Confessions of a Bald Man

Some of you know…some have suspected…and some of you may have had no idea. For the last 4 years, I have been wearing a “hair system” (a sophisticated, human hair version of a “hair piece”). At the time, I was having a bit of a quarter life crisis and grew a little weary of people asking if my father and I were brothers. Either he looks younger than he is (which he does) or I look older than I am/was (which I do, without hair). Anyway, I tried several options, but ended up choosing the hair system route.

As most of you know, over the last few years Shannon and I have been going through a lot of transformation…namely, in the ways that our faith meets real life. One of those changes has taken place in the way we view our stuff. We’ve come to see our resources—possessions and finances—as belonging entirely to God. We are grateful that all of our needs have been met (and then some) and we have become aware of the extreme poverty that nearly half of the world lives in. Jesus tells us that anyone who is in need is our neighbor (Luke 10:29-37) and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27). Experts tell us that there are enough resources in the world for everyone, but, sadly, many people don’t share what they have with those who desperately need them. And I confess that I continue to stand guilty of not loving my neighbor as myself. But, I’m working on it.

Anyway, this last weekend, I taught from Luke 3 and the call of John the Baptist to repent. His call was directed at the religious, God-fearing people, who were devout in their religious practices—more devout than most self-professing Christians today. But, John’s call was to a repentance that produced fruit. The kind of fruit he called for was radical generosity. “Got two coats? Give one away. Got more food than you need? Share with those who don’t have enough.” I challenged our church to ask what John’s message of repentance means to them. So, naturally, I have to practice what I preach.

What it all boils down to is that I’m getting rid of my hair system. It just doesn’t seem right that I spend money on fake hair while others go hungry.

Now, I’m not telling you this to boast or brag. I’m really not. In fact, many of you might be thinking, “what’s the big deal?” You’re absolutely right to feel that way. The main reason for directing you to this blog (if you got the email, that is) was just to deal with two questions that I know will come up the next time you see me:

1. Whoa. Where’s your hair?
2. Why did you get rid of it?

So, hopefully I’ve answered those questions for you. And now, before I sign off, here’s a picture of me—the real, bald me.




Be a blessing today!