sola gratia

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