Pastors should dress up for church

I appreciated the recent lettter about church leaders’ casual attire by Florence Grielich (July 27), as our recent Sunday lunch topic included similar questions and concerns.

The incessant need that some pastors feel to wear jeans is probably motivated by wanting to come across as relevant and trendy, but I think it comes across as irreverent, given that we are supposed to honor God in all we do, dress included. James 2 in the Bible does not mean dress badly.

In the past, jeans were most useful for outdoor work environments, but I don’t know many pastors who have just come in from the pasture on Sunday mornings, although you might assume that from what they are wearing. Most peoples’ weekday jobs have a dress code, and I’m afraid it exceeds what we see at some churches.

I still believe most church attendees want to see their platform leaders dressed nicely while still maintaining the relevancy of the gospel.

This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Pastors should dress up for church."