How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better

I absolutely loved this book. It impacted the way my wife and I approach the world and people in general, and has helped both of us to appreciate what God has given us more than ever before. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Didn't consider myself unoffendable. After reading this book, I realized I was! Brant gives such incredible, biblical advice mixed in with stories that will make you cry and laugh. Can't recommend this book enough!

I listen to Brant Hansen on his christian music radio show here in Cincinnati on my morning commute, and that's where I first heard of this book. Brant has such a different reality on the way he looks at life, but is just so wise. His cool, easy, laid back approach is truly comforting. Every single thing in this book speaks to me. Advice, insight, discernment, and a little wry humor all along the way. He is by far, on the top of my "Most Intriguing People List" and I just love his easy way. What this book says is a concept that ALL of us should be living by: don't worry about what the other guy does, concentrate on the positive things that are set before you. This book will change how you see the world, and that's a VERY good thing!

Unoffendable has messed me up in a very good way. Life changing lessons presented in a practical and often humorous style. I found myself challenged to change and see life through a Kingdom lense. Highly recommend!

Buying a copy for several family members. Wish EVERYONE would read and subscribe to this way of living. Am a fan of his radio show and could just hear him reading this book. Thank you for this book Brant!

I've always loved listening to Brant Hanson on the airwaves, and it is as easy to read his written word as it was to hear his radio show. His humble, loving heart continues to be revealed in his book, which to me is a hallmark of someone with a true walk with Christ. This book is so appreciated, a breath of fresh air when it seems nearly everyone is so immediately offended about something.

The basis of this book is quite simple, be unoffendable. It is the life Jesus lived on Earth and the one that His followers should embrace. What Brant has done is give us the scriptural basis for living this life. Additionally, the examples of people living and not living the unoffendable life were moving and gave me lots of food for thought. Thanks.

The author tells the same useful stories in this book that he shares on air at WAY-FM. He points us back toward being childlike, trusting and loving the Heavenly Father. It is hard to be offended, he says, when we intentionally start each day with the thought that it is not about us!

Wow.
BUY. THIS. BOOK.
I thought I truly loved others. This has opened up my eyes to an entirely different way to love them. It has shown me a fresh look at grace from an ordinary person's perspective. Brant Hansen is just a normal guy who loves Jesus. And toast. I can't wait to read it again!

One of the very best books I have read in a long time! Brant has a great writing style combined with a wry sense of humor that makes this a fun read as well as VERY thought provoking! I've already given four copies away and am getting ready to order more!

The basis of this book is quite simple, be unoffendable. It is the life Jesus lived on Earth and the one that His followers should embrace. What Brant has done is give us the scriptural basis for living this life. Additionally, the examples of people living and not living the unoffendable life were moving and gave me lots of food for thought. Thanks.

The author tells the same useful stories in this book that he shares on air at WAY-FM. He points us back toward being childlike, trusting and loving the Heavenly Father. It is hard to be offended, he says, when we intentionally start each day with the thought that it is not about us!

Wow.
BUY. THIS. BOOK.
I thought I truly loved others. This has opened up my eyes to an entirely different way to love them. It has shown me a fresh look at grace from an ordinary person's perspective. Brant Hansen is just a normal guy who loves Jesus. And toast. I can't wait to read it again!

One of the very best books I have read in a long time! Brant has a great writing style combined with a wry sense of humor that makes this a fun read as well as VERY thought provoking! I've already given four copies away and am getting ready to order more!

A MUST READ. This is the best book I've read in 2016 (so far). I've bought 8 copies (so far) to give away - and I keep giving away my own copy - and keep giving it away. I just ordered another copy today. It is imperative that everyone read this book. It speaks to our times more than any other book - our times, when people are upset over everything and everybody - when people are flaming on Facebook, raging on twitter, knee-jerking to everything everyone else says. If ever there was a message the world needed to hear, this is it!!!

Absolutely fabulous! This book should be on everyone's list. Easy, fast reading, and extremely educational as well as entertaining.
This should be required reading for everyone. Anyone interested in effective communication with others will love it.

Funny, inspiring and thought provoking.
I don't rate things or books much sorry...I did enjoy the book and downloaded the narration. I commute to work and the audio let me continue to "read" while on the bus or in the car. Thanks for the book Brant, it came at a good, friggin hectic, time. "-)

Brant Hansen says that we have no right to be angry. It’s not our job to “set people straight” or “take a stand:”

“God ‘needs’ nothing. Quit trying to parent the whole world. Quit offering advice when exactly zero people asked for it. Quit being shocked when people don’t share your morality....Quit thinking you need to ‘discern’ what others’ motives are….It’s all so exhausting.”

There’s no such thing, he writes, as “righteous anger.” Our anger isn’t righteous. To think that our anger is righteous is to assume that our beliefs and motives are always right, and the other person’s are wrong.

“If this is, in fact, what we’re supposed to do—experience ‘righteous anger’ whenever we’re made aware of one of God’s commands being broken—we’ll be precisely what the world doesn’t need and largely believes we already are: a bunch of uptight, seething hypocrites.”

Hansen is clear that he’s not saying we should ignore injustice. But we should act against injustice, not get angry about it. And we should act out of love, not anger.

“What the world needs, I think you’ll agree, is not a group of people patting themselves on the back for being angry. We need people who actually act to set things right.”

Here’s the great thing, according to Hansen. Choosing to not be offended will make our life better. Giving up our perceived right to anger will make us happier and healthier. And will probably make people take us more seriously. No one wants to be around an angry, judgmental person.

Hansen’s writing style is clear and simple. His book is expertly written. His logic is perfect. He’s funny. He’s not preachy or judgmental, even toward the judgmental. His book is excellent. And, I think, this sums it up:

“Love people where they are, and love them boldly. And if you really want to go crazy, like them too.”

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Possibly the book was built up too large for me before I ever started reading it. It brings out good thoughts toward not letting others and the world around you shape who you are. I found myself reading but not actually consuming it's message. Good sermon or book study fodder. I was told the book would change my life..It didn't.

There are a few nuggets but it doesn't take much rat poison to kill. His message in a nutshell: Dont worry about being righteous and all that sin stuff. If you obey God that is bad. Just get along and love people and Jesus by your own definition of love. The rest will sort itself out in the wash. We have a world to change and this message keeps everything the same. Even atheists can love people and feed the homeless. Obedience is true trust according to my Bible, that is what truly changes everything.

The author’s views are typically founded in the taught, organized theology and NOT based on accurate translation/meaning of the Scriptures, thus perpetuating the unhealthy, dysfunctional “religious” person. If anger was not meant to be felt or expressed (hopefully appropriately) God would not have given us the emotion in the first place. Don’t take my word, or any one’s word about this, or any thing else, including the author of this book. Search, and try the scriptures, seek the Holy Spirit’s understanding of The Word. Let His Truth be your guide.

I confess to being one of those easily offended, sometimes angry Christians so for the most part, this book had a message I needed to hear. Not to mention that it gets downright tiring trying to be Holy Spirit Junior and take it on myself to correct all the wrongs in the world, whether directed at me personally or not, as if God doesn't have it all under control.

I admit I started reading cautiously because I didn't want to be told to be a Pollyanna in the face of sin and injustice as if such things don't matter. By the end of the book I could see that Hansen wasn't suggesting that we not take sin or injustice seriously or that we can never defend ourselves, what is right, or the gospel. What he is suggesting is that we can do all those things but don't need to do it "angry" and don't need to take the wrongdoings of others personally. In fact, he makes the point that most of what we get angry or offended about are either things that are completely out of our control to remedy or actions that are not directed at us personally yet we choose to make it all about us. This was something I needed to hear and gives me motivation to actively seek to turn off the "offended" reaction that comes all too naturally. Especially while driving. Just saying.

What I don't completely agree with is that there is never, ever a justification for anger. The bible mostly speaks of anger as a negative thing that is to be avoided but it also has some examples of anger that God did not condemn (Jesus overthrowing the tables in the temple, Moses destroying the ten commandments the first time when he found his people worshiping an idol, contention between Peter and Paul over an issue, etc.). It could be that sometimes the reason for anger is justified but hanging on to the anger is not as we let go of it and let the Lord take care of the situation.

This book has given me much to think about and pray about as I seek to take my thoughts and reactions captive and not allow offense and anger to become my default response to circumstances and people. Living in perpetual anger and offense only hurts me emotionally, physically and spiritually and shows a lack of faith that God is in control. That is the main message I took away from reading it.

I received this book from the publisher for review through the BookLook Bloggers program, but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicited, nor was a positive review required..

Ah, if only there was a sixth star ... because that's the one I'd give this book on the rating scale!

What a truly refreshing book to read! These are thoughts and feelings I've had for years. In fact, I believe the Holy Spirit has even whispered to me of some of these truths. For a long time I have felt that there is something wrong with taking offense, most especially in Christians. I couldn't quite put it into words, even for myself, but this book does it for me, beautifully and clearly.

Hansen tells us that taking offense is a choice. Those feelings may crop up, but (as always) they stem from the anger or annoyance over things not going our way, over someone not believing the way we believe or speaking the way we think they should speak. When you look at it that way ... um, selfish much?! What right have we to make those demands of others? None whatsoever. We must choose to forgo a "right" that we never even had a right to in the first place. Vengeance is God's. That includes vengeful feelings and offenses. Let it go.

Jesus Himself modeled the correct behavior to us, if we have the eyes to see it. No matter what situation He was in, no matter what moral mess he witnessed, He was never taken aback by it. So why should we be?

"Perhaps a big part of being less offendable is seeing the human heart for what it is: Untrustworthy. Unfaithful. Prone to selfishness. Got it. Now we don't have to be so shocked." (Brant Hansen)

We are to be a light to the world. How can we do that if we are taking offense (basically an alternative way of being selfish) at every turn? Are we going to finally going to get serious about "turning the other cheek"? Or are we going to continue living as toddlers who shout "but it's not FAIR!"? I certainly know which I want to do.

What an inspiration to read something like this book. It's something I needed to hear. It's something every Christian in the world needs to hear. And not only hear, but live by from here on out.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Before reading UNOFFENDABLE: HOW JUST ONE CHANGE CAN MAKE ALL OF LIFE BETTER, I didn’t know anything about Brant Hansen other than what was written on the back cover of the book. Now, I not only know more about my brother in Christ, but I know more about myself, too. UNOFFENDABLE is exactly what I needed to push me into a change I’ve been mulling over for years but had so often reasoned my way out. Brant hit me in the gut right from the start, responding to his own title in much the same way I did (“Yeah, right.”), and then convincing me by the sixth page of the absurdity of my being offended and “righteous anger,” as it is so often called. The next two hundred pages were yummy gravy…and mashed potatoes…and more gravy…and more potatoes. The point: it’s good—really good.

Brant shares his experience and that of others in a way that is disarming and inviting. He offends himself so you don’t have to, preemptively attacking his own arguments along the way and then addressing them to further demonstrate how we shouldn’t hold on to anger and offense when they pop up. It felt like I was hanging out with him on his porch while he shared how he has been able to let things go and live much more easily (though still growing) the life of love and forgiveness asked of us by our Lord.

Though he says he’s not a pacifist, what Brant has to say only reinforces and (I imagine) will help me better live out that position (because of Christ). I can only imagine that, if taken seriously and to its logical conclusion (which Brant likes!), he will eventually come to that table, too. (Brant: Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.)

If you’ve ever found yourself justifying anger or offense (everyone), I recommend you read this book. Seriously, I think I’m going to start buying and handing out copies!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better by Brant Hansen is very highly recommended life changing book. Today I am choosing to not be offended.

Hansen, in a very accessible, conversational style full of self-deprecating humor, draws the attention of Christians to a Biblical truth that we may be ignoring. We need to deliberately choose to not be angry, even righteous anger, and not take offense. We need to take a step forward in our faith and walk with God and choose to be unoffendable.

Hansen writes, "Not only can we choose to be unoffendable; we should choose that. We should forfeit our right to be offended. That means forfeiting our right to hold on to anger. When we do this, we’ll be making a sacrifice that’s very pleasing to God. It strikes at our very pride. It forces us not only to think about humility, but to actually be humble."

As humans we actually like to be angry. Anger offers us a sense of moral superiority. The problem is when anger takes up residence in our hearts. We need to do what Dr. Martin Luther King recommended: "recognize injustice, grieve it, and act against it - but without rage, without malice, and without anger." Learning to let things go, not take offense, not make it personal, is the biggest hurdle we face. Often whatever we are scandalized over or upset about doesn't even have anything to do with us; it's someone else's behavior.

If we can manage to not be offended and keep a mindset of gratitude life will go much better for us. "Because that’s the thing about gratitude and anger: They can’t coexist. It’s one or the other. One drains the very life from you. The other fills your life with wonder. Choose wisely." And if you are constantly being offended it might be time to honestly evaluate your inflamed ego. If you can have an attitude of gratitude and humility, you will quite naturally be less easily offended.

Hansen summarizes that, "Choosing to be unoffendable means choosing to be humble. Not only that, the practice teaches humility. Once you’ve decided you can’t control other people; once you’ve reconciled yourself to the fact that the world, and its people, are broken; once you’ve realized your own moral failure before God; once you’ve abandoned the idea that your significance comes from anything other than God, you’re growing in humility, and that’s exactly where God wants us all." "When we surrender our perceived “rights,” when we let go of our attempts to manipulate, we find—surprise!—joy." And wouldn't anyone choose joy over being angry and offended all the time?

This would be an excellent resource for a small group study or any individual who wants to break the easy-to-take-offense cycle that seems so common today. And, although this is firmly a Christian book, the world at large could do with a dose of being unoffendable. This is an eye-opening look at something most Christians know at some level but need to take that knowledge to heart. It's time to be unoffendable and acknowledge that God is in charge.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes.

The premise of this book is that Jesus Christ has taken your sin, shame, and guilt and nailed it to the cross. And because you have been forgiven so much you are free to walk in forgiveness of others. You are free to not have to hold on to burdens of anger and offense. You don't have to do God's job of holding someone to the fire to change their ways. The fact of the matter is: Grace changes hearts. People are drawn to Christ because He loves the unlovable and he reached out to the untouchables -- embracing lepers and eating with known sinners. For example, the "sinful" woman weeping at Jesus' feet in Luke 7, Jesus says of her, "Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little" (vs. 47). If we were to take notes on her behavior instead of the rest of those at that table pointing fingers and taking offense at her sin, how freeing would that be?

I highly recommend Brant Hansen's Unoffendable because it is story after story about gently reminding us of all of the crazy amount of love God has for us and what our response will be when we encounter a loving, compassionate Savior.

A quote from the book, "If we really believe [the Gospel], we'll be known for being less apt to criticize, slower to anger, more forgiving. We'll be known for being loving toward one another, because we now have the resources to do that. We've finally found what we've always wanted -- significance and security, directly from the only One who can really give us both: the King of kings" (page 133).

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by BookLook/Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review.]

It is fortunate that this book is written in such a warm and conversational, and genuinely self-effacing style. Since this book talks about a very contentious subject, taking a strong stance that Christians are not to indulge in anger or bitterness, especially what is considered “righteous anger,” it is fortunate that the author admits his own struggle with the biblical stance on anger, and pokes enough fun at himself in his stories to forestall the reader from getting any ideas that the author is self-righteous, or unconcerned with virtue in general. It is a wise decision to take, for it keeps the mood light on what could be a dangerously controversial book otherwise. This book manages to make strong points, and uncompromising points, with a great deal of credibility because the author pulls insights from scripture, science, and a lot of personal stories where the names have been omitted to protect the innocent and the guilty.

In terms of its structure the book has a lot of short chapters with comical titles that discuss Danish movies about pleasure, our stupidity as humans for being so easily terrified by our fears, or has some sort of ironic or self-mocking name that points to the subject material, including one chapter that talks about people wanting to punch him when he brags about his spirituality. The consistent mood of comedy helps keep the book light, which is fortunate because some of the stories are heartbreaking, including stories about death on a massive and deeply personal scale. The author manages to connect the issue of anger with worry and fear and trust and love, and with grace, and by combining so many essential issues into one examination, the point is clearly made that simply releasing anger and bitterness and resentment can make a major impact on many areas of life, from physical and relational health to salvation and one’s ability to get along with people and be an effective witness to God’s ways. It is a serious point, but one that goes down easily.

I figure at this point it is necessary to remind the reader of this review that I am by no means an expert at this. I get upset in traffic, I tend to hold grudges by nature, I get offended when people snub me or act rudely in public, even for silly things like not being hugged. I get terrified when attractive ladies circle me or hover near me but not wanting to talk to me. I’m not exactly a model of being unoffendable by any means. Nor am I a model of trusting God or other people very well. Nevertheless, like the author I consider it an important enough matter to struggle at it, no matter that I’m pretty inept at it at present. May it get easier with time to treat others graciously and not to hold any anger or resentment or feel frustration with human beings simply being human. God is certainly gracious enough with us all, after all.

Sometimes I’ve struggled with anger in my life. Anger feels powerful and it feels like it can change things when nothing else can. After an explosion of anger, however, I would leave off feeling convicted, guilty and sinful. Then, I would rationalize it. After all, my anger was righteous and it was okay. That was the message that I was picking up from culture, even the surrounding Christian culture. And in that way, my anger would be changed from a sin against God to a virtue that I had for God, even if I knew on the inside that it was still a sin.

And that’s the message that Brant Hansen has in his new book Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better. We have bought into a lie that anger is okay for Christians, and in believing this lie, we’ve placed ourselves on par with God himself as judge. So, what’s the solution?

According to Hansen, it involves letting go. Letting go of our need for control. Letting go of our need to be write. Letting go of the idea that we can know the hearts of men.

In addition to letting go , we need to learn to love like Jesus. When we can love people instead of condemning people, we will find ourselves showing the true love of Jesus and people won’t be able to help being drawn to God’s love through our love.

I found this book to have a really challenging and true message. I believe that we’re never showing the love that God wants us to show through the Holy Spirit in our lives when we’re in a position of anger and condemnation. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take action in our lives. Instead, it calls us to a life of richness and helping others, starting with those who are in our lives, and extending to the whole community. Then, we can truly change the world.

Disclosure: I received a complementary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get through this book. No, it's not written in a muddy or overly scholarly way. It's written in a way, and with a truth, that makes me want to go back and re-read each page over and over and over. It addresses something that has bothered me for a very, very long time. As Christians, aren't we supposed to love? Aren't we supposed to be good neighbors? Aren't we supposed to be the people that others will look upon and want to know what our wondrous secret is? Instead, I see so many angry Christians, angry people, and I don't want to be one of them. Oh, and some have Scripture to yield that shows they are correct in their righteous anger. But it never felt right in my heart. And the fact is, I have been one of them. I have let anger speak for me instead of love. And I've struggled, struggled so hard to overcome this anger. But Brett shows us a way out. Just be unoffendable. It's as easy and as hard as it sounds.

I've long listened to Brett and Sherri, first on Air1 and now via their totally awesome podcast. There is something about Brett that allows him to take the complicated and make it understandable. So many times I'm listening to those podcasts episodes, and I think he's talking direclty to me. Directly to my heart. It's a true gift he has. He backs it all up with Scripture.

One of my favorite passages reads:
"We think we want a right to "righteous anger." It takes a tremendous amount of humility, and extraordinary "dying to self" to hand over this desire, this job, this obsession, to God. But He made us, and He knows how we operate best. He says to hand it over."

Reading this book didn't change my heart overnight. But it's working, and I'm starting to reap the benefits. This is not a book that's going to go on my bookshelf to gather dust. I will re-read it again, and again, because the truth is I need this reminder. One day it will become part of my life fully, but until then, I'll rely on Brett for reminders. My greatest wish? That I could afford a hundred of these books, so I could just hand them out to everyone.

My favorite quote is the soon to be releasesed "Un-offendable" is:
"Choosing to be unoffendable not only helps me sleep at night rather than worrying about my latest online 'Stand for Truth'; it helps me remember that Jesus didn't even ask me to take a stand for truth on everything. He told His followers to go and make disciples. Make other followers.
And that takes patience with people. It takes me taking a deep breath and trusting that God has plans for, and even loves, the evil Bob371."
Even as we speak all over the internet there are people currently pending their own online "Stand for Truth", spending great amounts of time formulating the next argument that will silence their opponent. I've been there myself, having that feeling that I have to stand against the "wave of evil" that has just come across my facebook status feed, but Brant makes the point in here that God doesn't demand that we answer everything that comes across our path, that we have to be the lone warrior standing against the horribleness that we see before us. God has not placed that demand on us. Yes, there are times to stand for the truth, but it's God's place to put that prompting on us and He doesn't demand that we try to save the world with our cleverly typed words. We can't, but He can.
I definitely encourage you to take a look at this book as it's been a great challenge for me spiritually to give my anger over to Christ and replace it with his love as my motivation for what I do.

I must confess, I chose to review this book because I really like Brant Hansen so of course I was biased before I read this, however, this book did not disappoint. This book is about its title, being unoffendable. It is filled with great stories and scripture in a brilliant balance.

It is also an easy read and the kind of book you can pick up and read when you have a moment here or there. It is written in such a way that it seems like you are sitting with the author over coffee. I love this style of writing because it is easier to take in especially when dealing with a tough subject. Let's just be honest, we don't always like to be unoffendable. We like our anger, especially what we consider "righteous" anger. However, that is not what wins people over. Loving people like Jesus loved is what is most important. One of the best ways we can show love is by not taking offense from those who oppose us.

This book challenged me, made me laugh, and made me think. I enjoyed it immensely and I think you will too. We are way to ready to take offense and we don't need to be. This book reminded me of this while pointing me to Jesus along the way. It is a great book. Take the time to read it.

I received a copy of this book free of charge for the purpose of an honest review.

What! Is that a real word? Unoffendable? It is now if it wasn’t before. And one that needs to hang around. Hansen has found a single change that could make all of life better. In chapter after chapter he makes his case for being unoffendable. Sometimes it looks like humility, and then it could look like forgiveness. Other forms it could take are obedience and love.

We know all those words so what is Hansen’s point? His point is that anger in whatever form has to go. All the time. Every time. No exceptions. He looks at all the “but, what about…” angles and doesn’t miss very many of them. Each time the answer is be unoffendable and it isn’t his idea. It is Biblical. Don’t believe that?

Read this book. “It’s not fair!” is even off the table. Hansen doesn’t bludgeon his reader nor pretend anger and its siblings don’t exist. His points use real life examples of how it works, and he tells of the difference it makes in his own life. His style is so “winsome, humorous, and conversational” (Back cover says it best, so I used it) that you don’t mind agreeing with him on point after point.

I think he’s one to something here and deserves to be heard more widely. Read his book and more importantly, make that one change.

I received this book from the publisher in return for a review.

I loved listening to Brant Hansen on the radio, so when I heard he was coming out with a book, of course I had to have it. And I think this book perfectly encompassed what one has come to expect from Brant: willing to talk about the hard things in an honest and blunt way, but still with humor and good will.

The book is short and sweet and to the point. I don't think anyone would find the subject matter terribly hard to understand. But I think one look at into society, at even just the political climate of today, shows that is book is very necessary. He brings up things in new ways, and frames them to make you rethink what you were taught.

Like I said, I don't think this idea is super hard or revolutionary. But it does bring up the question of why have we, in this American Christian culture, gotten so far away from this idea. Brant keeps this simple, lightened up with his own anecdotes and humor, yet isn't afraid to get deep and spiritual with us. I think this is a very important book that I wish I could shove on most of the Christians I know.

Giving up your "right" to be offended is something that everyone needs more practice at and this book has helped open my eyes and understand why we don't have a right to be angry.
Brant Hansen has inspired me for a few years as a radio tv host and I was so excited to be blessed with the opportunity to be on his pre-launch team and read this early. So reading this was a no brainer. It is not a book you should zoom through, but relfect upon and read slowly and let is sink in. Struggling with our "right" to anger is still something that I struggle with and will continue to struggle with for the rest of my life. But now, after reading this.. I remind myself to be Unoffendable when I start to get mad at someone, especially if its for something I can't control. This book as taught me that holding on to anger only hurts you. I read a quote once that said anger is like drinking a poison and waiting for the other person your mad at to die. How true that is. How much less stressful is it to live a life Unoffendable? MUCH!

What would it be like to be UNOFFENDABLE?

Un

Offend

Able

It seems that from an early age we learn to be “offendable”. It is well ingrained in us that we have certain rights, even the right to be offended. But what if we let go of that right. What if we took another long look at Jesus, learned better how to walk as He did among people, just like us, who stumble and step on toes and outright wound each other, then start letting the offense slide right off?

There are hard things in life, no doubt, but I am being challenged lately, to resist the feeling of being offended, frustrated, put off or blown off. I can’ tell you when this challenge began, but I am pretty sure “WHO” issued the challenge… The ONE I suggested in the previous paragraph that we take another long look at.

For summer reading I had planned to not accept any “for review” books and just focus on the stacks I already have around the house, but this one really caught my attention. So I requested it. And while I waited for the book to arrive in my mailbox I listened as folks on the radio started talking about.

Unoffendable by Brant Hanson has been a good, solid challenge. I’ve read it slowly and definitely am further challenged to really consider my responses and attitudes when the discomfort from anger or frustration start to rise. The more that I think on this topic and consider the challenge to not be offended the more I am experiencing a change in my thought life. Not that I have attained anything, but at least soon after the heat rises I am reminded of the challenge and sometimes I am able to change the course in my thoughts and attitudes.

There’s been a lot of requests for summer reading titles floating around on blogs and facebook. I highly recommend Unoffendable for your mid summer reading.

OVERVIEW: Isn't taking offense normal? Aren't we supposed to get offended? Isn't anger at sin justifiable? If God gets mad, why can't we? Brant Hansen asks a radical, freeing question: What if Christians were the most unoffendable people on the planet? And he offers a life-changing idea: "righteous anger" is a myth, and giving up our "right" to be offended can be one of the most healthy, simplifying, relaxing, refreshing, stress-relieving, encouraging things we can do. In a winsome, humorous, and conversational style, Hansen helps you release religious burdens and experience the joy of gratitude, perhaps for the first time, every single day of your life.

AUTHOR: BRANT HANSEN is a radio host who has won multiple National Personality of the Year awards. He also works with CURE International, a worldwide network of hospitals that brings life-changing medical care and the good news of God's love to children with treatable conditions. Brant has been a game inventor and a youth pastor, and is still a very poor (his words) accordion player, although he ardently defends his right to play it. Brant currently lives in Northern California with his wife, Carolyn; his son, Justice; and his daughter, Julia. He can be found at branthansen.com and @branthansen on Twitter.

MY REVIEW: Even before I got to the table of contents I was liking this book. In the middle of a blank page I read these words: "To all those who want grace for themselves but struggle to extend it to others. Wait: that's everybody." I turned the page and found this powerful statement by Dallas Willard: "Anger is the most fundamental problem in human life." Wow! This is a good book.

The title of the first chapter states that being unoffendable is a ridiculous idea. Before reading Hansens's book that was exactly what I thought. After reading this splendid book, I changed my mind. However, I have to confess—I still struggle with the thought.

Hansen writes with a humorous, grace filled style. His book is easy to read but what he teaches is tough to accept as truth. But truth it is and by the time you get to the last page you will know it and accept it. This is a book that needed to be written AND READ.

Brant Hansen is a closet Lutheran. What I mean is that his view of grace, scripture, and even his view of humanity are all Lutheran.

I hope that isn’t offensive.

I was first introduced to Brant Hansen through the Brant and Sherri podcast. A friend sent me one of those, “Hey, I think you’ll like this” notes and told me to listen. My friend was right; I do like them. I like them for their sincerity, for their humor, and for their humility when it comes to talking about Christianity.

When I saw the book I had to read it and I wasn’t disappointed.

Unoffendable has a simple premise: stop getting angry. He doesn’t leave it in such crude terms as if you can just turn off your anger and the rest of your life will be sunshine and cupcakes. Instead, without talking about steps, or lists, or some made up leadership buzz word, he surreptitiously takes you through several scenarios where we typically get angry and offended. Often using his own life experience he will ask why this so offensive, what does the Bible say about it, and what would be a better approach?

What’s our natural reaction to someone telling us not to get angry? Immediately we conjure up scenarios of things we have every “right” to be angry about. Hansen’s answer; of course, there are things that are going to make us angry and rightly so, but anger isn’t constructive. Are you angry about the homeless? Then don’t get angry about people who aren’t doing anything, find a way to help.

Hansen has been a host on Christian radio for years and came to a realization: he offends a lot of people, and they all have phones. Leading him to ask; why do we get so offended by what’s on the internet? Why do we feel we have to answer every “idiot” and their bad theology? Why do we feel like we need to correct every last word? The answers, in the beginning, are simple; Jesus says not to be angry; give up your right to get angry; stop thinking everyone but you is an idiot; stop seeing Satan everywhere.

The book shifts at chapter 8: Ain’t You Tired? The simple answers stop and the introspection begins. Can you love those who hate you? He means really love them. Not just say you love them and go on hating everything about them, but actually love them? If we are going to be unoffendable it means forgiving others and extending the grace that we hope is extended to us.

Our answer to forgiveness is often the same as our answer to anger; we invent a scenario where the person we’re forgiving still has a lot of work to do to really earn that forgiveness because we don’t want them to get any inclination that sin doesn’t matter. This is where Hansen comes back to grace; of course there is sin and right and wrong, but that’s why grace is ‘grace’. It’s unfair. God is unfair in forgiving us so we can be unfair in forgiving others.

There is one sticky point in the book about the Law, but the correction only helps make Hansen’s point clearer. We are often offended because we are trying to be “good Christians”; keeping the rules and making sure others do the same. The problem is we can’t keep the rules. In the Bible, the Pharisees thought they were keeping the Law and looked down on everyone who didn’t. Keeping the Law and keeping the rules is impossible which is why “good Christians” don’t exist.

Here’s the sticky point. Hansen adds that Jesus “ended the law as a means to righteousness” taking away our supposed path to earning grace. Here’s where Hansen’s point could be all the clearer; the law was never a means to righteousness. It only shows our unrighteousness. Righteousness comes by faith and it always has according to Paul’s letter to the Galatians. So, we need not think that keeping the rules earns grace and neither do we lose grace when we fail to keep them.

Being unoffendable, Hansen says, is dying to self and this is where he goes all Lutheran. We are, many of us, insecure in our position with God. We get offended to feel justified and for a moment this alleviates our insecurities. Grace, however, is God granting us security in Him. It’s His way of saying you’re free to fail without fear of losing your position. Not that we seek to justify our sin, but rather, whatever we do or leave undone doesn’t change the fact that Christ is still going to save those who trust in His grace.

Grace means we are free to please God out of love and not worry about the “offenses” of our fellow humans.

If you’re tired of being offended and want to hear about the assurance of God’s grace, this book is for you. What sets it apart is that Hansen isn’t offering a “5 step process”, or suggesting you’ll receive greater blessings for doing this, or that. He writes like a guy who has been confronted with his own anger, his ease at taking offense, or offending others, and started looking through the Bible to make sense out of it. It isn’t lofty, it isn’t patronizing, its just Brant.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

While looking for a new book to review from BookLook Bloggers, I passed "Unoffendable" by several times. Maybe I found the title offensive? Haha! Finally, I decided to give it a try. And what I found was an honest, thought-provoking, convicting book! - And a great read!!!
I really enjoyed this book. Brant Hansen has a very natural, honest manner of speaking to his readers. He's funny and yet convicting. Some stories made me laugh out loud, some stories made me cry, and some stories made me laugh and cry all at the same time! I was blown away by his ability to take something that we as Christians often take for granted - the idea of "righteous anger" - and completely blow it out of the water. Each chapter was engaging and informative. And I felt like I grew in my relationship with the Lord during the reading of this book. It has changed my view on how I relate to others and how I relate to subjects like politics. If you want to be challenged in what you think your "rights" are as a Christian when it comes to anger, then read this book!

Here's a little tidbit of the wisdom in this book. (If I could, I'd just quote the whole thing because its that good!!!) -
"What's more, for those who still want to make anger a nutritious part of their spiritual breakfasts: in the Bible's 'wisdom literature,' anger is always - not sometimes, always - associated with foolishness, not wisdom. The writer recognized that, yes, anger may visit us, but when it finds a residence, it's 'in the lap of fools' (Eccl. 7:9).
"Let that sink in. When anger lives, that's where it lives: in the lap of a fool."

Ouch. I gotta say, that offended me. And that's how I knew Brant was getting to my heart!

I received a Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from BookLook Bloggers, in exchange for my honest review.

So many people take offense to the point that anger is often seen as a socially acceptable emotion. People spout their so-called righteous anger across social media all the time, and Brant Hansen encourages us to wonder whether this should be the case. As the host of a radio show, he's been the butt of offense many times. I love the irate call from a listener who heard him say, 'The weather will be hotter than it should be for this time of year.' The caller ticked him off, saying, 'God always sets the weather, so it's always perfect.'

'To those who reason, 'God gets angry, so we should be allowed to,' he would say, 'Well, God's entitled to do a lot of things we're not, such as judging and taking vengeance.' When we're as guilty as the targets of our wrath, we're not in a good position to react with strong indignation. And to those who say that it's our duty to get angry at injustice, he'd reply that taking action and fuming with anger aren't necessarily synonymous.

Hansen attempts to get to the root of why humans tend to be so volatile and easy to set off when it comes to taking offense. Situations in which others seem to be getting as much grace or privilege for less work than others may be enough to do it. Insecurity about our positions tend to make us unwilling to show grace. We justify offenses as righteous anger, much like the Prodigal Son's older brother. I like the way he urges us to embrace the 'glorious unfairness' as Jesus has been offensive in these ways for centuries.

He adds that maybe a tendency to take offense is a bit like having an infected limb. Everyone has an ego, but when it's swollen and over-sized, it's constantly being injured and threatened. It's interesting that a book about being unoffendable ends up having as much to say about true humility. He challenges us to see that we place enormous pressure on ourselves in our quests to be significant, and anything that threatens our efforts may make us flare. Truly humble folk are more difficult to offend, because they know that the things we think matter a lot, really don't matter so much.

In spite of Brant Hansen's friendly, easy-going style, I wouldn't be surprised if the content of this book offends a few people, but I'm wondering whether anyone will be brave enough to say so! I'll keep an eye on reviews to find out. I enjoyed and recommend it.

Thanks to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson for my review copy.

Enjoyed reading this book! I agree with the premise of this author,
that Christians should not get offended. The author says that he used to think that Christians
were supposed to get offended. When Christians would get angry about certain offensive actions by others,
we called it “righteous anger”. Now Mr. Hansen says he believes that Christians should NOT be offended.
In fact, he says that Christians should DECIDE NOT to get offended. We actually show a more Christian attitude
by not getting offended. Instead of anger, we should show forgiveness, love, and patience.
Why does he say this? His reason is that we all sin and make mistakes.
He refers to when Jesus tells an angry crowd, “Let him without sin, throw the first stone.”
No stones are thrown that day. (Refer to John 8:7-11.)
Now the title of this book, “Unoffendable”, is not even a word.
I could get offended by that, because it makes Christians appear stupid,
and I could complain to him by email and rant about it on Facebook,
but I choose not to get offended. It gives me peace and helps me think more clearly.
Brant Hansen says that if we get angry, that does not change the other person’s behavior.
We can only change people through love and forgiveness, and I would add education.
The author also points out, that if we get offended and angry a lot, we use up a lot of time and energy.
In fact, we can get a lot more good Christian things done, If we choose NOT to get offended.
This book will challenge your thinking, and you just might find yourself getting angry less often.
Now that is a good reason to read this book!

First, I love Brant Hansen's humor. I love listening to his talk show on the radio (Christian radio WordFM). His book reads just like he talks. That might take a little getting used to, but you'll be glad to dig deep into this book! Here's why.

I wanted to read the book b/c I like Brant's show, not because I thought I had a problem with anger and being offended. Here's the kicker. While reading the book, I realized I DO have a problem! Not so much with anger, but with judging and not accepting people who are different than me. I have a problem loving all people. Wow.

This book was fantastic for me, spiritually. It, like The Bible and like other books I've read like "Jesus Prom", teach me to love like Jesus did/does. This book tells me to stop being offended by people (what they do and say) and just love them. Don't condemn them. Don't throw rules at them. Just love them. (And, life becomes sweeter for you too.)

You are going to enjoy the stories that Brant shares, his humor, and the message.

I have to share this God Sighting. I was 1/4 of the way through the book and I met an artist at a downtown craft show. She and her photography were raw, but beautiful. She captured the ugly, the unwanted, the broken, and discarded things in life...and made them into art. I connected with her and her work. That night I prayed for her. Hard. She may never know the impact she made on me, but it fit perfectly with "Unoffendable". God takes us, broken and sinful, and makes us beautiful and holy.

Disclaimer: I got this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest book review.

I love Brant in general so that's the major reason for wanting to read this book. I started reading it not knowing what it was about but knowing it would be good because Brant is awesome and he knows it!
Moving on... I think everyone can relate to having deep anger issues towards someone that they can't fully forgive and just move on or are easily offended over the tiniest of issues. This book resonates with my soul! It helped me to examine my feelings of anger in a different way. I am reminded that I'm just as guilty in God's eyes as the person I'm angry and accusatory at.
I can't thank Brant enough for writing this book and helping me to be able to heal and move on. A very humbling experience whilst reading. It's so much easier to not be easily offended and get your panties in a twist over every little thing!

All of us get offended at some point in our lives; some says or does something that makes us feel attacked so to speak, and in return we get angry at that person and feel like we may need to lash out as well to make them feel the way we feel so to speak. The problem is we are all human, we tend to be offended and even offend others sometimes. In the book Unoffendable, the author shares stories and lessons on how to help the reader become Unoffendable, to not take things people say or do to heart and basically to not be bothered by the things people say or do to us; along with helping you figure out why what the person said or done actually offended you to begin with. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with what others think or say about them; it will help not only you heal that hurt but figure out why it hurt you to begin with.

Disclaimer: I received this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review; all thoughts and opinions herein are that of my own.

I read Unoffendable in about 20 hours—simply couldn't put it down, it's that good! Brant Hansen manages to both challenge and entertain with his unabashedly honest look at the gnarly habit of being offended and what life could look like if we simply stopped being offended. If, like me, you find yourself angrily shaking your fist at rude drivers (the 405 in LA is a breeding ground for offense) or venting about a coworker or throwing shade at that ex-BFF of yours OR (more commonly) if you find the need to take a stand for the Christian faith and for God, dive in to Hansen's book. See what happens when you stop pursing your lips at literally everything and start loving and, in turn, changing lives (especially your own).

Some key quotes that rocked my world:
"I used to think it was incumbent upon a Christian to take offense. I now think we should be the most refreshingly unoffendable people on a planet that seems to spin on an axis of offense. Forfeiting our right to anger makes us deny ourselves, and makes us others-centered. When we start living this way, it changes everything."

"Some people are artists. They just see things better. When they look at something, they see potential outcomes. They see what could be...[They are] being like God, "who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Rom. 4:17 NKJV).

Mike Donehey may have said it best when he said "this book hurts so good." Unoffendable is a book that will take the way you respond and what you have thought and turn it on its head in the best way possible. Hansen challenges us that we need to get rid of anger. He states that "forfeighting our right to anger makes us deny ourselves, and makes us others-centered. When we start living this way, it changes everything."

Brant Hansen has taken simple concepts that are not so simple to live out and challenged us to be unoffendable. To let go of anger and embrace forgiveness. Everyone needs to read this book, it is written simply and as an easy read, but the context is strong and at a level that will challenge you and having you re-reading this book and noticing the things that offend you in the everyday and seeing them differently. This book will change something as basic as being cut off in traffic and you will start seeing and approaching things in a new light.

Read this book.

I received this book complimentary from the publisher through the BookLook Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Either way you need to read this book.

I. Loved. This. Book! Seriously, I needed to hear the convicting message of this book so badly. I am often aware how anger is one of the most prevalent emotions in my daily consciousness. Whether it’s something that seems big and important in its injustice or some small and trivial moment of feeling wronged, anger is such a precious and natural part of our lives. We hold onto it like it’s a prized possession. Without realizing it, we use anger to justify a myriad of actions and feelings all day long. We feel like it’s our right to have it, to deal it out, to share it, to keep it as long as we want. Here’s the thing: we aren’t justified to it at all. Anger will always deceive us. It will always make us feel like we’re the victim, that we were wronged, that we deserve something. Our default posture is our strengths and justifying our decisions, our behaviors, and our intentions. We think we need to be right so that others realize they’re wrong. What if instead of being right, we just decided to be love? If we are not capable of judging our own intentions, what makes us think we can judge the intentions of others? In this book, Brant ties these concepts to scripture in such a wonderful, humorous, and truly convicting way. We don’t need anger to seek justice and love mercy. I went into reading this book preparing myself to not be convinced – if anger could be a sport, I would be a star player. Except everyone is a loser in the game. It’s time to stop playing. I’m throwing out my jersey. I hope you check this book out and share it with friends. You will not be sorry!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Think about law suits, divorce, bullying in schools and corporate offices, and church divisions for a moment. I'm going to make some quick assumptions about what they all have in common...

1) They are never pleasant to endure.

2) There were relational aspects that were probably not handled well on each side of the conflict.

3) Each person involved was offended.

We live in a culture and world that values our individual rights (and wants) and we get offended if anyone would violate those things we hold most dear. But isn't that exhausting. Constantly struggling and striving. What if there is another way?

Well it so happens that Brant Hansen wrote a new book entitled "Offendable" to show the way that Jesus thought about the struggle of being offended.

And it turns out that it is a pretty good life. It is one focused on others more than ourselves. A life of Gospel humility, and responding out of love more than fear.

This book shows a way that is filtered through Scripture and practical to our cultural context.

So if you are tired, weary, and exhausted of getting even and fighting lesser battles each day, this would be a great book for you to pick up!

444 reviews before me, 4.9 average..accepted well, it would seem, and for good reason--what human who is honest with themselves couldn't benefit from this book? The book will be something I resort to often.
While I don't agree with the author's views on faith, I didn't let that get in the way of enjoying the author's humorous wit that turned the pages in my hands with ease, and the power of the message. Had I been offended [by the faith disagreement], I would've closed the book before I learned the very lesson that "offense" would've kept me from learning. And I believe some of the negative reviewers did just that (one even admitted it), although their faith could've very well matched the author's.
As many reviews before me pointed out, if you spend any time on social media, out in public, or do basically anything other than sit alone in your place of residence with no television or technology of any kind, you see how quickly pretty much anyone gets offended, which makes this book very relevant to everyday life.
In my opinion, the author's best asset is his likeability. He is just one of us, also offended at times, also fallible, etc.
I don't have to agree with all he wrote to say it was a great book. Unoffendable probably doesn't work in a life-threatening situation between two people, but, then again, if everyone was unoffendable, would that life-threatening situation between two people ever occur?
When the author brought up the analogy of ants near the end, I was anticipating him mentioning how they sacrifice themselves to keep a majority afloat when flooded, forming a floating ball of ants, if you will. (I think I caught that on a documentary.) That wasn't mentioned, but it's nothing to do with my grade missing a 5th star. Besides, my opinion is one of more than 400, and as the reviews show, 5 stars is the majority.
It's a great read, and I'd recommend it to anyone, with a preface to nonbelievers of the Bible to forgive the hints that being unoffendable is reserved to believers. Perhaps my inference there is wrong, but regardless, as I mentioned, I'll be referring to this often to remind myself to be better at certain situations. Thank you, author, for writing it.

Got the audio version, read by Brant and he does a good job and has a good voice (he's a radio host) for audio. I did enjoy the book and will read it again. Not sure if this is his first book, he does take some rabbit trails but over all the content of the book was excellent and scriptural. This type of book is about the nuts and bolts of Christians actually becoming Christ-like in their everyday lives...something SORELY needed in this day and age. I am an evangelical so I can say this; The western church full of people who believe that being a Christian is about what doctrines you believe rather than the kind of person you become. If you are feeling a call to be Jesus student again (just like when you first met Him) reading this book will put you on the road to seeing the fruit of the spirit in abundance. Romans 8.29

Got to read a prerelease copy of the book. Highly recommend it if you struggle as I do with being too easily offended. Some key lessons I learned:

1. Don't be so shocked by other people's behavior.
2. Keep in mind that you're no better.
3. If you don't then you'll never truly grow in your relationships with those around you.

Sounds simple enough to embrace, but so much easier said than done. But Brant facilitates the reader's study and reflection on these truths by sharing stories, Bible passages and his unique sense of humor that you may not like at first but will eventually come to relish as I do if you keep on reading. And as you read you will find yourself being immediately challenged to put it into practice as you interact with those around you. There are not too many books out there that can say that! May God bless you on your journey to become more Unoffendable!

Getting offended is a dearly held right these days. Conservatives and liberals both are dismayed by their foe's ideas, blogs and Facebook posts, and meet them with the righteous anger they deserve. After all, if we don't do anything, then they'll get away with it!

Enter Brant Hanson's Unoffendable, a different way of looking at the issue. What if our anger does most of its harm to ourselves? What if, instead of shaming our enemies into submission, it motivates them to respond in the same manner? What if we approached our objects of indignation with forgiveness, understanding, and grace?

Brant's writing is engaging, personable and sometimes funny. He also makes important points that need to be discussed. From the perspective of a religious radio personality and preacher's son, he uses his life experiences to show us a different path than we tend to follow today -- one that God intended for us. The book is targeted towards the conservative side of Christianity, but there is wisdom in it for pretty much everybody. Highly recommended.

In this book, Brant Hansen makes a pretty interesting case for the notion of "righteous" anger to be a myth. Was God angry at times in the Bible? Sure, but Brant points out that many times throughout Scripture God is entitled to things we are not (eg. vengeance, jealousy, etc). We, as humans, simply may not be able to adequately handle this emotion. While anger happens and is natural, the Bible is full of references to getting rid of anger and not holding onto it. From this, I took away from the book that while anger may be an effective tool to tell you there is a problem going on around you (such as physical pain for an injury that may otherwise go unnoticed), it is not an effective tool for action. This is just one of the many fascinating points of the book, the main one being that life is so much simpler and healthier if one simply chooses to not be offended. It's possible, I've been there, and even before I read the book I had an inkling it was true.

My advice to anyone considering the book: read it objectively, let it speak to you honestly, and don't get caught up in semantics. Even if you disagree with some of the points, I think there is a good reminder in here for anyone. The author's style is also very conversational and non-stuffy, a good read for anyone...especially for those angry idealist sorts who wish the world was better and feel like they have to hold everyone around them to a higher standard (p.s. it's not your job!).