June 9, 2014 Podcast

Pre-show sponsor comedy sketches

Two comedic sponsor spots run before the show open. In the first, one man consoles another whose kid has been biting rabbits, then pitches Westfield Veterinary Hospital in Johnston with phone number and website. In the second, a would-be home seller describes his house as a 'palatial two bedroom ranch,' and is told to call Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer team instead.

Show open, rundown, and worship reflection

Ben Foust opens from the Pathway Studios in Johnston and runs down the night: Secular versus Solomon, What's Happening with Dan, Pope-style advice, Dear Life From The Path, plus the story of his seven-year-old daughter asking whether she really loves God. He reflects on seeing the Rhett Walker Band at Connections Fest in Norwalk and argues that worship should be judged by whether people meet God in the moment, not by instrumentation, venue, or cultural style; he plugs Collide Fest, Real Fest, and Bash on the Farm.

What's Happening: most stressed states and the stress question

• What is the most important factor in living a stress-free life: physical, spiritual, or emotional?

A host presents a study ranking the most stressed states (Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, California, Nevada) against the relaxed Midwest, then asks each host to pick the most important factor for a stress-free life: physical, spiritual, or emotional. Answers range from family relationships to spiritual disciplines, with one host noting worry as the core of his stress and another admitting he has not figured out how to actually 'cast your anxiety' on Jesus.

What's Happening: Tracy Morgan accident and the forgiveness question

• How would you honestly respond as a Christ follower if you were in Tracy Morgan's situation after the limousine accident?

A host recounts Tracy Morgan's serious limousine accident, the death of Morgan's friend, and hostile press toward the truck driver. The hosts reject the blanket phrase 'God must have been watching out for you' as implying God's absence when outcomes are worse. Asked how they would honestly respond as Christ followers in Morgan's place, one host says he would become depressive and would not forgive in a Christlike way, another points to Matthew West's song 'Forgiveness' about a mother who forgave her daughter's killer, and another says he would choose forgiveness mainly because it is the reaction he can control.

What's Happening: teacher texts, fathers, and marrying too late

• How should a Christ-following father respond if a teacher forms an inappropriate relationship with his 15-year-old daughter?
• Is it possible that a lot of society's sexual problems come from people getting married too late?

A host reports a story in which a father beat a 42-year-old teacher with a baseball bat after finding inappropriate texts with his 15-year-old daughter, and asks how a Christ-following father should respond. The hosts reject the options as inadequate, distinguish the texts from the teacher showing up at the house refusing to leave, and land on honest answers between anger and measured discipline. One host then floats the idea that society's sexual problems partly come from marrying at 26 instead of young, sparking a long discussion about disposable culture, delayed maturity, and whether people are ready for marriage at 14 or are being infantilized until 40.

Secular versus Solomon game

The hosts play Secular versus Solomon, in which one host reads a proverb and the others must say whether it is biblical wisdom (Solomon) or world wisdom (secular), naming a country of origin for secular ones. Rounds include 'When God gives hard bread, he gives sharp teeth' (secular, Germany), 'A king's wrath is a messenger of death' (Proverbs 16), 'A bribe is like a magic stone' (Proverbs 17:8), 'The wolf will hire himself out very cheaply as a shepherd' (secular, Russia), the donkey's house proverb (secular, Jamaica), 'Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys' (Proverbs 18:9), 'A wise king winnows the wicked' (Proverbs 20:26), the turtle-and-hen proverb (secular, Malaysia), 'Wait until it is night before saying it has been a fine day' (secular, Canada), and 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue' (Proverbs 18:21). The hosts riff on kingship versus American presidency, the disputed authorship of some Proverbs, and scorekeeping complaints.

Ben's daughter asks whether she really loves God

• Do I really love God?

Ben tells the hosts that during Bible reading (Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount), his seven-year-old daughter asked, 'Do I really love God?' He recounts what he told her: feelings are not always reflective of what is true; per 1 John, loving God means agreeing He is who He says He is and obeying His commandments whether or not they feel right; and her experience of God's provision comes through parents, the 'hands and feet' God put on earth. Her own example: she feared giving a classmate a Bible but did it anyway, which Ben held up as obedience. The hosts affirm the answer, one adding that love is demonstrated by action and measured by sacrifice, and Ben admits the question rattles him too, citing the Revelation warning about lukewarmness. They note Ben's daughter does not appear in the studio; the story is Ben's relay.

Radio sign-off, break chatter, and the crosswalk-sign TV show idea

The hosts sign off the 99.3 KTA radio broadcast and, on the podcast side, riff about Jared Roy bringing ten boxes of cereal into the studio, the cinnamon toast crunch guys as the 'crazy uncles' of the snap-crackle-pop guys, and a TV show idea about the family of the black silhouette man from pedestrian crossing signs who poses for industrial safety signs.

Pope-style advice: relationship with God runs through other people

A host's Pope-style advice: ninety percent of problems with your relationship with God are tied up in how you treat other people. Focusing only on one's sin selfishly elevates it; spending that time loving and being generous with other people reduces opportunity to sin and glorifies God. He contrasts 'random acts of kindness' with investing in people's lives, coins 'kindness vandalism,' and a co-host asks whether Christians just sanctify worldly worry into 'righteous worry' about godly things.

Pope-style advice: never be the smartest guy in the room

A host's Pope-style advice: if you are always the smartest guy in the room, you are in the wrong room. He confesses he loves teaching but rarely submits himself to be taught, and resolves at 22 to always surround himself with people further in their walk with Christ. The others warn against the deceit of 'learning' that is just agreeing with people as a colleague, and note how hard it is to listen when preparing your next thing to say.

Dear LFTP: the cat, the vet bill, and the cheapskate brother

• Am I in line to expect to be paid back for the carpet cleaner I rented and the vet bill for neutering my brother's cat?

A listener watched his brother's cats for months; one matured and marked territory, and the brother now refuses to reimburse the carpet cleaner rental and the vet bill for neutering. All hosts side against the brother, calling him a cheapskate. The secular answer read on air: board the cats at the vet under the brother's name and address.

Dear LFTP: barbershop quartet recitals, honesty, and show close

• Should I be honest with my sister-in-law that I do not enjoy her two-to-three-hour barbershop quartet recitals?

A listener asks whether to be honest with her sister-in-law that two-to-three-hour barbershop quartet recitals every few weeks are unbearable. The hosts land on honest but kind: say it is not your thing, go once a year or show up once so she knows you are there for her. One host argues that constantly inviting people to boring things is itself selfish, and another says people can 'smell placation' in a highly advertised society. The secular answer read on air suggests being 'tactful,' which the hosts mock as an alternative to lying. The episode closes with sponsor mentions for Westfield Veterinary Hospital and Bob Eisenlauer.