God Wears Flannel

Last Sunday I had lunch after church with a few other retired ministers and their spouses. We all came straight from church. Of the three other clergymen present, one was wearing a coat and tie, one had taken off his tie after worship, and the third wore khakis and a sweater. None of them had preached that Sunday. That was just their normal church attire.

I wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt to the meal. That is what I also wore to church. That is what I always wear to worship these days. It feels comfortable. It also feels like I am going to church incognito. Who would guess that the old guy with the gray beard (that is getting a bit too long) and Wallace tartan is a preacher? Not many.

Before I retired, I always wore a coat and tie on Sundays. A suit for special occasions. For many years I wore a black pulpit robe and stoles. When I starting preaching in the 1970’s I even wore a coat and tie during the week for visitation and meetings. I still wear a coat and tie nowadays when I am a guest preacher. A suit for funerals and weddings. The rest of the time it is flannel.

These days many preachers dress casually all the time, even when preaching. Especially megachurch pastors. Apparently it helps them connect to the people in the pews. That is, if they had pews. Pews are out, having been replaced by cushioned chairs. Organs are out. Guitars and drums are in. Choirs are out. Worship teams are in. Hymnals are out. Lyrics projected on a screen are in. Stained glass windows are out. Windowless auditoriums are in.

I have mixed feelings about these trends in worship. I lament the loss of poetry in lyrics and variety in music. I prefer hymns, and I could do without the amplifiers. I like sermons with thoughtful theologizing delivered from a pulpit, rather than casual talks given without notes. I like sunlight shining through glass windows, and I like hearing scripture read in worship.

But my aching back and bottom are glad for comfortable chairs as opposed to hard pews. I don’t care what the preacher or the worship leaders wear. I wear flannels and jeans, and so I cannot begrudge others’ wardrobe choices. When I had a church in Steeler Nation half the congregation wore black and gold jerseys to church on game day, so I got used to unusual worship apparel.

But I don’t want to hear closed-mindedness and dogmatism in theology, whether liberal or conservative. I don’t want to hear prejudice or bigotry of any type. I don’t want to hear about politics in church. I get enough of that elsewhere. I don’t want to hear people being judged for what they do or don’t do. Leave that to God, who is the only one who can judge impartially.

Did I mention flannel shirts? I think God prefers flannel and jeans over coat and ties. After all his son was a carpenter. (Something God and I have in common.) Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We even call him God the Son. That means that God wears flannel! If Jesus returns to earth physically, the way many Christians expect, he will certainly be sporting Levis. Or at least Carhartt.

If I were to require one new rule for church, it would be that everyone had to wear flannel shirts and blue jeans to church at least once a month. Both men and women. Even the pastor. Kind of like “Casual Friday” at work. Call it “Flannel Sunday.”

Maybe we could make it the eleventh commandment. It is time the Ten Commandments got an upgrade. Better yet, put it in the place of that Sabbath law. Christians ignore that one anyway. We might as well be upfront about it. And once in a while we could all sing that gospel favorite: Gimme that Blue Jeans Religion. It’s good enough for me.