Contextualization Goes Both Ways
By Trevin Wax on Dec 9, 2009 in Church Issues | 
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Imagine this fictional scenario.
You’re at a conference for young, urban pastors. Most of the men in attendance are dressed to fit the part. No suits and ties in sight. Stylish jeans and untucked shirts are the norm.
In comes an older pastor who has been invited to address the gathering. He is dressed to the nines. A flashy suit with gold cuff links that most of the younger guys wouldn’t even know how to put on.
So here we are in a crowd of young pastors – all dressed a certain way, and one man shows up looking completely out of place. And the sad truth is… he knew he would be out of place. But he still decided to dress that way.
The crowd begins whispering about the older pastor’s apparel. He’s trying to make a statement. He is out of touch. He doesn’t know how to contextualize. He probably wears a suit when he washes the car!
Now let me reverse the scenario.
A young pastor is called to address a gathering of pastors, most of whom are over 50. Most of the pastors are dressed in suits and ties, or at least business casual. Into this sea of polyester comes one young guy – hair tousled like he just got out of bed, shirt untucked, holes in his jeans.
Here we are in a crowd of older pastors – all dressed a certain way, and one man shows up looking completely out of place. And the truth is… he knew he would stand out.
What do you say about the young guy? I say the same thing I would about the older pastor mentioned above. He’s trying to make a statement. And even more… he doesn’t know how to contextualize.
Contextualization goes both ways.
My generation likes to talk about contextualizing to the urban, hip postmodern culture. But who will dress the part of the country parson in a rural setting? Who will be respectful enough to dress one way for one crowd and another way for another?
I know people who brag about the fact that they do not own a suit and tie. I suppose they aren’t preaching many funerals yet.
If you are truly able to contextualize, then you should not look for occasions to stand out and make a statement with your appearance. Let’s be honest. Just like some young guys don’t know if they can take seriously the guy they never see dress down, many older guys don’t know if they can take seriously the guy they never see dress up. They think, If they are so out of touch that they can’t throw on a suit coat when going to a gathering of older pastors, why should I think they are experts at contextualizing to the lost world around them?
Just a thought.
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Very good thoughts. Becoming all things to all men just might affect your wardrobe, eh?
Although I actually attend a church where (almost) all the men are in a suit and tie and yet I never wear a suit or tie to church. I just wear my collared shirt and dress pants/khakis. I do it to make a statement, albeit a more gentle one than the Emergent look. See, our church won’t allow any man to lead or serve in the Sunday service unless he wears a suit and tie. He can’t be in the choir, can’t be an usher, can’t read the Scripture, can’t pray, and certainly can’t preach. So, by my more casual dress, by my example of being as godly as I can, and by being as much of a leader as they’ll let me, I try to—in a sense—break their sabbaths, as Jesus did. I try to help them see that they shouldn’t enforce a certain culturally foreign dress standard on a church filled with people who bought a suit just so they can fit in in church. It’s giving respect to persons and encourages a rather silly conformity to something the world reserves for funerals and high-powered business meetings. In the business world where I work, most people associate suits with sales pitches and power-plays. It’s the old white guy equivalent of a gangsta’s grillz and chains. That’s life on the ground for those of us who don’t work on a church staff. A suit isn’t necessarily a sign that you’re respecting something else. It’s a sign that you’re demanding respect from others and you’re pressuring them with your persona. I’m dead serious.
I’ve had more than one person come up to me at church and thank me for not wearing a suit because they felt like they’d been alienated by the staff when they wanted to usher or read Scripture and they were told they had to wear a suit to do so (and they didn’t own one). There’s contextualization, and then there’s a New Law.
I like what C.S. Lewis said about church music… that a classically-trained church organist will need to play things he thinks beneath him in order to help the congregation understand better. And the congregation will have to listen to the organist playing these pieces that are “beneath him” but yet those pieces are still a bit above their heads. And so each party has to be gracious in either reaching down or reaching up, and so the body of Christ is served by neither side having their way. Both learn patience, love, and respect rather than just getting what they want.
Jeff | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Jeff,
I am not speaking of the situations in which an artificial constraint needs to be challenged. I’m speaking of those moments where there is really nothing to win or lose, when there are no real restraints or constraints – and someone is just making a statement for the sake of it. “Look how much more holy I am than everyone else that I don’t have to wear a suit to worship God.” It’s the tax collector saying, “Thank God I’m not like the Pharisee.”
Trevin Wax | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
I would add that that context is much more pervasive than many of us who are ministering near larger cities think. Good word, Trevin.
Michael DeBusk | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Excellent post Trevin.
Weston | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
I once wore a suit to preach in a contemporary service and my Hawaiian shirt to the traditional service to make just this point.
Peter | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Hmmmm.
Ed Stetzer | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
I want to nod in agreement here and I am – but I think there is room for engagement on both sides of the coin.
I don’t own a lot of clothing period, for a number of reasons. As a young associate pastor I tend to dress in the middle of the road at my church (my first “critique” on the job was about how I don’t wear a lot of variety). I don’t wear jeans and always wear a button up shirt on Sunday. I have my small vices though: I wear sandals to church, I don’t often tuck in my shirt, and my hair is pretty shaggy. There have been no less than three Sunday School classes that have ended up being about my dress habits. I’m happy to be the object lesson if they are constructive conversations, and to my knowledge they have been.
I’ve been encouraged at times, when I am in a room full of well dressed pastors in my middle of the road garb, by their willingness to treat me well. But if we are honest, even if there is nothing to gain or lose, somebody is wrong when judgments are flying on either side of the issue. If I’m judging somebody by their dress I am not living up to the standard by which God judges – the heart.
joey | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Jeff where does C.S. Lewis write about this? I’d be interested in checking it out.
joey | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Joey,
I agree with you. If someone looks down their noses on those who don’t dress like they do, then they are prideful and Pharisaical.
But my point with this post is to put the shoe on the other foot (pun intended). Sometimes we young guys can be just as abrasive and “statement-making” and prideful when we look down our noses on those who have different dress patterns than we do.
Pharisaical attitudes are not limited to the older pastors who dress up and wouldn’t dare dress “down” for anything in the world. There are plenty of young guys who dress down and wouldn’t dare dress up for anyone else. I find both actions to be driven by the same repulsive attitude.
Trevin Wax | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Trevin,
This is a great post.
Danny
Danny Slavich | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
The missiologist in me says, “Absolutely, Trevin.”
Something I should probably spend more time in coming to terms with is that I am more than willing to “contextualize” to those who are significantly different than me but stand prideful when faced with people who are more similar to me. Would I dress like a country preacher to preach at a country church? Probably not – but I would, without question, wear pants in Thailand even though the weather would be much more tolerable in shorts. All that to say I have a lot to learn on this subject.
joey | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
For the record, I absolutely despise ties. I think they were invented by Eve and are part of the curse. (Kidding of course.)
But if I’m heading into a funeral home or a dress-up church, or I’m going to stand in for David Letterman, Jay Leno, a weatherman or anyone on Fox News, I’d put it on so I look the part.
All things to all people might mean that I sacrifice my hatred of the tie for a greater cause.
Trevin Wax | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
I must confess to a weakness in my style of dress, in that I almost always wear a suit in public, regardless of who I’m with. Occasionally people have challenged me about it, and one or two have said they appreciate my good dress sense, so I suppose it cuts both ways in terms of what people think.
One issue I do have is that the church I attend on Sunday mornings is fairly conservative, where semi-formal dress is the norm, but on Sunday nights I’m at a different church with a group of students in their late teens and 20s. I don’t go home between services, because I live 25 miles out of town and don’t have a car. That means I tend to dress for the morning service, and if I’m overdressed at night that’s just too bad for those who don’t like it. I find, though, that most of the younger people have come to accept me as I am, and that I feel uncomfortable in jeans and T-shirts.
I would tend to agree that judging someone on external appearance is a worse sin than being different from everybody else, as long as being different isn’t done out of pride or the desire to nark other people.
Paul Clutterbuck | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Nice to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.
Les
Les Puryear | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
A bit off the beaten path here, I’d add that I know of pastors who wear clerical collars as they are out about town, and they comment that they are often approached by folks wanting to talk/share. Naturally, in their civvies, no such opportunities present themselves. I think it important that folks have such visible reminders to shake them from their day to day struggles. Seeing someone dressed this way reminds us of greater things.
Brian | Dec 9, 2009 | Reply
Fantastic post. This line is classic.
“I know people who brag about the fact that they do not own a suit and tie. I suppose they aren’t preaching many funerals yet.”
Justin | Dec 10, 2009 | Reply
Joey – The quote is from Lewis’ essay entitled “On Church Music.” It’s in the Christian Reflections essay collection. Although you can read the snippet I was referring to here: http://www.worshipandchurchmusic.com/cslewis.html
Jeff | Dec 10, 2009 | Reply
Great post Trevin. Wonderful.
Doug | Dec 16, 2009 | Reply
Good Point. But it is sad that so many take that verse “being all things to all people” out of context. They think that if they want to reach people they have to act and dress just like them. I don’ think that is exactly what Paul had in mind. I see so many young pastors who are more concerned with how they look then what they say. The Gospel does not wear a three piece suit or a pair of faded jeans. The Gospel transcends cultures and hair styles, it is the Power of God for Salvation to all who believe. We need to be careful that the message does not get drowned out by the means. To start dressing a certain way to relate to a certain group of people is a form of hypocrisy. God wants us to be ourselves. We are not going to win souls by what we are wearing. But we will win souls by what we are wearing if what we are wearing is the doctrine of God. Paul said to “adorn the doctrine of God”. I think of David Wilkerson, a skinny hillbilly dressed in a suit in the midst of the toughest gang in Brooklyn, NY, The Mau Mau’s. Yet in spite of looking like a poster child for Geeks are Us, God used him to bring many murderers and drug addicts to Christ not because he put on a leather jacket and didn’t brush his hair, but because he put on the Lord Jesus Christ and was adorned with the Doctrine of God.
If you were raised in a culture that does not know the meaning of the word “hair brush”, then dress in a way that is true to who you are. Nobody expects you to wear a suit and tie. And vise versa, if you were raised a somewhat yuppie then don’t try to lose the hair brush and the loafers, for the sake of trying to be cool. God wants to use you just as you are. The greatest preachers are those who are not trying to act like somebody els, they have learned that the secret is not in how you look but how you live. The Message we need to preach is Christ not ourselves. I think if young preachers would focus more on the content rather then the costume, the church would be better off.
So wether you are a Geek or a Freak preach the Gospel and be yourself and God will use it for His Glory.
Steve | Dec 18, 2009 | Reply