Growing up, this was never anything I really gave much thought to. It was my unspoken perception that black people went to black churches & white people went to white churches. The fact that I rarely saw white people in my church on a Sunday morning or Wednesday evening was never anything that I gave much attention to. I figured I was black and my parents knew what they were doing, so that’s where we went to church. As I got older and we started going to the church of my teenage years, it was still a predominantly black congregation (i.e. all black, with maybe one or two white families) with a black pastor. I thought it was cool to see a white person or two, but still never gave much thought to the issue. At one point in particular, my pastor decided to get together with one of the white baptist churches in the city and do a blended service: one mixed choir, a mixed congregation, and two mini-sermons. At the time, I thought that was a pretty novel idea, but it was merely a gimmick because it never happened again, nor did anything change.

When I started to move away from that church for doctrinal reasons, I started listening to a lot of white preachers (Piper, MacArthur, etc.) because those were the only ones I knew of at the time and didn’t know of any black preachers that were teaching like that (outside of Epiphany Fellowship). When I moved to Austin, TX my family and I began attending an all white church. We were literally the only black people in the congregation for a number of years. That didn’t bother me because we were accepted and the teaching was sound. Robin will admit that it took her a while to get acclimated to it. It wasn’t really an issue for me because I’ve always been able to adapt to any situation and typically had a lot of white friends growing up. I will admit that it sometimes bothered me that there weren’t more black people at the church, but I didn’t let it stop me from attending.

Having lived in both extremes, one of the things that I wanted to do when I moved back to North Carolina was to see if I could find some sort of balance between the two. I wanted to find a place of fellowship that wasn’t exclusively white or black with the other sprinkled in; with that, I was also hoping to find a group of people that I could relate to on a personal level (i.e. someone who could relate to my appreciation of urban music or my love for fitted caps). The first & only church that I visited somewhat regularly was a church that I felt fit into this mold. The pastor that taught regularly on Sunday mornings was black, and the other pastor there was white. Not to mention, the congregation had a very good mix of black & white families. I didn’t stay at that church though; I stopped going because the teaching wasn’t the style or depth that I was looking for, plus we differed doctrinally (i.e. dispensationalism vs. covenant theology). Now, while not a “church” in the traditional sense, there is a fellowship that I attend on Thursday nights that I have to admit feels quite at home. It still has a very good mix of black & white, but it is also my peers (20′s & 30′s) and demographic (urban culture). That combination makes it a very comfortable place to be where I can be okay with being myself or freely chop it up about the latest Christian hip-hop.

I feel that part of why this is on my mind is knowing that I will be moving back to Texas in a couple months. With that I’ll be leaving a group of believers where I finally feel at home & comfortable, and will likely end up going back to one of the extremes that I mentioned earlier. That’s a very unsettling feeling to have because one thing that I’ve learned is that the teaching isn’t everything. Yes, sound biblical preaching is at the top of the list, but a very close second should be a group of believers that you feel comfortable chopping it up with, which I’ve never really had until now. I guess that’s another matter to take to the Lord in prayer and let him offer some guidance.

In closing, check out this song from my homie Voice (Curtis Allen) called “Black Church, White Church” from his album Christ the King that hits on this topic.

I remember growing up with my church clothes. I had my everyday clothes that I went to school and played in; and, then, I had my nice clothes & shoes that I only wore to church or special events. My parents made me wear my church clothes, even when I would protest & say that I didn’t like wearing them. Why? Because that’s how they grew up and that’s what you were supposed to do. You were supposed to dress your best for God and give him your best. That was ingrained in me from my youth, so much so that I thought it was in the Bible somewhere. As I grew older, not a whole lot really changed, at least not until I got to high school and was given more freedom to dress casually when going to church. This was partially in response to our pastor saying it was okay and having “casual Sundays” where he wanted everyone to come casual. He’d even preach while wearing jeans & a football jersey or something like that. Once that happened, I ran with it & was more than happy to do so.

Why did he do that, though? Why just one Sunday out of the month? Why not every Sunday? I started to think about that. The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is a “come as you are” message. It’s a message that doesn’t require us to get anything right in our lives first or change who we are; no, instead, we come to God as broken sinners just as we are. Now, outside of the broad directives to stop sinning & grow in holiness, the Bible doesn’t tell us that we need to change our dress or approach him a certain way. If that’s the case, why do we burden ourselves with this “Sunday best” legalism? Yes, I’m calling it legalism. I’m not saying this is all churches, but there are definitely some churches out there (particularly in the African American community) that will look down on you if you aren’t wearing a suit & tie, or at least khakis & a polo. What’s wrong with rocking a tall tee & a fitted? Does it make someone less holy & capable of worshiping God? Sure, there are times where dressing in finer clothing is appropriate, but is church really one of those places? I’d argue that it’s not.

Now, let’s look at this from another angle, one that hits a little closer to home for me. I attended a church (and will soon attend again when I move back to Texas) that had no problem with me dressing casually every Sunday. That was one of the things I enjoyed about attending there; there was no sense of judgment for those that decided to dress more casually than others, not even from those that wore suits & ties regularly. But, there was a change when it came time to be in a leadership role. My jeans & fitted had to stay at home when it came time to preach from the pulpit or serve in communion as a deacon. If it was a Sunday morning and I was doing one of those two, you best believe that I’d better be wearing a suit. Sunday evening or Wednesday night? Well, I could get away with a polo & khakis (or a nice pair of jeans) then. To be honest, I hated those times most because I no longer felt like “me.” Sure, I dress up when I need to and respected the church authority & expectations for dress at those times, but I have to admit that I always wondered in the back of my head why it had to be that way. I shouldn’t be respected more just because I’m wearing a suit & standing in the pulpit or passing the communion elements. Would I really get looked at differently in that church if I did those things in a tee & fitted? I have to wonder. The message and its impact doesn’t change just because of what I’m wearing. If it causes people to take me less seriously, then that’s a heart issue on their end; at least that’s my take on the matter.

The bottom line, I want to be part of a community that doesn’t care what I’m wearing, whether in leadership or just a member. Whether I’m sitting in the pew or behind the pulpit, I want people to be able to see my heart and hear the message. If you can amen the message, then how I’m dressed shouldn’t matter. Once that doesn’t matter, other things can begin to take precedence, like focusing on the Text and living it out, instead of worrying about what someone is or isn’t wearing. Sure, I can dress up & wear a suit when I need to; but, at heart I’ll always be a t-shirt & jeans kind of guy. I always have been & always will be. That’s my $0.02. Thoughts?