Enter The McCormick

Cold open without Ben; first-time guest Cody McCorney; show docket

Mike opens the show with Ben absent, recounting his failed attempt to run the opening himself — nobody muted, nothing visible on screen — and calling it a righteous disaster. He welcomes first-time guest Cody McCorney, coins "smooth as an oiled up whale" (promptly dubbed a Mikeism), and sets the docket: a BeliefNet article on six things Christians do that aren't biblical, Ask the Pastor, and Dear LFTP. Banter about the article's whiskey-glass stock photo detours into whether whiskey existed in Bible times and a joke about Solomon praising bourbon.

Article item 1: sayings Christians quote that aren't in the Bible

Mike reads the BeliefNet article's first item — Christians saying things that aren't in the Bible — and the room lists examples: "God helps those who help themselves," "cleanliness is next to godliness," "God don't bless no mess." Discussion turns to how translation and cultural distance hide meaning: the ben/aben (son/stone) wordplay in the parable of the tenants in Matthew 21, and Barabbas's name literally meaning "son of the father." Psalm 119:16 and Deuteronomy 11:18-19 are read on treasuring God's word, then talk moves to worship-music lyrics, the Lectio 365 prayer app, and being careful about claiming "God told me" without confirmation.

Prophetic words, personal revival, and the power of prayer

• Have you ever had a prophet speak into your life?

Asked whether a prophet has ever spoken into his life, Boova describes being called out on things he was hearing from God but not acting on. Guest Cody McCorney, a recent convert, relates: thoughts he ignored until God put people in his pathway, including youth-group outreach. Dan recounts a mentor asking "how are you with God?" over lunch, sparking a season of personal revival. Boova, convicted by reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, resolves to start praying alone at his apartment complex's community center on Thursday nights without inviting anyone. Mike adds that a church's real health shows at Tuesday prayer night, recalls spiritual attack while running youth group, and describes "mini Ebenezer" rocks marking God's faithfulness, closing with "This is Mike missing out on an invitation to be part of a rock."

Article item 2: reading horoscopes to determine future events

The article's second item — Christians reading horoscopes — draws mockery of $30-a-pop newspaper astrologers and the man-made constellations, plus a fortune-cookie story and the running joke "I can't walk with the gibbous" about moon-phase superstition. Boova turns serious: his TikTok live streams showed him lonely strangers just wanted someone kind to talk to at 2 a.m., and horoscopes prey on that same hunger for something to hold onto, usually from people burned by other Christians rather than by Jesus. Mike notes horoscopes never tell you anything you need to change about yourself, unlike the edifying word, which mostly offers freedom from something.

Article item 3: tithing out of obligation

• Do most people tithe out of obligation, cheerful giving, or not at all?
• Must the tithe go to your Sunday church, or can it fund other kingdom work?

The third item — tithing based on obligation rather than cheerfulness — opens a long discussion. Mike admits an innate mistrust of giving to church institutions run by people. Dan, asked directly, says he sees a blend: obligation givers, to-the-penny tithers, and joyful givers, and notes the tithe predated the law, with Abraham giving to God without knowing where it went. Boova asks the controversial question: must the tithe go to your Sunday church, or can it fund other kingdom work? Dan outlines the Old Testament's multiple tithes — Levites, the poor, the festival party — landing north of 30 percent. Mike testifies to God's faithfulness when he tithed through lean years ("test me on this"), and Cody says guilt and shame drive much giving. A tangent on disreputable jet-owning preachers detours into Dan's new heavy-duty office chair, jokingly dubbed the golden calf chair.

Article items 4-5: blaming karma and believing in superstition

• Why do bad things happen to good people?

Item four — blaming karma — gets short shrift: Mike doesn't believe in luck at all, the room riffs on "what goes around comes around" (misattributed to Justin Timberlake), "good vibes," and the gibbous moon. Item five — superstition as idolatry — turns substantive: nothing happens outside God's sovereign control, which raises the problem of suffering. Mike wrestles honestly with unanswered "why" questions, landing on Peter's "where else are we going to go?" Cody shares his own coming-to-faith questioning, wondering whether his hardships were consequences of his choices, and concludes self-reflection beat resentment.

Article item 6: drinking to get drunk

The final item — drinking to get drunk — cites 1 Corinthians 6:10 listing drunkards among those who will not inherit the kingdom, and Jesus's "you cannot serve two masters." The hosts reframe it: the issue isn't alcohol but running to something that isn't God — whether Jim Beam, drugs, or three packs a day — to forget or to feel in control. They note Jesus himself drank and ate with sinners while the Pharisees criticized both John and him, and Boova adds that drunkenness surrenders higher thought and invites rage, jealousy, and worse decisions. Cody agrees alcohol is just the most visible of the escape hatches.

Romans, propitiation, and learning to live in the peace

• How do you get from being stuck at grace's door to living in the peace?

Dan, teaching through Romans, walks through chapters 4 and 5: Abraham, justification, and the peace that comes from wrath turned away — propitiation — which drinkers and strivers alike fail to grasp. Boova confesses he's fluent at the shame side of the cross but can't receive the garden-with-the-Father side. Mike describes being stuck at "grace's door," unable to pray freely or trust the Spirit's voice, and frames refusing the peace as its own pride. Cody asks, "I'm asking for a friend — how do you get there?" The answer: be in the Word, be in God's presence, practice prayer past the awkwardness. Boova closes the arc with the gospel sweep — Adam, Babel, Abraham, David all failed to clean themselves; Yeshua, "Yahweh brings salvation," already did it — and Mike ties it to Dan's point about wasted anxious striving.

Listener line promo and Dear LFTP setup

Wrapping the article, Mike plugs the (515) 517-0085 call-or-text listener line — spoken as the "Path to Plate line" — joking that callers won't be answered live and riffing on the line's history as the Bob Eisenlauer complaint line, which has barely been used. Boova fumbles the Dear LFTP intro, then reads the letter: a 67-year-old father whose daughter stayed with her boyfriend, recently out of jail for stealing $200,000 from his grandparents, and who now wants to remove her from his will.

Dear LFTP: should a father disinherit his daughter over her boyfriend?

• Should people's misuse of a gift be a reason to not give a gift?
• How do I tell my daughter I am removing her from my will?

Boova reads the full letter: the boyfriend stole $200,000 from his grandparents, has a denied gambling problem, and already took $200 from the daughter's checking account since release; the father fears telling her about the will change will end the relationship. Mike reframes it for the group: should someone's misuse of a gift be a reason not to give it? Dan and Boova trade personal stories of stolen inheritances — Dan's father's partner took his, Boova's step-grandfather took his grandmother's — and both landed on "don't bank on inheritance." Boova advises an honest adult conversation naming the boyfriend's record plainly, Dan advises a strict third-party-controlled trust to protect them both, and the Secular answer advises saying nothing for now since the father may outlive the relationship.

Sign-off and open invitation

Mike closes the show, thanks Cody and gives him an open invitation to return — joking they'll discuss leaving people out of wills more often — and a host shares a story about preaching at his first church for six years because nobody told him to stop coming. The sign-off blessing: "be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends."