What should I wear to church?

I found this in my email drafts folder. It was originally intended for the worship team at my home church which I was a part of, and I guess this never got sent. The question is really about whether or not we should dress up to church. I recall I started writing this email because my team leader imposed a strict rule on us worship team members: no jeans! But I wanted to wear jeans, as I do wear my best for God on Sundays and most of the congregation wears jeans to church too — I don’t want them to feel unwelcomed, as if they need to live up to a certain dress-code or unwritten church standard in order to be accepted!

Anyways, I’m in Louisville now… and I’m afraid of wearing jeans to church in fears of being shunned LOL “You’re a seminary student @ Southern?!–and you’re wearing jeans to church–are you crazy?!” Jokes But still, it’s something to think about…
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Hi team,
Interestingly enough, I just read this article about church dress code from Pastor Mark Driscoll on his website.

Here’s a brief excerpt:

A while back “Dear Abby” was asked a missional theology question. A debate ensued when one of her readers asked if people should be expected to dress up for church. The responses were all over the map…

The entire exchange raises an interesting series of questions, such as:

* If God is our Father and the church is our family, should we view going to church services as a formal event or a family event?

* If we are to welcome the poor and socially outcast, does a dress code essentially push such people away from church?

* If people become overly worried about their appearance instead of their heart, are they like the Pharisees that Jesus chastised for only washing the outside of the proverbial cup?

* Is the church building somehow a magical sacred space like the Old Testament Temple? Or is it simply a place where God’s people gather that is no more and no less sacred than the homes they live in, now that the Spirit has been released from the Holy of Holies into the whole earth?

* Do we think that Jesus the homeless guy who was born in a barn was dressed up when He held church outdoors?

* Why should we press for formal dress in church when one of the only passages in the New Testament that speaks about what to wear to church rebukes women for dressing up to the degree that they turned church into a fashion show (1 Timothy 2:9–10)?

* When Jesus says that people judge the outward but God is looking at the heart, does that mean that as long as women don’t show up in clear heels looking like they need an aluminum pole to dance around, appearance is really a secondary matter?

* Since we are supposed to be hospitable and welcome people to church as missionaries, does it not make sense to dress like “normal” people rather than make normal people dress up like “church” people?