January 17 2011

Show open and welcome

Produced intro sting identifies the show from Lowe Street Studios in downtown Des Moines. A host welcomes listeners to Live from the Path on Des Moines Amplified, noting the cold, icy roads.

Cold open: weather talk, impersonation, lineup tease

Icy-road small talk opens the show. One host does a playful impersonation of a co-host's excited 'I'm really excited to be here' intro, which the others identify as Ben's. The night's lineup is announced: musical guest Zach Swoboda, a genuine 'big news' tease about the show, and a callback to an earlier prank announcement about moving the broadcast to 3 a.m.

Street Jesus teaser and witnessing comedy bit

• What does 'Street Jesus' mean?

A host says the 'Street Jesus' idea has been on his mind and that he will explain why he loves it. Banter about organic, realistic witnessing leads to a joke bit: a host claims his witnessing method involves a .357 Magnum revolver ('Are you ready to meet your Lord?') and riffs on 'Footprints'-style lines.

Guest interview: Zach Swoboda, worship director

Musical guest Zach Swoboda is introduced: worship director at Lighthouse Church on the southeast side of Des Moines. He tells how he was hired less than two weeks after Googling worship-leader jobs from Branson, Missouri; jokes about the sanctuary's stained-concrete floor; and shares that he and his wife are expecting their first child around July 1. His site zackswoboda.com is plugged.

Performance: 'You Are My Hope'

Zach performs his original song 'You Are My Hope,' written in his church office after being moved by the Spirit. The hosts react warmly; a station ID follows.

Post-song talk: CDs, downloads, Pastor Andy

Zach has no CD yet but plans a full-length album in March; music is available via download. A running joke: a host befriends Pastor Andy (Vieth) on Facebook to confront him about being 'angry' at Zach for writing songs at work, with repeated name mix-ups ('Allen', 'Adam'). The hosts explain how to join the live chat stream.

Story: the prayer breakfast with no breakfast

A host recounts visiting another church's advertised Wednesday-morning prayer breakfast: he arrived at 6:30 to find no food and no prayer, just read-aloud prayer paragraphs, and was skipped when it came his turn to pray. The hosts discuss feeling unwelcome as a newcomer, how churches unintentionally exclude visitors, and the gap between advertised expectations and reality.

Paul and Timothy: the biblical case for street Jesus

The prayer-breakfast story connects to Paul: Timothy's circumcision before entering Jewish territory (to avoid being a stumbling block), Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, and his bold, unbacked-down defenses before rulers. The hosts contrast a 'church Jesus' that stays in the building with Paul's peer-to-peer, go-to-the-people model.

Big news: the show moves to its own studio

The hosts announce that January 31 is the last show from the current studio; starting in February (Monday the 7th) Live from the Path broadcasts from its own studio at livefromthepath.org, same Monday 10 p.m. to midnight slot, off Des Moines Amplified. They ask listeners for prayer and newsletter signups; a fallback basement broadcast and fireplace-room bit follow.

Banter interlude: organ sales, Pastor Andy, choir bells

Fundraising comedy: selling a kidney on eBay, appendix vs. pancreas vs. spleen debates. The Facebook befriending of Pastor Andy Vieth continues; Zach describes his worship-team duties and the church's 438 choir bells.

Performance: 'By the Hand'

Zach performs his original 'By the Hand,' written around midnight after a Thursday worship rehearsal when a tune came to him walking out of the sanctuary. The hosts react ('a two whooper').

Post-song banter: instrumentation, accordion, Pants

Instrumentation talk: full band, djembe, and a debated accordion-on-the-melody idea (citing Mellencamp). Pants (Whetstone), an un-miked in-studio visitor, is introduced on air and says hello; the origin of his nickname (Wet Pants) is explained. Lighthouse began ten years ago as a church plant with accordion-led worship; a host claims he can play accordion only in the key of G.

Secret song story, 10-year question, mustache trick

A host admits he secretly wrote a song in the '80s, sang it a cappella at a church, was fired that week, and is saying it out loud for the first time; the group improvises a 'Jonah goes to Nineveh' rendition. Asked where he sees himself in ten years, Zach says ministry and songwriting: 'only God knows.' A parenting bit: wearing hair from a hairbrush as a fake mustache for the kids.

Lighthouse plug and food riff

Zach plugs Lighthouse Community Church (7705 Indianola Avenue, services at 9 and 11). The prayer-breakfast callback becomes a food riff: a pound of hash browns, maple sausage, and a long sharp-vs-mild-vs-white-cheddar debate, plus the claim that paid food always beats food you cook yourself.

Story: the QT homeless man and five dollars

• Should you give cash to homeless people who ask for it?

A host recounts meeting a man at the QT asking people to cash a check; he gave $5 from his $25/month 'lapse of judgment' budget, and the man asked for $10 instead. A second man asked smoothly for $1 and got it. The hosts debate giving to the homeless: suspicion, the 'pearls before swine' verse (Matthew 7:6), and the view that the giver 'gave to the least of these.'

Cheddar-cheese riff

The food riff continues: sharp cheddar vs. white cheddar, sneaking sharp cheddar past the kids, and a four-year-old daughter who distrusts Swiss cheese because of the holes.

Performance: 'Fight For You'

Zach performs his original 'Fight For You,' written between Sunday services right after being moved by Pastor Andy's message; first time playing it on guitar (written on piano). Full-armor-of-God lyrics.

Fake commercial: pre-blessed food

A produced comedy ad: 'Pre-blessed food — we pray for it so you don't have to.' Thousands of employees pray over brand-name groceries; testimonials claim it 'saved our souls'; every package includes 'two tickets to heaven.'

Communion conundrums

Lighthearted communion talk: whether taking communion at both services is gluttonous ('I'm just here for the juice'), chewing gum during the elements, and noticing when the church switches juice brands ('I don't think Jesus really tasted like this').

Pathway Church plug and February move reminder

The hosts plug Pathway Church (Wallace Elementary, Johnston; thepathonline.org) and remind listeners that starting February 7 the show moves to livefromthepath.org. Chat shout-outs (Olsen, Nixon, Allison) and an 'exclusionary clause' joke follow.

Regrets: the dance apology and the father-in-law apology

• Have you ever done something you regretted and tried to make amends for years later?

A host asks whether anyone has regretted something and made amends years later. He tells of finding on Facebook the girl he turned down for a dance at 16-17, emailing an apology, and learning she didn't remember it at all. A co-host tells of apologizing to his dying father-in-law Dwayne for never asking permission to marry Cheryl, wondering afterward whether the apology was selfish.

Performance: 'Life is But a Vapor'

Zach stays for the second hour and performs his original 'Life is But a Vapor,' about life's fragility and brevity in light of eternity. Hosts react to his high 'hee hee' vocal run; chat sends exclamation-point applause.

Matthew 10:16: the street Jesus method

A host teaches his favorite verse, Matthew 10:16 — 'be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves' — as the biblical basis for 'street Jesus': purposeful, subtle witness. His technique: plant small hints over weeks (mention church, invite someone to the radio show), likened to The Sixth Sense — the person's past observations of your behavior suddenly make sense. The hosts add: don't wait for people to come to church; a co-host notes pastors can't reach his carded insurance building, but he can. Zach's summary: be real followers, not fans.

Cover: Jimmy Needham's 'Fence Riders'

Zach covers his favorite artist Jimmy Needham's 'Fence Riders' ('I know it don't make sense to those who ride the fence, but I'm sold out to Christ'). The chat loves it; a host mispronounces the artist as 'Jimmy Neera.'

Matthew 7:6 lookup and website banter

A host looks up Matthew 7:6 for the chat ('Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs') and reads the full verse. Banter about Zach's artsy website photos follows.

Leviticus: Nadab and Abihu and the grace buffet

• Can God's grace become something believers treat casually?

A host reads Leviticus 10:1-3 (Nadab and Abihu's unauthorized fire) from a Relevant Magazine devotional and reflects on the danger of treating grace casually — the 'grace buffet' metaphor. A co-host cites Romans 6 ('Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?'). They recommend daily devotionals and gotquestions.org for seekers' questions.

Happy birthday to Danielle; Tales from the Path

The four in-studio voices attempt a four-part-harmony 'Happy Birthday' for Danielle (with a 'Gaither ending' joke). They plug the Tales from the Path videos (Caps for Sale, Dan the Dunce, Jack and the Beanstalk) on YouTube and livefromthepath.org.

Closing: 'Love is Not a Fight' and sign-off

Zach closes the show covering Warren Barfield's 'Love is Not a Fight' (from the movie Fireproof). Final plugs: zackswoboda.com, Lighthouse Church, Pathway Church (Wallace Elementary, Johnston, Sundays 9 and 10:30), and next week's Syndrome of Fire. Sign-off.