2016 Episode 22

Show open

Produced intro voiceover ("from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper") followed by a host's live show start, joking that a planned epic opening about guest Wayne Stewart's book was forgotten in the car.

Shower thoughts and naked home defense

The hosts riff on doing their best thinking in the shower and forgetting it all, then escalate into a bit about burglars: a near-blind host sees specters without glasses, and "the best defense is a good naked offense" — accost no one while nude.

Wayne Stewart and his new book, announced

• What is Wayne Stewart's book When Totems Fall about, and where can it be bought?

A host introduces returning guest Wayne Stewart, explains he spotted the book on Facebook and first assumed it was a Snapfish-style joke, then realized it is a legitimate novel titled When Totems Fall; he asks Wayne to give the premise.

The premise of When Totems Fall

Wayne explains the geopolitical thriller: dual settings in the Seattle/Puget Sound area and China; the Chinese develop technology that locks up American nuclear forces and begin expanding onto the West Coast, starting with Seattle. A host, about halfway through the book, calls it a grabber.

Wayne reads the plane-crash scene

Wayne sets up his main character Zeb, a 37-year-old jaded Iraq/Afghanistan vet whose mind sees every possible outcome, then reads the chapter where the Chinese crash a Vancouver-to-Seattle airliner into Pike Place Market. The excerpt introduces Zebulon Mordecai Dalton — named for the biblical Mordecai from Esther — and a Balkan woman searching for her friend Sasha. The hosts react: the scene paints pictures, not flat description.

First fiction foray; how to buy the book

Wayne says this is his first fiction book after a nonfiction worship book; it grew over a three-year process. Preorder details: Kindle on Amazon dropping the 28th, paperback on the 30th via whentotemsfall.wordpress.com. A host praises Wayne's gift for emotional nuance and scene-building.

How the book came to be: dare, influences, cover art

Wayne traces the book to a rainy-day short story and personal dare, influenced by Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy. He was surprised by the depth of editing required. The cover shows the Space Needle with a stylized Chinese flag emblem — a detail the host missed for a quarter of the book. Doing indie publishing alone, Wayne hired editors and made the art himself.

The two moral centers: a jaded vet and a believing businessman

Wayne describes the parallel Seattle and China chapter structure. One surprise: the young Chinese businessman whose company developed the weapon technology is the story's believer — agonizing over trading his soul for government contracts and trying to reverse his government's deeds — while the jaded American vet works the American side. Both carry the moral outrage in different ways.

Researching what you do not know

After a shower gag about a forgotten thought, a host asks how Wayne wrote a Chinese businessman. Wayne: Seattle scenes came from growing up there; the China side came from research (his browser history would put him on a watch list — Chinese military technology). A retired-marine friend did a late read; his feedback process made the military portrayal feel honoring.

The ending, timelines, and honoring the nerds

Wayne describes not knowing the final line for a month or two, then sitting up at 2am and pecking it out. Editing levels: his wife proofreads; structural and copy editing took much longer — including a Saturday OCD pass with a 30-day calendar to keep the dual Seattle/Beijing timelines (15 hours apart) coherent. A host defends the "Nerdinheimers" who check every frame: they are the people who care most about the art.

Beta readers, red pens, and refinement

A host asks how you read your own writing fresh without just confirming your own genius. Wayne: brutal online red-pen tools (grammar, flow, pace, cliches) for six weeks, then two phases of beta readers. The hosts generalize: offering your work up for refinement — even harsher or gentler than you wanted — is the heart of a better product.

No cut characters; congratulations; engage with art

Wayne kept all his characters — the global storyline needs many players, from government echelons to the underground Christian contingent in China. A host congratulates him (preordering on Amazon while reading an advance copy) and urges listeners to engage with art: react, disagree with characters, send Wayne feedback via Facebook and the book's site.

The Blazing Saddle vandalism story

• Was the youth group right to help the vandalized gay bar, or is that "rebuilding the Ba'al Temple"?

A host reads a Des Moines Register story: the gay bar Blazing Saddle was vandalized (rock through the window); a Christian youth group from Two Rivers Church brought a $160 donation, flowers, and cards, which the bar redirected to the Orlando massacre victims' fund. The church told the paper, "we prefer to let our actions of love speak for us." His first reaction is approval — then a second-guess: "am I rebuilding the Ba'al Temple?"

Am I rebuilding the Ba'al Temple?

Prompted by the co-host he addresses as Boova, the hosts work through the tension: Christians fail at showing love, calling out sin without first showing Jesus; yet helping rebuild a place whose life they oppose feels like repairing the Ba'al Temple. They land on love-first — the rules of the kingdom are a club to the head unless you know the King.

Window or stripper pole: moral authority without the King

The window/strip-pole thought experiment: yes to buying a window to show Jesus, no to buying a stripper pole — it matters what you buy. Calls to righteousness are grace within the kingdom (Matthew 5-7 is grace for those who know Jesus) but rightfully dismissed when they come from a God people do not trust — the Zeus analogy. Jokes about heroin dens and broom-dragons punctuate the discernment point.

The pause is a value

Takeaway: do not fear the thought process — figure out where you stand, repent when you are wrong, and let the Holy Spirit level out the swing between love and righteousness. A host pictures the Holy Spirit as Gandalf the Grey to trigger himself to ask rather than control; "the pause is a value" in the Christian life — no half-cocked microphone moments.

Mid-show break: Wayne, Chris Acres, Light 45

Plugs for past studio clips of Wayne performing with Chris Acres (including the song "78"), Chris Acres' upcoming album, and Light 45 — a Minnesota band with a slide-guitar song "Steeped" that passed the host's family car test — headed for next year's Bash on the Farm.

Dear LFTP: the flaking generation

• My generation flakes on commitments — how can I express frustration about it without being a monster?

A Dear LFTP letter names the pet peeve of a generation that commits and flakes — the hosts joke-substitute "Boova" for the culprits. The co-host addressed as Boova owns it as a recovering flake: flaking is lying; "let your yes be yes and your no be no" (James). His word meant nothing, and he needed to hear he was being a fool.

The honest no; the secular answer

The hosts praise the co-host named in audio as Mike as the king of the honest no — invited on a two-day Oklahoma/grandpa trip, he simply declines rather than flaking. Over-committing can be pride disguised as altruism. The "secular" answer is read: delete irresponsible people from your circle; when people fail your standards, abandon them. The hosts call it terrible advice — flakes usually do not realize how they treat people and need to be told.

Dear LFTP: an atheist with an alcohol problem

• I have an alcohol problem but I am an atheist and AA does not seem right — do you have any ideas?

A Dear LFTP letter: the writer knows she has an alcohol problem; AA does not seem right because she is an atheist; her doctor had no suggestions. The hosts answer that AA's "higher power" framing can work for atheists, but lasting change needs Jesus — love people where they are and walk with them until they ask why you are still there. The "secular" answer lists secular AA alternatives. The hosts joke about writing to a newspaper instead of Googling.

Close: book links, next week, sign-off

Book links recap (Amazon, whentotemsfall.wordpress.com, Facebook page); advice email info@lifefromthepath.org; thanks to Wayne; next week's Bash on the Farm is off for technical reasons — Light 45 may appear in a couple months. Sign-off: "be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends."