The Happy Rant

By Happy Rant

What's The Happy Rant about?

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 #458 - Diamonds in ...

09.22.2023

In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of stories about our high school days: Navigating Christian high school Figuring out affluence High school personas Coming of age stories Being self-conscious vs. being self-aware ...

The Happy Rant episodes:

09.22.2023 Episode #458 - Diamonds in the Rough In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of stories about our high school days: Navigating Christian high school Figuring out affluence High school personas Coming of age stories Being self-conscious vs. being self-aware ...
09.14.2023 Episode #457 - Wisdom is Wasted on the Young In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics just like the old days: Advice for folks transitioning out of college to the real world Having courage in new circumstances Having patience in ...
09.04.2023 Episode #456 - The Well Runneth Vintage In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics just like the old days: Things we miss that don't exist any more Music labels/publishers vs. self-release or publication The lifespan of new books ...
08.31.2023 Episode #455 - Heard, Chef! In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through the glory of the show The Bear: The Bear as an ode to Chicago and perfectly presenting Chicago characters The nearly perfect storytelling of The Bear A show about ...
08.24.2023 Episode #454 - Bucket Lists, Money, and Travel In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics just like the old days: Where are we going from here? Future podcast ideas and possibilities Bucket lists: flippant thing or fulfillment before we ...
08.17.2023 Episode #453 - Vintage Hate In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics just like the old days: Early blog days that launched careers and spawned comment section wars How come some pastors get weird on social ...
08.10.2023 Episode #452 - Fly Fishing, Poker, and Dream Retirement Jobs In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Ronnie the outdoorsman A River Runs Through It and the late 90s Christian fly fishing boom The male attraction to poker nights Having purpose in ...
08.03.2023 Episode #451 - Barbenheimer, Elon's Folly, and Does Seminary Matter? In this episode Ronnie and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Live show nostalgia - a look back The Barbenheimer phenomenon--how did this happen and why it's kind of great So, Elon Musk is ruining twitter ...
07.27.2023 Episode #450 - Preaching Failures, Normal Things That Used to be Weird, and Memory-Making Parents preaching, parenting, nostalgia, 80s. pastors, fathering, dads,
07.20.2023 Episode #449 - Threads, Flat-Footed Preaching, and Christian Books We Need (CORRECTED) In this episode Ronnie and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: First impressions of Threads Is Threads the social media platform to save all platforms? Our propensity to expect the next thing to be a better ...
07.13.2023 Episode #448 - Travel Complaints and a HISTORIC Announcement In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a couple topics and then make a very significant announcement in the life of our show: Pastors and social media travel freak-outs When did this start? When will ...
07.06.2023 Episode #447 - Appreciating Tim Keller In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a remembrance and appreciation of Tim Keller
06.29.2023 Episode #446 - Books, Vigilantes, and Romance In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Books that everyone loves that you dislike or don't get The most ripped-off Christian authors Books that turned us on to writing Guilty pleasure books ...
06.22.2023 Episode #445 - Denominations are Fun In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Denominational convention fun in New Orleans and Memphis The non-denomination denomination How different denominations do smugness Palatable vs. unpalatable pretensions Zoom backgrounds by denomination ...
06.15.2023 Episode #444 - Books That Shaped Us and Slippery Slopes In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Books that shaped us as children Books that have shaped us this year Our families' relationship with TV Slippery slope TV shows Fight Club ...
06.08.2023 Episode #443 - Spending by Age, Fashion Arcs, and the Fame Effect In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Our spending arc by age and stage The dad fashion arc People's relationship with photos How fame effects relationships Old models of fame vs. new ...
05.31.2023 Episode #442 - Adult Boredom and Middle-Aged Motivation In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: What does boredom look like and feel like as an adult? Do boring people know they are boring? How do we escape boring interactions? ...
05.25.2023 Episode #441 - The Danger of Affirmation, Almost Repentance, and Difficult Apologies In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: The danger of telling someone "good job" Almost repentance and reconciliation in stories Apologies are never easy Balancing fallenness and repentance in story telling For ...
05.18.2023 Episode #440 - Food and Movie Mount Rushmore In this episode Ted and Ronnie wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Food Movie Mt. Rushmore Artists and their relationships with critics The idol of Creative Control How Ted never does the third ad break as a ...
05.12.2023 Episode #439 - Replacement Communities, Cruises, and Air BnB Aesthetics In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Middle aged pastor personas online Fill-in communities for church The Cruise experience Air BnB aesthetics: so creative they're the same everywhere Is it possible to ...
05.04.2023 Episode #438 - Great Business Stories, Office Aesthetics, and Alan Greenspan In this episode Ted and Ronnie wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Great American business stories: The Happy Rant and Nike. Ted is Alan Greenspan “Air” tried hard to be “Moneyball” and “Jerry Maguire” but fell short ...
04.27.2023 Episode #437 - Vacation is Hard Work In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Parents at high school sporting events The work it takes to go on vacation Different styles of vacation The nautical life - manhood tests, new ...
04.20.2023 Episode #436 - Damon, Affleck, "Air", and Death Scenes In this episode Ted and Ronnie wander to and fro through a variety of topics: The movie, Air, and the work of Damon and Affleck What if Damon and Affleck partner with us on a movie project? Downton Abbey, the ...
04.18.2023 Episode #435 - Church Imitating Culture, Goblin Mode, and the Nuance of Anxiety In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Everything is grim and nothing is funny Is the church 7-10 years behind culture or 70 years behind it? How the church can respond ...
04.06.2023 Episode #434 - Twenty Year Perspectives Looking Backward and Forward In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: How would your 20-year-old self view your current self? How did we find our way into our gifts and callings? Where do we see ...
03.30.2023 Episode #433 - Remembering Ourselves: The Gen X Show In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Quintessential Gen X movies The Gen X ethos of opposing baby boomers Gen X icons (living and dead) Misery as a brand Anxiety is ...
03.23.2023 Episode #432 - Middle Aged Birthdays the Most Millennial Movie In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Middle aged birthdays: the moods, celebrations, and gifts that make them awful or wonderful Why La La Land is the MOST millennial movie How we ...
03.16.2023 Episode #431 - Millennial Movies, Casual Profanity, and Self-Conscious Consumption In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Why Millennial movies kind of stink The rise of casual profanity Self-conscious story telling The millennial love of irony Consumption as a persona builder ...
03.09.2023 Episode #430 - Gen Z and Digital Communication In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Gen Z stinks at tech support Gen Z and email Dealing with texts from non-friends Gen Z can't do humor Gen Z as elite ...
03.02.2023 #429 - Questions Questions Everywhere This episode includes all the usual wandering to and fro, but in a very different way than usual: it includes every single one of the live Q&A;'s that Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas have done since 2017. So sit back, relax, ...
02.23.2023 Episode #428 - Pastor Websites, the Asbury Revival, and Social Media Ministers In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: What other posters need a "Clearly Reformed" website? (Tim Keller, Matt Chandler, Steve Furtick, Francis Chan, Andy Stanley, Carl Truman, etc.) Violated reality Asbury ...
02.20.2023 Introducing: March or Die If you enjoy listening to Happy Rant, we've got another great show that you'll want to add to your playlist. Let us introduce you to March or Die, hosted by Jeremy Stalnecker! Jeremy's show seeks to help listeners answer one ...
02.16.2023 Episode #427 - Satanic Performances, Clearly Reformed, and Birthday Requests In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: The Satanic Grammys and Satan's big trick Reformed reactions to the Grammy's BREAKING NEWS: Kevin DeYoung is Clearly Reformed Birthday requests for grown ups ...
02.09.2023 Episode #426 - Counseling Tom Brady and ChatGPT for Preachers In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Tom Brady's retirement and Jared C. Wilson's grief How we would counsel Tom Brady A little shameless self-promotion How ChatGPT will affect ministry and ...
02.02.2023 Episode #425 - Porn, Confession, and Outlooks on Life by Decade In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Why is porn the only sin men talk about any more? Why reformed people often struggle to talk about heart stuff How we avoid ...
01.26.2023 Episode #424 - Keeping Up With New Things, Awkward Conversations, and Bad Names for Theologians In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety ion topics: What new things do we still try to keep up with? The performative aspects of keeping up with new things Fullbacks and casseroles Extricating ...
01.19.2023 Episode #423 - Apple Watches, Pastor Fashion, and Doing Dad Things In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: Pastors and Apple Watches (and John Piper's mishap) Preaching motions, gesticulations, and mobility How pastoral fashion affects pastoral output What it looks like for ...
01.12.2023 Episode #422 - New Years Resolutions and Movie Plot Devices 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 ...
12.22.2022 Episode #421 - Litigating Christmas 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 Barnabas - What does one do ...
12.15.2022 Episode #420: Year-End Book List Lineup 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.) ...
12.08.2022 Episode #419: Churches and Christmas: The Great Debate 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 Christmas 2. Deviating from a sermon series for Advent 3. Variations ...
12.01.2022 Episode #418: Pastor Voices and Wanting to be Liked In this episode of The Happy Rant, Ted and Ronnie wander to and fro through a variety of topics: 1. Pastor voices 2. How does a pastor come across authentically from the pulpit? 3. Fake intellectual pastors and theological verbiage ...
11.25.2022 Episode #417: We Are Professional Readers (3 Free Chapters of Our Audiobook) 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 ...
11.17.2022 Episode #416 - Advent Books and What Men Actually Need in the Church 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 Fitness 2) Are men ...
11.10.2022 Episode #415: Mad About Christmas (and Everything Else) 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 ...
11.03.2022 Episode #414 - Growing Up in Church and Growing Out of Cage Stage Calvinism 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 thing 2. Our stories of growing up in the church 3. Growing out of ...
10.27.2022 Episode #413: Halloween Shenanigans and the Enneagram 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 up 2. Ronnie’s experience at a college football game 3. ...
10.20.2022 Episode #412: Jesus’s PR Campaign, Viral Kindness, and Therapy Filling in for Church In this episode of The Happy Rant Ronnie and Barnabas, sans Ted, wander to and fro through a variety of topics: 1. Jesus apparently needs a $100 million PR campaign 2. But does Jesus want a PR campaign? Will it ...
10.13.2022 Episode #411: How Teens View Parents, Boring Adults, and Online Genuineness In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Barnabas, sans Ronnie, wander to and fro through a variety of topics: 1. Observations on how teens view their parents 2. How adults get boring 3. What’s the deal with Ronnie’s ...
10.06.2022 Episode #410: Elvis, Journey, and the Energy of Rock Music Movies In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted and Ronnie sans Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of topics: 1. Baz Luhrman’s Elvis movie 2. Do we really care about Elvis? 3. The delightful energy of rock music ...

Older episodes

The Happy Rant

What's The Happy Rant about?

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The Happy Rant episodes:

Episode #458 - Diamonds in the Rough

Episode #457 - Wisdom is Wasted on the Young

Episode #456 - The Well Runneth Vintage

Episode #455 - Heard, Chef!

Episode #454 - Bucket Lists, Money, and Travel

Episode #453 - Vintage Hate

Episode #452 - Fly Fishing, Poker, and Dream Retirement Jobs

Episode #451 - Barbenheimer, Elon's Folly, and Does Seminary Matter?

Episode #450 - Preaching Failures, Normal Things That Used to be Weird, and Memory-Making Parents

Episode #449 - Threads, Flat-Footed Preaching, and Christian Books We Need (CORRECTED)

Episode #448 - Travel Complaints and a HISTORIC Announcement

Episode #447 - Appreciating Tim Keller

Episode #446 - Books, Vigilantes, and Romance

Episode #445 - Denominations are Fun

Episode #444 - Books That Shaped Us and Slippery Slopes

Episode #443 - Spending by Age, Fashion Arcs, and the Fame Effect

Episode #442 - Adult Boredom and Middle-Aged Motivation

Episode #441 - The Danger of Affirmation, Almost Repentance, and Difficult Apologies

Episode #440 - Food and Movie Mount Rushmore

Episode #439 - Replacement Communities, Cruises, and Air BnB Aesthetics

Episode #438 - Great Business Stories, Office Aesthetics, and Alan Greenspan

Episode #437 - Vacation is Hard Work

Episode #436 - Damon, Affleck, "Air", and Death Scenes

Episode #435 - Church Imitating Culture, Goblin Mode, and the Nuance of Anxiety

Episode #434 - Twenty Year Perspectives Looking Backward and Forward

Episode #433 - Remembering Ourselves: The Gen X Show

Episode #432 - Middle Aged Birthdays the Most Millennial Movie

Episode #431 - Millennial Movies, Casual Profanity, and Self-Conscious Consumption

Episode #430 - Gen Z and Digital Communication

#429 - Questions Questions Everywhere

Episode #428 - Pastor Websites, the Asbury Revival, and Social Media Ministers

Introducing: March or Die

Episode #427 - Satanic Performances, Clearly Reformed, and Birthday Requests

Episode #426 - Counseling Tom Brady and ChatGPT for Preachers

Episode #425 - Porn, Confession, and Outlooks on Life by Decade

Episode #424 - Keeping Up With New Things, Awkward Conversations, and Bad Names for Theologians

Episode #423 - Apple Watches, Pastor Fashion, and Doing Dad Things

Episode #422 - New Years Resolutions and Movie Plot Devices

Episode #421 - Litigating Christmas

Episode #420: Year-End Book List Lineup

Episode #419: Churches and Christmas: The Great Debate

Episode #418: Pastor Voices and Wanting to be Liked

Episode #417: We Are Professional Readers (3 Free Chapters of Our Audiobook)

Episode #416 - Advent Books and What Men Actually Need in the Church

Episode #415: Mad About Christmas (and Everything Else)

Episode #414 - Growing Up in Church and Growing Out of Cage Stage Calvinism

Episode #413: Halloween Shenanigans and the Enneagram

Episode #412: Jesus’s PR Campaign, Viral Kindness, and Therapy Filling in for Church

Episode #411: How Teens View Parents, Boring Adults, and Online Genuineness

Episode #410: Elvis, Journey, and the Energy of Rock Music Movies

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