Wild Goose LIVE: CultureCast and Homebrewed Christianity Double Episode

August 19, 2017 By Christian Piatt

In a special double episode that combines both a CultureCast and a Homebrewed Christianity episode, we celebrate Tripp Fuller’s 1,000th episode LIVE from the main stage at Wild Goose. On the CultureCast, Christian is joined by Tripp, Kristen Howerton and pastor-cum-rapper JKwest, while Tripp welcomes Christian, Micky ScottBey Jones and Robyn Henderson Espinoza. Tripp “Takes the C–k out of the crown,” the white guys get silenced and what would a live shoe be without some Postmodern 8-ball? Kristen and I... Read more

Pastoral Burnout, Healing Spiritual Wounds and How To Hack and Election

August 12, 2017 By Christian Piatt

Anyone who knows a few pastors probably knows someone who has struggled with burnout. Ministry always has been an atypical job with lots of unique demands and stressors, but as reported in a Barna Research Group study discussed in a new article called “Why Pastors Leave the Ministry,” it’s a growing trend. Then author and pastor Carol Howard Merritt talks us through how to heal our spiritual wounds as laid out in her latest book called (not surprisingly) “Healing Spiritual Wounds.”... Read more

God, Gays, Autism and Embodiment

August 4, 2017 By Christian Piatt

What’s it like raising a child on the autism spectrum? Or being married to an adult on the spectrum? In an extended special segment, Amy and Christian Piatt talk about living with these and other realities, as well as how Church deals (or sometimes doesn’t) with special needs. We look into an online resource for autistic people and those who love them, created by none other than a young man who lives with this reality himself. For the interview, Christian chats... Read more

The Left’s Hamburger Problem and Eugene Peterson’s Flip-Flop

July 28, 2017 By Christian Piatt

Some analysts say the left could gain some momentum, but only if they stop being “so annoying and get over their hamburger problem.” And after we looked into it, they’re right. In this episode of the Homebrewed CultureCast, we consider what’s at the root of progressives’ spate of losses in recent years, followed by a…let’s say passionate…talk about author Eugene Peterson’s curious reversal on his stance about LGBT equality and same-sex marriage after Lifeway Bookstores threatened to stop carrying his... Read more

Faith, Fame and Identity with Matt Morris

June 28, 2017 By Christian Piatt

Matthew David Morris (a.k.a. Matt Morris) didn’t have a typical childhood. From playing arena shows with his dad alongside Kenny Rogers to starring on the Mickey Mouse Club with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Matthew David entered the public spotlight when his peers were coloring with finger paints in a classroom. As such, he met amazing people, toured internationally and became a teenage symbol of all Americans long to be. At the same time, he... Read more

Skinheads in America (pt 2 of 2) w/ Christian Picciolini

June 20, 2017 By Christian Piatt

Do progressives and skinheads have overlapping agendas in the Pacific Northwest? Is “Alt Right” a synonym for “White Nationalist?” In the second half of our interview with former skinhead leader Christian Picciolini we talk about the larger implications of current political and media environments, how they contribute to racist extremism and what role we all play in our daily lives. In the echo chamber, we break down the politicization of violence, and discuss the fact that Congressman Steve Scalise, known... Read more

Christian Picciolini on Skinheads in America (1 of 2)

June 14, 2017 By Christian Piatt

He was a skinhead in his youth, and now he run an organization (Life After Hate) to get people out of that life. In the first part of this two-episode interview, Christian Picciolini talks with us about what makes a skinhead in America, what the current socio-political climate is doing to mainstream similar views and what can be done to address it. If you like what he has to say, check out his book, ROMANTIC VIOLENCE: Memoirs of an American... Read more

Making History With Bishop Karen Oliveto

May 27, 2017 By Christian Piatt

Some people choose to break ground in their careers; others feel called to a ministry that will result in a reckoning of God’s calling with the cultural resistance on all sides. Bishop Karen Oliveto is an inspiration in who she is and what she does, and we spent some time with her learning how she went from being a young girl in the United Methodist Church to one of the most compelling religious figures in the current American religious landscape. Amy... Read more

What to Do When Belief Dies

May 22, 2017 By Christian Piatt

Being in congregational ministry means dealing in death. Actually, being alive means dealing with it. At its best, religious community helps bear witness to the entire cycle of life, from miraculous beginnings to often-difficult ends. And as the average age in Christian congregations continues to rise, the work of institutional and personal hospice for ministerial leaders demands more time and energy. The one thing my wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, was most worried about facing in ministry was death. Then within... Read more

GENIUS’ Young Einstein, Johnny Flynn

April 24, 2017 By Christian Piatt

He’s been a halfwit brother co-parenting his mute younger sibling (Comedy Central’s BROTHERHOOD) to a ladies’ man on with an…umm…awkward medical secret (Netflix’s LOVESICK). He’s the lead singer in the alt-folk group JOHNNY FLYNN AND THE SUSSEX WIT, and now he’s young Einstein along with Geoffrey Rush as his elder counterpart in GENIUS, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s new series premiering Tuesday, April 24th on the National Geographic channel. Johnny Flynn is a man of the world and of many... Read more