October 14, 2013 Podcast

Show open from the Pathway Studios

The episode opens with the produced music and the show's signature open: a host says they are live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. A second voice then welcomes listeners to Live From The Path, identifying the studio location.

Boova returns; the mop-with-a-mustache stand-in

Boova is back in studio after missing the previous week. The hosts joke that last week they had to invent stand-in Boovas, including a mop with a mustache, which stayed very silent when asked a question and rambled for eight minutes.

Finding show content and shallow church debates

• Why is it so hard to find things to talk about on a Christian show, and are shallow church fights the real problem?

A host reflects that finding things to talk about on the show is hard because the big questions are settled, so Christian radio either preaches or fights over shallow things like pews vs. chairs or wearing suits. The hosts agree churches put a magnifying glass on little things and propose the filter: is this a big thing or a little thing, and give it a proportional response.

Five tattoos and 'not part of your tribe'

• Is it okay to define yourself by setting yourself apart from a Christian community?
• Who counts as part of your Christian community: the mistaken Bible-ignorer or the open unbeliever?

A host reads a CNN belief-blog piece by a Lutheran minister about her five tattoos, the first meant to set her apart from her conservative suburban Christian community: 'I don't belong to your tribe.' The hosts debate whether that attitude is a nasty rejection of the bride of Christ or a reaction to a community that made her not fit in, and argue over who counts as community — the mistaken-but-Bible-ignoring believer vs. the openly unbelieving.

Favor Fire: prayers that bring faster results

• Should a Christian media site be responsible for the theology of the ads it runs?
• How do you tell real prayer from prayer-as-idolatry in prosperity promises?

A host reads a christianpost.com ad for the book 'Favor Fire: Prayers That Bring Faster Results' by Prophetess Esther Nanadi, quoting copy like 'anything God can do, prayer can do also.' The hosts call it idolatry — taking God off his throne and putting prayer on the throne — and joke about selling the same book with false promises but shipping a Bible inside.

Christian media as a shaky tower

The hosts critique Christian media: radio preachers shilling for money, programs that cross from being supported to glorifying the show instead of Jesus, and Christian musicians who accept compliments with false humility. One host admits running a church may pose the same teeter-totter between growing Jesus' kingdom and growing the show's.

The prophetess's proofreading

The hosts roast the Favor Fire author's website: unnecessary capitalization of every meaningful word ('rise and shine,' 'Gentiles'), calling herself 'co pastor' without a hyphen, and a 'godly marriage' category whose only June 15, 2013 entry is the words 'faith clinic' repeated three times. They debate whether a Christian news site has a duty to vet the theology of its advertisers.

Mid-show break: promos and the Pope-style advice premise

Station business: livefromthepath.org, Monday 10-11pm and KTIA 99.3 Saturday 7-8pm, both called 'the witching hour.' A host explains the Pope-style advice format — people supposedly mistake him for the Pope and camp on his lawn until he gives advice — and previews Dear LFTP, where listeners' life problems get Jesus-directed answers.

Pope-style advice: quantity time makes disciples

• Does discipleship need quality time or quantity time?
• Should you cap career ambition to protect family and gospel responsibilities?

A host's Pope-style advice argues that discipling people and building family closeness is about quantity time, not just quality — quantity produces quality. He gives nightly Bible reading with his oldest daughter as the example. He extends it to work: don't chase the promotion if it costs the responsibility you've agreed to at home; ambition that trades away family and gospel time is not success.

Pope-style advice: Boova on trusting God through a hospital scare

• How do you trust God when you are scared in a medical crisis?

Boova (Pope Two) shares that the last two and a half weeks brought a major hospital scare — possible life-altering medical outcomes and looming debt — that did not happen. His advice: seriously stop worrying and trust God entirely. He cites the flowers of the field in Matthew, compares the early apostles who had nothing, and admits he crumbled at first. The hosts add that trust does not mean no hardship: Stephen was stoned and Paul was left for dead, and both were fine.

Sal Manila in Arizona, plus station IDs

A bit about a man reportedly named Sal Manila in Arizona spirals into joke names (E. Coli, Mila Manila). Then station IDs: livefromthepath.org Monday nights, 99.3 KTIA Saturdays at 7, and listener email addresses, including a joke one for vulgar mail.

Dear LFTP: the grandma and the phone-obsessed granddaughter

• Should a grandmother take back the cell phone her granddaughter abuses?

The reader reads a letter from a grandmother upset with herself for buying her granddaughter a cell phone: the girl texts at 4am, can't get dressed, and ignores visiting friends. The hosts' answer: take the phone away — it's your mistake, own it; don't blame the phone company or the boyfriend. They read the Secular answer, which the reader calls lame on one point, and agree on enforcing limits and taking the phone at bedtime.

Dear LFTP: the man who's never been monogamous

• Should I stay with a man who has never had a monogamous relationship?

The reader reads a letter from a woman dating a man who admits he has never had a monogamous relationship, even during his marriage. The hosts' answer is blunt: leave him — you can't be 'compatible in every way' except for that; the man's pattern won't change with you. They read the Secular answer, which waffles about tolerating fooling around, and mock it.

Sponsor reads and first-hour sign-off

Sponsor plugs: Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer team for real estate (name ASR-rendered 'Eisenhower') and Westfield Veterinary Hospital in Johnston — with a running gross-out bit about a dog's growth. The hosts tease a big announcement about Christmas and Live From The Path in the next couple weeks, then sign off the hour.

Dear LFTP: the 19-year-old and her baby blanket

• How can a 19-year-old give up her baby blanket before sharing a college dorm?

The reader reads a letter from a 19-year-old who, after past traumatic events, is afraid of the dark and sleeps with her baby blanket; she's moving to a shared college dorm and fears being teased again. The hosts split: some say just own it and keep the blanket — nobody in college cares — while Boova argues she wants to be rid of it and should keep weaning herself off progressively. The Secular answer suggests converting the blanket into a pillow.

Dear LFTP: the vegetarian wife and the husband's handguns

• Should a husband get rid of his handguns before the couple has kids?

The reader reads a letter from a vegetarian woman whose husband owns two handguns he keeps for fear of government overreach; she fears accidents once they have kids. The hosts say two handguns won't stop the government, but with proper safety — locked safe, trigger locks, teaching the kids respect — guns in the home are manageable; don't divorce over it. They read the Secular answer, which suggests trigger locks or leaving the man, and jeer at the divorce line.

Closing sign-off

Final wrap: catch the show Monday nights at livefromthepath.org or Saturdays at 7 on 99.3 KTIA, check the website, and expect a possible big Christmas-time announcement in the next week or two.