Author Archive
Christian Piatt
Jeremy Lin and The “Messiah Formula”
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
No, he doesn’t go down on one knee every time he nails a dunk or a perimeter shot. And as far as I know, he’s not building any hospitals in far-off countries. But the 23-year-old point guard for the New York Knicks suddenly finds himself in a spotlight familiar enough to Tebow that the pair should consider a face-to-face lunch to compare notes.
Like Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin “rode the pine” as a bench-warmer for years. Unlike the star quarterback, Lin was cut by two other NBA teams before landing a supporting role on the Knicks bench.
So why do we know about him all of a sudden? Although Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni would love to claim credit, he admits the only reason the American-born player of Taiwanese parents got his shot was because so many players ahead of him were injured.
Examining John Piper’s “Masculine Christianity”
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
I really want to give people like John Piper the benefit of the doubt. Given that he’s a minister in the Baptist tradition, it doesn’t surprise me when he only refers to God as “he” or when he talks about the man’s role as spiritual head of the household. I grew up Baptist, so I’ve heard it all before.
But he goes too far with it. Way too far. And given the breadth of his influence, his message serves to normalize the marginalization of half (slightly more than, in fact) the world’s population. While I expect he believes he is fulfilling a divine call in sharing his message, I believe I’m serving a similar call in holding him to account.
On Asperger Syndrome and Broken Hearts
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Our son, Mattias, is eight years old. Everyone thinks their kid is special, and in a lot of ways, he’s just a regular kid. He loves fart jokes, enjoys riding his scooter and is obsessed with video games. But we’ve known he was different from a very early age.
Mattias started reading almost as soon as he began to talk. By age four, he could name any musical pitch or chord structure by name that he heard. He memorized his books after only hearing them a couple of times.
He also struggled to make friends, still has frequent bathroom accidents four years later, and he has meltdowns when things don’t go his way that would rival Bobby Knight’s chair-throwing basketball tirades.
We Need More Cannibals
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Today’s article is the third in a series I’m creating this week on inspired vision. On Monday, I wrote about how the nostalgia preached about in contemporary politics actually leans on a system of privilege. Yesterday, I explored a new model for education that could well mark a historic turning point in how we learn.
Today, I’ve been thinking about why it’s important for an organization, be it religious or for-profit, to be more cannibalistic.
In the late 19th century Kodak emerged as a trailblazing company that ultimately brought photography to the masses. An American-born business, the golden boxes of film became synonymous with family photos and even professional photography. As a little guy, I had one of their Instamatic cameras, and I remember the eager anticipation of sending of the film and waiting the two weeks or so to get the results back.
Re-Membering: the Heart of the Gospel
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
One of my favorite things about being part of a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) community is that we observe communion every time we participate in worship. I know for some the frequency poses the risk of draining the ritual of its significance. But for me, it’s my favorite moment, pretty much every time.
There are lots of reasons I like communion so much, none of which involve the chance to get a mid-worship snack. In the Disciples tradition, we uphold the idea of the “Priesthood of all Believers.” This means, as my wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, puts it plainly every Sunday, that we’re all ministers, and therefore we all have a ministry. In our church this means we all have an opportunity to serve one another at the communion table. And as has become traditional in Milagro, our church, the person who shares their personal story usually helps serve as a symbolic extension of the generosity they have shown in word.
None is Saved While One Still Suffers
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
For some, the central message of Christianity is about personal salvation. What it is exactly that we need saving from is debatable, depending on who you ask: from the fires of hell; from ourselves, from an apocalyptic end to the world as we know it. But I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot lately and I’m beginning to think that we’re going about the whole salvation thing the wrong way.
The idea first arose when I was going over the possible questions to be included in my next Banned Questions book, which is about Christians. The question reads:
When a baby is conceived, where do Christians believe that soul comes from? Is it created at that moment or has it been floating in existence in the universe from the beginning of time?
