Of Hymns and Jeans

Last night I attended the evening worship service at a church other than the church of which I am a member. I started attending this other service because it is geared toward folks my age - college or recent post-college. I've been attending this service sporadically for the past 18 months or so. Here are a couple of my observations and frustrations with this group:

The Music
I know the style of music played in a worship service can be a divisive topic for many people. This group - which shall currently remain nameless - has a worship band complete with electric guitars, drums, bass, and keyboard. Don't get me wrong, these guys are talented musicians, and I think they do have the ability to lead people in musical worship; however, the repertoire of songs they play and to which we sing, is primarily limited to a couple dozen different contemporary worship songs or choruses. While I do enjoy these songs and the messages they contain, I do grow a little weary at the lack of variety therein. I fear we sing some of the same songs so often that instead of us singing the words in worship and really thinking about what we're singing, the words are being sung out of rote memory. I was thinking about this last night, and lamenting the fact that this group doesn't sing more hymns. There, in the pew in front of me was a hymnal, and I couldn't help but wonder when the last time it was put into use. During one of the prayers I started flipping through the pages of the hymnal and was just scanning some of the words in those songs and wished this group would take more advantage of all that great theology set to music. To my great joy, last night we did sing a hymn - "Jesus Paid It All" - and I was very happy we did so. Now, I say sing more. The challenge of course, will be finding that balance between doing the contemporary songs (most of which are very good) and some of the ol' timey hymns.

The Dress
Because this group meets in the evening and is seeker-sensitive and comprised mainly of people in their twenties, the dress is very casual. I have no problem with that, and generally wear jeans myself to this gathering. I also have no problem with the pastor giving the message wearing jeans, so long as those jeans don't look like the same kind you would wear when you're assin' it up on the couch in front of the T.V. (yes, I just used the word "assin'". In our house, it's a verb). Last night the pastor (who is in his late-twenties) wore jeans that were mostly all faded away and had about 5 or 6 holes in them. I could see the skin on his knee through one of the holes, and I wasn't even sitting that close to the front. Maybe that's how he bought the jeans (which is the topic for another post), but assuming he didn't buy them that way and they're just old, I really don't think they are appropriate to wear to a worship service, and especially not if you're going to be up front speaking. Perhaps he was just trying to "connect" with the folks in the audience, thinking they would be able to relate better to a speaker wearing ratty jeans. I really wonder though, if he had worn a pair of nice-looking jeans without holes, would someone there really have thought - "Man, I just can't connect with this guy. His style of dress is too stuffy for me"? Seriously.

I'm pretty sure my father and I had a discussion about this at one point. Of course God is more interested in the posture of people's hearts than what they are wearing when they come to a worship service. But we should never forget that when we go to a worship service (at a church building at least), we are going to worship God in a location and physical structure that has been identified and generally dedicated for that purpose - worship. Doesn't that deserve some kind of respect? I think that respect should be reflected in our dress. Again - jeans and casual dress can be okay, as long as the perspective is kept that you are going to a place worthy of respect, and your clothes don't lessen the "respectfulness" of the place or the activity in which you engage in that place.

Okay, so I know for some people all they literally have to wear to church may be old ratty-looking clothes. If that's the case then I don't care - come to church as you are, but be mindful of the attitude of respect and awe that should accompany a worship service. However, I know this young pastor is able to afford a decent pair of jeans, and as such I believe he should wear a decent pair of jeans.

Man, with my advocating for hymns and better dress in church I sound out-of-character for someone in their mid-twenties. Am I alone on this, or does anyone else have thoughts on this?

In closing, enjoy these words from Elvina Hall's hymn "Jesus Paid It All"

"I hear the Savior say, 'Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.'

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow."