Monthly Archives: October 2009

“Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.” Luke 20:46

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:9

Every Sunday morning, millions of Christians throughout the world put on their best clothes to attend Sunday morning church. But no one seems to question why. Hundreds of thousands of pastors wear special garb that separates them from their congregants. And no one seems to care.

Admittedly the dress has become more casual in a number of churches over the past few decades. A person dressed in denim can walk into the sanctuaries of many churches today without getting dirty looks. Yet dressing up for church is still a common practice in many churches.

What’s the big deal about “dressing up” for church? It is hardly a burning issue. However, it is what dressing up for represents that is the burning issue.

First, it reflects the false division between the secular and the sacred. To think God cares one whit if you wear dressy threads on Sunday to “meet Him” is a violation of the New Covenant. We have access to God’s presence at all times and in all circumstances. Does He really expect His people to dress up for a beauty pageant on Sunday morning?

Second, wearing attractive, flashy clothes on Sunday morning screams out an embarrassing message: that church is the place where Christians hide their real selves and “dress them up” to look nice and pretty. Think about it. Wearing your Sunday best for church is little more than image management. It gives the house of God all the elements of a stage show: costumes, makeup, props, lighting, ushers, special music, master of ceremonies, performance, and the featured program.

Dressing up in for church violates the reality that the church is made up of real people with messy problems—real people who may have gotten into a major-league bickering with their spouses just before they drove into the parking lot and put on colossal smiles to cover it up!

Wearing our “Sunday best” conceals a basic underlying problem. It fosters the illusion that we are somehow “good” because we are dressing up for God. It is a study in pretense that is dehumanizing and constitutes a false witness to the world and the church.

Let’s face it. As fallen humans, we are seldom willing to appear to be what we really are. We almost rely on our performance or dress to give people a certain impression of what we want them to believe we are. All of this differs markedly from the simplicity that marked the early church.
A few years ago when I was in the institutionalized church I was given a task to lead a group called “Victims to Victory”. Think about it that name within itself causes a division between classes of people in the church. The ministry was for people who were going through different problems in life. Let’s face it. Who is not! Those who dressed up on Sunday to support their image including the pastor dared to come to the meeting. Let the truth be told we are all victims of sin and we all need to come naked before God. But, because of the costumes we wear to cover up who we really are is keeping us from being naked and not ashamed.

Let’s face it. As fallen humans, we are seldom willing to appear to be what we really are. We almost always rely on our performance or dress to give people a certain impression of what we want them to believe we are. Dressing up for church has caused us to dress up the church into a brunch religious bigots. We have staged the next most popular soap operas were people are in “Search for Tomorrow” mode. People who are expecting God to give them something to fix their sin which they have dressed up into problems unwilling to admit. People who are expecting “Another Life” however, unwilling to give up this one for Christ. People who confess how good God is in “Days of our Lives” but, He doesn’t seem good enough for us to love our follow brothers and sisters in Christ.

In short, to say that the Lord expects His people to dress in fine clothing when the church gathers is to add to the Scriptures and speak where God has not spoken. Given people the false impression it you just come to church and learn to dress up your sin so no one really sees them everything will be alright. I know you are saying we don’t say that to anyone. You may not with your mouth. However, the actions of bishops, pastors, ministers, deacons and laymen who refuse to become naked before God and are hiding in the garden of their sins.

Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Genesis 3:9-11
No different from today’s church, we have become ashamed of our nakedness and are trying to hide it from God with our costumes and make-up.

www.kennypittman.org

Thanks Kelvin Dougherty, it does amaze me sometime how offensive people become when you question character, especially of leaders. People are so quick to say we are not to judge, when I can ask a question that is biblically based, yet I am quickly judged. However I love judgment from people, I have learned to use them as pre-tests preparing me for the post-test. If we can’t or will not grow into maturity of the whole word of God and be able to question, challenge, hold accountable and talk about our responsibilities as children of God serving as His ambassadors without being offended, whose children are we really? The word of God helps us judge our motives, look at our faults and His grace gives us the opportunity to change.

I have served as a servant of God for eighteen years in the church. Over those years I been involved in many ministries, served as team leader, teacher, assist pastor and lead pastor. As I begin to watch and study over the years I begin to see things that I was being taught that did not line up with the word of God, yet because of my reverence for the men and the church I served, I never questioned my teaching or our actions. In the later years as I watched the fire, zeal and glory fade from God to my pastor, church and my willingness to beat down anyone who came up against them. However, there was a small piece of coal deep down on the inside of me that refused to fade out for God, and that small piece of coal kept me up night after night reading and studying God’s word in search of that I knew was missing –in spite of the perceived success within the local body.

That small piece of coal deep down within the fibers of my heart begin to get hotter and hotter until it begin to rekindle the fire and fear I had for God within my heart. At that moment the Holy Spirit begin to question my thoughts, teachings, actions and motives—the very questions I do and will boldly ask my follow brother and sisters who labor in our Father’s vineyard.

Not only have the questions I ask been asked of me, even so I was found guilty by my own truthful answers—I had sinned against God and His people. The very things I had been taught, told to do and watched carried out in church—in the name of Jesus. Now because of the ability not to be offended by God’s word questioning me, I was now on my knees before my righteous God repenting. Instead of receiving my just reward, God’s grace covered me—sit me down and sent me out of the institutionalized church. For seven months God ministered, restored and reassigned me. As the church brewed up speculation and factorizations—God was doing a revalidation.

Not only did I repent to God, I have openly and privately apologized to everyone I or (we as the church) I knew had been hurt directly or indirectly by my actions or the directives given to me that “I” boldly carried out.

If we can’t search out God’s word to change us, willing to ask of ourselves and each other the tough questions pertaining to godly principles according to God’s word, willing to admit our shortcomings, willing to say Father I have sinned against and before You—where’s the hope for change?

Humility and openness is the key to God’s word changing our carnal state and the state of our communities.