Clean Shaven

For the first time in almost half of my life my face is clean shaven. Yes, that may not mean much to you, but it is quite a change for some in my life. My daughter, up until three weeks ago, had never seen me in that state. I must admit it is still distracting to me when I pass a mirror or window in which I can see my reflection. It was not something that I desired to do. It was a requirement of my new 'secular' job.

It has been amazing to see the reactions of people who know me. Some people I've known for years have passed me without knowing they did so. They do a double take and, BAM! realisation sets in. Being in this renewed state has caused me to reflect upon just how much we become accustomed to appearance; how we come to expect certain people's appearance to remain static, how we find comfort in familiarity. We find comfort in being able to foreknow what is coming to some degree.

Unfamiliarity brings with it distraction. The first Lord's Day that I preached with my new look it was quite comical. As I preached I could tell that many people were gazing intently at my chin. Normally, the majority of my congregation maintains a good degree of eye contact, but not that day. Yesterday one member, who had been in attendance for the past three weeks, came to me and said, 'Pastor, I finally realised that you've shaved your beard off. I knew you looked different, but I could not place it. Now, I can really listen again.' I believe that in the life of a congregation stability and predictability can be a blessing; even in corporate worship. In our day of constant striving for new and innovative worship we may be missing a vital function of delivery: constancy. Are we in our endeavour for the novel missing the blessing of the mundane? Have we begun to place needless distractions in front of our congregants eyes and hearts?

Then there is the fact of setting: Recently I and my family have dipped our toes into the world of Reenacting the War Between the States or the War for Southern Independence. (Yes, I do not call that war the PC term. Regardless of your 'side' it is not an accurate term.) When I sported my beard it seemed to just 'fit'. Witness the photo above. Now I'm a clean shaven soldier. The look is completely different.

What has that to do with our view of congregational life? When we make a change we should be careful to see that the change fits the culture and manners of the situation in which we are placed. I know that this is elementary, but I constantly receive mail and emails touting instant church growth if one will purchase and apply the following 'package'. Some sorts of outreach, worship style, discipleship, etc, work very well in one setting and are totally inappropriate in others. Something as simple and basic to American Christians as 'door knocking' would be disastrous in other settings eg. the church in China, Vietnam, Tajikstan, or any other place where the church is undergoing persecution. This appears obvious, but do we do the same thing in our own subcultures? I believe so.

We would be wise to prayerfully consider any changes we make in our families and churches. Some changes, those mandated by Scripture, obviously should be pursued - within context. Others, perhaps not.