Texas Flood

Show open and singing-breath banter

The hosts open the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. One host shares a singing lesson learned from a podcast (breathe from the diaphragm, belly out) and tries it with Boova, addressed as 'boo boo'. They riff on how even long-running rock singers like Nikki Sixx take lessons, and Dan, addressed by name, admits wanting to take guitar lessons like he once took bass lessons from Ben, addressed by name.

Recap of the Discover Hope interview episode

A host recaps the previous episode's interview with the Discover Hope organization, a group of Christians providing solutions in Newton, Iowa (noted as 'Methtown'). He wrestles with the tension between doing things for people versus teaching them to help themselves, and encourages listeners to volunteer, donate, and pray with similar ministries in their own areas.

Cash the check: living off God's promises

Spinning out of the Discover Hope recap, the hosts give an extended exhortation to 'cash the check' God has written — to actually live off the promises of forgiveness, love, joy, and peace rather than holding them unclaimed in a back pocket. One host turns directly to Mike, addressed as 'Mike Foust' in the audio, urging him to cash the check, and the room adopts the phrase ('cash your check') as the night's refrain.

Joel Osteen, Lakewood Church, and Hurricane Harvey

• Should Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church have opened its doors to Hurricane Harvey flood victims?
• Is the world's expectation that churches respond to disasters a reasonable one?

The hosts react to news of flooding in Houston during Hurricane Harvey and the public criticism of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church for not opening its building to flood victims. They read from a Christian Post article about church staff rescues, debate whether the criticism is fair, recall their own disaster-relief trips (Oklahoma tornadoes, Louisiana flooding), and read a paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 6:3-7 about ministry endurance. Their conclusion: churches should meet the expectation that they help in disasters, and large 'beacon' churches must communicate what they are doing.

Tim Farron, the Benedict Option, and Christian cultural power

• Should Christians be worried about losing cultural and political influence (the Benedict Option question)?
• Should Christianity try to regulate behavior and rule from the top down through political power?

From a Mere Orthodoxy article, the hosts discuss UK Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron resigning because his Christian beliefs on same-sex marriage made leading his party untenable, paired with Rod Dreher's Benedict Option. One host, addressing Mike by name, asks whether Christians should worry that personal convictions are now disqualifying. Another host, answering Ben's direct question by name, argues the church is already living in a 'foreign kingdom' and never truly held cultural power, and the room concludes Christianity does not know how to wield power and was not designed to rule from the top down.

Kim Jong Un missile and the assassination debate

• Would it be right to assassinate Kim Jong Un?
• What is the Christian's responsibility toward evil rulers, given no early Christian record of advocating violence against Nero or Domitian?

News that Kim Jong Un launched a missile over Japan sparks a long, comedic-yet-serious debate: would it be right to assassinate him? The hosts poll each other — one host, addressed as Hudson, says he would give the order; Boova, addressed as 'Boova'/'boo boo', is torn; Mike, addressed by name, cites Samson as precedent; another host notes there is no early Christian literature recommending violence against Nero or Domitian. They land conflicted: they would not pull the trigger themselves but would not mourn the outcome, extending the logic to US abortion in an uncomfortable mirror.

Banter: ice cream trucks, Christmas music, and Mike's daughter

A breather of banter: a host tells Mike, addressed by name, that Mike's daughter was at his house singing 'Silent Night' loudly on repeat, and Mike recounts her building a magnet fishing rod from popsicle sticks and paperclips. This spins into complaints about ice cream trucks playing Christmas music in Bondurant, elevator music at Chick-fil-A, and plans for a fictional LFTP ice cream-truck album.

Dear LFTP: the 62-year-old with fluorescent hair

• Is a 62-year-old man wrong to streak his hair with fluorescent colors, and are his family right to criticize his 'flair'?

A reader-host reads a Dear LFTP letter from a listener whose 62-year-old father streaks his hair with fluorescent colors coordinated to his outfits, which embarrasses the family. The hosts debate whether criticizing him is fair, land on the objection being his dishonesty ('I don't care what others think') rather than the flair itself, and mock the Secular answer's 'repeat after me: we cannot change other people' as a snobby non-answer, illustrated with a joke about Ric Flair walking his Pomeranian in Bondurant.

Dear LFTP: wife wants sex during work hours

• How should a husband handle his wife only wanting sex when he is supposed to be at work?

The second Dear LFTP letter comes from a man whose wife only wants to have sex when he is supposed to be at work, risking his job. The hosts' advice is a mix of practical jokes (wake up earlier, change the house clocks, work the night shift — 'that's how the night shift began') and sincere counsel: be practical, protect the income that funds the marriage, and don't call in sick. The Secular answer's 'ask your wife which is more important: me in your bed or food on the table' draws groans for sounding like their own advice.

Wayne Stewart album recommendation and close

Closing the show, a host recommends Wayne Stewart's new bluesy gospel album on ReverbNation — he was skeptical of a white man doing blues numbers with brass instruments, but found it solid and surprising. He signs off with the show's tagline: 'be faithful in means, God will handle the ends.'