November 2, 2015 Podcast

Show open and episode rundown

The produced intro runs ('Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper'), then a host opens the regular Monday-night show, notes it also airs on terrestrial radio at 99.3 in Des Moines, and lays out the rundown: a Christianity Today article that angered him, a Relevant magazine article on slowing down, some Dear LFTP letters, Boova's Pope-style advice, and Dave Herrick on his prayer life. Ben, who usually supplies article picks, is absent this week.

Sponsor read: Bob Eisenlauer

A host reads the sponsor spot for Bob Eisenlauer and the Eisenlauer team (ASR: 'Eisenhower'), the local realtor sponsor, giving a personal testimonial about buying and selling a house with him.

Should non-Christians share our morals?

• Should we expect non-Christians to share our morals?
• Is conscience universal, and if morality comes from God, why would only some commandments register with people?

The hosts read and argue with the Christianity Today article 'We Should Expect Non Christians to Share Our Morals,' written in response to the June 2015 Supreme Court same-sex-marriage ruling. They reject its premise: America is not Israel, Jonah-style prophetic rebuke targeted knowing God, conscience is real but not universal (guilt hits unevenly), common grace explains some shared norms, and they dispute the claim that all authority is God-ordained. A host defines 'evangelical' for listeners. Conclusion: expecting non-Christians to live like Christians is misguided; disciple-making, not culture-war law-making, is the assignment.

Six reasons you seriously need to slow down

• Does a hurried life destroy your relationship with God?
• How much control does the average man really have over slowing down given work, family, and church responsibilities?

The hosts walk through the Relevant article 'Six Reasons You Seriously Need to Slow Down.' They largely agree with the principle but push back on the practicality: a hurried life destroys the relationship with God (quoting a Chinese pastor, ASR 'Wing Mandao'), decreases capacity to love (1 Corinthians 13, Matthew Kelly), increases temptation's power (a host jokes about a plush doll saying 'oops, premarital sex again'), numbs injustice (Kirk Jones: 'hurry is a desensitizer'), increases narrow-mindedness and legalism, and clouds purpose and passion (fruit of the Spirit, burnout is not a badge of faithfulness). Verdict: the principle is solid; the execution is harder than the article makes it sound.

Pope-style advice: giving to God, not just taking

• What is the last thing you really gave to God?

Boova (addressed on-air as 'Buba'), teased that friends have been telling people he is the pope, delivers his 'Pope-style advice from the Popemobile': if you cannot remember the last time you gave anything up for God, your relationship may be nothing but taking, with God as a genie in the sky. He confesses his own idol is food and describes giving up meat indefinitely until God tells him he is done, urging listeners to ask God what he wants them to give up.

Dave Herrick on resting in God

• How do you approach God in prayer without sounding phony or feeling like you are talking into a tin can?

Dave Herrick (named on-air) describes how God has been 'turning his prayer life upside down': instead of ending the day checking plans and to-do lists, he now asks God what to do and whether he can take his rest. He recounts asking whether he could go 'play' instead of work, and how, in bouts of anxiety, peace comes not from asking God to remove the fear but from fixing his eyes on God's character. The others riff on the difficulty of prayer, self-deprecation before God, and the 'Jesus Santa' false image. Mid-segment the KTIA radio broadcast signs off while the podcast continues.

Dear LFTP: the eight-year friendship with Janet

• After one drunken inappropriate comment ended an eight-year friendship with Janet, should the letter writer fight to restore the friendship?

The reader reads a letter from a man out west: friends for eight years with 'Quotations Janet,' he got drunk at her holiday party, made an inappropriate comment to one of her friends, and Janet cut him off entirely. The hosts conclude he is likely downplaying what he said and advise him to own it fully and fight for the friendship. Secular's answer guesses the comment offended not only its target but Janet and the other guests too.

Dear LFTP: the new boss who treats me differently

• What can a 23-year bus company veteran do about a new boss who jokes with everyone but treats him differently?

A letter from a 23-year bus company veteran: his new boss of six months jokes and laughs with everyone but treats him differently. The hosts debate whether the writer's own conduct is the issue, suggest he consider his own culpability and age, and one host advises he may simply cash out his days. Secular's answer says the boss may be intimidated by the writer's seniority and age, and that his next move should be a direct conversation with the boss, which the hosts reject.

Dear LFTP: sister Laura and the suffering kids

• Should the letter writer stay out of his sister Laura's mess (cheating, four kids at grandma's) or step in for the sake of the nieces and nephews?

A letter about the writer's sister Laura: four kids with a 'deadbeat' boyfriend, living at their 57-year-old mother's house, cheating, and the mother venting to the writer. The hosts agree the writer must have a direct conversation with his sister, note the grandmother is being taken advantage of, and warn that calling DHS would be a no-win situation for the kids. Secular's answer says the nieces and nephews are safe and supervised by their grandmother, and that being imposed upon is sometimes what one is called to do. A host closes by defining love as choosing someone over yourself.

Show close

The hosts wrap the show: a reminder that love is choosing someone over yourself, the usual sign-off line 'Be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends,' and a loose outtake-style ending with jokes about who normally does the closing words.