August 1 2011

Show open: Spirit Midwest festival preview

The episode opens from the Pathway studios in Johnston proper with a preview of a packed show. The hosts note Mike Foost is absent tonight and run down the night's lineup: phone interviews with Jeff of Satellites & Sirens, KJ, David of We Are Leo, and Tanya Hughes. They preview their first-ever live broadcast from the Spirit Midwest music festival, camping on site both Friday and Saturday, and their own Truth Talk stage show Saturday at noon.

Interview: Jeff of Satellites & Sirens

• What is the story behind the band name Satellites & Sirens?

The hosts interview Jeff of the band Satellites & Sirens by phone. He describes a new album due in September, the new single 'Ready to Save' going to radio, and how the album was funded through Kickstarter, including a $10,000 tier to tour with the band. He reflects on two Dove Award nominations as encouragement, the band's ridiculous early name ideas, and whether digital music makes autographs awkward.

'Ready to Save' playback and post-interview banter

The hosts play a snippet of Satellites & Sirens' 'Ready to Save' and react warmly to it. They recap the interview, note the band was nominated rather than winning the Dove Awards, and point listeners to the band's website and social media. One host admits looking at the band's Facebook photos mid-call and spotting a keytar.

Interview: KJ on teen rap ministry

• What should people expect from a KJ show, and how did KJ get into hip-hop ministry?

The hosts interview KJ, a young Christian rapper playing the festival Friday at 7:35 on the Rock Stage. KJ explains that his dad started rapping first, that he survived a fatal car accident at age one, and that he sees his music as his calling. He walks through his 'God Music and Money' album and cites Matthew 6:33: serve God first, make music as ministry, and let money follow. They discuss his music videos, his Truth Talk stage talk on the life of a Christian teenager, and Christian venues in Minneapolis like Club Three Degrees.

Troy arrives; festival lineup and hype

• What will LFTP's Truth Talk stage show at the festival look like?

Troy Engeldinger drops into the studio and the hosts recap the evening's interviews. They hype the Spirit Midwest lineup: Jess Anderson, Vance Lambert, Syndrome of Fire headlining the Rock Stage Saturday night, Saved on Sunday, On This Rock, and Jeff Arendale. They praise the free festival as the ministry work of organizers Alan and Julie and joke about whether Melchizedek will come up at the Truth Talk stage.

Pathway Church plug and show concept

The hosts plug Pathway Church, which meets at Wallace Elementary with services at 9 and 10:30. They lay out the show's concept: people trying to stay on the path Christ wants, sometimes talking serious theology, sometimes donkeys, all to worship Christ and glorify him.

Interview: David of We Are Leo

The hosts video-call David of the band We Are Leo, whose debut single 'Live for Love' has been on Christian radio for three weeks and is playing in Australia. He describes the 18-month album made with Ben Kasica, who recently left Skillet, playing Rib Fest in Michigan, and a band assembled from Colorado, the Chicago area, and Detroit. When David asks how the show started, the hosts explain they are from Pathway Church in Johnston, Iowa, and set up their own ministry center studio to interview bands on their own terms. A running Jimmy John's gag threads through the call.

'Live for Love' playback and banter

The hosts play a snippet of We Are Leo's 'Live for Love'. Troy returns to the screen and the hosts banter about whether any of them could replace band members, pitch themselves on egg shaker and auxiliary percussion, and lament that broadcasting all day means they will not get to watch many sets.

Golden labradoodle Nugget

A host shares that the family got a golden labradoodle yesterday named Nugget, after the chicken nugget. They riff briefly on the name, then pivot to dialing the next interview.

Interview: Tanya Hughes on obedience and provision

• What was Tanya Hughes's 2009 transition to full-time music like?

The hosts interview Tanya Hughes, a gospel and soul singer playing the festival's main stage Saturday at 1:25. She addresses a host she greets as Ben by name. She describes the last ten years as a preparation period, losing her husband in 2001 and other close people, and stepping out in 2009 to do music full-time out of obedience with no assured paycheck. She tells how God provided through music when her husband's state job was frozen by the Minnesota government shutdown. They discuss her eclectic style, her 2006 hymn project, and her outreach work: partnering with a friend's homeless transitional center for women and organizing a Twin Cities artist fundraiser after tornadoes hit four blocks from her home, raising over $100,000.

'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' playback and post-Tanya banter

The hosts play Tanya Hughes singing 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness'. A host says he grew up in an older Baptist church and is floored when hymns are done well. They note her varied career, including opening for acts like Ray Charles and Franklin. One host, who introduces himself by name as Dan Hudson, jokes about going on tour and only eating blue M&Ms.

Festival logistics and merch bit

The hosts muse on the economics of touring Christian bands: 50 bands with merch tables at a free festival, vans and trailers, covering expenses off CD sales. They plan press passes and lanyards modeled on Needtobreathe passes, drift into a bit about the word 'loom' versus 'weaving machine', and joke about Dan playing his out-of-tune guitar.

Jared Roy printing call and gumball machines

• Can Jared Roy print LFTP shirts, lawn chairs, and lanyards in time for Friday?

The hosts call their friend Jared Roy by phone to ask whether he can print LFTP shirts, lawn chairs, and lanyards in time for Friday. Jared says his print film is on backorder. While waiting for him to call back, they heckle Olson over a gumball machine on eBay, and after Jared joins they joke about printing the show's red guy logo on gumballs and shaved heads. Jared says he can probably do the chairs.

JC Walker thanks, posters, and festival rumors

The hosts thank JC Walker of Iowa Realty, who donates his Praise 940 radio show time to LFTP on the first Sunday of each month, and recommend him to anyone selling a house. They riff on selling old posters and gumball machines, joke that Justin Bieber might show up at Spirit Midwest, and land on a bit about wanting Jared to make a 'no bakes?' shirt for rumored festival guest Michelle Bachmann.

Verse of the day: Hebrews 10 on deliberate sin and cheap grace

• In what context is 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God' (Hebrews 10:31) written?

A host shares the verse he has been pondering all day: 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God' (Hebrews 10:31). The hosts read Hebrews 10:26-31 aloud and discuss how it is written to Christians about deliberately continuing in sin, not to unbelievers. They debate the church's danger of making grace cheap, the gap between the sacrificial system and a distanced modern faith, and land on the distinction that actions, not just words, make a profession of faith true or a lie.

Mike Foost calls in from the dining room

Mike Foost, the co-host who was absent all show, calls in while painting his dining room yellow. The hosts tease him and Troy over who owes whom money for the festival director chairs, riff on yellow reminding them of mustard, flowers, Jesus, and school buses, and say the show's first hour was good before the last half hour capsized the boat.

Sign-off

The hosts let listeners off early, wish them a good week, and close with a reminder that LFTP will be broadcasting from the Spirit Midwest music festival Friday and Saturday, a free show with many bands.