March 16, 2015 Podcast

Show open

A produced music voiceover and a host open the show live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. No names are attached to the voices in the audio.

A pastor's jumbo jet

• What is the godly perspective on a pastor raising millions of dollars for a private jet?

The hosts discuss news of a pastor raising money for a giant private jet, which none of them can defend; one quips the headline could read 'man steals money from God.' Their concern is less the man asking than the donors giving to ease guilt instead of seeking where God wants their funds. One host calls the whole discourse a distraction from the depths of Satan and says there is little middle ground to discuss.

Tonight's lineup and sponsors

A host previews the show: things learned in youth group that have to be unlearned, a USA Today piece on Southern Baptists urging members to marry younger, another round of the 'what's Jesus talking about' bit, and a Dear LFTP letter about a bathroom photo and violated trust. Sponsor spots follow for realtor Bob Eisenlauer and Westfield Veterinary Hospital, including an anecdote about pranking a vet receptionist over a one-eyed stray cat.

Southern Baptists urged to marry younger

• Should the church push its members to marry younger than the culture?

The hosts react to a USA Today article in which a Southern Baptist Convention policy expert, Andrew Walker, urges members to marry younger than the national median age to beat cultural trends. They reject the premise: singleness is not a failed state (Jesus, Paul and several disciples were single), marriage is not a fix for sexual sin or for 'extended adolescence,' and seeking God's heart matters more than conforming to or defying the culture. They also criticize the convention's culture-battle posture toward same-sex marriage, arguing the church's job is to draw people to Jesus, not paint the culture to look like him.

Match.com, involuntary winking, and a late arrival

The host addressed on-air as 'Buba' (speaker-2) recounts a late-night Match.com sign-up that someone sabotaged by setting all his interests (cave spelunking, catfish noodling), matching him with everyone and earning two winks. Another host confesses to involuntary real-life winking at a cashier and then a man, to his wife's dismay. A fourth host arrives late, wet, with solder on his belly from a botched first copper-pipe soldering job.

Unlearn #1: peers will persecute you for your faith

• Will your peers and teachers really persecute you for your faith?

Reading from a Relevant Magazine article on youth-group lessons to unlearn, the hosts take up lesson one: that classmates and teachers will persecute you for your faith. They agree the fear was overblown — most hostility they remember was their own awkwardness, disagreement is not persecution, and real biblical persecution was martyrdom, not a classmate disagreeing. One host reframes evangelism as playing offense for Jesus rather than defense against the world.

Unlearn #2: a friend's salvation hinges on your apologetics

• Does a friend's salvation hinge on how well you can defend the gospel?

The hosts take up the article's second lesson: that a friend's salvation depends on having quippy answers and a perfect defense of the gospel. They agree this is still hard to unlearn — Jesus is the savior, not the debater; one's job is to sow and water while God brings the increase. Genuine care and a life visibly shaped by Christ were what drew them to faith, not tracts or retorts; study scripture because you love it, not to win arguments.

Unlearn #3: you have to do something big for God

• Do you have to do something extraordinary to make a difference for God?

The hosts partly push back on the article's third lesson — rejecting only its premise that extraordinary acts are the point, while agreeing the kingdom does not promise 'Red Bull faith' fireworks. Faithfulness in the ordinary, like Enoch walking with God, is the substance: available, everyday obedience matters more than event-hype, and a stagnant life with no fruit is still a problem. The riff ends with Simeon, the aged temple priest who got to meet the newborn Messiah, and the joke that 'clearly saw Jesus' would make a great tombstone.

Station break

Station identification on 99.3 The Truth Network, sponsor thanks, the show's website and email, and an invitation to send criticisms. No substantive discussion.

Hard question: does religion subjugate women through patriarchy?

• How do you respond to the criticism that religion subjugates women through patriarchy?

A listener asks how to handle the criticism that religion subjugates women through patriarchy, usually aimed at Paul's writings on women. The hosts answer that Jesus did more to advance women than anyone in history; Paul's instruction that women learn 'in silence and full submission' was revolutionary precisely because he insisted women be educated at all, and the failure lies in freezing first-century church culture as timeless. They add that some biblical ethics are static (e.g., on homosexuality, in their view) while others move the needle progressively, and warn against cherry-picking isolated verses from a 66-book compilation.

Dear LFTP: the bathroom photo

• Am I overreacting about my wife texting a photo of my mom's bathroom to the neighbors?

A letter writer married 21 years asks if he is overreacting: his wife Barb texted their neighbor friends a photo of his widowed 80-year-old mother's dirty bathroom during a visit, and he feels his trust and friendship were violated. The hosts overwhelmingly say yes, he is overreacting — he left his mother and cleaved to his wife; at most the photo was in poor taste, but he should join in the humor and, if needed, clean the bathroom or hire help. The read 'secular advice' is harsher, suggesting the wife's behavior may be hostile and the mother may need evaluation.

Dear LFTP: Jonah's video-game addiction

• What can I do to help Jonah with his video-game obsession, or is it normal?

A listener dating 30-year-old Jonah for a year asks what to do about his obsessive video-game playing — hours daily, first thing in the morning to last thing at night, now compounded by a lost job — and whether it is normal. The hosts are blunt: anything consuming you to the neglect of relationships and responsibilities must be cut, not trimmed; he needs to man up and she should probably leave, though one host allows the job loss may be feeding it. The 'secular advice' read asks when the addiction started and advises he spend his energy on job-hunting and see a doctor if depressed.

Outro: buffet night in Clive

The hosts announce a listener buffet meetup next Monday at 6:30 at Buffet City, 8801 University Suite 107 in Clive, and ask for RSVPs by email or social media so they can get a big enough table. They plug the show's Twitter and email as the direct line, noting Facebook reach is throttled.