I spoke with Chris Yaw recently, host of an online program called ChurchNext. On it, he has dialogues with a number of church leaders about the current state of organized religion, the changing face of Christianity and what our churches may do to remain (or become) relevant, vital ministries in the world. Here’s a video of our chat. You can also download the whole episode from his website, or catch it as an audio-only MP3. Read more
There’s a well-known saying, often attributed to Ben Franklin, about God and beer. I’ve even seen it on T-shirts and the like, but it turns out it’s mis-quoted. The one I see and hear is generally some derivation of, “beer is evidence that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” However, on further, tireless research, I discovered this blurb from a letter penned by Franklin in Paris around 1779: We hear of the conversion of water into wine... Read more
Amy and I have been working (translated: watching lazily) our way through the first several seasons of Mad Men. The writing is remarkably subtle, and I was particularly struck by the fact that such a long-standing show could effectively have little or no plot focusing instead on rich character development. For a writer, this is like enjoying a gourmet meal every night. But the cherry on top for me is the sprinkling of anachronisms that apparently made plenty of sense... Read more
You’ve got to ask yourself: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk? Well, you should since it’s Sunday, which means… MORE CHURCH SIGN EPIC FAILS! Church Sign Epic Fails, Volume Seventeen Church Sign Epic Fails, Volume Sixteen Church Sign Epic Fails: Volume Fifteen Church Sign Epic Fails, Volume Fourteen Church Sign Epic Fails, Volume Thirteen Church Sign Epic Fails, Part Eleven Church Sign Epic Fails, Part Ten Cherch Sine Epuc Failz: Badd Spellurs Edishun Church Sign Epic Fails, Part... Read more
I’ve always been fascinated by the supreme court. I think I read Jeffrey Toobin’s book, “The Nine,” in about 36 hours. I think the most interesting part about the court is how set apart it seems to be, not beholden to the other two branches of government in making their decisions. Yes, they bring their ideology and perhaps even some partisanship to the bench, but once they’re in, they can rule however they see fit for as long as they... Read more
Everyone has pulled all-nighters in school. It’s sort of a rite of passage, really. For us, when our stomachs would get too bloated from throwing back Dr Peppers to stay awake, we’d bust out the No-Doz, which is basically a super dose of caffeine. It made me jittery, made my stomach upset, but I’ll tell you one thing – I didn’t fall asleep. I only tried that a couple of times, and after that, determined that I’d rather plan my... Read more
I have a confession to make. A while back, I was applying for an editing job with a fairly prominent Christian media company, and in the application process, I was asked to sign a statement of faith. For those unfamiliar, this is a list of things that the organization in question claims to believe, and they ask all who are interested in being a part of it to sign their name, claiming their personal agreement with and belief in the... Read more
I struggle to know how much is enough. I hear about Joseph Kony and the many children he’s exploited as child soldiers. I get angry, discouraged. I write about it, talk to friends about it. And then my life keeps moving and I don’t think about it again for days or weeks. Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager, is gunned down on the street. The nation is divided, both outraged about the killing and fearful of the threat to gun rights... Read more
Today’s church signs are available baked, boiled, fried or au gratin… Read more
Those who wish the see the wall of separation between church and state burned down have a rather colorful – if not exactly truthful – spokesperson on their side these days. Evangelical preacher, founder of “WallBuilders Live” and perennial headline grabber David Barton is known for his “out there” claims, but his most recent is a keeper. Barton is fairly well known for his argument that the notion of separation of church and state is a myth. He, like many... Read more
Christian Piatt
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