August 18, 2014 Podcast

Show open: shop talk and a studio on the move

speaker-0 opens the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston, introducing himself on-air as "Ben Foust". He jokes the show is like watching a Sound of Music puppet show from behind instead of the front, notes this is the last weekend in the current studio space, and lays out a shop-talk agenda: news items from Mike, a Pope-style segment, and a book he has been reading.

Sponsor reads: Eisenlauer Team property tip and Westville Vet

The host reads two sponsor spots. First, Bob Eisenhower of the Eisenhower team, who called the host about an eight-acre Carlisle property with a house about to be bulldozed because it seemed like his type of deal. Second, Westville Veterinary Hospital, which devolves into a running joke about whether they treat baboons and the danger of being caught with a sick one.

Book share: 'Looking for Allah, Finding Jesus'

The host shares a book he has been reading - "Looking for Allah, Finding Jesus", written by a former Muslim about his journey from Islam to Christ. He argues that bullet-point talking points about other religions fall flat against someone living a deep, intimate faith, and warns against letting laziness dictate what Christians know about what other people believe. The segment ends as a caution: be careful not to misrepresent people.

Media, loud minorities, and treating people as individuals

The discussion widens from the book to how groups get misrepresented: Christians offended by Hollywood's Noah movie and its rock people, the news business that only covers the loud peripheral actors while quiet faithful people go unreported, and evangelism-training formulas like "the 14 characteristics of unchurched Harry and Mary". One host contrasts those formulas with actually knowing the individual coworker - the guy with marriage issues who loves softball and drinks Bud Light - and the segment closes on the line: be open to the fact that there are people behind every belief.

News story: Ohio strippers picket the church that picketed their club

The host reads an Associated Press story out of Ohio: dancers from the Foxhole strip club staged a protest outside New Beginnings Ministries in Warsaw, a church the club owner - identified as George - says has protested his business for years. The owner apologized to the public and other churches for the protest but says judges have repeatedly denied his requests for injunctions against the church protesters; the pastor vowed the church would persist.

Reacting: protesting morality makes God look like the enemy

The hosts agree they are not for the strip club but argue picketing creates the impression that God is against people rather than for them. One host asks where protesting stops - "You're gonna protest your own sin?" - and another says he cannot reconcile sign-holding with the kingdom of God, suggesting instead that people strong enough should build real friendships inside the club and give a care about the people's lives.

Picketing makes no sense: sinners loved Jesus, so why don't they love the church?

• Sinful people loved being around Jesus - why has that not transferred to our churches?

One host says picketing anyone, from a Christian perspective, makes no sense after reading the Bible; another notes the radical fact that sinful people - prostitutes, tax collectors - wanted to be around Jesus, and asks why that has not transferred to churches. The group concludes it means the church is not acting like Jesus and that many religious people have missed the power of God's love. The segment ends with a host citing Paul's stance: "I know Christ crucified," and trusting the rest to God's presence.

Savior and Lord: 'don't tell me to be Jesus, tell me about Jesus'

• If a strip club protested our church, what would the right practical response be?

Reacting to a Facebook line - "don't tell me to be Jesus, tell me about Jesus" - the hosts argue both camps miss something: Jesus is Savior and Lord, and submitting to his lordship necessarily changes how you live, versus a "me and Jesus" gospel that reduces salvation to a yellow-cab ride to heaven. Asked directly what the practical answer would be if a strip club protested them, Mike's side of the room lands on coffee and donuts from the ladies, with spare baptistry robes on hand. The segment dissolves into jokes about penicillin and Ninja Turtles.

Dear LFTP: the 62-year-old lifelong bachelor

• What can a never-married 62-year-old man say to women who ask why he is still single?

The reader shares a letter from a 62-year-old man who has never married, lives with his mom, and wants advice on what to tell women who interrogate him about it - even floating the idea of lying that he is a widower. The hosts roast him: get a $30 wedding ring, watch Failure to Launch, make peace with singleness with God, and stop trying to trick a woman into marrying him. The Secular answer warns that lying destroys credibility, notes not everyone is meant to be married, and observes he may not be able to afford marriage.

Dear LFTP: after the affair - restoration, not revenge

• Should a wife whose husband had an affair and stays emotionally distant keep waiting for renewal, or is the marriage over?

A woman writes that her husband of thirty years had an affair eighteen months ago, stayed in touch with the other woman until she ended it, and remains distant and unaffectionate; she asks whether to keep waiting for renewal. The hosts frame it through Jesus's teaching on the heart - the husband is still emotionally cheating - and advise she pursue restoration, not revenge, likening it to God wooing Israel back after he was wronged. One host recommends Gary Smalley's "five love languages" concept of the empty love tank, and the Secular answer suggests a licensed marriage counselor.

Dear LFTP: the husband who pressures his wife to drink

• What should a woman do when her husband pressures her to drink and embarrasses her in front of friends?

A woman who dislikes alcohol and has a low tolerance writes that her husband badgers her into drinking in front of friends until she gives in, then gets upset when she wants sleep instead of intimacy. Advice ranges from the comic - hit him, throw the wine at him, escalated as a joke and then vetoed - to the serious: just say no, stop going out with him, and tell him honor and respect are the price of her time. The Secular answer flags possible problem drinking and points her to Al-Anon.

Dear LFTP: springing a courthouse wedding on a skeptical mom

• How and when should a couple tell the groom's mother - who thinks marriage is just a piece of paper - about their courthouse wedding?

A woman writes that she and her boyfriend plan a courthouse wedding but disagree on telling his mother, who believes marriage is just a piece of paper - he wants to surprise her at the courthouse, she wants to give her time to adjust. The hosts land on telling her plainly ahead of time: the decision is the couple's, invite her to show up or not, and let her manage her own reaction. The Secular answer agrees she should be told beforehand, by both of them.

Sign-off

The reader closes the show, telling podcast listeners they get a break this week and KTA listeners the broadcast is ending, and thanking everyone for hanging out.