December 15, 2014 Podcast

Show open and the theme-song copyright story

The episode opens with the standard 'Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper' introduction. A host explains that the show's theme song was written by the band New World Son and that, for the last three weeks, YouTube's Content ID system has been flagging the uploaded episodes because someone owns that tune; YouTube only requires acknowledging the usage, not stopping it. A half-joke about recording an acapella version follows.

What the show is about and tonight's lineup

A host describes the show as 'honest faith, fierce grace, and donkeys' — a Monday-night conversation by people who love Jesus and talk about it without talking at the audience, urging listeners to be Bereans and check everything against Scripture. He previews the episode: guest Mary Wastee of Wycliffe Bible Translators, guest Matt Baer (lead singer of Spoken) with a worship album coming, Dear LFTP advice, and a story about an actor from 10 Things I Hate About You. A host addresses someone named Ben by name during the Dear LFTP preview.

Actor starts a New-Age temple; how do we describe the Holy Spirit?

• How should Christians describe the work of the Holy Spirit without it sounding like vague New-Age energy?
• How do you tell the difference between being merciful and being a doormat?

A host recounts a Vice story about Andrew Keegan — the 'jerk boyfriend' actor from 10 Things I Hate About You — starting a New-Age spiritual movement called Full Circle in Venice, California, after a street lamp exploded and a heart-shaped rose quartz crystal jumped off an altar. The hosts chuckle, then turn serious: the movement's vague language about synchronicity and energy sounds uncomfortably like the way Christians often describe the Holy Spirit. They confess to using 'it feels like a Holy Spirit thing' as a cop-out when they don't know what else to say, and one host recounts a real conversation about being merciful versus being a doormat where he nearly used the Holy Spirit as a dodge. The consensus: the Holy Spirit is a tangible advocate with real fruit, not a vague energy blob.

Mary Wastee interview, part 1: Wycliffe and language survey

• Do Bible translators work from the Greek, the Latin Vulgate, or an English translation?

The guest Mary Wastee (speaker-5), a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators, explains her role: she does language survey work paving the way for Bible translation, rather than translating directly. She shares her testimony of reading Isaiah 49:16 ('I have engraved you on the palms of my hands') and of the Pentecost idea that the Spirit speaks the language of people's hearts. She traces her path: Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell at age 15, an exchange year in Germany at 19 sparking a love of linguistics, then remembering Wycliffe. She tells how she signed up for a Guatemala short-term trip but was accidentally assigned to Papua New Guinea, took it as God's leading, and went. She explains that translating one New Testament takes 10–20 years of immersion plus peer review, and that translators work with local speakers; whether they work from Greek depends on the missionary, as long as the original meaning is rendered. She asks for two things: prayer support and monthly financial support via wycliffe.org/give, giving a missionary account number.

Matt Baer interview: Spoken's singer and the worship album

The guest Matt Baer (speaker-6), lead singer of Spoken, discusses his upcoming worship album. He explains that during the two-and-a-half-year writing process for Spoken's last record (seven albums out), some songs came out too spiritual — 'Jesus songs' that didn't fit Spoken. The turning point came when the band played a Louisiana church and was asked to lead worship the next morning; he volunteered despite never having led worship, and finished a song in desperation ('God, I love you. I need you') that became a chorus. He describes the worship record as just him and a guitar with loops and keys — laid back but more worshipful — and stresses that the worship record is an extension of his ministry, with ministry to his family first. He has a Kickstarter campaign running to fund studio time in January.

Matt Baer performs 'Carry Me'

Matt Baer performs an acoustic song he says is about needing Jesus to carry you through a situation because 'we screw everything up,' written during a time of confusion while asking God for guidance; he titles it 'Carry Me.' The singing voice (speaker-8) is later confirmed by a host as Matt Baer. Afterward, the hosts react warmly, with one host saying anytime someone sings about Jesus smiling at him, it makes him happy.

Kickstarter, fans, and touring with the worship record

The conversation turns to the Kickstarter campaign, which is 'getting real close' to funded, and the role of fans: a host notes that Christian bands only afford gas from point A to point B because of praying, ticket-buying fans, so bands shouldn't treat fans poorly. Matt says the worship record is an extension of the ministry God gave him, and that keeping family as the first ministry is hard to juggle but non-negotiable; he tours acoustically with his wife and kids between Spoken tours, gone about eight months a year. On touring plans, he has nothing booked for Spoken in 2015 — a first — since the band is writing and recording, and he'd love a full-band tour for the worship record but doesn't know the plan.

What's Jesus talking about: 'I never knew you' (Matthew 7:21–23)

• How can you tell if your Christian works are genuine obedience or 'works of lawlessness' (Matthew 7:21–23)?

A host asks 'Herrick' (speaker-4) what Jesus is talking about this week, and Herrick teaches Matthew 7:21–23: not everyone who calls Jesus 'Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven; many will cite prophesying, casting out demons, and mighty works, and hear 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' The panel reacts with sober self-examination: one host says it scares him; the group lands on the distinction between facade and fruit — works done to direct the ends and ask God to bless them are lawlessness, while faithfulness in the means lets God handle the ends. References include the Crusades, the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19), David's prayer 'test me and know my heart' (Psalm 139), and an anecdote about Tim Timmons saying he had 'this Christian thing nailed down' but realized that's not what it's about. Herrick shares that this passage once woke him from a dream realizing he was on the wrong side, and it turned his life around.

Mary Wastee interview, part 2: Papua New Guinea logistics and support

The interview with Mary Wastee continues on practical questions about Papua New Guinea: it is politically welcoming to missionaries, but some tribes are hostile to outside religions and there is syncretism between animist/spiritualist beliefs and Christianity. Travel is hard — dense jungle, poor roads, sometimes flying in with no landing areas. She explains her survey work: gathering 100–500-word lists through the Tok Pisin trade language, comparing language similarity percentages, and running sociocultural surveys to decide which dialect area a translation should serve so resources aren't wasted or skipped. A host plugs wycliffe.org/give and her missionary account number (stated once as 227552 and once as 22752), suggesting listeners give up one Burger King run a month ($5+) for monthly support; comic banter follows about a 'pop addiction' and turning a 'pop addiction into a Papua addiction.'

Boova's request: 'Sleep Well Tonight' (cut short by the radio break)

A host requests a Spoken song he has long had on his playlist, and Matt Baer introduces 'Sleep Well Tonight' as 'Boova's request.' Matt begins singing, but the performance is cut off mid-song as the segment transitions into the Truth Network radio sign-off ('That was Matt Baird').

Radio sign-off and sponsor shout-outs

The hosts sign off the Truth Network 99.3 simulcast, thanking guests Mary Wastee and Matt Baer and promising the podcast audience they'll be right back. They plug two sponsors: Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer team (eisenhowerteam.com, a realtor in the CityView 'best realtor' vote) and Westville Veterinary Hospital (westvillevethospital.com), joking that listeners should thank them at midnight because no legitimate organization would put the show on the air for free.

Post-break banter and the Petra concert remote stream

Back for the podcast-only portion, the hosts riff on old broadcast-loop video before recounting their best remote event: a livestreamed Petra concert at a church, shot on a 'junk ball camera' in a top corner, which became their most-viewed YouTube video by far. The story doubles as self-deprecating humor — three years of Jesus content, and the Petra concert 'totally dominates the YouTube channel' — leading into the guests being welcomed as the show's actual talent.

Dear LFTP: the picky-husband lunch saga

• What should a wife do about a husband whose lunch demands keep changing while he overspends on takeout?

The Dear LFTP letter comes from a stay-at-home wife whose husband demands a packed lunch every day — with a breakfast item and a lunch item — plus an ever-changing list of picky preferences (no sandwiches, no spaghetti with twisted noodles, no too many peppers), yet refuses to pack his own and overspends on takeout if she doesn't. One host tells a Ron Swanson-esque story of ordering 'all of the breakfast' at Taco Bell for $18. Advice ranges from blunt ('deal with what she gives you or make your own') to a comic roleplay of the marital standoff, to the serious point that the husband needs accountability from male friends who will 'take him to the woodshed.' Mary Wastee gives the woman's-perspective answer: she feels disvalued and treated like a vending machine, and should give him the 'straight dope' biblically, walking through Proverbs 31. The Secular answer suggests having the husband help with weekend marketing and packing labeled containers with lean protein.

Dear LFTP: how to get off the shower invitation list

• How do I get off the bridal and baby shower invitation list?

A woman in her forties writes that she loathes bridal and baby showers — the games, the chatter, the cheap door prizes — and wants off the invitation list, asking whether other women feel the same. Advice: Mary says just keep politely declining, since the invitation itself is an expression of friendship; a host suggests owning the quirk publicly so people stop inviting her without taking it personally; another host tells how he got himself uninvited by deliberately bringing the wrong-gendered gift (boy clothes for a girl named Sutton) until the invites stopped. A crude baby-shower game ('pin the sperm on the uterus') sparks a medical-terms riff and an Ezekiel joke. The Secular answer predicts that if she stays unavailable, the invitations will eventually taper off.

Closing: share Mary's interview and 'faithful to the means'

The host closes by pointing listeners to lifeinthepath.org for past clips including Matt Baer's performances, asking them to share Mary's interview, pray for her, and support her at wycliffe.org/give (account number given again). He thanks the audience and ends with the sign-off 'Faithful to the means. Have a good week.'