August 17, 2015 Podcast

Show open and tonight's lineup

A host opens the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston, jokes about his unplugged headphones causing 'audible confusion,' and tells casual listeners they can bail now or hang out. He previews the episode: Dan sent over a 'nine sins the church is okay with' article from faithit.com, and Dear LFTP letters are on deck.

Sponsor read: the Eisenlauer Team

A host thanks sponsor Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer Team (eisenhowerteam.com as rendered in the transcript), pitching him for home buying and selling, and notes that both he and Mike use him.

Buffet banter and the Brazilian steakhouse story

The hosts plan a future 'Life from the Path buffet,' debate Chinese versus Brazilian steakhouses, and praise the Old Country Buffet's unlimited chocolate milk. A host recounts being blindsided by a $65 meat-only bill at a Brazilian steakhouse in Orlando with no prices on the menu, and wonders whether 'Brazilian' just means an expensive buffet.

Nine sins the church is okay with: article introduction

• Are there 'sins the church is okay with,' and do the hosts agree with the list?

The hosts introduce the faithit.com listicle 'nine sins the church is okay with,' sent over by Dan. A host reads the introduction, which uses the Challenger disaster's failed O-ring as an analogy for small, undetected sins, and admits he already feels guilty of the sins before the list begins.

Sin 1: Fear

The hosts work through the list's first sin, fear. They push back on the article's '365 times do not fear' framing (a host notes many of those are angels startling people), discuss 1 John 4:18, and reframe the sin as lack of trust rather than the biological fight-or-flight response. Congregational votes in Scripture, they argue, are usually fear-based.

Sins 2 and 3: Apathy, gluttony, and greed

On apathy, the hosts agree the deeper problem is dishonesty about what Scripture actually asks. On gluttony, they argue the point is really about trust and idolatry: filling voids with food or trinkets, or treating God as a tool who provides turkey legs and houses. A host observes the American church is 'baptized' in greed, the list's number seven, which it avoids confronting.

Sin 5: Flattery and the praise of men

The hosts discuss flattery as replacing God with the crowd's approval, naming Instagram and Snapchat as platforms that perpetuate it. A host notes that living entirely to avoid disapproval keeps you from ever really knowing anyone. Banter includes the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags in Atlanta, a 'Great job, Larry' church anecdote, and a joke about looking just like his brother and collecting his praise or disdain after sermons.

Sin 6: Comfort and the missional church

The hosts agree comfort is real but reframe it as stagnation rather than ease: a church that builds a building and sits in it is not following Jesus. One host prayed God would burn their church building down rather than let it become an idol. A long tangent praises biker churches for the natural community the church tries and fails to manufacture, with a host recalling two-mile Harley funeral processions from his Cass County pastoring days.

Sin 8: Patriotism

On patriotism, the hosts agree allegiance gets torn when American ideals shape faith more than God does. They affirm celebrating American values while insisting citizenship is in heaven, and worry that 'God bless America' language can become disassociated from Scripture.

Sin 9: Lying and integrity

On lying, a host reads the article's take on Matthew 5:33 and oaths, then testifies that forcing himself to stop telling small lies about being late to work was 'amazingly freeing.' Another host confesses to unintentionally lying to his daughter at 2 a.m. about shopping for a phone the next day, framing it as the common integrity failure of saying things to end conversations.

Wrapping the nine sins: the main point

The hosts conclude the list is a bit clickbait but useful for self-reflection rather than finger-pointing. The agreed main point: the sin each person tolerates in themselves is just as sinful as the one they hammer others for. A host reframes every item as a trust question, and they criticize scare-tactics evangelism as distrusting 'God's marketing plan' of hope, love, and optimism.

Dear LFTP: the retiring husband and the irritated wife

• What should a man retiring after fifty years of work say to his wife, who is irritated by his constant talk of retirement plans?

A listener retiring after fifty years asks what to say to his wife, who is irritated by his constant talk of retirement plans. The hosts joke that retirement invades the wife's 'kingdom,' bring in guest Brandon for straight-laced marriage-counselor takes, and read the 'Singular' and 'Secular' answers, which advise a frank, non-sarcastic conversation about why she is raining on his parade.

Dear LFTP: Wendy, the kids, and staying

• How can a man convince his girlfriend Wendy, who is pushing him away, that he will not abandon her and her children the way other men have?

A listener in a relationship with Wendy, who is pushing him away out of fear he will abandon her children like other men have, asks how to make her understand he is staying. The hosts advise proving it by staying through the unreciprocated season: real love does not require reciprocation. They reject Secular's marriage-proposal suggestion as too aggressive while she is in protection mode, with Notebook and dairy-farmer banter along the way.

Dear LFTP: the wind-chime complaint

• What should be done about neighbors whose wind chimes keep the whole block awake on windy nights?

A Minnesota listener pleads for neighbors to take down noisy wind chimes. The self-described pro-wind-chime Iowans side with the chimes, mock Secular's advice to bribe neighbors with cookies as dishonest, and riff on dessert wars, P.T. Barnum's tactic of hiring a bad band to drive crowds to his circus, and a radio-station break for Truth Network 99.3 listeners.

Dear LFTP: the ungrateful bride and the free photographer

• How should a volunteer wedding photographer respond when the bride insults her free work while she still owes the promised album?

A listener who volunteered as an amateur wedding photographer faces the bride's insults about her free work and asks how to respond while finishing the promised album. The hosts advise handing over the raw photos without chasing vindication, deciding whether she is doing it for the bride or herself, and note that staged wedding photos can be retaken later. The 'Singular' answer: 'no good deed goes unpunished.'

Dear LFTP: Riley and the dying rescue animals

• How can a friend tell Riley, who rescues terminal animals and is crushed each time one dies, that she should stop taking them in?

A listener asks how to tell his friend Riley, who rescues terminal animals and breaks down each time one dies, to stop taking them in. The hosts say to let her be: crying is a healthy response, and they would worry more if she were not moved. The discussion widens into hospice chaplaincy, Christmas caroling at Mercy Hospice, and a closing charge to invest in people's lives instead of avoiding them out of fear, because 'you're a coward.'

Sign-off

The hosts thank guest Brandon for coming on the show, point listeners to the website for clips and musical performances, give the info@ email for show ideas, and direct complaints to Chris Roloff at the Truth Network 99.3 FM. The sign-off catchphrase: be faithful to the means, and God will take care of the ends.