Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better

159 Pages·2016·0.72 MB·English

by  Brant Hansen

PRAISE FOR UNOFFENDABLE
“With his characteristic recipe of subversive humor and radical grace, Brant
effectively calls all-too-easily-offended followers of Jesus to a far less grumpy
witness and a whole lot less toxic faith. A good antidote to the dis-graced faith
we have become all too accustomed to.”
—Alan Hirsch
Award-winning author of ReJesus, The
Shaping of Things to Come, and Untamed
“In Unoffendable, Brant Hansen has
produced a small stick of dynamite to
throw into every crowd of complaining and
contentious Christians who have lost sight
of what Scripture teaches about the glory
of overlooking an offense. A much needed
book for the times.”
—Frank Viola
Author of God’s Favorite Place on Earth
and From Eternity to Here “I’m truly
excited about Unoffendable—not just for
the greater church that often seems stuck
on the Technicolor sins, but for my own
heart. Brant’s wisdom and stories are
beckoning for me to choose wonder,
gratitude, and hope over the entitlement
and judgment that is so tempting to sit in.”
—Charlie Lowell Jars of Clay and cofounder
of Blood:Water “If you choose to read this
book, you are choosing to enter the danger
zone. If you choose to embrace the core
message of this book, you will be freed to love
in dangerous ways. And if you are serious
about becoming more like Jesus, truly, then
about becoming more like Jesus, truly, then
devour this book ASAP and then shout
‘FREEDOM!’ from the top of your lungs.”
—Dale Brantner President/CEO, CURE
International “This book hurts so good.
“Its bold kindness hit me like a gospel bomb. If you like feeling better than
other people, you will not like this book.”
—Mike Donehey
Tenth Avenue North
“For years many of us have begged Brant Hansen to write a book. Finally, he
has. Unoffendable was worth the wait. With humor and wisdom, Brant pushes us
to follow hard after Jesus and doesn’t let us off the hook with easy followerism.
He calls us to drink from and serve others from the fountain of grace.”
—Lance Ford
Author of UnLeader and Revangelical
“This book is an important and timely read
for everyone, rich or poor, black or white,
red or blue, young or old, male or female,
gay or straight, Christian or not. It is
enjoyable, easy to read, and challenges our
very souls with the love of Jesus on every
page.”
—Neil Cole
International speaker, church starter, and
author of Organic Church and Primal Fire
“On the radio, Brant is one of the most
engaging thinkers and communicators in
the country. I’m so glad to see his style
translates in book form in Unoffendable.
It’s fresh, joyful, freeing, and—in the very
best way—it challenges us to the core.”
—John Frost
Radio consultant, Goodratings Strategic
Services “Brant Hansen clearly hit it out of
the park with Unoffendable. This book will
help many, many people stop finding
offense and free them to live the lives they
are meant to live! This book is truly a gift.”
—Bill Yeargin
President/CEO, CorrectCraft Holding
Company

© 2015 Brant Hansen
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® ®
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . © 1973, 1978,
™
1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and
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Scriptures marked ESV are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), © 2001 by Crossway, a
publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995,
1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
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ISBN 978-0-529-12386-2 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hansen, Brant.
Unoffendable : how just one change can make all of life better / Brant Hansen.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-529-12385-5 (trade paper)
1. Anger—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Choice (Psychology)—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Forgiveness—Religious
aspects—Christianity. I. Title.
BV4627.A5H36 2015
234'.5—dc23
2014035483
15 16 17 18 19 RRD 5 4 3 2 1
15 16 17 18 19 RRD 5 4 3 2 1
To all those who want grace for themselves but
struggle to extend it to others.
Wait: that’s everybody.
CONTENTS
1. Being Unoffendable: The Ridiculous Idea
2. Everyone’s an Idiot but Me
3. Six Billion Rings
4. Artists See Things
5. Bert and Ernie and Satan
6. Beautiful Exceptions
7. The World’s Worst Bedtime Story
8. Ain’t You Tired?
9. Reverend of the Dumpster
10. Idea: Let’s Punch Brant in the Face
11. Atheists, Socialists, and Toast
12. Anger’s Fun—Except for the Boiling, Blazing,
and Burning Part
13. The Big Question: What About Injustice?
14. This Is the Chapter About How We’re Just Barely
Smart Enough to Be Stupid
15. Nothing Left to Lose
16. And Here’s the Chapter I Kept Putting Off . . .
17. We’re All Waiting for Something . . . That
Already Happened
18. On Winning—and by “Winning,” I Mean, of
Course, Losing
19. The World’s Worst Neighbor
20. Imbalanced? You Better Hope So
21. I Can Worship a God Like That
22. Here’s the Part Where I Talk About Some Danish
People
23. Forget Danish People—Let’s Talk About Your
Elbow
24. And Lo, the Kingdom of God Is Like a Terrible
Football Team
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author