Ask any artisan trying to make furniture, for instance, and you will find a person that lives in that tension: should this chair look good or work good? I think an average chair maker (a “git ‘er dun” type) would just make a chair. Who cares if it’s nice looking? Who cares if it’s comfortable? It *functions* as a chair, so who cares? Someone perhaps a bit too metro might design a chair with flare… man, the chair would look cooler than anything at Ikea! Yet, the chair might essentially be a piece of crap… especially if no one sits in it. I picture it like sitting in a dentist chair with armrests of steel. lol No thanks.

I think a chairmaker of merit would be someone trying to accomplish both, asking: “How can I make this a freakin cool chair that people will not only want to look at, but SIT in… only to find that it’s the most comfortable chair they have ever sat in!”

Bam.

Since when did followers of Jesus cease to do the same with how they communicate? Jesus nailed this, didn’t he? I mean… come on! Talk about someone of substance AND style. Since when did we confuse form and function/ style and substance? When did we lose the capacity for either?

Time for a reformation of creativity… of art… of form… of style… Time for a reformation of thought… of function (not the OBU kind, mind you)… and of substance.

And yes, maybe it only takes a little… as Jesus said, it only takes a little bit of yeast to work through the whole batch of dough. Perhaps the same is true for this discussion? I think if these ingredients are fresh and organic, you will make some good communicative rolls.

Here’s a batch of rolls I made one time… it is in form of a video. Enjoy.

http://lowercasechurch.com/media%20%28v%29.html

I think that’s absolutely right. We want to get heard, *and* we want to represent Christ well.

So we’ve got to be both savvy and discerning in our use of the styles of the times.