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Posted on May 31, 2007 ...

For those who missed it, Sunday morning I unveiled my new hair style?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ or perhaps it is better described as my lack of hair style. I began losing the hair off the top of my head in my twenties. In my thirties I gave up on my comb over and resolved to do the best with what little hair I had. As I entered my forties I added a beard, happy to have some hair growing on some part of my head. Last Saturday all that went away when I shaved my entire head.

Let me dispel a few false rumors that may be floating about regarding my motivation for doing this.

I am not planning on joining the Marines.

I am not forming a Gospel Music Trio of shaved headed men with Michael Wilkins and Mark Brew.

I did not suddenly find the razor Lorane Harris and Ressie Hancock accused me of losing years ago when I first grew my beard.

I did not lose a bet with anyone (although, I did keep a pact with my brother who shaved his head the same day I did).

I did not fall asleep in the barber?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s chair.

I am not expressing some special message from God.

Biblically speaking, shaving one?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s head can mean a variety of things. At times, a shaved head was a sign of mourning (Amos 8:10, Micah 1:16). When Job lost his family and wealth, he tore his cloths and shaved his head (Job 1:20).

In other places a shaved head was part of purification rituals for people healed of a skin disease such as leprosy (Leviticus 14:9) and for Levites (Numbers 8). Paul?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s arrival in Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey included this act as part of a rite of purification (Acts 21:24-26).

And while Old Testament priests were specifically instructed not to shave their heads (Leviticus 21:5), God ordered the prophet Ezekiel to shave his head as part of a message of God?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s judgment for Jerusalem?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s rebellion (Ezekiel 5).

To be honest, I simply was motivated by curiosity. I wondered how it would look and feel. The only way to know was to do it. So far, I am glad I did.

Is there any change your life needs? This Sunday we change into a new Sunday School year and I begin a new sermon series. Let us embrace change as move forward as God?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s church.

Jay