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Dr. Blount’s U2 Eschatological Countdown

by Dr. Douglas K. Blount & Sarah Frase

Let's get real, every day of finals week at seminary were longing for the eschaton, right? Now that you’re done with that last BE final, research paper, or exegetical, why not kick of your summer with a U2 listening party? Our own Dr. Blount is pleased to share with you his personal end times top 10 and related scriptures.

Here's to a Maranatha summer folks, enjoy.

10. Wake Up Dead Man

Listen For: The altar call sung to listeners who are dead apart from Christ and the plea for God to raise the physically dead, in Christ. Scripture: Romans 6:4, Revelation 20:12

9. City of Blinding Lights

Listen For: The city the singer describes is the New Jerusalem. He longs to be in God’s presence and anticipates being raptured. YouTube concert footage is pretty sweet on this one. Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:15–18, Revelation 21:22 –25

8. Window in the Skies

Listen For: The celebration of the victory of Christ’s incarnation and how His life has given humanity a window into the Kingdom of Heaven to come. Look for imagery of shackles being broken and an allusion to the stone being rolled away from the tomb. Scripture: Psalm 107:13–15, Luke 24:2 

7. Love Rescue Me 

Listen For: The Song of Lament tone including allusions to Psalm 23, with the singer identifying himself as his true enemy and asking for divine deliverance. He only finds rest in the last stanza when he anticipates entering Christ’s Kingdom. Scripture: Psalm 23, 1 Corinthians 13:10–13

6. Peace on Earth

Listen For: The singer pleading with God for the peace on earth that the gospel promises but which will not be realized until Christ’s return. Written in response to the violence of the IRA Omaugh Bombing in Northern Ireland in 1998, the names of victims appear in the song. Scripture: Mathew 2:18, Luke 2:10–14, Revelation 21:4

5. Yahweh

Listen For: The singer lamenting the pain and darkness children must endure before the Kingdom comes and his plea to be transformed into an instrument of God’s grace. Scripture: John 16:21, Mathew 5:14

4. 40

Listen For: Familiar lyrics of declarative praise lifted from Psalm 40 combined with a refrain calling for the Kingdom’s coming. Scripture: Psalm 40, Acts 1:6–7

3. Beautiful Day 

Listen For: The celebration of the day of Jubilee: debt forgiveness and freedom from slavery which foreshadows God’s Kingdom and the Day of the Lord. The singer cries out for healing and hope. Scripture: Leviticus 25:9-55, Revelation 22:1–7

2. Where the Streets Have No Name 

Listen For: The singer anticipating the beauty of the New Jerusalem, that city raised up on a desert plain, and inviting his listener to go with him to that city.    Scripture: Revelation 21

1. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For 

Listen For: The singer’s longing for the true justice of the coming Kingdom of God when racial strife will become peace. The singer champions his belief in the finished work of the cross and commitment to keep running the good race, though true satisfaction will not come until God’s Kingdom does. Scripture: Revelation 7, Hebrews 12:1–2, Philippians 3:12

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True to Joy // Scott Cyr

The ocean’s cotton steamrolls in at dawn And mackerels meet three fathoms deep to spawn. My canvas sparks! Electric orange and blue As morning’s mist dissolves around the True (A noble name for such a vessel strong). She seats but three, tho’ mates may steer me wrong, And so I breathe the salt and shad alone A lonely pawn who seeks a queenly throne.

A midday rainbow trout or snapper red Will never fill my nets nor keep me fed; I cast my line in search of heaven’s catch: A shore with sands of fire and cliffs to match, A mountain fierce whose walls forbid the weak From reaching high the summit’s blesséd peak. These rugged lands my home to surely be A place for which I long but cannot see.

Old Jack the Scribe, you taught me how to fish Surprised by joy, your tomes revealed my wish: To drink the milk from Rainbow’s hue-striped breast, To dance in highland greens and pastures bless’d, I journey on towards my longing’s call The undiscovered country consumes my all. And so I thread a jig and tie it on To fish for bounty in the sea beyond.

When asked to describe himself, Scott wrote: 

“I’m a freelance writer of poetry, short stories, Christian essays, Bible devotionals, humor articles, bad jokes…I could go on, but hopefully you get the picture. I married a beautiful woman, Brigita, twenty-five years ago. She is proof that I have good taste, if nothing else. She brought three strapping young men into the world (well, they weren’t young men at the time), with a little help from me: Sean (20), Cole (18) and Jared (17). We all live in the Dallas, Texas area and I attend Dallas Theological Seminary with hopes of teaching church history someday. I also hope to publish an unfinished novel that turns ten years old this year (how cliche can you get). To further perpetuate the stereotype, I started a blog this year dubiously titled "Herman's Neutics."

Find more from Scott: BLOG: http://hermansneutics.com TWITTER: @HermansNeutics

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“How I Plan to Rehab My Imagination Over Spring Break” // by Shannon Gianotti

I find it easy, at seminary, for my brain to get all the attention, like the MVP of a high school basketball team, while the rest of me—my body, my social life, and my imagination—warm the benches and get flabby. So, this spring break, I’ve decided to rehab my imagination. According to James. K. A. Smith, imagination is at the nexus of who we are. (I would recommend his book Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works—along with its prequel, Desiring the Kingdom—but, since my goal is to to coax hyper-intellectualism off the court for a while, I’ll just suggest that you index those books under the category euphemistically called “When I Have Time To Read For Fun.”) According to Smith, imagination is how we interact with the world. It connects our physicality with our past experiences, and enables us to generate new possibilities as we encounter ever changing situations. In short, a healthy imagination is essential to human flourishing—even intellectual flourishing—and, even at DTS. So if over the break, somewhere between finishing House of Cards and charting out the book of Leviticus, you want to buff up your imagination—here are five 20-minute ideas for getting your imagination off the bench. (I’ve previously done the first four, and plan to raid Kroger for the fifth next Saturday).

Nature • Go for a walk—without your earbuds. Watch for dancing. Listen for music. Feel the tapestry of nature.

Poetry • Read or listen to John Keats’s poem “Ode to Autumn.” Read it a second time, slowly, swimming among the images. Then, read it out loud.

Music • Listen to Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture,” performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Close your eyes, and see love’s first meeting, the swords, and the tomb.

Art • Take in Rembrandt’s 1667 “Portrait of an Elderly Man.” Then compose a letter from this man to his son, taking cues from the painting. 

Food • Buy an asian pear, a kumquat, and any other fruit you like. Go on, splurge a little. Eat them with a friend, describing each fruit’s qualities and imagining what it would be if it were an animal, a sport, or a DTS professor.

Find more from Shannon at http://shannongianotti.com/

(Photo curtesy of Ben Moore and unslash.com)

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Garrett Flatt || "Collapse"

We are excited to begin the process of featuring the work of DTS students here on the Eikon blog. Today we present "Collapse" by DTS student Garrett Flatt. Be sure to read his commentary on this piece that follows the poem. 

Collapse. Particles of immense weight strike the beach in thunder, Break asunder in great clumps of sand and sea swept upward like Giants' fists come unhinged, hurled at the black pillars in the sky until A singed, sopping gull falls from flight—but I let it pass by as salt water fills my mouth And dries this heart out Burns my wounds as I fall into the trenches And my mind closes at the mention of a name spoken none too soon. Eyes trace the descent of one red balloon And dusk falls Night calls Stalls And... Underwater, I envision myself old A spring morning but it's still cold outside Oak pollen covers my plastic chair I wish you'd been there so We could glance at the pots along the fence And I'm all grins: Seven small seeds turned up from the damp soil By the storms last night. Tender shoots crawl out from scaly husks Strike out bright this new path of life From a past of death and dying— Just to a see sun they've never seen; Just to be a new thing they've never been. Compelled? Drawn out from crusty hard shells From cold, dirt and worms, this seedy knell Was the dirt of life: Power to ascend with the winged kite Hope to see when before there had been no sight Love of a Sun which compelled seven seeds To green amidst the grey To fight against themselves, and say I will live, Though I don't know yet what that means I will live, I have hope to feast and not just to glean I will live, Though right now I have no feet to take a step, no lungs to take a breath I will live, In the warmth of a summer sun To die to death To see what I've never seen To be what I've never been. Life? I awake; the light is blinding. The ground beneath my back is groaning to break its binding This universe resigning joyfully its post To give way; rise like songs poured out by the finches Like flowers bravely from the trenches The world, embodied and emboldened, stands to attention To the disintegration of tensions in corporate hymn Even as a flood from the heavens, new Jerusalem Sets to rights: The salt water in my heart turns clear And wounds I had disappear with the fear; I died tonight But I think that's alright because I will live, To see the Son who bore the tree I will live, To revel and share in all His glory I will live, Though I don't know what that means– I will burst the seems of my feeble shell, this life on a dirty knell, And reach up to the Son.

About Garrett:

"I am a student of DTS, an aspiring writer and a reserved, but sometimes outspoken, critic of life and culture who God mercifully decided to make into something much better than a depressed intellectual. This piece is something that was started at Eikon's collaboration event in January and its theme and some of its phrases are owed to the wonderful group with whom I was allowed to brainstorm. I originally performed this by simply reading it out to that evening's audience and since then have taken some time to edit it and (hopefully) improve it. It's about destruction and rebirth, depression and hope, defeat and victory, all tied together with the Christian hope and vision and a personal dream. The theme for the event was: Child, Where Are Your Dreams? New Heaven and New Earth."

Find more of Garrett's work here: garrettflatt.wordpress.com

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Freedom by Michael Agnew

This was actually my first spoken word piece to ever wrote. I wrote it 3 years ago as I was looking back on my spiritual journey and the struggles that come with growing as a Christian. Basically I grew up in the church, my dad has been the worship pastor at my home church for the last 25 years, but going to church and experiencing the freedom of the Gospel don’t always go hand in hand. Like a lot of Christians, it took me awhile to actually realize the magnitude of God’s power and the freedom that only He can give. This video was created by the media team at St Andrew United Methodist Church. These guys all have amazing skills and they truly brought this spoken word piece to life. Michael is the head of music and performance for Eikon and just recently organized our Music Night at Hope Coffee (scroll down to see videos from that!)

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Artist Profile: Kristin Carmickle

Kristin Carmickle is a musician, writer, and aspiring painter.  She began playing the piano at 5, the viola at 10 and has dabbled with the guitar, mandolin and ukulele.  Kristin has always loved music and in the loving words of her mother, “often annoyed her siblings by singing through life”.  As a kid, Kristin was labeled as the “smart kid” so she didn’t start drawing or painting seriously until college and is really just a toddler in her visual art pursuits. A deep appreciation for the arts came during her time teaching English as a Second Language, both overseas and in the U.S.  Kristin has found the arts have the power to transcend language and create opportunities to dialogue about faith, God and religion and hopes to continue to engage students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures in order to share the Gospel.

Kristin is pictured here with her piggy bank which she uses to get Chipotle, and yes, she always gets guacamole.

Kristin is also Eikon's newly appointed secretary!

Instagram: @krisanncar

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Artist Profile: Katie Fisher

Katie Fisher is a visual artist who works in mixed media and collage. Her formal training is in graphic design and illustration (BFA Concordia University). At times She pretends to be a writer. Before joining the Media Arts & Worship program at DTS she held various jobs including milking cows on a dairy farm, supervising at a homeless shelter, and working in relief and development with Samaritan's Purse Cambodia.  As a farm kid from the Great Plains she learned to run wild with the wind and live in the trees. Now in Dallas, she grows as many plants as her apartment can hold. Processing theology, for her, is best while biking around Dallas on her red mid-70s road bike Takara. Box & Turtle is her refuge from the stack of books beside her desk and the endless paper deadlines. She hopes you enjoy the spirit of her work and find refuge in it as she has.

Katie also serves as the brilliant Head of Graphic Design & Advertisement for Eikon, and was the lead on Collaboration Day.

Find Katie at:

Website: www.katiefisher.us

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Artist Profile: Jordan Parker

Jordan is a video editor/storyteller/photographer/aspiring writer and student. He is also serving as both the Treasurer and Head Photographer for Eikon. He says this about his experience:

In 2008 I started working full-time in video production with only 2 months experience (aka summer camp videos) and no formal training. My new boss taught me everything he could over the next 3 years and I fell in love with the craft of video production. Along the way I picked up photography as a pastime and I love spending time with people capturing a point in their lives. I moved to Dallas with my wife, Desiree, in 2011, and started working in the Media Production department at DTS. I’ve learned even more here and I’m so thankful for the people I am surrounded by. Check out my most recent project:

Find Jordan at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bytheparkers Website: www.bytheparkers.com 

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Artist Profile: Ashley Scarbrough

Ashley Scarbrough is a professional wedding and portrait photographer with a passion to continue international photojournalism for mission organizations. She has traveled to countries throughout Africa and Latin America, capturing stories and plans to pursue this more vigorously after seminary. While at Dallas Theological Seminary, Ashley is working towards her Media Arts and Worship degree with a writing emphasis, in order to enhance her storytelling abilities and make God known. Currently, she continues her work on two books. One addresses the power duo of photojournalism and faith, while the other is a collection of stories and photographs of people she worked with overseas. Ashley also generously lends her talents as Assistant Photographer for Eikon. Find Ashley at:

Website: www.writtenshutter.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writtenshutter

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Artist Profile: Sarah Frase

Sarah describes herself as an observer of minutiae, soul preservationist, and amateur dragon rider. She frequently enjoys nerding out over language, revealing humanity through action figures, and meeting people through their spoken stories. She is a prolific knitter. Yet what Sarah loves most growing in that invitation to abide in Christ and Him in her. After teaching high school English and Theatre for 8 years she is currently enrolled at Dallas Theological Seminary, earning a master's degree in Media Arts and Worship. She is currently writing her first novel meditating on the mystery of God, dehumanization, and the Imago Dei and would greatly value you praying that she would do this well. Find Sarah at: https://blindcornerfiction.wordpress.com/ https://watchyourfraseology.wordpress.com/ Instagram: @geekgirl452 Twitter: @geekgirl452

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Artist Profile: Trisha McNeill

Trisha is: 

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and amateur writer. She currently serves as Eikon's events coordinator, which ties in well with her role as events and marketing intern with Art House Dallas. She has always loved to sing and play music, and has recently resolved to record an EP of original songs. She also enjoys baking and taking photos of said baking. She loves the idea of someday working with young artists, encouraging them to take their gifts seriously and to use their art to support the church. And despite the skeptical look in her eye, she does really like you, she just also needs new glasses. 

Find Trisha at: Twitter: @trishajmcneill Tumblr: nouvelleblog.tumblr.com

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Artist Profile: Meridith Johnson

Meridith is: Singer, songwriter, musician, worship leader, and social media coordinator for Eikon. She wrote this of her experience in the arts:

I have been singing and making music from the time I could speak as a young child. There was a reason my Mom made the "no singing at the dinner table" rule—too bad I broke it every night! When I ventured into the "adult" world of college, everyone assumed I would major in music... which eventually I did after a long, painful process. Pursuing a music degree left me with no regrets and the tools to write, compose, perform and further my creativity as a musician. I love all things music, I enjoy writing poetry and every now and then I dabble in painting.

Find Meridith at:

Twitter: @meridithrae

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Artist Profile: Mark Pate

Mark Pate is: Co-creator and illustrator of the sci-fi-sitcom online graphic novel, Rick Flash and the Adventurenauts. About Rick Flash: Rick Flash races home to reunite with his family after years of adventure in space but the journey won't be easy. Along with his friends, the Adventurenauts, Rick Flash will face a barrage of powerful adversaries, run-ins with old (sometimes unwanted) friends, and maybe even an ex-girlfriend.  Mark also serves as the head of professional marketing for Eikon and recently facilitated an Eikon meeting with Shannon Reibenstein where they discussed "A Posture for Artists."

Find Mark at:

RickFlash.com / MarkPate.com

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THIS WEEK: leadership team profiles

Part of the purpose of this blog is to showcase the creatives that are a part of DTS. (In case you were wondering, it is possible to study ancient Greek, exegete, AND make art.)  This week we will be showcasing the Eikon leadership team. We want you to get to know a bit about us and to tell you about some of the creative projects we're currently working on.  You'll get to know the Eikon team this week, so the next time you join us at an Eikon event or see us moseying around campus, please can say "HI!" and ask us how YOU can get involved. 

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Speak For Me (Cover)

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "comparison is the thief of joy." Despite all of its apparent appreciation of individuality, the arts leave plenty of room for comparison. There is always someone who is more able, has more experience, and receives more praise. At Music Night, Jayme's cover of the song "Speak for Me" by Jaci Velasquez spoke to this Mosaic cry for God to choose someone else. She writes, 

I believe God called me around 16 or so, but I just wanted to sing for my supper. Moses' response was my template. Sailors and I share a common language, I make bad choices, and people are expecting someone great. "Yet, for some unknown reason, YOU have chosen me." Even more, how does she know my fears? Dude, how do I respond to this? "You're all I have to offer to a world in need." He CHOSE me, just like Moses. He GOES WITH me, just like Moses. He SPEAKS FOR me, just like with Moses. And HE is all I have to offer. "God," I said in my seemingly infinite wisdom, "I'm not perfect. No thunder, no burning bush—just a Jaci Velasquez CD I borrowed from my sister when I felt like God went silent. "What have I to offer to a world in need?" Wait a minute - how does she know my question? "Speak for me, this my plea; say the words I can't express." This song became my ministry heartbeat and the best explanation for my life.

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Lift Your Eyes (A Song of Ascent)

Part of what we are trying to accomplish with Eikon is to create the opportunity for collaboration. Connection with other artists opens our field of view, allowing us to explore techniques and concepts that are new to us.  Coy and Michael combined their efforts in this song/spoken word piece entitled, "Lift Your Eyes." Coy explained this song in this way:

This song was inspired by the fifteen "Songs of Ascent" in the book of Psalms, along with other Psalms as well. It was written in a time when God was calling me to wake up from sleep walking my way through life. Psalm 123, specifically, was used by God to call me to lift my eyes to Him who is the source of life and all that is good. The song began as God calling me to Himself, and then morphed through time to function as a catalyst to implore the people of God to wake up and lift their own eyes to God. The song should be thought of more as an experience than simply a song, because you can participate in the message of the song in the moment.

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Light

At an Eikon meeting this past fall, Meridith Johnson teamed up with Dr. Glenn Kreider to lead a discussion entitled Appreciating the Arts in the Local Church. Meridith's insight on this subject stems in part from her own experience as a musician serving the church. She shared her beautiful song "Light" at Music Night and had this to say about it:

This song came out of a very difficult season for my family. I personally struggled with many aspects of this trial, and often found myself simply clinging to the glimpses of light that radiated from the truths of who God was and is—that was all I had. I found myself questioning so many things through this season, but in the end, I came to a place where the light of God's powerful presence in my life was so overpowering that the fears and questions simply faded compared to his glorious-self.