I have spent the past week visiting my parents in Montana.  Before I return home later today I wanted to share a few thoughts about my experience this week.

I use Google calendar, which syncs with my Android phone.  Normally I check my calendar every day to see what I have scheduled for the day.  Since my parents are retired they move at a much slower pace of life than I normally do.  It is refreshing to slow down and just not do as much as I usually do each day.  When I looked at my calendar this past week it was a joy to see day after day with nothing listed.

It’s not that I haven’t been doing nothing at all.  Each day we had to make important decisions about things like which day was best for a short hike in Glacier National Park, or which sibling would host our family dinner that night (two of my siblings live in this area).  I had time to do some recreational reading, and have been exploring Toodledo and an Android app that syncs with it called Got To Do.  Of course there has been a lot of time to catch up with family members.

In a few hours i will leave for the airport to return home.  I suppose I should be eager to return to a full schedule, but truthfully I wouldn’t mind a few more weeks of a blank calendar.  Sometime we don’t notice how stressed out and burned out we are becoming.  It is good to slow down once in a while to recharge.  Maybe I should start to take my days off more seriously.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.  Rather than writing another article on this topic, I will point you to an  article that I wrote in 2007.  This article has been one of the most popular ones on my blog, with many readers each year when Lent draws near.

I have been following the health care reform debate, and there is an important point that is not being discussed.  According to the reports, the proposed health care legislation requires insurance companies to take anyone, without considering pre-existing conditions, and it forbids them from charging people with health problems more than anyone else.  The goal of helping those who are currently “uninsurable” to get medical insurance is a wonderful, and we need to address this problem.  But what about the other consequences of such a policy?

I am not an economist, but wouldn’t that have the effect of significantly increasing the insurance premiums for all of us?  If insurance companies are required to accept a new group of people with serious medical problems then they will have to pay out a lot of money.  To get that money, they will need to raise rates.  Since they can’t charge sick people more (a good thing), they will have to raise the rates on everyone.  Is there anything wrong with my logic here?

The rhetoric is that the main problem is the “insane profits” of the insurance companies.  So I guess that the assumption is that the insurance companies can absorb the increased cost without raising rates.  But publicly traded companies are required to report their profits, and last year health insurers posted a 2.2% profit.  I’m not sure that 2.2%qualifies as an “insane” profit.  It’s always good to check the facts.

I read an article last week that stated that there were several states that already have established the above policy.  I wish I could find that article again, but I can’t.  As I recall, it said that for a 30 year old male non-smoker in one state the insurance premium would be something under $300.  For an identical man in a neighboring state with this policy the premium would be over $700!  That isn’t a projection, it is the fact right now.  Again, I’m sorry that I can’t find that article right now, but I thought that this is something that should be brought to our attention.

Someone needs to look into this.  If it is true that some states already have this policy, there should be a detailed comparison of health insurance rates in those states as compared to neighboring states.  It could give us a good idea of what might happen nationally.  Why isn’t anyone looking into this?

If the rates on private health insurance rise substantially, then the taxpayer subsidized government option will be too much of a bargain to pass up.  If larger companies are eventually allowed to offer the government insurance to their employees, why would they offer anything else?  In such an environment, how could the private insurance companies even survive?  Those who are on the suspicious side might see this as a deliberate plan to move us to a “single payer system” (i.e. government run health care).  What do you think?

If Jesus came to your church next Sunday, what would He wear?  What would He wear if He was your pastor?  (Take a minute and answer this question before reading on.) Recently the English Ministry core leaders at my church have been discussing possible changes to our Sunday service in order to make our outreach more effective.  One of the topics discussed was the “dress code” for the pastors and worship team.  I want to share some of my thoughts on this question and get your feedback.

The Arguments

If you think that the answer to these questions is obvious then perhaps you need to think more deeply.  Either that, or perhaps you live in a very homogeneous community.  It seems that the reasoning runs in two main directions:

We should wear our best in order to honor God

While I was in seminary I attended a weekend OMF missions conference.  I wore my usual retreat attire: jeans and a tee shirt, with  a sweatshirt for cool weather.  The other attendees were also casually dressed.  But when we went to breakfast on Sunday morning, I was stunned to see the retired missionary men decked out in three piece suits and the women in nice dresses!  I suddenly felt very under dressed.  They wanted to honor God by wearing their best on the Lord’s Day, even at a retreat.  That experience had a big impact on me.  For years afterward I would often bring a dress shirt and tie (but not a suit) to retreats to wear on the Lord’s Day.  We should honor God by giving Him our best.  What does it say about our view of God  if we get dressed up for weddings but not for Sunday worship?

We should dress in a casual, up to date style in order to attract more people

Most people today prefer a casual style of dress.  Even in some large companies managers are no longer expected to wear suits (or equivalent formal attire for women), at least here in California.  The only time that many men wear a suit is to attend weddings or funerals, or perhaps for a job interview or a date at a fancy restaurant.  For them, seeing people in suits marks the event as a formal occasion.  If only the pastor or leaders are wearing suits, it can create a sense of distance between them and the rest of the people.  If our churches desire to be friendly, loving communities then our dress should reflect that.

Some Observations

The two positions above are in tension with each other.  How can we resolve this issue?  Here are some observations:

Culture changes

In the past it was normal for people to get dressed up to go to social events.  For rural families, even going into town to do the weekly shopping was an occasion that required them to wear something nice.  Look at a picture of college students pre-1900 and you will find them wearing suits. I think that it was the norm for them to wear suits to class.  In this context, it was normal for all the men to wear a suit to church as well. But now all that has changed.  People dress very casually most of the time.  Most men now wear suits only for a few very special occasions.

Pastors are not priests

If most men no longer wear suits to church, what about the pastor?  Should the pastor wear a suit because of his role as a “man of God”?  In the OT the priests had special clothing to wear that marked them as priests.  But in the NT we have the priesthood of all believers, so I’m not sure that the pastor should wear special “holy” clothing.  Jesus and Paul probably dressed pretty much like other men of their time.  The missionary principle (1 Cor. 9:19-23) requires that we adapt our outward customs to become more like those we are trying to reach.  I think that this should influence our clothing choices (within limits).

We still need to honor God

We honor God by applying the missionary principle and adapting our behavior to those we are trying to reach.  But we also honor God by demonstrating our respect for Him.  For our clothing, I think that this means that whatever we wear should be clean, in good repair and modest.  Sloppiness is not next to godliness.  But we have to be careful about what we mean by “sloppy.”  Some hair styles that appear sloppy to the older generation are carefully and deliberately crafted using lots of hair gel.  They are not the result of carelessness, although some may not like the style.

We should seek to honor God in all that we do.  What does it say about our view of God if we are more careful about our appearance the rest of the week, but decide that any old thing is good enough for church?  That could indicate that we really do not attach much importance to church.  Or it could indicate that the church is like our family, where we can let down our guard and be ourselves.  It’s not easy to know where to draw the line.

It depends on your context

I don’t think that there are any hard and fast rules in this area.  It would be ridiculous for a missionary to insist that the men in a jungle tribe wear suits to come to church.  But in a community in which formal dress is the norm for social occasions wearing jeans to church might not be appropriate.  They key is to apply the missionary principle in a spirit of humility and ask what sort of dress code will help further the Gospel in your particular setting.  Are you willing to wear a suit if that will open doors for the Gospel?  Are you willing to lose the suit if that will reach more people for Christ?

What do you think about this issue?  What would Jesus wear if He came to your church?

A University of Chicago study recently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior provides evidence that Lasting marriage is linked to better health.  Many previous studies have shown that on the average married people have better health than those who never married.  This new study found that people who are divorced or widowed have 20% more chronic health problems than those still married.  Those who remarry after divorce are a little better off, but still have 12% more health problems.  These differences remain when age, race, gender and education are factored in.

The CNN article on the report concludes that “Both genders suffer irreversible, detrimental effects on their health after losing marriage through a divorce or death of a spouse, according to the findings.”

It turns out that the thing about “one man and one woman for life” in the Bible is good for us.  Who would have guessed?

I haven’t written much here recently, and part of the reason for that is that we were on vacation in Montana.  We arrived back home a little over a week ago, and I have been busy catching up since then.  Why is it that when you go on vacation you need to work twice as hard before you leave and after you get back?

We had a great visit with my family there, and it was good to slow down to my parents’ pace of life for a while.  On many days the main decisions we had to make were about what we wanted to have for dinner and whether we wanted to go hiking.  The location of the photograph at the right is the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park, which is my #1 favorite trail in the world (click on the picture for a larger image).

The trail starts out from the visitor’s center at Logan Pass, on the Continental Divide.  We only hiked the first part of the trail, but I wanted to get to the place where the first picture was taken, because of the beautiful view.

It is a breathtaking hike that gives you the feeling that you are walking at the top of the world.  The picture on the left gives you some idea of what it is like.  The trail is well maintained, but they do provide a cable to hold on to for the faint of heart.  When you meet someone coming the other way you have to find a wider part where it is safe to pass.  A few people absolutely refuse to let go of the cable, so you have to go around them.  The picture on the bottom right gives you some idea of this portion of the trail.  If you click on the picture for a larger image, you can see two tiny people on the trail.  That would be my brother Dave and I.  In the background is Logan Pass.  After hiking on a trail like this, you can understand why I find a lot of other trails boring.  I’ve been spoiled!

We almost didn’t get to take this hike, because most of the days we spent staying in the park were partly cloudy, with intermittent showers. Finally on the last day the weather cleared up and we had a beautiful day for hiking. We took advantage of the weather by doing three short hikes that day.  We were tired, but it was a wonderful day.

Experiences like this help to put things in perspective.  The majesty of creation declares the glory of God.  We are like the tiny specks in the picture, like ants climbing on a pile of dirt.  When we are gone and forgotten, the mountains will still be there. Yet the Creator of all this loves us and desires fellowship with us.  Amazing grace indeed.

Ying Yee has an challenging post about the need to rethink our life/work balance.  If we give in to the pressure in our society to make work everything, then everything else, including marriage, family, spiritual life and ministry becomes, well, nothing.  This is not the way God intended things to be.  Take a look at what he says, and then let me know what you think.

Ying is a pastor in Sydney whom I have gotten to know recently online, and his blog like mine is called “Reflections.”