February 21 2011

Show open and tonight's rundown

A host opens with cold-show banter about a severe headache ('a band of brigands trying to break out of my head'), addresses Mike and Dan by name, and blames Mike for tearing out cables and delaying the broadcast. He runs down the night's lineup: On This Rock in the studio, another round of Live from the Path versus Dear Abby, Justin Bieber's troubles, a Secular vs. Solomon title bout, and a discussion of whether the ends can justify the means.

On This Rock returns: the fire stories

The hosts welcome the band On This Rock back to the studio and adjust the camera framing, with band members Chris, Jeremy, and Trevor addressed by name. A host asks everyone whether they have ever set themselves on fire: answers include a college fire, the host addressed as Mike setting his hand on fire with flammable hand sanitizer, a Boy Scout winter-campout pants fire, a band member falling into a 220 dimmer pack while working at Adventureland, and a former electrician's coworker nearly re-burning a rebuilt house by igniting spilled PVC glue with a torch.

On This Rock: winter off, gigs, and lineup change

A band member says they take the cold months off because they don't play well in the cold, using winter to practice, write, and absorb a lineup change with a new member, Mr. Fordyce. Upcoming dates discussed include Spirit Midwest (with Olympic-style coverage planned), Smokey Row in Des Moines next Friday at 7 as part of Al and Julie's Jammin' Java event, Brush Arbor in Lineville on the Iowa-Missouri border, and a possible Mercer Homecoming in Missouri.

E-cigarette digression

A long tangent on e-cigarettes: one host who has tried one explains the nicotine cartridge and charger mechanics, concluding they are useless because a dead battery sends you back to $7 packs of real cigarettes. Others chime in about truck stops and a mall booth, and the bit closes with jokes about bubble pipes and candy cigarettes.

Smokey Row details and web links

The Smokey Row gig is confirmed for next Friday at 7 o'clock (the first Friday in March, the 4th), and the show floats broadcasting live from the venue. The band's website is dormant after a long break; they are on Facebook and MySpace, reachable through the Live From The Path Facebook event and the performances page at livefromthepath.org. The segment ends with the lead-in to the Dear Abby bit.

Dear Abby 1: bill-paying anxiety

• Two college-educated adult children (ages 28 and 30) have 'bill-paying anxiety' - how can a parent help?

A host reads a Dear Abby letter from a mother whose college-educated children, 28 and 30, have what they call 'bill-paying anxiety' and have lost their licenses over unpaid traffic tickets. The hosts reject the premise outright ('Get over it. Pay your bills'), agreeing with Abby that 28- and 30-year-olds are not children, and joke about the condition becoming a legitimate disease with a prescription.

Dear Abby 2: the conservative friend

• A conservative Christian woman is mocked by friends for her values - should she stop going out with them?

A host reads a letter from a conservative woman (no drinking, dancing, makeup, or pants) whose friends mocked her religious jewelry and fashion. One host's blunt take ('Dear loser. Get over yourself') leads into disagreement with Abby's advice to drop the friends: they argue she should be secure in her values rather than avoid people who differ, noting that Jesus hung out with sinners, and that her letter also reads as lining up her own righteousness to point at others.

Dear Emmy: the agnostic father, and 'Street Jesus'

• How do I answer my children's 'Is there a God?' when I am an agnostic, borderline atheist myself?

A host reads a final letter ('Dear Emmy') from a married father raised Christian who now considers himself agnostic, borderline atheist, asking how to answer his children's 'Is there a God?' A host advises him to seek honest answers in Scripture rather than outside sources before trying to lead his kids, warning of the weight of directing children away from God. The conversation turns to witnessing tactics - being 'shrewd as snakes, innocent as doves' and 'Street Jesus,' example-led faith dropped casually over time - closing with a sung 'Street Jesus' theme riff.

On This Rock performs two songs

After a short break the band plays two songs: an unnamed opener about a passionate walk with Christ ('catch on fire'), and 'I Will Not Be Shaken,' an upbeat song about standing firm in faith with a sing-along tag. Afterward the hosts rave about the hook, the band notes the song is recorded with gang vocals, promises a duck walk at live shows, and a member admits forgetting the lyrics mid-chorus of his favorite song.

Prayer night for Fort Des Moines Church of Christ

The hosts plug past and future On This Rock performances at livefromthepath.org/performances, then announce that Pathway Church in Johnston is heading to Fort Des Moines Church of Christ (off Army Post Road on the south side) this Wednesday at 7 p.m. to pray for another congregation - no offering or service, just Christians praying for and encouraging another church, organized by worship and arts pastor Jared Roy. A Hardee's stop is floated as a bonus.

Dan's heart scare

Dan, addressed by name on-air, recounts a three-week medical spiral: a doctor visit for a cough revealed high blood pressure, leading to an EKG, a cardiologist referral, a stress test, an echocardiogram, a CT scan, and finally a TEE scope that found an ascending aortic aneurysm - 'the John Ritter thing' - with a same-day surgeon consult where he expected open-heart surgery. The surgeon instead said his valves were fine and no surgery was needed, just keep blood pressure down, and Dan credits prayer from people literally all over the world, including messages from Thailand.

A band member's son and the heart-rate miracle

An On This Rock member tells the story of his two-year-old son Malachi Paul, who after NICU time for breathing issues began sleeping through the night while seeming constantly tired; a checkup led to an ER visit where a cardiologist diagnosed PJRT (permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia) - an extra heart node driving 250-260 bpm at rest. Admitted Friday night for an expected two-week stay, the boy was switched to a second medication at 11 p.m. and by 1 a.m. his heart rate had settled to 70-80 bpm; he went home Monday on medication with zero restrictions, with a future ablation procedure expected to fix it permanently.

Secular vs. Solomon game

The full game: the host reads proverbs and the panel (hosts plus On This Rock, with Kevin called out for peeking at the screen) votes Solomon or secular. Verdicts: 'like a bad tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful' is Solomon (Prov 25:19); 'each generation will reap what the former generation has sown' is secular (Chinese proverb); 'it is a trap to dedicate something rashly' is Solomon (Prov 20:25); 'a filthy mouth will not utter decent language' is secular (Chinese proverb); 'a fool judges people by the presents they give him' is secular; 'a rat who gnaws at a cat's tail invites destruction' is secular (Chinese proverb); 'wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him' is Solomon (Prov 19:4); 'an honest answer is like a kiss on the lips' is Solomon (Prov 24:26); 'a whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools' is Solomon (Prov 26:3); 'as you make your bed so you will sleep' is secular (Russian proverb); 'do not forsake wisdom and she will protect you' is Solomon (Prov 4); 'God gives to those who get up early' is secular (Russian proverb, with a Stalin-era propaganda riff). Surrounding banter touches a Salvation Army founder video and 'whatsoever a man sows.'

Hard question: do the ends justify the means?

• For Christ, do the ends justify the means?

A brief YouTube channel and newsletter promo gives way to the question Phil the drummer put to Mike on Sunday morning: for Christ, do the ends justify the means? Mike's answer - no, never; the means are what produce the end that gets judged - anchors a long debate touching Paul's prison letters (rivals preaching Christ from wrong motives), Matthew 16:26 on gaining the world and forfeiting the soul, televangelists running for-profit ministries, the line between watering down the message and making church welcoming, 'itching ears' preaching, and the woman caught in adultery as the model of truth without condemnation.

The wrestler who forfeited rather than wrestle a girl

• Is there really a faith issue in a boy wrestler refusing to wrestle a girl?

A host, who notes he and Ben discussed it earlier in the week, lays out the story: an Iowa high school wrestler ranked third in the state forfeited at the state tournament rather than wrestle a girl (Cassie Herkelman), citing conscience and faith, having done the same before. The panel debates whether there is a real biblical issue - honoring women versus her willing entry into combat - and lands on respecting the kid for standing on principle: he cost only himself a tournament while the media tried to pathologize his faith. A California case of a sexual-assault charge arising from a wrestling move is raised as a warning about where mixed-gender wrestling leads.

Justin Bieber's Rolling Stone answer on abortion

• Is it right for a 16-year-old to be asked about abortion in an interview?

The hosts note the parallel between the wrestler and 16-year-old Justin Bieber, who told Rolling Stone he doesn't believe in abortion ('it's like killing a baby') and, asked about rape, answered 'I think that's really sad... everything happens for a reason... I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that.' They debate whether a 16-year-old should face such a loaded question, conclude the question was a no-win trap, and praise his answer as better than they could have given - while the self-described 'tolerance' crowd proved intolerant of it.

Closing: 'More I See' and sign-off

The hosts plug the website, YouTube channel, podcast, archived shows, last week's Circular Revolution performances, and the newsletter (info@livefromthepath.org), then On This Rock closes the show with 'More I See,' a song about the state of the world and needing Jesus. The show signs off with 'Have a wonderful week' and 'We will see you next week.'