While some blogs have taken to posting photos on Fridays (Joe Thorn and sometimes Steve McCoy), I would like to (probably randomly) start posting poems. I have always been fascinated with poetry and I’ve gone through various phases of trying to write it.

Poetry seems to me to be playing jazz with words. While jazz is about exploration, as much about the process as the destination, the use of notes in unexpected ways and combinations, poetry is the lyrical equivalent, playing with the combination and flow of words in unexpected ways. It takes the art of communication and injects life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Poetry is often, though not always, the process of trying to convey the most emotional content in the fewest words possible. It’s about imagery and the way words relate to life.

I’ve heard it said that every pastor is (or ought to be) a poet because his life is spent using words. Of all those who ought to understand and utilize the passion of communication, shouldn’t those with the most passionate message cling to the power of poetry the most? I’m by no means saying that I accopmlish this, but it is certainly one of my goals: not just to communicate the truth but to do so poetically.

With all of this and more in mind, I’d like to simply post a poem each Friday for your feedback. Sometimes they will be by me and sometimes not, it just depends on the day and the mood. Today’s is by me, so join me for Poetry Fridays:

04/07/97 (For Wallace Stevens)

Another week of random tidbits and periodic tripe in the blogosphere. Just a brother tyring to make my way; leaving you crumbs along the path. Here’s some of what caught my eye and stopped my mouse this past week:

Follow the San Francisco Chronicle’s timeline of Apple computers.

Read the Independent’s results of their “worst album ever” poll.

Read Mark Driscoll’s apology over the handling of recent comments regarding Brian McLaren.

Read Chris’ piece wrestling with “Pastoral Plagarism.”

Read Canada’s National Post’s thoughts on Morrissey’s ban of their country.

Browse the growing list of confirmed acts for the “Wall of Sound” music festival in Fort Worth, TX.

It seems to be official (and here), Ergun and Emir Caner will engage James White and Tom Ascol on the topic “Baptists and Calvinism” at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA.

Read about the recent use of photographs in the fight against abortion in Canada (ht: Pearcey Report).

Read as Cal Thomas wonders “Whose Country is This?” and why “many illegal aliens who broke our laws to get here and who continue to break our laws to stay here, demanding that the United States not only allow them to remain, but support them with the taxes of law-abiding citizens?” (ht: Pearcey Report). Read LaShawn Barber’s accompanying “Illegal Ingrates.

Read Thom Rainer’s thoughts in Baptist Press on the dying church in America.

Read Dr. Burk’s recent ETS paper “Inerrancy is Not Enough,” surely it went over well in Patterson’s backyard! I had hoped to attend, but was only able to be there Friday for Grudem’s presentations and a couple of other papers.

Read Justin Taylor’s post regarding Francis Beckwith recently being denied tenure at Baylor.

Participate in the conversation over at Challies regarding the question “What is the Gospel?” prompted by the Together For the Gospel blog.

Look into my ears and see what I’ve been listening to.

Freepay has changed its rules and imposed deadlines, so please, Please PLEASE, help us both earn a free laptop, a free Mac Mini, a free iPod video or a free iPod Nano. Come on, help a brother out….I now only have until May 30.

Read a great review of Anathallo’s “Floating World” which references another great review (if I do say so myself).

Follow the recently reunited Greyboy Allstars as they tour in advance of their first new studio LP in nine years.

Continue to pray for Keith and Alicia as they are in China, soon to return with their daughter, Ruth Ann!

Read Pitchfork’s recent interview with Calexico.

Browse Tim Bluhm’s (of Mother Hips) list of five great albums.

Read as guitarist Papa Mali joins the blogosphere, telling his “Notes From The Road.”

Preview several tracks from the new (as of yet unreleased) album by Canadian (mostly) instrumental post-rockers …As The Poets Affirm at their myspace.

Just in case it’s been too long since you’ve felt nauseous…(I don’t know if this is real or not, but it seems appropriate to equate Osteen’s approach to church with a game…)

Visit my beautiful family on the web.

Don’t forget to download Anathallo’s “Hymns” before it’s too late.

Read Rhett’s excerpt of the story of the American Bible Society refusing to print for XXX.Church.

Browse the ever-expanding list of confirmed artists for Pitchfork’s Intonation Festival.

Read about Sufjan Stevens winning the Pantheon Award.

Sign up for eMusic, expose yourself to a world of new music and help me get free downloads in the process!

Christians spend considerable time and energy searching for “God’s Will” in life. More often than not, what we mean when we say things like “I’m seeking God’s Will for my life” is that we have some (seemingly) significant decision to make and we’re hoping God will show us THE choice to make. I’m not saying that God is not concerned with the details of our lives, I certainly think that He is, but I think we’ve missed the point of “God’s will for our lives.”

When Scripture speaks of “God’s will” for our lives, it uses much more “big picture-focused” imagery than we’re comfortable with. We want to know which pair of shoes will keep us “in step” with God and which college or what job He would have us to pursue. In a sense, focusing on the details the way we do, we actually lose sight of Scripture’s perception of God’s will. Do you want to know God’s will for your life? Paul lifts the veil and tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances. That’s “God’s will” for your life. But, you say, that doesn’t help me decide what college to go to or what job to take? Doesn’t it? When we come to the point (or are consciously striving after it) when these three things become true in our lives, the previously overwhelming decisions are suddenly put into perspective.

To a large degree, it seems that what we’ve done is turned every decision into a “right and wrong” decision. In other words, one choice will clearly honor God and lead to blessing (while we may not consciously say this, our actions betray that we believe it) and the other to ruin and sin. But that’s not always the case. What we so often miss is that when the “big picture” of God’s will is being lived out, then many decisions are left up to personal preference.

Jay Adams in his book More Than Redemption: A Theology of Christian Counseling argues that:

In life’s decisions, God doesn’t always bring us into places where all choices are between right and wrong. In His greatness, His children often find themselves in the enviable position of choosing between two or more rights!

Speaking deeper still, our approach to seeking God’s will is extremely man-centered, while Scripture’s view is understandably God-centered. Ultimately, we tend to ask what’s best for us, while Scripture commands that we “rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances;” things are not possible aside from God’s hand in our lives.

Adams gives the example of “Herb” who has come for counseling regarding which woman he should marry. Now, I don’t know how this happens, but Herb ends up with three women to choose from. Herb is instructed to sit down and draw a box, which represents basic Scriptural principles.

After Scripturally discerning that Herb is not called to celibacy, it is acertained that as a believer, he must not marry a non-believer (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, etc.). Therefore, one of the women, Suzy, getx an “x” outside of the box because she is not a believer. Both Jane and Betty are “vivacious Christians, deeply involved in Christ’s work.” Then, Herb is free to choose based on preference.

We make discerning “God’s will” more difficult than it is because we look for answers Scripture never promises. Once the “big picture” is in place and we are, to the utmost of our God-given strength, doing everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31), then we must sometimes simply choose.

Pastor John Skaggs once explained it to me this way: he said that “once we know we are within Scriptural bounds, then we must choose and it will either be a comfortable or an uncomfortable blessing!” In other words, we must first come to the point where we are able to see even God’s discipline as a blessing.

I challenge you to seek God’s will for your life and while you are struggling to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances,” feel free to wear what shoes you want, knowing that you are pursuing God’s will for your life as He intended.

• Read More Than Redemption: A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams.

It’s amazing how quickly we turn to justify ourselves in sin. Our consciences become hardened quicker than we realize and we find ourselves pushing boundaries rather than asking how to best live a life above reproach.

We find ourselves asking how deeply we can saturate ourselves in sin before we actually stumble. What television can I watch before I find it influencing me? What music, what company can I keep, what situations can I put myself in; after all, I just went to the party to evangelize!

Notice how Scripture takes stands where we do not. Proverbs 1:10 argues, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” Well of course, we think, who wants to give in to sin? Apparently, by the ways we live, we want sin much more than we’re willing to admit. How then can we live this standards of simply not giving in to sin?

One interesting thing to note is the many ways in which the Church has adopted the fallen world’s ways of thinking. Traditional thought tells us to look for our “fight or flight” instinct. It will tell us whether we ought to stay and fight or flee the situation. Many Christians have adopted this approach to the great detriment of their holiness. This approach assumes that there is a level of sin which we can withstand, that we may allow to remain in our presence.

Scripture, however, seems to argue that the answer is not “fight or flight” but “fight through or by flight.” In other words, “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18), “flee idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14), flee worldly passions (1 Timothy 6:11), and “flee youthful passions” (2 Timothy 2:22). Flee, get up, get out, get away! We’ve come to believe that flight is cowardice when we ought to understand it as one of our most effective weapons in the battle against sin.

But, some might be thinking, “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), “Brent, you’ve got it all wrong, I must stand and fight sin.” While this is certainly true, I think that we’ve misapplied it. We seem to take this as immersing ourselves in sinful situations and seeing just how much we can tolerate. Instead, I think we must exercise a life of perseverance, which is aided by the discernment to know when and the courage to flee sin.

Our adoption of the “fight or flight” mentality sets us up for failure because we somehow have come to view fleeing as “less valiant” than fighting. However, the way we’ve come to think of fighting sin, as I’ve alluded to is to simply see how much temptation we can surround ourselves with before we either fall or finally flee. The fight or flight mentality also carries with it the presumption that there will be times when we fail. We cannot allow submission to sin as a regular option in our lives. Fleeing removes such concerns as it removes us from the temptation.

Part of the underlying problem is that we’ve come to apply the idea of the “victorious Christian life” wrongly. Instead of believing that part of the way God demonstrates His faithfulfulness is by always providing a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13), we think that He is obligated to see us through self-appointed temptations.

It takes strength to flee because it means a recognition of weakness. Think of how quickly we forget the very words we teach our children, “We are weak but He is strong.” In the pursuit of the mortification of sin in our lives, we must master the art of flight as a means of fight.

Many have been following the story of Abdul Rahman, the Afghan man on trial for his recent conversion to Christianity. Reinforcing the concept that Islam is in fact a “religion of peace,” many clerics are calling for Rahman to be put to death for his conversion.

It has recently been reported that Rahman’s case has been dismissed and that he has been transferred to a maximum security prison while he awaits further decisions. Both the ABC and MSNBC use the same terminology, stating that he will soon be released due to “a lack of evidence”.

I do not know Rahman, there are deep international politic tensions here and many factors mitigating his release and he has apparently begged for a Bible, so I am not here necessarily speaking of Rahman, but that phrase “a lack of evidence” has deeply troubled me since I read it and I’m thinking aloud more about the concept than anyone in particular. Could there be a true conversion to Christianity with “a lack of evidence” to prove it?

How convicting it is that such language can be used when discussing salvation. This is indeed a call to introspection. If I were placed on trial for Christianity, would there be sufficient evidence to convict me? I certainly hope so, but oh how deeply I feel those words “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15) and “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing (Romans 7:18-19).

To complicate matters, modern Americans live in a “low commitment” culture. We present religion as something akin to an outfit. Try it on, wear it around for a bit, but as soon as it begins to chaff, take it off for something else. American Christians sacrifice little for our faith, which makes the false professors even more convenient. While many rejoice in the fact that postmodernism “gives us a place at the table”, it robs our place of any significance and we become one choice among many rather than the only hope of life from death. Christianity ought to be urgent, and too often in America, it is anything but.
What would happen if (we we slowly seem to be) we lost our “religious freedom”? How many modern American professing Christians would be convicted and how many would be excused for “a lack of evidence”? The claim that the Gospel makes on our lives is not simple and it is not light. It requires all; our every allegiance, our every thought, love, passion and desire. To pursue anything above Christ is idolatry.

Too many churches have aided in handing out false assurance. While Dr. Yarnell of Southwestern Seminary chides those not giving altar calls, I respond that too many “altar calls” have produced assurance where there ought to be none. We’ve produced a generation of people who point to a one-time event as their assurance rather than a life devoted to Christ. Within the Southern Baptist Convention alone, there are 10,263,205 names on rolls who have gone missing. Ten million names on church rosters; church “members” who don’t set foot in church! More people are missing from the SBC than are present.

How have we come to this point of low-cost commitment and false assurance? The answer seems, at least in part to be that, at least in America, many “churches” don’t understand the Gospel because they don’t understand sin. Christianity is not about Your Best Life Now, it’s about salvation by God from God. Do you believe that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31)? Do you sense the urgency of the command “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2)? Sadly, many churches, and many professing believers lack any sense of urgency because they have no sense of the Gospel because they have not sense of sin.

Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron in one of their Way of the Master DVD’s give the following analogy. Imagine two passengers on an airplane. The stewardess brings them each a parachute and tells them to put it on, but she tells them each two very different things. To the first she says “Put on this parachute because it will give you Your Best Flight Now, it will enhance your flying experience”. But, he begins to be crowded by his neighbors and a hot cup of coffee is spilled in his lap, the parachute begins to poke him in the neck and soon, he rips it off and throws it to the ground because it did anything but enhance his flying experience. The stewardess tells the second passenger “Put this on because you have to jump out of this plane and it is your only hope.” This man will willingly endure the lack of comfort because he knows that without the parachute he will die. Friend, without Christ, we die.

The fact that the mainstream media can speak of a “lack of evidence” regarding a conversion to Christianity serves as a stinging rebuke to us all. May God raise up a generation that overflows with “evidence” because we overflow with the Gospel.

• Read ABC’s coverage.
• Read MSNBC’s coverage.

I’ll admit that I typically don’t care for Cameron Crowe’s movies. I often find the characters shallow and contrived and I think Tom Cruise is a well below-average actor. However, one of the things that I’ve come to appreciate about Crowe is something that he and Wes Anderson share: they understand the power of music.

My wife and I recently watched Crowe’s Elizabethtown. Having spent several years in Louisville, it was neat to see some of it in a film. But what was interesting was Crowe’s use of music to convey much of the weight in powerful scenes to great effect.

After the movie, it wasn’t the story that stuck with me, but the way so much of the story integrated music. At one point, Orlando Bloom’s character is sent on a road trip with an accompanying soundtrack. Hearing U2’s “(Pride) In The Name of Love” while seeing the balcony where Martin Luther King was shot was indeed powerful. It was the music that made so many of the scenes work as well as they did.

All of this sent me to thinking once more about the role of music in the lives of Christians. Music is a powerful medium and many people connect with it in ways they don’t with other art forms. It is one of the few art forms that becomes wholly integrated into people’s lives. We might drive to an art museum, but chances are, we listen to music while we do, there is often music playing while we experience other art forms, we get back into our car (where music is playing) and go to a restaurant where music is playing, and on and on. For many, music becomes a mental timeline of sorts. “Oh, I was listening to so and so at that point in life,” or “I distinctly remember what song was playing when that happened” and the ubiquitous “that’s our song”. Many of our lives truly do have a soundtrack.

I’m coming to the point that I no longer think all music made by Christians must be “explicitly Christian” (read here and here). But does that mean that a believer may listen to “secular” music? That’s a difficult question because I’m beginning to think that the question itself is flawed. Christians must question the “sacred/secular” distinction as if we have bubbles in which everything is acceptable. Such is not the case and much of what is sold in “Christian” bookstores is far more detrimental to the soul than what we might buy elsewhere. Rather than asking if its “sacred” or “secular,” we must be actively learning to filter everything through the Gospel, asking whether or not it is glorifying to God.

If music made by Christians is not necessarily “explicit” and seeks to address every area of life, then is it a jump to incorporate music made by non-Christians? I’m not so sure. We cannot allow profanity, lyriacally gratuitous sex or violence. Blasphemy is obviously out of the question, but is anything written by a non-Christian also automatically “out of bounds”?

The question really becomes this: can non-Christians lead us to glorify God in their art? I’m beginning to think that they can, even if they don’t realize it. For example, non-Christians are often endowed with tremendous artistic gifts. The demonstration of those gifts can be praise even if they don’t realize it. What’s more, music connects with us at the basic level of humanity. It explores our emotions and experiences and brings depth to them; it like fiction helps us to better understand the human condition (outside of Christ).

All of this ought to drive the believer to the reminder that while all of these things might be true, and they might be beautiful, they’re not complete. Good music, like good art, will always drive the believer to God. “Christian” art will do so explicitly while “non-Christian” (I use these terms loosely) will do so in a more “roundabout” way.

If listening to the heartache of a singer lament the emptiness of life outside of Christ does not cause us to praise Him, then an “explicitly Christian song” isn’t going to do much more. Engaging non-Christian music, like fiction, reminds just how big the Gospel really is; there is no area of life outside of its scope.

Rather than lower our standards to clear “Christian/non-Christian” or “sacred/secular” boundaries, we ought to strive for discernment in the application of 1 Corinthians 10:31: whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. If you can listen to a “secular” song and have your thoughts moved to Christ, then by all means do so. If you can’t, then don’t. The question is the result, not the source of the music.

This is one aspect Derek Webb gets right on his Mockingbird album when he sings “don’t teach me about truth and beauty, just label my music”. We must move beyond the faith of the artist to our own always asking the question of whether we are encouraged or discouraged in glorifying God in all that we do.

Saying “Olly olly oxen free” or “olly olly in come free” or the variant of your choice to all the hiding gems of the internet. Every week, bringing you more distractions, ruminations, exclamations, impartations, hydrations, migrations and the like.

Browse Carey’s “Separated At Birth” section.

Read James White’s discussion of “The Spirit of KJV Onlyism.”

Have some fun and visit Pezcentral.com or the official Pez site.

Browse the State of the News Media 2006 report.

Read Scot McKnights’ “Is The Future of Evangelicalism With the SBC?”

Watch a live Tortoise performance from June 19, 2001 (Real Video).

Read a recent interview with Andrew (piano/flugelhorn) of Anathallo.

Read Denny Burk’s “Botched Abortions You Haven’t Heard About”.

Read as D.R. begins a series on “The State of Public Schools”.

Read Michael Bird’s helpful “Fundamentalist versus Liberal”.

Browse Purgatorio’s interesting collection of Time magazine covers featuring Jesus. Also browse his fantastic post featuring just a few snowflakes.

Check out the newly redesigned Grassroots Music website.

Get yer groove on with this live video of the Meters from 1974.

Read the New York Times piece about students pursuing seminary educations for “secular” employment. (ht: Reju Tribe).

Answer LifeHacker’s question “Where do you find new music on the web?”

Read Baptist Press‘ print version of Mark Coppenger’s review of Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz entitled Blue Like Jazz and Berri-Blue Jello (ht: Denny Burk).

Read William Dembski’s post regarding a California school district that’s actually allowing Darwin to be criticized.

Read Ryan Bolger’s interesting post regarding “who gets to play” in worship, or how involvement increases participation (something that seems self-evident, doesn’t it?).

Read Mark Redfern’s “Lesbians, Losers and Loving Your Enemies”.

Read Will’s post regarding Kirk Franklin’s redemption from addiction to pornography.

Browse Tim Challies’ “Wednesday Miscellania,” which includes the following question about Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz: “Since when is autobiography an acceptable genre for Christian Spirituality?”, some interesting thoughts about the thoughts of Brian McLaren and everything but the kitchen sink.

Read “Books, People and Addictive Stimulants” at RightFaith.

Browse the growing lineup for this year’s Lollapalooza festival. I’m excited to see that both Mute Math and Anathallo are on the bill; certainly an exciting opportunity for both bands.

Read the Seattle Times‘ presentation of some new books on jazz.

Read Joe Carter’s fascination: “Sin On A Bun: The Forgotten Vice of Gluttony”.

Read Gary’s insightful and challenging “How We Worship: Ten Principles Which Guide Us On Sunday Morning”. Alright, so maybe I’m a bit biased here, but it really is a good piece!

Pray for Keith and Alicia as they’ve flown to China to pick up Ruth Ann. Follow their travel journal to see how and when to specifically pray for them.

See what I hear.

Freepay has changed its rules and imposed deadlines, so please, Please PLEASE, help us both earn a free laptop, a free Mac Mini, a free iPod video or a free iPod Nano. Come on, help a brother out….I now only have until May 30.

Read Andrew Jones’ “Emergent Elijah or Gideon,” in which, though not the focal point of the test, Andrew argues that Mordecai had a mullet.

Read Joe Thorn’s piece “The Ninth” in which he brings the Ninth Commandment to bear on blogging and charges of liberalism.

Read about the St. Paul city office, who, in a move towards the separation of church and state, recently removed a stuffed Easter bunny from their lobby. What’s truly preposterous is the claim that it was removed “because of concerns they might offend non-Christians.” Since when is a fictional bunny representative of my Risen Lord? I want it removed because it’s offensive to Christians!

Read “Discovering God’s Will” by Sinclair Ferguson.

Don’t forget to download Anathallo’s “Hymns” before it’s too late.

The Tate Britain Museum has come up with an interesting way to get people interested in art. Adopting the “mix tape” approach, they’ve categorized works of art into themes. Browse the I’ve Just Split Up Collection, or the Rainy Day Collection, or the Odd Faces Collection. You get the idea. Create your own collection.

Read about the “Religion of Peace” vowing that a convert to Christianity must die.

Read Chris’ brief post interacting with Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and read mine here.

Visit Dusty’s ever-hopeful of actually starting “Gospel Resurgence” blog and, please, leave a comment.

Read Rhett’s interesting (but in my opinion weak and eisegetical; love you Rhett!) and puritanically-long titled post “Gender Equality, Gender Roles and Women in Ministry: Should This Really Still Be An Issue in the Church? Miroslav Volf As An Opposing View To Those of Tim Challies, John MacArthur and Others…”

Hurry and register, the Together For The Gospel conference has announced that only 400 spaces remain available.

Ipoditude introduces Apple’s IPod Hi-Fi system.

Thomas Winborn asks the proverbial question “How many Christians does it take to change a lightbulb“?