A friend of mine forwarded a link to a recent Huffington Post article about the most and least religious cities in the United States. Interestingly – but hardly surprising – you have to scroll waaaay down the list to find my current city of Portland, Oregon. “Looks like you have your work cut out for you,” he said. He’s right; I’ve met folks here who work in churches that tell people they work at a nonprofit when asked what they... Read more
We’ve been hearing an awful lot about the national debt lately – particularly during the current election cycle – and specifically we’ve gotten an earful about the problem of our enormous debt to China. Though some mistakenly believe we borrow all of our money to finance our upside-down economy from China, the truth is that they hold only about one-tenth of our total debt, which is about the same amount as we owe to Japan. What’s staggering is that, even... Read more
So yeah, it’s my birthday, and that really doesn’t have anything to do with church signs. But hey, I gotta call it something, right??? Read more
I got a link to an article yesterday from a friend of mine, and on the surface, it seemed pretty benign. But the more I sat with it, the more it bothered me. The piece is part of a series the Christian Post is publishing on homosexuality and Christianity, and this article on particular is written about Christopher Yuan, a self-identified “gay Christian.” First off, I’m encouraged that Yuan is given the platform in a more conservative publication like the... Read more
I used to be in a fantasy league, but the fanaticism of the whole thing wore me out. The guys would gather online for an evening-long draft event, debate rules ad nauseam and haggle over trades through the wee hours. I considered myself to be a fan, but these guys had practically made, well, a religion out of fantasy sports. I was reading a piece today by Bruce Reyes Chow about what we Christians might learn from fantasy sports, and... Read more
This week, Christian and Jordan go commando, filling an hour with material from their own grey matter without the assistance of a guest to make them look good. They hit lots of current topics, including the Romney “47 Percent” video, the “Innocence of Muslims” trailer and the subsequent attack on the American embassy in Libya, fall TV sweeps, church sign epic fails and more. Plus, they read a less-than-stellar review posted recently on iTunes about their show. Good times! The CultureCast has its own feed so... Read more
Here’s a second batch of the best morsels plucked from the streets of America by the readers of this “fine” blog. Thanks to all who participated in the book giveaway, and stay tuned for more giveaways soon. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled and your cameras ready for more wonderfully terrible church signs. Read more
I was invited to appear on a Detroit radio show this past week called Christ and the City, hosted by Christopher Brooks. It’s a right-leaning talk show with an evangelical focus, but I was energized and encouraged by the conversation because it was respectful and substantive. We didn’t see eye to eye on much (as you’ll hear), but we made space for the differences, trusting that listeners would reflect on the broadened perspective, with the hope of being enriched in... Read more
I’m a fan of TIME Magazine. It offers concise, intelligent summaries and opinions on the news that help keep me up with current events. They had an interesting article in the last few weeks about the factors that seem to affect a political party’s election results in the upcoming cycle. From their findings, it’s the party perceived to be most optimistic about the nation’s future that tends to come out on top. A fascinating bit of psychology, if not necessarily... Read more
Though the way this comc strip is phrased, I think it’s intended to be a bit of a jab at religion on the whole, it’s a great window into the relative absurdity of our perspective on “membership” in today’s world. Do we even need membership anymore? Does it mean anything? Amy and I grew a church for eight years without membership. Does it make some more invested? Does it turn others away? Does it really speak to the radical openness... Read more
Christian Piatt
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