What the minister wears while performing his official duties is more important than many of us might imagine. When I came to Arizona in 2013, this congregation was used to having its pastor wear a suit, a nice suit, every Sunday. I did not own a suit like that, nor did I think that wearing one would be helpful in changing the culture. So I preached my first sermon here in a button down shirt and tie, not a bow tie, and without a jacket. Several months later, I took off the tie and simply preached in a button down. I preached one Sunday with the shirt untucked, but that made me uncomfortable. As reformation proceeded in the congregation, the changes were reflected—perhaps too subtly for many to realize—in what I wore on Sunday.
After two years we bought hymnals for the church, began using a modest but explicitly Reformed liturgy for the service, and I put back on a tie. As the worship became more consistently biblical, I put on a jacket with the tie. But I did not think then, and I certainly do not believe now, that the pastor should dress like a businessman. I am not the CEO of this organization. I am not running a company. I am a minister of Jesus Christ, a slave, representing the kingdom of heaven, called to pray, teach, and care for this flock. So after a lot of thinking, study, praying, and conversation, and with the Session’s blessing, in December of 2016, I took off the jacket and put on a preaching robe for the first time.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church does not have a dress code for its ministers. But though there is not a formal standard, it is unlikely you will see an OPC minister wearing skinny jeans and flip-flops in the Lord’s Day service. As in many Reformed denominations, the minister will usually wear a jacket and tie on Sundays. Some might preach without a tie, but the jacket and tie are the unofficial uniform. Relatively few ministers in the OPC wear a Genevan robe on a regular basis, though they used to be very common in Presbyterian churches. Only three or four of the thirty churches in our presbytery use the robe regularly.
The Genevan robe seems strange to many of our visitors, but not long ago almost all churches had official ministerial attire. The ancient Church used a white alb which continues to be worn in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other high liturgical traditions. Over time many other vestments were added. Martin Luther is believed to have introduced the plain black robe in Protestant services, to distinguish ministers of the Reformation from their Roman Catholic counterparts. The Genevan gown was a scholar’s robe, worn by professors as they lectured in the university. The minister’s black robe emphasized two things. First, he is a pastor-scholar, a teacher feeding God’s people with words and signs they could understand. Second, the minister is hidden beneath the black robe. He is Christ’s representative and mouthpiece. The Word of God is the center of attention, not who is preaching or what he is wearing.
Many professions have uniforms associated with them. Doctors use white coats, police officers carry shields, and judges wear robes. The uniform symbolizes the office. A police officer does not have authority as a private person; he represents the judicial system and the magistrate. His badge points to the authority he represents and serves. Ministers used to wear uniforms too as a reminder of their office and the divine authority they obey. The minister’s attire, whether a preaching robe or clerical collar, reminds the congregation that their pastor is not functioning as a private person. He is God’s ambassador. Ministerial attire reminds us of the gravity of hearing God’s voice from the pulpit and encourages reverence during worship.
Several years ago at General Assembly a man walked up to me, remarked on the fact that I was wearing a bow tie, and said with a smile, “I bet I know where you went to seminary!” I smiled back and replied, “I bet you don’t.” When I began wearing a bow tie some years ago, one of the ladies in our church did not like it. When I greeted her each week, she would roll her eyes. One Sunday she sighed and said, “You’re going to keep doing this, aren’t you?” I grinned, answered in the affirmative, and said, “It makes me look like a waiter, doesn’t it?” “Yes!” she replied emphatically. I wore a regular necktie to her funeral out of love and respect for her, though I’m quite certain she no longer cared. When my friend Dane was pastoring a Reformed Baptist church, he wore a clerical collar every Sunday. When he became a paedobaptist, joined our church, and came on staff as an intern, he stopped wearing the collar and put on a jacket and tie. He became a Presbyterian and started dressing like a Baptist.
Many people who accept me wearing a Genevan robe on Sundays may be uncomfortable with a clerical collar because they think it is Roman Catholic. Actually a Presbyterian minister first introduced the collar, though there appear to have been precursors. Portraits of Reformed ministers from the mid-1700s until the early 20th century show many wearing some type of clerical collar, often with a Genevan robe and preaching tabs. This includes Charles Hodge, J. H. Thornwell, Herman Bavinck, and Abraham Kuyper and Reformed Baptists like John Gill and Benjamin Keach. Until recently most ministers in the Free Church of Scotland Continuing wore a clerical collar. It’s hard to imagine these fathers in the faith failed to notice the inherent Romanism of their attire. The OPC considers wearing a collar a matter of indifference, and while I am not aware of any OPC ministers stateside who wear one on a regular basis, it is not uncommon to see pictures of our missionaries in eastern Europe and Canada doing so.
There are some who will object that the collar is confusing or associated with liberalism. I am familiar with all of these objections. But our Session has agreed (unanimously) that I will begin wearing one in the context of my official duties, and I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages which can be identified. The collar is a sign of ministerial office and appropriate for daily service. Twice a week I visit a local assisted living facility and its Alzheimer’s unit to conduct worship, offer prayer, and lead Bible study. I am on call at a local hospital and am frequently called for end of life work, visits with non-members, and an occasional psychiatric case. I visit members in their homes, pray with them at the hospital, and meet both Christians and non-Christians at local coffee shops or diners for conversation and counsel. In all of these settings, the collar is a reminder to myself and those with whom I meet of my role and purpose in our conversation. Many who wear the collar testify of frequent opportunities for evangelism, prayer, and counsel with strangers who recognize them as a minister. If some mistake me for a Roman Catholic priest, it is easy to correct them.
As western civilization further declines and open hostility to Christianity grows, I think there is an advantage in publicly identifying as a Christian minister. Many mainline, gospel-less denominations wear the collar today, and I don’t want to be mistaken for a Lesbyterian. But while much of the evangelical world is emphasizing worldliness more than evangelicalism, I am happy to embrace older Christian traditions that may seem outdated and weird. The collar is not a sign of superiority but of slavery; the minister is a slave of Jesus Christ, and he is to remember it and live accordingly wherever he goes. If the strangeness creates conversations in the community, so much the better. I have to wear something on Sundays. Should it be a bow tie, long necktie, bolo tie, or open collar? A clerical collar simplifies the decision. –JME
Eight Reasons for Wearing the Clerical Collar for Ministry
The minister’s attire is a circumstance, not an element, of worship, and it is, therefore, a matter of indifference and judgment to be determined by the minister and his Session.
The clerical collar is a widely recognized sign of ministerial office and that the wearer is a Christian minister.
The collar communicates simply dignity and seriousness about the ministerial office as do uniforms for other public servants.
The collar takes attention away from the minister’s dress and style and places emphasis on his function as a servant of God’s Word and prayer.
The collar is symbolic of a slave’s collar and signifies that the minister is a slave of Jesus Christ.
The collar may often create opportunities for evangelism and ministry when worn in the community.
The collar originated in Protestant and Presbyterian churches but communicates broader Christian catholicity since it was subsequently adopted by many traditions.
The collar standardizes ministerial garb removing personal preferences and distinctions between ministers.
