April 9 2012

Opening: produced intro and live show start

The produced opening voiceover (Pants, the intro voice) plays, then the hosts open the live show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper, joking about the intro and settling into the broadcast.

Chris Roloff introduced as in-studio guest; Snuggie thank-you story

The hosts introduce in-studio guest Chris Roloff, who will share music on the show. They riff on a two-year compilation video, Roloff's self-posted YouTube videos (200 views), and a host's story about filming a 30-second Snuggie-commercial thank-you that ended up on YouTube.

Rodeo Bible Camp preview: meeting Tom at the Knoxville McDonald's

• How could the show start its own Rodeo Bible Camp in Johnston?

A host tells how he met Tom at the Knoxville McDonald's while wearing a Live From The Path shirt with the show moniker; Tom helps run a Rodeo Bible Camp in Missouri. The hosts preview the coming phone interview and joke about starting their own camp in Johnston.

The 24-7 prayer room: an hour alone with God

• Is an hour alone with God in a prayer room worth doing if the idea feels intimidating?

The hosts discuss the church's 24-7 prayer room, where prayers are written on the walls and prayed over by others. They encourage spending a full hour alone with God: if the idea is intimidating, that is a sign it is the right place to start, since God wants relational time, not an impressive performance.

Chris Roloff interview: rock bands, touring, and the Cornerstone story

Roloff describes his music background: never formally trained, a rock-and-roll drummer who booked gigs, toured (twice, one all-Texas), and played in punk-scene all-age shows. He tells the story of his band's Cornerstone Music Festival set: a string broke three chords in, and he came out from behind the drums and shared Jesus with the crowd for 20-30 minutes.

Phone interview: Tom and Jason on the Rodeo Bible Camp

Tom and Jason join by phone from the Rodeo Bible Camp in Missouri. They describe the camp's history (started 2007 with 37 campers, ~80 recently), the mix of rodeo training and Bible study, the upcoming June 13-16 camp and a May 19 fundraiser (judging a coyote hunt), and how rodeo kids are remarkably open to the gospel when facing real danger.

Post-call banter: dodgeball and city-kid evangelism

After hanging up, the hosts joke about joining camp security and buying a 'Jesus knife,' then riff on reaching city kids: dodgeball camp, progressively more dangerous versions, and the fear of lawsuits if a kid gets a hangnail.

The Steve bit: competing with another station

The hosts joke about airing opposite another host named Steve on their stations, riffing on 'Steve, huh?' and claiming Steve has been trying to get their YouTube channel.

Two visitations: a friend's wife dies, leaving three young children

A host recounts coming from two visitations, including a friend's wife who died leaving children ages two, four, and six. The hosts sit with the weight of it and note her husband had good support, connecting the need to the prayer room.

Roloff performs the harvest hymn he reworked

Roloff performs a reworked old hymn on guitar: 'Round his standard raging, victory is secure... Jesus, thou hast bought me, not with gold, but with thy own life,' plus a 'harvest' section he wrote himself. The hosts react warmly; he notes most churches don't sing it anymore and that it sounds like Gomez, Simon and Garfunkel, or Bebo Norman.

Roloff's songwriting years: punk scene, worship, and the Calvinism blog

Conversation about Roloff's journey from bar and punk-scene gigs to writing church and worship music, his 'Rolloff Ramblings' blog (including a Calvinism post the hosts read, comments included), and the recent move among worship writers like Chris Tomlin to reclaim old hymns.

Roloff attempts 'Riding Bikes,' his dream-inspired song

Roloff introduces 'Riding Bikes,' a song inspired by a literal dream he had, complete with a bicycle on the cover concept — then admits he can't remember how it goes and abandons it. The hosts love the idea anyway and joke about putting it on YouTube.

The reworked hymn discussed; 'Hey, Mike.'

The hosts dig into how Roloff's hymn rework could work in a traditional-hymn church. Roloff addresses a host as 'Hey, Mike.' while setting up the two versions of the song he recorded.

German hymns sound like imprecatory prayers

A comedy riff: the hosts guess that hymns sung in German sound like imprecatory prayers, then Roloff plays the 'clean' versus 'spiced-up' versions of his reworked hymn, with the hosts ribbing his guitar tuning.

Roloff's farming song: the old man's hat

Roloff performs another original about a son who sees his old man's hat by the front door, puts it on, and walks out to go farming. The hosts call it an awesome tune and ask about a CD.

Haircut and respectability banter

Riffing continues: a host (addressed as Ben) on ladies wanting him to look 'more respectful,' and not having had a professional haircut in about 15 years. Roloff admits he rarely plays live in front of people and was nervous about tonight.

Station IDs and plugs: YouTube, Facebook, podcast

The hosts run the station IDs: Monday nights 10 to midnight from livefromthepath.org, the YouTube channel, Facebook likes ('your mama would want you to'), and the audio archives/podcast — which 'Mike at least gets.'

Prayer, communion, the Passion of the Christ, and J. Michael McCoy

Returning to the prayer theme, the hosts reflect on prayer-room tools for connecting with God without going stale, communion as a regular God-given aid for hard hearts, and watching the Passion of the Christ — noting that Mac, J. Michael McCoy (a host's co-host on another show), had never seen the film.

Newsboys broadcast, City Harmonic, and the 'boots and cats' beatbox bit

The hosts reminisce about broadcasting live from the Newsboys concert (with some internet dropouts), chatting with the City Harmonic crew about their tour socks, and a beatbox joke: teaching the production assistant Ron to say 'boots and cats.'

Nicknames for Roloff and the Calvinism comments

The hosts try out nicknames for Roloff ('Ramblin',' the Rambler') and circle back to his blog, teasing him for reading the comments on his Calvinism post after their earlier discussion about staying out of comment sections.

The 'Bagosh' wordplay bit

A running gag: a host writes 'Bagosh' everywhere as a stand-in for 'Oh gosh,' because 'Oh gosh' said fast sounds like a swear word. The hosts test saying 'Heath' slowly (it sounds like someone barfing) and declare the last ten minutes the 'bunion and barf' segment.

Roloff performs 'I'm Not Waiting'; Seger and Gomez comparisons

Roloff performs another original ('I'm not waiting'), introduced by a bit where he becomes Roloff's PR man. The hosts compare the sound to Bob Seger ('Bottom Segers') and Gomez, and joke about needing shout-outs and five guys.

The Adam Cates yelping bit

A quick comedy detour: the song needs more yelping, which calls for Adam Cates, whose singing has 'slow burners' and an underutilized cool growl.

Money talk: who's on the bills, and fake Jesus millions

• Should Christians hand out fake 'Jesus million' bills instead of real tips?

From currency trivia (Jackson's the 20, Franklin's the 'Hyundai') the hosts pivot to fake 'Jesus millions' tracts: Roloff admits giving them out, and the hosts riff on using them in lieu of restaurant tips — 'I used to have 20 bucks, now I got Jesus' — and how that plays on the worst tipping day of the week, Sunday lunch.

Dear LFTP letter 1: Karen and the potluck brownies

• What is a good way to tell coworker Karen to stop taking too much food at the potluck?

The reader opens Dear LFTP with a letter from a small-company employee: a coworker named Karen takes far too much food at the office potluck — nibbling brownies, then eating two and taking five more. The hosts debate how to tell her, land on 'bunion face' as her nickname, read secular's advice for comparison, and close with a toffee/Heath riff.

Dear LFTP letter 2: the vacation home, plus Roloff's 'The Ruby'

• How do you graciously use a rich friend's vacation home without abusing the privilege?

The second letter: friends with a vacation home in a very nice part of the country have offered its use, and the writer worries about taking advantage. The hosts debate house-sitting etiquette (use it graciously, leave a thank-you note and photo, don't cook messy), touch on the Occupy movement and class warfare, and read secular's advice. Roloff introduces his new song 'The Ruby.'

Roloff's radio show plug and the 'Ashtrays' song that never plays

Asked for one more song, Roloff introduces 'Ashtrays' — 'this song means a lot to me about an ashtray' — then the conversation detours into plugs: his daily 3-4pm radio show 'View from the Pew,' his Facebook page 'Clean Hands,' and the joke that 'people can only take so much' of him. The song is never actually performed in the captured audio.

Why Roloff rewrote the hymn; performance of 'Does Jesus Care'

Roloff explains the rework came from his great-grandmother's funeral: the hymn she requested was played badly on the organ, and he was angry at how a song with great lyrics was treated — rewriting it was cathartic. He then performs the hymn 'Does Jesus Care' ('Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song?').

Titanic banter, closing thanks, and outro

The hosts riff on the hymn's 1901 lyrics being older than the Titanic ('Titanic sounds like a brand of undies'), then give sincere closing thanks to Roloff for braving the late-night, rowdy show. The episode closes with produced outro music.