April 30 2012

Show open and welcome

The show opens with the produced voiceover from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. A host welcomes listeners on a Monday evening, banters about whether the evening is 'balmy', and teases a 'wingding of a show' on a scale from 'pop' to 'wingding'.

Studio guests announced; Wayne Stewart fisticuffs anecdote

A host introduces the night's studio guests: musician Ryan Sheeler, who will share stories and music, and Dan Custis, who will address whether there is a biblical precedent for self-defense. A host tells the story of musician Wayne Stewart supposedly challenging him to a fistfight in the parking lot after his last visit, with the caveat that some of the story is not true.

Self-defense question preview; Jesus and weapons banter

• Is there a biblical precedent for self-defense?

The hosts tease the self-defense topic with comic banter: would Jesus punch people in the face, and is 'biblical' the same as 'in the Bible' (Goliath, Potiphar's wife, and Solomon's 900 wives are all biblical in that sense). A running joke about a nude church started from taking a verse out of context references Adam and Eve feeling no shame.

The Joseph question framed; last week's show recapped

• Would you live your life differently if you knew your circumstances would never improve?

A host addresses Mike to restate a question: would you live differently if you knew for a fact your circumstances would never improve, using Joseph's 13 years in captivity as the example, since the Bible shows no discouragement in him. The discussion is tabled for the second hour. A host recaps last week's second-hour discussion, held while others were out of town, about whether it is okay to address God as 'dog' and whether God is weighed more as father or friend, and notes Nathaniel will stop by with news.

Interview: Ryan Sheeler

Ryan Sheeler is interviewed about how he was found through ReverbNation. He says he has played guitar for about 30 years, plays on the worship team at the First E Free Church in Ames, has a music degree from Iowa State, and went solo in 2006 with a home studio. He talks about being roped into playing guitar in a production of Rent as a test of faith and a witness, and about loving the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack while being disappointed by a touring production's synth-only band.

Performance: 'In My Eyes'

Ryan Sheeler introduces and performs his song 'In My Eyes' from his 2008 album 'Letters from North of Town', saying he feels God spoke it to him directly as a prayer and rarely plays it. The hosts praise the unusual chord changes and off-the-beaten-path flow.

Post-song discussion: God's patience and the desire that all be saved

After the song, a host connects it to the Joseph question: God is waiting for you. Reading in Ezekiel, a host reflects on the magnitude of God's patience and His desire that everybody be saved, contrasted with how few people think that way, acting as if it is time for Jesus to come back now. The chapter closes with album and website promotion for Ryan Sheeler.

Hard question: Dan Custis makes the biblical case for self-defense

• Is there a biblical precedent for self-defense?
• Does Jesus love guns?

Dan Custis presents five verses on self-defense. He quotes Jesus in Luke 22:36 ('sell his coat and buy a sword'), noting the sword was a short Roman defensive sword. He cites Esther, where King Xerxes' letters permitted the Jews to gather and protect their lives, and 1 Timothy 5:8 ('if anyone does not provide for his own... he has denied the faith'), which Custis reads as including protection; a host pushes back that the verse is really about provision like food. The hosts discuss Jesus as situational: He took a beating at the cross but also told the disciples to buy swords, and note the problem of applying verses meant for specific people to everyone.

Roundtable: pacifism, guns in church, and pride

• Should church staff serving communion be required to carry concealed weapons?

The hosts debate the practical side: the Amish schoolhouse shooting and pacifism, whether communion servers should be required to carry concealed weapons (verdict: unnecessary and creepy; one trained person by the door is enough), a Texas tea-shop shooting story, and concealed-carry advice ('don't go looking for trouble'). Along the way they discuss whether evangelical Christians are weak-livered about confrontation, C. S. Lewis on humility as recognizing truth without needing credit, and pride as the root sin behind murder and the country's pride-and-greed problem.

Break bumper; Ryan Sheeler introduces 'Leave a Light On'

After promos for the YouTube channel, a host asks Ryan Sheeler for more music. Sheeler introduces a song from his newest all-acoustic solo album 'Polk County Line', written in the vein of Springsteen's Nebraska album after a hard season. The song is 'Leave a Light On' by Greg Ferguson of Willow Creek Church in Chicago, which Sheeler wishes he had written.

Performance: 'Leave a Light On'

Ryan Sheeler performs Greg Ferguson's song 'Leave a Light On', a prayer-like song about driving by a church, asking for a light to be left on, and hoping to return inside.

Post-song chat; self-defense recap; Wayne Stewart break bumper

The hosts praise 'Leave a Light On'. Sheeler describes making a YouTube video of the song from Tuscaloosa tornado footage that he sent to the mayors of Tuscaloosa and Joplin. There is a comic bit about a host's unaccepted Facebook friend request, a recap of the self-defense conclusion ('you can defend yourself, but you better be right about it'), and a teaser naming the Joseph topic 'the Joseph predicament'. The break plays Wayne Stewart's song '78' from his visit a month earlier.

Recorded song: Wayne Stewart's '78'

The break bumper is a recording of Wayne Stewart's song '78', played from his earlier in-studio performance.

Back from break: YouTube streaming and podcast catch-up

Returning, a host plugs the YouTube channel (clips of past artists including Ryan Sheeler's performances within a couple days), the iTunes audio podcast (a couple weeks behind, now catching up), livefromthepath.org, and show gear. They note live streaming now runs through YouTube on the 'thepathonline' channel and that the channel is pushing 119,000 views.

News stories with Nathaniel

Nathaniel reads satirical news stories: a youth pastor suspended for using the F-bomb at a church board meeting after claiming the senior pastor gave him permission (who claims he thought 'F-bomb' meant flatulence); a rapture prank at Significant Plastic Inc. where coworkers faked being raptured and Herbert Washington had a heart attack crying 'I knew you'd forget me, Jesus'; and a virtual on-screen pastor, Don Lawrence, from the UK company Virtual Pastor, whose personality is crowd-sourced by the congregation. The hosts riff on each, landing that the virtual pastor is consumerism, not biblical.

'Make It Real' performance; Gaither musicians chat

Ryan Sheeler plays 'Make It Real' by the Gaithers (associated with Mark Lowry) as an unannounced ministry song at his secular cafe gigs. The hosts chat about Gaither personnel: Mark Lowry the comedian ('Mary, Did You Know'), blind piano player Gordon Mote, the late Anthony Berger, and gospel singer Jesse Dixon, who recently died in his 70s.

The Joseph predicament: living faithfully when nothing changes

The hosts dig into the Joseph question: Joseph spent 13 years as a slave and prisoner on a false accusation from Potiphar's wife with no word from God that it would end, yet Scripture records no bitterness. They warn against worshipping the gifts rather than the Giver, critique an American Christianity that expects constant blessing, cite Jeremiah's worldly failure but faithful perspective, and connect to Matt Redman's 'Blessed Be Your Name' and the idea that life is a vapor, so one worships God day by day regardless.

Nursing-home ministry; large groups singing in tune as 'God design'

A host tells of playing worship piano at a nursing home, stumbling through 'In the Garden' in A flat on an out-of-tune piano, and being moved by church kids who walked up and genuinely talked with the residents. The hosts note nursing-home residents live the Joseph predicament daily: it will not get better. A host observes that large groups of mediocre singers always sound in tune together and calls it God's design.

Dear LFTP: a mother asks whether her gay son will go to heaven

• Do you believe a gay person will go to heaven?

A host reads a Dear LFTP letter from a mother whose son came out last year: the family loves him but she is unsure how God views gays and lesbians, finds the Bible hard to understand, and asks whether a gay person will go to heaven. The hosts respond that there is homosexual activity, which the Bible calls sinful, not a 'gay person'; that unrepentant sin of any kind keeps one out; and that they would love the child while pleading with him to repent. They criticize the Dear Abby response to the same letter (entrance to heaven based on character, orientation not a choice) as the 'Oprah Winfrey school of theology'.

Loving the sinner: judgment, protests, and a friend's sign

Continuing the Dear LFTP letter, the hosts discuss the tension: God calls Christians to love people, but love does not mean setting the sin aside. They argue rallies against specific sins miss the point since everyone carries unrepentant sin, joke about anti-gossip and anti-pride protests, and tell of a friend, Mike Demastus, whose 'gays are okay' sign was read as a noun by the homosexual community when he meant the verb.

Wrap-up: promos, 'Chasing Heaven', and sign-off

Winding down, the hosts joke about the show's inflated Facebook like count (420 claimed vs barely 200), plug the Green Grounds coffee house Christian music nights in Des Moines via SpiritMidwest.com, the Spirit Midwest music festival (August 4-5), and Ryan Sheeler's upcoming live show. Sheeler closes the night performing his original 'Chasing Heaven' from the album of the same name, written about struggling with his own hypocrisy. Final plugs for ryansheeler.com, iTunes, and the Free Church in Ames wrap the show.