Sing What You Want

Show open, docket, billboard-effectiveness comedy, and guest intro

Ben opens from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper with a "bold" new-year voice and sets the docket: a man whose church only sings the Psalms (book author Shedlock's Facebook post), the He Gets Us billboard campaign plus Dan's article about it, Secular vs Solomon, Dear LFTP letters, and a plea for 500th-episode listener feedback. The room riffs on whether billboards ever work: Dan's velvet-whiskey billboard he wasn't allowed to look at, a Hardee's "hungry" billboard with chicken strips that did convert, the national-debt clock, and the pamphlet guy on the street corner. Ben confesses he is a "rampant clicker" on Facebook ads (an $85 wooden-machine kit he wouldn't buy), while Gavin reports $75 in Facebook ads filled his church's New Year's Eve kids party. Guest Gavin McAvetti is welcomed after wandering in with treats. The Bob Eisenlauer complaint line is (515) 517-0085.

Is it more holy to sing only the Psalms or only scripture?

• Is it more holy or valuable for a church to sing only the Psalms or only scripture in worship?

The hosts take up the man whose church sings only Psalms (and a harder variant: only exact scripture, citing Ephesians' "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs"). Ben argues hard no: elevating scripture-only worship misunderstands the Spirit's ongoing work, revealing a distrust of God working through fallible humans, and the pastor preaching any extrapolation takes the same "risk" the rule tries to hedge. The room grants the practice is fine for a congregation but must not be used to judge other churches (the Christmas-tree conviction parallel; Romans 14 territory). Objections: many Psalms aren't sing-worthy (Psalm 137's baby-dashing, "break my teeth, O Lord"), and David's thousand-BC cutoff would invalidate earlier worship. Gavin tells of a feverish night of unplanned praise writing a psalm "in his heart" as evidence true worship isn't mere repetition. Other notes: secular songs that "sniff like Jesus," Fanny Crosby's 600-a-day hymn factory, publishers corporatizing worship music, and Miriam's song being terrible no matter the beat. Gavin presses that worship music should be scripturally sound, which the room accepts.

The He Gets Us campaign: "I hate this"

• Is the He Gets Us $100M ad campaign good evangelism?

Ben reads from the article on the $100M He Gets Us Christian ad campaign (TV, online, billboards targeting millennials and Gen Z, funded by wealthy anonymous families). The hosts reject it: when you chase culture, culture sets the standard and Jesus "plays cleanup"; leading with relatability and two steps back from the gospel wastes the money because people feel bait-and-switched. Counterpoints offered in the discussion: Paul at the Areopagus contextualizing, Hebrews 4's sympathetic-but-still-high priest, and that any billboard competes only for information, which is fine. The room lands on: nobody wants another human as their god; people want a God who pulls them out of the mess, not a buddy who says "we're screwed together"; the choice is between a support group and reconciliation. Comedy: Nathaniel is one of the donor families (for the tax deduction), and a push for 500th-episode listener feedback plus a poll on whether Mike is a vest man.

Secular vs Solomon: nine proverbs

The game runs with Mike keeping score: "A drowning man is not troubled by rain" (secular Iran); "anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad" (Solomon, Proverbs 12:25 — Dan guesses 14:8, over); "a slack hand causes poverty" (Solomon, Proverbs 10:4); "a monkey never thinks her baby's ugly" (secular Haiti); "hunger is the best sauce" (secular Rome — Mike guesses Istanbul/Turkey, Dan guesses America); "whoever walks in integrity walks securely" (Solomon, Proverbs 10:9 — not a Biden quote); "whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor" (Solomon, Proverbs 14:21 — Mike goes rogue with secular Poland); "the bear and the bear hunter have different opinions" (secular Norway, "second Canada"); "slippery ground does not recognize a king" (secular Kenya). The anxiety question is accidentally asked twice. Final scores: Nathaniel 3, Dan 4.5, Gavin 36, the host (Mike keeping score and answering) 117 and undefeated. Viewers can catch past episodes on YouTube or livefromthepath.org.

Dear LFTP: my husband tucks me into bed and I feel like his child

• How can the wife tell her husband his doting makes her feel like a child without starting a huge fight?

Mike reads a letter from a 36-year-old married 11 years to a doting 38-year-old husband who takes over chores when she is frustrated and tucks her into bed, kissing her goodnight; she feels like his child and struggles to love him as a husband. The hosts frame it with love languages: his version of love isn't landing, and there is a difference between caretaking and mutual desire ("zip," passion). Advice: be direct and explicit, not hints — he is dense and thinks he is nailing it — and ask him what he wants too; give him grace since he errs on the side of goodness. The Secular answer surprises by siding with the husband and suggests a psychotherapist session for the wife; the hosts mock Mr. Secular ("I got married to Peter Fonda").

Dear LFTP: her parents want to come on the honeymoon

• What advice should be given to Samuel, whose fiancee's parents want to come on the honeymoon?

Mike reads a letter from a couple who helped a foster-care-raised young man (Samuel) finish college and start his job; his attractive fiancee, 28, insists on bringing her parents on the honeymoon, and they argue with him about it. The hosts call it a deal-breaker red flag: a 28-year-old's honeymoon is bonding time for the new couple, and in-law overbearing will only grow ("you're signing up for fifty years of hard labor"). Practical counsel: blood deals with blood — the wife must shut down her own parents — and if she won't, reconsider before the wedding. The Secular answer suggests premarital counseling, which the hosts agree with given the healthy-relationship caveat. The episode closes with thanks to Gavin, the complaint line, and the benediction: "be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends."