Six Thoughts about Proper Pastoral Attire for Worship Services

I never expected to write an article on this topic, and I’m still not certain I should. But I’ve received sufficient questions from readers of the blog and listeners of the podcast to indicate I should tackle the issue.

Allow me three caveats before I go further. First, this post is about high-level issues of attire, not the specifics of fashion and dress. I am not qualified to write about the latter. I once tried to subscribe to GQ and was rejected as unqualified. Second, though I am writing about pastors, much of the content could be applied to other church staff. Third, I am only writing to males. I am not about to delve into issues about female attire.

With those caveats, I must disclose a clear bias of mine. I do not like neckties. They are too similar to a hanging noose for my comfort. With those issues cleared, let’s look at six thoughts about pastoral attire.

  1. Understand the demographic context. Most churches in South Florida and Southern California have different expectations about dress than some churches in Mississippi and Alabama. Find out how other pastors dress in the community. Find out how the men in your own congregation dress for worship services.
  2. Understand the church’s expectations. The expectations of churches in the same community typically vary. Because I speak all over the nation, my assistant always asks my host about the expectations of my attire. I would never want the way I dress to be a distraction or stumbling block.
  3. Understand changes in fashion. I have been fascinated to observe the changes toward a more informal dress in many churches. When I became a member of my church ten years ago, about 90 percent of the men attending wore ties. Now I suspect the number is below 10 percent. Such changes may be a signal to you as a pastor that you can dress a bit more informally.
  4. Lead change gradually. The pastor’s attire in a worship service can be a sacred cow for some church members. Don’t let the way you dress become a major divisive issue. For example, if you notice a more informal trend for dress in your church, you may want to move from wearing a tie all the time to leaving the tie off in the summer months. Gradual change can be better tolerated than radical and sudden change.
  5. Don’t put your preferences ahead of your love for others. The biblical principle of the stumbling block (See 1 Corinthians 8) means that we put our own rights on the backburner for consideration of others. It is not a sin to dress without a tie and coat, but it can be a problem for others. The matter becomes sin when our own preferences become our idol.
  6. Understand your members’ emotional attachment to certain forms of attire. I knew a pastor who was called to serve an established church in the South. Previous pastors had all worn suits and ties in the worship services. On his first Sunday, he wore jeans, an untucked shirt, and sandals. He had the shortest tenure of any pastor in the history of the church.

I welcome your input on this issue. Ladies, feel free to share about female attire for church staff as well. You are far more qualified than I to broach that topic.

Posted on July 13, 2015


With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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247 Comments

  • I agree that context is key; part of that context is the people/community we are trying to reach.

    Here’s a nice short post that resonates with my own feelings on the matter.

    http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/5668/why-i-preach-in-jeans

  • I remember having this discussion with some sweet but misguided young adults who came from the south to serve at a youth camp in Southern California. Their thought was that if the youth participated on stage up front the girls were required to wear a skirt and the boys a dress shirt and long pants. Imagine their surprise when I told them that many of their pastors preached on Sunday in shorts!
    Here in Idaho if you wear a suit you are immediately assumed to be LDS. We have ski wear and hunting cammo on Sunday.
    Now after 12 years here we are off to the Haitian mission field where you don’t wear a pair of jeans unless you are doing heavy labor and everyone at church wears a suit, even the women even though it’s hotter than blazes.

    My point is this: Ministry is people. It’s not programs or my past experiences or my comfort. Paul tells us to become all things to all people, meaning that whatever I do or wear should not hinder the gospel. If this means covering up my tattoos and shaving my beard or forgoing my jewelry or wearing a skirt when I would rather wear my shorts, so be it for the sake of the gospel.
    It also means I don’t judge others who are free to do differently.

  • Discussions on these topics always make for fun reading. You would almost think that the apostle Paul wore a suit and tie, sang hymns and southern gospel music that were written in the 1800’s and 1900’s, and preached in a red brick building with a white steeple (I served under a pastor for a short while who said strongly from the pulpit that that’s what a church was supposed to look like). All of the above items mentioned are fine but were certainly not anything close to what the early church did.

    Just like music and architecture, dress is generational. Since fashion trends seem to make there way back around, maybe a future generation will begin wearing suits and ties again to church. And then our current generation can be upset that they are not wearing jeans and a button up shirt.

    I am still surprised when pastors and church staff use old testament priests and temples to make these arguments rather than following the example of the apostles and the early church established in the new testament.

    For me, this issue comes down to modesty and the heart I bring to worship. I am doing fine with the first one but often times fail at the second. I think I will spend my time and effort working on that instead. I do, however, agree with Thom’s wisdom regarding knowing your demographics.

  • I grew up in the age of ‘fancy dress,’ which meant men & boys in suits & us ladies in suits or dresses, pearls, hats and gloves. I mourned the passing of hats ( for men AND ladies) in the late 60s.
    I can even remember the debate of women wearing (HORRORS!) pants to church.
    That being said, as I have aged (gracefully) I have been grateful for pants without having to struggle into pantyhose, and the ability to be comfortable and WARM IN doing so. I can no longer afford nor do I wish to have a different dress every week knowing that fellow church ladies noticed and commented and CONDEMNED many of my carefully chosen, clean, neat and appropriate outfits.
    As a Lay Preacher for over 30 years, my desire not to offend or be a cause of upset meant that I struggled into those pantyhose and was often cold and miserable in less than well-heated tiny churches. But I was also aware that a dress below my knees was appropriate for sitting on a chair above the congregation.
    I think the only thing congregations should worry over is that their pastor is speaking gospel truth and not wearing anything dirty, wrinkled or that shows parts of the body everyone knows should be covered.
    All else seems to be posturing.
    In churches where robes are worn, this addresses the problem…until you consider those who want to over decorate said robes. Then you move past appropriate to tacky. I once saw a country pastor with gold braid all over his robe. Why? Now THAT was very distracting!
    Our church is incredibly uninterested in how people dress; however our pastor has cautioned ladies to remember that certain things should be covered (like bra straps) and men that their pants need to cover their underwear!
    We want people who have left church or never been in one to not HAVE thebstumbling block or worry over not being dressed appropriately and thereby standing out or being criticized. Some men and women wear suits; but ther are shorts, flip flops, camo and a LOT of tattoos! And we all worship TOGETHER. And people are meeting Jesus in record numbers! And that is the only thing we really care about. And I wear pants and bring a blanket every Sunday because I’m still cold!

  • I guess the best thing to happen to me was being removed from a church where my custom made shirts that were not white were a problem along with my designer ties that were not red.

    I have gone casual dress for the last five years and most of the members. I have to laugh when people say give God your best. I could purchase several dress shirts for the price of one casual Robert Graham shirt.

    Being casual I know that as a church, we have reached folks that we never would have reached before.

  • Bob Kester says on

    Dress clean, neat, current, comfortable (please don’t be a hipster though or wear your 20 year old polyester slacks). In the long run people are MUCH more interested in what’s inside you, and the quality, sincerity, and passion for the Gospel around your messages. They want answers. “Are you the real deal”? “Can I trust you”?” Do you know what you’re talking about”? “Is my life being transformed by the power of Christ through your messages”? Whether you shop at Kohls or J Crew if you aren’t bringing the life transforming message of the Cross each week it really doesn’t matter how you dress.

  • I’m certainly OK with whatever a pastor wears on Sunday. When I am preaching, I like an open collar and sport jacket look. Just personal preference.
    I’m amused by the incongruities in our culture however. If a pastor wears a suit he is thought to be stuffy. However, when you watch TV, you see the basketball coach wearing a suit. The football commentators are wearing suits. The NASCAR commentators are wearing suits.
    I find it amusing that suits are thought to be stuffy in the pulpit. I gladly lose the ties!!

  • I think that the majority of people here would agree that this was a preference issue and therefore we should be guided (stress the word) from Romans 14.

    Not wanting to preach to pastors who have much more experience than I but this chapter has a stronger brother and a weaker brother.

    Now here is the controversial bit; the stronger brother is he who understands that his spirituality does not depend on his dress and the weaker brother is one who believes that he is more spiritual if he wears a suit. In the case of Rom 14 we are dealing with the stronger brother knowing that he can eat kosher and the weaker person does not believe this and eats only vegetables.

    There are two verses we can bring to bear on our discussion;

    Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

    Rom 14:15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

    As the Pastor we should be hyper-sensitive to ‘destroy not him with thy [dress], for whom Christ died.’

    I will not allow my dress to become a stumbling block for my congregation, nor for any visitors.

    I find dressing slightly more formal than the congregation accomplishes this. Few people are offended by a pastor wearing a tie (our summers hit 110 degrees in South Africa), but not wearing one may cause a visitor to be uncomfortable and place a stumbling block.

    Because of this I will always wear a tie for our Sunday worship meeting, in winter I add a blazer/sports jacket.

  • Jame Craig says on

    I live and minister in the heart of the Midwest and I minister almost exclusively to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. When the heat index is in the nineties and above I generally wear a polo shirt, often with a cross on it, but in cooler weather it’s coat and tie. The young members of my congregations are in their seventies. When I make visits to hospitals, rehab facilities and such I often wear the black polo shirt with a cross. But just as often I wear a collar and the reactions have been most favorable. They derive comfort from a member of the clergy who is willing to wear the symbols of the calling, humility and service. I know few ministers who wear clerical attire when performing their official offices, but perhaps we need to rethink it. If I wear clerical attire to show how special I am and to be treated differently it is wrong. If it is to acknowledge my commitment, dedication and willingness to be publicly recognized as a servant of Christ and to let people know I am there to serve, I think its a good thing.

  • While I find many of your articles very helpful, please be sensitive to the fact that not all your readers are male pastors. I take your article in the spirit it was given…to help all pastors discern how to honor God and their congregations in the matter attire. This includes female pastors who serve other traditions than yours. We don’t want anything to hinder the people’s ability to receive God’s message.

  • The leadership should set the standard not the congregation.
    This entire society has a lazy too casual attitude about everything and it reflects a lack of respect. No clothes do not define holiness but it can and has gone too far. People who have means should not dress for Sunday worship like they are going to a Saturday evening softball game. It speaks to a lack of respect for a house of worship. Will you draw the line at graphic tee’s and baggy jeans ? My son got a proper jacket, shirt and slacks at a thrift store for $9 so that is not the issue.

    • we attend a very casual church. My kids have a deport relationship with God than my husband did at their age, being made to dress up. A house of worship is a building where the church fathers to worship God. God looks at our hearts and not our outward appearance. I want those who have never been to church to be able to walk in wearing whatever they have on and know that we see them and not their appearance.

      • Our church community is almost a ghetto now from years past, we have homeless on a regular basis, we welcome them and seat them on the second pew behind the ministers. A too casual attitude by leadership does not help lead these to Christ.
        The outward is a reflection of the inward.
        Some of us respect the Church more than a ballpark or rock concert.

      • I think we place way too much emphasis on a building. In Africa, and I’m sure other places around the world, people meet under trees for worship. In the early church they met in houses.

  • We are predominantly a blue collar congregation. However, our dress seems to very diverse from shorts to suits. I most often wear slacks with a nice shirt. But I do mix it up for occasion with suit from time to time. I will also wear a liturgical stole during special services, communion and baptisms. – It seems to work for us, and I have not had any complaints.

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