The so-called "worship wars" of recent
years may have produced a winner. Many congregations remain divided
between traditional and contemporary styles, but in most places the
contemporary appears to have gained the upper hand.
What's more, our worship services have become
increasingly relaxed and informal affairs. You can see it in what we
wear. Church for today's worshipers is not a dress-up event. Whatever
is clean and comfortable seems sufficient. Christian students in
particular have been taught by their seniors — or has it been the
reverse?— that when it comes to church, attire doesn't much matter.
They understand there is nothing particularly spiritual about a dress
or a coat and tie. God is scarcely impressed by such things. "People
look at the outward appearance," we are reminded, "but the
LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7).
I do not intend to wade into the broader debate over
worship styles; that's a different discussion. In any case, I'm
content with either traditional or contemporary if they're done well.
But I do wish to raise a question about this last notion: namely,
that when it comes to public worship, our clothing doesn't matter.
This common assumption, it seems to me, deserves more scrutiny than
it typically receives.
Over the last several generations, American attire
in general has lurched dramatically toward the informal. A feature
that quickly dates an old photograph, for instance, is the men
wearing fedoras; most today wouldn't know where to find one. Those
who are old enough can remember when travelers got spiffed up to
board an airplane. Today's travelers think nothing of flying in duds
they might wear to the gym. Or consider the rise of the term
"business casual." In most parts of the country, though not
all, even the corporate setting has grown less formal.
These changes are part of a broad shift toward the
convenient and comfortable. It's a shift we see on display every week
in our worship services. In many churches casual wear is de
rigueur. It's easy to imagine how one might look over-dressed
there, but less easy, short of immodesty, to imagine being
under-dressed. Jeans or shorts, tee shirts or tank tops, flip-flops
or sandals: these draw scarcely any attention, while full dresses or
a suit and tie appear strangely out of place. Relaxed, even rumpled
informality is in; suiting up in our "Sunday best" is out.
The question I want to raise here is, What should we make of this
shift in worship attire?
Many seem convinced it's a good thing, because,
again, it's the heart that counts. Yet precisely for this
reason—because it's the heart that counts—I want to suggest that
what we wear in our public worship may matter more than we think. To
grasp this connection, let us draw on some helpful insights from the
field of communication.
Verbal and Nonverbal
Verbal behavior refers to all those ways we use
language to communicate: speaking, writing, sign language, etc.
Nonverbal behavior focuses on all those ways we communicate without
words: facial expression, gesture, posture, eye behavior, vocal
inflection ("paralanguage"), our use of space
("proxemics"), or touch behavior. Some experts estimate
that in our everyday relationships only a small percentage of what we
communicate is conveyed via verbal channels. The rest is conveyed
nonverbally.
Of special interest here is that avenue of nonverbal
communication we will call physical appearance and dress. Here are
seven observations drawn from the literature on this aspect of our
human interaction
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