Years ago, I anticipated the Sunday when our pastor
would make the Come As You Are
announcement because I wouldn’t have to keep up appearances. Typically, he
chose a late July/early August date shortly before the school year began,
giving the young people (specifically, teens) the convenient reason to rock our
back-to-school apparel. Not surprisingly, several boys obsessed over “killin’
these boys” in new Nikes, starched-up Silver Tab or Guess? jeans, and the
prerequisite Tommy Hilfiger or Nautica polo shirt scored from the Moonlight
Madness sale that Ed Camp’s – and the rest of downtown Conway – held every
summer to clear out inventory and restock for the upcoming season. (There was
also a Moonlight Madness in late January, but we by then we were usually
broke). For us, Come As You Are was a
welcome respite from the stuffy shirts and tie, cramped yet easily scuffed
black wing tips, and extra-baggy slacks. In other words, it became a semiannual
fashion show.
Let
me be clear: There is no specific
reference in the Bible to Come As You Are regarding our appearance.
Ask me about the traveling gray Nautica polo shirt
with the solitary blue stripe front and back. Among myself (the original
owner), my brother, college roommate, his brother, and another friend, I think
that shirt saw eight years and probably ten school yearbooks before Terrance (RIL) finally
retired it toward the end of my first year of teaching. Below is the flag Nautica shirt I wore with a greater frequency:
Come
As You Are has evolved from a semiannual event to any Sunday.
Thank God fashion (within taste) is no longer an obstacle for my generation!
 |
| Not quite the shirt I was looking for, but you get the era - and point. From left to right: yours truly, my brother Alan, and cousin Roy. This one comes from 1997 - yeah, it's my Way Back Wednesday picture. |
If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) August 7, 2015
Nearly two millennia ago, Jesus and the disciples
(later Apostles) ventured throughout the Roman Empire establishing the roots of
Christianity. Even back then, the Jews in Jerusalem held their old ways of
living as the be-all standard, which we know today as the Torah. (Christians
refer to this time as the Old Testament). For example, you had to dress a
certain way to gain access to the doors of the Temple. Compare that with some
of our mainline houses of worship today and the rite of public shaming if
you run counter to the trends of the day. While we were being (unfairly) judged
for sporting Nike Cortez instead of black-and-white Reeboks the in-crowd
gravitated toward or Sister So-and-so is wearing the same form-fitting dress
she left the nightclub in smelling like booty and Hennessey, Gentiles had more
on the line: their very lives. In fact,
being a Christian was a capital crime! Would you be willing to die for the
faith? Many did, and throughout the world, people still perish for their
spiritual stands.
In a way, Come
As You Are Sundays have become an obstacle to authentic worship and sharing
the real relationship of kingdom building. Instead of looking like church folks, it would
help that we actually live up to our end of the bargain and be the church Jesus Christ is coming
back for. Have we become so comfortable with today’s mores that the original
mission has fallen by the wayside?
If you are thirsty, come & drink water! If you don't have any money, come, eat what you want! Drink wine & milk wo paying a cent Isaiah 55:1
— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) August 7, 2015
In the midst of it all, Come As You Are still serves a purpose: to present a more relaxed environment for
praise and uplift in spiritual worship and truth. In other words, you do not have to look a certain way to
reach God and cultivate said relationship. The inward change is the one
that matters most, not the Stacy Adams look from head to toe. Keep in mind some
of the nastiest people are the best-looking ones in the building, so never let
the cottons, polyesters, silks, etc. distract us from fulfilling our mission.
The early Christians laid it all on the line; beyond a few stares, what are we
really doing with Come As You Are?
Instead of judging by looks, try real deal worship in our daily lives.
Good point. However, I still believe that people should come to church looking presentable.
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