The Smattering

Produced opening voiceover

A produced opening voiceover plays over music, announcing the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. It is described neutrally; the produced intro voice is not used as evidence for any host's identity.

Show open and the mobile app surprise

Ben does the live show start from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper and teases two big surprises — one revealed tonight, one he is keeping from Mike and Dan for a couple of weeks. The first surprise is the Live From The Path mobile app: a centralized place for episodes, favorite-episode bookmarks, staff picks, and searchable YouTube clips.

App features and beta-testing call-to-action

Ben walks through the app's features — filtering the back catalog by season, the Secular vs Solomon game, and Thrift Store Hoops, in which the player taps the thrift store priest to shoot at a moving hoop. Mike adds a tap-don't-swipe tip from his own playtesting. Ben invites listeners to beta-test by texting the complaint line (515) 517-0085 with their phone number, email address, and operating system, hoping for a store release in four to six weeks. A second, separate surprise is teased for a couple of weeks out — not the dance routine.

Ben pushes back on calling out pastors over Charlie Kirk

• What should pastors have said about the Charlie Kirk assassination?

Ben vents about social-media posts calling out pastors who did not mention the Charlie Kirk assassination that Monday. He pushes back: if he preached Christ crucified on Sunday, what exactly would the accusation be — cowardice, fear of what? He notes his own church prayed for the shooter, the shooter's family, and the country without changing the planned teaching, and objects to social-media pressure dictating Sunday-morning content.

Why the call-outs sting: misreading the moment

The hosts work through the impulse behind the call-outs. Mike wonders whether the camp sees a turning point for Jesus in America that pastors must join; Dan notes pastors who admired Kirk cannot fathom silence, while Ben adds a pastor may not know his congregation's connection to Kirk — comparing it to generational reactions to Billy Graham's death. They land on the ungraciousness of public call-outs, predict the coming wave of 'you didn't preach against Halloween' posts, and cite an article on thousands of Nigerian Christians killed this year as a perspective check on American outrage.

Holy Spirit street preacher videos: 'Am I afraid of the Holy Spirit?'

• Am I afraid of the Holy Spirit?

Mike describes viral videos of a former drug-mover turned street preacher who speaks startlingly specific words of knowledge — a couple's depression and 'suicidal spirit' traced to their father, a pastor's kid who knows religion but not God — then prays over strangers on camera. Mike asks the room whether his unease is legitimate caution about cameras and editing, or whether he is afraid of the Holy Spirit.

Testing the spirits without quenching them

• Is it irresponsible to speak prophetic words to people who cannot validate you?

The hosts wrestle with the tension. Dan cites Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch and urges testing the spirits against Scripture, watching for red flags like money or notoriety. They discuss the fear of misrepresenting God — Elijah calling down fire as the boldness benchmark — and the Deuteronomy test for prophets. Ben argues knowing a person's fruit in person makes belief easy, while viral reach makes validation impossible: a sermon can be checked against Scripture, but a claimed miracle cannot. Mike lands on praying to be stretched rather than staying safely distant.

Forrest Frank skips the award shows

• Is Forrest Frank right to refuse award shows?

Mike relays worship artist Forrest Frank's announcement that he will no longer attend award shows to accept trophies for worship music — 'the trophy is salvation' — and asks whether it is genuinely good or overplayed humility. Dan admits he struggles to accept praise for sermons; Mike checks with his wife after teaching to stay grounded. They weigh the Dove Awards against Martin Luther's shoemaker, and Ben adds Corey Asbury shelving a contracted country album for gospel songs. The landing: obey what God tells you — if God says let the award sit, let it sit.

Prayer for openness to the Holy Spirit's work

Mike begins praying, then Ben prays that God would heal anything blocking the hosts from recognizing the Spirit's work around them — 'if our cautions are your cautions, may they be steel' — and prepare their hearts to embrace it for God's glory and the love of the world.

Dear LFTP: the holiday card that leaves her off

Mike reads a letter from a woman hurt that a friend's yearly holiday card is addressed only to her husband of more than twenty years, despite his asking the friend to include her. The hosts advise letting it go: if it was meant to bother her, being bothered lets it succeed, and Mike jokes she could just add her own name on arrival. The Secular answer tells her to phone the woman and demand an explanation; Ben swaps it for 'go buy some coffee.'

Dear LFTP: vulgar phone talk and a ghosted friend

Mike reads a letter from a woman in her mid-sixties whose friend Cheryl speaks in loud, vulgar terms on the phone — though not in person; after a text asking her to tone it down, Cheryl ghosted her. The hosts counsel playing the long game — iron sharpens iron through bumpy spots — and warn against ultimatums that end relationships. The Secular answer calls the advice-seeker right and the friend not nice; the hosts find both Secular answers off this week.

Outro: complaint line and sign-off

Ben closes with the Bob Eisenlauer complaint line (515) 517-0085 — for show feedback, pushback on the Holy Spirit discussion, or mobile-app beta sign-ups — and the sign-off: 'be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends.'