Moving Chan, Creeper Crist, and Pulpit Bullies

Show open and tonight's rundown

A host delivers the show open from the Pathway Studios in Johnston on a Monday evening ('balmy' gets some ribbing). The rundown promises stories, interesting goings-on, and some pieces they may or may not get to.

News teaser: Francis Chan move and John Crist allegations

A quick news teaser: best-selling author and Bible teacher Francis Chan is moving to Hong Kong, and Christian comedian John Crist (rendered 'John Christ' in the transcript) has canceled his tour amid sexual-misconduct reports.

James McDonald's statement of repentance, teased

The hosts preview ousted Harvest Bible Chapel pastor James McDonald's statement of repentance, reading a couple of its lines — 'you've had my repentance now, you put it on and you sit and deal with it' and 'put your stone back down' — and note how the Christian world is rocking.

Coming up: heady article banter and a character study of humanity

The hosts rib each other about 'heady articles' the other two won't understand, flag a Mere Orthodoxy blog post (Jake Meador, rendered 'Jake Meter') on church renewal for next week, and one host pitches his youth-group character study of humanity and its recurring sins.

Character study of humanity: manna, the Sabbath, and the golden calf

The character-study pitch becomes comedy: God floods Israel with meat then gives manna with simple rules — none gathered on the Sabbath — and the very next verse has people out looking for manna anyway. Same with Aaron and the golden calf right after God forbids golden images. Humanity keeps doing the exact opposite of what God just said.

Church potluck joke: people still ignore clear instructions

One host analogizes: a church announces a potluck six weeks running and fifteen people still claim they had no idea. People ignoring clear instructions isn't new — it's the Old Testament pattern, still true every day in every church.

Sunday sermon mishap: skipping an entire page of notes

A host recounts Sunday's sermon: he preached hard for the first service, then skipped an entire page of notes in the second — the hard-hitting page — and kept going. A woman named Cheryl said he made it work anyway. He also notes how often a convicting insight lands on five people who don't care.

Francis Chan moving to Hong Kong

A host reads the story: Francis Chan says God is calling him to move to Hong Kong, recalling a nine-year-old call; they liked depending on God in unfamiliar places. Discussion covers his San Francisco house-church network (some leaders going with him), his Myanmar gospel trips, and whether a man of his stature just wants to be a nobody somewhere new. The hosts like him and call his work genuine kingdom work.

John Crist scandal: Charisma News report read on air

A host reads the Charisma News report (reporter Taylor Berglund): popular Christian comedian John Crist canceled his tour over allegations from five women — sexting, harassment, affairs with married women, tickets traded for sexual favors over seven years. Crist's email admits treating relationships 'far too casually, in some cases, even recklessly,' cites addiction and sexual sin, and says he sought professional treatment and canceled his 2019 dates.

Reacting to the Crist scandal: fame, hubris, and power

The hosts react: they're amazed by the hubris — fame makes you more likely to be caught, and text messages leave a paper trail. They land on power distorting self-perception, and one host jokes that if he did it nobody would know who he is (a host self-deprecatingly name-checks 'Dan Hudson's creepy guy'). Discussion: people saw the signs for years and said nothing.

Manipulators target vulnerable people

One host (a long uninterrupted turn) profiles manipulators: they don't care about the relationships they're disrupting, they pick targets — people with low self-esteem, in bad circumstances, susceptible to suggestion — and exploit the attention they give. He calls it sad but truthful: people of stature who solicit vulnerable people follow a pattern.

Accountability: the community owes it to you to say no

The hosts turn to the community's duty: don't tolerate it; someone had to have known — family, tour manager. Christians are supposed to be set-apart people. They argue nobody is willing to 'chop the arm off': if you know a setting is your sin, quit the job, quit the bar scene, quit the travel, quit the friends. A host recounts that he and Mike both played in bars in a blues band and walked away because it wasn't worth risking missing church. Labeling extreme gospel teaching 'hyperbole' (e.g., 'if your eye offends you, cast it out') must not become an excuse to avoid drastic action.

James McDonald's statement of repentance, read on air

A host reads James McDonald's lengthy 'statement of repentance' from Facebook: ousted Illinois megachurch pastor James McDonald, fired in February over bullying, intimidation, and using his position for personal benefit, says he is 'very sorry for the careless and hurtful words that were illegally recorded and publicized,' confesses regressing into 'fleshly anger and self pity,' and hopes to return to preaching.

Church discipline: elders' rebuke, mercy, and removing leaders

The hosts chew over the follow-up: nine Harvest elders issued a formal letter of rebuke months after the firing, citing many more witnesses than the biblical two-or-three requirement, because confusion lingered over earlier statements. Discussion: is a pastor at-will? (One host jokes he built his own job so there's no mechanism to fire him.) Is the public letter for the body or for churches that might hire him — is it other people's business? They land on mercy vs. protection: 'you get to fall under the grace of Jesus Christ, but you don't get to keep your job.' Elders are the backbone; a spineless eldership and a domineering 'bugle horn of a man' are the poisonous combo. Shutting down 4,000 leaderless churches beats handing them to manipulators.

Kanye West's gospel album: conversion, sincerity, and 'four or five seconds from wilding'

A host asks if anyone listened to Kanye West's new gospel album topping the gospel and pop charts. Banter: nobody loves Kanye's lyricism, but 'Jesus Walks' made him famous and the lyrics get read on air. A running joke builds around mishearing 'FourFiveSeconds' as 'four or five seconds from Wylan/wilding.' On his conversion: one host wants badly to believe it (citing last year's profane Lil Pump song as cause for weariness), another says it costs him nothing to believe someone came to know Jesus — though he'd never tell anyone to follow Jesus because Kanye does.

Molech statue at the Colosseum; Pachamama statues thrown in the Tiber

A host reads that a reconstruction of Molech — the pagan deity to whom children were sacrificed, featured in the 1914 film Cabiria — was installed at the Colosseum entrance as a celebration of Carthaginian culture, running through 03/29/2020. The hosts note the Colosseum was declared a sacred site in 1749 and hosts Stations of the Cross. They connect it to the Amazon synod: traditional Catholics threw Pachamama statues into the Tiber after Vatican officials called them regional symbols, not idols. The hosts side with calling idolatry out and physically removing it — 'I'm for it' — and joke about personally taking care of the Molech problem (and Romanian jail).

Listener-style question: what does Christian discipline of children look like?

• What does raising a child in discipline look like in a Christian household, and what does the Bible say about it?

A participant the hosts address as 'Bubba' (also 'boob') asks the dads a question: a friend's sweet boy has years of discipline problems and temper outbursts, and he wants to know what raising a child in discipline looks like in a Christian household — he's seen everything from coddling ('the child is always right') to 'capital punishment.' The dads answer: every child is different; bathe it in prayer; never discipline out of anger; set rules beforehand; rare-but-memorable physical discipline followed by embracing the child; lay out choices and let kids feel consequences; don't fight your child — you're teaching future Christ-followers; be the reality they can trust, admit when you blew it and apologize. They close by checking: 'was that hitting what you were looking for?' — 'Thanks, fellas.'

Dear LFTP: staying with a friend you don't like

• Is it okay to keep staying at a friend's house when I don't like her and she drinks, even though she lets me stay?

Dear LFTP letter: a listener's friend lived in her home for about six years, renters have moved out, and the letter-writer now stays there while disliking the friend — it only bothers her when the friend is drunk. The hosts untangle it: nobody's leeching; if the woman doesn't mind you being there, stay — but don't kid yourself, you're not living rent-free emotionally. If it works you up, move out; don't carry the weight.

Dear LFTP: cooking for family with dietary restrictions

• How do I handle relatives' dietary restrictions when cooking for family without hurting anyone's feelings?

Dear LFTP letter: a retired listener and her companion live hours from his family; she cooks for family gatherings, relatives bring constant dietary demands, and she wants to handle it without hurting feelings. The show's 'Secular' (worldly-wisdom) answer is read: the relative may just be trying to be nice — thank her for coming. The hosts add practical counsel: people with real restrictions can handle themselves (salad, no salt), suggest restaurants like Steak 'n Shake, and don't let it infect your life.

Call-in number and the show sign-off

The hosts give the call-in number ((515) 517-0085) and close with the show's sign-off: 'We'd love to hear from you. In the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends.'