December 20 2011

Show open: Ben Foost introduces the show

The show opens from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper with the intro voiceover. Ben Foost introduces himself by name and welcomes the audience to a full house on a hot, sticky night. A brief exchange about an original song precedes the lineup preview.

Previewing the lineup: The Dive, the pink Bible, Tebow, Dear LFTP

• Is Tim Tebow 'a bit much' in how publicly he expresses his faith?

Ben previews the evening: the folks from The Dive student ministry at Point of Grace Church are in studio, returning musical guest Zach Swoboda will catch up and perform, Mike is asked about the Zondervan pink Bible tied to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a Tim Tebow discussion is teased (Kurt Warner's 'a bit much' comment), and Dear LFTP advice letters are on deck. Zach Swoboda is introduced as a returning guest whose CD is out.

Repenting for slandering the Apostle Peter

• How do I repent for slandering the Apostle Peter on the show?

Ben says he slandered the Apostle Peter on the show months earlier, calling him a 'wussy' for denying Jesus to a teenage girl, and now wants to repent of it. The hosts discuss biblical repentance: whether Peter would care, whether an apology is still owed, and that Ben can only ask Jesus to pass the word along since he cannot pray to Peter. Mike's high-voice impression of the Apostle Paul as a stodgy 5-foot-5 man comes up in the mix.

The Dive: rebranding from 42 and the Spark

Bart, the student pastor, explains The Dive: a student ministry at Point of Grace Church rebranded from '42 and the Spark' (42 = grades 9+10+11+12). He arrived in September 2010, spent a year watching the old programming, then led a full renovation of the student facility and a 200-to-300-name voting process that landed unanimously on 'The Dive'. The rebrand coincided with a fresh start in ministry strategy.

Assembling the Dive team; Zach becomes worship leader

Bart describes hiring the team over four to five months: Brandon grew up in the ministry and was hired first, then Marshall, Michelle, and Zach arrived together. Bart recounts getting Zach's cold email looking for a place to play right when they needed a worship leader, meeting him two days later, and bringing him on weekly while letting him keep his artist career. Zach says he started October 9th and God 'took control of the situation'.

Catching up with Zach Swoboda: CD, Applebee's gigs, baby Malachi

Zach talks about his CD released around the Spirit Midwest Music Festival, playing it slower than he'd like but getting out to shows. He describes his regular Saturday 9-to-midnight Applebee's gigs in Pella, Merle Hay, and Southeast 14th with free food, and tells the story of a diner cutting his steak in rhythm to his song 'Turn To You'. He also shares family news: six-month-old baby boy Malachi and a move to a house in West Des Moines.

Guys' and girls' ministry, barcoded check-ins, and the weekly meal

Brandon describes his role as the guys' ministry director: being the first connection for visiting guys, giving them a lanyard with a barcode card that doubles as a meal ticket and attendance tracker. Michelle describes the parallel girls' ministry for 6th-12th graders and how she joined the team after being hired as an admin assistant and immediately reassigned to student ministry. The Dive serves a full free meal every week (chicken quesadillas, loaded potato bars), and shout-outs go to tech volunteer Stephen Nichols.

Game consoles, pallet stadium seating, and the Noah's Ark game tangent

The Dive team details the hangout space: PS3, two Xbox 360s, and a Wii on rolling stadium seating built from stacked wooden pallets, with doors opening at 4:30 and music at 5:30. A tangent about whether anyone makes Jesus video games anymore leads to a host's memory of the terrible Noah's Ark Nintendo game from childhood and a running joke about naming things '41' or '420'.

Teaching flow: series, set design, and reaching teenagers

Bart explains how the team builds teaching series months ahead: outlines become set design, graphics, bumpers, and music all themed together, with talks split into two or three parts mixed with video so teenagers stay engaged. Recent series include Collide (car-parts stage, pyrotechnics, welding masks shooting 20-foot sparks), Rhythm, and Voices on spiritual warfare. All series archives live at TheDiveTV.com and PogStudents.com.

Renovating the theater with volunteers and junkyard sets

Bart says the whole renovation was done by volunteers in two and a half weeks, with one volunteer taking 13 days of personal vacation; they paid only for supplies and now have 32-33 adult volunteers weekly. He advises other churches that impressive sets cost almost nothing: the Collide series set came free from a junkyard that let them pick parts. A ram-set powder-actuated nail gun he learned to use gets an enthusiastic sidebar.

The pink Bible debate, part 1: Zondervan, Komen, and 'Jesus plus'

The hosts lay out the pink Bible story: Zondervan partnered with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation on a pink NIV Bible with proceeds going to the foundation, then cut ties when the foundation's donations to Planned Parenthood surfaced. The hosts argue it feels like 'Jesus plus' - tying God's Word to a worldly cause, like Ireland's religion-and-nationalism problems - while the Dive guests are fine with it. One host notes LifeWay sells niche Bibles too and frames the SBC backlash as a competitor attacking Zondervan.

The pink Bible debate, part 2: highlighting hope, plus buying a personal Bible

The debate continues over the pink Bible's pink-highlighted 'hope' verses - discovering Genesis 2:18 highlighted pink ('It is not good for the man to be alone') makes it feel 'sponsored', and one host objects that commercial highlighting picks what God says to 50,000 strangers. Study Bibles, red-letter editions, and the Courageous movie Bible come up; the verdict is that Mike finds the highlighting more concerning than the branding. The segment closes with hosts discussing buying a personal Bible: ESV vs NIV, wide margins for note-taking, and the YouVersion app's highlight-and-note features.

Break: announcements and the one-year anniversary highlight reel

Announcements: livefromthepath.org for clips, podcast signup, and merch; Jeff Arendale in studio January 30 for his new CD; the Newsboys concert in March with Double J as live correspondent; the show airs Mondays 10 to midnight. A three-to-five-minute break plays a one-year anniversary special clip, a rapid montage of old show moments (REMAX studios, 'Silk Sheets and Rainbows', the infamous Christmas commercial).

After the break: Caps for Sale stats, the Christmas rap video, Zach performs

Back from break, the hosts note their 'Caps for Sale' story video hit 27,000 YouTube views, beating Jessa Anderson's video. The Dive team describes an unreleased Christmas rap video they will premiere at their Christmas Eve Eve service. Zach Swoboda then performs his bluesy original 'Turn To You' live in studio, followed by his story of being run off his busking spot by a territorial guitarist on the street in Nashville.

The Dive's Collide set-design video and series archives

The studio watches The Dive's set-design video from the Collide series - car parts, hoods, and lights recorded on an iPhone - and discusses how junkyard sourcing made it free. Bart describes the series opener: a dubstep track with two men in welding masks shooting grinders' sparks 20 feet into the audience. Past series (Collide, Rhythm, Voices on spiritual warfare) are archived at TheDiveTV.com and PogStudents.com with photos on their Facebook page.

Dear LFTP 1: the brother-in-law who naps at every family dinner

• Should I mention my brother-in-law's five-year napping habit at family dinners to my sister?

A listener writes that her sister's husband (dubbed 'Randy') asks for a place to nap at every family dinner and sleeps for hours, a five-year habit with no medical cause, and asks if she should mention it to her sister. The hosts joke about grandpa's privileges and hotel-like demands, then land on: someone must talk to Randy directly, but disagree on who - husband-to-husband man-up talk versus the sister talking to her own husband. The secular advice read on air says to talk to the sister but withhold judgment.

Dear LFTP 2: the wedding couple asking for cash on Facebook

• Is it inappropriate for a wedding couple to switch from a registry to asking guests for cash via Facebook and PayPal?

A listener asks about wedding etiquette: a couple sent a paper invitation with a registry, then a Facebook message saying 'in lieu of gifts' guests could send checks, cash, or PayPal donations. The hosts discuss whether asking for money is rude - one Dive member admits he and his wife did exactly that, asking wedding guests for money toward a house down payment. Consensus: cash is practical and fine, but the last-minute switch from registry to cash-via-PayPal screams urgency, and being open about the need works better.

Dear LFTP 3: being asked for a job reference by a bad former coworker

• How should I respond when a former coworker I don't like asks me to be his job reference?

A listener asks how to handle a former coworker - a good worker who turned irritable and negative under stress - who wants her as a reference at her current workplace, when she is non-confrontational and doesn't want to work with him again. Advice: tell him upfront what you would say ('think twice before you put me down'), suggest he ask his manager instead, or decline by saying you're not comfortable assuming that responsibility. The hosts conclude the awkwardness reveals she was never fully honest in the relationship.

Cash versus gifts at Christmas, Vaughn Mawr, and sign-off

Riffing off the wedding-cash letter, the hosts and Dive guests debate Christmas gifts: cash versus real gifts, gift cards that cause irresponsible spending, grandma's unaddressed checks, and one guest's mother-in-law giving savings bonds because they're too awkward to cash. Banter covers Vaughn Mawr shopping, driving gloves, and Christmas lists. The advice segment closes with the show's process: 'write Dear Abby, and then we'll just steal it' - anyone wanting legitimate advice is in the wrong place.

Wrap-up: Dive events, thanks, and the closing promo

The show wraps with thanks to The Dive team and upcoming events: a January 8th open house for junior high parents, Chick Night on February 24th for 6th-12th grade girls, and Fight Night on March 2nd for guys - both with privately rented Sky Zone and Sportsplex West time, all at PogStudents.com. The hosts note they'll sell Zach's CD on their site, then close with a Dive promo audio piece: a sermon-style call to follow Christ without fear of being mocked or persecuted.