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Every subject- Marriage & Dating Marriage · Dating · Relationships · Communication 842 conversations
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- Sin, Grace & Forgiveness Grace · Repentance · Forgiveness · Sin · Humility 780 conversations
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- Games, Letters & Series Dear LFTP, Secular vs. Solomon, Woke or Toke, the GodIsImaginary proofs… 20 recurring segments
Rearview Mirror
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Mike's story, part 1: 'joke Baptist' faith and a piano invitation
Mike starts his rearview tour with a poor, unstable childhood where he understood God was real but had no relationship with him — 'joke Baptist' faith, his phrase, complete with a Jesus T-shirt worn for show. He married a non-Christian, and it was his first daughter's birth plus an invitation from Boova to play piano at the church Dan was pastoring that began pulling him toward actual faith.
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Dan's story, part 1: Mrs. Hugh Berger and the ice cream bar
Dan describes a dysfunctional childhood where his Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Hugh Berger, drew him in — and the day God stopped him cold outside the Red Owl grocery in Clear Lake after he'd stolen an ice cream bar right in front of her. Weeks later a 'fishers of men' VBS lesson settled his call to ministry, though he wanted to preach without being 'the guy'; his first real crisis came when his high school girlfriend headed a different direction and God moved her to the Philippines with the Air Force.
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Ben's story, part 1: the 'inadequate' trajectory
Ben wishes he'd gone first, because his trajectory feels 'inadequate' next to theirs — he never had the dramatic interventions, and he's theologically open to that being either fine or a blindness. He traces his thread: reading straight through the Bible in high school, defending the faith in a mostly non-Christian college English department, telling his future wife on their first date he wouldn't marry a non-Christian, and drifting toward Pathway through Mike's bass invitation — then Dan's executive-pastor offer, which he accepted with no 'call,' just a practical sense that it was right.
Hard questions
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Roundtable: Simeon, Jeremiah, and Craig in Albia
Mike brings it together with Simeon, the weirdo hanging around the temple, as the picture of un-shiny faithfulness, and admits the other side of his story — feeling drained and half-mad at God while half-hearted believers look happy.
From No. 604 · Rearview Mirror
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'When God is silent': what counts as hearing from the Lord?
- What does it mean to 'hear from the Lord,' and how often should we expect it?
Mike brings a question from his Bible study, whose paragraph heading was 'when God is silent': the author wrote that he experienced God's silence for a couple of weeks and freaked out, and Ben expected a relatable years-long drought story — 'Oh, two weeks.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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'It's not a religion, it's a relationship': framing the big question
- Does God want a relationship with you - and if so, what do we actually mean by it?
Ben frames the night's first big question: the phrase 'it's not a religion, it's a relationship' is common, and evangelicals say 'God wants to be in relationship with you' - but is it true, and if so, what do we mean?
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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'Submit to spiritual authority': elder as responsibility, not office
Mike questions pastors who tell congregants to 'submit to spiritual authority' while meaning themselves: biblically, God's Word is authoritative and the Holy Spirit fills in the…
From No. 600 · Rage The Elephant
Dear LFTP
Listener letters, answered-
Dear LFTP: the neighbor's granddaughter Sarah
- What do you do when you want to stay friends with a neighbor but her teen won’t stop acting up?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter about Dee, whose granddaughter Sarah has turned disrespectful — ringing the doorbell for no reason, teasing the cats, skating back and forth outside the apartment.
From No. 604 · Rearview Mirror
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Dear LFTP: the single man and the holiday cliques
- Would it be wrong for the lonely single man to start declining holiday invitations?
The first Dear LFTP letter: a single man, happy with his life and plenty of friends and family, dreads the holidays — at Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings of 15 to 25 people,…
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Dear LFTP: the grandma, 'Libby,' and the weight comment
- Was I wrong to mention my concern about Libby's weight?
Mike reads the letter: she moved 2,000 miles to be near her daughter's family; granddaughter 'Libby' was diagnosed with a medical condition and put on weight.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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Dear LFTP: the birthday-gift pressure
- My friends insist on giving me birthday presents I can't reciprocate. Shouldn't my wishes have been respected since it's my birthday?
Mike reads the first Dear LFTP letter: a part-time worker paying her own health insurance asked friends to skip presents at a triple birthday dinner; they refused, saying she needn't reciprocate.
From No. 601 · Humble Faithful Idiot
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Recent episodes
All 602- 603 Found OutOct 19, 2026 · Church, emotions, and the self-focus of affluence · Ponds, not wells: the peace that stays
- 602 Relationship CounselingOct 5, 2026 · The questions game: Beelzebub, Jesus's outfit, heaven karaoke, lateral moves · Dear LFTP: the grandma, 'Libby,' and the weight comment
- 601 Humble Faithful IdiotSep 28, 2026 · Dear LFTP: the birthday-gift pressure · Dear LFTP: the spontaneous husband and the 7 p.m. date
- 600 Rage The ElephantSep 21, 2026 · Listening well: holding plans loosely · Dear LFTP: the inclusive dinner and the autistic boy
- 599 Call Me HoopiSep 14, 2026 · Ask the Pastor: encouraging perseverance with no payoff in sight · Is modern Christianity biased toward a personality type?
- 598 Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with StrangersAug 24, 2026 · Do accountability partners actually work? · Confetti and lasers: what should God's people be known for?
- 597 Maybe A Word From GodAug 10, 2026 · Mike's Ethiopia adoption story and the fear of being a false prophet · The right-song question, the complaint line, and Ben's New Orleans heaviness
- 596 Mr. Prayer ClosetJul 20, 2026 · Humility, boldness, and Paul in Asia · Dear LFTP: the incarcerated husband