Growing a beard

• So, it's January, and it's been fairly cold around here, so I decided it would be a good time to grow a beard. As my good friend, John Weicher, was fond of pointing out, once I clean up the scruff on my neck and leave the rest, I'm definitely growing a beard. Anyway, I continue to be, what's the word?, not surprised, because it happens every time, but maybe flummoxed or bothered or annoyed or amused, yeah, that's it, amused by the reaction I get when I grow a beard. Some folks are nice and compliment the beard and tell me it looks good. But, there are those who seem so concerned by my change of appearance...so concerned that they need to ask me if I lost my razor or if I was feeling lazy, or, or, or, WHY IN THE HECK WOULD YOU GROW A BEARD? IT LOOKS AWFUL!!! OK, I'm exaggerating. Nobody comes right out and says that, but sometimes it feels like that's what's behind the joking and kidding. I'm not sure why people are so concerned about it, but it does leave me amused.
• I had a call from Acquire the Fire today. It's a youth rally designed to wage battle for the souls and minds of today's youth. I was given some statistics about how many adults are currently Evangelical Christians (34%) as opposed to the small number of youth who are Christians today (4%). It's a battle, I was told. 90% of Christians come to Christ before the age of 20, I was told. We have to prepare our young people to wage battle with society and culture, I was told. I'm actually intrigued by the event, but not in a "take my youth so they can be warriors for Christ" kind of way. I'm more interested to see how they go about things. I'm curious as to whether their methods for conveying their message could be adapted to fit a different theology. i wonder about stuff like that. Would we do better at Presbytery retreats to scare the bejeezus out of the youth and send them back home? I don't think so, but it sounds like this event might have some elements of fear attached. I'm still pretty convinced that those who come to faith out of fear will end up like the seeds sown on the path (Matthew 13:1-23), in that when something that promises more security or that preys on a more deep seeded fear comes along, the faith will disappear.
  
• All in all, I'm just not fond of the way that "Spiritual warfare" is used by some folks. When I read Ephesians 6:10-17 I see the words truth, righteousness, faith, and salvation. We are called to proclaim a gospel of peace, and the sword in this passage isn't a real sword, but rather the word of God. So, my question is, "How do we wield that sword peacefully?" If we're going to be "warriors," should we look to Jesus as one who redefines what a warrior is? Isn't he a warrior who lays down his weapons and places himself at the mercy of those who would destroy him? Yeah, I don't like using war imagery as a way to bring people to God.