Tales with Dirk

Show open, docket, and the Gnostics explainer

• What does 'Gnostic' mean?
• Are you mad at God?

Ben opens the show and runs the docket: guest Dirk Von Steen is in the studio, a sober soldiers event plug, Mike's wife texting him 'are you mad at God?', and Boova's Ask the Pastor on Jeremiah 26. Mike asks what a Gnostic is, and Ben explains the secret-knowledge sects that separated spirit from body and denied the incarnation, with Dan joking that Dan went straight for the sex.

Dirk performs 'Living Water'

Dirk Von Steen performs 'Living Water' from his new record 'Angel Road', his testimony song about ten years of recovery and the living water that outlasts alcohol. The hosts praise him as not formulaic; Ben jokes that Paul may not have entered Mysia because people weren't buying his tents.

Dirk's alcoholism testimony: the lost musical identity

Dirk tells how he, Ben, and Mike were in a high school band, but alcoholism sapped his desire for music, built walls of isolation, and cost him ten years. Mike adds his heater-shop story of a smoker who couldn't quit while driving, and Dan recalls the 30-day identity crisis of early recovery.

The 30-day identity crisis

The hosts discuss how new believers and new sober people hit an identity crisis around 30 days in: the party life is gone and has to be replaced with something real. Dan's illustration of two glued boards ripped apart shows why the break never comes away clean; Ben frames the answer as pointing people to Jesus.

Turning the corner: AA, step work, and accepting Christ

Dirk describes his turning point through Alcoholics Anonymous: five to six meetings a week, a sponsor, a step inventory of resentments, fears, and character defects, and a 70-year-old sponsor who said 'we're gonna love you until you can love yourself.' Two years sober he accepted Christ; he contrasts God's steady voice with the enemy that nips at your heels.

Revival services call Dirk back to music

Dirk recounts weeping at the altar during revival services at Grimes United Methodist Church, sensing the Holy Spirit calling him back to music. He became youth worship leader having never heard Chris Tomlin, and says God told him 'I want you up there, and I want you to give it all to me.'

COVID years: vocal training and empty rooms

• How do you tell whether the Spirit is moving you or whether it's just you?

Dirk covers his COVID-era rebuilding: vocal lessons with Sheila Cutler at the Central Iowa Music Lab, playing empty rooms, and an honest ache for live music. He jokes about his 'Chopping Block' version of 'Brown Eyed Girl' and his 'Chopping Block' Two Princes, prompting Ben's comedic question about telling whether the Spirit is moving you or it's just you.

Dirk performs the title track 'Angel Road'

Dirk performs 'Angel Road,' the title track about ten years sober, God's will versus my will, and knowing Jesus loves him with a place in heaven. The hosts plug dirkvonsteen.com and his Facebook page; Boova notes he's 'not really a X guy' and Dirk is on Instagram but not X.

2025 plans and the Pally's 'Wonderwall' story

Dirk lays out 2025: live shows, a worship band with his wife, and sober soldiers and Teen Challenge events. He tells the Pally's Bar and Grill story: after playing 'Wonderwall,' a woman said she had buried her best friend that morning and the song held her together — 'that's God working right there.' Ben reflects on letting the Spirit lead an artistic career even to a room of two.

Mike admits he's mad at God

Mike unpacks the morning's text from his wife: he realized he really is mad at God. He describes skipping his daily Bible rhythm, quitting praying at his bench, and asking God to take his smoking — then realizing 'it's not the smoking that's the thing, it's flat out disobedience.' He quit, and the hosts trace his year-long cycles of anger down to five days.

Hosts respond: knowing the difference, and hope

Ben answers Mike: 'You're not the person who makes the difference. You're the person who knows the difference.' The hosts discuss unmet 'not yets,' Hebrews 11's heroes who never saw their promises, and God still changing people while hope stays alive. The segment closes with the 'pipe and a porn' comedy bit after Ben's 'pope with a porn' story.

Ask the Pastor: Uriah, Micah, and the canon

• Why don't I have Uriah's prophecies in my 66 books when I have Micah's?
• How do I know I have everything we're supposed to have in the Bible?

Boova's Ask the Pastor: Jeremiah 26 names both Micah and Uriah son of Shemaiah as prophesying like Jeremiah, yet only Micah's words are in the 66 books. Ben argues Uriah's message is largely preserved in Jeremiah, cites the lost books scripture itself names (Wars of the Lord, annals of the kings), and defends trusting the Spirit-led canon; Dan adds that God spoke through prophets while the New Testament was being written, and cites Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript evidence.

Complaint line promo

Ben plugs the Bob Eisenlauer complaint line at (515) 517-0085, joking that complaints about the canon discussion can go there and the next caller might hear from Dirk Von Steen or 'Buva' himself.

Dear LFTP: the thank-you note question

• Do I have to write that thank-you note?

Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter: a driver's distraction hit her seven-year-old bicyclist, injuries were minor, and the driver bought him a new bike — must she write a thank-you note? The hosts debate fault, Mike jokes the kid probably pulled out in front of her, and Secular's answer settles it: no rule of etiquette demands thanks for a bike destroyed by inattentiveness. Ben suggests having the kid write the note; Dan tells a sobering bench story of a child killed on a bike.

Outro and Dirk performs 'Feel Again'

The hosts close out with a Milli Vanilli tangent and thank Dirk for a real, honest show. Dirk introduces 'Feel Again,' the first song he wrote after sobering up — about the raw emotions of early recovery, learning to breathe, and accepting a higher power before he knew it was Jesus — and performs it to end the episode.