The Bible Confuseth

Show open and the Rizzler bit

The show opens live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. Mike (speaker-2) jokes that people call him the Rizzler, and the other hosts immediately deny it.

Preview: three questions, the bison episode, and a deconstruction post

• What passages of scripture did you once understand and then lose again on the next read?
• What top memory and what lasting, day-to-day takeaway do you bring home from your mission trip?

Ben (speaker-0) previews the show: Mike's question about scripture passages that keep slipping away, his own question for Dan, Mike, and in-studio guest Aiden about their recent Mexico and Zimbabwe mission trips, and a social-media post from a musician deconstructing his faith. He gives the complaint line (515) 517-0085. The hosts riff on Mike's earlier 'bison episode,' joking about whether bison are in heaven.

Quarrelsome scriptures: passages that lose you every time

The room works through Mike's question about scripture they thought they understood and then lost again. Mike's example is Exodus 4, where the Lord tries to kill Moses on the road to Egypt until Zipporah circumcises their son. The hosts add Revelation, the back half of Matthew 24, and the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel as books that need reorienting. Discussion ranges over Philemon and Onesimus (Paul never says 'free the slave' outright), cognitive dissonance in estranged families, Joseph fleecing Egypt in the famine, polygamy as described-but-disastrous, the Bible as a character guide rather than a rule book, the Code of Hammurabi ('Ham Sandwich'), Jethro's judges, Leviticus as disobedience-driven law, Jesus' love-God/love-neighbor summary, anxiety and self-focus in modern life, kids afraid to make phone calls, Ephesians as 'Jesus words' that don't click, and James 1:27's pure religion of caring for orphans and widows, with a Zimbabwe orphanage comparison.

Mike's Mexico report: building houses in Tijuana

Mike (speaker-2) reports on his week in Tijuana with the same house-building ministry Aiden interned with. He went because Aiden, changed by his own six months there, kept urging him. Teams build simple 12-by-12 plywood houses for families who supply the land and pour the concrete. His takeaways: he is desensitized to poverty but this trip pulled him out of his comforts, gave him time for scripture and prayer, and refreshed his sense that missions needs doers and senders. He contrasts intentional missionary work with unreached people groups against low-intentionality evangelism back home, and closes by saying being around people who love Jesus reminded him God is active even when he feels in a valley.

Following the character of God: three righteous options

Ben (speaker-0) teaches that you cannot go wrong following the character of God. He recalls Mary Wastie, a Bible translator with YWAM who was on the program years ago. He lays out three righteous options: the ordinary path of office job and family, local service like a women's shelter, or going elsewhere entirely like Nairobi, and says God is not hiding His will like a maniac behind a door. The real risks are stagnation and disobedience: refusing a known call, or doing nothing at all for years.

Aiden's internship: six months in Tijuana

Aiden (speaker-3) explains the ministry: building the house is an excuse to be there, meeting a physical need while the real spiritual work happens in the builders, with the motto 'mobilizing Christ followers for missions.' Interns get daily 8-9 AM teaching on God's heart for the nations, and the internship aims to prepare people to follow Christ faithfully whether in a Fortune 500 company or ministering to shepherds in Lesotho. His lasting takeaway is intense privilege: America is not the norm, widespread poverty is. He describes the community below the city landfill where people salvage trash to survive, and says the week-long groups always name it the most poverty they have ever seen, though it sinks in differently than living there six months. He was there June 2023 to December 2023.

Dan's Zimbabwe report: Hippo Valley Christian Mission

Dan (speaker-1) reports on his work with Hippo Valley Christian Mission: 29 schools built, each with a church that plants more churches, plus health clinics, a mind-body-soul approach, and 'Living Proof' gospel clubs in the schools. His team runs vacation Bible schools for around 1,200 kids and pop-up tent revivals. His top memory is an altar call at a church they planted five years ago, where one visibly shaking man wrestled through surrendering to Jesus. Dan is the orphanage's director of development; he tells the story of Tanish, who grew up in the orphanage after the AIDS epidemic and is now a married teacher, and of the first-ever orphanage homecoming. His takeaway is staying tuned to the Holy Spirit: on the mission field the radar is always on, and he wants that urgency in routine ministries back home instead of mailing in Sunday mornings.

Moments of consequence and wide-open eyes

The hosts reflect on Dan's report. Ben (speaker-0) says the moments of our lives are of consequence: greeting his wife at midnight, being glad to see his kids, approaching an office job as if the next person matters. They discuss Paul's closed doors in Acts and how he knew, and Moses getting his sign after obedience at the burning bush (worship on this mountain). The conversation detours through Tony Robbins jokes ('classic Ben' obscure references), Simon Sinek, Gary V, and MrBeast as motivational speakers of the day, then Ben invites listeners interested in Zimbabwe or Tijuana trips to contact the show.

The deconstruction post: guilt, vocation, and Shoney's

The hosts return to the musician's deconstruction post, postponing the full 'walking away from Jesus' segment to next week. Mike (speaker-2) argues guilt is a free-range commodity: you either earned it (repent and walk out) or stole it (you're a fool), and nobody can put guilt on you without your acceptance. Ben (speaker-0) warns about Christianity as a vocation: musicians and church staff who see how the sausage is made can taint their faith when bosses or expectations fail them, especially artistic types who expected stardom. Mike's Shoney's analogy: you can't keep eating at a restaurant where someone vomited by your table and then act surprised it turned foul, but you also can't rewrite the whole history as nothing but vomit. They land on loving God and loving people as the narrow road out of self-focus.

Dear LFTP: a son's Taiwanese wife

• My son married a woman from Taiwan whom I dislike and have nothing in common with; what should I do?

Mike (speaker-2) reads a Dear LFTP letter from a parent whose son married a woman from Taiwan: she is sweet but the writer calls her 'uncultured,' dislikes her housekeeping, cooking, English, and dress, and says they are never invited over. The hosts push back on 'uncultured' as a culture difference, debate whether a mom or dad wrote it, and advise being compelling rather than disappointed: throw great gatherings and let her be drawn in. Dan (speaker-1) notes the son was trained by his parents and married accordingly. Mike argues the writer is being deliberately obtuse about Taiwanese customs. Secular's answer: she's not your ideal daughter-in-law, but if she makes your son happy, focus on that and smile when you host them.

Sign-off: faithful in the means

Ben (speaker-0) closes the show: complaint line (515) 517-0085, a joke about the Instagram posts being annoying, thanks to in-studio guest Aiden Stone ('welcome at any time'), to Dan (also welcome anytime), and to Mike ('I will have to think about it'). The send-off: 'be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends.' A Spotify ad interrupts, and Mike signs off with a chess joke ('that's a rook') and 'Thanks, Willis eleven.'