What’s in a Name

Show open and docket

• What is the fast God actually wants in Isaiah 58?

Boova reads the listener question about approaching friends burned by the church, and previews his own ask-the-pastor question on Isaiah 58's fasting language after the live show start from the Pathway Studios.

Should ministries be named after their founders?

• Should Christians name ministries after themselves?

A host raises his distaste for ministries named after their founders, illustrated by examples like 'Ben Foust Ministries,' 'Ted Johnson ministries,' the Crowder Foundation, and the jokingly invented 'Troy Engeldinger ministry.' The room weighs self-glorifying motives against practical ones (copyright, brand recognition), notes Paul only signed literal letters and that the gospel accounts were titled by church history rather than self-titled, and detours through a lead singer of Ring Collective's advice that worship leading is facilitation rather than performance. Dan adds that fundraising feels different when the cause is clearly kingdom work rather than self-promotion.

Ask the pastor: the fast God chooses in Isaiah 58

Boova reads Isaiah 58 aloud in full, then asks what to make of the seemingly different fast God describes. Dan cautions against swapping in a new checklist; the room lands on heart posture over ritual — fasting while oppressing workers and quarreling is 'mailing it in' — and traces the recurring scriptural theme: Hosea's 'mercy, not sacrifice,' Sabbath disputes, and Peter on prayers hindered by how husbands treat their wives. The covenant promise 'I will be your God and you will be my people' anchors the discussion, and Boova shares his own repentance pattern and new daily Bible-reading habit of five chapters a day.

Complaint line and Boova's toenail confession

The Bob Eisenlauer complaint line is plugged as the place for 'Boovah's known fallibilities,' and Boova confesses he never uses toenail clippers — he rips his toenails off by hand, to his wife's disgust and the room's horror.

Dear LFTP: friends burned by the church

• How do I approach friends who have been burned by the church?

Mike reads a listener question: multiple friends were burned by the church — how do you approach them about coming back? The hosts advise shifting the goal from the building to the relationship with Jesus, letting your front door be the church's front door, not being shocked that people disappoint people, refusing to let it become a weekly airing of grievances, and not tying your own sense of success to their re-engagement. The Secular answer — 'divorce your friends and go to therapy' — is read for contrast.

Dear LFTP: the difficult apartment neighbor

• How do I politely but firmly set boundaries with a difficult neighbor?

Mike reads the 'doormat' letter: a lonely, miserable neighbor demands rides, walks into the apartment uninvited, and fumes when the writer goes to the store without her. The hosts advise polite, firm, clearly stated terms — being unoffendable, refusing to let one person dictate the relationship, praying over whether to stay in it or step back, and sharing the load with others rather than coddling bad behavior. The Secular answer — lock the door, say you're busy, shut it, and plainly explain why the rides stopped — is read.

Dear LFTP: the retired wife's crossword obsession

• How do I handle my wife's crossword obsession since retirement?

Mike reads a thirty-year-marriage letter: since retiring, his wife does crossword puzzles all day, ignoring him, the kids, and family gatherings. The hosts float several angles — she may not know what to do with new freedom, may be staving off mental decline, or may be an introvert drained by a suddenly always-home husband — and advise wooing her toward shared activities, communicating needs with consideration for hers, and recognizing that most marriages struggle with unmet, unarticulated expectations. The Secular answer — aggressive confrontation and marriage therapy — is judged terrible advice that presumes the worst motives.

Outro and benediction

The show closes with the Bob Eisenlauer complaint line number, a joke that Boova has booked Vivek Ramaswamy for next week, and the standing benediction to be faithful in the means while God handles the ends.