May 12, 2014 Podcast

Show open and studio banter

A host opens the show live from the Pathway studios in Johnston after a short produced intro voiceover. The hosts trade quick banter and preview the night: musical guests Lindgren and Lewis are in studio, the Secular vs. Solomon game, Pope-style advice, and Dear LFTP.

Welcoming Lindgren and Lewis

A host introduces the in-studio musical guests, the duo Lindgren and Lewis, noting Kevin Lindgren has guested before. They plug the duo's new CD, due out Wednesday, and a release show the next night at the Greenwood Lounge in Des Moines. Boova is ribbed for not preparing for Secular vs. Solomon.

Las Vegas casino gig during rodeo week

The guests describe driving to Las Vegas in December and playing casino lounges piggybacking off the National Finals Rodeo, when older cowboy fans came to hear old country covers at the Shady Grove Lounge. They talk about the challenge of playing with energy to gamblers feeding slot machines, until they play George Strait and get attention.

Twang and soul: fusing old country with soul music

The guests explain their 'twang and soul' sound: old country instrumentation over 1960s-70s soul-style lyric themes, inspired by 1920s jazz photos, Wilson Pickett, Al Green, and old country. They describe the comic bit of playing Lionel Richie songs with a banjo and getting strange looks that turn into sing-alongs.

Introducing the song 'Slow Down'

A guest introduces 'Slow Down,' a track from the new CD written five or six years earlier during a dark period of life. He explains it was first written for someone else but became a song to himself: in dark places the answers come from silence and stillness, not raging and blaming. A host cues the performance.

Performance: 'Slow Down' by Lindgren and Lewis

Lindgren and Lewis perform the full song 'Slow Down' in studio. Lyrics center on a breaking relationship and the refrain that answers are found in the silence of the mind: slow down, clear your mind, take a deep breath.

'I Saw the Light' hoedown performance

After the song, the hosts confirm two of the three songs played tonight are on the new CD and plug lindgrenandlewis.com and the Greenwood Lounge release show. The duo then performs an up-tempo hoedown version of 'I Saw the Light' with harmonica, which gets the studio singing along.

How the duo started: the Osceola open mic

A guest tells the duo's origin story: both were playing an open mic in Osceola, Iowa, and he heard a kid blowing harmonica from the back corner while he played a Bob Dylan song. That bad first attempt turned into a partnership. The bit spins into jokes about harmonicas, accordions, bagpipes, and not sharing a harmonica inherited from a grandpa who chewed tobacco.

Secular vs. Solomon: game intro and rules

• Can we actually tell worldly wisdom apart from biblical wisdom?

The show opens its recurring game 'Secular versus Solomon,' introduced as America's fastest-growing non-proven Internet game show. A host explains the premise: he reads a proverb or bit of wisdom and the players must say whether it is a secular saying or a biblical one from Proverbs (Solomon). Secular guesses also require naming an existing country.

Secular vs. Solomon: the proverb rounds

Seven rounds are played. 'Poor men seek meat for their stomach' is revealed as secular English; 'Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool' is Solomon, Proverbs 10:23; 'He who gathers in summer is a prudent son' is identified as Solomon; 'Whoever is slothful will not roast his game' is Solomon, cited on-air as Proverbs 10:27. The players' country guesses run from Uganda and Egypt to Nepal, Greece, and Indochina.

Bonus round: 'God works in mysterious ways' is not biblical

• Could Solomon have been one of the saints raised from the tomb at Jesus' resurrection?

The final regular round ('Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week') goes secular Spain. The bonus proverb 'God works in mysterious ways' is revealed as secular, prompting a discussion: a host says he Googled it to confirm it is not in the Bible after seeing it used as a cornerstone in a worthless online biblical debate. Boova, addressed by name on-air, claims he went nine for nine, the first perfect score. The game wraps with plugs for past games on lifefromthepath.org.

Pope-style advice: grace without arrogance

• How do Christians share the grace they received without coming across as arrogant?

A host delivers the recurring 'Pope-style advice' segment, premised on hordes mistaking the speaker for the pope. He argues Christians who have received grace often present it from a chair of arrogance that repels even other believers, citing a coworker's life-improvement framing of the gospel. The core: the relationship with Christ is for his glory and your joy, in that order; forgetting where you came from is a kingdom problem. Boova admits catching himself being pompous toward lukewarm Christians, and the hosts contrast checkbox faith with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Jesus' 'brood of vipers' rebuke.

Dear LFTP: should children be told that pets die?

• Should I tell my children up front that a pet will die before getting them a dog?

The first Dear LFTP letter: a listener whose kids want a dog asks whether to tell them up front the animal will die someday. The hosts say do not shelter kids from reality — one host started with goldfish, another's family lost dogs, chickens, and a hamster the cats killed through its cage, and found honesty easier. They then read the 'secular answer,' which advises letting young children enjoy the pet without worrying about its lifespan, and mock it.

Dear LFTP: uninviting an accused coworker from a wedding

• How do I tell a coworker he is not invited to my wedding after a collapsed sexual-assault accusation?

The second Dear LFTP letter: a listener getting married soon asks how to not invite coworker Daryl, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting his daughter but whose case collapsed when the daughter failed to appear in court. The hosts agree it is fine not to invite him — it is not his day — while debating whether the stigma is fair, whether Daryl would be offended, and the leper/unclean analogies. The 'secular answer' says there is no polite way to say it and notes Daryl was already 'found guilty' at the office.

Dear LFTP: should a 16-year-old break up with his girlfriend?

• Should I break up with my insecure 16-year-old girlfriend?

The third Dear LFTP letter: a 16-year-old asks whether to break up with Bailey, who is very insecure and hard to keep happy. The hosts' consensus is blunt: if you have to ask strangers, end it. Boova confesses he once stayed in a relationship out of narcissism, telling himself she was benefiting from him. They mock the 'secular answer' that recommends a formal talk about her mood swings.

Performance: 'Praying from the Rains'

After the letters, a guest introduces 'Praying from the Rains,' the closing track of the new album Gulf Coast Moon (digital) with a bonus track on physical copies. He says the lyrics poured out while sitting with a 12-string guitar and were typed into his cell phone. The duo performs it: a cowboy ballad about a man who took him in, taught him faith and love, and the refrain 'Colorado surviving and praying from the rains.'

Closeout and CD release details

A host thanks the guests and plugs lindgrenandlewis.com. The CD comes out Wednesday, available at the Tuesday show at the Greenwood Lounge and at Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby. The show closes with the sign-off line for Life From The Path, promising to see listeners next week.