Good reading

Hey everyone (or, the four or so people who actually read this crap). I just finished Don Miller's Through Painted Deserts. Not as good as BLJ or SFGKW, but still good. Shoot, it's Don Miller! Anyhow, in the back he provided a link to the Burnside Writers Collective, an "an online resource for Christians looking for a connection with the world outside of franchise Christianity", of which he is the director. There's some pretty thought-provoking stuff in there by various contributors, some well-known and some not. (Remember Penny from Blue Like Jazz? She writes for that mug.) I also discovered in my Don Miller stalkings that he has a site where people can ask him questions and he responds. So check that mess out. Peace!

Bob Dylan and the Church

I just finished Chronicles, Vol. 1, Bob Dylan's autobiography. (I enjoyed it thoroughly and am hoping there will be more volumes to come.) I knew before reading this book that Dylan was a creative genius (mainly due to the influence of my Dad's borderline obsession with Dylan's music), but as I'm sure you can imagine, I now have a new sense of appreciation for his musical prowess. The guy had a truly gifted mind. Anyhow, the book also set straight a few misconceptions I had about him. He wasn't really a protest singer like I thought. He wrote protest songs, but that wasn't his main goal. He talked a lot about how people in the 60's kept trying to label him as "the voice of the generation", and how he just wanted nothing to do with it. He purposefully put out albums he knew the hippie types wouldn't like, just so they would stop trying to make him their ring leader. I think Dylan sang protest songs because they were a major element of folk music, at least in the 60's, and he was all about folk music. That was his true passion. His life work was about connecting with people through his songs. The thing that blew me away was how sometimes his lyrics weren't even the thing that allowed him to connect with people. Sometimes the lyrics had almost no significance at all. It was the way he played and the way he sang that stopped listeners dead in their tracks. His musical way of life was an inspiring thing. His songs were simple, but he poured meticulous creativity into each measure, and as a result, his music was more than music. People were absolutely captivated by it. I bet hearing him play his stuff could make you sensitive to things you'd never noticed before. The other creative arts (theater, literature, movies) can have the same effect on people.

As I finished the book, I was almost in a state of awe at the works of Bob Dylan - every second of every song completely infused with artistry. And I wondered, "What drove Bob Dylan to create such amazing music?" I believe he was inspired by a passion for musical excellence. He wanted to do music the best it could be done. And I believe he did. I believe Bob Dylan created some of the most quality music in history.

It got me thinking about the Church, and how there used to be a time when some of the highest-quality creative material was God-inspired. Handel's Messiah comes to mind. It took Handel only 24 days to write this lengthly, intricate musical adaptation of Scripture. It is some of the most staggeringly beautiful music I've ever heard. I believe he was directly inspired by God to write it, almost as if God was simply using Handel's hand to write the music Himself. I read that while Handel was composing it, his assistant would "often find him weeping silently at his desk, overcome by the beauty and majesty of the music that was flowing from his pen." Try to imagine being so inspired! I think also of the authors of traditional hymns, like the Wesley brothers or Martin Luther. Luther is primarily responsible for the introduction of congregational singing to the Christian church. He believed that music is a literal gift from God to mankind.

These men were all creative geniuses. What they had in common (at least Handel and Luther, that is) was that they were God-inspired. And who wouldn't be? No one should be surprised that the greatest Story ever told prompts such creative brilliance. Fact is, if we believe that something so wonderful and redeeming as the Gospel is true, we should be bursting at the seams with the joy that comes from knowing that we are known and loved by God. It's my personal belief that this, in turn, should spawn some of the most breathtaking art, most well-written literature, and most beautiful music ever created.

What's holding us back?