I’m pretty sure if Dante’s Inferno portrays a for-real place, one of the circles has people packing and unpacking for all eternity. There have been lots of roller-coaster moments in the last few days. Sunday, we said goodbye to the church we started in our living room eight years ago. The first week, we thought this whole church planting thing was easy. Some friends and family showed up, and the house felt full of life. There was an anticipation of... Read more
The University of Chicago recently performed an exhaustive survey of the beliefs of people in thirty different countries around the world. There were a few surprises in it, and I also struggled a bit with the entire structure of the survey. As for surprises, many might not expect to find the United States at #5 on the list of the most faithful, with more than sixty percent of those surveyed claiming they know God exists and have no doubts about... Read more
It seems like only a few weeks ago that we started this journey in search of ridiculous church signs. Actually it was only a few weeks ago, but here we are, back for two full hands worth of epic fail posts. Here are some of the older posts in case you’ve missed them: Cherch Sine Epuc Failz: Badd Spellurs Edishun Church Sign Epic Fails, Part Eight Church Sign Epic Fails: Easter Edition Church Sign Epic Fails, Part Six Church sign... Read more
There’s been some interesting discussion following my recent post about the vandalism of a Mars Hill satellite church by a group calling themselves the Angry Queers. Most of it has been on the Sojourners site, where the article was reposted. It’s a complicated enough issue that I thought I might continue my thoughts, particularly in light of some of the comments. There were a few folks who suggested that I was jumping to conclusions to assume that this group calling... Read more
Author and theologian Diana Butler Bass shared a video recently about where she saw for the future of the church. She shared an interesting story about a priest who went out onto a busy street corner on Ask Wednesday in full vestments to offer ashes and a quick prayer to passersby. Several people stopped with surprise, having forgotten that it was Ash Wednesday. They were grateful for the “interrupt” the priest provided by appearing out of his normal context in... Read more
I had a stew of emotions when I read about an activist group in Portland calling itself the “Angry Queers” vandalizing a satellite church of Mark Driscoll’s Mars Hill network. Neighbors in the area reported seeing a handful of young people in black masks smashing stained glass windows and damaging other property on the church campus early Tuesday morning. A group called the “Angry Queers” sent a letter to a local news affiliate taking responsibility for the damage. I get... Read more
A new translation of the Bible called “The Voice” (no, Cee-Lo makes no appearances in this one), published by Thomas Nelson, has created quite a buzz. The discussion is not so much around what is in the newest version, but rather what’s left out. According to a recent article on the Huffington Post, the words “Jesus Christ” do not appear anywhere in the New Testament. And for some, this is tantamount to heresy. The publishers point out, however, that “Christ”... Read more
Next Wednesday, May 2nd, Amy, the kids and I will leave behind us the city, the church and the home we’ve enjoyed for the last eight years. It’s felt like getting ready for another birth, making all of the plans for our move to Portland and everything that comes along with it. And in a way, it is. Once again, we’re reinventing our lives. We’re starting over with a new church and in a new part of the country. We’re... Read more
This list is from 2012. To read the new, updated list of Christian Blogs You Should Be Reading from August, 2013, CLICK HERE. I’m reposting this blog entry from my friend and Colleague, Matthew Paul Turner, for two reasons. First, if you don’t know MPT, you should. He’s written about eleventy-seven books, from the practical to the theological and even some memoir-type stuff. He’s prolific, creative, challenging and pretty damn funny too. So, the two reasons I’m re-posting MPT’s list... Read more
The next edition of bad church signs has a theme of its own: bad spelling. A couple of these aren’t even church signs; they’re just too good not to include. Enjoy. Read more
Christian Piatt
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