February 23, 2015 Podcast

Show open: four years on the air

A host opens from the Pathway Studios in Johnston with the signature line, jokes that after nearly four years on the air he still cannot land a proper opening, and riffs on the show's 'honest faith' tagline.

What Lent is: John Wagner walks the hosts through it

• Is Lent a biblical command from Jesus or a human tradition?
• Why do people put ashes on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday?

John Wagner, a Methodist-church friend invited on to answer the question, explains Lent as the forty days of Christ's temptation walked toward Easter: giving something up or taking something on as a discipline, not a biblical command. The hosts work through Ash Wednesday (ashes as a reminder of human frailty and need for salvation) and Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday as the indulgence before the fast, and land on the principle that traditions are not holy but can be useful when they point to Christ rather than to self.

Tonight's rundown

A host previews the night's lineup: a '50 Shades or Song of Solomon' quiz game, Dan Hudson's 'pope style' message about his daughter's bold scholarship essay, and Boova's question about whether sharing Jesus through Facebook comment sections is real evangelism or a trap.

Twitter's top 100 things given up for Lent, 2015 edition

The hosts read through a list of the top things Americans said they were giving up for Lent in 2015 (school, chocolate, Twitter, alcohol, social networking, swearing, soda, sweets, fast food, coffee), riff on joke entries like 'having sex with boys' and 'giving up you', and conclude that the list shows people self-convicting on real moral guideposts while embracing only the superficial part of the practice — giving things up without letting it point to Christ. Source cited: an openbible.info blog post on the 2015 Lent Twitter data.

Facebook evangelism: speaking with people, not at them

• Is commenting about Jesus on Facebook a real relationship or a substitute for one?
• Are there dos and don'ts for talking about Jesus in a Facebook comment section?

Boova raises his crossroads question: when friends pour out hurting posts on Facebook, is commenting about Jesus legitimate evangelism or a substitute for real one-on-one relationship? John Wagner argues electronic communication is real communication and the hosts should not dismiss it; the hosts converge on treating comment threads like face-to-face conversations — don't verse-drop and leave (imagining 'Proverbs 8:9' quoted at a stranger then walking away), don't pile on, prefer private messages for heavy things, and remember that throwing chapter-and-verse without the words is pompous and excludes people. A sidebar takes up a host's question about why he does not care about fasting: the hosts point to Jesus' example of fasting before choosing the disciples and before the temptation as a biblical discipline worth asking God about.

Game: 50 Shades or Song of Solomon

A host runs a ten-question quiz borrowed from faith.com: guess whether each racy quote comes from Song of Solomon or Fifty Shades of Grey. The panel mostly nails it; correct Song of Solomon calls land on 7:2 (belly button like a goblet of wine), 8:10 (breasts like towers), 4:13 (thighs sheltering pomegranates), and 1:2 (love sweeter than wine). The debrief distinguishes the two: Solomon's lines admire the beauty of God's creation and are about the other person, while the Shades lines are self-focused. A host closes by noting God created these things and points us to complete joy in what He made rather than outside it.

Pope style: Dan Hudson on speaking faith boldly

• How do we share our faith boldly without being weird or silent?

In the episode's 'pope style' bit, Dan Hudson delivers his mock-papal advice to a fictional crowd on his lawn: speak your faith boldly no matter the consequence. His backstory is his daughter's college scholarship competition, where she risked roughly $150,000 by answering a math prompt (discovered or created?) with an essay on God's design — the number e in a snail shell and in a beautiful face — rather than taking the safe route. A host extends the point with N. T. Wright's framing of the gospel as news (an event that changed reality) rather than moral advice, and with the story of Jonah: share the news and let God handle the converting.

Truth Network sign-off and sponsor reads

A host signs off the 99.3 Truth Network radio audience, gives the contact email (info@livefromthepath.org), and reads sponsor thanks for realtor Bob Eisenlauer (eisenlauerteam.com) and Westfield Veterinary Hospital (westfieldvethospital.com), urging listeners to thank them for keeping the show on the air.

Dear LFTP: should I send my ex a birthday card after the breakup?

• Should I send my ex a birthday card and gift even though she asked for no contact?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter: after a three-year relationship ended over distance, the writer's ex asked for no contact to let things heal, but her birthday is coming and he wonders whether sending a card and gift is appropriate. The hosts are unanimous — leave her alone; her silence request is itself the gift she asked for, illustrated by a seventh-grade Nike-vs-Adidas socks story about giving people what they actually want. The read-aloud 'secular answer' disagrees and says send the card; one host admits he agrees with the secular take.

Dear LFTP: phone calls in public restrooms, handwashing, and the sign-off

• Is it okay to talk on a cell phone in a public restroom?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter signed 'nurse Betty' asking whether it is okay for men to talk on cell phones at the urinal (John Wagner is cited as a sighted offender) and reminding everyone to wash their hands. The hosts spiral into restroom etiquette comedy: hand-washing competitions, refusing to wash when the stalls are empty, shaming others with ten-second washes, and using the bathroom as a kid-free 'house of freedom' for phone calls. The secular answer calls public restroom phone calls very rude and advises using a paper towel on door handles. The episode closes with thanks to guest John Wagner and a final restroom joke.