Modesty at Discovery Ministries

• 'Modest' - observing the proprieties of dress and behavior: decent
• 'Decent' - 2: conforming to standards of propriety, good taste, or morality 3: free from immodesty or obscenity 4: adequate 5: having praiseworthy qualities; see 'chaste'
• 'Propriety' - 4 a: the standard of what is socially acceptable in conduct or speech b: fear of offending against conventional rules of behavior esp. as between the sexes
• 'Modesty' - 1: Freedom from conceit or vanity 2: propriety in dress, speech, or conduct

• I Cor 10:32-33 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many so that they may be saved.
• I Timothy 2:9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety . . . .

Okay, okay, so the passage in Timothy goes on to say braided hair, gold, pearls, and expensive clothing are not modest. And why didn't Timothy talk about how the men are supposed to dress? . . . We are not here to argue the specifics about what clothing is modest and what clothing is immodest. Different youth ministers, churches, and parents have different standards. Even among our own staff we have debates about how to define 'modest clothing.'

As a staff, we do agree about one certain principle in dress for participation in our program. No one should have to turn away because of embarrassment or spiritual challenge over what another person's clothing does not cover. We want the focus to be on spiritual and emotional growth rather than attraction of the opposite sex. The application of this principle changes given the group of people and the setting. The attitude with which clothing is worn goes a long way toward modest or immodest. The attitudes of others in the group also affects whether each individual's clothing is modest or immodest.

Our facilitators will ask you to change clothes or add clothes if they determine your clothing is immodest. If asked to make clothing changes, a participant needs to make the correction to the facilitator's standard or the participant will not take part in the programming.