I looked at each one of the men on the stage. All but one of them had rips in their jeans. These were not oh-whoops-I-tore-my-jeans kind of rips. These were style rips, man. One of the guys even had ripped skinny jeans. One of the speakers sported a cutting edge u-neck t-shirt (v-necks are so old school). We’re talking trendy. Another speaker had a shirt with Ed Hardy insignias emblazoned across it. Another guy had indecipherable Chinese characters on his vest. (I’m sure it was a Bible verse.) These guys were rockin’ some serious uberstyle. Oh, and the facial hair. Now we’re talking. From the three-day scruff to the soul patch perfection, these guys had it together. Hairstyles ranged from the just-woke-up look (held in place with spiking glue), the faux-hawk, the Bieber-wannabe, and the bald guy. This was not a team of musicians. This was not a Guess Jeans fashion show. This was an evangelical pastor’s conference, with some of the best-known and most sought-after speakers in the country. They were dressed cool. Very cool.
Now, for the kicker question: were they right or wrong?
“Got a Couple Rips In My Jeans”
Is there anything wrong with preachers with ripped jeans, Ed Hardy tees, and stylin’ fauxhawks? First off, please don’t think I have anything against rips in jeans. I think I have a pair of jeans where the knees are getting pretty thin. Chances are, I’ll be working in the yard one day and…RIP! The jeans will have a rip. So, no, I’m not hating on ripped jeans. However, I think that the issue of what a preacher wears is pretty important. Clothing says a lot about a person, right? Isn’t it important that a preacher be communicating the right thing by the way that he dresses?
The issue of clothing can get complicated really fast..too fast and too complicated for what is supposed to be a medium-length blog article. Once you start talking about the Old-Testament priestly garments, the differences in cultures, the fig leaves in the garden, the topic of modesty, and the fact that “denim” rearranged spells “demin” which is similar to “demon” (yes, some people do), then you have a briar patch of an issue on your hands.
So, at the risk of becoming thorned in said briar patch, I’m going to venture three principles that should govern the way that the preacher dresses. (And, for the sake of simplicity and orthodoxy, we’re assuming that “preacher” is “male.”)
The Preacher Should Dress Modestly
Modesty is not just a topic that applies to women. Nor is modesty just about how much skin is showing. Modesty is about not drawing attention to one’s self. There are certain styles, cuts, colors, and patterns that simply draw attention to yourself. Your goal as a pastor is to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In other words, your goal is to deflect as much attention as possible from yourself and onto Him. How are your clothes doing at deflecting? Are people checking out the Ed Hardy tee pattern? Noticing the rips? Checking out the new Pumas? Seeing if that tie really is a Charvet?
Pastors are not to be trendsetters, just as much as they are not to be blindly following the fashion trends. The pastor’s role is shepherd, not fashion leader. Take a modesty check on your wardrobe.
The Preacher Should Dress Culturally Appropriate
I’m sensing some thorns coming up. Let’s start with some mild nonpartisan observations. There are vast differences between cultures. For example, the way that an Amazonian tribesman dresses (or undresses) is a lot different from the way that the Philadelphia Ernst & Young CPA dresses. The preacher should not dress like an Amazonian tribesman when he preaches on Sunday morning, because that is not culturally appropriate. For the Amazonian tribesman to dress in his whatever-it-is jungle garb is culturally appropriate for his Amazonian lifestyle.
Cultural differences exist between areas of the United States. An outfit that is perfectly appropriate in a Texas panhandle church may be culturally inappropriate in an upscale Boston church. The aim is to be culturally appropriate, not for the sake of being culturally appropriate, but for the purpose of minimizing the attention that you draw to your wardrobe.
All of this sounds plausible. But before you say, “Dress like the culture!” and run to the mall, remember that the culture is not morally neutral. There are elements of the culture and even of the culture’s wardrobe that may communicate the wrong message. If there are certain styles or characteristics of clothing that are distinctive to a societal subculture, and that group has a questionable reputation, that is not an element of the culture that the preacher should be adopting or reflecting. (That’s a long sentence, and I worded it very carefully, so feel free to read it again if you need to.)
Culture can refer to the community around you, but it can also have to do with the culture of your church. For example, a church I recently visited was very formal in its worship style. They had a traditional culture. The pastor wore a simple black robe. His wearing of the robe was in keeping with the culture of his church. His robe was not distracting, even to me as a visitor who was unaccustomed to seeing robe-wearing ministers.
To sum up this point, a pastor’s attire should but culturally appropriate—appropriate for both for culture of the community in which he is a missionary and appropriate for the culture of his church in which he is a shepherd. And never should he intentionally dress in a way that has the distinctive characteristics of a sinful segment of culture.
The Preacher Should Not Dress Ostentatiously
With the age of the CEO/Pastor model, the seeker-sensitive approach, and the shopping-mall-style church buildings, came an expectation for the preacher’s attire. He was supposed to look like a business executive. In other words, he needed to wear expensive cuff links, fine silk ties, exquisite tailored suits, and high-dollar dress shirts. There’s nothing inherently wrong with nice suits and Brooks Brothers ties. But the pastor should determine if his style is showy and ostentatious. If it is, it probably needs to change.
It works the other way, too. One pastor of a megachurch is well known for his fashionable jeans and changing hair color. His style is notable enough to get him interviews from local media, not to ask him about his fast-growing church or his evangelical faith, but for his fashion. I would venture to suggest that maybe his sense of fashion is keener than his sense of pastoral propriety. If I were a pastor, I would feel a bit uncomfortable about an interview regarding my clothing, because my clothing should not be the characteristic that is drawing people’s attention.
According to a rumor, one pastor I know would refuse to wear a tie if someone complimented him on that tie. I’m not sure how true the rumor is. Nor am I suggesting that you should do a Goodwill on your tie if someone likes it. What I am saying is that ostentatiousness in clothing choice is not becoming of someone whose calling is to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Making hard and fast rules about someone’s wardrobe, even the preacher’s, is foolish. That’s why these are just guidelines; and there are only three. Maybe you were hoping I would come down and say something concrete like, “The preacher should always wear a tie.” Or “The preacher should be the best-dressed man in the congregation.” Or “Jeans are the only appropriate attire for a man of God.” I’m not going there, even though the comments below might be a lot more interesting if I did. But if I was pastoring a church in Wyoming, I might wear jeans. If I were an elder in a Presbyterian church in Maine, perhaps I would wear a robe. If I were the pastor of a young, hip congregation in which all the people had rips in their jeans….well….I’d have to think about that one…