The Happy Rant
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The Happy Rant

Barnabas Piper, Ronnie Martin and Ted Kluck
Barnabas Piper, Ted Kluck, and Ronnie Martin cheerfully - if sarcastically - rant about all the things that don't matter all that much (and some that do).
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Episode #422 - New Years Resolutions and Movie Plot Devices
January 12, 2023 - 46 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:What New Year's resolutions are the best for being pretentious and superior?A draft of the best movie plot and character devices and why we love themFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #421 - Litigating Christmas
December 22, 2022 - 23 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:Ted has a big confession and needs help litigating it from Ronnie and BarnabasWhat does one do when one has NO CHRISTMAS TREEPiper Family Christmas decorationsFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #420: Year-End Book List Lineup
December 15, 2022 - 33 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1. How year-end book lists are planned and put together (make it about me, posture a bit, be well-rounded, etc.)2. Incorporating theology, history, Wendell Berry, biographies, and more3. Barnabas and Ronnie's year-end book list line-up from 1-9For more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #419: Churches and Christmas: The Great Debate
December 8, 2022 - 30 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1. The outrage and controversy over churches meeting on Christmas2. Deviating from a sermon series for Advent3. Variations in Church Christmas decorations4. Christmas pastor attireSanta as a type of ChristFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #418: Pastor Voices and Wanting to be Liked
December 1, 2022 - 40 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant, Ted and Ronnie wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1. Pastor voices2. How does a pastor come across authentically from the pulpit?3. Fake intellectual pastors and theological verbiage4. Wanting to be liked vs. wanting to appear smartFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #417: We Are Professional Readers (3 Free Chapters of Our Audiobook)
November 25, 2022 - 66 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas do something a little different. Instead of wandering to and fro they offer up three free chapters from the audiobook of The Happy Rant.Chapter 1: Evangelical Fame (We do weird stuff with Christian celebrity.)Chapter 8: Evangelical Money Guilt (Why are Christians so weird about money?)Chapter 14: Manly Men (What is manhood? What makes a good man?)For more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #416 - Advent Books and What Men Actually Need in the Church
November 17, 2022 - 51 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1) The big three for men in the church (according to a tweeter): Money, Sex, and Fitness2) Are men actually leaving the church? 3) What men actually need in church4) Learning leadership rightFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #415: Mad About Christmas (and Everything Else)
November 10, 2022 - 37 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1. Why are people so aggressive about when they start Christmas?2. Identity everything - claiming and defending holidays or anything else3. When is aggression the right response to anything?4. Holding your ground vs. being an aggressive jerk5. How the insistence of having a take feeds aggression and angerFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #414 - Growing Up in Church and Growing Out of Cage Stage Calvinism
November 3, 2022 - 48 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1. The death of cool as a thing2. Our stories of growing up in the church3. Growing out of cage stage calvinism4. Post Young, Restless Reformed churchFor more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode #413: Halloween Shenanigans and the Enneagram
October 27, 2022 - 38 min
In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics:1. Our feelings about Halloween and experiences with it growing up2. Ronnie’s experience at a college football game3. Halloween costumes by enneagram numbers4. Why we love writing (especially since we’ve griped about it a lot)For more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don’t Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
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Meet Your Hosts
Meet Your Hosts
Barnabas Piper is an assistant pastor at Immanuel Church in Nashville and is the author of several books and multiple small group studies including—Help My Unbelief, Hoping for Happiness, and Ecclesiastes: Finding Meaning in a World of Passing Pursuits. He has contributed to numerous websites and publications and writes regularly for He Reads Truth. Piper speaks at churches and conferences around the country and lives in the Nashville area with his wife and two daughters.

Meet Your Hosts
Ronnie Martin is the Lead Pastor of Substance Church (EFCA), which he planted, in Ashland, Ohio. He is also the Director of Leader Renewal for Harbor Network and has authored six books, including The God Who Is With Us: A 25 Day Advent Devotional (coming Oct. 2022 on B&H). Ronnie and his wife, Melissa, regularly speak to church leaders.
Meet Your Hosts
Ted Kluck has written for ESPN the Magazine, USA Today, Sports Spectrum Magazine, and ESPN.com Page 2. Ted has authored or co-authored several books including Facing Tyson: 15 Fighters, 15 Stories, Paper Tiger: One Athlete's Journey to the Underbelly of Pro Football, Why We're Not Emergent (by Two Guys Who Should Be), and Why We Love the Church. In 2010 Ted founded Gut Check Press, a small publishing house, where he holds the title Co-Founder and Secretary of the Interior. Ted also co-hosts The Happy Rant Podcast, The Gut Check Podcast, and Kluck. He has played professional indoor football, coached high school football, trained as a professional wrestler, served as a missionary and teaches journalism at Union University. Ted lives in Jackson, TN, with his wife and two sons. He's a frequent speaker at conferences and events.
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