Methodist Lutheran Baptist

Produced show intro

The produced opening music voiceover: "Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the Path." A host then opens the episode by apologizing for bad news he is about to share.

Website serving Viagra ads

A listener could not find the show because Google search on an Android phone returns the show's website as advertisements for cheap Viagra pills. The hosts joke about earning commission and test the site live on air; typing the URL directly works, only the Google path is hijacked. In the audio one host is addressed as "Dan" and another as "Boova".

Pastor seeks $100 million for end-times media platform

• Should Rick Wiles get $100 million to build a global media platform for the end times?

The hosts read an article about nondenominational pastor Rick Wiles of Flowing Streams Church, who says God gave him a vision of a global media platform to guide people through the end times and is asking for $100 million after being booted from YouTube. A host argues that a ministry that skips introducing people to Jesus and the indwelling Spirit and just builds a platform is charlatanism. A tangent follows on veggie burgers: one host loves Beyond Meat, another recounts a father's first sad Burger King veggie burger, and they mock the bleeding Impossible Whopper.

Bronx pastor charged with stealing $631,000 from charities

• How could a pastor steal $631,000 from charities, and how do churches prevent this?

The hosts cover the case of Bronx pastor Reginald Williams of Charity Baptist Church of Christ, charged with grand larceny for diverting charity money (from the Addicts Rehabilitation Center Fund) to Caribbean vacations and bar tabs. This sparks a discussion of church governance: why churches need separated duties and checks and balances, illustrated with a story about an Iowa lottery RNG programmer who rigged drawings because nobody audited the code.

Putt-putt golf in Rochester Cathedral

• Is a putt-putt course inside a cathedral sacrilege or good outreach?

The hosts react to Rochester Cathedral installing a temporary nine-hole miniature golf course to draw visitors, plus the Knife Angel sculpture (the national monument against violence and aggression) in its gardens. They land on nuance: a community putt-putt event that brings people through the doors to meet Christians is fine, but leaning on a gimmick to look like the cool church never brings anyone to Jesus.

Joshua Harris renounces his book, his marriage, and his faith

• What drives the pattern of celebrity Christians like Joshua Harris falling away?

The hosts discuss Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, who has repudiated the book, separated from his wife, and announced he no longer considers himself a Christian, describing the pattern as deconstruction and falling away. A host traces a trajectory: American fundamentalism that uses the gospel as a behavior bat instead of transforming grace, then rejection of everything once it collapses. Another host argues the Christian publishing industry sells controversy and names, not conviction.

The crushing weight placed on celebrity pastors

Expanding from the Harris story, the hosts argue the church was not built for celebrity pastors: thousands of letters, critics and tempters alike, and a nation quoting their name create pressures no one can bear. One host quotes Scripture that those who love Christ follow his commands, contrasting real followers with checkbox Christianity as social identity. They reject the CEO-pastor model, noting plurality of elders and the New Testament letters to Timothy and Titus, and say the modern pastor is expected to be fundraiser, counselor, teacher, and mentor all at once.

Wichita church pays off $2.2 million in medical debt

As a counterpoint to the scandals, the hosts celebrate Pathway Church in Wichita, Kansas, where pastor Todd Carter announced the congregation bought and forgave $2.2 million in medical debt for 1,600 Kansas families (costing about $22,000 through the nonprofit RIP Medical), mailing each family a note: "as an act of kindness in the name of Jesus Christ, your debt has been forgiven." The hosts say this kind of life-changing action tells people about Jesus better than any gimmick or discipleship class.

Clean prayer jokes

A host reads two prayer jokes from jokes.christiansunite.com: a bear hunter who prays the charging bear become a Christian (the bear prays grace over the preacher), and Joe, Dave, and Bob crossing a river where Bob prays for strength, tools, and intelligence and God makes him a woman who reads the map and uses the bridge.

Dear LFTP: 15-year-old wants to become vegetarian

• How do I present becoming vegetarian to my family and get extended family to accept it?

A 15-year-old girl writes that she wants to stop eating meat, partly for health and partly because meat now disgusts her, and asks how to present this to her family and extended family at gatherings. One host shares he has been on a Daniel fast and faced real kickback; the hosts advise her not to make it a big deal, to simply live it, to research credible nutrition so she gets complete protein, and to talk to someone (a school counselor) about the body-image insecurity in the letter. The secular answer adds: vegetarianism is not a guaranteed way to lose weight; consult a doctor or dietitian first.

Dear LFTP: stepfather seen dressed as a woman at the hospital

• I saw my stepfather dressed as a woman at a hospital appointment; what should I do?

A listener writes that while working at a hospital she saw the man her mother is married to at an appointment, dressed as a woman; he did not see her. She asks whether to tell her mother. The hosts' unanimous advice is to talk to him directly first and give him a chance to explain. The secular answer agrees, noting the mother may already be aware.

Dear LFTP: second wife, tattoo wedding bands, and combined ashes

• How can we honor our marriage vows with tattoo wedding bands and a plan to combine ashes?

A remarried woman asks how to honor her marriage vows when her husband keeps the tattooed wedding band from his late first wife, and whether she must accept his plan to combine his ashes with the first wife's. A host shares his own family's experience: his widowed mother remarried, and both partners gracefully agreed each would be buried with their first spouse. The advice: have the adult conversation, wear a ring over the tattoo or on another finger, and revisit wishes as the marriage grows. The secular answer says talk to the husband about his current wishes.

Preaching advice gag and sign-off

A host shares preaching advice he received from his wife and daughter: "shave your neck, cover your nipples" — which the hosts riff on, including a fake punk band name ("militant nipples") and a parody book title. They give the show's complaint line, (515) 517-0085, for more preaching advice, then sign off.