February 9, 2015 Podcast

Show open from the Pathway Studios

The episode opens with the standard announcer-style open placing the show at the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper: 'You are live from the path.'

Tonight's lineup and the Pope-style advice premise

A host previews the night: Pope-style advice from Mike on retooling his parenting style, Dear LFTP letters, and Dan's forgotten Pope-style advice. He then explains the Pope-style premise: a crowd convinced you are the Pope camps on your lawn and will not leave until you give them advice.

Sponsor reads and Dan's dog

Continuing the lead-in from the prior segment, a host plugs sponsor Bob Eisenlauer's realty team (eisenhowerteam.com) and Westfield Veterinary Hospital, where he takes his dogs. Banter follows about another host's aging dog never making it to the vet.

Super Bowl Illuminati clip follow-up

The hosts recap the prior episode's dismissal of Super Bowl halftime-show Illuminati talk as making God look small and Jesus-followers look foolish. A clip was posted, comments were disabled, and it earned a thumbs-down from a believer, which the hosts take as a badge of honor. They mention an ill-fated attempt to 'live tweet the grays' that went badly, then fast-forward into the parenting discussion already in progress.

Pope-style advice: rules versus relationship in parenting

A host delivers his Pope-style advice, drawn from parenting teacher Dave Herrick: move away from rule-based parenting toward connecting with the child and letting them grow into who God designed. Jesus, he argues, did not come to write 'the new Old Testament'; the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) describes the kingdom's end results rather than laying out rules. When you find yourself reaching for rules, that signals a lack of relationship -- illustrated by having no rule about forks near electrical sockets because the relationship makes it unnecessary. Closing advice: if you find yourself reaching for rules, with parenting or with people generally, double-check the relationship.

Hosts riff: box-checking faith versus following Jesus

The hosts build on the advice. One host reflects that raising his youngest (just turned 18) worked the same way: hardly any rules, big-picture modeling of following Jesus, with boundaries kept in the back of the head. The conversation widens: church arguments are often rule-based hand-slapping; Jesus draws no arbitrary line between art and pornography -- pursuing God leads to good choices without boxes. A host recounts preaching on divorce and remarriage that Sunday and spotting the 'box checkers' afterward. The segment lands on the line that before Jesus you may say 'your Bible wasn't really clear on that,' and he answers, 'Yeah, but my voice was.'

Dear LFTP: ex married the woman he cheated with

• How can I move on and be happy after my ex married the woman he cheated on me with nine years ago?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter from a woman devastated that her ex-boyfriend -- who cheated on her nine years ago -- married the other woman and had a baby; she wonders why he got the happy ending she wanted and how to move on. The hosts advise: don't try to get him back or seek closure from him, forgive him and let go, and recognize she is 'mourning a cookie you never had' -- the relationship she lost never really existed. The Secular answer advises keeping busy, meeting new people, and boxing up or discarding mementos of the relationship.

Dear LFTP: new job, boss says he is trying too hard

• My new boss says I am trying too hard and overcompensating for my age; how do I put these feelings aside and how much should I change who I am?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter from a 26-year-old whose new boss says he is trying too hard and overcompensating for his age; his confidence is shot and he asks how much of himself to modify. The hosts split: some argue the boss may be a threatened, poor leader and he should quit and go where effort is valued; others argue he should consider that the feedback may be right, stay humble, and not overstep. The Secular answer: lie low until he learns the lay of the land, then conference with the boss and ask to be guided.

Dear LFTP: friends who keep borrowing the oven

• I host all the friend dinners and am losing affection for guests who borrow my kitchen and oven; do you have suggestions or is it too late?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter from a woman who hosts all the friend dinners and is losing affection for guests who interrupt her prep asking for serving dishes and oven time. The hosts advise saying something directly -- ask guests to cook at home or give a heads up -- noting that friendships hinged on dinners are tenuous, and riff into a bit about a guest who steals toilet paper roll by roll. The Secular answer says the pattern is established, she complained to the wrong person, and she should widen her circle. A Moabites/Ruth joke closes the segment.

Dear LFTP: colleague's toddlers at the office

• Is there a polite way to ask a colleague to stop bringing her young kids to work, or should I ask management to move my office?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter asking whether to politely ask a colleague to stop bringing her two- and four-year-olds to work or ask management to move offices. The hosts advise starting from grace -- assume an underlying circumstance, learn her story before judging -- and debate HR versus direct conversation (the Secular answer says go to HR/the supervisor). Comedy riffs follow: hiring their own toddlers to retaliate, and a word-association run that names the coworkers Brenda and Linda.

Dear LFTP: third engagement party, gift obligatory?

• If my friend's son gets engaged a third time and has an engagement party, am I obligated to bring a gift?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter asking whether a gift is obligatory at a family friend's son's third engagement party, after two broken engagements kept both rounds of gifts. The hosts agree the letter-writer has given enough and that the son should stop accepting gifts; one host notes he would return the gifts himself. The discussion veers into a long bit: engagement parties 'are not a real thing,' one host is asked if Ben ever had one, and another host admits he has never heard of a toaster oven or a bread box, prompting a full explanation. The Secular answer: by now she has given enough, and the family surely will not invite the same people expecting more gifts.

Sign-off and KTIA radio plug

The hosts close the show, thank listeners, and note the broadcast airs on 99.3 KTIA every Saturday night at 7:00.