Dress code?

Some women wear pants on SUn Morning, but nice dressy ones. Almost no men wear coats, but just nice clean shirts and pants. DH always wears a suit, but lately has been shedding the coat on Sun morning, and shedding the tie sun night. WEd night is usually pants and a polo type shirt.

I always wear a dress Sun am, usually the same thing at night and jeans or pants WEd night.

 

That's a very vague statement.

I've seen some places that prohibit beards because they are "ungodly". Other places permit immodest apparel because of "freedom".

In a church setting, modesty (biblical standards) should be the norm, no matter what. Spaghetti straps and Daisy Dukes should certainly be a no-no.

As far as being in the office goes, then there are different mitigating circumstances involved that don't bear on modesty at all.

I have worked in environments that required ties, and I've worked in environments that simply require closed-toe shoes, shorts to the knee, and clean shirts.

I my church were to suddenly require that I wear a suit and tie every Sunday, I would not be there next Sunday.

Also, new standards can be a burden. Arbitrary standards can be detrimental.

 

But when you have a large office staff there comes a time when you have to draw the line somewhere. I can see the wisdom in that. We do it in Bible colleges all the time.

As I said it first, "personal standards of neatness and appropriateness" was only meant to refer to the fact that the men on our staff are men who take the time to comb their hair, tuck their shirts in when they need to, and keep themselves looking neat and tidy. (Many of the other men in our church are NOT like this....so there can be a real distinction.) I was not trying to say that that statement is actually written down as part of their job description or as an attempt to define a standard for them.

Oh, and I need to point out that there is probably something of a culture difference between my church and the churches many of you are used to. Our pastor is the one who sets these standards, not the church congregation. So neither the congregation, nor the deacons, set any kind of dress code for the staff.

 

Suit and tie Sun morns and evening

Duck Head britches or some other form of Kkakki/Color with either a button up or pull over collard on Wednesdays and when in office and visiting elderly/hospitals, etc.

Jeans/shorts/very casual if there is an outing like Youth/Children party

Flip-flops or sandels?? Only for geeks and those a little "wormy"!! Not for this country boy!!!

 

Modestly,neatly and for the occassion,should suffice.

 

I would run from a church that had a dress code for staff, lol!

Actually, dress all depends on the style of church and what is acceptable by them.

At the last church i served at which was a church plant that was a bit more contemporar, i was able to preach in a polo and kakhi's every week...and could have probably worn a pair a jeans if i chose to (but didn't).
During the week i wore jeans when it was cold (or even nylon warm ups) and usually wore shorts during the summer.
Because it was acceptable.

At my current church i wear a coat and tie on most Sunday mornings (i've begun wearing nice t-shirts under my suit coats, it's a nice look). On Sunday evenings and the rest of the week in the office i usually wear a polo and khaki's.
I did have one person make a comment about me not dressing up enough for services (Sunday evening and Wednesday night)...but she is also the type that is not happy with anything i do, so i filed that in the appropriate place.

 

I am the pastor of a small, out in the sticks country church. Iam the only one in a suit and tie Sunday mornings and the only one in dockers and a dress shirt Sun and Wed nights. No dress code except that I choose to wear what I have deemed appropriate. For visits, it really depends upon who and how well know the folks. A suit and tie may make them uncomfortable and jeans may be too informal for some. Discretion is the best guide.

 

but actually we aren't talking about placing any sort of restrictions on a pastor in his pulpit during church services. This is about office staff during the work week. How does a church want to represent itself to the outside world when its church office staff meets other business people?

At our school we had a secular social worker show up one day. The way she was dressed made us first think she was a "street person" looking for a handout. Needless to say, we were not impressed with how well she was doing her job, if she couldn't even present herself in a neat and tidy manner. How much better ought a church office staff present itself? I don't think its about fanciness, or wearing the most upscale things, or being in the best of fashion. But rather how neat and tidy we are, whether our appearance is appropriate for the job we are performing, and if it gives the impression of people who know what they are doing and are working at some level of competence.

I think its important to be "worldly-wise" in this area, and to pay attention to the image which the business people around us are seeing.

 

I couldn't agree more with you Bapmom. It sounds like McDonald's has a higher uniform standard than some Church Staffs. Now I also agree that you should not overdress for the sake of "wearing a suit everywhere". In the Marine Corps we have accepted "liberty" (free or off-time) attire and that attire is meant to not draw attention to ourselves (especially overseas) and to alow us to be good ambassadors for our country and the Marine Corps...this attire is casual slacks and a casual shirt with a collar...nothing loud or obnoxious. Now if a secular business (McDonald's) or a very secular career field (military) can have standards I think it would be prudent of the Church to have these at least.

So coincidently I just happened to ask my Dad (who pastored for 16 yrs and served in one capacity or another in full-time service for another 9 yrs and now has been in the funeral business for 4 yrs) what should I be doing to get my wardrobe together for me preparing to go into the ministry and he said to first understand the environment and dress appropriately for it (3 piece suit may not work in Wyoming but a sport coat or shirt and tie may) and secondly to dress like the business fields that we represent...I said huh? I explained it to me this way, we don't sell insurance as Pastors but in reality we share something so much more than that but very similiar so dress like the local insurance guy does when he is meeting with customers for the first time also we are in the business of "life and death" so we could take a cue from the local funeral business to see how they dress when dealing with a customer. I think this makes sense and while I be getting rid of my camoflauge uniform and adding more ties to my closet I think that a balanced wardrobe is best.

Simply put, be respectful of those you are dealing with and be mindful of "whom" you represent. (I should have said that first..it was short and sweet )

 

When the weather is mild - jeans 7 days a week.
When the weather is hot - shorts most days (except Sundays when jeans are still worn).

A few Sundays a year we will really dress up and break out a pair of docker-style pants.

Dress should be relevant to your culture and audience. A suit would not match the image of our church or culture.

 

Don't come naked.

 

if you are still checking this thread....

Landsend.com .... have you looked at their website? The mens Khakis start at around $35 and they hem them for free, AND will hem to the 38 length that you need. The quality is also very good, so they last along time.

jewels

 

I am the staff... I would say again it all depends on what, who, where. I normally wear jeans and a button shirt. If I am going to visit i wear clean cloths and shave. Seriously, it would have to depend on the area and culture. Where I am, people would be made uncomfortable if I always wore dress shirt and khakis. However, if I was in an upscale area, that would be preferable and likely a tie also. Dress should be appropriate to the neighborhodd.

 

I was filling pulpits in a couple of different counties nearby. One church was bothered that I was overdressed, another was bothered by underdress, I quit wondering what would make people comfortable. I dress to please my God. I put on my best and put my best energy into getting them ready. I want to give God my best, sunday morn, sunday night, wed night or any night.
Everyone else takes a back seat.

 

Why do we dress less when we worship sunday night, and wed night, than when we worship sunday morn? Is not our dress for God during our time of worship? Why should a standard for dress or anything be any less any other time of worship?

 

It is sad that most people would dress up better to meet a celebrity or the President but try to make God "more comfortable" whether at worship service or as church staff.

I try to treat my wife better than I would the Queen of England if she were to visit me and try to dress better than if I was visiting the White House to meet the President. This has worked for me and removes many doubts, questions and issues with my testimony and dress standard.

 

When I meet a celebrity (I've never met the president), I wear the same thing I'm wearing now: Something that is clean, if possible. At the moment, it's a t-shirt and jeans. I will do the same thing for my wife or the queen of England: Wear something clean. Stinky is offensive.

BTW, God sees you naked in the shower.

 

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

And Revmitchell makes a salient point. If we truly believe we should dress our best for worship, then most of us sin on Sunday night, and especially Wednesday.

 

Dressing our best doesn't necessarily mean a suit and tie.

When I came to southern FL, I always wore coats and ties... but soon learned that wasn't the way most people, including bankers and business men, dressed.

So now I dress my best, but without the suits and ties. kakhis .... er khakis ... err brown pants and golf shirts or nice long sleeve shirts for Sunday AM.

I wore a suit and tie to visit a man in the hospital recently and he wanted to know if he was dying.