Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 87

6 Books You Should Read This Summer

Summer is almost here. College students are in the midst of finals or are wrapping up. Parents of school-aged children are suppressing panic at the thought of three months with the little hooligans at home. But summer also means vacation for many people, and vacation means more time to read. So here are six books for you to consider as a summer read. All are excellent.

Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk, and True Flourishing

by Andy Crouch

“Paradigm” is a WAY over-used word in describing books, but in this book Crouch genuinely presented a new and better paradigm that helped me think about all my interactions with others and with God. If that sounds overwhelming, keep in mind he did it in about 180 pages. That’s why I say he created a paradigm. It is a way of viewing and understanding interactions – parenting, marriage, work, leadership, ministry, neighborly, political, etc. I won’t give away or try to explain his framework for fear of cheapening it. Just buy and read this book. It is one the will genuinely reshape your thinking and, with a little effort, your living too.

The Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle 

by N.D. Wilson

I was introduced to Wilson’s writing through his non-fiction works (Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl and Death by Living), but sometimes the way an author writes non-fiction screams “story-teller.” So I read his Ashtown Burials Trilogy which was excellent and enthralling and fun and all things stories should be. Well, Outlaws of Time was better. I loved it. Wilson’s imagination is unparalleled as exhibited by his weaving together of worlds and times and settings. His villains are heinous without being gratuitous or grotesque. His heroes are flawed without the flaws being over-played. His stories display honor, courage, friendship, honesty, perseverance, failure, redemption, and all the other things the best fiction does. He is not bound by genre, so Outlaws is a thriller/mystery/historical novel. In short it is fun and draws readers in. You will love it.

Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience

by Mark Sayers

The church has always been at it’s best when it is the desperate, creative minority, so why are we trying so hard to be the relevant cultural majority (especially since the Bible says people will be offended by the gospel)? Sayers poses this question then unpacks with a combination of theology, missiology, sociology, and cultural history that he is an expert at weaving together in an eminently readable way. Readers can tell that Sayers reads with incredible breadth and depth, not because he shows it off in an obnoxious intellectual way, but because he synthesizes an incredible about of knowledge into cogent, applicable points. He challenges readers with his ideas but not his verbiage. This book is one that any Christian who wants to engage their neighbor or pastor who wants to lead their church should read. It’s fantastic.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

by Daniel James Brown

If you loved Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbreakable there’s a good chance you’ll like this because it has much of the same wonderful story telling, but with an athletic twist. It’s the story of one University’s rowing team coming together to try to win the national championship and hopefully compete in the olympics, the olympics overseen by Himmler, Goering, and Hitler. The personal accounts of key rowers are compelling. Brown even makes the sport of rowing interesting and that’s a feat since most readers (like me) know little about it and care even less. It’s a masterful narrative that inspires and pulls the reader along even faster than the crewmen could row.

Dispatches

by Michael Herr

If you are a history buff, especially if you are a Vietnam war buff (or rather one who loves to study the Vietnam War) you must read Dispatches. Herr was a columnist for a couple different U.S.A. publications during Vietnam, and this is a collection of his long form articles put together in a book. It is laced with profanity, dark, gloomy, and brilliantly depicts the feel of the war for both the men on the front and the people covering it. He writes with the cynicism of the era and magnificent prose. A second layer of the books brilliance is that it gives readers a sense of how writers wrote and journalists covered stories in a  unique era. It isn;t just information about a contentious period in U.S. history – it’s a cross section of lives.

Under Our Skin: Getting Real About Race – And Getting Free From the Fears and Frustrations that Divide Us 

by Ben Watson

During the events in Ferguson, Missouri Ben Watson, a tight end for the New Orleans Saints (now for the Baltimore Ravens) penned a poignant and pointed Facebook post with his thoughts on race, racial tensions, and the complexity therein. This book was born from that post. Watson is a faithful believer in Christ and writes from that perspective, with a clear understanding that Christ is the hope all races need and the balm for the wounds America has inflicted on itself. But he does not shy away form the complexities of racial conflict. He writes things white people, the majority culture, need to read and understand so we can better understand the perspective, pain, and lives of our minority brothers and sisters. But he does not pile on “white guilt.” He also addresses his own minority, African American culture and points out things that need to change. Watson writes fairly and with punch, but not with bombast or hyperbole. If you are trying to get your head and heart around issues of race in America Under Our Skin is a fantastic place to start.

Pastor’s Kids, If I Knew Then What I Know Now . . .

I wouldn’t worry so much about what other people think.

People’s opinions are only that—opinions. They shouldn’t dictate what I do or don’t do, especially when it comes to my lifestyle. I still struggle with this as a grown man with my own family. Once upon a time it was what kind of music I listened to or what words I used. Now it’s more like how I spend my money or raise my kids.

I’ve only been able to get comfortable looking directly to the Bible for a standard within the last few years, realizing there are lots of things church people freak out about that God doesn’t. If I had found peace living up to God’s standards instead of people’s standards, I would have been a whole lot happier and avoided a mess of trouble I got myself into.

I’d dig into God’s Word with the purpose of knowing God better.

The Bible is a great story, not just a Sunday school curriculum. And it’s alive! I was so used to hearing about and being surrounded by Scripture that I missed its wonder. It took a major breakdown before I could come back to the Bible and see that it’s so much more than lessons, theology, and morals. It’s a narrative of God’s redeeming power and love. It’s a revelation of His character and work, and the Holy Spirit speaks into the fiber of our hearts if we’re willing. The Bible was a burden before I realized this; now it’s life!

I’d dream big and not feel guilty about it.

It’s ok to do something “secular” with your life. Secular is a distinction that church people made up to protect the sanctity of the church. What it really did was create a hierarchy between “Christian” work and “unchristian” work.

What matters is whether you are able to do what you do in a way that honors God. Do you have a mind for business? Go to Wall Street. Are you an artist? Paint a picture of something beautiful (and it doesn’t have to be Jesus). Love journalism? Get that gig with the New York Times or The Atlantic.

God gave you gifts and passions so you could maximize them and He would get the glory from you, his beautiful created child.

I’d bask in God’s undivided attention and affection for me.

God likes you. I’m sure you’ve been told that God loves you, but do you realizes that He likes you? I didn’t. In my world, the theology was so big and heady that I was often amazed by God and in wonder of Him, but not close to Him.

You may have come from a background where God was talked about mostly as a judge, so you fear Him or fear displeasing Him. But God really likes you. He enjoys you as a child.

I have two little girls, and they’re much more than my responsibility. I don’t just provide for them and keep them in line. I enjoy them. They make me really happy. And I want them to know it. And God feels like that toward His children, except to infinity and with perfection.

I wouldn’t even think of giving up on the church.

No matter how much it hurt you, church is worth sticking with. Maybe it’s not the church you grew up in, but finding one where you can be honest with your struggles and hurt is worth it. Finding one that will embrace you is worth it.

Just make sure it’s a church that puts Jesus first and not you or anyone else. You can’t afford to leave the church. You need it and it needs you. Your soul was made to be part of a community of souls, not solo. Stand by the church. The Bible call’s it Jesus’ Bride, and I have a suspicion He cares an awful lot about her. So should we.

For more on serving pastors’ kids well and the challenges they face check out my book The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity. If this blog is all the reading you can handle you can get the audio book with I read instead. I’m no Morgan Freeman, but it’s not too bad.

New Happy Rant: Calling Wives Hot, Accountability, and Sarcasm vs. Snark

In this episode of the Happy Rant Ted Kluck and Barnabas Piper rant about the following while Ronnie posts beach photos from a well-earned vacation.

Why don’t men realize how awkward it is when they publicly declare their wives to be HOT?
How is accountability supposed to work? Is it a weekly meeting? Is it mutual flagellation? Might there be a better way?
What is the difference between sarcasm, snark, and satire and what is the place for each?

Like every week, we want to offer a big thank you to Resonate Recordings, the fine folks who make us sound

listenable. If you are looking for great people to help your church put out recorded sermon audio or help you with a podcast they’re your people.

Feel free to hit us up on Twitter at @HappyRantPod or on Facebook or via email at HappyRantPodcast@Gmail.com with any topic suggestions or feedback. We love hearing from listeners!

To listen you can:

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Leave us a rating in iTunes (it only takes 1 click and it really helps us).
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Episode #86

What If We Picked a President By Reality TV Competition?

My friend Lizette recently posted this to Facebook.

My first reaction was to laugh out loud. My second was to ask myself why stop there? Why only those reality TV competitions? Let’s see what might happen if we selected a president using other Reality TV competitions.

 

Hunger Games

Fictional, but gripping, this competition would at least give us a clear winner by indisputable victory. Not terribly promising on the foreign relations front. Or tax reform. Or sanctity of life. On the plus side the decks are cleared of holdover candidates for future elections.

 

Survivor

This would work especially well for the GOP since there are about 14 possible contestants (give or take). Unlike the actual GOP they’d have to form alliances, though. Then again they’d get to backstab and lie. Seems quite promising, and it would  be gratifying to seem them voted off the island.

 

Fear Factor

The problem is that Trump would like lying in a pit of snakes. Rumor has it he sleeps in one every night. And I’m not sure Hillary has emotions, so it would be more like “Trying-to-find-the-right-face-for-the-camera Factor.” And Bernie would lose – just hold up a rifle with the word “capitalism” etched on the stock.

 

Dancing With the Stars

I’m not sure “backpedaling” is a dance step, but if it was we’d see it a lot in this competition. At least Bruno Tonioli is obnoxious enough to shout down the Donald.

 

Naked and Afraid

We’re already afraid. Let’s skip the naked. But if we could leave candidates inn the jungle it might be a decent trade-off.

 

Hell’s Kitchen

Gordon Ramsay is already the Donald Trump of the kitchen. Come to think of it this might be a bit much. But I bet Kasich makes a mean veal parmesan.

 

Amazing Race

Teamwork, physical exertion, working well with foreign nationals – Seems like all the skills presidents need and ones that none of the candidates have. Hillary might have to vary from the pantsuit, though.

 

Biggest Loser

The only loser if we went this route is the American people, though it would be fun to see Jillian Michaels scream at Ted Cruz.

 

American Idol (Original Judges)

Can you imagine how Simon Cowell would respond to Bernie Sanders’ voice? And you know Hillary would pick a Cher song for her audition.

 

Wife Swap

The only one excited about this idea is Bill Clinton.

Too soon?

 

Man vs. Wild

I bet Trump would actually like eating raw yak liver in his underwear in sub-zero temps. It seems right up his alley.

 

New Happy Rant: Politically Correct Stupidity, The Danger of Platform, and a LIVE Rant

In this episode of the Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas rant about the following:

What in the world is wrong with people? The college students in this video are incapable of declaring obvious truths for the fear of offending people. Of course, we might be afraid of offending them by airing our true opinions too.

What are we supposed to do with big-platform ministries that seem, pretty obviously, to be ruining pastors? Is the platform sinful? Is it just a good ol’ boys club? What should our response be?
Big announcement, or rather, big tease – we are planning to have a LIVE HAPPY RANT in October in Louisville. We discuss some details and more are to come.

Like every week, we want to offer a big thank you to Resonate Recordings, the fine folks who make us sound

listenable. If you are looking for great people to help your church put out recorded sermon audio or help you with a podcast they’re your people.

Feel free to hit us up on Twitter at @HappyRantPod or on Facebook or via email at HappyRantPodcast@Gmail.com with any topic suggestions or feedback. We love hearing from listeners!

To listen you can:

Subscribe in iTunes.
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 #84

The Best Quotes from “Rooted”

Brandon Smith and Jeff Medders are pastors, theologians, and friends of mine. This week they released a new book, Rooted: Theology for Growing Christians. Some books we read for pure pleasure. Other books are resources, tools to shape our minds and hearts. This is the latter. Brandon and Jeff have put together a concise, foundational, accessible book to introduce a reader to the study of theology. It’s almost a defense of theology which is necessary in our day of self-defined truth and loose handling of scripture. Rooted is an ideal little book for group study and discussion or for personal benefit. Church leaders should keep a few close at hand to help hungry, curious congregants with their questions.

Here are some of the best quotes from it.

“The aim of theology is worship: meeting with God, living with God, and living for God.”

“He doesn’t simply want you to have good theology; he wants all people every­where to have good theology. As his disciples who are called to make more disciples, it is important for us to tell people about him in a proper way. We don’t want them just to know about God, but to know God as he has revealed himself.”

“God is more than some sort of cosmic con­queror, ordering his minions to do as he pleases. He cares for his people and does not hide it. In the triune God we have a Father, a Brother, and a Helper.”

“The Word of God is living, active, and armed like an atomic bomb of grace to change our lives for God’s glory and our joy (Heb. 4:12). Come to the Bible not to just learn the data, facts, and fig­ures, but to behold the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Come to the Bible because Jesus invites you to come and sit awhile.”

“The Word is most certainly alive, not like a puppy or houseplant—provide it moderate at­tention and you’ll derive pleasure from keeping it around. It doesn’t eat or drink, require walks, or rest. Rather, the Bible itself is food. The Bible takes us on walks, and brings us rest.”

“Sin is a disease that makes the bubonic plague seem like a common cold. Sin is deadly, in every sense of the word. It’s the real Black Death. It brings not only physical death, but also spiritual death.”

“[Jesus’s] miracles are not baptized party tricks. They are neon signs or flare guns announcing that the kingdom of God had arrived.”

“The cross of Christ, though it killed him, didn’t end him. He died and he rose again, heart and lungs pumping, brain firing on all cylinders, for the justification, the pardoning of sinners.”

“If eschatology is not encouraging and life-re­directing, it’s not biblical.”

“Death isn’t the final nail in the cof­fin. There is a glorious eternity on the other side of a non-beating heart because Christ conquered death on its home court. One day there won’t be enough nails in the coffin to hold you in.”

“Heaven is not our eternal home. We may be there for a time, in the presence of God, but he has more for us. We don’t spend forever in the clouds with God in some fanciful dream world, shedding our earth-suits, leaving this world an empty shell. Rather, heaven and earth will come together in one physical, concrete place. We’ll experience the answer, the promise, of the Lord’s Prayer.”

“When we rise again, we will take the most natural breath of air we’ve ever inhaled.”

New Happy Rant – T4G Recap, Singles Ministries, and What We’re Working on Next”

In this episode of the Happy Rant podcast Ted and Barnabas rant about the following while Ronnie is off fretting for his life and hoping to survive a week from conference hell.

Barnabas offers an on-site recap of Together for the Gospel, sartorial stylings and all.
The humor and awkwardness of singles ministries, not to mention some fantastically awful names for them
What is each host working on now? A book? A screenplay? A new album?

Like every week, we want to offer a big thank you to Resonate Recordings, the fine folks who make us sound

listenable. If you are looking for great people to help your church put out recorded sermon audio or help you with a podcast they’re your people.

Feel free to hit us up on Twitter at @HappyRantPod or on Facebook or via email at HappyRantPodcast@Gmail.com with any topic suggestions or feedback. We love hearing from listeners!

To listen you can:

Subscribe in iTunes.
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 #83

10 Terrible Vacation Bible School Themes

Spring has sprung and that means churches across the country are hard at work preparing for Vacation Bible School and Backyard Bible Clubs this summer. Generally churches select a theme for these so that all the lessons and games and activities can fit together seamlessly. Well, here are some options churches could choose, but I would suggest going with a different option.

The Hunger Games

One lucky family will get their child back at the end of the week! But no worries – you can watch the whole week on closed circuit cameras piped directly into your home whether you like or not.

The Exodus

For this morning’s activity we’re going to paint a doorpost in blood! After that we’ll play “avoid the flaming serpents.” For snack we’ll have pheasant . . . every day.

Game of Thrones

Nobody is a good guy, everyone dies, but hey, there be dragons. Also, don’t leave the premises or the white walkers will get you.

The Life of Paul

Monday: shipwrecked

Tuesday: beaten with rods

Wednesday: robbed

Thursday: imprisoned

Friday: martyred

Breaking Bad

For the afternoon craft we’ll make crystal meth in our underwear, but don’t worry we have masks so nobody gets asphyxiated.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

Ok, all the 1s go to that corner; you’ll be burned at the stake. All the 2s go to that corner; you’ll be fed to lions. All the 3s go to that corner; you’ll be crucified.

The Reformation

Team One, you’re the papists. Your goal is to eliminate team two with all prejudice.

Team Two, you’re the reformers. Your goal is print as many Bibles and tack up as many lists of theses as you can before dying. The winner will be determined by history.

Make America Great Again

Let’s go back in time to when women were expected to stay in the kitchen, racial segregation abounded, and the Bible was used to defend both. Wasn’t it grand, boys and girls?

Common Core Bible Teaching

We’ll take every Bible story you’ve ever learned, apply new and opaque vocabulary, try to make it a metaphor, and refuse to let you memorize anything. Then we’ll do a scantron test at the end of the week.

Reformed Conference

Every attendee must wear either a plaid shirt or a blazer. We need at least 13 boys for every girl in attendance. Bible lessons will last for 50-60 minutes. Criticism will be heaped upon attendees and teachers via social media.

Be Grateful Without Comparing

“There are starving children in Africa who would love your dinner! You should be grateful and eat it.”

“Just be glad you don’t have to dress like her.”

“I’m just glad I don’t have things as bad as him.”

Familiar sentiments? I suspect most of us have heard or uttered something very much along these lines. Maybe we said them to our kids or heard them from our parents. They are ideas aimed at assisting in gratitude. Right? That’s what they do?

While there is a sense in which we should be jarred into gratefulness by the reality that others have it worse than we do, these kinds of statements are a pretty horrid kind of instruction on gratitude. They teach comparison more than gratitude. And what about the kids in Africa? How are they supposed to grateful in this set up?

Building gratitude on the foundation of comparison is a structure doomed to crumble. All the mortar between the bricks isn’t, in fact, thankfulness. It’s superiority. I have something someone else doesn’t. I am something someone else isn’t. It is implicit arrogance that is being created and a false kind of gratitude. Your kids become thankful, not for the dinner served, but that they aren’t starving in Africa . . . which is right close to thinking they are better than those from Africa.

Gratefulness can’t be based on any sort of comparison between one person and another. It must be based on the reality of right expectations. What is reasonable to expect?

In truth, nothing. We deserve nothing. Everything we get is beyond what we deserve. And this is the reality which children need to grasp (along with the rest of us, who still get angry when we don’t get what we expect). We need to keep in mind our state as sinners and teach our children the same.

Gratefulness for something lends itself to comparison. But gratitude for something to someone changes the equation. All of a sudden our focus is on the goodness of the giver, and often on our dependence on him or on the undeservedness of the gift. And this is where we want our children to be: focused on the giver’s goodness.

Episode #82 – Bro Code, Gender Reveal Parties, and Silly Sermon Titles

In this episode of the Happy Rant podcast Ted Kluck, Ronnie Martin, and Barnabas Piper rant about the following:

D’Angelo Russell, a Los Angeles Lakers rookie, has been blasted in the media for breaking “bro code” by recording a video of a teammate admitting to cheating on his fiancee. But which is the real brach of code – filming, cheating, or both?
In recent years pregnancy announcements and gender reveal parties have become a cottage industry. What is this insanity?
Why do churches – especially mega churches – feel the need to come up with pithy sermon titles and clever promotional plans?

Like every week, we want to offer a big thank you to Resonate Recordings, the fine folks who make us sound

listenable. If you are looking for great people to help your church put out recorded sermon audio or help you with a podcast they’re your people.

Feel free to hit us up on Twitter at @HappyRantPod or on Facebook or via email at HappyRantPodcast@Gmail.com with any topic suggestions or feedback. We love hearing from listeners!

To listen you can:

Subscribe in iTunes.
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 #82