Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Straw Hats @ Walmart


So, Tuesday finds snow on the ground in Tennessee and straw hats in Walmart. Not for sale at Walmart, on heads! It was time to restock the Diet Coke so I stopped by the Walmart that is so conveniently right beside the hotel. It's nice and cold today with about 4" of snow on the ground so as I walked into the store I figured that I would head to the restroom for a quick stop.

The door opened as I got close and it was held by a kid about 5 years old with a straw hat on, then right beside him appeared another young lad with a matching straw hat. One kid with a straw hat is somewhat unusual in my vast Walmart experience, two kids together in straw hats has now exceeded my expectations of any Walmart trip.

The hats are flat on the top, wide brim all the way around, I spot another hat, it's on Dad, he has a younger child with a "scarf" type hat on, turns out it's a young girl. Dad has a nice long beard. I flashback to a highway sign I saw the first day I was headed to the base. The picture on the sign showed a horse and carriage with a warning "Next 5 Miles". Putting it all together I have encountered either Mennonites or Amish at the restroom door of Walmart. It is certainly a clash of culture.

I ran into them several times as I shopped. It reminded me of "traditions". The nice folks at shopping at Walmart have held on to some very old traditions. You can argue whether they are better off or not, that's not where I'm going. I'm thinking about the fact that we often hold on to traditions just because they are traditions, not because they are of any real value. I was talking recently to a friend who leads worship at a church and there is someone there who dislikes an element of how my friend leads worship. It is not a question of whether he is leading in a scriptural manner, it's not a question of his "ability" from a vocal standpoint, it's not even about new music verses old standby music, it's about how he dresses while leading.

Sadly, when dealing with folks at churches the issue is not the real issue, "who's in charge" is the issue. The stated "issue" is just a means to say "I want things MY way". It's sad because what generally happens is the person who is concerned about being in charge ends up running off those who are giving their lives to further the kingdom of God. Sometimes it's because fellow elders don't step up and deal with one or two folks who want to be in charge.

I'll be praying for my friend, I'll be praying for his elders to do what God would have them do, not what someone wants them to do for their own sense of power. Maybe I'll buy my friend a straw hat. That should make it all better.

3 comments:

  1. Interesting. You may have noticed our guy definitely dresses down. Sometimes there are holes in the jeans, almost always he's wearing a "shirt mullet" - tucked in in the front, long in the back.

    It bothers me. It bothers a lot of people. Let me be clear. Nobody (especially NOT the Shepherds) is trying to run him off, but there's a lot of griping.

    It's intentional on his part, but for unclear reasons (we have a "seekers" service on Saturday night - Sunday AM is for the family).

    Am I bothered because I want it my way? Or do I think it flaunts convention for the sake of flaunting. I'll have to think about that.

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  2. Then again, some traditions are not so bad. Couples holding the communion tray between them and taking communion together. Kids singing the same Bible class songs we did when we were little. Coming forward during the invitation song for prayers.

    Dressing decent for church isn't necessarily a bad tradition. Some people didn't grow up that way, but personally, I like it. I don't necessarily hold others to my own standard, but for example, my family does not wear jeans on Sunday morning and we do not wear shorts on Wednesday night. Some of my closest friends wear jeans every Sunday. We sit next to each other most Sundays. Does their worship differ from mine? Not in the least - we love worshiping together! In fact, they probably shared the same tradition I did in their homes growing up. I can tell you that I never walk into service and think, "I can't believe they are wearing jeans!"

    I do have to admit that if you were to wear the outfit described in Bob's comment while leading singing and representing our congregation as a whole, I would probably have an issue. That just isn't the you I know. I would probably believe it was an object lesson. There are a lot of people out there that do such things to be the center of attention, when really, those things take our focus off Christ. Shouldn't Christ be the center of our attention when we are in worship, instead of the big holes in the jeans of the guy up front?

    You know John - it is like one of my big PT gripes - I never want the PT to be "off" because I don't want us to be a distraction. That is why I was so upset a few weeks ago at myself. Conversely, it bites me in the rear sometimes because it can throw my personal focus off. At the same time, I think when it is done right, we can really soften some hearts that have been hardened by life. I don't know if any of that makes sense. I think I went on a major tangent. Sorry. :-)

    Tami

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  3. It's interesting how "dress code" effects us. I don't think about it much, I have pretty much the "Dress" clothes and then jeans / shorts so for Sunday it kinda defaults to the "Dress" clothes. Yes, it's true, I have given up suits pretty much all together - most folks have.

    The fear of distractions is often on my mind. While I want that to always be on my mind to some degree, I think that the pressure sometimes reduces the effectiveness. Years ago (while we were still meeting at the school) I got sick one Sunday morning and Tim Nations had to lead with almost no notice. Tim is the kind of guy who will spend lots of time preparing and now he had no time. He commented to me that worship that day was very special, because it was unrehearsed and real. I firmly believe that God minimizes some of our distractions to keep our worship focused on Him.

    Tangent away, it's better to tang than to take it out on the hubby & kids!
    John

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