2016 Episode 20

Produced opening voiceover

The produced show-opening voiceover plays: 'Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. You are live from the path.' It precedes the hosts' live start by about half a minute.

Show open: the stolen intro tune

A host opens the show joking that he emailed the band behind the opening tune to use it legitimately, was ignored, and has now spent a total of about 45 minutes repenting of 'stealing' it over five years while the show gets flagged on YouTube; this spins into a 'repent vs. pent' wordplay bit. A co-host is addressed by name on-air during the exchange.

Tonight's lineup and announcements

The host previews the show: returning guest Tessa Johnson is back in the studio with a new song, plus Dear LFTP advice letters including one about an older gentleman gifting a nude calendar. Upcoming: musician Jeff (name varies in transcript) in studio next week tied to the Connection music festival in Norwalk, Wayne Stewart the following week with his fiction book 'When Totems Fall' (preorder on Amazon) and his worship book 'Greater', and a planned multi-day live broadcast from Bash on the Farm.

Interview: Tessa Johnson on Nashville's music scene

• What draws a Christian musician to Nashville?

Guest Tessa Johnson explains why she moved to Nashville: acceptance at a worship school with scholarships she felt she didn't deserve, and the pull of a collaborative musician community. She describes the intimidating hipster coffee-shop culture, how hard it is to book paying gigs without a label or following, networking-by-chance (a friend's video tweeted by Taylor Swift), and the unwritten Nashville rule against approaching celebrities — illustrated by her star-struck Gavin DeGraw sighting. The hosts riff on how they'd embarrassingly try to evangelize celebrities.

Performance: 'Out of Breath'

• Does being depressed mean I'm not close enough to God?

Tessa Johnson introduces and performs her song 'Out of Breath', written during what she calls a quarter-life crisis about how depression actually feels. She pushes back on teaching she heard in charismatic churches — that truly surrendered Christians wouldn't struggle with depression or anxiety — saying God allowed her suffering to grow her and to produce music that ministers to others.

Reacting to 'Out of Breath': honesty in Christian music

• Why does Christian radio sound so repetitive and formulaic?

The hosts and Tessa discuss the Bono line that there's not enough honesty in Christian music, contrasting it with formulaic Christian radio — same four chords, same lyrical content, the 'guy with 20 pedals making the positive haunted-house noise'. They argue Christians struggling with depression need to hear they're not alone and not less faithful, and that the industry's gatekeeping ('this would not sell') keeps honest songs off the air.

Artists vs. the industry: Prince, streaming, and discovery

The conversation widens to the gap between what artists want to make and what gets produced — Prince's fight for control, Ed Sheeran's artistic integrity — and how algorithmic streaming stations (an Amazon modern-folk station, Spotify playlists) surface songwriter-driven music that radio never would, which the hosts see as the best current path for honest Christian music.

Why long conversations beat talk-radio sound bites

A host recounts arguing with a station manager that ten-minute drive-time segments can't hold a real conversation about the Syrian refugee crisis — and being told the show was no longer welcome on the station. The panel agrees their format's strength is talking uninterrupted for over an hour, while acknowledging commercial Christian radio and K-LOVE have real costs (transmitters, staff) driving their constraints.

Horizontal vs. vertical: testimony, David, and the Psalms

The hosts argue Christian music drew the line at 'vertical only' (songs to God) and lost the 'horizontal' songs — testimonies of sinners God redeemed, which is what early modern Christian music was. David's tortured Psalms are held up as biblical precedent for honest lament, and a joke lands about a 'Chris Tomlin, we're coming for your tables' shirt.

Social media, the poetry contest, and 'at best' sign-offs

Tessa shares her handles (facebook.com/tessajohnsonmusic, @IAmTessaJ on Twitter/Instagram) and her Snapchat habit, prompting banter about hosts being 'not cool enough' for Snapchat. A host tells of judging a youth NAACP poetry contest, where a girl signed her entry 'at best,' — a sign-off he covets but is told he's not cool enough to steal. He assigns a co-host to write Christians a song called 'You're Not Cool Enough to Do That.'

Snapchat, face swap, and the sketchy follower

Banter continues over 'face swap' vs. 'trade faces', Dan Hudson's nonexistent Instagram (bacon hashtags imagined), and a cautionary tale: a foreign follower of the show's Twitter turned out to follow only sketchy accounts, leaving the host unsure whether his accountability software would flag the page. Tessa compares notes on Facebook's unapproved-message folder.

Dear LFTP: the uncle's nude calendar

• Did my uncle's nude calendar gift cross the line?

A listener asks whether her mid-fifties uncle crossed the line gifting every family member — including 80-year-old grandparents — a calendar of nude 'aging community luminaries' posed with strategically placed office supplies, then pointing out his own photo. The hosts land on: poor taste but not immoral — a creepy-funny fundraiser gag; the offense is giving it to family and spotlighting yourself. The secular answer: the premise is a hoot, he meant no offense, and don't accept unlabeled gifts from him again.

Dear LFTP: the milk-drinking houseguests

• How do I politely tell my friend that her kids drinking all our milk is taking it too far?

A single parent working 70 hours a week asks how to tell her friend Sarah that she and her two kids helping themselves to endless milk refills is too much. The hosts' answer: buy more milk and be generous, but also just say it directly — even to the kids. The secular answer: ask Sarah to bring a quart of milk with her. A side thread: the 70-hour week itself is the real problem; the kids want her, not the PlayStation.

Dear LFTP: was the wedding news gossip?

• Was I spreading gossip by telling my former husband the wedding was off?

A listener asks if she was gossiping by telling her former husband their granddaughter's wedding might be off — then recounts the affair, the counseling, and the move back to mom in the letter itself. Verdict: yes, straight-up gossip; sharing the fact wasn't, but all the detail was, told to bond with the listener over someone else's failure. The secular answer disagrees in part: revealing the news isn't gossip, it's the couple's privilege to share.

Outro plugs and the 'Broke My Heart Again' intro

Closing plugs: the show email and website, clips of Tessa Johnson and upcoming guests, Tim Timmons' '10,000 Minutes' project on living the kingdom 24/7, and Jeff's morning-TV appearance promoting his new album. Tessa's socials are recapped (Facebook, @IAmTessaJ, coming to iTunes and Spotify). She introduces 'Broke My Heart Again', written about a breakup with someone she still respects — a rarity among breakup songs.

Performance: 'Broke My Heart Again'

Tessa Johnson closes the show performing 'Broke My Heart Again' live in the studio.