October 20, 2014 Podcast

Show open, hibachi meetup plan, and tonight's rundown

The main host opens the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper, tells listeners to watch Twitter for a listener hibachi-buffet meetup (buy your own buffet — 'we're probably a $45 program'), and previews tonight: point six of the time.com article 'What I Gained When I Lost My Religion,' pope-style advice from Boova and Dave Herrick, Dear LFTP advice letters, and the Houston sermon-subpoena story.

Time.com series point 6: getting Sunday mornings back

The host recaps points 1-5 of the time.com series 'What I Gained When I Lost My Religion' and reads point 6: getting Sunday mornings back. The author argues that giving up prayer, worship, Bible study, witnessing, membership growth, and conferences frees up huge amounts of life for other valuable things.

The hosts push back: an hour on Sunday was never the faith

The hosts answer that the author's complaint only makes sense for nominal religion. One host (speaker-3, addressed as 'Dan' at seg-00409) compares it to a man celebrating his divorce because he now has time for fishing; the others add that the author gave God only an hour a week plus conferences — and conclude with the paraphrase 'Thanks, lukewarm, I'm a spit you out': if following Jesus is a minor inconvenience, jump all the way in or get out. Ends with banter about better health next week and stale communion donuts.

Pope-style advice: Boova's testimony on trusting God with finances

Boova (cued as 'Buva' at seg-00092) gives his pope-style advice: 'you need to trust God,' specifically with finances. He testifies that after breaking down and praying over money troubles a few months ago, God flipped his impossible budget math into surplus giving — he now gives more than ever and is happier, has talked to more people about Jesus, and sees God saying 'find my people and help them.' He closes with the bit's sign-off: 'Now get off my lawn.'

Matthew 6: don't be anxious, seek first the kingdom

The main host connects Boova's testimony to Matthew 6 — not being anxious, the impossibility of serving God and money, and 'seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you' — noting that people want the food-and-clothes promise while skipping the seek-first part. Another host shares a recent prayer asking God to replace his own filter with a kingdom filter: 'what if I truly grasped kingdom? How does that change my prayer life?'

King Jesus in the medieval court

Ben (speaker-1, who names himself 'Ben' in the imagined scene at seg-00186) describes his mental image of prayer: reporting to King Jesus in a Middle-Ages great hall — 'Ben, tell me what's going on in the kingdom' — and the embarrassment of wandering the pasture in his underwear with the armor of God left by the bed when King Jesus rides by. The hosts affirm Boova's pope-style, and a song about 'a little bit more' is quoted in passing.

The Houston sermon subpoenas, explained

• What is the appropriate Christian reaction to the Houston sermon subpoenas — one that furthers the kingdom?

The hosts lay out the Houston story: a city restroom-access ordinance, pastors' petitions, and a lawyer acting on the mayor's behalf subpoenaing pastors' sermons during the lawsuit's initial discovery — so broad it could cover any public speech related to the ordinance. The host frames the question of the day: as a guy that loves Jesus, what is the appropriate reaction that furthers the kingdom?

Kingdom-first response to the subpoenas

Dan (speaker-3) reframes the question: 'How does the First Amendment impact the kingdom?' — if we serve a kingdom beyond this kingdom, the subpoena is irrelevant: 'I'm an open book. Let me tell you about Jesus.' Boova (speaker-0) argues Jesus' kingdom is higher than any nation's and Christians should expect persecution and consequences for choosing it. Citing Revelation 13, the hosts wrestle with how much energy to spend fighting for speech rights versus other kingdom work, and conclude Christians should stop fighting culture battles they lost long ago: 'Kingdom living was never a majority in the United States.'

Laws don't change hearts

A host (speaker-2) argues there is no set of laws that solves the land — the battle is won by engaging hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit in us, not legislation; even God's own people blew up His law by looking for loopholes. Dan adds that culture shifted because the church failed to make disciples, electing politicians who shifted away from God. The hosts agree: Christians are not sent to change the ideals of the earthly kingdom but to bring people into God's kingdom — 'we are always electing a president; we are not serving a king Jesus in our country.'

Thankful Leper update: the roundup, the locker room, Monday-night pizza

Boova (speaker-0) updates the Thankful Leper ministry's downtown Des Moines work: the 'roundup' every other Sunday at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park (next one October 26 at 2pm), needed donations (camping gear, hygiene items, and gift cards for Subway, Walmart, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco John's, Jimmy John's, and QuickTrip), a planned 'locker room' where homeless campers can safely store belongings during the day, and Monday-night hot meals at Chef D's Rock Power Pizza. He gives thankfulleper.squarespace.com, names Bobby Depper and April Babcock as contacts, and jokingly gives his own Facebook name as 'Troy Engeldinger' (also searchable as 'John Buva'). The main host offers the show's inbox as a relay.

Sponsors, the Misfit Toys Tour, and radio-hour sign-off

The hosts plug sponsors Bob Eisenlauer — congratulating Bob on his engagement (both Bob and John Eisenlauer visited last week) at eisenhowerteam.com — and Westfield Veterinary Hospital, noting co-host Mike is absent tonight and his wife is filling in at the clinic. They promote the Misfit Toys Tour (November 7-9 in Marion, Des Moines at First Federated Church, and Osceola, with Mark and the Owls, Egypt Speaks, Hunter Dumped, and Sweet Ascent) and sign off the radio hour.

Second pope-style: trust God with a few thousand dollars

The second pope-style comes from speaker-2 (cued at seg-00445 as 'Eric,' likely ASR for 'Herrick' — 'Dave Herrick' was placed in-studio with pope style at seg-00015), reading from a written sheet: God wants to do astounding things, let Him; 'you're trusting God with your eternal salvation, so what's a few thousand dollars compared to that?'; and a straight scripture quote closing it — 'Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed' (Joshua 21:45). The hosts riff that Christians should be faithful to the broad things Jesus already called them to rather than waiting on a special stool for specific direction.

Dear LFTP: the cowgirl Halloween costume with a toy gun

• Is it appropriate to let my seven-year-old have a holster and an obviously toy gun with her cowgirl Halloween costume?

Boova (speaker-0) reads the Dear LFTP letter from 'Confused about Halloween in Montana': her 7-year-old's cowgirl costume wants boots, hat, and a holstered toy gun — is that appropriate? The hosts say take the gun ('unless you're going as the eunuch cowboy'), especially in Montana. The 'secular answer' agrees a clearly-toy gun is fine, cites Jessie from Toy Story 2, and suggests teaching gun safety — which leads to a riff on educating kids about real things (kids on cooking shows) instead of just fearing them.

Dear LFTP: should I write the custody-battle reference letter?

• Should I write the reference letter for the acquaintance in the custody battle when I didn't witness her change and doubt her parenting?

Boova (speaker-0) reads the letter from 'Acquaintance in Georgia': a female acquaintance asked her repeatedly for a recommendation letter for a custody battle — she was sober over a year after past drug and alcohol problems, but the writer didn't witness the change and finds her parenting questionable. The hosts' advice: be honest — write only what you actually observed and let her decide whether to submit it. Dan (speaker-3) recounts being grilled by an attorney in a similar case and says to report observations, not verdicts. The secular answer (decline and don't mention the parenting doubts to preserve the relationship) is read and called 'terrible advice.'

Dear LFTP: how to thank the convenience-store clerks

• How can I appropriately thank the two men who run the convenience store nearly every hour of the week?

Boova (speaker-0) reads the letter from 'Appreciative in Albany': two men run the corner convenience store nearly around the clock and the writer wants to thank them. The hosts' advice: just say thanks — even awkwardly — or Yelp them; the 'secular answer' agrees (tell them, and spread word of mouth). The main host adds a serious coda: saying the appreciative things you otherwise only think is a practice most people should do more.

Awkward stories and the closing donation push

The Dear LFTP letters spark awkward-story time: the main host (speaker-1) recounts mistaking a first-time church visitor's circumstances ('my small talk skills are just like a notch above Mike Foost' — i.e., Mike Fust), and Boova (speaker-0) tells how he watched a friend mistake a stranger for him at Dairy Queen and tickle the stranger's stomach, unable to intervene. The hosts close by urging listeners to bring donations to the Thankful Leper roundup — October 26, 2pm, Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines: 'the stuff that we take for granted means the world to someone who doesn't have it.'