My first webinar (online workshop) on “how to use Facebook as a ministry tool) was great fun and well-received. since then I’ve gotten several requests to host this workshop again, so it’s back along with an exciting webinar on how to select a literary agent an, ultimately, how to get published!
If you want to learn more about the events, go to christianpiatt.com, or email me directly at cpiatt@christianpiatt.com.
Learn the basics of “2.0” social networking, how to set up a Facebook account, take a tour of Facebook and learn strategies for using it as a tool to connect with people throughout the week, beyond the walls.
Join the conversation with Author Christian Piatt and Literary Agent Anita Kushen about what it takes to move your passion for writing to the next level. Learn valuable information like how to find and select a literary agent, and how to become a published author.
These are both due out in 2011, and I am currently working on the first book about the Bible.
I have a new Facebook Group where we can discuss these topics, generate ideas for upcoming titles, and where you can propose questions youd like to see in the books.
If youve never taken the time to spend some time reflecting on the five pillars of Islam, its worth the effort, regardless of your religious affiliation. One particular pillar that stands out to me is Zakat, which is described as alms-giving.
All Muslims are required to donate a portion of their income to charity, both as a spiritual discipline and as a means of offering welfare for those who are less fortunate. Whereas is the Christian faith, we are encouraged to give sacrificially, Muslims see this practice of Zakat as inextricable from their foundational religious identity.
With the rampant concern about religiously-fueled terrorism in the United States since September 11, 2001, many efforts have been made by our government to cut off funding for terror cells at the source. As such, many Muslim charitable organizations are closely tracked by the FBI and CIA, and some are even blacklisted as untouchable.
To some degree, this is understandable. After all, if theres money flowing from our own country into the coffers on those intent on destroying us, it makes sense to try and do something about it.
But its not that simple.
Some Muslim groups have asked the U.S. government to create a white list of approved organizations so that they can inform their community where it is safe to practice Zakat. However, government officials have declined to do so, suggesting that creating such a list would only make those charities an obvious target for terrorists to infiltrate and corrupt, once they are perceived as safe.
Some suggest this is easily remedied by giving to organizations that arent explicitly affiliated with Islam. However, this ignores one of the two-fold purposes of Zakat: to help those in need within the Muslim community in particular.
It seems, then, that we have two American values meeting at an impasse. Though we seek to preserve our safety and way of life, we also celebrate the value of religious freedom. So what is to be done when the premium of real, or perceived, safety infringes on such liberties?
It was Thomas Jefferson who said, though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate which would be oppression. In this case, it seems the will of the majority is treading dangerously close to oppression.
Simply because the Muslims in America are a relatively small, silent and these days, rightfully fearful minority does not mean we can ignore the compromises to religious freedom our national security interests impose.
My newest podcast, called Porn Nation, is taken from a chapter I wrote for a forthcoming book by Chalice Press called Oh God, Oh God, OH GOD! which deals with a wide range of topics on faith and sexuality. The book is due out February, 2010, and is the first volume in the new WTF? (Wheres the Faith?) book series focusing on young adults.
Ive had some questions about how to register for the online workshops or webinars Im offering this month. Well, I have good news!
As of today, I have online registration available. You can click on any of the titles below to go directly to the event registration, and you can use any major credit card. In the future I hope to add Paypal Express Checkout, but well start with this. You can also visit my website for more detailed workshop descriptions.
All webinars are $20 (though it will increase to $25 per session after July), and will last between 60 and 90 minutes. Registration is limited to 15 people per session, so be sure to reserve your spot as soon as you can. If you have questions about these webinars, if you have another topic youd like for me to cover or if youd like to participate in one of the events listed below on an alternate date, email me and let me know.
What is podcasting? How do I do it? Do I even need to? What can it be used for? Get an introduction to podcasting, including how to set up your own podcast, ways to promote it and content ideas for your episodes.
Learn the basics of 2.0″ social networking, how to set up a Facebook account, take a tour of Facebook and learn strategies for using it as a tool to connect with people throughout the week, beyond the walls.
The phrase left behind brings to mind for most people the apocalyptic religious fiction series, apparently scaring people into adhering to Christian doctrine or else. But for me, it raises strong feelings about what sucks the most about being a part of organized religion.
If theres one word that defines the relevance of a community of faith, its just that: community. Sure, we can practice faith alone on a mountaintop or study it in a book, but as my wife, Amy says, a book cant visit you in the hospital, and a mountain cant hug you back.
Theres a basic human need for community that started in primitive times when we, not being the fastest, fiercest or strongest species, had to depend on one another for survival. Since then, community has remained an essential part of our social fabric, and certainly not just in religion. But in that context, community not only provides love and support, but at its best, it also stretches and challenges us to become more as part of the whole than we are on our own.
The hard part, especially when you commit to the community over the long term, is that you set yourself up to be left, over and again. For some, communities of faith and, I expect, other communities too are there simply to serve them, to accommodate them like a pair of shoes. If the fit becomes less than ideal, or if something new and exciting comes along, they split.
For some, dealing with the inevitable conflict that comes from being a tightly-knit, interdependent group is worse than starting fresh. So again, they walk. Its kind of like being committed to a relationship where youre always the one getting dumped, and never the other way around.
Of course, this sort of vulnerability is a part of any relationship. Its just that the traditional values of sticking with one particular group, simply because or out of a sense of moral obligation, has changed with the increasingly dynamic nature of our culture.
We see it everywhere; people stay in jobs for less time than in the past, but we also get laid off more suddenly. So why do we owe a company our lifelong fidelity if they will turn on us at the next economic downturn? And sure, marriage is a nice idea, but weve seen enough divorce and infidelity to compromise any sense of permanence the institution held before. So it may work for us right now, but theres always an exit clause, right?
In a perfect world, communities of faith would be the welcome exception to this cultural norm. When we made a covenant to one another and to the Divine to stick it out, thats what we mean for better or worse. But I think before we can expect others to follow in this spirit, the institutions themselves have much healing and re-creation to do from within.
Its not religions job to accommodate, and to ensure comfort and customer satisfaction for all comers.However, it is incumbent upon all who call themselves sanctuaries to offer the hope, healing, nurturing and love that allows each of us to feel were a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Over time, this mantra may become practice so that its something in which we can trust again. Until then, we may just have to stick together, behaving as if we get what we need from one another. Hopefully, by committing to one another, we can live into the community we imagine we might someday be.
I’ve had a number of requests for web-based workshops – or webinars – on various topics from blogging, facebook and podcasting, all as tools for ministry. I’ve finally set some dates up, so check out the info below and let me know ASAP which classes you’re interested in so I can reserve your spot.
Learn the basics of “2.0” social networking, how to set up a Facebook account, take a tour of Facebook and learn strategies for using it as a tool to connect with people throughout the week, beyond the walls.
Podcasting 101 Wednesday July 8, 10 AM (MST) or Tuesday July 21, 12 Noon (MST)
What is podcasting? How do I do it? Do I even need to? What can it be used for? Get an introduction to podcasting, including how to set up your own podcast, ways to promote it and content ideas for your episodes.
Blogging 101 Thursday July 9, 11 AM (MST) or
Wednesday July 22, 10 AM (MST)
Learn how to blog, what it can do, and how to best promote your blog for maximum exposure.
I posted my latest podcast episode titled “Bridging the Gap,” which is adapted from a message Amy offered recently. The idea centers around where people of faith are called, which is not to take sides, but rather to act as a bridge to bring sides together.
You can download it on iTunes, or you can go directly to it by clicking this link:
Its a highly-trafficked website, and already there are a number of interesting, thoughtful comments there. Thought you might find it worthwhile to take a look.
I know this is a little past Lent now, but I think you might still enjoy the sentiment of this column, originally published in Aprils PULP.
Lent: Celebrating the common
As some may know, this is the period known as Lent the weeks leading up to Easter – on the Christian liturgical calendar. Lots of Protestants arent even familiar with it, but our church tries to recognize it as a spiritual discipline if nothing else.
There are a few things Lent is known for, namely Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. The idea behind this is that, since youre supposed to give something up in Lent to remind us of the selfless or often-called sacrificial love demonstrated by Jesus. This begins on the first day of Lent, which is Ash Wednesday.
Some of us may know this holiday by some embarrassing moment when weve gone up to a person observing Ash Wednesday and said something akin to, dude, you have some shit on your forehead. The tradition actually is that the palm leaves from Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter, used in worship the year before are burned and mixed with oil, then used to place a mark of the cross on a persons forehead. This is to serve as a reminder that we all came from dust, and hence will return to dust.
Fat Tuesday, then, being the last day before this period of fasting and reflection, is the last chance to get all the naughty bits out of your system. Problem is, a hell of a lot more people observe Fat Tuesday than Ash Wednesday.
Oh well. Everybody loves a party.
I actually had a college student friend of mine say recently that Lent is her favorite time of the Christian year. Whereas days like Christmas and Easter have largely become as commercialized as Valentines or other Hallmark Holidays, Lent actually requires something of us, and causes us to search inward to discern whats really important in our lives.
For those who like to complain that all young folks are a bunch of narcissistic self-indulgent whiners, I might suggest that a growing movement known as neo monasticism suggests otherwise.
Neo monasticism, which is based on the ancient lifestyle of monks, emphasizes simplicity and communal interdependence. The best example of this is the monastery in Taize, France, where more than 6,000 young people travel every summer to sleep on the floor, cook meals for one another, sing chants and pray four times every day.
No rides or movie theaters. No iPods. Not even a Chipotle for miles. Its about as different from contemporary life as one can get without being completely off the grid. And thats pretty much the point.
This movement, brought to the forefront during this Lenten season, celebrates the common in our lives, embracing simplicity and freeing us from the shackles of want. It may be a passing fad, but it speaks to something deeper in our culture. We may have become dependent upon constant distraction and obsessed with comfort, but when we spend even a little while reflecting on what really matters, theres something in us thats restless for deeper meaning.