Unapproachable?
A pastor recently explained in his sermon why he chooses not to wear a clerical collar. It boils down to his belief that a collar makes a pastor unapproachable. He said:
You know, why do pastors wear the the collars? Well, they wear the cassock, the black outfit, and then they have a white collar around their neck to show I’m a sinner, but when I speak, I speak on behalf of a pure and holy God. And so there’s nothing wrong with that. There are many, many communities and many places where that works. For me, if I were to wear that, people would go, “Oh, Father, what time is Mass?” You know, and I’m like, “Well, that’s not us. That’s not what we do.” And there, there are some people that that would not see that as an approachable person to talk to. And I want to seem approachable….
If I was to wear [vestments] every Sunday, you would have to give me IVs in between services because I would sweat to death up here. I would I would literally be a mess, and that’s just not my style. I wouldn’t. There would be people that would not see that as approachable, and I want people to approach me…. I feel like I’m approachable because of the way I dress.
As I said in a comment on the blogpost:
I try to buck the slovenly trend when flying, and so I usually dress up a bit - which for me, means wearing a clerical when traveling. Since I like to travel without checking a bag, I sometimes fly cassocked (if I will be conducting the liturgy and/or preaching at my destination). People come up to me all the time. They smile. They ask for prayers. They know I'm one of Jesus' Men because of the uniform - just like when we see a young marine or soldier or airman or sailor - and we thank them for their service. Civilian clothing doesn't make anybody more approachable. It just allows you to blend in with the scenery, so that nobody knows who you are. It makes you anonymous.
My backpack has a chaplain's cross on it, and a young Air Force officer at the DFW airport recognized the insignia, and we had a great conversation. It turns out that she was stationed in the New Orleans area, and her colleague was a specific Air Force chaplain whom I was playing phone tag with. I took a picture and sent it to the chaplain - and we had a great phone conversation right then and there. We are now colleagues in the Louisiana State Guard.
There are benefits to standing out a bit. Why he thinks this makes a person unapproachable is, as I said, not my experience at all.
I have no problem with people knowing who I am, and who my Boss is. And if it brings them comfort in a time of trial in life - because they can come to me with questions or prayers or asking for a blessing (which happens often) - then how is that being "unapproachable"? I have had people tell me that they appreciate simply seeing a pastor willing to be seen in a collar, that it makes them think of Jesus. I think there are blessings and benefits of wearing clerical garb that we will never find out about until eternity.
And just yesterday, the Boss used His impeccable timing and clerical garb to give pastoral care to one of His beloved.
I lead an online Vespers service for Wittenberg Academy every Tuesday afternoon. My wife and I planned to make a Walmart run afterwards. Well, during the Magnificat, my phone belted out a fire alarm (I’m a fire chaplain). I managed to continue chanting while I discreetly snuck the phone out of my pocket and silenced it (now there is a skill that has nothing to offer a man on his resume). After the service ended, I looked to see what the fire alarm was. Lo and behold, the call was to Walmart to clean up spilled gasoline at the gas station. Some might call that a coincidence. Yeah. I know better. So off we went.
After the situation at the gas pump was handled, I met up with my wife at Walmart, ran off on my own and and grabbed a few things, carrying them precariously in my arms while trying to find my wife. An elderly black lady stopped me at an endcap along the main aisle.
“Are you a minister?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Would you pray for me? I’m going through some stuff.”
I was able to give this dear lady pastoral care right there, juggling all of my items. As I began to pray, I made the sign of the cross and invoked the Most Holy Trinity. Joellen grabbed my right hand. “God is in the right hand,” she explained. Well, I don’t know about that, but I accommodated. I prayed for her. I gave her a blessing and made the sign of the holy cross on her forehead. I patted her on the shoulder and assured her that Jesus loves her and has her back.
I realized that the Boss, in His divine providence and perfect timing, conspired through several divinely coordinated events so as to make sure that Joellen had pastoral care at that moment. In His mercy, He provided a pastor for her in her time of need. (If you’re so inclined, please say a pray for Joellen).
She did not find me “unapproachable.” In fact, she approached me. She sought me out. If you’re drowning in a pool, the guy with the lifeguard uniform is the most approachable person of all. Had the pastor who said clericals “don’t work” for him had been the one walking past Joellen instead of me, she would not have approached him. The clerical shirt made me approachable - not a sportsball jersey or even a T-Shirt with some Jesus glurge on it.
Now, I don’t always wear clericals to go to Walmart, but it’s also not uncommon that I end up doing so. But if I’m in street clothing, my ministry is camouflaged (at least to strangers). When I’m in clericals, everybody knows that I am one of Jesus’ men. Once in a while, we get glared at. That’s fine. I’m not ashamed of Jesus. I’m not ashamed of my ordination. I’m not ashamed of my vocation.
While in my first seminary class, our Greek instructor, Dr. Peter Scaer, told us to get over the awkwardness of wearing clericals in public. He told us to buy a clerical shirt, and leave the campus. Go out in public with it on. Go to the mall. So I did. And it was awkward. Some people stared. You just get used to it. It goes with the calling. In our recent trip to post-Christian Canada, I got a few glares. I sometimes get a few doubletakes on the motorcycle.
I’ve worn clericals in every region of the country, including in the Bible Belt. I have never felt unapproachable. I think that is just a canard.
My advice for seminarians and young pastors (since you CoWo types and “men of a certain age” are already set in your ways) is to wear your clericals often. And God will place you where you are needed. You will be more approachable for the sake of the kingdom and for the love of your neighbor. Don’t be a chameleon. Don’t just try to blend in. When you’re a pastor, you are a pastor 24-7 - and you are not only your congregation’s pastor - for you are a minister of Jesus, an ambassador for Christ to the world, and a servant of King and kingdom. You never know when the Lord will manipulate space and time to direct you to someone who needs pastoral care. And this is less likely to happen if you’re in mufti.
As Bishop Bo Giertz wrote:
Would you respect an officer who as a matter of principle appeared at maneuvers in mufti? Or a Salvation Army soldier who doffed his uniform when his corps was assembled in the market square?” Torvik was becoming irritated. “You must certainly understand that I want to come as an ordinary human being.” But the rector continued his argument. “Then you are sailing under false colors. You are no ordinary person. You have been ordained by the Church as a servant of the Word. You have been elected and called by the Christian congregation at Ödesjö to be its pastor. You get support from the fields which godly forbears donated for the pastor’s upkeep. It is pure dishonesty to take the money, if you want to be just an ordinary person.”
Five years ago, I implored pastors, “Be comfortable in your own skin.” Indeed. And be comfortable in being approachable.