My Name Is Jaclyn…. And I Am An Old-Fashioned Church Lady

Until I was about 12 years old, my Sunday church outfit consisted of four things... a fancy dress, hose or ruffle socks, dress shoes and one heck of a bow. On special occasions, I might even put on a spiffy hat! Don't y'all remember Easter and Mothers Day when the elder women of the family would get a corsage to wear?!? Or is that just a Tennessee Southern-Baptist thing? Ha!

In my thirty years, I have worn jeans to Sunday morning service....once. It wasn't too long ago and I swear, I felt like the devil himself was setting my legs on fire! They itched the entire service and I swore I'd never do it again! And, so far, I haven't.

This morning in church, the pastor recommended to take over as senior pastor was preaching. I was SO excited to hear him preach and to see the new direction the church was taking. I almost gasp at his outfit when he walked up to the pulpit.

BAGGY khakis and a SHORT-SLEEVED UNTUCKED button down!?!?! What?!? I actually caught myself in the middle of our mid-welcome-clap and had to re-group! Why does it bother me so much what the pastor wears to church?!? Is it my inner Grandma Lena? (My great-grandmother) Is it the constant voice of my Mother yelling in my ear to hurry up and look nice? Maybe those days at Belews Chapel and First Baptist Milan linger longer than I could have expected. I will say that I really don't think about what the other church-goers have on, but for some reason, if you're in front of the congregation, I've always thought you should dress nice.

Today, I found myself wondering if it's really important what church leaders wear or not. Now, I'll say, his message was great! And, I really hope he and his wife join our church family! But, in my mind, I kept going back and forth from his message to my inner conversation.

So, here's what my conclusion was....

Who cares what he wears?!? To each his own... that's pretty much become my answer to everything, so why not let it cover this topic too? I'm pretty sure the good Lord performed miracles in a sheet as a dress, rope belt and some sandals. Surely, if he can heal a blind man and bring Lazarus back in that get-up, my preacher can deliver the message in a pair of khakis, ha!

So, I guess this old-fashion minded church lady is ok with a not so dressy pastor. That being said...wear a pair of jeans in the pulpit and I'm probably going to have to have a "Come to Jesus, Belew's Chapel visiting with Grandma Lena" talk with you! :)