Read, Protect, and Complain About Your Husband

Studio open from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper

The show opens from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper.

Nathaniel's book-writing crisis, false teachers, and protecting what matters

• How much Christian writing about Jesus is gasbagging versus genuinely necessary?
• How do you identify false teaching?

Nathaniel is in a crisis after reading N. T. Wright's Simply Jesus, feeling like a dumb dumb next to eloquent writers, which opens a discussion of the hubris of writing books versus the insufficiency of human language, gasbagging, and having plenty of thinkers but not enough hands-dirty workers. The hosts connect it to last week's false-teaching discussion — dangerous teachers elevate themselves, new believers elevate Jesus — then move to pastors avoiding stumbling blocks (Billy Graham never touching offering money, the Mike Pence rule about not giving teen girls rides home) and applying the same protect-what-matters principle to one's own life: purity, marriage, media diet, and not letting familiar things go undefended.

Books versus podcasts: Keener's Miracles and Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

The hosts debate whether it's worth reading books when podcasts are faster: a host bought into Craig Keener's Miracles (cataloged, verifiable modern-day healings) after hearing an interview, and one host says reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire fired him up for prayer. They land on being podcast men while admitting books still have their place, since the world keeps shifting and people need reminding.

The big 2022 announcement: absolutely nothing is changing

A host delivers the promised big announcement about the future of the show in 2022: absolutely nothing is changing — no new theme song, no trimming to thirty minutes, no mid-show commercials, no sponsor hunting. He does plan to add bookmarks for Android listeners to jump to the advice portion.

Dear LFTP: the daughter's last-name dilemma

• What should the grandparents do about their daughter's last-name dilemma?

A grandparent writes in: their daughter kept her maiden name, is three months pregnant, hates hyphenated names, and wants the whole family to pick a brand-new last name — but her patient, adopted husband won't approve any suggestion. The hosts rule it none of the grandparents' business, side with the generous husband, riff on last-name connotations (Butch Hefelfinger versus Stuart Boss), note Iceland's patronymic system, pick their own fantasy last names (Hanks, Savage, Macho Man, Buckleberry), and read the Secular answer advising the writer to stay out of it.

Dear LFTP: the significant other who hijacks every religious discussion

• How do I get my significant other to stop hijacking religious discussions with hostility?

A woman writes in that her significant other, nice in every other respect, injects sarcasm and hostility into any religion or spirituality discussion and always ends with 'show me proof.' The hosts say he doesn't sound nice, that 'show me proof' is an immature apologetic that wins nothing, and advise her to keep telling him it hurts and breaks relationships — with firmer action if they're not married, since choosing himself over her request is the real data point. The Secular answer calls him a boar welcome as a polecat at a picnic.

Dear LFTP: twenty-year marriage, in-laws visiting, and the divorce threat

• How do I get over my anxiety about my husband's family staying over?

A 58-year-old introvert writes that her husband's family stays over three to four days every year, she would rather they motel it, and he threatened divorce over it. The hosts say she has loaded the deck with buzzwords, that three to four days is one percent of the year, and advise practical moves — shut the bedroom door, don't over-entertain, and Nathaniel's suggestion to take the motel room for herself — while condemning the divorce-threat weapon as manipulation no Christ-following husband should reach for. The Secular answer prescribes a licensed psychotherapist, which they mock as outsourcing a tough decision.

Outro: shop update, the complaint line, and Mike Machobin at Bob Eisenlauer Realty

The outro plugs the updated shop (Slap Me and Call Me Diesel and Mississippi Don't Push shirts, both Nathaniel's hits), asks listeners to call in their fantasy last names on the Bob Eisenlauer complaint line, and closes with a comedy bit where a host answers the phone as Mike Machobin at Bob Eisenlauer Realty, applying for the admin position, before the standard 'be faithful in the means; God will handle the ends' benediction.