Every Friday we take some time out from the busy blog life to celebrate God through creative pursuits. Recognizing the great tapestry that is the arts, we do this through regularly linking to the photography of Alex Forrest, Joe Thorn, Steve McKoy and Joe Kennedy. I also regularly link to the history focus of Will and I also regularly highlight a poet each week, featuring at least one poem. Lastly, I try to highlight a different musical artist each week who makes at least one or two of their tracks available for free and legal download.

Today’s poet is John Keats (1795-1821). Hailed as a key poet of the Romantic movement, Keats’ short life produced some magnificent poetry. Today we’ll feature only one poem because it’s a bit long and I don’t want to stretch anyone’s attention span!

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read:
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

Nor do we merely feel these essences
For one short hour; no, even as the trees
That whisper round a temple become soon
Dear as the temple’s self, so does the moon,
The passion poesy, glories infinite,
Haunt us till they become a cheering light
Unto our souls, and bound to us so fast
That, whether there be shine or gloom o’ercast,
They always must be with us, or we die.

Therefore, ’tis with full happiness that I
Will trace the story of Endymion.
The very music of the name has gone
Into my being, and each pleasant scene
Is growing fresh before me as the green
Of our own valleys: so I will begin
Now while I cannot hear the city’s din;
Now while the early budders are just new,
And run in mazes of the youngest hue
About old forests; while the willow trails
Its delicate amber; and the dairy pails
Bring home increase of milk. And, as the year
Grows lush in juicy stalks, I’ll smoothly steer
My little boat, for many quiet hours,
With streams that deepen freshly into bowers.
Many and many a verse I hope to write,
Before the daisies, vermeil rimmed and white,
Hide in deep herbage; and ere yet the bees
Hum about globes of clover and sweet peas,
I must be near the middle of my story.
O may no wintry season, bare and hoary,
See it half finished: but let Autumn bold,
With universal tinge of sober gold,
Be all about me when I make an end!
And now at once, adventuresome, I send
My herald thought into a wilderness:
There let its trumpet blow, and quickly dress
My uncertain path with green, that I may speed
Easily onward, thorough flowers and weed.

• Read Wikipedia’s entry on John Keats
• Buy the complete poems of John Keats

Today’s music downloads come from another personal favorite (mostly) instrumental act. Allmusic says that they play like a “brighter, happier Mogwai” and classifies them as playing “spacey instrumentals.” Whereas many instrumental “post rock” bands have gone the way of Tortoise incorporating vibes into everything they do, The Six Parts Seven goes more the way of Japancakes, instead utilizing lap steel guitar to set them apart, and in my humble opinion, it works quite well.

• Download “This One Or That One”
• Download “Where Are the Timpani Heartbeats?”
• Download “A blueprint of Something Never Finished”
• Download it all at eMusic
• Buy [Everywhere][And Right Here]
• Buy “Things Shaped in Passing”

Another bygone era of 7 days and so much streaming by so fast on this proverbial river of the information highway (OK, that’s a bad mixed metaphor, but I’m leaving it). Offering you the leaf-catcher of the blogosphere, here’s some of what I caught floating by this past week:

Read about the RIAA pursuing legal action against people who include music on their Youtube or Google videos.

Read about Apple smashing particles.

Read Time’s list of “Summer Albums to Play Loud.”

Read as both the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times profile the recent Intonation Festival (ht: lhb). The Chicagoist also chimes in.

Have you ever tried to dip in to electronic music and simply left overwhelmed by the various subgenres? Try Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music which identifies the main genres, breaks those down into subgenres, gives helpful descriptions of all of it along with sound samples.

Read Christianity Today’s piece dealing with the new book Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock (written by a non-Christian, this looks to be an interesting read) which argues that much Christian music exists “parallel universe,” never fully intersecting with the trendsetting sonic landscapes of mainstream or alternative rock. Christian music may approximate the sounds of popular rock, and the labels may even be owned by the same parent companies, but to many people’s ears, Christian rock is just one long cover.”

Read Christianity Today’s review of the new David Crowder Band EP “B Collision.”

Read Al Mohler’s piece “Ann Lamott Kills A Man - And Writes About It.” In the article, Mohler remarks that ‘In the economy of just a few words, Lamott effectively turns the Christian understanding of life and death on its head” and concludes: “As with the issue of abortion, Anne Lamott is simply guided by her own sense of what is right and wrong.”

Become a drug dealer and help distribute AIDS medicines to Africa.

Look into my ears and see what I’ve been listening to at the Last.fm site which uses a plugin called “Audio Scrobbler” to track the music you listen to and then make recommendations on your established listening patterns.

Send a Bible to China through VoM’s “Bibles Unbound” program.

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

Read as the Washington Times asks why the editors of the New York Times hate America (ht: Pearcey Report).

Watch ABC News‘ piece on XXXchurch’s “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” ‘bible’ (ht: Steve McKoy) and read my previous thoughts on XXXchurch.

Read yet another article on “the Pitchfork effect” discussing the site’s effect on young bands and listeners.

Read Pitchfork’s discussion of this year’s Bonnaroo Festival lineup.

Read articles (here, here and here) discussing the possibility that some believe that “Noah’s ark” may have been discovered.

 think I’ve mentioned this before, but I typically don’t write blog posts until everyone else has gone to bed. My thought is always that if it doesn’t get done, then there’s no post that day but as you can tell, I like to posts something new each day. Sooner or later, life has a way of catching up, so today, take a rest, breathe deeply, enjoy life, love your family, read a book, leave me thought-provoking comments and lament the first day in a long while with no real post here to speak of. Get off the computer.

As I recently read Donald Miller’s Searching For God Knows What, I also re-read Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis. Since many place the two together on some sort of “dialogue, discussion” or whatever you want to call it, I wanted to see their books laid out side by side to see what, if any similarities presented themselves.

One key similarity did indeed present itself, but it was in an e-mail exchange with a friend that I initially realized the extent of this similarity. Discussing Bell, Miller and other “emergents,” this friend remarked that what many of these people miss is that “You can’t not have doctrine.” That’s exactly right and that’s also what seems to tie many “emergents” together, they seem to think that they have outgrown doctrine, that talking about springs and relationships somehow means that we no longer need to worry about theological precision.

I know, I know, I can hear the screams of “Modernist” (can I at least be recognized as “Premodern”?) coming at me from every direction, but let’s think about this for a minute. First, let’s look at what Bell and Miller have to say for themselves on the subject. For example, Bell tries to equate doctrine to the springs of a trampoline:

“When we jump, we begin to see the need for springs. The springs help make sense of these deeper realities that drive how we live every day. The springs aren’t God. The springs aren’t Jesus. The springs are statements and beliefs about our faith that help give words to the depth that we are experiencing in our jumping. I would call these the doctrines of the Christian faith.”

Of course, Bell goes on to argue that one of the beauties of springs is how far they can stretch and still retain their shape and usefulness. While I appreciate Bell’s emphasis that “God is bigger than our words, our brains, our worldviews, and our imaginations,” what he neglects to mention is that it is possible to pull a spring far enough that it either breaks or loses its shape and usefulness altogether. Yes, all analogies break down, but it’s his analogy, not mine and I think that must be pointed out because I worry that Bell is pushing some “springs” to their limits.

Bell contrasts his “spring” approach to what he sarcastically refers to as “brickianity.” He says that for some people:

“faith isn’t a trampoline, it’s a wall of bricks. Each of the core doctrines is like an individual brick that stacks on top of the others. If you pull one out, the whole wall starts to crumble. It appears quite strong and rigid, but if you begin to rethink or discuss even one brick, the whole thing is in danger.”

I would be disappointed if bell then didn’t remark at how walls are used to keep people out. Don’t worry, that’s exactly where he goes with it. Miller, for his part, does not adopt an extended metaphor, but repeatedly throughout his book insists that we need to move away from “formulas.” Consider, for example, Miller arguing that:

“the Gospel of Jesus is all about our relationship with Jesus rather than about ideas. And perhaps our lists adn formulas and bullet points are nice in the sense that they help us memorize different truths, but harmful in the sense that they blind us to the necessary relationship that must begin between ourselves and God for us to become His followers. And wrse, perhaps our formulas and bullet points and steps steal the sincerity with which we might engage God.”

Now let me clarify: I readily admit that much of modern Christianity has adopted an overly academic approach to theology/doctrine and that there are many who study simply to gain knowledge and to be “right” in debates. I also understand and admit that our words can not do God justice and any “systematic theology” will always be arranged logically (that’s the point).

But what is so interesting is that both of these books are full of doctrine. You can not not have doctrine, it’s simply impossible because once you do away with doctrine, you’re no longer a Christian. Tell me about this Jesus who saved you…..you cannot do so without doctrine. Bell and Miller simply give recycled voice to the old cliched “Don’t give me doctrine just give me Jesus” routine.

We need to be fair here and admit that Bell and Miller have some valid concerns. Doctrine is often far too rigid and exclusionary, it often formalizes and brings an academic air to truths that were meant to ignite our souls. But at some point we must exclude; some things simply are not Christian and for all the talk of springy relationships, I want to say that at some point, orthodoxy is important. Bell treads that line, recommending Marcus Borg, seemingly questioning the virgin birth and inspiration and Miller treads much of the same ground by fuzzifying faith to the point that it’s almost something we can’t even talk about.

Paul was certainly concerned with doctrine. Not only that, he was willing to tell people that they were wrong. Just because people have done this insensitively doesn’t mean that everyone is right. Push too hard and a spring is worthless and I don’t think that’s pressing the analogy too far, I think it’s a necessary warning to consider.

While it may be hip to claim that we’ve moved beyond the idea of doctrine, it’s simply not biblical. Jesus warns against accepting the “commandments of men” as doctrine (Matthew 15:9), Paul warns the Romans against accepting things “contrary to the doctrine” that they had been taught (Romans 16:17), he urges the Ephesians to “no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14), and he admonishes Timothy not to let anyone teach “any different doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3).

The problem seems to be equating doctrine with divisions, false piety, needless exclusions and the like. Might these things arise from doctrine? yes. Must they arise from doctrine? absolutely not. We must lovingly stand firm in “humble orthodoxy” and we must be willing to place walls. Some beliefs are simply not biblical and the most loving thing we can do is point that out. To do anything else is simply irresponsible. Love loves the truth and truth necessitates error.

I understand and appreciate the hearts behind these books, I really do. However, I worry that in the move to distance themselves from cold fundamentalists, Bell and Miller are allowing people to think that it doesn’t matter what we think. Is Christianity more than mere intellectual assent? Yes, but it is never less than that.

• Read Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.
• Read Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller.

As a preacher, I often struggle with preaching. Let me explain. I often try to listen to at least one or two sermons a week that are not my own. I try to listen to a wide spectrum of styles and approaches, continually being challenged in my own understanding of and growth in preaching.

By conviction, I preach expository sermons. That simply means that preach through an entire book of the Bible, verse by verse (or at least unit by unit as the text dictates). During my time here at Grace Community Church, I have preached through the book of Colossians and now we are in Genesis (and most likely will be for quite some time; we are just finishing chapter 8).

Adopting this style means that my primary objective is not set by me, it is set by the text. My job is to explain and apply the text. Bad expository preaching often ends up as little more than a running commentary on the text, but I’ve learned the hard way that there is a world of difference between teaching and preaching. Lord willing, I am becoming a preacher.

One of the things that I’ve thought quite a bit about is the actual writing/formation of the sermon. I do write out a complete manuscript, but I do not adopt an outline structure in putting everything together. Among some of the circles that I travel, it is quite popular to use acronyms and alliteration in the structure of the sermon itself (The Person, The Power, The Papayas, etc.). The common argument is that adopting this style helps the listener grab the key points much easier, remember them and, Lord willing, apply them.

Yet the more I deal with the text, the more I am convinced that this is a shallow and a false method. It encourages readers to look for formulas that simply are not native to the text itself. The text consists of historical narrative, poetry, prophecy, didactic (yet passionate) letters. In other words, it is relational and it is real to our experience. I don’t know about you, but I don’t speak in acronyms or alliteration, even when I’m trying to emphasize a key point. Scripture doesn’t adopt these methods either. As Donald Miller so keenly notes in his book Searching For God Knows What, “Apparently, Jesus had not heard of the wonderful tool of acronym.”

I worry that preachers who adopt these methods are slowly teaching their people that all Christianity may be broken down into simple steps to follow and that if we just look hard enough, there’s some hidden pattern in all of Scripture to help us remember it. Can this approach be done well? Absolutely, but I think that’s probably the exception rather than the norm and I worry that over-simplifying the text in such a way actually doesn’t over-complicate our people’s lives. In the end, are we creating unrealistic approaches to the text, and when the congregation isn’t able to break everything down into a cutesy little formula, have we actually set them up for defeat?

I will admit that I have tried this approach. More often than not, what ends up happening is that I formulate the main points of the sermon and then I’ll spend around five minutes trying to force these points into an alliteration, then I’ll realize that my time is actually better spent wrestling with the text rather than forcing it into an artificial formula.

I worry that this approach to preaching is simply indicative of a larger mindset that wants everything simplified and boiled down to the point that it will fit on the little plaque on your favorite Thomas Kinkade painting of light. Life, Scripture and the application of Scripture to life are rarely that easy.

• Read Preaching With Passion by Alex Montoya.

The relationship between Christianity and the Arts is a very messy one for many people. This mess manifests itelf for most people in music. No one is quite sure what Christians should or shouldn’t listen to, much less create. Though I have argued elsewhere that Christians making music shouldn’t feel obligated for every line of every song to have the prerequisite “Hallelujahs” and that the “Christian music industry” is more about marketing than content, there is also a place for artists with unabashedly “Christian” content. More often than not, these artists are relegated to the “Praise and Worship” category, though their music might not lend itself to coprorate singing, there just doesn’t seem any other easy way to “categorize” such artists.

Leeland is another one of these artists who will not be easily categorized. Sound of Melodies, their major label debut is due August 15 on Essential Records. According to Michael W. Smith, “Leeland is the best thing I have heard in a long, long time. I can’t stop singing the songs in my head. Great melodies. Great band. Great voice.” Essential describes them as a “progressive rock band,” which really doesn’t mean anything other than that they rock more than Michael W. Smith and not as much as Pantera.

The Essential Records news-blurb, however, does give us a bit more insight as it states that the band “credits a multitude of European rock acts as its musical influence: Travis, Coldplay, Delirious, Doves” and others. Name-dropping of this sort provides a huge clue into the band’s sound. Two artists not mentioned who ought to have been are Telecast and Tim Hughes. Both have succeeded in translating the repetitive guitar stylings of Coldplay into crescendo-building worship and Leeland continues in that tradition of adopting a popular style while making it their own.

Much of the buzz surrounding this release and this band is the fact that Leeland Mooring, the band’s namesake and key songwriter is only 17 years old. Mooring’s talent is undeniable and his love for the Lord is contagious. Leeland (the band) have succeeded where so many fail, producing an honest, heartfelt devotion to God with artistic merit and undeniable hooks. You will be humming many of these tunes long after the CD has stopped spinning, and that is a credit to the songwriting.

Lyrically, the album is undeniable worship. For example, in “Yes You Have,” Mooring sings “With Your love You have set me free, Three nails gave me liberty, so I’ll sing Your praise.” Continuing the theme of freedom through Christ, the song “Beautiful Lord” contains the line, “it’s Your mercey that has set me free.” This theme is continued throughout the album, forming a nice thread.

Musically, the ablum falls squarely within the Coldplay, Travis, Telecast vein of “euro” rock, with repeated guitar patterns and building tension as the motif. Yet the band manages to work within these cliches and still make them believable, even catchy. The one musical lowspot (at least for me) is the song “Lift Your Eyes” which adopts a very American, almost classic rock refrain. It’s not that the song isn’t good, it’s just not nearly as good as the others and it feels a bit out of place amidst the moodiness of many of the other songs. The song “Hey” also flounders a bit, falling into that ambiguous “is he talking about God or a girl” mode with the chorus, “Hey, you’re the one that I’ve been looking for and I’ve found you here.” With such strong statements of devotion to God elsewhere, this is an unfortunate misstep clothed in catchy melodies.

The band thrives when they let down their cling to the “euro” genre and incorporate a bigger sound, like on tracks such as “Too Much” which retains the same core approach while incorporating some more experimental sound structures and progressions. Little things like the tinkling xylophone of “How Wonderful” greatly expand the sound and draw the listener in. The piano and hint of strings of “Carried To the Table” are surprisingly effective as the band provides glimpses of the maturity that awaits them as their sound expands from an already solid foundation.

Fans of Coldplay, Travis and others will immediately feel at home while more adventurous listeners will also find much to enjoy. The overwhelming meditation on grace is refreshing when so many “Christian” albums simply paint with perpetual Polyanna smiles, Leeland takes the time to remind us why Christians ought to have that joy. In the words of the closing track, “Carried to the Table,” “Lifted by the Savior and cradled in His arms, I was carried to the table, seated where I don’t belong,” ending with the refrain “You carried me my God.”

“Sound of Melodies” is one of the strongest “Christian” releases this year and a promising debut. Let’s just pray that the band can stay true to their vision as expressed by Jack Leeland, “What people hear on the record is five young guys that have hearts to glorify God. That’s what it’s all about for us: Declaring to God and to people how amazing He is.”

• Preorder Leeland’s “Sound of Melodies”
• Visit Leeland’s Myspace page

Every Friday we take some time out from the busy blog life to celebrate God through creative pursuits. Recognizing the great tapestry that is the arts, we do this through regularly linking to the photography of Alex Forrest, Joe Thorn, Steve McKoy and. I also regularly highlight a poet each week, featuring at least one poem. Lastly, I try to highlight a different musical artist each week who makes at least one or two of their tracks available for free and legal download.

Today’s featured poet is William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). Yeats was an Irish poet and wrote often about the Irish countryside. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, for what the committee described as “his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation”. Today we’ll feature two selections, one is about his famed countryside called “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and the other is entitled “When You Are Old.”

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

• Buy the collected poems of W.B. Yeats.

This week’s musical selection is one of my long-time favorites. I remember living in Louisville and coming across these guys on Epitonic. My wife was out of town and I remember getting immediately in the car, going to Ear X-tacy and buying their Faithful Anchor full-length and their Firecracker EP.

Originating in Seattle, Unwed Sailor plays bass-driven melodic instrumentals just the way instrumental indie-rock ought to be played. Melodies that will linger, accessibility to keep you and complexity enough to keep you interested.

• Download Ruby’s Wishes
• Download Snowcaps
• Download Golden Cities
• Visit Unwed Sailor’s official website
• Buy the Firecracker EP by Unwed Sailor
• Buy the Faithful Anchor by Unwed Sailor
• Buy The Marionette and the Music Box by Unwed Sailor
• Download all of the Unwed Sailor releases from eMusic.