Christian Piatt's Blog, page 16

April 22, 2015

Worship How-Tos Franklin Graham Blues and New Tattoos (CultureCast)

I tell ya, one week without our cohost Slim Moon around and it all turns to chaos. Well, not really, but we missed him this week. Sitting in for him is our buddy, Rev. Adam Phillips, pastor of the much-publicized Christ Church Portland, who got kicked out of the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination for being too inclusive. You [Read More...]
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Published on April 22, 2015 15:03

April 20, 2015

Explaining “Working Poor” to my Privileged, Middle Class Children

For my privileged, perhaps overly comfortable children, something as trivial as our internet being down constitutes a crisis. When we do our “gratitude inventory” (aka a way to get them to reflect and pray), they rattle off things as a matter of routine that many people would only dream of. So how do I explain [Read More...]
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Published on April 20, 2015 10:48

April 17, 2015

Three of the Most Dangerous Christian Words: “Do You Believe…”

If you were ever baptized, think of the three words the pastor or priest likely said to you before performing the sacred act. How about if you decided to join a church. Or when you wanted to receive communion. Or if you were confronted by another Christian about the strength or integrity of your faith. [Read More...]
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Published on April 17, 2015 17:36

April 15, 2015

Five Things Christianity Can Learn From Buddhism

Could Christianity’s future lie in Buddhism’s past? This is a possibility that’s been haunting me lately, but in a good way, I think. One big critique, understandably, of postmodern views on Christian spirituality is that there’s too much time and energy spent deconstructing old systems and ways of thinking that need to be torn down [Read More...]
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Published on April 15, 2015 05:15

April 11, 2015

THE SHACK’s Wm. Paul Young: Where’s God When…

Where’s God in the midst of loss and suffering? How do we find hope and healing when God seems so far away? I’m honored and excited to be a part of an upcoming touring production with Wm. Paul Young (author of THE SHACK) and  Reba Riley (author of POST TRAUMATIC CHURCH SYNDROME) in which we take on [Read More...]
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Published on April 11, 2015 12:49

April 1, 2015

Interviewing Haaz Sleiman: Muslim Star of “Killing Jesus”

Lots of people know about the new movie, “Killing Jesus,” premiering on Nat Geo Channel on Palm Sunday. Most everyone who has heard about it has strong feelings about it, given that it’s based – at least sort of – on the book of the same name by Bill O’Reilly. Some folks are abuzz about [Read More...]
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Published on April 01, 2015 05:53

March 30, 2015

Fifty Shades of God: Does Easter Week Affirm Our Violent Desires?

(Join Christian in his year-long quest to better understand what we mean when we claim to follow Jesus at http://www.myjesusproject.com/. Have we made God into a monster? And as a result, have we taken the holiest of weeks in the Christian year and dressed it up as a celebration of bloody, violent sacrifice? If so, [Read More...]
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Published on March 30, 2015 11:16

March 24, 2015

Why Pop-Up Church for Good Friday is Brilliant

My friend, Adam Phillips, sent this link to me the other day, as it’s something we’re considering doing ourselves. The idea is simple, though would take some effort and a little courage to do well. You get artists, singers, musicians willing to go out into the streets and share their music with anyone they meet [Read More...]
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Published on March 24, 2015 16:09

March 13, 2015

Philip Clayton, Vulcans, LGBTQ Marriage Equality, and LIVE Awesomeness

Well folks, we geeked out this time… First, we’re thrilled to announce a first-ever LIVE Homebrewed Christianity CultureCast! It’s happening April 28th from 6PM to 8:30 PM at Marmoset Music in Southeast Portland. Tickets are limited and already going at a healthy pace, so snap one up soon. A $10 admission  gets you into the [Read More...]
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Published on March 13, 2015 08:14

March 11, 2015

Love: The Root of All Evil

I was invited to preach at Portland First Christian Church on Sunday, March 8th. The biblical text was from Mark 11:15-19 in which Jesus cleanses the temple by driving out the moneychangers during passover from Herod’s temple. Read the manuscript (somewhat different than the actual spoken version) below. To listen to an audio version of the [Read More...]
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Published on March 11, 2015 10:08