John MacArthur on Respect in the Pulpit
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, April 01, 2008
- Viewed 627
- (51) comments so far
This is the most serious occasion anyone will attend in their life: the preaching of the Word of God. I don’t want to join with our culture in sinking into the casual. We have a generation that’s never been to anything formal. And if my dress goes down, the people at the bottom go down, and then we gym shorts!…
Because all I’m trying to do is explain the meaning of the Word of God. And you want to use any avenue to do so short of affirming the culture. I don’t need to borrow or certainly not to accredit the culture by being overly familiar with it. Becoming all things to all men means looking into the situation and seeing where they are in their religious thinking, to find a starting point to move them into Scripture.”
Amen, Dr. MacArthur. I couldn’t have said it better. When will some of you show your respect for your responsibility? I’d love to hear from any of your who will commit this week to wear a tie as you preach. Let’s show some respect, people.
Dr. MacArthur writes: "Some people ask, why do I wear a tie? Because I have respect for this responsibility. I wear a suit because this is a more elevated experience for people. I’m trying to convey what people convey at a wedding: this is more serious than any normal activity.
Comments
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kent on Tue, April 01, 2008
Those are fairly ugly ties. Honor God with better ties. Save the Children has the best ties. Jerry Garcia ties are nice too.
Bill on Tue, April 01, 2008
“this is more serious than any normal activity.”
He’s got it right and wrong all at the same time! Worship is serious. One way to communicate that is with a coat and tie—but there are a multitude of other ways to make it serious.
Worship is not intended to be separate from the “normal activity” of God’s people—it is not part of some separate universe. If wearing a coat and tie reinforces it as separate from “normal” then cut off the ties and give the coats to Goodwill.
Steve Wulf on Tue, April 01, 2008
What a ridiculous diatribe. Now, I don’t have any problem with MacArthur following his convictions and doing what he thinks best, but why does he have to speak his mind in berating terms that are obviously aimed at a generation that may feel differently than him.
I don’t remember reading anywhere in the gospels or the new testament where Jesus or any of the writers gave credence to what MacArthur is saying, perhaps that’s why he couldn’t quote any meaningful text to back up his conviction.
Since when is not wearing a tie or a suit giving in to culture. In fact, in some places in America that kind of dress is culture.
With Respect
Steve Wulf
AH on Tue, April 01, 2008
He’s right you know. Let’s put this thing in reverse. Trade the jeans and hawaiin shirt for dress slacks and a polo. Trade the dress slacks and polo for dress slacks, a buttoned shirt and tie. Trade the slacks, shirt, and tie for a suit and tie, Trade the suit and tie for a three piece suit. Trade the three pice suit for black shoes, pants, shirt, and a collar. Let’s trade these for an ecclesiastical robe. Then trade these for the common street clothing of the original disciples. If going back is showing respect than let’s go all the way back…back to when the clothes that mattered were things like humility, love, grace, and mercy.
Tye Male on Tue, April 01, 2008
This is another sad article that reveals how John thinks about himself and the position of the pastor. His stabs at ministries who seek to be relevant to the culture in which we live have also revealed how he thinks about his position as pastor. John’s top-down approach to leading is becoming evident.
Jesus never dressed up for his position but engaged the culture in a way that they could understand the message.
Todd - remember the pic of the microphone in which the audience was out of focus and the microphone and pulpit was in focus. That would say it all for this article.
Beach Guy on Tue, April 01, 2008
Um…before you guys get too upset you may want to check today’s date.
Tye Male on Tue, April 01, 2008
Beach Guy - This article is a quotation by a blogger who cites the following:
Dr. John Macarthur, Q & A session, liveblogged by Evers Ding at the 2008 Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church, on the subject of contextualization.
I wish it was an April Fool’s joke. Tye
Dennis on Tue, April 01, 2008
Hey Todd,
I couldn’t help but notice that you are not wearing a tie in your picture on your blog. Do you have no respect for the fine art of blogging or for your fellow bloggers for that matter?
I wanna see a tie before the end of the day or I will have to seriously consider dropping you from my blog roll!
Leonard on Tue, April 01, 2008
so much for shirts and skins sunday, thought that might attract a crowd.
DanielR on Tue, April 01, 2008
The stance that one should dress nicer for church than during “normal activity” is what I was taught growing up. This I was taught by hypocrites who dressed and acted righteous on Sunday, but were the worst sinners during the week, some of who were adulterers and worse.
Is it OK to wear Ozzie Osborne and Black Sabbath t-shirts all week as long as I dress respectfully in a suit and tie on Sunday? Is it OK for young girls to dress like hookers all week as long as they dress respectfully on Sunday?
(For those Ozzie fans out there might be offended by my using him as a bad example, please substitute Boy George and Culture Club.)
The emphasis here is all wrong! Why should you teach that you should dress and act better on Sunday, in order to show proper respect, than you do the rest of the week? I think we should be teaching that you should show proper respect all week long, that how you dress and act on Sunday is how you should dress and act seven days a week. We shouldn’t be trying to show proper respect for the church, the Gospel, and the Lord only on Sunday.
Jermayn Parker on Tue, April 01, 2008
I recently wrote an article about bringing the wrong culture into a church…
This is another example when people try and force a culture onto another culture. Just because Americans wear ties does not mean Africans have to. Ties is not their culture for formal attire…
What you write is right in the sense that a Pastor needs to dress up to bring an example but forcing people to wear a tie?
Russell on Tue, April 01, 2008
I will start with this . . . . the only incident regarding attire that I have experienced personally in the last six years occurred when a brother, who has at times appeared on our church’s platform pushing our collective limit of casualness, accosted me about my preference for jackets and ties. He initiated the conversation with me cold. I was delighted, because it gave me the opportunity to point out to him that one of us has a hangup about attire, since he cared enough to mention it, and one of us does not.
‘Tis ridiculous to make it an overly significant issue. ‘Tis equally ridiculous to assume that wearing pajamas in public somehow makes one more “relevant.” I am about to tire of that word. I am a teacher of the Word of God (as are many of you). If I handle scripture correctly (a gravely serious responsibility), I am AUTOMATICALLY relevant, or the Holy Spirit is impotent. The purpose of ones attire is to avoid or minimize distraction. Since one cannot appease all cultural preferences in a culture as non-homogenous as ours, there is no single “correct” uniform.
[In some cultures, Christians still attire themselves distinctly. In those cultures, not wearing the uniform is a distraction.]
As for this paper-tiger reasoning that “Jesus wore regular clothes” I also suggest that Jesus was penniless, homeless, and celibate. In other words, we need to be very careful trotting out all first century practices as though they are meant to be straight-piped into our setting. It is one thing, and quite healthy, to remember that the 2,000 year history of the church is not authoritative. It is another thing, however, and ridiculous, to deem the 2,000 year history of the church to be meaningless. We are not 1st century itinerant Messiahs or Apostles. We are 21st Century church pros, and, in my humble view, the trappings of professionalism (to some degree) legitimately and inevitably come with the territory.
I do not hear us complaining about our 21st century technologies, our quite comfortable 21st century offices and homes, or our 21st century earning power. Be very careful with a line of argument that says, “I do not want to be perceived as a professional, I just want to be one of the guys (or girls).” Many of you don’t believe that for a minute. Your compensation packages, and the authority that you wield in your respective areas of responsibility, indicate that you desire to be perceived as a well-qualified professional.
Now, that is not to say that I think all/any of you should dress more/less formally when you are fulfilling your public role. Blessedly and increasingly, we have freedom to reflect the cultural variety of the congregations among whom we minister, and that is healthy.
My ONLY beef is with those who hold that formal attire is harmful, or informal attire is somehow necessary, in order to “connect” or be “relevant” to this culture. Hogwash.
Scott Bonnell on Tue, April 01, 2008
April fools right? You gotta be kidding me on this one.
deaubry on Wed, April 02, 2008
this one is out of my league, i cant tell if russell is agreeing or complaining..
Russell on Wed, April 02, 2008
I understand, deaubry. I often can’t tell if I’m agreeing or complaining . . . .
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