what not to wear, ministry edition

I've never been known as a fashion guru. I spent my first year in seminary stumbling into Greek exegesis at 7:25 a.m., usually wearing jeans or sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I didn't start wearing makeup on a regular basis until probably my third year in seminary (well, at least no one can argue that I went to seminary for my M-R-S degree!). As my friends will attest, as I've made efforts to "dress it up" a bit, I've often wished I could be on the show "What Not to Wear" - you know, the one where the slightly obnoxious but amusing co-hosts pick some poor, unsuspecting fashion disaster and transform him or her into fashion plate... with the help of thousands and thousands of dollars.

What in the world does a fashion-driven TV show have to do with ministry? I asked myself that very question this morning, when I read an article published by Gifted for Leadership dealing with what female ministers should and should not wear. The author writes that when she was in seminary, she was discussing a gifted female classmate with some of her male peers, and one of the men remarked,

"Sally is phenomenal, but when she preaches few men will be thinking about God. If you know what I mean."

The author responded, "So, you saying she’s too pretty to preach?"

WHOA! This is certainly not something we discussed in seminary. In fact, I don't know that I've ever thought about this extra hurdle women may have to overcome when they preach. The author of this article raises a good question: "in a consumer-driven, sexually-charged culture, how should a woman in leadership decide what to wear?"

I've never been someone who blames women for every impure thought that runs through a man's head; nevertheless, this is a question that those of us who are women in leadership should take seriously. I don't have all the answers, but a few preliminary thoughts:

• I don't think that dressing frumpishly is the answer. For some people, this will be as much of a barrier to hearing God's Word as it would be if we dressed like fashion plates!
• Modesty is key. That should be obvious. It's just not that hard to dress modestly and fashionably.
• We need more conversations between those of us who are in ministry and the men and women with whom we serve, as well as with members in the congregation, about this issue.
• Men need to be challenged to work on their own sexual purity, even as women need to be considerate with what we wear.
• Both women and men who are in leadership must take care that the clothes they wear not speak more loudly to the congregation than the Word of the Lord.

I suspect conversations like these will be ongoing as more women enter ministry and are engaged in public preaching. I encourage you to read "What Not to Wear" for yourselves and enter into the conversation with your own thoughts. May we never be dismissed as too pretty to preach or too frumpy to follow!

Image found here.