christianity

“You Don’t Look Like a Pastor.”

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

It was a Friday night about 14 years ago.

I was leading the wedding rehearsal for a young couple at the church I was serving. I was wearing my typical rehearsal attire: khaki’s, polo, my favorite Doc Martens. For those who know me, this qualifies as “dressed up!” I mean, the polo was even tucked in!

As the bridal party was gathering, the father of the bride introduced himself and started asking some questions: “Where’s the altar? Where’s the kneeling rail? Where do people get saved?”

Based on his line of questioning, I had a pretty good idea of the type of church this gentleman attended. We had a nice conversation about worship styles and ministry approaches. It seemed like the conversation was coming to a close when we both agreed that keeping Jesus as the focus is what’s most important.

Then he made a statement that was more puzzling than anything else. “You don’t look like a pastor.”

I implied that I’d rather “live and be” like a pastor than just keep up the appearance of a pastor and then asked, “So, what exactly does that mean?”

He replied, “Oh, you know…suit and tie, clean shaven, slick backed hair, that kind of stuff.”

Now, to be fair, my hair was in a bit of a wild state as I was in the middle of a wager to grow my hair out like chef Hubert Keller.

I’ve always embraced an attitude of, “this is who I am, so this is what you’ll get” when it comes to my pastoral “style.” Whether it’s my attire, my use of humor/sarcasm, my early onset grumpiness, my proclamation that I have one suit and I only wear it for weddings, funerals, and to ask for large sums of money, or my desire to help us not take ourselves too seriously, I really just don’t care that much what others think.

While I believe we should take care of ourselves so that we are healthy enough to serve, I’m not sure God truly desires that we place too much pride in our appearance. In fact, 1 Samuel 16:7 pretty much confirms my assumption, “…Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.”

And, most church-going Christians will agree, “it’s the heart that matters most.” But, far too many are still convinced that we need to come in our “Sunday best.”

I remember hearing a colleague share about a member who pulled him aside to announce his disappointment in one of the younger members church attire. The person announced that he felt it was disrepectful to wear jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers to a worship service. “That’s no way to honor God,” the man stated.

My friend replied, “Well, I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but that person is wearing $500 designer jeans, $1,200 sneakers, and is one of our most faithful and generous members. And, he shows up early every Sunday to lead our high school Bible study.” Now, I’m not sure he should have talked about the persons generosity…but I know he was just trying to humble (and shut up) the grumpy member.

Some have suggested that we dress in a way that reflects our context. Well, the most direct neighbors to our church would probably be the people sleeping in our alley or across the street at the mission. Wearing a suit and tie just might feel a bit out of touch. Down the street is the “business sector.” 15 years ago, the suit and tie would have been more prevalent, but today even the business sector has become more casual. If I see someone in a suit and tie, I assume they are on their way to court!

I mean, the largest and fastest growing churches in my local context are some of the most casual, informal churches I’ve ever visited. Some of the pastors and worship leaders in these congregations look like they just got out of their pontoon or were in the background of a Justin Bieber video. I mean, my only question is why are Dahmer glasses (wire-rimmed, double-bridged, aviator-style frames) so popular among evangelical megachurch pastors?

Maybe it isn’t about attire after all?

I mean, just exactly who are we trying to impress? God or our neighbor? I don’t think anyone could convince me that those who “dress up” score more points with God than those who don’t.

It’s not about being hip and cool…it’s not about our Sunday best…it’s about being ourselves – being who God created us to be.

So, whether you are a suit and tie, dress and hat, jeans and t-shirt, formal, informal or business casual type person, just be yourself! I’m conviced that God prefers that we all “be” the part than “look” the part.

Anti-Woke…Anti-DEI…Anti-Gospel…Anti-Jesus

/ Jason Morris / 1 Comment

A couple of days ago, I had a t-shirt pop up in a “things you might light” post.

After “liking” and sharing the image on social media, the algorithm’s set about their work and shared another t-shirt with me this morning.

To be honest, these algorithms are “spot on” because I truly “love” both shirts.

Both t-shirts have stirred up some thoughts that led me to my under-utilized blog.

Over the last several election cycles, many “Christians” have advocated for policies and candidates that embrace an “anti-woke” and “anti-DEI” agenda. For many “Christians,” the assumption has been made that “the reason why the USA is going to hell-in-a-handbasket is because of the ‘woke liberals’ and their ‘progressive agenda’ that promote crazy ideas like diversity, equity and inclusion.”

There are others who may not have this perspective, but have supported candidates who embrace these types of “anti-woke” and “anti-DEI” values because these candidates often make empty promises that their “anti-woke, anti-DEI” policies will lead to lower grocery and gas prices. Maybe I’ve missed it, but I feel like that’s not really working out for us right now. Many of the “on day 1” promises have been replaced with important legislation, like banning paper straws and renaming the Gulf of Mexico (sarcastic tone implied). Call me cynical, but I’m struggling to see how this is going to make my groceries cheaper.

What I am seeing is that programs that are meant to help support the most marginalized members of our society are being gutted and defunded, while billionaires are signing new government contracts for unnecessary space exploration.

When one really digs deep into so much of what is being claimed as “Christian values” within the political sector today, one will easily discover that much of it is void of biblical, Christ-like values.

Many Christians support the pro-life movement. But many of the pro-life folks are actually just “pro-birth.” Many that work to protect the sancity of life and worked tirelessly to reverse Rov vs. Wade also promote policies that cut funding to programs that care for that life after birth. We’re pro-life and pro-war. We’re pro-life and pro-capital punishment. We’re pro-life and anti-affordable healthcare. We’re pro-life and anti-free school lunch. So, maybe we should just call it what it is…we aren’t pro-life, we are pro-birth. We can make a case that protecting the life of the unborn is Christ-like, but not caring for that life after birth is Christ-less.

One of the great things about the States is our freedom…freedom of speech, thought, the right to be wrong. So, feel free to embrace these “anti” positions…just stop claiming them for Jesus!

Leading up to elections, I always encourage folks to read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). If someone won’t take the time to read these chapters, I suggest at least reading the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). These passages reveal the heart of Jesus.

They demonstrate that Jesus is always on the side of the poor, the marginalized, the overlooked, the abused, the least and the last.

They show that Jesus never took a “me first” approach, but always embraced the “others first” mentality. Jesus was not proud or arrogant, but took on the posture of a humble servant.

Jesus did not use fear and intimidation, but embodied love, mercy, and grace.

Jesus called out the oppressors and championed the cause of the oppressed.

Jesus spoke worth and value into those society devalued. He empowered women (I mean, it was the women who announced His resurrection, the first ones to preach the Gospel). He told those who asked “who is the greatest in the Kingdom” that if we want to enter the Kingdom we must become like children (Matthew 18:1-5).

In the American-Evangelical “Christian” pursuit of “anti-woke” and “anti-DEI” policies, I am afraid these “Christians” have embraced an “anti-Gospel” and “anti-Jesus” agenda. Though I embrace a very progressive eschatology (I’m more of a “this is a metaphor – a story to tell us that “love wins” and not a “this is going to play out just like that Kirk Cameron movie based on a piece of rapture-inspired fiction” kind of guy), I could be convinced that in the American-Evangelical “Christian” pursuit of “taking America back” some may have actually embraced a political idol that is actually “anti-Christ.”

So, what do we do? Well, we do the things Jesus called us to do: love God, love neighbor, love enemies, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, make sure everyone has something to drink, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, care for the orphan and widow, provide for the least of these. In other words, don’t be a jerk.

And, that’s the challenging part for me. Because I am committed to the way of Jesus, that means I’m committed to doing the hard work of loving the folks that are giving Jesus and Christianity a bad name. That means I have to embrace the posture of a humble servant. That means I have to love God, neighbor, and even my enemy. That means I have to strive to stop being a jerk.