Thursday, May 18, 2006
Do preachers wear their best...
After my last blog, a "non-comment" reader asked me about preachers and their worship attire. It was interesting. Are preachers accomadating a cultural trend (and so "connecting" better), or are they intentionally leading a move into a different type of worship atmosphere, or are they just tired of coats and ties? I am not sure I know the answer, but a couple of thoughts did strike me. Even if it is not intentional, the way the preacher dresses certainly helps set the tone for the type of assembly his congregation will have. It is a little disingenious to claim otherwise. I would have to say that it is easy to "under dress" and hard to "over dress".
For example, I don't know that I have ever adversly affected my preaching by being too dressed up. I would like to say the same about being under dressed, but I am not sure that is true. And it is probably true that the atmosphere of worship is more influenced by the personality of the preacher than by how he dresses. I know men who are formal in their jeans, and men who are casual in their suits.
So what does all this mean? If you are trying to make a statement by what you wear (preacher or not), take time to examine your purpose. Is the statement you are making really what you want to say? If you never really think about it, you probably don't need to spend much time worrying about it. I do appreciate what some of you said about our dress reflecting our respect for the rest of our family. So I probably dress up a little more than I would if I were not a leader and often leading in the assembly. And the main statement I make is that 1) I have a wife that keeps me from embarrasing myself by what I wear, and 2) sometimes I come to worship just as I am (not even time to take off my tie, much less get in my jeans).
And by the way, none of this applies to Randy Harris or Phil Ware. I have no idea why they wear what they wear to preach in, and I have no idea what statement they are making. But I still love them and I still want to hear them preach.
So now we can all look at each other the next few weeks and see what we think. Or would that be missing the whole point?
For example, I don't know that I have ever adversly affected my preaching by being too dressed up. I would like to say the same about being under dressed, but I am not sure that is true. And it is probably true that the atmosphere of worship is more influenced by the personality of the preacher than by how he dresses. I know men who are formal in their jeans, and men who are casual in their suits.
So what does all this mean? If you are trying to make a statement by what you wear (preacher or not), take time to examine your purpose. Is the statement you are making really what you want to say? If you never really think about it, you probably don't need to spend much time worrying about it. I do appreciate what some of you said about our dress reflecting our respect for the rest of our family. So I probably dress up a little more than I would if I were not a leader and often leading in the assembly. And the main statement I make is that 1) I have a wife that keeps me from embarrasing myself by what I wear, and 2) sometimes I come to worship just as I am (not even time to take off my tie, much less get in my jeans).
And by the way, none of this applies to Randy Harris or Phil Ware. I have no idea why they wear what they wear to preach in, and I have no idea what statement they are making. But I still love them and I still want to hear them preach.
So now we can all look at each other the next few weeks and see what we think. Or would that be missing the whole point?
