May 18, 2015 Podcast

Show open, ad banter, and tonight's lineup

The hosts open from the Pathway Studios in Johnston, riff on the Stu Hansen's Dodge City ad tagline ('Open ears are useless without an open mind'), and preview the show: Dave Herrick's pope-style advice, catching up on last week's article, and Dear LFTP letters. They recap last week's musical performances by Wayne Stewart, Jacob Stewart, and Chris Akers and plug Wayne's book on worship.

Pope-style advice: obedience before confirmation

• How do I know whether I've heard God correctly or just manufactured the prompting myself?
• Are Christians — or people generally — too risk-averse to take steps of obedience?

Dave Herrick — whom a crowd of followers has decided is the pope, and who was trapped by them in a cave over the weekend — delivers pope-style advice on the order of faith: we want confirmation, then faith, then obedience, but Jesus demands trust, then obedience, then confirmation, illustrated by Jesus' healing encounters ('go, you're healed' with no confirmation first). The hosts discuss discerning God's voice from manufactured impulses, cultural risk aversion, and God calling people to give before there is evidence (the debt example). Includes the 'tip Dagon over' line and running cave jokes.

Station break: cave jokes, schedule, and sponsors

Wrap-up jokes on the cave bit (the janitor, the white robe), station ID — live Monday nights from around 10pm, replays Saturdays at 7pm on 99.3 KTIA in the Des Moines area — plus plugs for past show clips and the podcast. Sponsor reads: Bob Eisenlauer and the Eisenlauer team (eisenlauerteam.com) and Westfield Veterinary Hospital (westfieldvethospital.com).

Pope-style advice: stop quoting Bible verses to people

Dave Herrick's 'mobile pope' advice from the car: stop attaching verse references when sharing biblical wisdom, illustrated by a hypothetical text conversation with John Mayer — citing a chapter and verse turns a human conversation academic, like attaching a dictionary page number. The hosts agree that sermons land better as human stories than citations, citing an Andy Stanley conference point about giving context (who Paul was, why his view matters). A host would rather his daughter know the Bible's stories and people than rattle off the book order. Closes with a Denzel Washington Twitter joke.

RELEVANT article, part 1: the messiah complex

• Should Christians chase 'sold out' radical devotion, given the article's six problems?

A host (addressed as 'Ben' in the audio) reads 'Six problems with trying to be sold out for Jesus' from RELEVANT magazine: the author's story of dropping out of college at 20 for full-time missions in Africa, the Kony 2012 campaign, and Katie Davis's Amazima Ministries in Uganda. Problem 1: 'you can develop a messiah complex' — Jesus didn't try to help everyone, so why do we. The hosts discuss ministry guilt-tripping, the Crazy Love-inspired rush to sell everything, and reducing faith to performative behavior instead of knowing God.

RELEVANT article, part 2: no room for ordinary

Problem 2: 'there's no room for ordinary' — chasing overseas glamour while ignoring the soup kitchen at home. The hosts argue obedience can be local: work the 40-hour week and talk about Jesus where you are; Moses waited until 80 herding sheep, Enoch just walked with God for 300 years. 'You don't have to create a circus and ask God to join it. You have to be faithful in the means and God will bring the circus.' Includes a tangent on the ark-cart story (the man who died steadying the ark) and the danger of glorifying your own name over God's.

RELEVANT article, part 3: constant guilt, millennials, grace vs guilt

• Is guilt a legitimate motivator for Christian service?

Problem 3: 'you constantly feel guilty.' The hosts dispute that millennials are the most informed generation — access to YouTube, Facebook, and Google mostly feeds cat videos and Kardashian trends, not learning. But they agree guilt is a poor motivator: Jesus is 'the enemy of guilt.' The rich young ruler was told plainly what it would take and left to choose, with no coercion. They reframe the burden as love-driven awareness — being part of God's work of setting wrongs right — rather than guilt-driven activism.

RELEVANT article, part 4: acting like a Pharisee

Problem 4: 'you start acting like a pharisee' — the author's compassion for the suffering curdled into finger-pointing legalism, turning Jesus into a Pharisee too. A host confesses to doing the same: using other Christians' legalism as a punching bag and slandering people who love Jesus. The thread: trying to take God's role into your own hands. Newer believers often project their own growth onto everyone else and need to learn to let God be God.

Radio break: Truth Network sign-off and lounge music

The hosts sign off the 99.3 FM Truth Network broadcast, plug lifeandpath.org and the sponsors (Bob Eisenlauer, Westfield Veterinary Hospital), then play 'I hate you' by Scott Henderson — the friend who provides most of their outro tunes — joking about the lounge-night vibe and dubbing it 'the Ben Show' before returning to the article.

RELEVANT article, part 5: blind devotion and spiritual abuse

Problem 5: 'you could fall into blind devotion' — the author fell into an abusive ministry in Africa with cult-like control over every part of life and misused donor money. The hosts discuss how ministries get away with control tactics that would mean court in the secular world, using 'die to yourself' rhetoric, with women especially susceptible. Paul's praise of the Macedonian churches (they gave to the Lord first, then entrusted it) is contrasted with a pastor who barred neighborhood kids from the church playground: the money was given to the Lord, not to him.

RELEVANT article, part 6: never measuring up — sold out for the work

Problem 6: 'you never seem to measure up' — trying to prove your love for God becomes trying to earn his; 'Jesus was a sacrifice to end all sacrifices.' The hosts' verdict: the author's problem wasn't being sold out for Jesus but being sold out for the work and the actions — chasing the actions instead of the person, seeking Jesus' heart first so the works follow. Replacing Jesus the person with Jesus as a method or recipe is idolatry using God's own words against him.

Dear LFTP: the well-to-do but cheap sister

• Should I confront my sister about her lack of reciprocal hospitality?
• What is the right way to handle the awkward check moment at a group meal?

A listener's sister and husband — well-to-do but cheap — invited themselves for three nights in the snowbird condo, requested separate checks at both dinners despite free lodging and all other meals, and never reciprocated; the wife says don't confront. The hosts advise leaving it alone: generosity shouldn't be a trade of social protocols, and you don't trade a relationship for the bill. The Secular answer is read (stay silent and roll up the welcome mat next time, or speak up — money doesn't equal class), which the hosts gently mock.

Sign-off: Twitter plug and donkey-card callback

Closing plugs — follow on Twitter since Facebook's reach is failing them — plus a callback joke about the birthday card with a donkey on it from earlier in the show and a 'stay faithful' send-off.