Does your pastor wear a uniform?
Most Baptists answer “no” to such a question. Baptist pastors usually wear regular clothes so they do not advertise themselves as clergy. At the same time, we hope no one is ever surprised to learn someone dressed in regular clothes is a pastor.
What about on Sunday morning? Does your pastor wear a “uniform” then?
Before answering that question, consider that most churches have expectations of how their pastor will dress when he stands to preach. Those expectations vary from church to church but sad stories abound about what happens when a pastor dresses differently than a church expects.
Four ‘uniforms’
Generalizations are dangerous but observations indicate Baptist churches have at least four distinct “uniforms.”
Most traditional is the coat and tie. Many of us were reared in churches where the pastor wore a coat and tie every Sunday. Lots of Alabama Baptist churches still expect their pastor to be decked out in a coat and tie. The pastor’s dress reflects the dignity of the occasion. Members may not be expected to dress like the pastor, but as the leader of the congregation the unwritten expectation is the pastor will wear a coat and tie.
A second uniform is the sweater vest over a shirt with no tie. Frequently churches with this uniform are trying to move away from a formal setting for worship. The goal is a more relaxed atmosphere for Sunday morning while staying in touch with the traditional dignity of the service.
Contemporary worship setting
The polo shirt tucked into khakis or even jeans has become the uniform of some churches. The pastor in a polo is the church’s signal that Sunday morning worship is a time to lighten up, put aside the demands (even the dress demands) of the workweek and enjoy a time with family and friends in a contemporary worship setting.
For others the uniform is an untucked shirt and pair of jeans. The style symbolizes a type of freedom the congregation attempts to incorporate into the entire worship experience.
Uniforms do not necessarily reflect a certain generation. Millennials and Baby Busters alike wear shirts untucked. Generation Xers and Boomers can equally be polo pastors or sweater-vest types.
Economics is not always a determinant. The same uniform will be found in churches from inner city to suburbia to open-country churches.
One will even see the different uniforms during denominational programs. One speaker may wear a coat and tie, another a polo shirt and still another a jacket over jeans with shirt-tales hanging down or just an untucked shirt.
Culture of the church
The culture of the church seems to be the determining factor. And let one violate that culture and the cost can be high. Coat and tie churches have often been accused of being intolerant of more relaxed dress. But let a speaker wear a coat and tie into a shirt-tales out church and watch the reaction of the congregation.
All of us seem to have difficulty accepting someone who doesn’t wear the “right” uniform.
Recently I heard of a church that dismissed its pastor because he wore a tie too often and the members did not like the image of such formal dress. I hope there were other reasons but that is what was reported.
The Bible speaks of a uniform for pastors and other Christians but this uniform has little to do with coats, ties and which way one wears a shirt.
In the Old Testament, Isaiah asks God to array him in a “robe of righteousness” (Isa. 61:10). In other verses the prophet asks for a “helmet of salvation” and zeal for a mantle (Isa. 59:17). In Chapter 11, he asks for “faithfulness the belt about his waist” (v. 5). Job pleads that justice would be his turban (Job 29:11) and Psalm 132:9 asks that priests be clothed with joy.
The New Testament offers additional guidance in Ephesians 6:13–17. There the Bible calls for Christians to “put on the full armor of God.” Specifically mentioned are the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
If a pastor were clothed in righteousness with faithfulness tied around his middle and zeal slung over his shoulder would anyone care what kind of shirt he had on? If the pastor were known for the joy of the Lord in his heart and justice in his actions would anyone care if he wore a polo shirt or a tie?
Truth and righteousness
Pastors who are fitted with readiness, who protect their members with the shield of faith and guide them with the sword of the Spirit should not have to worry about having on any other uniform. Truth and righteousness are their protection.
May God hasten the day when the primary concern of churches is that their pastor, as well as themselves, have on the uniform advocated in the Bible and stop worrying about the culturally accepted uniform of a congregation.
A shirt worn over a pair of jeans doesn’t make one passionate for the Lord just as a coat and tie does not make one holy or righteous. That comes only when we put on God’s uniform, the whole armor of God.
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