Sunday, November 11, 2007

Come As You Are

I should be at church this morning instead of at home, blogging, but I've been sick the past two days, and whereas I feel good enough to get out, I'm still sniffly and coughing and head-achy and easy-to-tire, and just don't feel like getting around to make myself presentable. If my brethren at church didn't mind me showing up unwashed and in sweat pants, I'd be there.

Reminds me of a slogan I saw on the side of some sort of church-group bus the other evening: "Come as you are; Leave different". That strikes me as a much more accepting place than the typical church of Christ that expects you to wear shoes and generally "fit in". I know the arguments put forth for "presenting your best", but I'm not sure I buy into those arguments (especially since "presenting your best" never seems to mean "wearing a tux"). I tend to believe the "Cowboy Church" and "Bum Street Meeting" ideas have merit -- Come as you are; Leave different.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is an old and dirty problem with modern American churches. That is, so very many assume their cultural biases are the Word of God. Giving your full self to God is what's demanded, not simply "your best." The latter is derived from the Law, whereas the former is the basic element of the New Covenant in Christ's blood. It boils down to dressing up to make some human comfortable, and perhaps serves to soothe over their need to examine whether their assumptions stand up to the light of God's Word. At our home worship, there are no such costume expectations.