Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 58
January 31, 2019
New Happy Rant: Abortion Rulings, March for Life, and Leif Enger
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas discuss a range of topics from the very fun to the very serious.
INDY LIVE is coming! On March 31 we will host our 3rd live event in Indianapolis – deatails in the episode!
The recent Abortion ruling in New York and how such travesties come about
Abortion arguments and why the sides talk past each other
The conflict between teens and Native Americans at the March for life
Leif Enger’s genius
Indy Live Details
Sun, March 31, 2019
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDT
Soma Church – Midtown
2815 East 62nd Street
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #231
January 25, 2019
3 Things I Like this Week – January 25
Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
[image error]This book was brilliant. It’s heartbreaking and deep and fun and funny and insightful and engaging and human – all the best things about a great novel. Backman is a master at writing human nature, the full spectrum of it in all its complexities, into novel form. His characters are deep and rich, and that makes the story matter even if it something foreign (like a book about a rural Swedish town that loves hockey). He weaves in time and place and context so well they feel like additional characters in an already rich story. Backman is one of those rare authors whose work transcends the question “what is it about?” It is about life, and it’s brilliant. (The sequel, Us Against You, is equally as good, if a slightly stronger flavor.)
2. Eddie Bauer Outerwear
[image error]“Eddie Bauer is for old people.” This hurtful, fallacious statement was made to me by one of those darn millennials a couple years ago when the young punk discovered my affection for Eddie Bauer. Little did the whippersnapper realize that Eddie Bauer is one of the OG’s of outdoor gear, dating back to 1920. Not only that, their gear is more affordable than Northface, Patagonia, or Arcteryx. It is comfortable, reliable, and not made for tiny waif like hipsters who like to pretend to be outdoorsy. I don’t know how well it would hold up on an arctic excursion or a summiting of Mount Everest, but really, who cares? I mainly need it to hold up to a life of commuting, kids sporting events, walking dogs, and day hikes. And it absolutely does the trick.
3. “You Never Change” by Austin Stone Worship
This song has been a regular encouragement and sermon to my soul over the past couple year. Just listen, then share it with the worship leaders at your church.
January 23, 2019
New Happy Rant: Marie Kondo, Gillette Ad, Chris Pratt, and More
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas rant about the following:
Marie Kondo’s philosophy of loving the things you keep and keeping the things you love
The controversial Gillette ad that threatens toxic masculinity
Sexist razor choices
Chris Pratt: the new evangelical superstar
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #230
January 18, 2019
3 Things I Like – January 18
Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. Allbirds
[image error]I think I have a new favorite shoe brand. Yes, they’re popular. Yes, they’re green and eco-friendly. Yes, their ads pop up in your instagram feed all the time. And none of that matters to me at all. Allbirds are unbelievably comfortable, almost like slippers you can wear in public with dignity. They’re good for active people or business casual people. They breathe well enough you don’t even need to wear socks yet at the same time they are warm and relatively water repellent, unlike any other sporty shoes I’ve encountered. I have two pairs, and only massive, incredibly impressive self-control stops me from buying more.
2. Uncommontary
[image error]Sometimes a friend start podcasts and you wish them well and share it on social media and then never listen because it’s just not for you. Other times a friend starts a podcast and three episodes in it rises to the top of your “Why Don’t They Release Episodes More Often???” rankings. Uncommontary is in the latter category. Marty Duren, the host, and I worked together for about five years and became friends. I learned quickly to respect his curiosity and cultural insights to appreciate his dry understated wit, and to go to him for book recommendations. He brings all that to bear wonderfully in this podcast through conversations with guests Kevin Kruse, Qasim Rashid, and Karen Swallow-Prior (so far). He asks excellent questions and builds good rapport with his guests so their expertise and personalities shine. And they are experts. I soaked so much historical, cultural, religious, and literary knowledge in the first 3 episodes. For curious people eager to learn this podcast promises to be a goldmine.
3. Two Funerals, Then Easter by Rachel Joy Welcher
[image error]I occasionally get asked to endorse books, and it’s not hard to find things to praise about most of them. But it’s a rare thing when I get asked to endorse a book and instead of finding things to praise I have to remind myself an endorsement has to be kept short. Two Funerals, Then Easter was that kind of book. It’s a collection of poems that it stunning in its honesty, simplicity, depth, artistry, craft, and truthfulness – all of which are key ingredients to the poems I resonate with most. And resonate I did. I made the mistake of opening this book at my daughter’s swim meet. Opening it wasn’t a mistake—quite the opposite—but doing so when I wasn’t in a place to sit and think and feel and grieve and hope was. Rachel’s poems draw all that from me – mind and soul. They’re beautifully crafted and beautifully true and are portraits of feeling and place and people and God – the stuff of real, true life.
January 17, 2019
Happy Rant Sports Episode #24 – Trevor Lawrence, Robotic QBs, and NFL Coaching Changes
In this episode of the Happy Rant Sports Podcast Ted and Barnabas discuss the following:
The future of Trevor Lawrence both personally and professionally
Recapping the NCAA Championship game between Clemson and Alabama
Raising famous rich people as parents
Why are all of today’s QBs robotic and boring?
An overview of the coaching changes in the NFL
Sports book recommendation
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #24
January 16, 2019
New Happy Rant: College Student Q&A about Desert Islands, Plane Crashes, Rocky, and More
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ronnie, and Barnabas sit in on Ted’s podcasting class at Union University. The students come ready with questions about the following:
Surviving on a desert island
Surviving plane crashes
The best fights in the Rocky/Creed movies
Movie personas
Personal nemeses
Books we’d like to write or *wish* we could write
Passion vs. purpose as motivation in work
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #229
January 11, 2019
3 Things I Like – January 11
Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. McKay’s Bookstore
[image error]Let’s not bury the lede. Two weeks ago I walked into McKay’s looking for nothing in particular and walked about an hour later with nine books having spent . . . wait for it . . . $13. In that hour I thumbed through novels, biographies, comic books, leadership books, and browsed stacks of movies. I meandered to the second level to peruse the racks of music, both CD and vinyl. And I regretted my forgetfulness for forgetting my box of unwanted books to trade in for store credit. That’s right, trade in – you don;t need to add the clutter when you buy books at McKays becuse you can bring old books and movies in to get money back for them. McKay’s is truly a book lover’s paradise.
2. Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry
[image error]I grew up loving Holmes – the brilliance, the pomposity, the adventures. And I never really stopped. I will watch any version of Sherlock Holmes put into film, even the one featuring Will Ferrell and John C.Reilly (please don’t let that make you question my judgement). When I stumbled across this audiobook I was thrilled. It is the complete works and it is read by Stephen Fry who is absolutely perfect for such a task. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Holmes into life, and Fry’s brilliant reading adds all the color. Fry even adds introductory comments and some Holmes trivia to make an already enjoyable experience just a little bit more so. For users of Audible, this will cost you just one credit. (If you’re not an audible user you can sign up for a free trial and get 1 free audiobook and 2 free audible originals; one should be this one.)
3. Turning Guns Into Plowshares
[image error]This story about Anthony Campbell, the Newhaven, CT Chief of Police, is remarkable. He faced unfathomable loss coming out of college, pursued the priesthood, met a girl to marry instead, and became a police officer instead. His life and career path is notable, but how he does his work is even more so.
“The similarities between policing and ministry are just so profound,” Campbell explains. “People call you when they are in need. You are dealing with people when they’re at their most vulnerable, when their emotions are very raw and when they don’t have the answers. They seek you out to establish order and peace again in their lives.”
The details of how he goes about living this out are worth reading. Check it out.
January 9, 2019
New Happy Rant: J.D. Greear Broke Church, 2019 Predictions, and More
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas suss out the following pressing topics:
Our 2019 resolutions
Ted’s grudges
J.D. Greear’s cosmically, epically controversial decision to cancel services on New Year’s Sunday
Predictions for 2019 including the next big reformed star, the next big heretic, and more
Be sure to visit HappyRantPodcast.com where you can:
Order fresh roasted coffee from Lagares Roasters
Order your Happy Rant swag from Missional Wear (Use code RANT to get discounts on swag and/or shipping)
Please consider supporting the podcast financially as well. We have set up a Patreon page, and your donations help us cover production costs, do live events, and grow the podcast by trying some new things. Oh, and of course there are perks for those who commit to helps us such as free books and coffee!
To listen you can:
Subscribe in iTunes.
Listen on Google Play
Listen on Stitcher.
Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
Listen using the player below.
Episode #228
January 5, 2019
3 Things I Like this Week – January 5
Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. 3:10 to Yuma
[image error]I am a sucker for westerns and have been since I watched old John Wayne movies in black and white on VHS at my grandparents’ place when I was a kid. 3:10 to Yuma is almost criminally underrated in the genre, and just as a movie in general. I haven’t seen the original from 1957, but the 2007 version starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe (along with a deep and stellar supporting cast) is fantastic. The story is great, the writing is great, the action and adventure aspects are great, the characters are strong, there’s a spectacular shoot out, and it’s not even a problem that Russell Crowe does what he always does – he plays Russell Crowe. If you enjoy westerns or simply well-made, fast moving, intense movies you need to watch it.
2. Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
[image error]It took me far too long to read Brennan Manning’s classic work on God’s profound love and grace, The Ragamuffin Gospel. I’d known of the book for years, but it took dozens of recommendations before I finally got around to it. I am grateful I encountered this beautiful book when I did because it’s rare for me to read a book that makes me love Jesus and feel loved by Jesus more. This one did, page after page, relentlessly. It is magnificent in its simplicity and depth and honesty and gratefulness and worship. If you have not, please read it. .
3. Charles Barkley Highlights
We know him as the out sized (literally and figuratively) personality bloviating on TNT’s NBA broadcasts, but we’re remiss if we forget that The Round Mound of Rebound was insane as a player. There has never been another player quite like him. Key point to remember: he was 6’5.”
January 3, 2019
He Reads Truth: Minor Prophets – Attack Against Nineveh
I have the privilege of contributing to He Reads Truth, a website of whose purpose is “To help men become who we were made to be, by doing what we were made to do, by the power and provision that God has given us to do it, for the glory of Jesus Christ.” They do this by providing scripture reading plans accompanied by reflections that can be accessed for free online or purchased as print books. For those of you looking to engage scripture in a fresh way – either because you are dried up or have been away from it, these studies/plans will refresh your soul and engage your mind.
What follows is one of the pieces I wrote for the plan on Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai. You can find the full plan HERE.
Nahum 2:1-13, Nahum 3:1-19, 2 Chronicles 32:9-23
Taunting God is a bad idea. No, taunting an MMA fighter is a bad idea; taunting God is blasphemous and deadly. In our modern age, we have so distanced ourselves from the reality of God and turned Him into a spiritual figment that the idea of bothering to taunt Him seems absurd. Our mockery of God comes as we passively ignore His lordship of the universe. In the Old Testament, taunting God looked entirely different.
Second Chronicles 32:9-22 describes the invasion of Judah by the Assyrians, who were led by Sennacherib. They surrounded Jerusalem, the holy city of Israel and the home of God’s temple. They began to taunt, but they did not merely taunt the people or King Hezekiah—they hurled insults at God. “No god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my father. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!” (2 Chronicles 32:15). And they escalated their mockery from there.
Sennacherib thought he could rattle the faith of Judah by undermining their confidence in God. He thought he could bring God’s people to their knees. Well, he was right. Hezekiah, king of Judah, did indeed fall to his knees. He prayed for deliverance, and God acted. That day, an angel of the Lord killed every Assyrian warrior and sent the shamed Sennacherib home to his own demise. Jerusalem was rescued.
The prophecies of Nahum, given a few years after Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem, speak directly to the pride of the Assyrians, specifically Nineveh. And if the people of Nineveh had any doubt about whether the God who defeated Sennacherib’s army would again act to bring this defiant city to justice, the Lord makes it perfectly clear: “I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies” (Nahum 2:13). Nahum 2 tells of the armies of God rising up fierce and strong with blood-red shields and chariots of fire to devastate Nineveh. Chapter 3 tells of the shaming of the city for its pride, prostitution, and sorcery—all acts of defiance against God. It ends by saying the city’s people would be scattered into exile, a just retribution in line with how they had treated nations they’d once conquered.
These are hard verses and harsh prophecies. Our instinct might be to ignore them or explain them away, but we cannot. In these verses we see the reality of a God who will not be mocked or rejected or reviled. He is not petty or spiteful; He is perfect and glorious, making such acts infinitely condemnable. We also see a God who rescues His people, who achieves justice and doesn’t let evil stand. In God’s infinite power, holiness, justice, and kindness we find comfort.
