Thanks in large part to the Dylan Devotional Blog, I have been getting quite a few e-mails from all around the world regarding our service tomorrow, so I thought it would make sense to give some background and clarification here.
In trying to grow the leading edge of our emerging ministries at UMCG and to make the grace of God more accessible to the disenfranchised of our community, I wanted to design a service that was flavored with sounds of our region and nation. I also hoped to find something that would resonate with the established people of our congregation who helped give birth to the emerging service.
At that same time, the December issue of Relevant came across my desk with Dylan on the cover and inside was what I believe was an excerpt from a book called Restless Pilgrim. Honestly, I had no idea that Dylan had a "Christian" phase until I read this article.
I had also just finished watching No Direction Home and saw the horrible way the fans treated his move to electric instruments, and decided this was a good time to invest in his discography. As a pastor, I am partial to the persecuted, and it seems like Dylan has dealt with that for his entire career.
That same day, I bought the complete collection from iTunes and listened to anything that looked like it would be appropriate for worship, pulled out songs that had strong relationships with classic worship elements, and made a large list and parred it down from there.
I searched around to see if anyone else had done this, and was surprised to find no references to it. Thus is birthpangs of the first Bob Dylan liturgy.
In a spiritual way, I was struck by how profoundly relevant and theologically savvy the songs were. I know there is a U2charist, yet for whatever U2 has in regards to mass appeal and pop melodies, Dylan more than makes up for with wonderful poetry.
He exhibits all the elements of an Old Testament prophet: depth, mystery, joy, challenge and persecution. He is someone who writes down what is -- without a doubt -- the inspiration of God and then proclaims it boldly. This is what I hope the congregation can come to see in worship on Sunday as well. I hope that they will appreciate the artists of the world who the church has ignored as having a relevant voice in our conversations to, with and about God.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Dylan Service Peaks Interest
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4 comments:
Dude--it's 'pique' interest
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pique
I was going for the more literal approach ... as in our traffic has reached a pinnacle or peak ... but thank you for the dictionary link.
I am a Christian and would be very uneasy about promoting Bob Dylan as an artist whose music is suitable for use in the church. In recent times, if anything, he seems to have more of an affinity with Satan...! This is illustrated by:
(a) His use of a satanic emblem, the eye of Horus, as part of his logo. Refer to http://www.topix.com/forum/who/bob-dylan/TLQ39ICMJCHILSQ6L
(b) His seeking to identify with Robert Johnson (the bluesman who according to legend sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for musical ability) - Dylan mentions something similar in 'No Direction Home' in response to questioning about how his own musicianship improved so quickly.
(c) Following on from point (b), Bob Dylan was interviewed by Ed Bradley for '60 Minutes' in 2005 and said that he continued to make music in order to hold up his end of a bargain that he made "with the chief commander...on this earth and the world we can't see". Satan is also known as the Prince of this World. Some would say that he made a bargain with God, but it's unlikely that a musician like Dylan would make a bargain with God to become a rock star, particularly since his 'born again' period came much later in his career.
Of course I could be wrong about the above, but I have to say that I stopped listening to his music after attending a concert of his last year when he unfurled a large banner with his logo on it - a logo with overtly satanic elements. I used to think that he could still be a Christian, especially with the Christian themes in his earlier work, but given his recent interviews and his continued use of his new logo, I can only conclude that Bob Dylan now stands firmly on the other side.
From an ex-Dylan fan
Wow, C. I'm glad you still troll for Dylan references after you gave up on him last year. I am also glad that this conversation has helped you to stand firm and comfortable in your faith that symbols and words are primary.
I believe that God is greater than those things, grace is more abundant than the babble of people, and the Word himself has the final say in who has been faithful. Thank God's goodness it is not me or you.
note: I deleted your other comments because they were the same as this one.
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