June 30, 2014 Podcast

Show open: nicknames, the Hamburglar, and tonight's topics

• What is the responsibility of a man who loves Jesus to speak on moral issues, publicly or one-on-one?

A host opens with the produced intro and the live start from the Pathway studios. The hosts riff on nicknames after a host reports his wife accused him of giving everyone nicknames, including the origin of the nickname 'the Hamburglar'. A host previews the episode's main topics: a question about a Jesus-follower's responsibility to speak on moral issues, a news roundup with Dan, Dear LFTP advice on mother-in-law problems, and a bit of 'pope-style advice' from a fake-pope premise.

Sponsor acknowledgments

A host thanks the show's two sponsors: Bob Eisenlauer with the Eisenhower team (transcript renders 'Eisenhower') at eisenhowerteam.com, and Westfield Veterinary Hospital in Johnston at westfieldvethospital.com, noting they allow online appointment scheduling.

News: man punches churchgoer over saved pew space

• How would you respond if someone sat in the area at church you were saving for your family?

The news host (addressed as Dan on-air, speaker-1) reports a story about a 52-year-old man accused of punching another man and hitting him with his car in a dispute over pew space saved for a baby blessing and missionary farewell. The hosts discuss the multiple-choice response options and land on giving up the seat as servants do, riffing on seating etiquette, with one host telling a story about a Perkins restaurant's confusing '9PM to close' all-you-can-eat pancakes sign.

News: California nanny refuses to leave

• How would you treat the elderly woman (the nanny who refuses to work or leave) if she were in your home?

The news host (speaker-1) reports on a 64-year-old woman hired through Craigslist for room and board in exchange for light housekeeping and childcare who stopped working, confined herself to her bedroom, and refused to leave, threatening to sue for wrongful termination. The hosts debate whether to treat her as family or start eviction, and a host quotes Leviticus 19:32 about honoring the gray head.

News and discussion: Hobby Lobby Supreme Court ruling

• If the law required your business to provide post-conception pregnancy-termination benefits, what would you do: comply, fight through fines and fees, or sell the business?

The news host (speaker-1) reports the Supreme Court's same-day ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby, allowing for-profit businesses to cite religious objections to opt out of the requirement to provide free post-conception pregnancy-ending coverage. The hosts hold a long debate over the business-owner's dilemma: comply with the law, fight through fines and fees (one host's choice), or sell the business (another host's choice), probing provider culpability, complicity via taxes, render-to-Caesar, and a Nazi Germany hypothetical about handing over Jewish neighbors.

Hard question: a Jesus-follower's responsibility on moral issues

• Should Christians try to legislate morality, or focus on changing hearts one person at a time?

Returning to the episode's framing question, a host reads from an article about a pastor who took a public stand on legal marijuana: raised being told drinking beer made him a bad Christian, insisting the Bible only names drunkenness as sin, and refusing blanket statements about medical cannabis oil used by families in his special-needs ministry. He quotes the article's line pointing people back to scripture ('don't be drunk on wine; be filled with the Holy Spirit') and poses the question: at what point are Christians stepping in as the Holy Spirit for others rather than pointing them to scripture and letting the Spirit convict?

Radio break for 99.3 listeners

A host takes a twenty-second commercial break for listeners on 99.3 and directs KTA listeners to livefromthepath.org during the week.

Discussion continues: legislating morality vs changing hearts

After the break the hosts continue the moral-responsibility discussion: whether believers should try to legislate morality or focus on one-on-one heart change. They argue legislating produces whitewashed appearances (citing 1950s moral culture and 'leave it to Beaver' cleanliness hiding real rot), that changing laws does not change hearts, and close on the posture of being 'the means people, not the ends people' who must let Jesus lead rather than enlisting Him to bless their causes.

Pope-style advice: let Jesus lead, not follow you

A host delivers the promised 'pope-style advice' from the fake-pope premise: when you claim to follow Jesus, watch how often you stand still and ask Jesus to follow you instead. He warns against taking a pale pastel of Jesus' character (e.g. 'God is love') and painting a whole landscape that enlists Jesus as backer for your own passions, using an Elton John quote ('Jesus would support this union') as the example. The advice: come to scripture willing to be changed by it rather than looking for affirmation, distinguishing people who want Jesus as Savior from those who submit to Him as Lord.

Dear LFTP: mother-in-law 'Bea' excludes the wife

• Must I stay away as my husband says, or should I pursue keeping myself included when they visit from my mother-in-law?

The reader reads a letter from a wife whose mother-in-law Bea handed her a hotel room key and told her to take the children but not her husband, then spent the rest of the visit in the hotel herself; the husband now says the wife makes his mother uncomfortable and may not visit. The hosts side firmly with the wife, call the husband a 'mama's boy' who has made his mother the primary woman in his life, advise professional Christian counseling and possibly an outside authority figure to confront him, then read the 'secular' response suggesting she take a spa vacation when Bea visits.

Dear LFTP: 17-year-old wants to return to high school

• I am 17, living in a motel, and want to return to high school after depression — can I still graduate?

The reader reads a letter from a 17-year-old junior whose family lost their home and lives in a motel; she has battled depression, has not attended school since last September, but now wants to return, take extra periods or summer school, and graduate, fearing her mother will disapprove. The hosts agree she should go back and talk to a school counselor about enrollment and possible transfer, then read the 'secular' response affirming her determination and urging her to speak with a counselor or principal.

Outro: sponsors and next-week preview

A host reprises the sponsors (Bob Eisenlauer with the Eisenhower team and Westfield Veterinary Hospital) and previews next week: a discussion of a marriage-month tip advising women to say 'thank you,' 'great job,' and 'I'm so proud of you' instead of the 'I love you' words that come naturally.