January 21 2013

Show open from the Pathway Studios

The produced intro plays: 'Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. You are live from the path.' A short sung warm-up bit follows before a host begins the show.

Tonight's agenda, proofs week 33, and a new sponsor

Ben lays out the evening: week 33 of the godisimaginary.com proofs series (proof #33, 'contemplate the crucifixion'; proof #32 'talk to a theologian' was skipped and moves to next week), pope-style advice, a news segment on spending time on things that don't matter, and Dear LFTP letters about social faux pas. Dan Hudson is out sick. Ben welcomes a new sponsor, the Bob Eisenlauer team (Bob previously guested and brought caramel apples; he helped Mike buy and sell his latest house).

Limitless Tour guests in studio: Double J and Cass

The hosts interview musical guests from the Limitless Tour: Double J (Jesse), whose new album 'Limitless' (planned April release, Kickstarter in Feb/March) centers on 'living limitless' — breaking the chains of the past, fear, and the future because God is bigger than them. A host connects it to his own reading of James: Christians who live 'in chains like a fool' when Christ has set them free, and joy as evidence of paying attention to God. Tour member Troy is also in studio.

Double J performs 'Breathe' and discusses the song

Double J performs his original song 'Breathe' live in studio, written three weeks earlier after four hours of yelling his frustrations at God from his car — about staying in open communication with God. Afterward he explains the songwriting (a new hook-writing approach after years of critics saying he wasn't good enough; lines like 'billy goats gruff', a Sonic commercial reference, and 'a vacant hospital, I had no patients'), the upcoming Limitless album, the planned Kickstarter with prizes (Double J sunglasses, a signed six-foot banner), and the hosts joke about a 48-hour fundraising telethon.

Proof #33: contemplate the crucifixion

• Does the crucifixion story make sense, or does it prove God is imaginary?

The hosts read and rebut proof #33 from godisimaginary.com, which calls the crucifixion absurd: an all-knowing God who designed human nature, foresaw every sin, and then had himself crucified to feel better. Mike's first thoughts: the author ignores free will — genuine love can't be forced, and God gave the option to rebel so relationship means something; God hates the separation sin causes, not his children. Ben adds that God intervenes when he'll get the glory and be seen as loving, which is why some prayers seem unanswered. Mike warns against 'putting a lasso around God' and dragging him down to your level out of pride. Troy notes the irony that an avowed atheist concedes from the Bible that Jesus claimed to be God. Cass argues the proof takes pieces out of context — like a kitten puzzle rearranged to look like Betty White. Ben closes: the full counsel of scripture is one piece; the barrier isn't logic but pride — accepting you're a sinner who needs a supernatural reconciliation. Proof #32 ('talk to a theologian') moves to next week.

The paid theologian comedy riff

After Ben previews next week's proof #32 ('talk to a theologian'), the hosts riff on whether 'theologian' is a real paid profession — 'I'm just a paid theologian' — joking that theologians just regurgitate the Lord's word, write the devotionals (like Our Daily Bread), and dictate textbooks ('Sit down, Martha. Chapter one.'). One host admits he'd enjoy the job.

Getting to know Cass Lester and the packed Grand Am

The hosts interview Cass Lester, who joined the Limitless Tour after reconnecting with Double J; they knew each other growing up and share a common message. The standout story: the three tour members fit an entire merch table, a six-by-ten-foot aluminum banner rig, all their merch, bags, laptops, a full drum set, a guitar, and themselves into Double J's 2004 Pontiac Grand Am — 'a tight fit.' A host jokes about self-deprecating fat jokes being fine ('if it's against myself and I'm losing weight, I think it's completely okay') but not the same from someone else.

Cass Lester performs 'Smoke Screen' and tour dates

Cass Lester performs his original song 'Smoke Screen' live with guitar — written out of frustration when he realized he couldn't handle things he thought he could, lyrics he felt he couldn't take to God, as a way to get feelings off his chest. Afterward he says the song isn't on an album yet; he's recording himself and lost his voice before the tour, with a few songs on his Facebook page. The hosts run through remaining tour dates: Ottumwa (Bridges Group), Ankeny (Open Bible youth group), Albia, and Sheffield before heading home to their daily grinds.

Ben's Vaudeville Muse stocking-hat creeper story

Ben tells the story of attending the Limitless Tour show at the Vaudeville Muse: he's not a 'jazz around' live-music guy, and three people he'd had on the show didn't recognize him because of his stocking hat — he looked like 'a creeper' sitting alone in a long coat at the bar, and a guy at the bar mistook him for a kindred spirit ('he was 70% denim'). The same guy later said the show was awesome. Ben transitions into the news segment.

News: stop being surprised; invest in individuals, not group battles

Ben's news monologue: he tries to keep it quick but lands on how Christians spend time on outrage that doesn't matter — the Louie Giglio inauguration-prayer controversy and the Lance Armstrong saga. His thesis: stop being incredulous that a fallen world rejects God (like his wife being incredulous about his socks on the floor eight years into marriage). 'Organizations do not spend an eternity separated from God. Individual people do.' Winning earthly battles against groups is 'winning an earthly battle and losing a forever war' — so shake a hand, get a name, and influence people personally. Mike adds that he and Ben were invited to broadcast from a right-to-life rally, expected to hate the protest vibe, and were uplifted when every speaker spoke from the heart of Christ. KTIA 99.3 listeners are cut off; the podcast/live audience continues.

Post-break banter and the 48-hour telethon returns

Back from the KTIA break for the live/podcast audience, Double J calls the hosts his favorite people in the world and the hosts mock-protest. The 48-hour fundraising telethon joke for Double J's album resurfaces — Troy wants in, someone must juggle on a unicycle, and Cass declares 'I can lift a car... I can lift a candy bar.' Ben pivots: 'Mike, so what's your Pope style advice?'

Pope-style advice: Christ sufficiency on a lonely work trip

Mike gives his pope-style advice: stuck in a hotel on a work trip, missing his wife and kids, he felt the familiar pull toward a sinful mindset — doing anything to feel better. Then it hit him: 'What did I ever do before I knew you?' He realized he has 'Christ sufficiency' instead of self-sufficiency: 'I have a life that I used to live that I don't live anymore.' His advice: take time to realize what Christ has brought you from (or, if you don't know him, what he can bring you from); God is exactly who he says he is, his promises are exactly true — obey and you won't be so worn out. The hosts riff on the 'six pairs of undies on your head' illustration.

Dear LFTP: the stolen wedding wine glasses

• Should we ask the wedding guests who took the hand-painted keepsake wine glasses to return them?

A listener writes that her niece hand-painted wine glasses as keepsakes for each adult guest at her daughter's wedding reception; by evening's end, glasses had vanished from the family table, the head table, and the artist's own table — some out-of-town guests took four to six each, one woman's child making multiple trips to her car. Question: should they ask for the glasses back? The hosts land on yes, ask — it's theft, not entitlement. They debate 1 Corinthians 6:7 ('why not rather be defrauded?'): Ben clarifies that verse is about lawsuits between believers that expose the church to worldly courts, not a ban on confronting theft. Secular's answer: ask, but there's no guarantee they'll be returned; don't let it cause in-law problems before the marriage begins; maybe the artist will paint another pair for the bride and groom.

Dear LFTP: boyfriend's kids are lying to their mother

• My boyfriend's children are making up lies about me to their mother — what am I doing wrong?

A listener in a one-year relationship with a divorced father of two thought she got along great with his kids, but they're making up lies about her to their mother; the boyfriend and his ex fight about everything. The hosts' verdict is quick and unanimous: she's doing nothing wrong — the kids are lying, and it's the father's job to deal with his children's lying, not hers. Secular's answer: the kids may be trying to break the couple up hoping their parents reunite, or telling their mother what she wants to hear; the boyfriend must clear the air with his former spouse.

Dear LFTP: should a man give a woman intimate gifts?

• Should a man ever give a woman intimate gifts like lingerie, even if engaged?

A listener raised in the South by a proper mother asks whether a man should ever give a woman intimate gifts like lingerie — she says it's unacceptable even if engaged; her friend disagrees. The hosts conclude: intimate gifts belong where the intimacy is — husband to wife only, and nobody else should be giving your wife intimate gifts. Before marriage, a man should avoid it because it puts him 'in the straights' of temptation; don't walk the line of religiosity and call sin where there is none. On online vs in-store shopping for intimate gifts, they joke that in-store is the safe move since online models wear the products. Secular's answer: the two should agree to disagree.