July 27 2015 Podcast – Eisenlauer Team

Show open and 'Making it Right Monday' article docket

The hosts open the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston. One host frames the night as 'Making it Right Monday' — catching up on promised articles after prior episodes drifted off-topic. Articles previewed: a '10 toxic Christians in the church today' piece, a Satan statue unveiling in Detroit, and a story about two girls outing a sexting woman at a baseball game, plus e-cigarette culture among touring bands.

Guests join: Bob and John Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer Team

Bob and John Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer Team (the show's real-estate sponsors) join in studio. The room recaps the latest Life From The Path buffet night, including Bill's elaborate 'volcano' dessert, and plans another buffet outing in the next two weeks (Dutch treat, listeners invited).

Bob's newlywed marriage advice

• What was the best piece of marriage advice you received as a newlywed?

Bob recently married, and the hosts ask what advice he got. Bob's answers: don't try to explain reason or logic in marriage ('smile and nod'), and 'you can be right or you can be happy, but you can't be both.' The hosts riff on wives as a filter who strip away false bravado, including stories about Herrick praying through decisions with his wife.

Which buffet was better?

• Was there ever a conclusion about which buffet was better?

Bob asks whether the hosts ever judged which of the two previous buffet outings was better. The verdict: the second buffet (the hibachi place) won on food and decoration, but mostly because of the people who showed up — Pete, the Eisenlauers, the whole family, like a faux Thanksgiving dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Real-estate market Q&A and sponsor read

The Eisenlauers answer listener-relevant questions: the post-crash market has bounced back, down payments around 3-5%, interest rates near 4%. They help buyers get prequalified and find the right price range. A host pivots to a broader point about society devaluing expertise — more information hasn't made more experts, just more half-cocked Googlers. Ends with the sponsor read: the Eisenlauer Team's website and phone numbers, plus the story of a failed attempt to buy an old school (insurance killed it) and a sad church auction on East 29th.

How faith meets real-estate work

• How does your Christian faith interact with your work as a realtor?

A host asks how the Eisenlauers' faith interacts with their daily work. Their answer: it's not at the tip of the tongue with every client, but clients notice something different — faith shows through how they treat people, and church sometimes comes up naturally when asking what's important to a buyer. The hosts agree: you want to be a 'suspected Jesus man,' recognizable by honesty and conduct rather than by a Jesus sticker on the business card.

Toxic Christian #1: the always cynical Christian

The hosts start the '10 toxic Christians' article, reading the author's burger-grilling disaster intro. #1, the always cynical Christian: a host confesses he is the cynicism guy, always finding the flaw (a dropped pickle ruins feeding a thousand in his mind). Another host jokes to Mike, addressed by name, that he needs to repent. They land the article's distinction: cynics look for what something is; critical thinkers operate out of hope and focus on what it could be.

Toxic Christian #2: the back row Christian

#2, the back row Christian — the one asking 'what's the bare minimum I need to be a follower of you?' The hosts call it the lukewarm (Revelation), an exhausting way to live, and pivot to honesty: Jesus asks for everything in exchange for everything, and the freest people they know are the ones who gave it all up. One host recounts explaining this to his kids from Luke (the 'let me first go bury my father' passage), telling them that if God is behind a move, it's the right thing regardless of the predicate.

Toxic Christian #3: the world-is-caving-in Christian

#3, the world-is-caving-in Christian — fear and conspiracy dominating a believer's life. The hosts' refrain: 'Is Jesus still king?' If yes, end-times fretting is a bellwether for where you get your instruction. The Eisenlauers confirm they've sold houses with bomb shelters to true believers. A comic bit follows about a coworker taping over his webcam and a host leaving his open for corporate IT to enjoy.

Toxic Christian #4: the follow-the-rules Christian

#4, the follow-the-rules Christian, who condemns others' lack of morality and secretly enjoys their falls. A host pushes back with a story of Muslim friends confronting an adulterer — wrong tactics, but a seriousness about sin he wishes Christians had. They nuance it: don't cheapen sin or forgiveness, don't label a passionate rule-follower a jerk unless he's actually a jerk, and remember even the Pharisees had genuine reverence for God's commands worth learning from.

Toxic Christian #5: the political Christian

#5, the political Christian — equating government decisions with the direction of the church and treating your vote as a love-of-God test. The hosts' take: you can't put all your eggs in a different kingdom's basket and be surprised it doesn't act like God's kingdom. They note being formerly that guy themselves (Dan addressed by name as a former political junkie), then sign off the Truth Network radio audience with the tagline 'be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends' while the podcast-only show continues.

The Satan statue unveiling in Detroit

The podcast-only portion reads the article on the Satanic Temple's Baphomet statue unveiling in Detroit (billed as the largest public satanic ceremony in history; the restaurant venue canceled after learning who signed the contract). The hosts puzzle over what Satan offers anyone — 'his only claim to fame is not God' — and agree the statue mostly gives people an excuse to offload responsibility for doing whatever they want. They close with humility: from an agnostic perspective, Christianity's own rituals (baptism, the cross) look just as foreign.

Dear LFTP: the 56-year-old with no direction

• I'm 56, directionless, and have no savings — how can I convince employers I'm capable when I don't believe it myself?
• What responsibility do you have for someone you know is making self-destructive choices with his life?

Dear LFTP: a 56-year-old writes that he still doesn't know what to do with his life — a thousand hobbies, no career, no savings, ten years from retirement. The hosts' mock-consensus: one-way ticket to Honolulu, live on the beach, embrace the drift. The 'secular answer' is read (lost faith in yourself; it's never too late). The segment turns sincere at the end: maybe the answer is Jesus, God loves drifters (Abraham was 75 when called), and a host asks what responsibility the church has for a guy like this.

The sexting story at the baseball game and the etiquette question

• Was it appropriate for the two girls to publicly out the woman sexting at the baseball game?

Back to the docket: Delana and Brynn Hinson, at an Atlanta Braves game, photographed a woman sexting a man (messages under the contact name 'Nancy,' allegedly from a 'Mark Allen'), posted it on Twitter, and slipped her husband a note reading 'your wife is cheating on you.' The hosts debate the ethics: they shouldn't have snooped or tweeted, but would you want to know? Consensus: with a total stranger there's no relationship leverage to help, so stay out — 'drive-by morality police' help nobody.

Sponsor wrap, next buffet night, sign-off

Final thanks to Bob and John Eisenlauer and a last sponsor plug for the Eisenlauer Team. The Ashley Madison story is deferred to next week. They announce a Twitter call for the next Life From The Path buffet night, plug recent in-studio acoustic performances (Silversyde, Josh Crawford, Driven Eleven) at livefromthepath.org, and close with the tagline: 'be faithful in the means, let God handle the ends.'