Ha!  "Slap a little lipstick on him!"  That made me giggle.  I can only imagine.

It's definitely a bad sign when outward appearance becomes the focus.  I've been to churches where a single detail becomes overwhelmingly important to some people, to the point of obsession.  In trying to fix that one perceived flaw, the leadership have overlooked more pressing concerns.

I suspect that a lot of it is that church leaders worry when their congregations aren't growing at the same rate as other, similar churches.  Panic clouds their thinking and they begin to dwell on the unimportant details, as though that's what's keeping people away.

And my husband would agree with yours about the lipstick.  The last time I ever kissed him with lipstick on was at our wedding, and he made such a face that everyone started laughing.