The other day, our youth director expressed his disgust with the fact that there seems to be a trend where pastors are trying to look hip. He said “they dress alike. Their churches look alike. The websites are the same. They use the same jargon. They are all trying to compete with Starbucks. There is no uniqueness in their ministries.”

This caused me to think about what God is calling our church to be. What is he calling me to be? Do I need to grow a “soul patch” and give up the “classic look” in order to reach people with the gospel? Or is he calling me and our church to be the unique creation that He called into existence?

A.W. Tozer has a great perspective on this issue. Consider what he wrote 60 years ago concerning the issue of Christian literature. It will provide some thought concerning the call to be you and the issue of the “party line.”

“Christian literature, to be accepted and approved by evangelical leaders of our times, must follow very closely the same train of thought, a kind of “party line” from which it is scarcely safe to depart. A half-century of this in America has made us smug and content. We imitate each other with slavish devotion. Our most strenuous efforts are put forth to try to say the same thing that everyone around us is saying-and yet to find an excuse for saying it, some little safe variation on the approved theme or, if no more, at least a new illustration.” A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Christian Publications

Thanks Tozer. You have helped me think through the “party line” and make the decision to not grow a “soul patch.”