{"id":257,"date":"2010-06-26T18:20:04","date_gmt":"2010-06-26T22:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/?p=257"},"modified":"2010-06-26T18:20:04","modified_gmt":"2010-06-26T22:20:04","slug":"story-about-me-and-my-books-in-the-chieftain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/?p=257","title":{"rendered":"Story about me and my books in the Chieftain"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 id=\"blox-asset-title\"><span class=\"blox-headline entry-title\">WHERE\u0092S  THE FAITH ?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"sub-headline\">New series of books tackles questions,  issues  that challenge young Christians<\/p>\n<p id=\"blox-story-media\">\n<p id=\"blox-story-photo-container\">\n<p id=\"blox-large-photo\" class=\"hMedia\"><a href=\"http:\/\/chieftain.com\/life\/local\/article_c163e4a6-80cf-11df-bcc9-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=image&amp;photo=#1\" title=\"Christian Piatt\">  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/chieftain.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/editorial\/d\/a9\/576\/da95763e-80ce-11df-975d-001cc4c002e0-revisions\/4c256d192ae3d.preview-300.jpg\" alt=\" \" \/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"photo-cutline entry-content\"><span id=\"gallery-cutline\" class=\"entry-content\"> <span class=\"photo-credit fn\">CHIEFTAIN   PHOTO\/JOHN JAQUES<\/span> Pueblo author Christian Piatt talks about a  series of books he is  collaborating on with a variety of authors from  throughout the country. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul id=\"blox-story-photos\">\n<li> <a href=\"http:\/\/chieftain.com\/life\/local\/article_c163e4a6-80cf-11df-bcc9-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=image&amp;photo=2\" title=\"Oh God\" name=\"The book \u0091Oh God, Oh God, Oh God\u0092 from two  volumes  in a series called 'WTF\u0092 (Where's the Faith?), co-written or  edited by  Pueblo author Christian Piatt.\">  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/chieftain.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/editorial\/3\/d3\/cf5\/3d3cf5fa-80cf-11df-88fd-001cc4c002e0-revisions\/4c256dbeb8790.preview-100.jpg\" class=\"vertical\" \/> <\/a><\/li>\n<li> <a href=\"http:\/\/chieftain.com\/life\/local\/article_c163e4a6-80cf-11df-bcc9-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=image&amp;photo=3\" title=\"\u0091Split Ticket\u0092\" name=\"\u0091Split Ticket\u0092 should be available  in August.\">  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/chieftain.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/editorial\/a\/16\/1c6\/a161c696-80cf-11df-b468-001cc4c002e0-revisions\/4c256e66ae322.preview-100.jpg\" class=\"vertical\" \/> <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>BY LORETTA SWORD<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever questioned the believability of the virgin birth of  Jesus Christ? Ever wondered why, if Mary conceived as a virgin, the  Bible traces Christ\u0092s lineage through Joseph?<\/p>\n<p>Chances are you\u0092ve pondered these questions and many others  about  the Bible or Jesus, but never discussed them with other Christians \u0097 and  certainly never in church.<\/p>\n<p>That\u0092s what gave local author\/editor Christian Piatt and  partner  Brandon Gilvin the idea for WTF (Where\u0092s the Faith), a series of books  that pose such questions to a wide variety of religious, agnostic,  social justice and other leaders and thinkers \u0097 some of them well-known  in religious and spiritual circles. The books are published by Chalice  Press. Gilvin is the associate director of Week of Compassion, an  international relief and aid ministry of the national Disciples of  Christ organization, based in Kansas City, Mo.<\/p>\n<p>The books are aimed primarily at young adults \u0097 a demographic that  churches are struggling to hold onto as their congregations dwindle in  all age brackets.<\/p>\n<p>The first book in the series, \u0093OH God, Oh GOD, OH GOD! Young Adults  Speak Out About Sexuality and Christian Spirituality,\u0094 was released  earlier this year and provides \u0093honest and open dialogue about the  beauty and gift of sexuality while understanding it in a mature way,  including the risks and consequences\u0094 but without the moral and  doctrinal overtones of most Christian books on the topic, Piatt said.<\/p>\n<p>He and Gilvin edited the book, and Piatt contributed an essay about  abortion.<\/p>\n<p>Two more books, which address questions that many Christians ponder  but rarely explore\u00a0 in depth or among each other, will be published next  year \u0097 the first, \u0093Banned Questions about the Bible,\u0094 in February and  the second, \u0093Banned Questions about Jesus,\u0094 in August 2011.<\/p>\n<p>All of the books \u0093take a more emergent-church approach. There\u0092s no  focus on denominations or creeds so much as on content and providing a  variety of information, including other sources to study, to help people  make up their own minds. We\u0092re trying to present multiple perspectives  so people can choose for themselves. It\u0092s about seeking your own  understanding of various issues through prayerful seeking, and trusting  that if you take the first step, God will meet you halfway and help you  find the answers you\u0092re seeking,\u0094 Piatt said.<\/p>\n<p>\u0093Churches are dying everywhere, and I believe it\u0092s because there\u0092s  been a disconnect between the lives of most people and what they hear in  church on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u0093These books are intended to break down the taboo of \u0091We don\u0092t talk  about that in church.\u0092 In a healthy church, there should be no  boundaries, no limitations about what is explored. We\u0092re supposed to  bring our whole, human selves to the church and to our faith.\u0094<\/p>\n<p>Another book due out this August, \u0093Split Ticket: Independent Faith in  a Time of Partisan Politics,\u0094 addresses the interconnectedness of faith  and politics and explores how Christians can be part of the process  without violating their faith or turning their backs on social justice  issues and the political process for fear of conflict. Piatt is a  contributor as well as co-editor of this volume.<\/p>\n<p>\u0093You People: Faith and Race,\u0094 will follow \u0093Split Ticket.\u0094 All  of the  finished books are available through the Chalice Press website or its  catalogs, at <a href=\"http:\/\/amazon.com\/\">Amazon.com<\/a> or  through  Piatt\u0092s website. Some also are available by special order online from  Barnes &amp; Noble and smaller national booksellers, and all are stocked  at Cokesbury Christian book stores nationwide. The works in progress  will be as well after publication.<\/p>\n<p>Piatt, who founded Pueblo\u0092s Milagro Christian Church six years ago  with his wife, Amy, who is pastor there, said the \u0093Oh God\u0094 book already  has sold more than 1,500 copies \u0097 to individuals and to churches that  are using them in youth groups and young-adult book-study groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u0093The content is heavy enough that we wouldn\u0092t recommend just throwing  these books in a teen\u0092s lap and saying \u0091have at it.\u0092 It needs to be  navigated with the help of an adult leader,\u0094 Piatt said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite brisk sales and many positive reviews in Christian and  mainline publications, negative reaction from some conservative  Christian groups has surfaced, too, Piatt said, but his response is  always the same: \u0093Why is it that sexuality can\u0092t be discussed in the  context of faith unless the whole focus is abstinence, which we all know  doesn\u0092t work?\u0094<\/p>\n<p>He gets few responses to that question, he said, and doesn\u0092t worry  about the criticism because \u0093the people who react that way aren\u0092t the  target audience for our books.\u0094<\/p>\n<p>The same critics no doubt will see the \u0093banned questions\u0094  books, and  \u0093Split Ticket,\u0094 as too frank and \u0093not nice,\u0094 he predicts.<\/p>\n<p>\u0093But we believe it\u0092s more important to be authentically  relevant  than it is to be nice. Jesus wasn\u0092t always nice. He challenged the  status quo and he didn\u0092t tolerate injustice. He encouraged frank  discussion about difficult issues. But some Christians can\u0092t tolerate  controversy or confrontation at all, and others only get involved \u0097  often in an angry, intolerant way \u0097 with all the things they are  against.\u0094<\/p>\n<p>Piatt said he and his partner in the WTF series, and authors  who  contributed responses to questions or essays \u0097 despite their widely  divergent religious beliefs \u0097 \u0093all believe that our responsibility is to  get actively involved in these things we\u0092re afraid to talk about\u0094 so  that younger Christians, especially, will be more inclined to form  deeper commitments to their faith and to service than to abandon their  church, or religion altogether. They can only do that if they\u0092ve reached  their own conclusions rather than having beliefs force-fed to them.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of life, Piatt said, what will matter most is not  how  many souls someone has \u0093saved\u0094 or how many foreign missions were  conducted, or how big and beautiful the church is because believers were  willing to give cash but not their time.<\/p>\n<p>What Jesus will want to know of every individual, he said, is \u0093What  did you do for the poor, for the oppressed, for the imprisoned \u0097 for  \u0091the least among us\u0092?\u0094<\/p>\n<p>Doing nothing, he said, only condones the suffering and injustices  that humans inflict upon each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u0093Not getting engaged, not dealing with these issues, is not an option  if you consider yourself a person of faith.\u0094<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the WTF series, upcoming books, or past  titles by Piatt, go to: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianpiatt.com\/\">www.christianpiatt.com<\/a>,   which also provides links to videos of Piatt and some of the other  authors and a link to his blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHERE\u0092S THE FAITH ? New series of books tackles questions, issues that challenge young Christians CHIEFTAIN PHOTO\/JOHN JAQUES Pueblo author Christian Piatt talks about a series of books he is collaborating on with a variety of authors from throughout the country. BY LORETTA SWORD Have you ever questioned the believability of the virgin birth of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,11,39,19,2,13,34,17,10,3,27,33,41,37,1,43,20,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/christianpiatt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}