating our attitude inward and outward. Our dress can indicate what our mentality towards our Savior is and it tells others what we think about coming to a house of worship. Why not give Jesus our best at least one day a week? Matthew 22:37 says, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” Does your presentation at church represent loving God in such a manner? Would your dress be an indicator of your love for Christ and demonstrate that as a witness to others?

TO CHURCH OR NOT TO CHURCH?

There seems to be a fad right now of attacking the church in one form or another today. I am referring to the church structure, as in coming to a building on Saturday or Sunday to worship. I think what bothers me most is that most of the attack is coming from within the Christian church (universal). I continue to hear excuses about why they do not want to go to church on Sunday to worship. I hear it from young adults to the older generation, and there seems to be every excuse in the book.

One I hear a lot lately is that it is hard to stay awake or focus on the sermon. Usually this comes from the younger generation. One easy answer is to go to bed earlier, as these same people seem to think that because it is Saturday that they should stay up all hours of the night playing video games, watching television or whatever else one does until early morning. Then they wonder why they cannot focus or pay attention for the whole 20 to 30 minutes the message is given to them. Why do we make sure we focus at our jobs, but not when we are worshiping the reason we have the lives we do, Jesus Christ, who provided our salvation.

Another reason they cannot focus in my opinion is because they have been so entertained in youth groups and in everyday society. Their attention span to anything deep has been dwindled down and down to the point that if their ears or eyes are not being amused then they lose interest. Because of this churches have become more like a circus then a time of worship through learning and singing. We make sure everything is timed accordingly and leave no room for God to move anymore. If it interrupts the service in some form then it cannot be of God. I digressed there a little. The point is we have taken the real reason out of church in order to cater to the people that really do not want to be there worshiping anyway.

Church to me is supposed to be for the believer, where we gather together to worship our Creator through song and message. I am not suggesting that we go back to Gregorian Chants, though I like those, but that we stop trying to tickle the ears of the people that are just there because they were dragged there by a spouse or parent. We need to turn the church back into a place where the Inerrant Word of God is taught, where the Trinity is the forefront of our focus and not the joke in the sermon or the style of worship (contemporary or traditional). We need to start challenging the believer and start talking about sin and righteousness in a more profound manner then cliché and fluff surrounded by stories regarding a television show or the most recent sporting event.

“So and so offended me” or “the preacher does this or that I do not like,” are other excuses not to go to church. If everyone were to stop going to church because someone or the pastor said something to offend them there would be no one at church. Unfortunately that happens in the family of God here on earth just as it happens within our own family, but instead of working it out we make it an excuse not to go to church and be with our eternal family. It is a good thing that we do not treat our families like we treat the church, there would be no family left. Why do we treat the family of God this way? Ultimately it hurts us, as we lose the opportunity to worship God the way He deserves and commands. He is a jealous God. We need to quit putting ourselves before Him. Where is God in your life?

We need to change our perspective about why we go to church. We have lost the real reason. We think we go to church for us, but we do not. We do go to church for ourselves, but not in the way most people think; we go to church to worship God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), God the Holy Spirit. We do not go to get our ears and eyes tickled by contemporary worship, power point sermons, and flowery sermons. We go because we realize what Jesus did for us through the cross and resurrection. We go to demonstrate our love to God and because we want to worship Him with all our heart, soul and mind. Do you go to church to be entertained or to be filled?

If you are not going because you think church is boring, or because you cannot focus on the sermon, or someone offended you, then you need to really rethink why you come to church. Who is the church for in your life? You or God?

Lover of Jesus

The poem you are about to read is titled, "Lover of Jesus," and was a poem I read at my Nannie's funeral. She was a great example of what it meant to be someone who desired Jesus over everything else. I was honored to be chosen to say a few words for the grandchildren, as my grandfather, her husband, was my hero in life. He died many years before her, but she was his princess and because of that it was a greater honor to write this poem for her as not only a tribute to a great woman, but also a tribute to my grandpa.

She passed away in March of 06' and this is the poem I wrote and had the privilege of reading.

Lover of Jesus

She believed in the blood of Jesus

Lived her life by His Word.

Nanny never doubted the resurrection

She always lived within that protection.

Even though she had to leave us

There is one thing that was always known.

She is a lover of Jesus

One can tell by the seeds she has sown.

On Your Own!

My wife left for the day with my two girls and I had the place to myself for a few hours. What better way to waste that time then to watch a movie? I was just going to watch a movie I had seen many times, as I was not feeling well and was planning on falling asleep for a few hours. For some reason I decided to look through the movies that my mother had given me to watch. I had watched two already and they were just brain dead movies, comedy and action. While looking I saw "Annapolis" and decided to throw it in and see what it was about. It would turn out that I was very glad I did, as it is a great movie with a very relative message for today.

You will not go wrong watching this movie. It delivers in a fresh and gripping way that no one is an island in this world and we need each other. It also deals in a realistic fashion that life does not always go our way and the good guy does not always win in the way that movies try to portray. Of course, you cannot seem to get away from the love story built into the plot as all movies seem to need, but they do it in a more realistic fashion. I can only recall a couple of instances with foul language and there was only one kiss in the whole movie, though there is a scene where the main characters’ buddies fool him into believing that a woman in a bar they frequented was a call girl they had bought for him for the night. The call girl is not one and ultimately plays an important role in the movie.

I started thinking about the church today while watching this movie. The gist of the film is that a young man kept pushing and finally made it into the Naval Academy. He is a loner and does not want help from anyone, but unfortunately life does not work that way and Annapolis teaches this lesson of life. Through out the academy he continues to try to make it on his own when in reality there is no way he can without the help of the other students. It is done this way purposely; as it teaches everyone has something to offer in their own special way.

In this same fashion God created the church to be the same way. People come in with the whole intention of doing everything themselves and that just does not work in the family of God. He has given us each gifts that will correspond and compliment the gifts of others. It is nearly impossible to walk through this life on our own apart from the body of Christ. "Annapolis" does a great job of projecting this philosophy throughout the film. If you try it alone you will wind up angry, frustrated, and lonely.

One last area that impressed me was they stayed pretty honest to real life. One young man in the film talks about only hearing his father tell him he was proud of him twice in his life and one was when he made it into the Naval Academy. Unfortunately he does not pass the obstacle course requirement, and he ultimately tries to kill himself because he felt he failed his father and everyone in his town. No matter how hard we try to please everyone and try to be perfect we will fail and if we do not have the saving faith of what it is to live for Christ the world will beat us down, as it did this character in the movie.

Thankfully, there is an answer and that is living for an audience of One, God. Of course we always want to make our parents proud, but it helps to know that ultimately we are loved unconditionally by Jesus and that even though things in this world may not end up as we wished they did, we can rest assured that in the next life we will enjoy eternity with God the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost. Of course the only way to be assured of this is through salvation; believing in Christ as Savior and Lord.

In the hospital room the two roommates are talking and the young man that tried to kill himself looks at his friend and says, “I have gotten my second chance and I am not going to waist it. And you better not waist yours.” Though he was not talking about anything spiritual, it can be used as a great application for a spiritual lesson. Christ offers that second chance free of charge by just believing in Him as Savior and Lord. Confessing with your mouth that He is Lord and you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead three days letter, defeating death forever. Do this and you will earn your second chance. Then the question is, “What will you do with your second chance?” Do not waist it.