June 22, 2015 Podcast

Show open and agenda

• How can I expand my faith beyond Facebook and stop living it out only on social media?

A host opens the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston, welcomes the Des Moines radio audience, and runs through the night's agenda: an in-studio interview with the band Foreverland, a discussion of 'the Who Hot', Boova's Pope-style advice on Facebook faith, advice for a listener letter about expanding faith beyond Facebook, and the weekly 'things I could do without' segment.

Interview: how Foreverland got its name

The hosts interview the band Foreverland. A member explains the band formed when he wanted a change from a southern-rock metal band, started working with Tony, and then Burke joined; the name Foreverland comes from mashing 'forever' and 'loving' together, reflecting a hope-and-encouragement mission at their shows. The band describes its sound as straightforward four-on-the-floor rock.

'Broken Lines': song story and performance

A band member explains that 'Broken Lines' was written about overcoming past failures and letting past hurts push you toward becoming a better person, then the band performs the song live in the studio.

Album discussion: listening to records front to back

The hosts and band discuss Foreverland's album Still After, upcoming shows in Waukee and Perry, and the habit of listening to a whole album in one sitting versus cherry-picking singles. The hosts confess to skimming music in thirty-second clips, citing Radiohead, the Foo Fighters, Dayseeker's Origins, and Twenty One Pilots' Blurryface as examples of records built to be heard straight through.

Brownies by mail comedy bit

A comedy sidebar: a band member's mom texts offering to send brownies, and the hosts debate whether brownies (and hot dogs) can survive being mailed through USPS.

'Sanguine': song story

A band member explains that 'Sanguine', the album's closing track, was written years earlier and is about someone walking through life making mistakes and wondering whether they can be forgiven — noting some people hand out grace freely and others don't, but Jesus can be counted on to give it even when no one else can.

'Sanguine' performance and reaction

Foreverland performs 'Sanguine' live in the studio. A host praises it for being unpredictable — he couldn't guess where the song was going next — and the band agrees the album's highs and lows were deliberate.

Pope-style advice: knock off your Facebook faith

In a recurring comedy-bit framing, Boova — introduced as someone mistaken for the pope with a crowd on his lawn demanding advice — delivers an earnest monologue telling listeners to stop reducing their faith to Facebook posts ('one like equals one prayer'), arguing God wants their heart and lived-out works, not 140-character posts. Other hosts agree and add that God can still work through social media, but it can't be the only expression of faith.

Sponsors and pet anecdotes

The hosts thank sponsors Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer team and Westfield Veterinary Hospital, congratulate Bob on his recent marriage, and spin off into pet stories: a pet pig that throws tantrums, a stray cross-eyed dying cat fed at the house, and a host's wife calling the unwanted animals 'the least of these.'

'Things I could do without': social-media theology dunking

A host's weekly 'things I could do without' riff targets arrogant social-media one-liners that claim to destroy entire theological schools of thought, calling for humility and being open to scripture correcting one's own views. The discussion notes Luther and Calvin disagreed yet loved Jesus, praises R. T. France's commentary on Matthew, and warns that theological dunking isn't trying to reconcile with a brother.

HuHot with the band

The hosts and band swap stories about eating at the HuHot restaurant before the show — how many plates they put down, the ultra-spicy 'Con's Revenge' sauce, and salad-eating as self-deception — plus a sidebar about a local sandwich shop run by Chris Romero.

Podcast plug and last week's discipleship discussion

• How do churches actually make disciples?

A host plugs the podcast after-show (fifteen to forty-plus minutes of extra content each week) and recaps last week's three-hour conversation on how churches actually make disciples — what disciple-making looks like for their own church personally.

Album plug and music-people vs. lyrics-people

The hosts plug Still After again and riff on the divide between music-people and lyrics-people, including a story about a host's mother who shares songs on Facebook for the sound without noticing the filthy lyrics.

'Speak': song intro and performance

A band member introduces 'Speak' as a mellower-but-still-rocking track, the hosts joke about posting pithy lines from it on Facebook without listening to the words, and Foreverland performs the song live in the studio.

Radio sign-off and band introductions

The show signs off for the Truth Network 99.3 FM audience, repeats sponsor thanks to Bob Eisenlauer and Westfield Veterinary Hospital, and names the four Foreverland members in the studio: Caleb, Pete, Anthony, and Burke.

Dear LFTP: famous son and ticket requests

• How do I tactfully tell relatives I won't ask my newly famous son for game tickets without making him look selfish?

A Dear LFTP letter from a mother whose son became a professional athlete: relatives are asking her for game tickets that cost her son money, and she wants a tactful way to refuse without making him look selfish. The hosts agree tickets aren't free for players, say relatives should buy their own like anyone else, and argue that expecting generosity kills generosity. The secular answer advises telling people plainly that the tickets cost the players money.

Dear LFTP: friend implies her husband is attracted to me

• My friend in marital trouble implies her husband is attracted to me — what should I do?

A Dear LFTP letter from a woman going through a divorce who has been advising a friend in marital trouble; the friend now implies her husband is attracted to the letter writer. The hosts advise she bow out of the advising relationship, noting the friend is lashing out and that getting counsel from another struggling couple can become an affair risk, and recommend professional counseling for the couple.

Dear LFTP: racist language at a dinner party

• How could I have confronted a dinner-party guest who used the n-word twice?

A Dear LFTP letter from a guest at a dinner party where another guest used the n-word twice; the writer said nothing because it wasn't her home and asks how she could have confronted it. The hosts agree the writer was hypocritical for speaking up only afterward, advise speaking up in the moment ('that was uncalled for — don't use that word again'), and note the n-word is distinct from general bad language because it is pointedly offensive toward a group. The secular answer quotes the saying that all that is needed for evil to flourish is for good people to say nothing.

Closing: Folsom Prison Blues cover and sign-off

The hosts close the advice segment, remind listeners to pick up Foreverland's Still After and follow the band online, and Foreverland performs a cover of Johnny Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues' to close the show. The episode ends with the sign-off line 'be faithful in the means; God will handle the ends.'