April 2 2012

Show open: two-year anniversary special

A host opens the two-year anniversary show from the Pathway studios in Johnston, inviting local listeners to 6510 Merle Hay Road for free pizza and soda from the show's newest sponsor. The night's roadmap is laid out: a Skype interview with David Duffield of We Are Leo about their new music video, the two-year anniversary compilation video, and a question for the room about spiritual growth over the past year of the show.

In-studio anniversary banter: beads, bling, and the ugly chair

• Can you point to any spiritual growth in your life from the past year of the show?

In-studio guests Double J, Pants, Spankenhauser, and Big Ron are welcomed while a co-host arrives to sit in an 'ugly chair.' Festive beads and bling spark riffs on Flavor Flav clocks, LED necklaces, and skinny jeans with Italian boots as the hosts stall for time while the Skype call connects.

Newsboys concert broadcast recap

The hosts recap broadcasting from the Newsboys concert at Indianola Community Church, where they interviewed Anthem Lights, Abandon, and City Harmonic. Highlights include Michael Tait declining to come on the show, near run-ins with Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum at past events, and a debate over whether fame makes simple courtesy harder.

Interview: David Duffield of We Are Leo

Guest David Duffield of We Are Leo joins by phone to discuss the 'Supernova Sunrise' music video, shot in 19-degree weather on the Lake Michigan shore in Kenosha, and the song's number-13 spot on Christian rock radio. He announces an upcoming re-release titled Hello Again with dubstep and rap remixes, describes selling records at Acquire the Fire conferences, and hopes for a Spirit Midwest return.

Supernova Sunrise video plays; the dubstep dance debate

The 'Supernova Sunrise' video plays during an untranscribed gap, after which the hosts plug the band's site and urge listeners to request the song on local Christian radio. A goofy studio debate follows over whether a universal dubstep dance exists, ending with a sight gag of someone performing one.

Anniversary hype and framing the growth question

A host hypes the two-year compilation airing at 11 and poses the night's big question for the room and the chat: can anyone point to spiritual growth in their life attributable to the past year of the show? The hosts joke about instead compiling stories of one co-host's lack of growth.

Lost in the Christian blogosphere

• Is the Christian blogosphere a good place to find biblical counsel?

A host describes getting sucked into Christian blog comment threads arguing over Matthew 18, feeling farther from God afterward, and concluding that blog comments are no place to find biblical counsel. The room agrees: read the Bible yourself, let the Holy Spirit teach, and treat even trusted teachers with discernment, since no human teacher is right one hundred percent of the time.

Ministries that look legitimate, concert freebies, donkey camp preview

The hosts note that anyone can fire up a webcam and look like a legitimate ministry, then riff on the free cookies and a Ryan Buck CD collected at the Newsboys show. They preview next week: musician Chris Roloff in studio and a conversation with the man behind a Christian donkey rodeo Bible camp in Missouri.

Watchdog donkeys abandoned in Texas

A host recounts a radio story about farmers abandoning donkeys in Texas and Louisiana during the drought, with one rescue group taking in nearly 800 since March 2011. The room spins the premise into jokes about donkey armies, barking donkeys chasing cars, and the logistics of dumping a stubborn animal.

Lined up by donkeys: a farmyard story

A host tells the story of visiting a farm with his four-year-old daughter Grace and finding two horses and two donkeys lined up ten feet apart, staring him down against a fence until they escaped. He later asked a horse owner about it and was told horses do not do that, so he stays out of that pasture. The segment closes with a reset on the anniversary show.

Beads, Wind-O, breath mints, and church humor

Loose anniversary-party banter: the origin of the beads, a Walgreens knockoff air freshener, and a window cleaner named 'Wind-O.' A host tells the Newsboys-concert story of talking with bad breath while his companion silently leaned away, and the room jokes about first-service versus second-service church crowds and a chat member's stolen intro joke.

The humility of touring Christian musicians

A host reflects on interviewing City Harmonic's Eli, Anthem Lights, and John Waller, struck by how consistently their answers pointed back to Christ instead of complaining about life on the road away from family. The room jokes that every touring musician seems to have five kids, and muses about what bands say about interviewers back in the van.

The Needtobreathe runner story and the LFTP awards pitch

A host recounts volunteering as a runner for Needtobreathe and getting a chilly reception from a just-woken band member. That sparks a running gag: the show should court Christian businesses for pizza, coffee, and donuts with on-air 'Live from the Path awards' in exchange for free goods, carefully not calling it a tithe.

Bridge: 11 o'clock video, growth question, next week's guests

A host recaps what's coming: the two-year anniversary video at 11, the spiritual-growth discussion, and listener advice. Next week's show is previewed — Chris Roloff performing in studio and the Jesus Donkey Ranch interview — with a detour through rodeo camps, Westerwoods, and Central Iowa Bible Camp.

Green-room pies, Kaibo voting, and Michael Tait's stare

Asked about the Newsboys show, an in-studio guest describes trying to steal a band's soda and the discovery of ten untouched church-lady pies in the green room. The room riffs on a Kaibo-based vote-for-your-favorite-band contest and a host's story of Michael Tait fixing him with a wide-eyed stare from the catwalk, which felt stranger than a Marilyn Manson equivalent.

The two-year anniversary compilation plays

The two-year anniversary compilation video plays: a rapid montage of past clips including the 'Solomon Show' bit with Secular as arch-nemesis, guest intros, and running gags. The transcript captures the montage audio, including repeated show opens and one-liners from the past year; some lines are garbled as the montage overlaps voices.

After the video: the Solomon Show origin story

Reacting to the montage, a host explains the Solomon Show bit originated in the studio move: he pretended two co-hosts were absent, Solomon 'took over,' and the bit stuck. He notes one clip was cut for an inappropriate euphemism and points listeners to the show's YouTube channel for the full compilation and recent guest clips.

Anniversary reflection: what has the show grown in us?

• Can you point to any spiritual growth in your life from the past year of the show?

The co-hosts answer the night's question. One values the fellowship and the on-air correction of his bad arguments, plus using the show as a bridge to talk about Christ with friends. Another brings hard questions to the show instead of stewing alone and finds encouragement in guests who love Jesus. An in-studio musician guest is grateful for the platform the show gives artists. A co-host cites 1 Peter's call to always be ready with an answer, saying the show forces him to re-think conclusions he settled twenty years ago, and to filter his quick, sometimes coarse humor per Ephesians. The last reflection: the show mixes fun and faith so Jesus lives in entertainment, not just Sundays. A coda recalls their two-month AM 940 stint funded by local realtor Bob Eisenlauer.

Harold Camping and the failed end-of-the-world predictions

• What was the biggest news story or conversation the show covered this year?

Asked for the year's biggest story, the hosts land on the end of the world: Harold Camping's failed predictions and apology tour, and a local man who bought billboards, appeared on the show, declared churchgoers unsaved, then defriended a host on Facebook after the rapture didn't happen. They joke about the December 2012 Mayan calendar panic and land on readiness: be prepared every day, in relationship, not in a bomb shelter, citing the ten virgins.

Blog fights, church discipline, and toxic comment sections

A tangent on the leap-year meme leads to the real Gregorian calendar story: thirteen days skipped in the calendar switch. The hosts then revisit the blog fight that started the night — a church shunning a leader over discipline, with dueling interpretations of 'treat him as a Gentile or tax collector' and how repentance is judged — and conclude blog comment sections are spiritually toxic: read the post, skip the comments.

Dear LFTP: jackpots, police-dog poop, and a racist boyfriend

• How can I win a casino slot-machine jackpot before I go broke?
• Should I complain to the police about a police dog pooping on my lawn during an arrest?

Three listener letters get the Dear LFTP treatment, each paired with a 'secular answer.' A slots player asking how to hit a jackpot before going broke is told to borrow money or play vending machines. A homeowner debating complaining about police-dog poop on the lawn is told to pick it up and be glad the arrest happened outside. A woman dating a charming man who makes racist remarks is told it is a legitimate concern — racism makes no sense, and the man is an insecure punk she should drop.

Sign-off: next week and the compilation replay

The hosts thank the chat, joke about the show surviving two years only because they own the equipment, and preview next week: Chris Roloff performing plus the Jesus Donkey Ranch conversation. The show closes with a replay of the anniversary compilation audio.