Ted Kluck - The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Dont Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do)

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Instead of collecting endorsements from the many, many celebrities and influencers we know, which would be so humbling, we decided to use our significant platform for the good of others .

Charles Cross is a really smooth, natural, fluid-looking athlete. Pass sets and footwork look relatively effortless compared to some of his peers. Has a good sense of when to throw his hands to clamp/punch in pass pro and can easily reset and pick up another rusher. Theres some Rashawn Slater here, smoothness and build-wise. Sits down and anchors nicely against the bull. Only 21 years old. Even when a fast edge sinks in a rip, Cross has the feet to move with it and run him around the arc.

Ted Kluck, on Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross

Major shout-outs to all those who are #amwriting on social media right now. Never before have we been able to benefit from the vast number of people who are not only publishing new works in the marketplace but also #amwriting to the delight of millions of enraptured social media followers. Do your soul a favor and explore some #amwriting posts on social media today. Edification awaits.

Ronnie Martin, enthusiastic promoter of #amwriting posts

Nobody in the world is as overlooked in their own minds as Gen Xers, despite their ongoing vociferous efforts to be seen and heard. Their contributions to society (especially music) are completely forgotten. They hold no positions of influence. And they deserve better. Well, I see you, you beautiful, jaded, middle-aged generation. You matter for more than just your tax bracket, and The Happy Rant has your back.

Barnabas Piper, an Xennial

Two things Ive never been a huge fan of are tweets and tweets about the Super Bowl. But after reading Ronnie Martins annual Super Bowl tweet in its entirety, I am, at least momentarily, a huge fan of both. This tweet was everything a Super Bowl tweet should befun, hopeful, smug, challenging, and full of the kinds of condescending characters you see aspects of yourself in. And oddly, as a middle-aged father, I found myself being edified and encouraged by it as well.

Ted Kluck, on Ronnie Martins Super Bowl tweet circa 2022

Funny but thoughtful, witty but self-deprecating, and mysterious but transparent, Ronnie Martin fills in the gaps beautifully as he straddles that awkward space between two would-be sportscasters on evangelicalisms most loved podcast.

Ronnie Martin on Ronnie Martins place on the Happy Rant podcast

Dwell Bible is the best audio Bible app on the market. With listening plans, playlists, musical backgrounds, and numerous other features, it is the ideal way to engage Scripture in all the parts of life when reading is an impossibility. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Barnabas Piper, preeminent podcast promo reader and Dwell listener

Cheveus antediluvian history concept record takes the conventions of pop music and somewhat playfully and whimsically turns them on their heads. Is Caution to the Wind a song you might have heard in a Macys changing room circa 2012? It is. Reminiscent of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Bon Iver, Megadeth, Joni Mitchell, and Warrant, Cheveu promises to be a pop force to contend with for decades to comeor at least until Davis Smith graduates.

Ted Kluck on the pop single he cowrote with Davis Smith in 2021

Trogges, man.

Ronnie Martin, fan of Stephen Altrogge, Behold Our God

Few other musicians compare to Harry Connick Jr. because of his musical skill, his dashing charm, and the enjoyment he has offered across musical genres over the past three-plus decades. He was the first musician to make me fall in love with jazz. From solo piano, to swelling big-band numbers, to New Orleansinfluenced funk, to soulful gospel renditions, Connick tickles ears and brings joy to listeners. He is everything Michael Buble wishes he could be but simply cant achieve.

Barnabas Piper, avid jazz listener

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THE HAPPY RANT

Copyright 2022 by Ted Kluck, Ronnie Martin, and Barnabas Piper

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8532-1 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8533-8 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022931416

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T hese guys got a lot of nerve asking me to write this foreword for them. And a lot of courage. Theyve talked so much trash about me on their little radio show, giving me six hundred words with which to broadcast my delicious payback takes some guts. When youre evangelical C-listers, you dont have much to lose, I guess.

I started listening to The Happy Rant several years ago and immediately appreciated the guys unique blend of the petty with the profound in both reveling in and skewering our particular evangelical subculture-within-a-subculture. Ive always thought the best Christian satire is the kind thats able to maintain honesty and humor while not hating its object. This has become a much trickier feat to pull off in our hyper-polarized days. There are a lot of alleged Christians out there doing the whole mockery bit. Still more are trying their hand at social media parodies. But theyre either not funny orwell, not very Christian .