Several months ago Christian rapper
Lecrae released a mixtape entitled Church
Clothes. The mixtape has gotten rave reviews from underground and
mainstream hip hop outlets such as allhiphop.com (see attached link) [http://allhiphop.com/2012/05/18/mixtape-review-lecraes-church-clothes/
] and XXL magazine. Lecrae has been making his way into more mainstream circles
as of late, especially since appearing in the BET Hip Hop Awards cypher last
year and unashamedly repping Jesus all the way through. I have another post
planned for Lecrae and his request to not be labeled as a “Christian” rapper
but just a rapper. This post, however, is to talk about the concept of the
aforementioned mixtape Church Clothes.
The concepts behind the project were 1) to make music that was more accessible
to those outside of the body of faith, and 2) to address one of the key reasons
and excuses the unchurched used for not coming to church: attire. One of the
first things you are likely to hear when inviting a friend to church is “I
don’t have anything to wear!” Why is this excuse so common? Why is it even an
excuse at all? On what grounds do we insist that people must dress up in order to come to church? While I believe many
would agree that they would not impose this on newcomers or those that cannot
afford “appropriate” attire, we impose it on each other. And even in the case
of those newcomers we teach that eventually they will “grow in grace” and come
dressed in a suit and tie. Where does this tradition come from? Is it just
tradition or does it have scriptural foundation? These are a few questions I
will explore in the coming paragraphs.
Dressing up for church is a fairly
recent phenomenon. It began in the late-eighteenth century with the Industrial
Revolution and really picked up by the mid-nineteenth century. Before this time
dressing up for social events or church was reserved for the very wealth,
mostly because only they could afford it![1]
The Industrial Revolution changed this by mass-producing textiles so that
clothing became more accessible and affordable to the common man. The middle
class was born, and with it the desire to emulate aristocracy.
Many Christian groups in the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries opposed this trend. John Wesley and
his Methodist movement along with Baptists and several others wrote against
expensive and flashy clothing.[2]
Ellen White even wrote to early Adventists about simplicity of dress.
Nonetheless, the rising middle class would not be tamed. They desired bigger
homes, better cars and flashier clothes.[3]
In 1843, an influential Congregational minister named Horace Bushnell published
an essay stating that sophistication and refinement were attributes of God and
that Christians should emulate them.[4]
Thus was born the idea of dressing up for church to please God. We see that
this idea has nothing to do with the Bible, Jesus or God at all, but everything
to do with status and showmanship. For many of us, church is just a time to
dress nice since we don’t get that opportunity during the week.
Why is this a big deal? It is a big
deal because real people with real issues feel that church isn’t for them.
Church is for people who “have it all together”, and this image of “having it
all together” is perpetuated by us dressing up. We look great on the outside
while the issues of the inside are hardly dealt with. If the church is truly
supposed to be a hospital for those sick with sin, then why are all the
doctors, nurses, and patients dressed like they are going to the governor’s
ball? Shouldn’t those in the hospital be in scrubs and hospital gowns? In the
same way, should not those of us in the church shed our elitist costumes and
present ourselves as we really are: real, broken people in need of saving
grace. There is a lack of intimacy, accountability and “realness” in many of
our churches. Perhaps if we shed all of our “put on” attitudes and attire we
will reach a place where we can be open and honest with each other about who we
really are. Maybe it’s time to shed our church clothes for true robes of righteousness.
If there is any goodness or merit
found here that goodness belongs to the Creator. If there is any fault or
shortcomings, those belong to me.
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