The Haberdashery Polarization

I read a post recently in a Christian forum where the observation was that all of the late night talk show hosts were... well, I'll just copy & paste the gist of it here:

"Have you ever noticed that every late night television host wears a suit and tie? These are the guys (Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, etc) that are going after the young and hip audience. They are attempting to be cutting edge and on the leading edge of contemporary culture. And yet, they all tuck in their shirt. In fact they go way beyond that wearing a tie and normally a well tailored suit. This is not an accident. The networks have spent millions of dollars testing the audience to see how they can reach the masses.

And yet, for some reason many churches aim for what they think is hip and will reach the masses with torn jeans, tee shirts and hair that looks like it has gone through a blender.

I'm not saying these churches are wrong. But the contrast is striking. 

What does this say about the contemporary approach to music and worship?"


The responses are polarizing = "dress your best for God" vs "who cares?"

It's the age old, same old question & responses: 

- Do clothes & appearance [really] matter?

- Is it the wine or the glass it's served in?

From fig leaves to animal skins to filthy robes & tunics...

From Jonah's smelly swimwear to Isaiah preaching naked...

From the priest's schnazzy robes to John the Baptist's camelwear...

From rugged denim to slick suits to torn jeans...

Over history people have managed to preach, convey & minister the Word of the Lord & the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all manner of dress whether that's suits & ties or jeans & tees, whether that's in the pulpit, in music ministry, in street ministry, whatever.

Granted, some people respect certain fashion statements & fashion is ever changing but it has always been & will always be about "the message", that's what people, in their spirit, will connect with.

If the talk show hosts suddenly switched from suits to jeans & untucked shirts, their viewership wouldn't change, people tune in for them & their message; the same goes for ministers in the church...