How Pastor's Should Dress (September Posting Challenge)

I can't tell other pastors how to dress. I can only describe what and why I do what I do.

In 2024, I wear dress pants, a dress shirt, and either a sweater or sport coat on top. Occasionally in the summer, I don't wear the jacket. I also wear a tie sometimes, often a knit tie. 

When I pastored a church plant, I wore dark jeans every Sunday. Often with a collared shirt and sweater.

Why the change? Because I think the pastor should dress one step above the congregation, especially a younger pastor. Me dressing up a level shows respect for the expectations and history of the church. I now pastor a church that is almost 200 years old that has a lot of older people in it. They remember when the pastor wore a suit every Sunday. I don't always wear a tie. I often make my dress clothes more casual by layering a sweater on top. I don't wear matching pants and suit jacket because the culture around us is pretty informal, and I don't want people in our community to be put off by how I dress. It is important, though, that I dress with and for respect. By dressing up a level, I show that I take pastoring seriously. I believe sloppily-dressed pastors communicate sloppiness and a lack of seriousness about their work.

I suspected that my clothes choices mattered to our church, but I didn't hear anything for two years. Then at almost the same time, two people in church commented on how me looking nice mattered to them.

I make dressing for Sunday morning easy by making sure that everything in my wardrobe matches. I have just a few basic shirts and two pairs of pants. I can mix and match everything and know that they work. That removes clothes as something to think about on Sunday morning.

No matter what a pastor chooses to wear, it needs to fit. If your clothes don't fit, then it still looks sloppy and you will not be comfortable.