More than once in my relatively young ministry, I've been mistaken for a Roman Catholic (or Episcopalian) priest. And it's because of my penchant for clergy shirts and their accompanying collars. I began wearing them early on, mostly when I'd make hospital or nursing home visits. But since that time, I've found that I increasingly choose the collar: over polos, over casual shirts, and certainly over dress shirts and ties. But it hadn't occurred to me until recently, when asked by a colleague after a clergy meeting, that I'd never given careful consideration (or explanation) to why. Firstly, I should say that I'm well aware clergy shirts and collars aren't necessarily common in Protestantism. Leastways in the southern United States. A great number of pastors, on Sundays, will go the route of "dress clothes"--irrespective of denominational affiliation. Of course this varies by region, as well as by the size and style of the congregatio...
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." -Ephesians 2.8