Sermon Central
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The Ugliest Suit Ever
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018 (message contributor)
Note: this story is told from my perspective - Jim Butcher of Madison WV.
When I was at Southern Seminary in Louisville, there were a few days in the spring when they offered official photos. It was a professional photographer with a nice backdrop and the prices were reasonable. The seminary intended to use the photos in their publications, but for guys getting ready to graduate and look for a church to pastor, it was a chance to get a nice-looking photo of yourself in your best suit and tie to (hopefully) impress those pulpit committees that you sending your information to.
Like most high school yearbook photos, it was a waist-up shot.
Which is important to one of the funnier memories I have from my time there. One day when they were taking those photos somewhere on campus I was walking back to my dorm room when a so-to-be graduate came walking toward me. He had on a nice white dress shirt, respectable tie, and a grey suit jacket that was the epitome of dignity. And on the bottom half of his body he was wearing jams. Do you remember jams? The oversize, bright, wild-print shorts that were popular back in the 90s?
Top half: the picture of a pastor; bottom half: the picture of surfer dude.
Of course, he did that because he was only having his top half photographed, so apparently he thought, “Why dress nice all the way when I only have to dress nice halfway?”
It’s an image that’s stuck with me not only for the humor, but also as a picture of half-hearted faith. You know, the kind that makes a little effort to put on a show, but never goes all the way? Of course, it’s not what outside that matter in that regard, but what’s inside. And I hope our hearts are totally in.
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