Play the Game!: Discovering the Holy Order of Exuberance

Beneath America’s present cultural war, is a debate about the nature of conflict and competition. This book will be read by a cross section of people who would normally have nothing in common: atheists/agnostics versus religious, progressives versus conservatives, socialists versus capitalists. Most people have never read the Bible as a primary resource with as fresh eyes as has Dr. Barr. Most of the debates about the Bible, religion, politics, psychology, and sexuality are so typical and routine that they produce much smoke and heat, but little light and compassion. Our competition is our greatest teacher. Play the Game! Is a paraphrase of Jesus’ first sermon: “Repent and believe the Good News” Mk 1:15 In this personal, original, and idiosyncratic testimony and study, Game replaces the idea of God, and to play replaces the action to know. Our central thought is that our species should be called homo ludens, man the player, rather than homo sapiens, man the knower, because man hides what he knows from God, from his neighbor, and from himself, but meets what he hides in the Game through his enemy and his competition. The simple premise of the book is that there is a holy order of exuberance, and five approaches of play towards conflict and competition that begin in utter indifference to utter exuberance, from the Philosopher to the Overcomer. Without appreciating what all five players see in the Game, we are always partially blind, even though the Overcomer can understand the Philosopher, but not the other way around.

Dr. Rick Barr is an ordained minister with a BA from Bowdoin College, an Master of Divinity from Yale University, and a Doctorate in Pastoral Counseling from Andover Newton Theological School. He also has a teaching certificate in history from the University of Bridgeport. Dr. Barr has served as Pastor in liberal, evangelical, charismatic, and sacramental churches in Maine, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, and now in South Carolina. He has coached from Pee Wee to college in lacrosse and soccer. He presently is director of Christ Counseling Center, where he works with men and Pastors especially to coach them how to be leaders and priests of their family and the household of God. He plans to live to be 120 years old like Moses and then change his forewarding address to heaven!