Come As You Are

Can church really be “come as you are?”

One of the favorite questions I am asked is “Can I wear jeans to your church?”  Even though I think that’s like asking “Can I breathe air at your church?”, I try to remember to be gracious enough to just say, “Sure you can!”

The “how-do-I-dress-for-church” issue points to a divide between what the church is really like and what people think it’s like.  I’m going out on a limb here, but I believe that most, and I’m thinking a majority here, of churches today would welcome a person no matter what they’re wearing.

So yeah, at Jubilee our dress code is “Please do. Wear clothes.”  On a typical Sunday at Jubilee, a wide variety of styles can be found: people dressed in jeans and t-shirts, khakis and button-downs, shorts and flip-flops, dresses and ties (one recent Sunday, THREE men had on ties – sure it was 3 out of about 120, but still…).  Here’s the deal for us, we care more about people than what they’re wearing.  So come as you are, wear what you have, and don’t give it a second thought.

But “come as you are” also means more than how you’re dressed… 

Somehow the idea has gotten around that church is for “good people,” people who have their lives together, who don’t have any real problems, or who aren’t facing any real issues.  Some people think they can’t go to church because they’re just not good enough.  With all respect to those who think that way, the good news is that nothing could be further from the truth!

The church is THE place for hurting people, needy people, people who have dug themselves into a deep hole, and people who are facing scary, messed up situations!  At Jubilee we offer love, acceptance, and forgiveness to EVERYONE, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done. 

We want to be the place people turn to when they need help and hope for their life circumstances.  We won’t judge you, embarrass you, or make an example of you.  We WILL share the truth with you – The truth about a God who feels your pain and longs to bridge the gap between you and Him… The truth about a God who really does want to walk with you through the storms you face… The truth about a God who is bigger and better and closer than we dare to believe… the truth about a God who loves you so much, He would send His only Son to die for you.

At Jubilee, you’re welcome “just as you are” – jeans, junk, and all.

Weekend Remix: “Science Proves Speaking in Tongues is Real”

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”

OK, I made up the headline. But that seems to be the fascinating conclusion of recent research, as reported on ABC’s Nightline on Thursday, March 20, 2007…

Here’s an excerpt from the online edition…

At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Andrew Newberg has been conducting a scientific study of the phenomenon for a long time. According to an ABC report, Newberg found that brain scans show quite different results with Christians praying in tongues compared to Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. The frontal lobes—the part of the brain right behind the forehead that’s considered the brain’s control center—went quiet in the brains of tongue-speakers.

“When they are actually engaged in this whole very intense spiritual practice…their frontal lobes tend to go down in activity. It is very consistent with the kind of experience they have, because they say that they’re not in charge. [They say] it’s the voice of God, it’s the Spirit of God that is moving through them,” said Newberg.

“Whatever is coming out of their mouth is not what they are purposefully or willfully trying to do. And that’s in fairly stark contrast to the people who are—like the Buddhist and Franciscan nuns—in prayer, because they are very intensely focused and in those individuals the frontal lobes actually increase activity.”

You can read the entire article and access video at:

ABC News Nightline Story