Paul The Intern

Show open from the Pathway Studios

The hosts open the show live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston. A host notes he was dealing with some technical setup issues before the mics went live.

The board went out halfway through second service

A host tells a story about a church service where half the sound board died mid-service and the band just kept singing, with a guest musician's mic moved onto his guitar so it could be heard.

Kevin Lindgren's Kickstarter announcement, 'Regrets with Dan,' and the episode agenda

A host announces musician Kevin Lindgren will visit the studio next week to promote a new album and Kickstarter. The hosts joke about a new recurring segment, 'Regrets with Dan,' about almost donating to things, then lay out the episode agenda: a Francis Chan article on long-term prayer and two of Matthew Loftus's '10 Theses on Bible Poverty and Justice.'

Convention booth visits: social-justice interns and traveling revivals

The hosts trade stories from a recent admissions convention: a 'Love Thy Neighborhood' social-justice internship program that charges participants to raise about $10,000, and an older couple who travel doing church revivals for free.

Pipeline saboteurs and the 'necessity' legal defense

A host recounts an article about activists in Minnesota who shut down a pipeline valve hoping to be arrested so they could use a necessity defense in court, noting the precedent it set. The hosts contrast the activists' willingness to go to jail for their cause with Christians' half-hearted evangelism efforts.

'Love Thy Neighborhood' and the efficiency of mission work

The hosts debate whether paid social-justice internships deliver real value, arguing that preparing people in an artificial environment rarely translates to real life. They agree Christians create the gaps they then fill with programs, and that missions giving deserves the same effectiveness scrutiny any business would apply.

Revivals: biblical precedent and whether they grow the church

• Is there a biblical precedent for modern traveling revivals, and do they actually grow the church?

The hosts debate the revival model after encountering a traveling revival couple. They trace biblical precedent to traveling preachers and Hezekiah/Nehemiah-era scripture rediscovery, conclude revivals risk tying faith to an event instead of community and discipleship, and invite listeners to share their own revival experiences via the complaint line.

Francis Chan baptized his best friend after thirty years of prayer

A host reads a Christian Post article about Francis Chan baptizing his best friend Ken after thirty years of praying for him, quoting Chan's point that salvation is God's miracle and that people are in spiritual darkness until God shines light. The hosts reflect on the guilt of trying to carry God's weight and the anxiety of harvest-focused evangelism.

Planting versus watering: faithful presence in youth ministry

A host who leads youth group explains that his students remember almost none of his lessons but remember his presence at their games and recitals. The hosts agree they are harvest-oriented instead of trusting God with planting and watering, and lament underestimating the spiritual weight of prayer because it is not tangible.

Abram joke tangent

A host makes a bawdy joke that Abram, promised a son by God, had to 'do his part' by being with his wife frequently, prompting juvenile laughter and a joke invitation for any listener named Abraham who is 'not getting enough action at home' to call the complaint line.

Thesis 1: human governments are ordained by God to uphold justice

• Does Romans 13 mean God specifically placed corrupt rulers like Stalin and Hitler in power?

The hosts read Matthew Loftus's first thesis and the long supporting passage from Romans 13. They agree God instituted the system of government with accountability but debate whether specific bad rulers (Stalin, Hitler) are individually placed by God, landing on distinguishing the institution from the people occupying it.

Thesis 2: justice is not merely about rights

• Should governments use power outside of laws to direct people toward righteous behavior?

The hosts wrestle with the second thesis: that a just society uses its powers to direct people toward righteous behavior, not just punish rights violations after the fact. One host worries this invites government overreach like punishing bakers who won't bake for same-sex weddings, and they agree the rub is whether governments are capable of wielding that power well.

Youth group question of the week: do babies go to heaven?

• Do babies go to heaven?

A host brings a question from a 12- or 13-year-old in his youth group: do babies go to heaven? One host shares a funeral story where a grieving mother was told her unbaptized baby was in hell, and answers that infants have not personally sinned and so are not separated from God. The hosts note reformed traditions disagree (original sin from the womb, infant baptism), and the youth leader challenges his students to research the question themselves since Scripture gives no age of accountability.

Exodus 34: God's mercy outweighs his justice

A host quotes Exodus 34:6-7, the longest self-description of God in Scripture, and observes that God's steadfast love is for thousands of generations while he visits iniquity to only three or four, arguing his mercy massively outweighs his justice. He concludes that God's character supports trusting his mercy on hard questions like infants and salvation.

Dear LFTP: the political friend and the grieving widow

• How should a grieving widow handle a one-sided friendship with a politics-obsessed, anxious friend?

A listener from Iowa writes that her friend talks about negative politics constantly and won't discuss the listener's own grief over her husband's sudden death two years ago. The hosts treat these as two separate issues: you are not obligated to sit through one-sided political rants as a Christian, and grief after two years is still real — find friends, church groups, and grief support instead of expecting it from this friend.

Secular's answer: join a grief support group

The Secular advice answer to the grieving widow: acknowledge her grief, join a grief support group to be around people who understand, and step back from the anxious friend since she is not equipped to handle the friend's anxiety and depression — that is the therapist's job.

Dear LFTP: the overbearing sister and the move

• How should a woman handle an overbearing sister who overrules her decisions when helping her move?

A widowed listener writes that her younger sister, who came to help her unpack, overrules her decisions about what to keep and where things go, leaves in a huff when objected to, and reports only her version to the listener's son. The hosts advise the listener to stop letting people drag her around: the sister has no authority in her home, and she should stop inviting unhelpful helpers.

Secular's answer and the 'Fistful of Underpants' moving company

The Secular advice to the overbearing sister letter: unless willing to live by her sister's rules, hire help and cultivate relationships outside the family. This launches a comedy bit about helping people unpack being as intimate as pocketing fistfuls of their underwear, leading to a fictional moving company called 'Fistful of Underpants.'

Kevin Lindgren visits next week, and sign-off

A host previews next week's studio visit with Kevin Lindgren about his new album Kickstarter, then signs off the show.