Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 90

Writing And the Lie of Better-Than

I saw on Twitter the other day a friend post something to the effect of “I just read a piece by author X. He’s so much better than me it almost makes want to quit writing.” Such thoughts have crossed the minds of most writers whether widely published or not. We might be loathe to admit it, but it is true.

Well, if you’re intent on worrying about those who wrote better than you, yes, by all means, quit writing. Because that concept, the idea of better-than, is poison for writers. It is an aspiration that cannot be reached. It is not unreachable because you cannot get better but because it is not really real and definitely not the point of writing.

You will never have the voice of that better-than writer. You will never live her life, share her experiences, or see the world through her eyes. Better-than thinks differently than you and has different inputs. You will never be her, be like her, or be better than her. And that is ok. It is better than ok; it is good.

Writers are playing an infinite game. That sounds grandiose, so let me explain. Simon Sinek did an interview a few months ago in which he discussed game theory. He explained that there are two kinds of games, infinite and finite. In finite games there is a single winner and the sole objective is to come out on top. Think: sports, board games, first person shooter video games, etc. In infinite games there is not a clear winner; there is simply improving and growing.

When we worry about which writers are better than us we have taken the infinite game of creating and lowered it to the finite world of win or lose. When we do this we lose ourselves and our unique ability to say or create anything that matters. We become derivative and soulless – precisely the opposite of what makes the most significant writing significant. Our game is not to defeat other writers but to continually grow as writers.

Instead of being better than we should focus on:

Contributing to readers – What are we giving them? It should be a gift of thought, story, expression, feeling, or phrase that will in some small way enhance their lives.
Improving as writers – focus on being better every day but not better-than. We can always tighten our prose, enhance our vocabularies, connect more with felt realities in order to bring them to light, and explore ideas more thoroughly in order to see what had not.
Explore and experiment – A writer who only writes one thing becomes a parody of himself. We must explore new genres or styles and take on challenges that intimidate us. We must be stretched, and it will only happen if we stretch ourselves.
Learn from other writers – Those writers we though of as better-than? They are likely better than us at some things, things we can learn. Make them your teachers instead of your objects of jealousy. Sit at the feet of their pages and listen to their lessons.

We cannot play at writing to “win,” for if we do we will lose not only that game but also ourselves as writers. There is no winning, only growing and saying better things better. Put aside the lie of better-than and simple seek to be better.

The Best Leadership Quotes from the 5LQ Podcast

I have the privilege – and it really is a privilege; that’s not just puffery – to interview top Christian leaders (and some who aren’t Christians but are really good at what they do) on a weekly basis alongside Todd Adkins for the 5 Leadership Questions podcast. I learn an incredible amount from getting to ask questions and converse with these people. Even knowing their credentials and accomplishments I am often blown away by their wisdom, practicality, and insight. Here are some of the best quotes from the first 100 episodes of the podcast. You can check out more episodes here. Were would love to have you as a regular listener!

Keep the room clean where you are. God will open the next door. – John Piper

You have to live out a deep sense of principles and vision. – John Perkins

Success is standing on your pile of mistakes rather than lying under them. – Dave Ramsey

Transformation occurs when you have the overlap of knowledge, experience, and coaching. – Todd Adkins

If you say you’re on mission but you don’t mention Jesus you’re on someone else’s mission. – Jeff Vanderstelt

The fruit of a believer is another believer, the fruit of a leader is another leader, the fruit of a disciple is another disciple. – Eric Geiger

Before you’re a worship leader you’re a worshipper. That should be you’re primary identity. – Stephen Miller

It’s easy to fill the brain and let the heart grow cold. – Danny Akin

‘Die to self’ is the practical thing. – Alli Worthington

A goal is a goal the moment you write it down, but a value has to be lived out over time. – Thabiti Anyabwile

The chief purpose behind our productivity is to do good for others. – Matt Perman

I define leadership as embodying what you want other people to become. – Derwin Gray

If you’re doing anything worth doing you’re going to run into criticism. – Eric Geiger

Nobody has ever built a great ministry out of good intentions. – John Maxwell

Your competency will take you only as far as your character can sustain you. – Carey Nieuwhof

When we begin to believe we deserve this platform that’s one of the last steps before trouble. – Louie Giglio

Don’t get so busy doing the work of the Lord that you don’t focus on the Lord of the work. – Ed Stetzer

There’s no ceiling on character. There can be a ceiling on hunger for character. – John Townsend

Every pastor is an interim pastor. – William Vanderbloemen

The hardest decisions we make on a regular basis are just day-to-day decisions that we put off. – Jenni Catron

Relevance is set by the gap between who you say you are and who you really are. What makes us irrelevant is when our message is not authentic. – Brian Houston

God doesn’t lead you out of something. God leads you into something. – Chris Sadler

If you position yourself as the hero of the story you will lose. – Donald Miller

Leaders don’t do exceptional things, they do ordinary things exceptionally well. – Louie Giglio

Don’t try to get the mic, try to have something to say. – Louie Giglio

Humility says ‘I don’t know everything.’ Curiosity says ‘what don’t I know? – Barnabas Piper

I do not want to trade my deep devotion to Jesus for numbers and impact. – Jennie Allen

A lack of persistence is a lack of values and vision. – Dan Rockwell

Christians are called to redeem entire cultures, not just individuals. – Rebekah Lyons

Am I building my own kingdom, the kingdom of others, or the Kingdom? – Brad Lomenick

The greatest leaders realize that most of their fruit grows on other people’s trees. – Todd Adkins

We’ve confused spectacular with supernatural. – Christine Caine

People’s talent can take them places their character can’t handle. – Lecrae

Changing for relevance can quickly become irrelevant. – Leonce Crump

Calling is about submitting yourself to how God is shaping you. – Daniel Im

Calling can lead you in any number of directions, but it will always lead you in a direction that is more godly. – Barnabas Piper

Do I consider myself the friend of Jesus or am I just afraid to disappoint Him? – Sammy Rhodes

Always contribute more than you’re paid to do. – Nick Caine

Innovation isn’t thinking outside the box. It’s thinking inside a better box. – Bobby Gruenewald

In time your content is shaped by your desire to monetize it. – Tim Challies

If you lead you will make mistakes. – Faith Whatley

If you’re constantly talking you’re only thinking about what you have to say and not what’s going on around you. – Kevin Spratt

Lateral leadership is earned influence. – Trevin Wax

Consultants give answers. Coaches don’t do that. Coaches help people discover answers. – Dan Rockwell

We need to see how things work here before we begin doing work. – Eric Mason

We need to constantly pursue our mission, not our successes. – Larry Osborne

The gospel is offensive, but nothing else should be. – Danny Franks

Catch people doing things right instead of catching them doing something wrong. – Simon Sink

Three quarters of an answer is better than an answer-and-a-half. – Simon Sinek

Healthy conflict is where people are not attacking each other, they are attacking a problem or challenge. – Eric Geiger

Be addicted to obedience, to obeying God’s leading. – Matt Brown

New Happy Rant: Episode 100 with a Special Guest and Tons of Fun

We made it to episode 100. Who would have guessed that with such humble beginnings this podcast would have gained such heights, yet here we are. In this episode of the Happy Rant Podcast we welcome back co-founder, Stephen Altrogge and rant about the following.

Angry moms with no sense of humor attacking Stephen
Do women have to be “precious” or can they be sarcastic and snarky too?
Could we pull off an entirely earnest podcast?

[image error]We’d like to thank your sponsor, Logos, the premier Bible Study and sermon preparation software on the market. Today they released Logos 7, complete with new features to take what was great before to entirely new levels. They offer an incredible library of resources, extensive features, and a suite of tools all of which will help serious Bible students, teachers, and preachers research and prepare. As a special offer for you, listener, use code HAPPYRANT7 at checkout to get Charles Spurgeon’s commentary on the Philippians for FREE.

And thank you to our second sponsor this week, Tyndale House Publishers. They are highlighting the book Next Door As It Is In Heaven by Lance Ford and Brad Briscoe. This book offers first principles and best practices to make our neighborhoods into places where compassion and care are once again part of the culture, where good news is once again more than words, and where the love of God can be once again rooted and established.

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 #100

Patience Isn’t Passive

I am an impatient person. Waiting is a nuisance at best. This presents a challenge when I run into those situations when wisdom says “wait on the Lord.” In fact, “wait on the Lord” sounds very much like “sit down, shut up, and see what happens” which is in dangerous proximity to passivity and boredom, a state of being that is hair-tearingly tedious.

But my understanding of “waiting” has been sorely lacking. The description above is hollow. Waiting is an experience full of careful thought and action, at least if one is doing it well. If your waiting experience is one of sitting by until something happens then you’re doing it wrong.

To wait is not to set aside other responsibilities aside. We work at current jobs while waiting for the call back about the one we interviewed for. We work at godly singleness while waiting for a spouse then work at loving someone while waiting for them to reciprocate. Most of all we work at those things to which Christ has called us while waiting for Him to return. So waiting for one thing is busy with others.

Waiting is in an impatient business leading stress leading to surliness, or worse. And so while we wait we work at having the right attitude. Of all the activities waiting entails, this is the most difficult. We hold fast to hope, cling to promises, and look ahead to the fulfillment of our desires. As we wait we ought to channel our desires to forward-thinking confidence rather than misplacing them toward those around us which only leads to disappointment to garnish our impatience. In all of this, waiting on the Lord differs from all other waiting because he elicits the confidence nothing else can.

Think of waiting for a train. When you wait you may be still, standing or sitting, but you are not passive. You are watching, listening. Your eyes follow the parallel lines of the tracks into the distance looking for the train to come chugging in. You listen for the roar of the engine, the clanking of the cars, and the tones of the train’s whistle. Even as your body rests on the platform your senses are alert and your mind active. This is what it should be like to wait on the Lord too. Sometimes it is stillness, but in the stillness there is alertness and heightened sensitivity.

Finally, sometimes waiting is searching. Often waiting for opportunities is looking for them. Think of hailing a taxi. Sometimes you walk from a quiet street to a busy one where the taxi line forms. Even when you get there you must wait to intersect with the cab that is available, the right opportunity. So waiting should always be a blend of active body, right attitude, and acute awareness of opportunities and provisions God provides. The only waiting that is truly passive is that which leaves the waiter angst ridden and impatient.

This column originally appeared at WORLD News Group’s website ( wng.org ). Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2012 WORLD News Group. All rights reserved.

New Happy Rant: Plagiarism, Christians Ruin Fun, and What if We hosted Reality TV?

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

Plagiarism – why do people do this when it’s so easy not to and is it worse in this internet age?
How Christians ruin all the fun stuff (movies, sports, etc.) by think-piecing them to death and searching for “redemptive themes”
If each of us was to host a reality TV show what show would it be?

Big Thank you to our first sponsor this week, Waterbook Multnomah Publishers. They are highlighting the book In a Pit with A Lion on A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. It is is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture, a blessed and audacious act that left no regrets: “Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it” (2 Samuel 23:20 -21). Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn’t chase. You will look back longingly on risks not taken, opportunities not seized, and dreams not pursued. Stop running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.

And thank you to our second sponsor this week, Tyndale House Publishers. They are highlighting the book Next Door As It Is In Heaven by Lance Ford and Brad Briscoe. This book offers first principles and best practices to make our neighborhoods into places where compassion and care are once again part of the culture, where good news is once again more than words, and where the love of God can be once again rooted and established.

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 #99

2 Books Pastors Should Read – From H.B. Charles and Bob Russell

This summer Moody Publishers has released two excellent books by pastors for pastors, one by H.B. Charles and the other by Bob Russell. Each is practical, insightful, and humble. And both are books any pastor or aspiring pastor would benefit from reading.

On Pastoring

by H.B. Charles

A ministry compass. That’s how H.B. Charles describes On Pastoring. It’s not a manual of pastoring. It’s not a theology of the role of “pastor.” It’s a profound and practical resource to help pastors determine if they are on the right and faithful course.

In concise chapters full of real-life examples of both success and failure Charles charts the course for pastors. He emphasizes the heart and conviction a pastor must have rooted in scripture and keeping the main thing the main thing. But he doesn’t stop at saying “do this;” he shows the reader how by sharing practices and habits. He emphasizes character and congregational care, which is so rare in this day of church growth and platform building.

What stands out from this book is the humble honesty of Charles as he relays his own ups and downs and missteps. He doesn’t wallow. He doesn’t hold himself up as the paragon of pastoring. He simply lays out a path and shows where good footing is and bad. He encourages his fellow pastors, or those aspiring to be pastors, and challenges them with deep but foundational truths about the call on the pastor and the joys of being in ministry too. He warns of the challenges and highlights the joys.

On Pastoring is a book that experienced pastors will find to be a good status check. Young Pastors will encounter a map and trip guide for the journey ahead. Aspiring pastors will find an eye-opening, sobering, uplifting picture of what a pastor’s life and ministry hold. It is truly a rich and helpful book.

After 50 Years of Ministry

by Bob Russell

Every pastor needs a pastor and every young pastor needs an older past who can encourage and challenge him, from whom he can learn. After forty years of faithful ministry, ministry that can be deemed successful by every meaningful measure, Bob Russell is that man.

In After Fifty Years of Ministry Russell shares seven things he wishes he would differently, lessons on handling criticism, being kind, dealing with fear and insecurity, and fighting the temptation to compare. But Russell is not a man riddled with regret. Rather he is a seasoned pastor who recognizes his weaknesses and mistakes along the way and wants to help others avoid the same.

He’s also a man who loves the gospel and ministry, so he shares seven things he would do exactly the same if given the chance – things like emphasizing expository preaching, avoiding the temptation of celebrity, enjoying laughter and fun, and trusting his team. He shares stories of his successes and failures and offers practical advice throughout.

After Fifty Years of Ministry is a book rich with wisdom and practical advice for ministers at any stage, even those on the verge of retiring. (Russell shares pointed thoughts on how to transition out of a ministry well too.) Young pastors need this book and experienced pastors will be encouraged by it. It can serve as a litmus test for the ministry of all. Bob Russell is the pastor other pastors both want and need, a godly, humble, experienced man willing to share what He has learned over the years.

New Happy Rant: 80’s Life, Drisky Business, and Political Pastors

Before we get to anything you’ll note ce we have a new logo that we love. That is thanks to Josh Guilbeau of Reform Designs. Check out his Facebook page to see more of his work. In this episode of the Happy Rant podcast Ted Kluck, Ronnie Martin, and Barnabas Piper rant about the following:

Life in the 80’s especially fashion and music choices
Ronnie’s time in the CCM world
Drisky Business – He launched a new church!
Should pastors be political on social media even though common wisdom says not to be from the pulpit?

Big thanks to our sponsor this week, Tyndale House Publishers. They are highlighting the book Next Door As It Is In Heaven by Lance Ford and Brad Briscoe. This book offers first principles and best practices to make our neighborhoods into places where compassion and care are once again part of the culture, where good news is once again more than words, and where the love of God can be once again rooted and established.

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 #98

The 12 Best Quotes from The Emotionally Healthy Leader”

[image error]Pete Scazzero’s book The Emotionally Healthy Leader and his ministry, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, have shaped and rebuilt numerous church leaders across America. It is a practical and rich book the digs into the heart, the motivations, the history, and the inner life of the reader. On the 5 Leadership Questions podcast I co-host we heard time and agin from leaders we interviewed that this book was impacting them dramatically and that we ought to have Pete on with us. So we did, and it was a wonderful conversation. 

Here are 12 of the best quotes from The Emotionally Healthy Leader (and a few bonus quotes from the podcast too).

The Book

Spiritual Deficits typically reveal themselves in too much activity. Unhealthy leaders engage in more activities than their combined spiritual, physical, and emotional reserves can sustain. They give out for God more than they receive from Him.

Your shadow is the accumulation of untamed emotions, less-than-pure motives and thoughts that, while largely unconscious, strongly influence and shape your behaviors.

My word to singles is this: Don’t live like you’re waiting. Live the most fulfilled, joyful life you can now.

Whenever we find ourselves wanting the ministry impact of Jesus while simultaneously resisting spending time with Jesus, we are positioning ourselves for a beating.

The tendency to blindly sieve more opportunities for God has destroyed many a leader whose good intentions lacked a strong foundation in and with God.

[Many leaders] are terrified of what they will find inside themselves if they slow down . . . the terror of stopping reveals their emptiness.

On the Sabbath we embrace our limits.

God is not in a rush. He often moves more slowly than the timetable I have for my goals. In fact, I often discover He has different goals.

If you’re not concerned that your heart might become hard, it already is.

Limits are often God’s gift in disguise.

Minimally transformed leaders will always result in minimally transformed teams doing minimally transformed ministry.

Nothing takes place without an ending.

The Podcast

Who you are is more important than what you do.

Very often we’re stuck going forward because of stuff in the past we don’t want to look at.

Limits are a gift and an obstacle.

Marrieds need singles; singles need marrieds.

Great success in your early years is potentially a disaster for young leaders because you don’t have the inner life to support it.

You learn by failure; you don’t learn by successes.

An Unschooled (and Uncreative) Church

I recently listened to an episode of the TED Radio Hour podcast featuring Sir Ken Robinson, an author and brilliant thinker on all things creativity and education. In it he had this to say.

“Well, creativity is probably the most fundamental set of capacities that distinguishes us as human beings. And from it flows a whole range of practical capacities that we call creativity.

. . . in schools . . . the whole emphasis is on the one right answer; where imaginative thinking is actively discouraged . . .conformity affectively stifles creative thinking in every field.

. . . if you’re promoting an education where there’s only one right answer . . . that’s hardly a good climate for cultivating the powers of creativity and innovation.”

Robinson’s comments are striking, salient, and not just because they pin the American education style to the wall. They are striking because they reflect so much truth about God and His church.

Much has been written about the church imitating culture. Some of that focuses on morality or ethics and some points to a business-style management of churches. Let me add this to the list: the church imitates the education system. We do this in our calendars, our pulpits, and the teaching of our children (and occasionally in the church kitchen too, sadly.)

The traditional American church, of which I am a product, smacks of the very thing Robinson pinpoints; we squelch creativity by our insistence on form and right answers. So much of the teaching is a one way, one lane road from authority figure to congregant consisting solely of spoken propositional truths. The burden of absorption lies heavy on the listener, no matter his learning style.

But why should this be? We are a body of people who have that very quality Robinson refers to as that which “distinguishes us as human beings.” That is to say, we are made in the image of a creator God. We acknowledge unique human giftedness as a concept, but where is it expressed in the church? When the pastor preaches and the Sunday school teacher teaches, what is the visual or tactile learner to do? Just as the school system ought to revolutionize its methods to de-emphasize fact hording and answer mongering, so must the church.

We must develop a style that is conducive to various gifts by including expressions and exemplifications of God beyond simply lessons and songs. Even more importantly, we must create an atmosphere where “wrong answers” are accepted, not as truth, but in order to initiate a process that leads to the embracing of truth. We cannot give the figurative red X. Being graded in people’s minds for “right answers, participation, or attendance must go.

We are created as creatives, each of us in our own way. And the church should reflect this. God made us varied, so the church must create varied opportunities for people to both lead and learn. Let us not remain a standardized, answer-driven institution which squelches our innate creativity.

Read the Transcript of Robinson’s interview here. 

New Happy Rant: Hair Products, Short Term Missions, and a Legit Third Party Candidate

In the is episode of the Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas make up for lost time by cover various and sundry and widely varied topics including (not limited to) the following:

Hipster teas to keep you young
What hair products we use
Globe trotting, missions tourism, and all things short term missions trips
The presidential election
And a big announcement – we both nominate and endorse our own third party candidate

We are excited to announce Ted and Ronnie’s new book, The Bridezilla of Christ, that just came out. If you have not check this book out. It is excellent.

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 #97