Meet the Authors
Jason Locy is founder and Creative Director of FiveStone, a multidisciplinary design studio whose client list includes MTV, Chick-fil-A, Q, and Catalyst. Timothy Willard is a full-time writer who earned a Master of Arts in Christian Thought from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society (2011), which they co-authored, is each author’s first book.
Book Basics
Jason invited Tim to join his men’s small group. Based on three years together in that group and considerable reading and discussion, they decided to write a book together addressing what they saw as a critical concern: just as the veneer on engineered wood flooring is what gives it value and draws the attention of those observing it, so also the veneer generated by people is what society values.
Building from this analogy, Locy and Willard spend the first half of their book exploring the current cultural expressions of veneer living. The second half of the book is a proposal for the Christian alternative: living deeply.
As a part of the same American culture as the authors and as a fellow follower of Jesus, I appreciate the attention they gave to exploring the competing expectations of these two groups, but was disappointed that the treatment was, in both cases, over generalized and only veneer deep. I recommend this book only to those persons who are theologically conservative and who may be unaware of the aspects of the larger culture upon which the authors focus or those who are well aware but would otherwise not move from awareness to action.
So What?
Christians should learn about the way of Jesus and understand when the norms of the culture are inconsistent with their journey of faith. I am indebted to those who explore this topic in greater depth and who have challenged my thinking, including Robert Wuthnow, James Davison Hunter (my review of To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World -2010), H. Richard Niebuhr (Christ and Culture, 1956) and D.A. Carson (Christ and Culture Revisited, 2008).
- What are the top three sources that have informed your view of what it means to follow Jesus?
- What are the top three sources that have informed your understanding of the American culture in the early 21st century?
- Do you find that it is impossible to live well by the standards of the American culture and your Christian faith? If so, how do you respond when these perspectives clash?
Timothy Willard and Jason Locy. Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society (Zondervan, 2011). ISBN: 9780310325635.