What’s with the dog collar? Are you trying to elevate yourself in some way? Or receive special treatment, recognition or adulation? It smacks of the trappings of Catholicism, religiosity, dogma and attention-seeking. A true servant is humble and does not seek to stand out from the crowd.
This question was anonymously asked of me on my former blog. This was the answer I gave.
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for the question. I understand where you’re coming from and your perceptions of the clerical collar were the very things I weighed up on the negative side of wearing it, except the Catholicism bit – I actually think the Catholics, doctrinally, have a better view of the Priest as servant than many Protestant expressions of the Christian faith, especially more Charismatic/Pentecostal expressions. That said, the history of the collar isn’t actually Catholic – if anything, it’s catholic (universally Christian) having been started by a Presbyterian minister and used by Protestant clergy. It wasn’t until 1967 that Catholic clergy adopted the modern form of the collar.
Whilst those negatives you mentioned weighed heavy in my decision, ultimately another view of the clerical collar won out for me. Rather than repeating myself here’s where I have written about it on this blog:
I could point you to plenty of articles that reflect on wearing the collar in a way that mirrors my own approach, but I won’t bog you down with that stuff.
In the short time I have been wearing it I have found the experience to be true to what I wanted and expected. Putting it on is a contemplative act for me – it reminds me who I am, what I have vowed to do and be and acts as something that never allows me to escape my promise to be a servant. A true servant is always available. The collar means I can’t hide or escape. It means that when I am out and about publicly it is blatantly obvious who I am, what I do and that I am available. It makes me public property and my short experience with it has been a story of anything but adulation or special treatment. Admittedly, I have been provided a couple of experiences that were born out of the reverence a couple of people have had for what I am, but the majority of experiences have been what I hoped for – the opportunity to pray for people, bless people, spiritual conversations and the chance to be an encouragement simply by my visible presence. All of these things would happen with or without the collar but I have had a number of such moments with strangers that otherwise would not have happened without the collar.
You may be interested in my experience of wearing it in the Holy Land.
In terms of attention seeking – wearing the collar is not yet a comfortable experience for me. It’s not a type of attention I most naturally want. I am, by nature, a full blown introvert. To put myself into a situation where strangers can seek me out and expect that I will be open to them is not comfortable for me. The collar adds a layer of service to what I do that does not come naturally but I feel compelled to offer myself to the world around me in that way.
As a quick note, I also wouldn’t need to answer uncomfortable questions like this if I didn’t wear it.
I know that not everyone will agree with me wearing it no matter what my reasoning. I know that I will be mocked and derided for it (I’ve already had that as well) but my short experience with it has already confirmed for me that it causes me to be exactly what you expressed in your question – it causes me to be a servant and it keeps me humble. Contrary to what you have said though, I don’t believe standing out from the crowd negates being a servant, if done right, it can do the exact opposite… just as it did for Jesus, who clearly stood out from the crowd and was recognised as a Rabbi by strangers.
If I ever did get to a point where I was wearing it for the wrong reasons that you stated, I would hope that those closest to me would point it out and I would then stop wearing it until I felt like I could go back to it as a servant.
May God bless you, keep you and may you know him as the God who is near.