Question about Church Standards

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
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ohio jones
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Re: Question about Church Standards

Post by ohio jones »

Josh wrote:Depends. If you’re by yourself, no shirts and shorts might be ok... (same goes for working on a job site on a very hot day if nobody is around who can see you and the crew is all guys).
Can't say I've ever been exposed to that at a job site; usually shorts and no shirts is the bare minimum. Or maybe that's the intent of the somewhat ambiguous phrasing.

Actually in my experience the larger and the more non-Menno the job site, the more likely that the general contractor or construction manager will impose a dress code, often long pants and sleeved shirts, no weather exceptions. The motivation is safety (hard hats, safety glasses, and gloves may also be required) rather than modesty, but it does cover that aspect as well.
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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steve-in-kville wrote:
Hats Off wrote:We have a rule "No mixed swimming" and it is discouraged for the girls to go swimming at all.
And I bet if you do go swimming you have to wear a T-shirt. Am I right?
You are wrong, but I don't go swimming - haven't in more than 20 years.
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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KingdomBuilder wrote:"Mixed" meaning all male-female interactions? Or is household an exception?
Household is not an exception.
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Josh
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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Hats Off wrote:
KingdomBuilder wrote:"Mixed" meaning all male-female interactions? Or is household an exception?
Household is not an exception.
Less conservative groups will make an exception for households. Even-less will make an exception for family reunions, so cousins, aunts, uncles, etc
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Re: Question about Church Standards

Post by steve-in-kville »

I know a family that had a large trampoline. They invited another family over for dinner one Sunday. House rules stated that the boys could be on for 20 minutes, then the girls for 20 minutes. That got a bit excessive in my book. But it wasn't my family or my trampoline :D
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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My son allows the younger children on together but for the pre and early teens, he wants the boys and girls on the trampoline separately.
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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Thankfully, our church standards don't delve into ownership of backyard trampolines, so I'll never have to worry about being outside the law on this one.
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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We don't have any mention of trampolines in our guidelines, but some parents do have their own. We could paraphrase Pierre Elliot Trudeau, a former Canadian prime minister who said the government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. The church can and should stay out of my back yard.
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steve-in-kville
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Re: Question about Church Standards

Post by steve-in-kville »

Josh wrote:
Some churches have written rules that everyone knows they don’t actually follow.
I would rather have this than double standards.... or worse yet, when the leadership makes up rules as they go. Example of this: a local conservative group I was once affiliated with started telling new members that radio was prohibited when the current members all listened to radio. It eventually caused a lot of problems for both current members, new members and the leadership.
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Re: Question about Church Standards

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steve-in-kville wrote:I know a family that had a large trampoline. They invited another family over for dinner one Sunday. House rules stated that the boys could be on for 20 minutes, then the girls for 20 minutes. That got a bit excessive in my book. But it wasn't my family or my trampoline :D
That is interesting. Growing up Pentecostal we would not have been allowed on a trampoline on a Sunday. We could not play catch with a ball either as Sunday was a day of rest and church. Church for 3 hours Sunday morning, 2 more hours in the afternoon in some outdoor evangelism and a Sunday evening service that began at 7 PM and often, including a prayer meeting, went on past midnight. Wasn't much of a rest day for those involved in all these services but folks did it voluntarily with no written requirements. We had a number of expectations for 'keeping the Sabbath holy' although nothing was written up as standards.
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