May 5, 2014 Podcast

Show open and the fierce Nehemiah

• Is Nehemiah a scary, fierce man of action, or just a builder?

The hosts open from the Pathway Studios in Johnston. A host tells the story of reading Nehemiah on an airplane and being startled by chapter 13: Nehemiah shutting the gates on the Sabbath merchants, then confronting, cursing, beating, and hair-pulling the men who intermarried. They contrast this fierce Nehemiah with the sanitized "build the wall" version churches use for building campaigns, and joke about laying hands on people in counseling.

Rereading old books and the resurrected saints

• What was going on with the saints who were raised and seen walking in the city at the resurrection?

A host shares finding new things in books he has read many times, then the hosts discuss the passage where saints were raised at the resurrection and seen walking in the city (Matthew 27). They wonder how long the saints had been dead and what it looked like, and land on "I don't know" as the most honest answer, praising the Bible teacher who simply says he does not know.

The failure-is-not-a-virtue article: grace vs obedience

A host reads and summarizes a Gospel Coalition article called "Failure Is Not a Virtue," which critiques "celebratory failureism" - the idea that believers cannot obey the law and failure should be celebrated because it magnifies grace. The hosts weigh this against legalism, cite Romans 6, and argue Jesus did not abolish the law but deepened it by adding intent and heart, so pursuit of obedience should be fierce.

Counseling a rebellious Christian and the Nehemiah solution

• What do you tell a saved Christian who is in rebellion and says "I'm already sinning, so why bother stopping"?

A host asks for real-world help with a saved, baptized man who is in rebellion and argues that since he is already having premarital sex he might as well keep going. The hosts answer with Romans 12 (living sacrifices), 1 Peter 1 ("be holy, for I am holy"), the existence of the word repent, a long-sleeve-shirt analogy for accumulating sin, and the prodigal son. They joke about applying the "Nehemiah solution" - pulling the man's hair - and share rabbinic trivia that Nehemiah was barred from claiming authorship of his book because of his habit of disparaging others.

Sexual sin, fallen pastors, and striking the shepherd

A host reads a Christian Post article about an Oklahoma megachurch pastor resigning over infidelity and notes the sidebar full of similar pastor scandals. The hosts reflect on why infidelity brings down church leaders, urge prayer for pastors because the enemy strikes the shepherd to scatter the sheep, and argue Satan barely has to work in America where sexuality and money are freely available.

The American church's blindness and the unreasonable man

• How do you reach people outside the church without just handing them to the institution?

The hosts discuss a preacher who contrasted church-hopping over worship preferences in America with the exploding, suffering church in China and Darfur. One host says the gospel survives here because Satan does not have to work hard. They propose a personal accountability test: know five people outside the church who struggle with the culture's big issues, quote George Bernard Shaw on the unreasonable man, note that the prophets were weird people, and ask whether our lives are "questionable" enough to smell like Jesus.

Church as community, not a Sunday show

A host confesses he used to treat church as a Sunday event to consume rather than a community to join, and argues that bringing newcomers to the institution is a mistake - they should be brought to Christ and to people, not handed over to a process. The hosts agree the American church puts on a Sunday show instead of living as the body of Christ, debate whether preaching should differ for seekers versus believers, and close the radio portion with the KTIA sign-off.

Break banter: the Nehemiah haircut

Coming back from the radio break, the hosts riff on the Nehemiah theme, joking about giving churchgoers a "Nehemiah haircut" and quoting "Remember me, O God, for my good."

Preach the same Jesus to seekers and saints

• Should preaching be different for seekers than for believers?
• How do you reconcile the gentle Jesus of Luke with the conquering Jesus of Revelation?

Resuming the pre-break discussion, the hosts argue against releasing gospel information incrementally to seekers - the Bible has no "seeker track," and the same call to obedience applies to everyone. One host admits he cannot mentally marry the gentle Jesus of Luke, which they just finished studying, with the conquering Jesus of Revelation, and says he is praying about seeing the whole picture. They note their show itself is just a Monday-night community group with microphones.

Compartmentalized faith and knowing your community

The hosts critique compartmentalized Christianity - attending one or two Sunday services as a legalistic badge - and argue real invitation means saying "you need to meet my community," which requires actually knowing people well enough to vouch for them. They announce they are skipping the advice segment and head into "What's Trending."

What's Trending: if church became illegal

• If attending church became illegal in America, what would you do - meet secretly, meet openly and pay the price, or worship alone?

The show's news-quiz game begins. A host reports a Virginia zoning proposal limiting home gatherings to 49 people per day and no more than three times in forty days, which some believe targets house churches. The multiple-choice question: if attending church became illegal, would you (a) secretly meet anyway, (b) openly meet and pay the consequences, or (c) worship alone? The hosts mostly choose (a), discuss Shadrach-Meshach-Abednego, Pliny the Younger's persecution of Christians, and whether illegality would be a wheat-from-chaff filter.

What's Trending: prayer at council meetings

• What do you think of the Supreme Court allowing prayer at civil meetings?
• Should a Christian leader keep praying at civil events, go all-in for Jesus there, or bow out?

The game continues with the Supreme Court upholding opening prayers at local council meetings. The options: (a) who cares, most don't believe anyway; (b) awful, unbelievers shouldn't be forced to pray; (c) great day in America. The hosts pick (a), calling it pomp and a show, noting the kingdom-of-God and kingdom-of-America positions are too intertwined, and one host shares his discomfort praying at civil events like chamber banquets and Kiwanis - feeling he must either go guns-blazing for Jesus or bow out rather than phone in generic prayers.

What's Trending: teen takes great-grandmother to prom

• What does the teen taking his great-grandmother to prom say about the upcoming generation?

The final news story: a teenager, Austin, invited his 89-year-old great-grandmother Dolores Denison - who never went to her own prom - to his prom, with dinner at Bob Evans and a dance to "How I Love the Kisses of Dolores." The question: what does this say about the upcoming generation - (a) a sign of hope, (b) proof of selfishness since it made national news, or (c) it says nothing, it's just a cool story.

What the prom story says, and the corporate thanking bit

Asked what the generation is like, one host says he can only speak generally and sees society running away from God, then does an impression of himself ("that's ridiculous") at the others' urging. The conversation derails into teasing a host for thanking everyone for their answers like a corporate trainer, then returns to the prom question: most land on (c) - it's just a cool story, though one wonders whether grandma was a last resort. They close out the game.

Close: sponsors and sign-off

The hosts wrap the episode, mention possible guests next week, and thank sponsors Bob Eisenlauer's team and Westfield Veterinary Hospital in Johnston, Iowa.