March 31, 2014 Podcast

Show open and warm-up banter

The show opens from the Pathway studios in Johnston proper with stretching and exercise banter. A host says Mike ran two miles on a treadmill while out of town and struggled to pace himself to the music.

Guest introductions: Jordan Treimer and Chandra Knudsen

A host introduces in-studio musical guests Chandra Knudsen and Jordan Trimer and previews their upcoming show at Mars Cafe on April 12. They will share music, insight, and details about the show later in the episode.

Jordan Treimer interview: background and songwriting

Jordan Treimer, 26 and from Huntsville, Alabama, describes his background: video/film school, moving to Chicago to plant a church in the Westmont area and join its creative team. He traces his musical path from alto saxophone through hip hop to guitar, and describes songwriting as catharsis. Chandra says hip hop is something Ben also likes.

Mars Cafe show details with Chandra Knudsen

Chandra Knudsen explains she emailed Mars Cafe and booked a two-hour slot in their Sound Rover series for local artists playing original music. She and Jordan played together at Java Joe's last year; she invited Jordan to open, and they will each play about an hour plus some material together.

Jordan Treimer live performance: untitled original song

Jordan Treimer performs an unfinished original song he wrote over the summer, a teaser of what he will finish for the April 12 show. The song's lyrics touch on jealousy, insecurity, and finding freedom. The hosts react warmly, calling it convicting and inspiring.

Post-song reaction and Mars Cafe plug

The hosts react to Jordan's performance and note that clips from the show are available at livefromthepath.org. They plug the Mars Cafe show again: April 12, 7 to 9 pm, in the Drake area on University Avenue, and joke about the coffee.

Sponsor spots: Bob Eisenlauer and Westfield Veterinary Hospital

A host reads sponsor spots for Bob Eisenhower (rendered form of Bob Eisenlauer) real estate via eisenhowerteam.com, and for Westfield Veterinary Hospital. The spot includes a story about his dog going to the vet the next day for removal of a growth, and the kids praying for the dog, which gets nervous and pees.

Chandra Knudsen interview: nanny life and worship leading

Chandra Knudsen says she works as a nanny and recently became the worship leader for the main service at Point of Grace, after working with the youth group. She contrasts the youth band, which wings songs and makes them their own, with the main-service band, which plays songs exactly as written.

Duet: 'Never Once' and 'I Surrender All' mashup

Chandra Knudsen and Jordan Treiber perform a mashup they worked out just before the show: Matt Redman's 'Never Once' blended with the hymn 'I Surrender All'. The hosts praise the performance, with one host saying it nearly moved him to tears.

Post-duet reaction and YouVersion verse-of-the-day complaint

After the duet, a host admits he was irritated when a verse he had been praying over showed up as the YouVersion Bible app's verse of the day, feeling it had 'sold out and gone commercial'. A host jokes that the app's headquarters watches what people highlight and broadcasts it.

Secular vs. Solomon game show

The hosts play 'Secular or Solomon', America's fastest growing internet game show: the host reads a proverb and players guess whether it is worldly wisdom (naming a country of origin) or biblical wisdom. Played proverbs include Proverbs 9:17, 10:19, 11:26, 14:1, and 12:9, all read from the English Standard Version. The crowd gets the secular ones from Norway, Belgium, Slovenia, Myanmar, and Russia. Chandra, Jordan, Dan Hudson, Mike, and Boova all play; the chat plays along at home.

Hard question: is 'do the most good' math biblically consistent?

• Is it biblically consistent to make decisions by 'doing the most good' — helping others even at the expense of your family?

The hosts take up a hard question Mike sent in earlier: is it biblically consistent to make decisions by maximizing the good, e.g. sheltering a needy person if it harms four household members (one minus four is 'three in the hole')? Dan Hudson argues a person's highest ministry is to family in the home, citing the principle that failing to provide for family makes one worse than an unbeliever, and says help should not hinder the immediate family. A host counters that opening one's life to anyone involves risk, and that the real question is prudence and Spirit-led means rather than utilitarian math: God lives in the means and takes care of the end. Other angles include foster parenting, helping widows and orphans, and the fear of idolizing family rhythm and comfort.

KTIA sign-off and podcast break

A host signs off the 99.3 KTIA radio audience for the week, announces the Moon man returns next week, reminds listeners about the April 12 Mars Cafe show, and asks podcast listeners to stay for the rest of the show.

Utilitarianism explainer: Bentham, Mill, and the stuffed philosopher

Back from the break, a host explains utilitarianism: judging the good by what creates the most pleasure for the most people, tracing it to Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and notes the Caiaphas-like logic that sacrificing one man to save the people is utilitarian. Comedy bits follow: a pun that John Stuart Mill's dad was a general who made cereals ('General Mills'), a pudding-fat-joke exchange with Boova, and the story that Bentham had himself stuffed as an 'auto-icon' now kept in a case at the University of London, with his wax head and preserved hair.

Chandra Knudsen performs original song 'Washed Away'

Chandra Knudsen performs 'Washed Away', an original song she wrote a few days earlier. The lyrics center on grace: 'you wash away my blame... by your grace I'm saved... I'll never be the same'. The hosts praise it, with one calling it a soundtrack for living.

Post-song reaction: Chandra's CD and pudding banter

The hosts praise 'Washed Away' and plug Chandra's CD, available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify, and for sale at the Mars Cafe show. Comedy continues around Boova's pudding consumption, a Wilford Brimley diabetes joke, and a request that Boova prepare Bill Cosby vs. Wilford Brimley voice impressions.

Pope-style advice: give steadfastness a chance (James 1)

A host explains the pope-style advice bit: 10,000 people are on Mike Foust's lawn mistaking him for the pope, and he must give them life-changing advice to clear the lawn. The advice, drawn from James 1:2-4, is to let steadfastness have its full effect instead of quitting after two rounds of trials: most people who walk away from the church never let faith grow past the second date. A host ties this to focusing on the means rather than orchestrating the end, citing the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3, and the group coins the nickname 'the steady' for steadfastness.

Boova testimony: losing his parents tested his faith

• What practical approach keeps steadfastness sturdy through trials?

Boova shares that losing his mom and dad was the biggest event of his faith: he realized he had been standing on his father's faith rather than his own, and the loss, while the best day of his life in retrospect, shook him to his core. It took years before God ripped out the false foundation and built a real one in Christ. He admits he still struggles with steadfastness and keeps running back to known sins.

How to maintain steadfastness: Scripture and community

Prompted by Jordan Treimer's question about how to keep steadfastness sturdy, the hosts discuss two practices. First, staying in God's word to keep the right perspective on life and the kingdom, even without memorizing chapter and verse. Second, community and accountability: giving fellow believers permission to confront you, illustrated by stories of giving back a stolen extension cord, a host's weekly accountability group, and Boova's accountability relationship with Pants, who once called him a joke of a man.

Show close: Apple Store stunt and final Mars Cafe plug

The hosts close by asking listeners to subscribe to the Live From The Path podcast on every floor model the next time they visit the Apple Store, and give a final plug for the April 12 Mars Cafe show with Chandra and Jordan, calling it free and a couple hours of great music.