June 29, 2015 Podcast

Produced intro and live show open

The produced intro voiceover declares "We call it straight Jesus. Live from the Path Road Studios in Johnston proper." A host then opens the live broadcast from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper.

Opening banter and tonight's lineup

Hosts riff on being called out for saying "buddy," give broadcast info (live Monday nights at 10 PM; Saturdays at 7 PM on 99.3 KTIA), and preview the episode: musical guest Josh Crawford in studio promoting his EP "You Come Crashing," a promised pelican story (which never arrives later in the episode), and pope-style advice addressed in the audio to a host called "Mike."

Homeless-outreach needs and Silversyde benefit concert

The pope-style bit is explained: passersby have mistaken a co-host for the Pope and gather on his lawn until he appears on a balcony with advice. A host (addressed in the audio as "Boo Boo") describes flood-displaced homeless camps near the rivers needing four-man tents, brown and green tarps, bottled water, bug spray, food, and hygiene supplies. The hosts announce a Silversyde acoustic benefit concert on Tuesday, July 14 at 6523 Merlhay Road in Johnston with a suggested $5 donation, with goods and money going to Job Outreach.

Josh Crawford interview: worship style and the album

Guest Josh Crawford describes his music as worship first, closer to Bethel/Jesus Culture long-form spontaneity than to Chris Tomlin. His EP "You Come Crashing" holds four or five songs with no single theme. He explains the title track's ocean-wave metaphor: God keeps coming relentlessly whether you run or draw near, regardless of apathy, laziness, or bitterness. Banter includes a Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou riff and a joke that Mike makes his own Earthpaste toothpaste that tastes like an armpit.

"You Come Crashing" live in-studio performance

Josh Crawford performs the title track from his EP live in the studio, ahead of the hosts' first full album-promotion push.

Album promo and streaming jokes

A host reflects on the song's picture of God's constant pursuit and presence. Josh says the EP is on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and "Jay Z's new controversial title" (TIDAL), with Apple streaming undecided. Jokes follow about Taylor Swift supposedly texting him to hold out on Apple, the show's no-money Facebook strategy, and liking suave deodorant by accident.

Pope-style advice: faithful in the means

• Have you ever felt a deficit in serving the kingdom because your personality is not like someone else's who serves well?

The night's pope-style advice, requested of the host addressed in the audio as "Mike": "be faithful in the means; God will handle the ends." The hosts discuss envying people who are naturally gifted with people while feeling like a "big jerk" or "loser"; they argue God designed each person on purpose, so comparison breeds guilt and paralysis, while a faithful community helps refine your sense of your gifts. Examples: the introvert who can't strike up conversations or comfort criers, but can "bring a soda and stand next to you for many hours"; "if Weeping Joe is required, God will call Weeping Joe."

Discipleship, Billy Graham, and the pocket Bible

• Can you name a guy that makes disciples?

A discipleship riff: stop using Billy Graham (the stadium preacher) as the mental model of disciple-making — the right answer to "name a guy that makes disciples" is Jesus. A host (addressed in the audio as "Dan") jokes he once hoped for eight weeks of terminal illness to fill auditoriums; another recalls his dad's highlighted pocket New Testament with handwritten page-number notes as his disciple-making tool — "choose your own adventure Bible" — with garbled references to the Philippians road and "some dude got dunked in some water." They close the bit with the "are you from all nations?" joke.

Station break: sponsors, clips, and the dog story

Mid-show station business: past episodes and podcast extras at lifefromthepath.org; Forevaland's and Broken Lines' studio performances from last week posted online; a Wednesday 7 PM show at Point of Grace. Thanks to sponsors Bob Eisenlauer (transcript: "Bob Eisenhower") of the Eisenlauer team and Westfield Veterinary Hospital. A host recounts his aging dog's thinning "back 40%" and the food switcheroo that has now trained both dogs to hold out for gravy.

"Just So You Know" intro and performance

Josh introduces "Just So You Know" as a prayer-like song about not letting go of God through horrible things — not blaming God, clinging "around the hem of your garment" and not letting go. He performs it live in the studio, and the hosts re-promo the album (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify) and his Facebook musician page.

The Base ministry, razors, and radio sign-off

Josh leads worship at The Base (baseiowa.org), a nondenominational Saturday-night ministry with his wife on drums, no children's church with puppets. Razors banter follows: Dollar Shave Club praise and the story of 45 piled-up cartridges after a bank-fraud card change ended a subscription. The hosts sign off the Truth Network 99.3 radio broadcast; the show continues as a podcast.

Puppets, heresy at magic shows, and the Great Plutosky

Podcast-only banter: the no-puppets ministry, the idea of a beaten-up Good Samaritan puppet, and shouting "heresy" at magic shows. A host (addressed in the audio as "Dan") reveals he performed as "The Great Plutosky" — a bearded magician with a turban — at libraries and around Harrison as an 11-year-old, while the others repeatedly mispronounce the name (Plutowski, Stukowski, Bukowski, Ingabooski). One host (speaker-4) claims his own last name is "Ingeldinger."

Dear LFTP: protecting kids in a connected world

• How do I stay connected to the internet yet protect my children from the perverts, and what has worked for your family?

A mailed-in Dear LFTP letter: a father of a young family wants to go off the grid to shield his kids from pornography, violence, and cat videos, and asks how to stay connected yet protect his children — and what has worked for the hosts' families. The hosts answer that the grid only grows: teach children how to handle and respond; model it yourself; be honest that temptation is desirable but bad news rather than painting it as pure evil; don't hide it. One host describes his arrangement with his eight-year-old daughter around YouTube (she declares what she will watch and reports anything surprising). They cite God walking with Adam and Eve through the garden with the dangerous tree still present, and the Essenes as a failed withdrawal model. "There is no secular advice. That was just a pure dear Life From The Path."

What's Trending: Christians and public morality

• How active should Christians be in speaking out publicly about issues of morality?

A host (addressed in the audio as "Dan") brings the Bristol Palin news — the abstinence-education advocate pregnant a second time out of wedlock — and asks how active Christians should be in speaking publicly about morality: (a) very active, "a moral society is a happy society"; (b) silent, so mistakes don't make Jesus look bad; (c) keep moral teaching inside church and family. The consensus lands near (c): preach Jesus, not morality; morality follows allegiance to God; "we are not called to be someone else's holy spirit"; know whether you're fighting for legislative "fences" or for transformation. A listener named Eric weighs in via chat for (c).

What's Trending: the Tokyo robot wedding

• Should the church recognize robot marriages?

A robot groom married a robot bride in Tokyo before 100 robot friends, officiated by a robot named Pepper, with a shared kiss. The question: should the church recognize robot marriages? Options: (a) yes, if the robots love each other ("mechanically happy"); (b) no — robots cannot become one flesh because they have no flesh; (c) don't care as long as it's not in my church. The hosts vote (b) amid jokes about an older-model robot walking the bride down the aisle, putting your brain inside a robot, and a Terminator Genisys riff; one host jokes that Ben put a deposit down on a brain robot at age 22.

"Fall Into You" closing performance

Josh Crawford closes the show with "Fall Into You," described as straightforward: letting go and falling into God's arms. The hosts note the studio version is acoustic while the album carries full-band arrangements, re-promo the EP and his Facebook page, and thank sponsors Bob Eisenlauer (transcript: "Bob Eisenhower") and Westfield Veterinary Hospital. The song plays the episode out.