Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 63

New Happy Rant: Courage, One-Upmanship, Movies that Used to be Good, and What We’re Reading

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas close out Ronnie’s interminable sabbatical by hashing out the following topics:

What do “courage” and “bravery” mean any more?
How to respond to one-upmanship – that guy who always has the better story
Movies that we used to think are good be aren’t so sure any more (or are sure that they suck)
What we’re reading

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 #190

3 Things I Like This Week – April 5

Each week 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. Blue Yeti USB Microphone

[image error]Every week I sit down at my desk, open up my laptop, and record The Happy Rant with Ted Kluck and Ronnie Martin. This is the mic I use. For the money and ease of use it is a fantastic mic for podcasting or other sorts of audio recordings. It can be multi or mono directional depending on the needs (area recording, multiple voices, one person, etc.). There are definitely nicer microphones in the world, but as a value this is the best I’ve found. (TIP: If you want even more basic USB mic at an even more affordable price the Blue Snowball is solid starter option.)

2. Goodreads

[image error]Oh good, another social media (sort of) app for you to post screeds, memes, and selfies on. Nope, not this one. This one is for posting book reviews, discovering new books to read, setting goals for reading, and keeping track of what you’ve read. You can follow authors, participate in giveaways, and even get book deals sent to your inbox if you’re into that sort of thing. I find Goodreads mostly useful for my own reading goals and reviews, but I occasionally am able to discover a new book or author to read too. If you’re looking to be more intentional about reading this is a handy app.

S.O.B. by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

Sometimes the middle of a week is just a drag. This song is the anti-drag (with slightly NSFW language). If you feel like doing a little digging go find a video of one of their live performances of this song. It’s just pure, unadulterated fun.

New Happy Rant: Everything is an Adventure, Open Mics, and Bible Reading

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas can see the light at the end of the tunnel – it is almost time for Together for the Rant and Ronnie’s long-anticipated return. In the mean time they take on the following:

Calling things an “adventure” – why is everything an adventure?
Open mic nights
Bible reading – what do we think of Bible reading plans and how do we use them?

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)
Order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.

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 #189

3 Things I Like This Week – March 29

Each week 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. Mafia Podcast

[image error]If you enjoyed Crimetown you’re likely to enjoy the Mafia podcast as well. If you never listened to Crimetown, well, now you have two excellent options. Mafia has more of a documentary/history feel to it and less of a rollicking storytelling aspect, but it is so well done. Each episode tells the story of one of the most significant mobsters in U.S. history. They don’t get bogged down in mundane details and neither do they sensationalize. The stories themselves, told by a narrator and plenty of historian and first-hand input, are sensational enough. I have thoroughly enjoyed this podcast.

2. Coffitivity

[image error]While I might wish I could always write or work at a coffee shop, sadly time and money do not allow. Thankfully, Coffitivity allows the coffee shop – at least a little of it – to come to me. I hate writing or working in total silence; it makes me feel claustrophobic. What Coffitivity does is to pipe in the steady drone of a pleasant coffee shop sound – a hum of voices, the clinking of glasses, the door opening and shutting. And to top it off you can play music right over the top of it, giving what once was an oppressively quiet work environment the feel of a cafe with a live band. Except you control the volume.

3. Gary Sheffield’s Swing

He wasn’t my favorite player growing ip, but he was my favorite player to watch hit. The stance, the bat twitch, the superhuman bat speed. Nobody swung a bat like Gary Sheffield. I just wish they’d skipped the fielding “highlights” in this video; Gary preferred to skip all the fielding too. Happy Opening Day Everyone!

 

The Good Sort of Questioning God

When we think of belief in God often times we picture passivity because that is what is portrayed many times in the church as “right” belief. God says it, I believe it, that settles it, right? Not entirely.

Much of belief is asking: asking for help as the father in Mark 9 did, asking for understanding, asking why, asking when. I have two young daughters, and they show their belief in me by asking things of me. “Can I have a snack?” indicates they believe I can provide them with Goldfish crackers or Oreos. “Why are the stars big balls of fire but only look like dots to us?” shows their belief that I can explain scientific facts. “Why do you and Mommy have to kiss around us?” shows, well, that mostly shows disgust. Questions are an indication of trust. Or they can be.

The Bible tells us to have faith like a child. Children are perpetual questioners, but they’re also perpetual believers. They ask, then eagerly await an answer. They mull over the answer, then fire another question if it doesn’t make sense to them. Questions are the conversational currency of a child. Every question is asked to learn, out of a desire to understand, from a stance of trust. Children ask not to challenge but in order to believe. That’s a big part of what “faith like a child” means.

Questions indicate belief only if you actually want an answer. Someone who asks without wanting to learn is not truly asking, but is challenging. Challenging is not believing, but undermining. A researcher asks questions to learn the facts, find the patterns, and create a hypothesis or theory. She wants to find the truth. In a cross-examination a prosecutor asks questions in order to reveal a lie. He is challenging, not really asking. The main difference is whether the questioner has an answer in mind already or desires to hear what answer will be offered. Researchers might have theories, but their questions are to test those theories by finding out the real answers. Prosecutors have answers they want to hear. An unexpected answer is not acceptable. They know what they want and need to hear, and their questions are designed to lead to those responses.

God is infinite. While the finite human mind can understand aspects of His character, even those cannot be understood in full. His bigness is too big, His goodness too good, His wrath too terrible, His grace too profound, His knowledge too deep. Because of this, God is inherently mysterious to us. We simply cannot fathom the fullness, or even a portion of the fullness, of who He is or what He does. We cannot fit Him into our proofs and evidentiary structures. By revealing what He did in Scripture, God created a massive mystery. He gave us an enigma, a puzzle, a riddle with so many dimensions and plotlines and layers and themes that even just those sixty-six books have generated libraries of volumes of thought, argument, and questions.

Belief is not a black-and-white endeavor built on simple truths. It is the exploration of a great mystery girded by great truths. I have often heard it said “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it” as if that is all there is to belief and being a Christian. For those of us who grew up in a traditional Sunday school context or a more fundamentalist, legalistic background, we recognize that general attitude about faith and God. “What does the Bible say? Well, just do that thing!” But the Bible isn’t clear all the time. It isn’t a simplistic, comprehensive rule book (thank God!), and it doesn’t address every problem explicitly. Instead, it depicts the character and work of God. The Bible tells a narrative of creation, fall, promise, redemption, and glory. In that narrative are lessons and declarations of great truth, but there are also allusions and suggestions of truth. God’s character is described, discernible at points, but also inscrutable. Because of His infinity, His character baffles us even while it comforts and directs us. That is the mystery and the truth hand in hand. The Bible gives everything we need but not every answer; all the necessary truth but plenty of room to wonder.

So in order to truly believe we must ask and ask and ask. We must ask as a researcher asks. Sure, we can have our theories, but we must also be willing to adjust or abandon them if the answers revealed to us prove those theories wrong. We must ask as a little child asks, full of curiosity. When an answer doesn’t make sense, keep asking. And believe that there is an answer.

[image error]This is an excerpt from my book, Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt is Not the Enemy of Faith. If you struggle with doubts and questioning or are trying to help someone who does pick up a copy.

Why We Should Not Fear Doubt [Video]

In this short video I recorded with For The Church I do my best to explain why doubt is not a sin in itself but can actually be the springboard for faith.

[image error]For more on faith and how to respond well to doubts you can check out my book  Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt is Not the Enemy of Faith.

New Happy Rant: TGC on Tackle Football, Are We Really On The Same Team, and Rock Star Behavior

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas suss out the following:

The Gospel Coalition waded into the debate about whether tackle football should be banned. Why do they do stuff like this?
After our roast of Steven Furtick a few weeks ago we got a piece of fan/hate mail saying we are mean and asking “aren’t we all on the same team?” Well, are we?
A story of rock stars behaving badly online and a discussion of why they bother.

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)
Order your tickets for our next LIVE event – Together for the Rant – to be held in April.

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 #188

3 Things I Like this Week – March 22

Each week 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)

As someone who has written a lot of words and gotten paid to write a small portion of them I have learned the value of excellently written content. As someone who lives in America where many news outlets have sold their ethics and accuracy for clicks I have learned the value of good reporting. As a sports fan I love it when the two are combined. is just such a place. It is the best collection of sports journalists and is affordable too. It’s everything ESPN.com or SI.com should be – no bells and whistles and videos and personal interest stories, just sports writing. Pay the money. Read the articles. Support their model and the writers doing the work.

2) The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski

[image error]Buck O’Neil is largely forgotten by baseball fans. That is, if you can forget someone you never heard of. Most people have never heard of him because Buck was a star before black players were allowed in MLB. He played in the Negro Leagues, and did so with skill and aplomb. And he did so with a vibrant and victorious spirit. In the midst of crushing racism, bigotry, inequality, and segregation O’Neil continued to shine. In this book Joe Posnanski skillfully lets Buck reveal himself to the reader through stories, quotes, and descriptions. Any baseball fan or fan of being uplifted this book is wonderful. A true hero’s tale.

3) MLB Does Sandlot

The Milwaukee Brewers meant nothing to me until this, a fantastic rendition of a great scene from the best sports movie.

7 Ways to Help Kids Keep Their Curiosity

Every child is born curious. How can they help it? They’re like little aliens entering a new planet in which everything is foreign. They only have two things working in their favor – they’re cute and they’re insatiably, indubitably curious. Children ask about everything, notice everything, remember everything (at least the things parents aren’t trying to teach them), and want a tactile experience of everything. In every instance and with every item a child wants to engage all five senses.

This causes a certain collection of problems, to be sure – ill-timed observations about that woman’s attire and repeated reminders that “we don’t put dog food in our mouths” to name a couple examples. These are all part of a parent’s experience of playing bumper on the bowling lane of life.

The greater problems arise later on, usually right around middle school, because children leave behind both of their working advantages. Their curiosity begins to fade and they’re definitely not cute any more. The latter problem resolves itself over a few years of pimples and gawkiness. The former problem persists, however. What was lively, vibrant curiosity calcifies into apathetic boredom and coolness.

Any parent should be dismayed by this, assuming we are not also calcified to the point of not noticing. The loss of curiosity is the loss of vibrancy and opportunity and potential and life. Yes people can live without it, but they cannot live without it. Curiosity is that thing which fuels the best relationships with God and people, drives every sort of creativity, and opens our eyes to the world around us for pleasure and for mission. To lose this driving force is to have an inertial existence marked by redundancy (rebranded as “predictability” to make it sound safe) and stretching only so far as their non-existent imagination can envision, which is to say as far as bed time.

That is no way to live, and we would not wish it on our children. But lest we do something on their behalf we may be dooming them to it. What follows are my best pieces of advice for raising curious children, or rather curious adults. (NOTE: Please don’t read this like a typical parenting book or blog in which the author prescribes several steps and implies, or declares, that following them will fix all that ails your child. Read as an ingredient list and the task is yours, chef, to create the right recipe for your child.)

1) Answer Questions

No matter the repetition and the oddity, answer your child’s questions. Yes, teach them the appropriate time and volume to ask. But answer. If you don’t know, admit it then help them find the answer. By answering or seeking answers you feed their minds. You show them that questions are good and asking leads somewhere. You give them permission to be curious, and a child with permission will seek to exercise it in every possible manner.

2) Ask Questions

Children are curious but ignorant. Your well-placed questions train them and direct them. It gets them thinking toward something and hints at the path to get there. Most importantly it models curiosity and gives them future permission to be an asker and seeker when they reach adulthood.

3) Invite Them In

You have hobbies; include your children. Show them how power tools work or your electric guitar or the KitchenAid mixer. Read them books (so many books) and take them fishing and to a ball game. If you enjoy a thing let them enjoy it with you and teach them about it. Two great things happen when we do this: we get time with our children and they build a storehouse of experiences and memories to draw on.

4) Take Them Out

No, not like a hit man, no matter how awful they are between arriving home from school and eating dinner. I mean take them out to places. Go hiking and to a ball game. Visit museums and cities. See a play and a movie and a concert. Feed them things that aren’t on the kids menu and that don’t have names in English. Go on missions trips. Visit people’s homes. Show them the myriad expressions of creative wonder God has sown in His world.

5) Notice and Explain

Kids notice plenty on their own, but they’re oblivious too. They miss the mountain for the pebble. Noticing is a muscle that needs to be exercised else it atrophies. So train your children’s noticing muscle to observe the world around them and soak things in. Exemplify noticing the odd and beautiful and terrible and sublime. You need the practice and they do to. Then explain what you notice, but keep it short. Nobody likes a lecture (which is why, in part, school is so bad for curiosity).

6) Have Wonder

When you notice be wowed. Share those moments with your kids. When you see a busker slaying on the guitar stop to watch, be amazed, and give your child a dollar to put in the case. When you’re driving home from soccer practice and the sun is setting revel in the oranges and pinks and golds with them. They need to know that the world is wonderful and will still be when they grow up too.

7) Reinforce Creativity

Don’t force it, but bolster and encourage it. Make time and space for it and supply their every need. Your child needs no more apps, but they could use an Amazon Pantry box, some scissors, and roll of packing tape. They could use a conversion of some of those Netflix hours to drawing/writing/dancing/singing/acting/composing/imagining/make believing hours. And then they could use your praise for their creativity and their boldness in it. Extol their effort and imagination and risk-taking. Don’t call them Picasso or Shakespeare if they’re not – but show them you’re proud of them. You want a child who will take bold, creative, imaginative risks in their work and life, right? This is where that begins.

[image error]For more thoughts/explorations/ponderings/pontifications on curiositty check out my book The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life. If you are interested in seeing what kind of curious person you are (or are not) visit CuriousChristianBook.com and take the short assessment.

He Reads Truth: There Is No Fear in Love

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 1, 2, & 3 John plan. You can find the full plan HERE.

1 John 4:1-19, 1 Peter 2:1-3, John 15:18-21, Psalm 36:1-12

As a sweating Meatloaf (the singer, not the potluck dish) once belted out, people will “do anything for love.” We are fools for love, risking life and limb and bank account for it. It is the stuff of storybooks and Hollywood. Love overcomes fear and logic. It enables us to do amazing (and sometimes idiotic) things. It is incredibly powerful – whether the love of a woman, a parent’s love for a child, or a best friend’s loyal love.

There is a love that supersedes all that, though – the love that marks us as followers of Jesus. It is perfect love because it is God’s love, the love that moved Him to give up His Son to make us His own children. It is the love that sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide. It is the love that gives us the assurance of our place as His children and our freedom from His judgment. As children of God, our acts of love are because of this Perfect love. We love because we are loved. We are marked as God’s family by two things: professing Jesus as Lord of our lives, and this perfect love from God.

If our love for a partner, a child, or a friend can overcome our fears, what can this perfect love from God do? 1 John 4 tells us it drives out fear. It does not mask fear. It does not make us fools or steal our left-brain. It doesn’t mask the consequences for our actions. The perfect love from God sends fear fleeing.

As mortal, sinful people we will still be afraid, but might that not mean we have lost sight of God’s love for us in Christ? Might we, in those times of fear or worry, have lost touch with the Spirit who assures us of our place in God’s family? We have the single thing needed to never be shaped or defined by our fears again: the unfailing love of God.

Imagine a life not marked by insecurity or worrying what people will think. Imagine stepping up and doing those things our consciences prod us to do but our minds refuse to. Imagine realizing that the love we have from God is too great to keep to ourselves, so we simply tell others about it instead of clamming up.  

But we do not have to imagine. We are children of God because of God’s great love for us. We have His love in us – perfect love. We do not need to fear trials or persecution. We live in the shelter of God’s love and are defined by it.