the Monday Morning Debrief: Appearance Matters
I enjoy listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio. He is smart, insightful and not afraid to stir up controversy…after all Talk Show Hosts have to stir up a little bit of controversy to keep the ratings high.
One of Colin’s big pet peeves are quarterbacks who wear their hats on backwards. Why is this a big deal for him?
Colin believes it’s a big deal because the position of quarterback is different than any other position on the football team. In many cases the quarterback is the face of the franchise and that person needs to be professional, both on and off the field. A hat on backwards projects a kid who is carefree and childish and Colin believes quarterback can’t be either.
He says a star quarterback needs to be polished and a button down shirt type of guy. Hat on backward QBs that he points out regularly are Big Ben, Romo, Stafford and Kapernick…all kinda reckless. The non-hat on backward guys are Brady, Brees, Peyton…none getting in trouble off the field and are some of the most elite quarterbacks on the field.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa Tom. What does hats on backwards have to do with youth ministry, Tom?”
Bottom line is: Appearance matters. And it matters in Student Ministry, too! Student Ministers get criticized all the time for being immature, irresponsible and foolish. And the reality is that some of that criticism is spot on because of the way we present ourselves. In our attempt to be “cool” and “relevant” to students, we come accross as that quarterback with our hats on backwards. And that doesn’t necessarily fly with parents and other staffers at our ministry.
So, what can we do? Simply, do not just act professional, but present yourself as professional as well. You are being paid to do a job, so present yourself as professional. What that looks like is different for each person as well all have different styles. But it does look like we take pride in who we are and how we are presenting ourselves.
Dressing professionally and respectively doesn’t mean you have to look stuffy and uncomfortable all the time. But too often we do ourselves a disservice by presenting ourselves in a way that makes us look irresponsible. So, in the future, be intentional about what you wear, when you wear it and what image you are projecting to others.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Why or Why not? Share your thoughts below so we can all benefit and learn from each other.
