(“The Beautiful Dirty Beat” is a piece written and presented for a creative worship night of the same title at Turning Point Community Church in November 2010. Click here for a listen to the live recording. Oh and, if you’ve got the speakers for it, turn it up nice and loud to hear that sweet bass guitar. Credits: Graphic Design and Vimeo – Allen Weathers. Musicians: Allen Lance – Keyboard. Tim Hyatt – Bass. Matt Potts – Drums.)
The Beautiful Dirty Beat
In the beginning was the beat. And the beat was with God. And the beat was God. And the beat was good.
The beautiful, dirty beat.
Jazz cats and Rock-n-Rollers, Fusion artists and Punkers, Psychedelics and Metal Heads, Rhythm and Blues’ers, all may think their beat is new. But it’s all just variations on one eternal theme.
Because the beat’s always been with God.
2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/8 or 6/8, pick your groove. Or be like my man Dave Brubeck who told us all to “Take Five” while he beat the beat in 5/4 time. Whatever your meter, the beat is God’s and the beat is good.
Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about. You know about the beat. Even your dog knows about the beat. Just watch Fido’s tail when you come home. A wagging metronome of joy.
Oh yeah, all God’s creatures know about the beat.
Because in the beginning was the beat. And the beat was with God. And the beat was God.
It’s His beautiful, dirty beat.
Beautiful, yes. But dirty, too?
Oh, yeah.
Because the beautiful beat, it travels. It goes places.
It gets coffee stained at the diner. Dusty at the rodeo. Picks up some grease in the garage.
It gets ripped and torn in the mosh pit. A little smoky at the jazz club. Sweaty at the honkytonk. And beer splashed at the baseball game.
At the opera it’s dressed to the nines. And if you can dig it, at church it wears purple when someone spills the communion juice.
I guess you could say that the beat is beautiful because it’s dirty.
The beat goes everywhere and everywhere it goes, like the pounding throbbing bass bleeding through the brick walls of a downtown club, God’s beat finds and fills every crack and crevice.
The beat, the beautiful dirty beat, goes everywhere. Because the beat is God’s, it goes where He goes and He goes everywhere.
The beautiful, dirty beat…it’s God’s heartbeat. His life infusing, sin forgiving, soul healing, joy bringing, relentless pulsing desire to make forever music with His creation.
Can you feel it?
In the beginning was the beat. And the beat was with God. And the beat was God.
And the beat, the beautiful, dirty beat…
It’s good.
Todd A. Thompson – January 10, 2012
