Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper, you are Live from the Path. And you are listening to Live from the Path. My name is Ben Foost. Thanks for being with us here tonight. It is a full studio. It's going to be a hot, sticky beast in here. I'm going to wear your robe. I'm going to wear your righteous name everywhere I go. I wrote this song. I did. I feel like we've talked about you not doing that. Yeah. Every show. Well, the worst thing. I don't pay attention. That's the New World Sun that we were just talking about. I'm thinking about something else. Yeah. That's great. Oh, man. All right. So, hey, you're listening to Live from the Path. My name is Ben Foost. Again, thanks for being here tonight. We've got a full show. We've got a full house. The folks from The Dive are here this evening. We're going to hear a lot about them there from Point of Grace Church.

That just sounds a little seedy. It does seedy. What do you mean? Indeed. The Dive. Yeah. Oh, it does sound a little seedy. They can explain themselves. Go ahead. I feel like we're going to have to talk about that now that you mention it. Probably. Actually, you know, I was looking for information about The Dive, and I did come across some seedy websites now that I think about that. Oh, man, fellas. Do you own thedive.com? No. Okay. Fair enough. No. Did you check that before you chose the name to make sure there wasn't associated with the seedy establishment? You know, we looked it up on Facebook because we were trying to get it from the Facebook one, and apparently there's a James Cameron movie. Oh, yeah. There's a James Cameron movie that's called The Dive. You know that's got to be solid. Right. Probably better than Avatar.

Have you seen The Avatar? No, I purposely stayed away from it. Okay. All right. I'll tell you what. Sorry. They look like one of the fish monsters from Scooby-Doo, and so I just couldn't take a movie like that seriously. So, anyway, we'll be talking. We're going to hear all about The Dive. It's a student-oriented ministry at Point of Grace. We're going to hear about that. They've got a ton of cool stuff going on. I'm interested to hear kind of how it got started, how it's going, some of the special things they have happening, and they've got quite a collection of folks here. One of them, who, frankly, I don't get along with. I mean, we started off on the wrong foot. Come on now. I wasn't going to say it was you. You totally gave it away. I thought it was obvious. So, anyway, we'll catch up with them. Also, Mike, you don't like the pink Bible? What's the deal? We're going to have to talk about it. I don't know how I feel about it. I tried to talk it over with the wife. It's a Bible that Zondervan put out, and they got in cahoots with, and actually, I think

they're stopping doing it now. Why did you say cahoots? You guys said seedy, too. I don't know what that means. So, anyway, they're in cahoots with the Southern Baptist Convention, and they got with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and they were putting out pink Bibles, right? That's right. And then it turned out that the Breast Cancer Association was donating money to Planned Parenthood, and so they had to kind of cut ties. But, like, the whole idea of, I don't know, latching on, even a charity that I find to be totally legitimate to the Lord's Word, I just find it, I don't know. Something creeps me up about, like, topic-centered? Well, it just rubs me the wrong way, like, trying to connect your establishment with the Lord's Word. Like, I don't know. Like, I just, I don't know how I feel about it. I'm pretty sure I'm against it. Okay. But, I don't know. We'll talk about it. Okay. All right. Fair enough. Also, you have an outstanding story. I think we've meaning to get this for, like, the last four or five weeks, is you had something on Tim Tebow that you wanted to talk about. But I did try saying his name, like, fast. I mean, like, really fast.

Like, say it over and over and over again. No, I'm not going to do it. Obviously, it's hard to do. Otherwise, you wouldn't try to make me do it. Okay, that's true. So, I'm not going to do it. Yeah, I was just trying to embarrass you. Sorry. But, yeah, we're going to talk about if you think Tebow's a bit much. Some people do. Even the Christian community says he thinks he's just a bit much. Kurt Warner, who's a known Christian, came out and said, you're a bit much, Tebow. And so, we're going to see. Is he a bit much? I don't know if he's a bit much. I don't know. Maybe you're a bit less. He had a pink Bible on him when he was. I didn't say, I think Tim Tebow's a big jerk. I just said, people are talking about it. It's a talk show. I didn't realize you were such a gossip. I've asked him to be on a show. He hadn't got back to me either. I don't understand. Maybe my business card doesn't look legitimate. Maybe he heard you two clucking hands over there, wanted to chat about this pink Bible and how he goes about his business.

And they said, I'm not going on it. Dan has made no reference to what he thinks about it yet. So, we'll get to it. All right. All right. All right. So, we'll hit those. We're also going to do some, we're going to give up some advice. People are banging at the door for advice, Mike. We've got Dear Life on the Path coming up. I can't keep them away. People are putting themselves in the straights, Dan. I don't know what's caused it. So, we're going to talk about that. Some of them look to be, I'm trying to find one that, there's always one funny one that I can do. But right now, we've got a lot of serious failure on dudes parts, questions, some relationship issues where dudes are totally dropping the ball. Okay. Imagine that being the truth. I'm going to try to find one where we can go, that's funny, but it hasn't happened yet. That never happened. Yeah. Absolutely not. All right. All right. Well, I think we can get around to that. Also, he's not in the picture.

Hold on a second. They're there. There's Zach Swoboda. If you recognize him, so he's been on the program a couple times. We saw him last at the Spirit Midwest Music Festival. His CD has come out. You can go to sackswoboda.com and check that out. And then he was also on the show. There's clips from his appearance on the show. And it would have been this year. It was in January. Oh, it was barely this year. I know. He was on. So, in addition to kind of catching up on where he's at with the folks at the dive, just kind of catching up with Zach on where life has taken him over the last few months. It seems like a lot longer than that. It really does. It does. I go slow on the path. Yeah. All right. All right. So, you can go back to itching your neck or something. I want to give people a taste of what they're missing over that corner. You say that, but I actually do. I don't have eczema, but it could be. There's nothing funny about eczema.

It's a legitimate disease. You're heartless. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to stop people from putting their causes on the Lord's word, and you're making fun of people with eczema. The Lord giveth. The Lord taketh away. If he wants you to have eczema, he does. You're going to have eczema. It's the modern life we see. Hey, you know what else we're going to talk about? I tried to figure out how I was going to do this. So, on this very show, I've slandered the Apostle Peter. Like, six months ago, I said something that I've totally regretted. I call him a wussy because he gave up Jesus to a teenage girl. And so now I feel really bad about this. I've said something that I thought was funny at the time. It is not funny. And so now I'm like, how do I? I'm attempting to repent from this thing, you know? Did he appear to you or something? No, no. I've been reading the New Testament. I'm like, I am a total jerk. What am I going to do? You know, like, so I can't. Are you saying he wasn't? I mean, he was kind of a pansy.

Well, at that time he was. But still, like, he's 50 times the man I am. You know what I'm saying? He's got my beat hands down. He has a pink Bible. Yeah, he might. He also, Mike also does an impression of the Apostle Paul as if he talks in a really high voice. Yeah, I do. I told, because my wife just started reading some parts of the, you know, she was really getting into the parts of the New Testament. And I told her that the Apostle Paul was like 5'5", and he's like, repent, repent. Like, he's kind of a big little guy. He's stodgy. Yeah, he's kind of stodgy and ill-tempered. And I thought that's how I think of him. But I don't know how other people view him. But I didn't say that. It was a negative thing. But Peter, I've slandered. And I'm like, well, I can't. The most I can do is ask Jesus to tell him. You know, because I can't repent to a guy I can't see, and I can't pray to him. Because, you know, I can't talk to him. So now I'm totally in the stress of this deal. I don't think he cares. I think you have too high of an opinion of yourself. It doesn't matter. I have to repent to what I've done.

I've said something. I've slandered a man. That's true. Just because you slandered someone who doesn't care or doesn't deserve, you know, an apology. Yeah, that's like saying just because someone was a jerk to you that you don't still owe him an apology. You owe him an apology if you've done something wrong. Biblical repentance. We just talked about this. I guess I'm not going to write this. Dan's going to have this. Hold on. Pardon me while I work on my repentance. All right. Welcome to Life in the Path, the dive. Thank you. It's good to be here. I appreciate it. I have no idea what just happened right there. So these are the folks. Let's see if we can get a full swath of them. There they are. What did you just say? A swath. A swath. So many words. Is that similar to a dictionary book of Life in the Pathway dictionary? I think it's what you guys need to be. It's a Johnston thing.

That ought to be our parting gift. I don't know, Barth. I went to Johnston and I didn't really want to say swath. It means it's like a color swath. A broad spectrum of folk from the dive. It's like a plethora. That's you. Welcome to the palate. The palate. Very similar to a plethora. A lot of the palate. Appreciate it. All right. So welcome to Life in the Path. It's great to have you guys here. And so I saw you. I kind of got on to what you guys were up to because I was looking in your window. Because I saw something from Zach that he was going to be at the dive. And I thought, hey, man, something's happened. Hey, Zach seems like a cool guy. What's he doing? He's going to a seedy place. And why is he telling everybody? We need to call him to biblical repentance. I like to find people that are cooler than I am and leech on to what they're doing. So I see swath is up to someone and I say, hey, man, what's that? So, of course, I Facebook voyeered into what you guys were up to. And it looked pretty cool.

It looks like you got something sweet going on. So maybe if someone can just kind of help me out and give me the description of exactly what is the dive. Bart. Actually, it doesn't mean anything. I mean, just being honest, we were just looking for an opportunity. Here's the deal, man. We were just trying to rebrand our ministry. And we wanted something that would obviously. What was the first brand, like for old people? No, well, when I was here in Des Moines to go on staff at Point of Grace, it was just, I don't remember. What was it called? It was called 42 and the Spark. Spark was for junior high and 42 was for high school. 42 does kind of stuff. As in the meaning of life? 42? No, as in 9 plus 10 plus 11 plus 12 adds up to 42, 9th through 12th grade. Ooh. Ooh, kids dig on that intellectual humor. I like it in the meaning of life. Yeah. So, yeah, we just were trying to look for an opportunity to rebrand. We were doing a complete renovation of our facility for students. And in the middle of that, I started talking with my team and said, hey, let's find a way to, let's give it a different name. And so we started with about 200 or 300 names. And we spent a whole day and narrowed it down and literally got it down to like 100, then literally 100 to 50, 50 to 10, had a bunch of people help us vote. And the dive won. Was there any dissension on the dive or was that, I mean, did you all land in the same spot?

Actually, it was pretty unanimous. Yeah. Were you in a pretty low quality restaurant at the time? No, we were in our conference room at the church in the offices. I would have voted for anything that doesn't require me to add the thing up. You carried a 7 now? Because I'd have forgot the name and then I'd try to add it up in the car on the way there. I'm like, oh, 41. That's a good name. Yeah, 41. I'd show up high-fiving dudes, 41. The dive's easier. So it caught my attention. Yeah. Well, also, so how has it been going? Like, have you noticed a difference since kind of the rebranding and the repush for what is it you're after? Yeah, it just depends on how you want to measure that. We measured a lot of different ways. One of them is how many new people, how many guests are we reaching? That's been substantially greater than it was before. However, at the same time, we were also trying to measure based on do people say it? Do people go out of their, like, into their communities or in their schools and do they use the phrase the dive? How do you measure that? You have to hire spies. We have them. You have a creepy guy at Wilma at the high school. What's that you said, Fred? Our kids don't say, are you going to 42 tonight?

But they do say, hey, are you going to be at the dive tonight? It just rolls off the tongue. And that's what you want. I agree. I think kids will talk about it. Well, that's been really cool to see, I mean, to hear, actually. We've actually heard it and said like that. And students said, you know, they've even said, like, oh, my friends. Do they know that you say the dive? I mean, are you in the room at the time? Or do you, you know what I'm saying? Like, because if I know you guys are from the dive, I'll drop it eight times to try to get you to like me more. Yeah, but you're an adult. These are teenagers. They don't really care. We pretty much have the same intelligence level. I don't see any difference. Thanks, Dave. So that's a good. I mean, it's good if you're getting full. I would agree that the dive does roll better. I agree. Yeah. Gosh, I don't want to talk. I mean, that wasn't the main reason, but it was one of the reasons. I like it. And it was just everything about how we were doing ministry for teenagers, in addition to the team you see here, this has all been assembled over the past four or five months.

So it was time for us to have an opportunity to just start fresh. And that was the main reason we did it. With the new renovations, everything in September was completely different. So what has the big change brought for you, like facilities-wise, event-wise, program-wise? What are some of the new things that you've been able to retool and get out? Yeah, we started with just – we actually had three services every Sunday for teenagers. We did two junior high services in the morning and high school at night. We went from three to one. We were just spreading ourselves way too thin with our team. And so I said, hey, let's go to one service. And the reason we wanted to do that was so that we could ramp back into duplicate services. And in two weeks, we're having to add another service. So on January the 8th, we're going to separate middle school for junior high and high school. And we'll do one morning service for junior high, and then we'll do our high school service at night. And here, for us, it was just about the 80-20 kind of rule. It's an old-school rule in ministry is we need to make sure that we're never at capacity, but that we still feel like we're full, and that we're also not just with the people in the room, but also our manpower, our volunteers, the team that helped make this happen. So one thing led to another, and then we also renovated the theater. I don't even know how to explain to you at the beginning. You would just have to – you could go online, Facebook, and look at the pictures. It doesn't even look like the same place. So, new name, new strategy. We simplified what we were doing for students. You can – you know, these guys can speak up. There was just not a clear approach or a clear path for a first-time guest to go from seeker to Christ follower. Yeah. And that was the struggle I was having with the student ministry strategy.

And that was the best time to change it. And I landed here September of 2010, so I had a year to spend with the current programming and just see how it was working. Before we made any major change. So how did you end up – you've got quite a staff here. So how did you end up with some of these folks that you have on staff? Wow. Where do I start? I got here in September last year. Brandon grew up at Point of Grace in the student ministry and was already serving and probably in a paid role. Should have been paid at that point, the hours he was spending. And we hired him. And then the three, Marshall and Michelle and Zach, kind of all came at once. So it's, you know, crazy how it all happened. Do you ever feel like Marshall is difficult to deal with? Because, I mean – Absolutely. I've been having a problem with him on Facebook. I've had some run-ins with him a couple times. We're praying for him. You guys were talking about repentance earlier. I'm trying to repent. You're going to put a grudge against me right now. He's not released. You're not doing a good job. Repent harder. You know, the way it all kind of happened was it's really crazy.

We did all the renovations in two and a half weeks. And so we had to close the theater down. And the last week – you know, the last week before the renovations, we kind of just – we found out that we had a need for a worship leader. And we didn't know what we were going to do. And, I mean, we have a big launch for a whole new strategy and a whole new program. And then I get an email. We get a lot of emails about bands and stuff coming through town. And I got this email from this guy named Zach. And he was looking for a place to play. He just wanted to do a show. I sent him off an email right back real fast. And I think Marshall was actually standing – or maybe it was Brandon – standing over my shoulder. I'm like, let's just see what happens. And he responded right away. I think we met two days later or something like that. And I said, hey, I'd like to have you be a part of our team on a weekly basis. You up for that? And one thing led to another, and that's how it all happened. Cool. And he gets to help us in a way that blesses our ministry huge. The kids love him. But it also allows him to still be, you know, Zach the artist on the CD too. And we want him to do that. That's a big deal for us. So, Zach, the – you got to – you got on? Okay, sweet. So, how has that been for you, kind of getting into the role of leading the music in that student ministry? It's been great.

You know, things kind of – I think God really took control of the situation. And I'm not talking to the words right now, but it was really great. I went, and my wife and I visited for a week, and we checked the dive out, and we met the staff. That freaked us out. The staff did? Yeah. I get it. Totally scary people. Hold on, you had already met me. Right. The staff is creepy. Good to know. Come to our place. Not you, of course. Very seedy people, but – But I don't know what happened. You go. It started, I think it was October 9th. And since then, I think it's been just about every week. Yep. Almost, I think. It's been really good. I've been out of the worship leader role from October. I had been out of it from August for a good two and a half months. And so it was really good to get back into that and be where God wants me to be. Very cool. Very cool. So I guess while we got you, how was – so the last time we talked, we talked at the Spirit

Midwest Music Festival, and you had just released a CD. And how has that been going for you? Like you've been able to get out and do some promotion and stuff on the CD? Yeah, it's been going good. You know, probably slower than I'd like it to be. But regardless, it's been good. I know I've got to be patient. But I've been getting out, doing as many shows as I can. Yeah. I could probably do a better job at booking gigs and promoting myself better. But it's been going good. Good, and I've actually seen you – there was a – there's a place downtown that I saw you at. I work real close to that place, and I saw that you had a gig there. And then you're also at the Applebee's. Yeah. Right? Yeah. I almost came out to that. I saw that. That sounded pretty sweet. I know. He's at all the Applebee's. It actually is. I think. Pretty sweet. Is it? Yeah, you get half-priced apps.

You listen to music. That'd be appetizers in a day that we live in. Apps, music, apps. I don't use the free apps. Yeah, well, yeah, that's not really that great of a deal. Yeah, half-priced. I mean – I have to do the ads with the Angry Birds, but – Applebee's is a fun gig. So how do they set that up with Applebee's? That's kind of – I mean, I'm trying to visualize that. You're like in the bar area or something? I'm trying to figure out whether they have room for you to set up. Well, in Pella, I'm down on the bar level. On Merle Hay and Southeast 14th, I'm up above kind of on the second, right above the bar, overlooking the bar. Okay. I'm playing that way. That's kind of cool. Yeah. Yeah. So is that a regular thing you do? Yes. Like when? What night? It's on Saturday nights from 9 to midnight. You buy my dinner? Well, no. I listen to you.

Dan, this is not how you make friends. If you answer trivia questions – I'm not looking for a friend. I'm looking for dinner. Okay. You could win dinner. Listen, if you go to Pella or Southeast 14th or Merle Hay – Merle Hay is probably the best one to go to. Yeah. This guy can vouch for me. Brandon can vouch for me. Free. Yeah. It's like five minutes away from the house. I've got – And it's probably pretty convenient. Yeah. Very convenient for you guys. They've got giveaways that I'm supposed to give away and stuff that I'm supposed to mention during my time there. But, man, I love it. It's not the highest paying gig, but I get all the free food and whatever. Whatever I want. That's great. Zach loves to eat. We've learned that, actually. Dude will eat anytime. The little pepper orange steak thing they got. Yes. Yep.

I'm going. I'm going. You playing this Wednesday? Wednesday? Wednesday? Saturday. It's pretty close to you. I mean, you know, a few days off. Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve? You're playing Christmas Eve? No, no, no, no. It's on Saturday's night. Yeah, I played this past weekend. I have gum on my finger. That's quite all right. I didn't want to chomp it in the mic. Saturday. What time do you play? Okay. Not this Saturday, but starting January 28th. And from there on out, I'm three weekends out of the month. It's kind of a rotation from Pella, Merle Hay, Southeast 14th. Pella, Merle Hay, Southeast 14th. And I'll get that up on my website and Facebook and all those types of things. Some people have websites. Double J? Go ahead.

Is he listening? Any chance? What? What did you say? Is it like late night? Or is it? I don't get it. It's called, I think it's called Live and Laid Back. I mean, like what time? Nine to midnight. That's really cool, though. Dan, I feel like we can straight this out on his website. People want to know. Nine to midnight. Are you seriously going to make him get people one guy at a time, starting with you? What? Can't you just join the rest of the crowd and check the website out? No. All right. We're listening to Live from the Path. We are in studio with the folks from The Dive. Dan is planning his Saturday starting in January. Is it good music that I can, like, write my sermon to? Oh, here. This was actually a fairly clever joke. I thought it was rather witty. On Saturday night, there was this dude. He had, like, three feet of hair.

He was a nice guy. And he was with his significant other. And they were sitting right at the table catty corner from me. Just right down. And I was playing a song called Turn To You, which I'll probably play later. It's a bluesy song. And the dude gets into rhythm, and he starts cutting his steak right in rhythm with my song. It was sweet. I called him out on it afterwards, and everybody laughed. So it was good. That is awesome. It's entertainment, Dan. Is it good? What is he supposed to say to that? Yeah, no, it's only, it's 50-50. Sometimes I'm terrible. Pretty hit and miss as an entertainer. That is good. I didn't say, is it good? Yeah, you said, is it good? Is it good music that I can write my sermon to? Oh, I gotcha. Okay, I was like, okay. Well, no, some music you can't write a sermon to. You cut your steak to. Other music, you go, that's really nice. It inspires me. I feel like it's the sermon's already going to turn out well.

It's like you're doing, the cutting rhythm is with the background. Have you ever noticed a rhythm on Sunday mornings? Yeah. All right. Let's bypass it. It was like Applebee's. All right, so we've caught up with, oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. How's your family? You had, we had spoken, you just had a baby boy. Yep, Malachi. Malachi. I mean, how are things going? They're going really well. He's a little small, but look at his mommy and daddy. He looks just like Zach. Seriously. Built and everything. Here, let me, he is. He's a pretty ripped little guy. He's a built. Can they see that? Yeah. He's more ripped. Oh, there he is. He's, yeah, he's, oh, he's so cute. I love him so much. He's a good looking fella. He is.

Does he high five? No. He's getting there. Not, yeah, he's almost there. How old is he? Six months on Wednesday. So, things are going good. We just moved into a, into a house in West Des Moines, out in the country. So, literally just today. It's been kind of hectic, but things are good. But, all right. Things are going good. All right, good. Very good. Well, congratulations. Thank you. All right, well, so let's, we find out how Swoboda got roped into this operation that you guys are putting on. So, Brandon. Yeah. You were the, you were the, what is your responsibility to dive? I've written it down, but I can't see it anymore. It's bad handwriting. It's the guy's ministry director. Basically, I just. You're in charge of the fellas? Yeah, the fellas. All the dudes. Mike, ask him questions about the fellas.

I don't know what to say. That seems like it'd be a hard ministry. Dudes make me mad. Well, let me ask you this. So, like, men's ministry is. It's different. It's different. So, with the age range that you're talking about, like, what do you, is there something that you find that they respond to better than other things about, like, how you approach things or that kind of thing? Well, I would say the biggest thing for me that I've. They're not girls. Yeah. I mean that. Yeah, pretty much. I'm totally not being funny. And you just. Michelle will talk to you about that. I mean, she's perfect. What he does is, I mean, it's totally not men's ministry either, though. Yeah, it's student guys. I mean, they just want someone to hang out with, something cool to do. Somebody to love on them. Yeah, somebody to love on them. And that's, I mean, that's it simplified. I mean, it doesn't have to be super complicated. But, yeah, they just want someone to hang out with, something fun to do, and someone to love on them.

And that's what we're trying to do, what I try to do. So, I mean, part of the, being that we do the dive, and that's targeted at guests, and for our regular attenders, it's designed for them to have something to bring their friends to. Most churches have something like that, and I just wanted us to take it to another level. And so, when they first walk in the door, if they're a guy, Brandon is the first person they'll connect to. Once they get through, and they get, we give them a little lanyard and a gift, so they can start feeling like they're part of everybody else. It's a regular. They go to Brandon. There's lots of our, we have a lot of kids. So, Brandon isn't pastoring them all by himself. Right. He has a team of people that help him do that. But he's the first connection. That's really his role. What's the gift? What? What is the gift? You said you gave him a lanyard and a gift. What's the gift? Oh, it's the, I mean, just the, it says the dive. One of them has it. Do people wear it outside of the window? No, but what we do is, a lot of our kids use them for key chains. We give them a little barcode scanner card like this. Gas station bathroom key.

It looks like this. They give it, yeah. Oh, cool. And it has a barcode so that when, and our kids can just come and swipe it, get their meal ticket, go eat for free. We do a full meal every week. So, they eat. It allows us, though, to know who is there every week. I can follow up with them, or they can. Well, yeah, that's another big part of it. Yeah, that's huge. Connecting with them right at the beginning, like you said, a guest. I think, like, that's what I love about my job, actually, is just getting to know the kids as they come in and making them feel welcome. And then the follow-up, I mean, having that information is huge because it makes it easy. It makes it easy for me and Michelle to do our jobs and follow up and reconnect with them. So, cool, cool. I mean, and that's got to be a cool, like, especially with that age of ministry, being able to, you know, really zero in and create good relationships, both with you and the kids and then with each other, like creating a good support system for folks like that. Because what you're saying for youth ministry, I think it's probably true across the board. I mean, foundationally, people want to be loved on. People want to know that they're cared for because they can't recognize the love of Christ in other people if it's not foundationally that, right? And so, I don't know, that sounds pretty awesome. Does the barcode thing say their name when they scan into it? Like, hey, Stephen. Yeah.

Well, no. It's like a… What did you just say? Stephen? Oh. Do you know a guy named Stephen? Probably. Well, actually, we do know a guy named Stephen. He's our tech guy. I'll shout out to Stephen Nichols. He'll love that. Stephen Nichols. He's our tech guy. He runs the camera. He does a great job. He'll probably be watching. Yeah, what happens is they get a name tag to print off, and they take that name tag, and they take it over, and that's their meal ticket to get their food. Oh, there's free food, too? Yeah, we do a full-blown meal every single week, yeah. Delicious. What are you looking at me for? Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. And it's important. Better than Applebee's. That's not a caramel donut. I was going to say, they're doing it.

It's free, and I'm not priced. Do I look like a chef? They're doing a meal, and Swoboda's performing. I feel like we should just go there. Skip the Applebee's? And Applebee's at least charging me something. They're giving away something for free. You can do both. I mean, they're not on the same night. I don't know. All right. Scooby-Doo re-roads are all right. Actually, you could go here, Zach, on Saturday, and then come hang with us on Sunday night. It'd be a good weekend. But the food is huge for us because, you know, we don't do pizza. SpaghettiOs. No, we do chicken quesadillas. We do loaded potato bars. We do chicken Caesar wraps, literally. And last week, we had the loaded baked potato bar, and it was amazing. It helps parents. It helps families a lot. Sure. So, what time does this thing go down on Sunday, then? For you? No. 7 p.m. Just in general for everyone.

Yeah. Music. Well, the doors open. What time do the doors open? 4.30. 4.30. And then the kids can go hang in the theater, play. We have four game systems built into the new renovations, PS3s and things, play all that. And we feed them at 5, and then music starts at 5.30, right? Yeah. Yep. Do they kill a lot of zombies on the PS3? No. We just got the PS3, so we only have like two games. And since I'm the pastor, I got to choose, and I chose college football 2012. So, you know what? I'm a college sports fan. That's cool. There's a Wii and an X. You tell them. I don't know. We have two Xbox 360s. One has got Need for Speed. The other one's got Halo. And we've got college football on the PS3. And then we have Guitar Hero on the Wii. Yeah, that's cool. The PS3, though, don't you guys think is probably the most favorite?

Like, that's where the crowd usually is. I don't know the difference between any of them. Yeah, it's kind of cool. The way that we structured the seats for the kids to sit on and play video games. Oh, yeah, that's really sweet. We just took a whole bunch of wooden pallets, and we stacked them on top of each other. We sort of made this stadium seating for these. On rollers. It's on rollers. Yeah, it's on rollers. And so we can move it in and out. We can get that in and out of the room whenever we need to. But the kids just sit on these wooden pallets, like the stadium seating, like about eight guys sitting here watching people play college football. That's pretty sweet. Did they make any cool, like, Jesus video games? Because I remember when I was a kid, my grandma bought me the Noah's Ark Nintendo game. And it was terrible. I mean, it was terrible. Like the giraffe got away, and you had to, like, find them. They had that up where you could play it in Wellspring, I remember. Yeah. Yeah. I played it a couple times. I mean, it was fun for a while, but I know how Noah's Ark is. If you were a teenager. Okay, it was fun for, like, one minute. If you were a teenager, though, and didn't grow up in church,

would you go to the church that let you play a Noah's Ark video game? Well, the more of the question was, do they even make them? Do you not have them? Do they even make them? Does anybody know? I'm not sure if they got anything for the PS3. I'm not saying you should buy them. I'm just saying I don't even know if they make them. Hey, they're trying to paint you as out of style, Mike. No, not at all. Hey, hey, you're a real square. It was more of a conversation starter than, I wish you'd buy Noah's Ark. I want to come to your place. Do you have a We Three Kings for NES? That's what I played. So how does the pipe organ fit in with those crates? I'm going to start my own misery. It's for squares. Squares are going to come here and love Jesus. We're going to bring the math back. You can call it 42. The 2 plus 4 plus 6. No, 41, actually. That's right, 41. Just don't call it 420. All right. He's trying to be funny. Don't encourage him.

Don't encourage him. He can hear you laughing. He's acting like you can't hear him. He's like, yeah, people think I'm funny. Do that 420? Yeah, kids get it. What? What? Why are you saying going over? No, you don't. Don't worry about me. You can't. Mike, we can't be on the broadcast that you're going, oh, no, into the microphone. I lost my dear Abby's. It's all going down. I'm working on it. You were listening to Live from the Path. We are sitting here live with the folks from the dive. Make sure you go to Facebook and you can like the dive. Be careful on which dive you choose. There are some seedy options out there. There's also a non-seedy option that is also a religious organization that I think is overseas. I think it's from the league. Well, that should cut down on competition. Ours is, what is it? Yeah, it's the Facebook URL is actually facebook.com slash the dive DSM. And then the Twitter is twitter.com slash the dive DSM as well. Oh, on the Twitter.

Well, and another cool thing we got to go into is if you miss any of our messages, you can go to the dive TV dot com and you can go and see any of our past. No, who does the messages? That guy right there. You're doing the messages? He does. No, Zach does all of it, really. Actually, that's a good point because I actually do most of the teaching. But now with our new service, the junior high service that we start on Sunday mornings, Brandon and Michelle will be doing a lot more of the teaching to the junior high. I'll do some of it, not all of it. And then they actually, you guys have done. Yeah, we've done a good, a good bit of the teaching this fall, especially when I was out of town, like those sorts of things. So do you find it kind of challenging talking to youth, you know, in this kind of ADHD world when they're all kind of spazzing out and stuff? Or are you just that good that you keep their attention? I mean, no, I'm I feel like I have. Yeah, you're a pastor, right? So, I mean, you have good weeks, right? Well, yeah. Yeah, those weeks where you're like, I totally blew it, man. Yeah. And I have those, too. But we try to do some. Yeah. I mean, sometimes I'm like, oh, I talked way too long. And then that's the week a kid will be like, dude, thank you so much for just sharing your heart. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. And then but most of the time we build the flow of the service. I shouldn't say we.

Zach, Marshall and Zach, actually, they take my outlines. We build everything months ahead of time per series so we can do set design. The set is visually appealing. And then Marshall is the producer. He produces the whole thing. And with Zach's input, we try to I mean, we try to build the flow so that, you know, there's breaks. Like now I don't do my talk just at once. We use sometimes we do two or three parts of it. Mix it up with a video or something like that. Because really, it's an art to I think to talk to you. I don't know if art's a good word, but it is. I mean, I can't do it. I mean, they just look at me like, yeah. Yeah, you got that shirt free with that nose art game, did you? Now, boys and girls. So, I mean, I'm glad that you guys are doing that. It sounds like you're really reaching some people and making a difference in eternity. Thank you. That's all that matters. Yeah, thanks. That's awesome. So, Michelle, maybe tell us a little bit about we kind of heard about kind of the dude side and stuff. Do you feel like it's pretty much the same thing from a lady's perspective? Or are there any different nuances for that age range of folks in the ministry? Can I tell them, though, how you came on the team? Please do. Take it away. Okay, let me tell you.

Michelle's sister, who's a twin, by the way, is our lead pastor, Jeff Mullen, his assistant. And she's already – how long have you been serving? I wonder – I'm glad you finished that sentence and go, Jeff Mullen does not look like her at all. No. Yeah, I got that too. I don't remember. The situation is key. I don't remember. She is our lead pastor, Jeff Mullen. No. Sorry. I'm a distraction. That's my job. I'm going to try to remember what I was about to say now. Oh, how she's been a part of the student ministry team for a long time. Yeah. And so take it from there. Well, Bart's right. My sister has been an employee of the church, and I held actually a different position at the church for – this is going on – I'm going to be my fourth year. And I had been a volunteer with the student ministry for just as long and just kind of things where they were, and actually, Bart hired me to be an administrative assistant. I forgot about that. No, that's a great story. Which I agreed, but I was horrified because administration is not really my gift. And so I left that day, and I was thrilled, you know, just because, you know, I love being there, and I love being around my sister and all that. And so I went to work my first day of work that next week, and he says, here, can we chat

for a second? I was like, oh, yeah, that's fine. And I went in, and he said, you know, I know that we talked about this administrative thing, but what do you think about this? And he kind of, like, had a whole new job description. I was like, oh, my gosh. Thank you. I was so nervous that I was going to be an administrative assistant, but I would have done it, and I would have learned, you know. Actually, that sounds pretty creepy. Like, the first week you're on the job, someone goes, hey, can we talk? No, it was my first day. It was my first day. That's creepy. Why do you do that stuff to people? No, it was great. Tell her, well, because I knew that it would fit her better, and Brandon's role was changing to guys. I noticed you really stink at your job after an hour. You guys make fun of everything. We stink. Yeah. That's kind of the joke. We just read between the lines. Does it fit her better? Is it really doing poorly? This is fairly corporate. I'm sorry, Brandon.

But to answer your question, yeah, you know, my job is very similar to Brandon's, and we actually work very closely together, planning things, sort of setting up for the weekends and having ideas for the students. But, you know, the girls, there's obviously a different, a little, the difference there between guys and girls. And girls this age, 6th through 12th grade, you know, that, I mean, like any girl, and even any male student at that age, they go through some things that, you know, it's good to be there for them. And I had built relationships with a lot of these girls. And so, I mean, it was like a new position, like title type thing. But, I mean, it was almost just like, I felt like it all just kind of fit together. Michelle's a leader. I'm serious. I knew it when I first came to this, when I first came here, kids, our 9th grade girls especially, really just followed her. And it would have been foolish for me not to allow her to keep functioning like that. And for her to do administrative stuff just wasn't wise for me to have her do it. And it wasn't until then that I feel how I feel now. And that's that we've got a team, all the five of us, that from a staff perspective, and I'm really excited about what God's going to do. Because each of the things that they do are very niche. Yeah. And it's hard to find a team that can do that, much less a church that will let you. And then a team that can actually function that way. Everybody owns what they do. Nobody's getting their feelings hurt. And that's what's really, we have a lot of fun together. I mean, we really do.

We all work, we sit close to each other every week. I mean, we just, we have a lot of fun together. And so, Michelle, it would have been foolish, I mean, for us not to do that. And it worked perfect with just, is it accent the word? For what Brandon was doing, so. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's been really cool. I mean, from even starting when you first hired me on, the process that's taken, and now we've got this huge, I mean, we've got this team. Like, I remember one time you were like, it's like the dream team. And it's like, that may be kind of cheesy, but. You weren't born when the dream team was originally, like, came out. I don't think. I don't think so either. You weren't, no, no. You're the Hakeem Eliza one of the original dream team. Who doesn't know who that is? Yeah, I don't. It's for the, it's for the other folks. I connect. But really, but really, it's been really cool. And I, I, I think I can speak for, you know, Bart said it, it really feels like we're at that point where we're doing what we're meant to do. And it all feels great. It feels, I mean, it's just, I don't even know how to explain it. It's just really cool. I'm really excited. I know, I believe they're all really excited, but they haven't given me any other reason to not believe that, so.

Cool. Very cool. So. I can't let you end this though, without also saying, I mean, this, if people are out there listening and saying, Hey, how could we do something like this? I get a lot of emails and a lot of people on Facebook saying, how did you build that set? How did you pull that off? There's no way we could afford to do that. A lot of the, what we did doesn't cost any money. I mean, we did a whole series, the collide series. I think about that one. You can go on. It's all given to us by junkyard. I mean, all of our renovations, we had two volunteers. One of them who took 13 days personal vacation and did it all. I mean, we paid for the supplies. We'd probably have what? I think we have 32 or 33 adult volunteers who are working with us every week to make this happen. So it's not us. If you took all of them away, we'd be in some trouble. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, do they need to steal people from your church to do that? It sounds like you have guys available. Say that again? Do you have people available to come help out at other churches to renovate?

Apps, our guys would do that in a heartbeat. Yeah, sweet. And you learn how to do a lot of really cool things. Yeah, I mean, I learned how to use a ram shot. Ram set. Yeah, that too. I mean, I learned a lot about, seriously, I learned how to chalk a line to do, you know, there's a lot of things that, basic stuff I can do at my house, you know, but I couldn't have done this. What is a ram set? It's like a gun. Actually, it is a gun, and it shoots a .22 blank, and then it shoots a nail onto the ground. It was sweet. It smells good. It's really good. It does. And then you throw it, and you feel pretty tough. Then you modify your tool belt so it sits where it's supposed to. Then you get yourself a clip across. You just swing it out. And then you wonder why there's not more stuff to nail to the concrete. Seriously, we're done with the bottom already? Done. That's how I felt, actually. All right, you were listening to Live from the Path. We were in the studio with the folks from The Dive. Also, coming up, just hearing a little bit in the program, we're going to talk about the

pink Bible. Mike's having trouble. You don't want to talk about what I've talked about. I'm just telling you. It's a deal. Okay, hit me with it. You've heard it. That's what it is. Just be more specific. So basically, one of the Baptist conventions, I don't remember which one, partnered with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. And to promote breast cancer awareness, they issued a pink Bible. Just the cover was pink. It's not like a, whatever, the logo is not on the front. It's just a pink Bible. It's all it is. But then the proceeds were to go to the Breast Cancer Foundation. So they found out that Susan G. Komen Breast, they were donating the proceeds that they had gotten to Planned Parenthood. So the church was like, yeah, well, we better get out of this. This is not what we were after. But I don't know. It just led me to thinking like it kind of wears me out that they're selling a Bible with another organization kind of attached to it. Like, I don't know. It's another gimmick. Well, that's the thing. Like, it just seems like when people tend to do that, you start to get in real dangerous

territory. Like, look at the big problems they have with religion in Ireland. Like, a lot of that is because people try to tie Jesus to their political party or their nationalism or here's what we believe in and we're with Jesus. It's Jesus plus, right? Yes, it's Jesus plus, right? And so, I don't know. Like, it just seemed like an odd move. I don't know. I just, it left an odd taste in my mouth. Like, it's not like I don't like the Susan G. Coleman Breast Cancer Foundation. Like, they're a perfectly good organization. But I don't know. Just when they tie themselves to the Holy Bible, it just seems like you're kind of putting it alongside it like, you know, here's the God that can give you salvation and grace that died for you and here's a charity that's pretty close to that, you know, that belongs on the same book. And like, it's not quite the same. Here's the living word of God, eternal God, creator of the universe. Oh, and there's breast cancer. Yeah. I mean, you know what I'm saying? But people will hate you for this, right? Like, how dare you speak up against breast cancer awareness, you know? Like, you know, no one wants to say anything bad about a good charitable organization. But like, compared to the living God, it's just like, I just prefer if you hadn't done that, you know?

Like, I don't know. It just seemed like a real odd situation. So, here's a description from the Zondervan website. It says, the Bible is for women for all ages who have been affected by the disease of breast cancer. Whether you're a survivor or a co-survivor, the NIV Pink Bible brings you timeless words of comfort, hope, and encouragement. Designed for easy navigation, passages on the topic of hope are highlighted for quick access. Additional content with reflections and stories offer further encouragement throughout the Bible. I don't know. I'm not impressed. They've got Bibles for everything. It just seems, I don't know, I really like the no cover, like the black on front, black and back Bible. You know, that's it. The Lord will speak to you how he chooses to speak to you through his word. You know, like, adding stuff to it, it just, I don't know. Publishing companies making big cash out of everything, and they've got to update it every week or two, and now it's, yeah, I just don't like it. I'm surprised that you don't have an opinion on this. Well, I don't like it. That's why the description hung out on me is, like, the top of hope are highlighted for quick access. I think if you have a season, believe, like someone who's comfortable with the Bible, that there's not a lot of risk there, but, like, if someone is getting the Bible, and this is how they're getting it, and they're otherwise not familiar with it, I think you

do run a risk of skewing God. You know what I'm saying? Like, people, if you're highlighting certain things, or you're pointing out, say, well, here's the hope chapters. Oh, good. I like the hope chapters. It's like reading Proverbs and taking God out of Proverbs, right? Like, there's a lot of Proverbs that don't specifically mention God, you know? But, if you're going to the Bible for inspiration, and you don't have Jesus, you've totally missed it. You know, like, you're still, you're missing out on the best relationship you could ever have, you know, because you want to feel just a little bit better right now about the situation that you're in. Like, I don't know. I don't know. It just, I would hate to see it be a step in between somebody and Jesus. Did they change the print, or is it just a cover? No, I think it's the same. I think it's just the highlight kind of thing. Yeah, so the changes would be, so there's a different cover. They have some additional content and stories and stuff that are. Did they uncanonize the scriptures? I think NIV did about a year ago. Okay, but. Their new verse. I dropped them. This isn't the TNIV. This is the NIV.

It's the NIV, yep, yep, yep. So, 1997, no, 78 or something? 84 or whatever it is, yeah. Did they change that? No, I'm pretty sure it's probably the same. Proceeds going to support that kind of thing? Yes. Okay. Bart's all right with it? Where are you at? All right, Bart? Don't bother me. He's all right with it. Same. No problem. I mean, look. If they're changing, you know, John 3 to say the Hope chapter, that's another thing. But I don't think that's what you, I didn't hear that in what you read. No, no. I think, I mean, there are. I do think, I will say this, I do think that they're setting themselves up for having to do this again for another organization. That's one thing that I wouldn't be doing if I were, I'm obviously not the CEO of Zondervan, but I wouldn't have done it. But I guess I'm thinking, man, if somebody just, you know, went through breast cancer and they don't know Jesus, that's better than them not having a Bible at all. That's how I look at it. It's not, but I don't know if this is an evangelistic tool either.

Well, I mean, that would also be, that would, that's assuming that that's the paradox, right? Like, either I have, I don't have a Bible at all or I get this one as opposed to, you know, whether you are. I mean, generally speaking, I would agree. I mean, it's always better to have someone have God's Word in their hand than not. Yeah. Sure. The question is, is the same concern you would have with, you know, prosperity gospel. Like things where people are not getting a full story and they, they end up feeling like they've gotten Christ when they, they've really been, they don't have the whole thing because you've, you've focused on a certain thing. You've said, here's, here's the hope stuff. And I can have hope in Christ without understanding, getting the real context. And granted, the whole Bible's there. You could get the whole context and you have it available to you without having read it. It's probably not fair to say whether that's true, whether it's stepping outside of it, but that would be the only like doing specialized like Bibles and stuff like that. That would be the only concern is that you haven't, you haven't, you know, shaded the story one way or the other without being clean with God's Word. There's a lot of, there's, I mean, I'm thinking about, look, I go into Christian bookstores all the time and I just, oh, the, the way that some of the things are, things are commercialized, it just, it's a multi-million, if not billion dollar industry. Um, I don't necessarily like it, however, you've got what, you know, like the movie Courageous that everybody's talking about. They have a Courageous Bible. Nobody's talking about that. They also have a student. I didn't know about that.

I didn't either. I would have talked about it if we didn't know about it. They have a student Bible. It's cheap and everything. I mean, I have kids who have student Bibles. It's written for students. Yeah. It's, this is written for people with breast cancer. I get the whole connection to the Susan B. or Komen Foundation. I don't know. I wonder if they also highlight the areas where, guess what? Sometimes you die. I mean, you know. True. Wait a minute. The Bible said I had hope and now I don't. I guess that's the only fear, right? It's shading it so, so it's not, it's not Jesus, the Savior of the world. It's your Jesus and the Jesus that you want to see, which is the Jesus of hope, which is true, but not on all occasions. It's the Jesus, King of Kings, who does what Jesus wants to do, which may not necessarily be the one that you want to see, which puts you, which is the difference between you being a follower of Christ and you being Christ's buddy, in your opinion. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I kind of, I'm on both sides. Well, that's the thing is you can see it either way and it's probably very individualistic. Like it all has to do with.

Yeah, I'm not biblically opposed or anything to it. I just, no. Just quit cheapening it. What's out of there? How about if you sit down with someone and say, man, this is really rough. Here's the word of God. Let's look. Right. How about you look somebody, how about you do exactly what you guys are talking about and look somebody in the eye and make a relationship with somebody, right? We have a culture who even believers haven't even read the book. You know, it's like, open the book. Maybe that's, maybe that potential might be the thing that would bother me then is we're kind of a track society, right? Like churches attract people. They're like, oh, here's something you can read as opposed to here's a relational thing. Here's a person that you can talk to. Here's a general, you know, something that they can look at, something feasible and say, you know, what's it look like to follow Christ? Well, it looks like what that guy's doing. You know, if that speaks a lot louder than here's a pink Bible, I don't know. I agree. I just give money. Actually, I don't like fundraising like that anyway. Like, just give money. I don't like proceeds. Like, just hand over money. Dude, if Dondervan would have just written a check, that would have been so much better.

They would have saved them a lot of PR, you know, nightmare and hassle. But, yeah. Because didn't you say one of the Southern Baptist Convention, SBC, is actually up in arms about this? Yes. Yeah. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church. It was a Baptist organization. I don't know exactly which one. The issue was… I think it's LifeWay. Susan G. Coleman gives money to Planned Parenthood. That's the problem. That's the issue. It's not now. It's supposed to be directly where it handles, you know, like ladies' health issues. It's not supposed to have any connection to the birth services that Planned Parenthood offers. However, the connection is a little nefarious on their end. So, they're actually having to handle that differently. That was one of… That's what actually brought the whole thing to attention is because of Susan G. Coleman's relationship with Planned Parenthood. Yeah. Yeah. And not… You know, and like I said, it's not a frown on either one of those organizations. Right? It just…

I think I'm kind of grasping on what Dan said. It just feels cheap. I don't know. It just feels like you're cheapening God's Word just a little bit by… Yeah, it is. Although… But the thing is, is it not like… Remember when Paul was in prison and those guys are out… They're out preaching. And they're preaching for their own game. And Paul says, look, the Word of God is being preached. It is what it is. It's being spread, right? So, I mean, if you've got to put the word courageous on the front of a Bible and have a shot for a movie and a guy picks it up, you know… See, I actually have more of a problem with the courageous thing than I do with the breast cancer deal. Hit me with it. Because the breast cancer thing, really the core of the issue is not that there's a pink cover. Because it could be black and the donations could still go to that. The problem is, is Lifeway, who sells all kinds of niche specialized, fancy, sweet, cute little Bibles. They found out that Zondervan, who just happens to be their number one competitor, let's put that in perspective, said, oh, you're giving that money to… Those people are giving money to Planned Parenthood. What a great opportunity to attack your competitor. Maybe, I mean, that's the issue. It's not that they put a pink cover on the Bible and gave some of the proceeds to Susan B. Komen. It's because Susan B. Komen is in the pocket of Planned Parenthood. Isn't that the issue? Well, actually, I mean, it is a issue. I don't know.

There's still something cheesy about it. Yeah. I agree. But, like… I don't like pink Bibles either. But just, I don't like pink. You know what I'm saying? At the same time, there's a bunch of different styles of, like, Bibles. They're not all black, but… Well, right, it's not like if you… You know, I mean, there's a lot of different translations of the Bible. You know, and I'm sure everybody got up in arms when the NIV came out. And then when the ESV came out, everybody's like, well, that's not the NIV. Blah, I don't like it. Blah, you know, it's commercial. You know, I suppose it could go 50-50 either way. It just seems like once you're… I don't know, when you get that money involved and you say, I'm selling God's word on behalf of this organization, like, I don't know. I just feel just weird about it. The whole industry drives me mad, you know. They're taking words they never wrote, and, of course, they translated it. And, you know, charging 80 bucks for a leather-bound Bible, you know, it's a load of crap, you know. I mean… Dan does not care for it. I can't even tell the last time I read a paper Bible as far as that goes. I mean, you know, everything's digital. And then I can read whatever version I want.

I'll shoot them. No one's going to bust me around. It just drives me crazy. It drives me crazy. How much is Zondervan selling the Bible for? I don't know. Not that it matters. I just was thinking, like, if they were giving it away for free… 30 bucks. Would it change how you felt about it? That's pretty cheap, this Bible's go, really. My mic's loading up. What if it were free? I'd give a couple. Obviously, they wouldn't matter then, but… Like, the proceeds would… It's not like the color of the cover really does matter. Yeah. It's just odd. When you take a worldly organization, be it a good one or not, and size it up to God's word, it just seems like a mistake. It just seems like a mistake to take something of this world, put it next to God, and say, these guys are in cahoots. Because they're not. God is his own team. That's it. You know, no one is the sidekick or whatever. Oh, man.

It is actually doing that. They do actually have, like, if you read through Genesis, and then it highlights in pink, Genesis 2.18. It is not good for the man to be alone. Yeah, I don't like that. That actually… I guess it'll work. It's almost like the Bible's sponsored. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. That's exactly what it seems like. Now, whether intentional or not… Every translation is sponsored. Whether it's by the International Bible Society, the American Bible Society, they're all… I mean, Thomas… What's Thomas the big publisher? Thomas Nelson? Yeah. Yeah, they have their own translation. Yeah, yeah. Nobody's making a big deal about that. That's what drives me crazy. That's my whole point. The whole mess is… I guess when I think about it, I'm just like, man, it's just really like… I had a pastor who used to say, is that a hill to die on? Is that a hill to die on? When it comes to reaching Jesus…

I say we slaughter them all. Is it a hill to die on? I mean, just something to think about. Well, I don't know that anybody claimed that it was. No, no. I'm just asking. Yeah, you know, I actually think I will… I do think this is… It is slightly more problematic than I… Because, I mean, it's different if they provide, say, that start of the Bible. They're saying, like, here's some places where you can read contextually hope and stuff. But, like, when you're actually, like, highlighting parts, I don't know. That does feel like you're saying here, I'm picking and choosing places in the Bible that I think you should read or that apply to your situation. Right, here is how God is going to speak to you, right? Honestly, I don't even like the red-letter ones. As if the words of Jesus are more important… I mean, if every word is God-breed, then they're all equal. You know, whether it's written by Paul or Jesus spoke it, it's all words God wanted us to hear and live by. Yeah, you know, actually, I feel that way. I love my Bible, but I have a study Bible, you know, and, like, half of the, you know, the bottom half of the page will have, you know, information based on… And, like, the historical information I find really helpful. Yeah, sure. Like, these are the traditions of the day. This is why, you know, this would make sense in this context. I'm like, oh, well, that makes a lot more sense. As long as people understand it's coming from someone's point of view. Well, that's the thing, is because the other half of that bottom half is, like, the guy's opinion, like, have you blah, blah, blah for Jesus today? And I'm like, well, I don't know if he was necessarily talking, you know, like that.

You know, you can't say that, you know, it's God's living word, right? And God will speak to you how he chooses to speak to you through his Bible. And then when you take this man's interpretation of how God is speaking to you in this context, you know, you're taking God's batting glove away and saying, you know, this guy knows what God's going to say to you. And I don't know that to be true. God speaks to me way different, you know, than he speaks to even my wife. Me and my wife talk about that all the time. You know, like, I mean, God speaks to me way different through his Bible than he speaks to my wife, even if we read this exact same passage. Okay. So, Chad, there you go. That's a look at it. They wanted to take a look at it. They wanted to see how pink it was. Yeah, so there's, like, there's an example. Like, if there was a heart next to it, a smiley. That's like the, I mean, the study of Bibles are great tools if people understand when they're reading them that sometimes they're wrong. Like, like the commentary. Yeah, when Joe Blow says, well, this is blah, blah, blah, like you said, blah, blah, blah. And maybe he's wrong, you know, as opposed to when he's commented that the actual word is not wrong. Right. His idea might be, you know. I don't know. All right, there you go. I don't know. What's the verdict, Mike? Are you buying that pink one? I probably would not purchase it. I wouldn't take any stand against him, I guess. It just bothers me.

Like, it just seems like, like, if it was super important, I'd probably pray on it and figure out how I really feel about it and see what God tells me to think about it. But it's really not super important. It just seems like it was unnecessary. We'll put it that way. It just seems like an unnecessary move. I'm more concerned about the highlighting than I am about how it's branded. That actually does concern me just a little bit because I feel like you're picking and choosing. And that seems problematic for someone, especially if you're introducing to Jesus, unless they're motivated to look beyond that. Which, frankly, if you give them all the hope verses, maybe they're not. Right. They're like, yes, this Bible is the best. I've learned everything I need to know. The way I feel about it is, and I've been listening and I get it. And I just feel like if you're in that situation where somebody has approached you with a pink Bible, that if somebody highlighted for you the hope verses, that maybe you need those. And even if you do die and you die with hope, that I think that's okay, too. What if they didn't die with a complete story, though? I mean, isn't that a risk you run? That if you highlight the hope and wonderment of Jesus without having the facts of his existence? We've only looked at the first book of this Bible. I mean… So what are you saying? Well, I mean, we don't know how much of the gospel is highlighted or not. We haven't gone. It might not be, but… You think the whole thing might be highlighted? No, I'm just saying… The pink letter Bible. I mean, when I was in college, Michelle's making a good point.

When I was in college, I had to use a rainbow Bible. I mean, I'm 36 years old. I don't know how old you guys are, but… Is that like the way? No. All the colors meant… All the colors represented a significant theme throughout the theological context of the Bible. That's all they're doing here is they're helping a woman understand… Like, that verse that you read in Genesis isn't even about hope. It's just about a woman. There's women's devotional Bibles. There's women's study Bibles. I think that that was probably… I totally don't know this for sure. That might have been what they were going for. See, I think I agree with what you're saying, but only to a point. Like, if you were giving a Bible to somebody and you highlighted verses for somebody and gave them that Bible, I see that different than a commercially highlighted for sale Bible. Well, Zondervan's a pretty established, like, Bible production company, I guess. I find it really hard to believe. Like I said, it feels like you're taking God out of his throne and saying, okay, I'm going to decide what parts of this Bible are important to this person. Like, if you're doing it on a person-to-person relationship, God has a lot of hand in that. If you're doing it to, you know, 50,000 people, it seems like you're taking it out of his hands and saying, this is what I think is important. We do it every Sunday in our pulpits. We choose the scriptures that affect our sermons, that make points in our messages. And honestly, I mean, we don't use this style of evangelism, but I remember old school tracks. You guys remember those? Yeah, we've mocked them, too.

Those pulled out specific passages to help an unbeliever accept Jesus. Well, I mean, I'm just saying it's a tool. I don't necessarily want a pink Bible that has the pink highlighted pages. But it still could be a tool that could win somebody to Jesus. Well, that makes me even think about the Bible you gave me. I mean, it's not a pink Bible, but it's a— Yeah, thanks for clarifying that. That would have been weird. It's not a pink Bible. It was a black one, so you would have liked it. But it's a student Bible, and it has in it what I've really enjoyed about it is actually some of the verses it kind of goes in and explains it a little bit. Now, that's someone selling that and giving their opinion on it, but it's helped me a lot find my own opinion and decipher it. And, you know, it's given me direction, which, I mean, that could be doing the same thing. I think what really drives me crazy—I've been trying to just in my own mind— What am I really—because I don't care if it's highlighted or blah, blah, blah, all that stuff. It is—I don't trust anymore. I've become a little bit skeptical of these publishing companies. I mean, all they're trying to do is make another buck. And that's what boils down to. You know, so we have all these Christians running around. If they just read the Bible they have, it'd be great. But they have, like, 17 Bibles. Here's my student Bible, and here's my breast Bible, and here's my, you know, man Bible. And they have—you know, it's like, dude, you got it already, you know. Just read it, and then you'd know where those passages are because you actually read the thing. And if it's going to help someone come to Christ, hey, I'll hold for it, you know. Whether it's, you know, the combat Bible or, you know, football guy Bible. The combat Bible.

They have them all. That sounds awesome. I've seen them all. And that's nice if it's a tool for evangelism. But when all the believers are running out there, and they have stacks of Bibles in their house, you know, just read one, you know. And it—I don't know. It just drives me crazy. It's—they're just making another buck. And, you know, I don't know. Write another book. Try that. I don't know. Do something else. Find a new pen to put Jesus on and charge $20 for her. I mean, you know. Jesus' pens are kind of outrageous. And that pink Bible is pretty reasonably priced, though. It is. I'm just going to go after this. It's better than what you could buy a Bible for in most Christian bookstores. It's actually not a bad price on a Bible. Must be pleather. It's reason it. It must be. It's the new pink pleather Bible. It's tritone Italian. Wow. I kind of like it.

Okay. So the dive is pretty much okay with the pink Bible. Pretty solid. No problem. Life from the Path is kind of skeptical of it. You've heard it here. That's okay. Yeah. I'm cool with that. Okay. I just want people to know Jesus. If it's a tool, it's a tool. We've got to decide or you've got to draw the line here, and you did a good job of your – you did. We're talking about believers or nonbelievers because I have three women in my family who have gone through breast cancer just on my side, and only one of them is a believer. It might help her. That's all I keep thinking about. Then I'm all for it. Yeah. But we don't know. I think God is probably in heaven thinking, man, if just one person can know me through that stinking Bible, it probably is not that big of a – he probably doesn't even care. You know? You're really ruining my – I'm also kind of optimistic because, I mean, some guy could find Jesus after reading a crappy novel written by a – like a totally – you know what I'm saying? Like you can – Jesus can be found anywhere because Jesus wants himself to be found. And so, like, you could really take that tack with just about anything and say, you know, we chose to paint the door black because somehow the black door is going to bring people to Christ. One guy with 50,000, it works, and they're like, yes. Right. So, I mean –

Yeah, and you're not compromising. I'm – look. Did you reach out for me? We walked a very – Don't reach out for me. We walked a very conservative line in our ministry. But we do – we – that line is pushed a lot because we want to reach people. Sure. But we're – I mean, we're not talking about compromising the word of God. We're talking about compromising the cover and then who got the proceeds. You know what I mean? Yeah. That I have a – actually, I have more of an issue about the proceeds thing. Yeah. That bugs me a lot. I'm stuck on the high line. Why getting that – I can't get around it. I mean – I mean, why does Zach write music? He doesn't – his songs aren't word for word in the scriptures. I just want to make another buck. That's all I need for. I need big money. I heard there's big money in music. And free Applebee's. That's really what we do. Oh.

I'm going. I'm going to the Applebee's. I've decided. All right. You've been listening to Life in the Path. I didn't think that pink Bible thing would be that heavy. I thought you guys would just say I would be ridiculous and then it would be over. I show up every week with something that I think is a big deal and you guys go, it's not a big deal. And I go, oh, well, I'm glad I didn't get worked up about it, Dan. We're trying to help you out. Thanks, fellas. You know, what I think is that in the presence of, say, you three fellas and the guys in the dive, that might be something that I would entertain a conversation about. Outside this door, I probably wouldn't give it more than two seconds worth of thought. You know what I'm saying? Like, hey, I got a pink Bible. Okay, cool. Yeah, I love it. I hope you enjoy it. Here's what. Start in Luke. I spilled jelly on it. I don't even know. Demobilize the boycott is that what you're saying? Yeah. Calm down, fellas. Burn the signs.

I'm colorblind. I didn't even know. I thought some guy vandalized my Bible. All right. You're listening to Life from the Path. Go get the pink one. I don't know. Go get it. Live your life. Zonder van. Whatever. Give big one. You live with therapy? Here's the deal. I've been looking for a Bible. I'm having a hard time committing to a Bible. Because here's the problem. It's my wife. You're the same guy Dan was talking about. What are you talking about? Let's see. Combat Bible. Hand-to-hand fighting Bible. Love and peace Bible. Flower Bible. Hold on. Listen to the context. Okay.

Sorry. Go ahead. So I have a – I bought my wife a nice Bible. I told you this story before. I bought my wife a nice Bible before we were married. But I put my last name on it. It was kind of a smoothie. By the way. Will you accept this? Here's what I see. Here's the crux. It wasn't a proposal for marriage either. Like I didn't say I'm asking you to marry me. I just said in case we do get married, I don't want to have to go have this thing changed. And you're not doing a hyphen. So here it is with our last name. Let's hope I stand together. And I want it back if we break up. I'll go by Amanda if I have to. So anyway, and I've been using her Bible. And my first daughter. I don't have my own Bible. And I took the way. The way was in here. So I was reading the way for a while. Hey, Paul, man. There's that 420 thing. You can go over it with the way.

Yeah, probably would. But I need like a Bible that will hold up because I want to put notes in it and stuff. And like I don't want to have a Bible that I go through three years and then I have to like re-notate it. I didn't know you were a note man in the Bible. I do. I write in it. I used to. I take separate notes. I can't write it out online. I had all kinds of Greek stuff. My Greek professor helped write the NIV. And I had all kinds of stuff in there. And so it's devastating when you lose it. So I've just been digital for years. I don't know. I would like to have a nice one. But I can't commit to buying one. It doesn't have to do like I'm planning on getting the ESV translation. But like I'm trying to find one that has wide enough margins that I can write in it. But not two columns on the same page. Because that's not smooth. That's not a smooth read. Don't they make like a note taker's Bible? That's too much. I don't need to write a. I don't want to write a journal entry in there. I'd say you could do. I really like the electronic. Like YouVersion.

I don't know if that's what you use. That's what I got. But the YouVersion Bible. The Bible app. I use the electronic ESV. But you can highlight like a verse or a script context and then add a note to it. So it doesn't fill up. I mean and you still get all your notes. Now when you come back around to it. Is there like a little star notation that said hey you've made a note on this? It's highlighted. You can even choose the color you highlighted in. You could do the pink highlight. You could do pink if you wanted to. You could do your own breast cancer Bible. Jesus only loves women. Done and done. I'm out. I'm out. Hey it's been really refreshing for me. I've been you know NIV guy since the 80s. And about a year ago I switched to the ESV. And it's been refreshing for me because I have to actually think. It's so hard for me to read because my mind is going to NIV. I've been phoning the gospel. I've been phoning it for years God. I have been. I was just like.

Scritch up on me. Okay you gotta love the world. Blah blah blah. I mean I know this verse. You know memorize it 20 years ago. It's still in my head. And now I find myself. I don't know if it comes out. I should actually listen to tapes when I'm reading it publicly. It's like it feels choppy because I have to like look at the words you know and think about oh it says that. Yeah. And it's been good because I have to it's a new refreshment for me. I can't phone it in. He's looking refreshed. I'd say so. All right. You're listening to Live from the Path. Hey I'm going to give you a quick three to five minute break to use the restroom. Get some nachos. Whatever you got to do. And then we'll be right back. We're going to have Zach's going to perform a song or two for us. And we're going to do some. There's some advice on tap. Yeah. Yeah. One or two.

Yeah. Also a quick reminder. If you want to catch us during the week you can do so at livefromthepath.org. That's where you can get access to clips from the show on our YouTube channel. You can sign up for the audio podcast and buy some live from the path gear. It's significantly overpriced. Way overpriced. Yeah. But we're not making a dime off it. We just go through a really expensive vendor. So. You're on the Susan G. Come with that. That's what I want. Where do the proceeds go? There are no proceeds. Yeah. Really. We are selling exactly what they cost us. Yeah. I don't want to deal with extra money. It's more of an arrogant ploy for you to be wearing live from the path stuff. So go do that. Also mark your calendars. We've got some good stuff coming up. We'll be hooking up with Jeff Arendale. His new CD will be coming out by the end of January. So on the 30th we're going to have him in studio.

The Newsboys concert is coming up in March. We'll be broadcasting there. Double J is signed on to be the live correspondent. Good man. He's going to be on. We also have some artists that we haven't had on the show before. They're going to pack in through February. So it should be pretty cool. Make sure you're putting the kids to bed early on a Monday night so you can hang out with us. It's 10 to midnight every Monday at livefromthepath.org. Enjoy this one year anniversary special clip and we'll see you back in three to five minutes. Live from the REMAX studios in downtown Des Moines. It's 6 a.m. And you are live from the path. That's a lot of pressure. It makes me probably the old guy in the room. I'm sorry. I got three chauvinists looking at me saying, what are you doing in the kitchen, Mary? What do you want? I don't go to a movie with whoopie in it. I mean, I'm a maggot. Bacon, I think. And cheese. You can buy this mouse for $19.95. And here's a little Jesus. This is terrible because I like to put my favorite things on my boxers. So, hey, you guys. Where is American Samoa?

I don't have much of a back hair problem, but, I mean, if I did, I wouldn't want to have to ask my lady to take care of me. And it says I'm overly acidic. You seem to both have possum-type characteristics that I can all-knowing. Can we say butt? That's why I go speedo. Very nice. Very nice. The origami undies. You're way too intellectually invested in your underwear. I wore a hole in my pants. Right. I mean, my boxers were showing when I left at four in the morning. Your grandma's friend is really Ben Vereen. It's like holding a very warm, dead fish. Oh, this will save me time later. I'm going to have to re-watch the show. It's a long delay. You know cars can't function on wall peanut butter. Does that help? It's very adult, Daniel. We tried to pick him up, but he stopped to pee in the bushes, and we couldn't wait. You spent your holiday season hawking pagan Christmas wares? I'm not in that chicken. Just saying French out a little bit is all I'm saying. What? This is going to be the most interesting three minutes of radio I've ever heard. Men do not smoke Virginia slums. Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Bah, bah, bah. There you go. That's so sad. Do lies jump from one head to another? You can't convince your mind to allow yourself to pee your own pants. Like it's out. Chicken, chicken, chicken. Oh, some Keith, oh, some chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken. Well, I've got this cat skeleton to me. I'm full. I'm hungry. I think I'll have that again. You're listening to Life from the Past. My observation in life is the whiniest people on earth tend to be Christians. Okay, first of all, you're not funny. So don't even worry about it. No, I thought it was great. I don't need your approval, Daniel. Slowjack. Hey. Slowjack. Look at that slowjack. Find me a slowjack. Come on, man. In either case, I'm growing my mustache in here until the world understands me for who I am. Not just a cool guy in a sauna, but a well-educated man who gets all his information from live from the path.

There is a half-naked bust mannequin woman in the church office. He's afraid someone can steal it. Along with a plastic BB handgun. Yeah, and I say, what goes on in here? It's like that time you claimed that you created the peanut butter that rolls up like a deodorant. I've said too much. It's hot and burns, baby. Where's them shady internet characters? That's who I want. Giving my kid a pucker on the head. I've always been just freaky. Looks like the back alley, you know, used donkey dealer. Who left my underwear outside in the rain? What's next? A bag full of aphids that eat your face? Christians don't have gas. That's the deal. Do not ever buy deodorant at an airport. Next time I find a naked dude out rolling around in my rock garden, I'm going to come looking for you and say, you caused this. What's up? I've got to do with it. Big sir, the best waterbeds. That's for sure. Big sir. Big sir. Waterbeds. Funk kind of did that on that smelly politician question.

Yeah, that's true. I've worn a dress. Oh, yeah. I fell asleep at the wheel. We had like a gang of feral cats. What's a doobie? Hey, you know what? You're fat. Donkey rib cage, 30 bucks. Where'd you get that? There it's coming. Okay. Anyway, you're listening to Silk Sheets and Rainbows. My name is Ben. I call it the street Jesus. Now, hold on. I'm not past it. Cassie, I'm sorry. You don't like any sandwiches? I've written Abby and said, Mike and Ben, they make fun of my shirt every single week. They say I look like a couch. What should I do? Hey, Ben, the van's going to stink. I could have said it was Big Jacker if I'd have known him face to face if he was my father. This has been Life in the Past. Daniel, what did I tell you about that? We'll see you next week. Have a wonderful week.

It's jazzy. Try to put a little culture in here. It sounds like rain. This song is way off of the floor. It's funky. It's like… That's more like a… Yeah, that's kind of like a chicken thing. Dan? I would go… Do Ray. Yeah, he's actually got it pretty good. You see that move that they do where like one cruise. I speak Portuguese. Hey, hey, no. Ding, the guado. Oh, you're going to be… What? Disaster. Dan started it. All right, ready? One. Me, me, me, me, me, me. Me, me, me, me. It's all right with you, Mike. It's not the best of the best, but it's certainly one year's worth of time to pass. It's what I got, too. I guess that's what I'm saying.

It's what I got around here. It turned out to be a little wind-heavy. We talked about wind in that thing. I don't know why. It just happened to be that way. I suppose that's just sometimes how it goes. It's just kind of the deal. By the way, you can catch that clip along with the infamous Christmas commercial. It is available on live from thepath.org. You can take the clip to our YouTube channel. It's getting pretty close to $75,000. It's at $85,000. $85,000. Strongly done by Jessa Anderson and Caps for Sale. Caps for Sale is… It's a running machine, man. I'm telling you. That one story seems to just… It blows up on the YouTube. People comment… We get a comment like three days a week. Somebody is commenting on, Oh, I read this story when I was a kid. It's just a favorite. We do a lot of serious Jesus talking. We do a lot of waste of time stuff. Caps for Sale is the best thing that we can come up with. It's unbelievable.

Hold on. Let's see where it's at. Yeah, Caps for Sale is 27,000 hits. See? 27,000 hits. Wait a minute. It's beating Jessa Anderson. What? It should be a Christmas favorite. It must be. What? But we can log in and tell them how to… Oh, yeah. We got to show them that. Just them. What do you have going on? Everybody here except for me, we did a Christmas rap video. It's actually amazing. You should watch it. Is it for public purvey on the YouTube? No. I mean, we can share the link, right? Yeah. But why do you hide it from the womb? But we can make it. Yeah, we're actually showing it at our main service, Christmas Eve Eve service at our church. And so as soon as we show it there, we want to sort of save it until it gets shown at their main service. And after that…

But we can show it here. Are you eating Mike and Ike's? What? What do you got? I would like some. What do you have there? In an unmarked bag? Dried pineapple? Oh, right. Okay. They're not Mike and Ike's. I'm a little disappointed. They're definitely not Mike and Ike's. We also were promised nachos and cheese, I think, when we were going to leave. Who said nachos, anyway? Somebody said nachos and cheese. And there were no nachos and cheese out there. I was kind of disappointed. I said other people could get nachos and cheese. In the comfort of their home. Yeah, he said you could bring nachos and cheese. I believe it is you that owes us an apology. Who's bringing us nachos and cheese? I repent. I repent. I'm sorry. That a voice, Wilbur. But anyway.

We should do this. Yeah, we should show that video. If you want to see who's Wilbur here in some onesie pajamas. Yeah, Zach's in it. Is that what goes on? It's amazing. That's why they call it the down. Not CD at all. Don't worry about it. He's going to log in and give you the link. Okay. I said, while he's doing that, let's get a little taste of something from Mr. Swoboda. What do you got? All right. I got a bluesy tune. It's called Turn 2 U. I wrote it. Can you hear me? All right. Yep. All right. I wrote it. Oh, geez. Over five years ago now, I think. So, it's a bluesy tune. You guys ready for it? I'm ready. I think we're ready.

Let's make it happen. Here we go. It's there beside me. You and I got me. I try to hide away. I find the words and doubts of this world. Crazy when it seems else. I can't. Smokes. I wanted to join in on this. I can see it. I can tell it. I couldn't do it though. I knew. I knew it. Mike was going to jump in. I was going to do it, Dan. I totally felt like I was back home. Really? Yeah. Not home. This is home, but back in Memphis. That was like total Beale Street blues. It was a good funk sound. I got pushed out of. I've actually played on the street in Nashville before. And apparently, I was too close to this other guy's zone. He's like, dude, you better get out of here, man.

I'll show you up, man. I can really play the electric guitar. You better get out of here. This is my area, man. So, you better leave. He was threatening me. Nice. I didn't leave. He left. The regulars don't play that on the street. No. He wasn't a regular. No. Did you have a license? I had three licenses. You have to have a busking license in Nashville. I had a lot of licenses. You have to have a license to busk in Des Moines. Yeah, we were going to do it. We were going to apply. We were busk. We didn't even know what we were going to do, but we thought we better have a license for it. And I kind of fell through. It's not a classic, Can I Dote? It's not a classic. Man, I like that one. Is that one on your CD?

No. No. It'll probably go on the next one. It's an old one. A lot of people seem to like it, so I'll probably throw it on my next one. Yeah. It's got a good hook to it. Yeah, I liked it. It's coming. It's coming around. I'll practice it at home. When I hear it again, I'll know when to come in. Okay. All right. So, tell me. Can I show this video? Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're actually going to hold on to the rap video. What I got for you, though, is this actually is sort of showing off our set design for a series we did a little video called Collide. We had a whole bunch of car parts on stage. We had some pyrotechnics going to start the series off. This video sort of just shows off our set and all the cool stuff that we can do that the kids really love and that pretty much a regular Sunday evening for the dive. Okay. And then there's also a video that he sent you. You don't have to use it, but I thought it would be like a good – it's a good overall

promo of what we're about, and it's actually from our summer trip that we did this summer in Colorado. Cool. But you don't have to show it. It's kind of passive-aggressive there. Yeah, good. I found this fantastic video. It's fun to have to see this. You don't have to use it if you don't like good stuff. You can keep doing the regular crap you've been putting out. But totally up to you. Go ahead and play your Christmas advertisement there. Let's check out this. I thought he was about to show it. Yeah, let's check out this. I don't want you to show it now. We're going to look at this set design business. You're not – you don't get to see it. We're going to see it. He already sent me the description. No, you don't get to see it. That's what my little boy would say. I'm going to put it in a loop, and we're just going to play it. It's going to be broadcasting until we come on next week. Go for it, man. All right, here we go. This is a set design action. Recorded by iPhone, right?

Yep. HD. Is there sound to it? Yes. Okay, brilliant. Here it comes. We're going to check this business out. We're going to check this business out. You know, I'm going into the blue, but it's going to get past. So I keep it struggling, so I ain't got to care. If you care, it's how you're feeling. I still let me touch it when it's all right. I can't see my brother when you put the balls to it. What you doing? I get a job. A job. What you could if I walk into nine and five. So we still need to do it. Yeah, we didn't have the screens on. I just realized that. Oh, yeah. Our video. There was nobody there. Was it before the start? Yeah, yeah. That was something else over there. We opened the doors and nothing happened. That's what it looks like.

Nacho bar. That was very, very cool. How long did it take you to get that set up? You mean like just the whole light thing? Yeah, like the whole shebang. Well, I mean, it's sort of. Like down to the hour. How long did you say? Man, there's a bar ticket. He's getting a mohawk on this one. I'm just going to watch. I'm just not broadcasting. I'm going to watch it. You guys go ahead and talk about your stuff. It's pretty easy to get sidetracked and go to baby videos and animal videos. Make sure you're not doing that on YouTube. Yeah, man. Alan. Alan. Alan, Alan. You guys seen that? What did they do? They were their promos for the BBC4 and they had a bunch of like wild animals and stuff and the people like overdub them. That's awesome. It's hilarious. You hated it. No.

You told me you thought it was terrible. That's because you oversold that Alan thing. It was funny. Anyway, yeah, that was a very sweet setup. So did you have to go to the junkyard and pick the stuff out individually? Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's really easy. I mean, we just call a couple of junkyards and they're like, yeah, I mean, just come. We have a whole big pile. Come pick out whatever you want. I mean, it's really easy. A lot of churches think it could be really expensive or something to put that set together. You kind of admit the theme kind of led itself to the junkyard. Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah. It was great. I mean, if you had a theme like putting on the Ritz to the junkyard, it probably wouldn't be as helpful. That's probably right. But, yeah, I mean, it's super simple. Actually, that set right there that we had with all the car parts and everything, we actually had some hoods and everything up there. What did you do with all the stuff after it was done? Give it back to the junkyard? No, yeah. I mean… We still have it. We still got it.

Did you have to put it at the back of your place so it looks like a junkyard back there? No. You know what? We got some car parts for sale. I don't know. It's on eBay. No, yeah, but I mean, it's super simple. That set was actually free for us to do. We put it together all for $0, so it's not difficult to put these sets together if you're strapped for cash or anything like that. So, I mean, any student ministry can do this. So, I mean, it looks great. Yeah. And we do this for each series. I mean, we put up a new set to go for theme. What's the crux of the Collide series? I'm sorry? What's kind of the gist of the Collide series? I don't even remember. Seriously. I'm colliding with God, colliding with people. That was like three series ago? Yeah, that's right. And we just finished a rhythm series. The series before that was Collide, and then before that was Voices, which was just all about spiritual warfare and the messages of the enemy. And these are all… You can find the archive of all this stuff on the DiveTV.com?

Yep. DiveTV.com. All right. Past everything. Or you can find… You can look up really anything. I mean, it kind of takes you to our main site, which is PogStudents.com. Yeah, you can go to PogStudents.com and click on media, and you can hear everything. But, you know, if there are people who are interested in how do we do all this, I totally think… Because that was a random accidental video that we did. I would go to… If you just go to the Facebook page, you don't even have to like us. If you just go to the Facebook page, every series has got… Pictures. How many? I mean, there's like 20, 20, 20 pictures up. Pictures up? But, you know, with… Actually, during the actual event, we have a photographer who takes all our photos for us and makes them look really well. Good. All nice and pretty. I like to see that going all out for the… I mean, I think people that are even… That are, you know, involved with the ministry, not just the people that are putting it on, but like the folks that are in it, like the kids. I mean, you can tell when people are putting effort into your life, when people are putting love into your life, when people are putting care into your life, as opposed to people who

are just putting up a sign and saying, look, we need something to do with you while your parents are doing X. It actually makes it easier even to teach, to be the speaker, because you can use those things as props. I do that a lot, actually, probably more than I should. At least that's what they would tell you. And then, I mean, also, the kids, it just blows their mind. When they walk in the door, their minds are blown. Yeah. Part of an experience. That's how we look at it. Yeah, exactly. Like he was saying, the first week, was it the first week of Collide? We always do a countdown. Kids know we do a countdown. And you gotta, it's not just the set, the background graphics, the bumpers, the music. Everything is built around the theme. Even the set list that you hear when kids are just hanging, it's all based on the theme. But we did a dub, there was a dubstep track, right, that played, and then we had two guys on stage with a welding mask on and grinders. And they were shooting 20-foot sparks out in the audience. Sweet. Because they were, their jaws dropped. And then it was just, it's just a way to get their attention. And then Zach and them came out and do a song, you know, and we'd just go from there. So, it was fun. Very cool. I like it.

That was the most fun series so far. As us as a team, at least for me. The rest of them sucked. We didn't even have to say anything. He did it on his own. I was already. This is getting way easier. We're just gonna leave. A lot better than that nursing home theme we did. Wheelchairs, crutches. Here's two tennis balls. Put them on your thing. One step at a time. I was trying to think of a clever, a slogan you would put on some sort of, like, septuagenarian theme. Like the 70s and 80s. You don't know what likes it when you talk like that. No one knows what you're saying. I'm a little confused myself. I only know what you're saying because I've known you for years. If I say, you're in it for God or something. Enthused for Methus. Does that do it? That's all I can, I only had a few seconds. You could call it, you could call it, you're running out of time. You gotta have the word urine in there somewhere. Seriously, you better get this straightened up with Jesus right away. Nothing rhymes with colostomy. Dan said, I didn't.

Dear, live from the path. When my sister's husband comes to our house for a family dinner or other event, he immediately asks where he can take a nap. Yes. He then goes upstairs and sleeps for a couple hours. This has been going on for more than five years and is not related to any medical condition. Should I mention this to my sister? I think he's being rude. Mention it to him. Okay, hold a minute. Have you ever gone to someone else's house and taken a nap at somebody else's house? Yes. Thanksgiving. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Not when I first walk in the door. No, no. I also didn't ask to be. It's not for five years straight. Yeah, I was going to say, I don't do that consistently over and over and over again. He can't sleep in a minute. Hold on. Maybe this guy's trying to avoid trouble. Maybe he knows he's a jerk and doesn't want to stick around because he'll say something mean and nasty. So, he tries to sleep through most of the thing. He's trying to do the right thing. He could repent.

He could. He's too much of a chicken weasel. He's chicken weasel. He can't do it. Somehow, in a five-year period, that's really the… Okay, so after how many years do you say something? After three years? Like, I'm starting to see something, Randy. You can't be this tired. This comes up every year. Maybe you should go to bed earlier. How about after twice? Two times is enough? Well, it's not… I don't think the falling asleep is that big of a deal to me. It's that he's asking to be secluded while he does it. Like, people will kind of sit on the couch and fall asleep at grandma's or, like, fall asleep in the chair or whatever. And then, like, that stuff works itself out because the kids will start picking at you and, like, taking your shoes or whatever. And you'll wake up eventually. There's implicit clocks in there. Flashes of camera in the kitchen. Yeah. But, you know, like, they've drawn something on your belly or something. But to say, hey, do you have a special room of which I may rest? Excuse me. He's, like, once accommodations. He calls ahead to make sure he's prepared. Hey, this is Randy.

I'm going to be there, like, half hour, right? We'll leave the line on for you. Can you make the bed? I need the room a certain temperature. Oh, and can you have room temperature bottled water? Actually, now that I mentioned it, will you unmake the bed? I don't want to feel like I messed it up. But change the sheets because, you know, that Jeremy kid. You know. And put some at the end because, you know, I hang off, right? I mean, put a stool down there. Does it matter whether this guy's, like, old or young? Like, let's say he's, you know, he's, like, 20. You say the same thing that you would to, like, 50-year-old? You say the same thing? What if he's eight? Like, what if it's, like, the grandpa? What if the grandpa does? It's not a health issue. I don't know. Grandpa does what he wants. I'd let grandpa sleep. Yeah, the patriarch of the family can do it. Unless he curled up, like, in the middle of the living room floor and you had to step over him. That'd be really irritating. I would say, Grandpa, you're going to have to go upstairs. Good.

That's what I wanted anyway. I asked when I came in, you know. I called ahead. Okay. All right. So what do you say to the guy? Okay. So the secular advice. Wait, wait, wait. So what was our advice? Our advice is, okay, we're playing the, we're the host family. Okay. We're deciding whether we're going to talk to the man about it. Yeah, but, yeah. Actually, this gal wants to talk to her sister because it's her sister's husband. I would send, if I was the gal, I would send my husband to talk to him. Yeah, somebody needs a man up. It's a dude on dude conversation. Exactly. Listen here, Randy, you know, sleep in your car or something. You're not coming in here anymore. We're done. Yeah, I mean, couldn't you get away with, like, some quasi-snide comment like, hey, we're not a hotel, Randy? Yeah. Just ask him what's up. Yeah, that's what I would say. What are you doing, man?

Are you working too much? Do you not like us? Like, why are you stressed? I'd go in there and change my clothes every 10 minutes and make a big ruckus. Who are we deciding who should – I think nobody but his wife should talk to him. Really? Absolutely. Someone's got to talk to his wife first. I hate to throw – I mean, if we're going to be biblical about it, she should totally go to him first. No, no. Yeah, I do. I mean, unless you just want to make a fool out of him. No, you said the dude after him. If it's – What dude? So it's my – Who's the dude? It's my wife, and I'm over here. Her sister and her husband – her husband's the one that's sleeping in our house, right? Yeah, the two sisters are – Right, and they're worried about talking to her. If my wife wanted to say something, I would hope that she would come to me, and I will talk to Randy. This seems like a me and Randy conversation, not yell at the wife and have the wife yell at the husband. This seems like a – this is my home conversation. Me and Randy would talk about it.

I misunderstood the question then. I thought two sisters were talking, and one of their husbands was doing this. Sorry. The sisters are not talking yet. Right. She's trying to decide whether to talk to the sister. Oh, yeah. She should go to her sister, but her sister should talk to her husband, not her. Yeah, no, yeah, no. I would agree that I wouldn't send the sister directly after the husband. No, I'd send my husband to talk to her husband. That's what I don't understand. How does the other husband get in the picture? Is he – I didn't hear the – I think Mike's introducing him as the man who's supposed to take care. He's the man that's going to settle this because Randy's sleeping in my bed. I think as long as she brought a pink Bible and pretty soothed the whole situation, it'd be all right. Here, Randy, read this while you're – It's about hope and sleep. You'll see that it's not good for the man to be alone, especially in bed. Stop giving this up so early, Randy. So we're all in agreement someone needs to talk to Randy. We're in disagreement on who needs to talk to Randy. Yeah. Okay. Secular's advice was, you should definitely talk to your sister about her husband's behavior, although she may wonder why it is taking you so long to do so. Yeah, that is going to be awkward.

Or sleepy, or we'll call him Randy, may be uncomfortable interacting with people, which is why he retreats upstairs to sleep. Still an odd move as it would draw a lot of attention to you, I would think. And if you're asking – So come. Yeah, like – You don't have any problem interacting with people when you're trying to find a place to crash. You seem like a – you're kind of selfish, really, you know? Okay. Please withhold judgment until you have more information. That seems like kind of a cop-out on an advice column, right? Like someone writes in for your advice and you say, I'm going to withhold judgment until I have more information. Because you really haven't given out any advice at all. You've just kind of said, ah, I'm not sure about that. Okay. What's next? So the next one is – hold on. I had to skip a couple days because they were getting kind of lame there in the middle. Say something for, I don't know, five to ten seconds. Oh, here it is. Never mind. You're done. Dear Life of the Path. My fiancé and I recently received a wedding invitation from a friend of his from high school. Our wedding is not far away and I have an etiquette question. Although it was stated on the invitation where the bride and groom were registered, a Facebook message was sent out after our invitation arrived in the mail.

It said, in lieu of gifts, people can donate monetarily to the couple. By check or cash the day of the wedding or via a PayPal account they have set up. I'm confused. I grew up and still live in the South. And this doesn't seem like a traditional approach to gift giving. Is it considered inappropriate to ask for money? What are your thoughts? I've – I actually had a friend of mine who just got married this past summer and they were asking for money too. They were registered at other places. They weren't just saying, just give me money. But I think they were saying they would accept checks and stuff like that as well. Well, it's actually funny because I just got married like a little over a year ago and that's kind of what we did. We didn't even do a registry because – I'm glad I didn't answer first. One of our fears was to get a bunch of duplicate stuff. Dude, you got to be real, man. And that's what – I mean that's what we did. We just kind of said, hey, we would like – one of our big goals for being married was to be able to purchase our – put a down payment on a house. And we're like, the biggest gift that you can give to us is towards that instead of just giving us like random toasters and blenders and whatnot. We're like, we would really like to put a down payment on a house. So we asked for money. Did you put a down payment on the house for that money though? Part of it, yeah. Okay. You got more than enough to pay for a down payment? No, we actually did a little.

You just bought a house a few months ago. Yeah, but I mean part of the down payment came from our tax refund. But the money from the wedding helped out a lot too. Do you think people don't like to give cash because they like to feel the I've given a gift gift? You think people feel cash is impersonal? It all washes out. I mean I'm thinking back when I got married. It's probably not a year, eight years ago. It doesn't really matter. It hasn't been that long ago. We got a lot of doubles and triples of things. By the time you take it back, you get gift cards and credits to all kinds of places. You're going to spend that money. No, Brandon, you're the only person I've ever heard who's actually – that's a good example. But that doesn't happen a lot. You know what I mean? This is different. This is about sending out an invitation, registering somewhere, and then being like – it sounds like they – They've got money broken? It sounds like something happened last minute and they needed some cash quick. I think it's worth mentioning. I get the cash. I don't care. But in that situation, just tell people what your struggle is. People might give you more. Agreed. If you do that. Agreed.

You might – yeah, just be open about it. There's no reason to – I would say, hey, the wedding was more expensive. We're going to have to add on to our new house because Randy keeps sleeping in our bedroom. We're going to have to get a guest room or something because I don't want him in there. I think people do like to buy for other people. I think – I hate it. The phrase – It's just too hard. The phrase housewarming – I mean, like there are people that are like, oh, this will help make their house a home. Like there's people that like to do that. And I certainly wouldn't deny someone the right – they're probably going to do it anyway, right? Regardless of what you say. He's like, oh, they don't mean that. They really want a pressure cooker. But like, you know, I don't think there's anything wrong with when saying, hey, cash would be helpful. I don't bother me at all. Yeah. I think that's fine. I'm worried about it. And if people are registered, here's what we ran into is people – I think cash, if you're being honest, or check or whatever, is probably the most realistic way to go about it because we got so much stuff that wasn't on our registry that we couldn't use, didn't need. You know, and it's like, you know, cash would have been better or at least get us what's on our registry. Yeah. You know, it's like – Because actually when they don't do that, they're like saying, here, I got you an inconvenience. Go ahead.

Go ahead and take this back. Here's an errand for you. But you always have to go to like two or three stores because they don't give you the receipt. Yeah. And you're like, did you get this from Target or Walmart or – And then you finally find the place and it's on sale for 75% off. So you only get what is worth – What it is for the sale price. Right. They should just register at a bank. It's like, happily, here's an errand for you. Yeah. I mean, they mean well. That's great. But – It didn't really help. Right. Yeah. They went – they even went to PayPal. That's hardcore, man. That is. So I'm like, where did you end up? You're all right with the cash or the trust fund set up? You don't like it? You know I can't make decisions. That's why I come to the radio show. I thought the big Bible was outrageous. Now I'm kind of okay with it.

I don't know what I think. That's why I come here. You're easily swayed. I make terrible decisions. That's why I come here. Seriously. I get all worked up about something. I'm like, that's ridiculous. Well, you know, I kind of overreacted. That's what happens. And I thought, that's ridiculous. And I'm like, well, you guys make pretty good sense. That's what they're saying. That's why I said I'm glad I didn't answer first. I was like, man, seriously, how impersonal. Give me money. Give me money. I don't even want to – I don't want you to go out trying to pick me out or something. The PayPal thing I think is a bit much. Why? I don't know. They're just making it easy to pay. I agree. Yeah. I don't know. Now thumbs up. I think you should get – I think he's right.

It was way too urgent. It just screams of urgency. Something's happened. We're broke. We need a new car. It's weird that they originally did a registry and then last minute they were just like – That's the key for me, dude. Didn't you say they had already sent an invitation out? Yeah. Yeah, they already said we're registered at this and this, and then they Facebooked the message they said in lieu of this. Let me ask you. Is there a hierarchy to media? Like if you receive something via letter and then something that conflicts via Facebook? Well, until it's Facebook official. I mean, that's what they say. I feel like the letter trumps. I don't trust Facebook. Whatever. You just claimed last week that you didn't want to call somebody on the phone. I don't. You said I've got to call somebody on the phone to be on the show. I hate the telephone. I like Facebook or email. Weren't you just getting mad at Marshall about Facebook? That's why I don't – But now you're saying you don't trust it? It's because people behave like Marshall on the Facebook. Come on.

He just called it the Facebook. So don't worry about it. That's how I say it. The Twitter. Is that what you said earlier? The Twitter? We're on the Twitter. That's all. One more. Secular's advice was it's crude. It's crude to take the cash? Very rude. Poor etiquette. She's a Pharisee. Last one. Dear life from the past. How does one respond to a former co-worker slash acquaintance who wants you to be a reference at your current workplace? My experience with him was not ideal. He was a good worker, but he became irritable when he was under stress and drowned everyone around him in negative energy. I don't want to work with this guy again, but I prefer to be non-confrontational. So wait, he's a – I don't understand. He's a plan for a job. So you used to work with a guy at the quick trip. Okay. You now work at the come and go. He's like, hey, come and go. It looks pretty sweet. Can you be a reference for me to work at the come and go?

Oh, yeah. So he's like asking his old boss. Is that what you're saying? I think he's asking his old co-worker. Yeah. Someone he used to work with. I would never ask a co-worker for a reference. He's already done it. You always ask your leader. Yeah, you're on the receiving end, though. I'd tell him to ask their boss. Yeah, the boss knows the legality of it. That's right. And they can't say anything. Exactly. Oh, yeah. You're not really supposed to. I would say no. You know what I would do? I'd give you a reference. I've been in a situation like that. I'd say, well, here's what I'm going to say. Think twice before you put me down. Wow, Dan. That's a good way to air it all out, I guess. Here's what I'm going to say. Here's the deal. We really don't get along.

You're really not good at your job. I don't want you here. Well, he's going to put it as a reference, and he's saying that he wouldn't want to be honest about it, I guess. I think the lady is a circle, and doesn't want to lose the appearance of a friendship that probably shouldn't really exist because they don't get along, really. Well, if she doesn't want it to exist, there's a good opportunity. I think that's the thing with non-summitation. Say what you mean, man. That's exactly right, dude. You know, one of the – yeah, sorry. I'm not going to get – I just – we've got – I just don't understand why people – I get it sometimes, but life is so – man, everything is so much more easy if we just say how we feel. Yeah. Like, and these guys know that sometimes I do that, and I don't do it good, and it comes off wrong, and I hurt them. Yeah. But I'm still truthful, and I'll realize it, and sometimes I'll apologize. Sometimes I won't because I'll be mad. But they always know where they stand. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's just easy. That's huge, though. And as a leader, if I were that coworker, if I were the manager of – what did you say? Come and go? I'd just say, look, if you are an employee and you need a reference for a future job, you are not allowed to ask other employees. You come straight to me. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't see anything wrong with having another employee do it. I mean, as long as you're honest about it.

I mean, it's just people, right? Managers is a come-and-go type distinction. Oh, no. There's nothing wrong with it. I totally agree. I'm just – you're probably going to get a better reference from the person that you didn't work with. If he wants to get the job, he probably should use the manager. But if someone has chosen me and said, Ben, I want to use a reference, I think I would probably say I will be a reference, but I'm going to tell them what my interactions were like. I don't know that I've ever applied. Have you guys ever applied for a job where your references weren't people that supervised you? Yeah, I have. I've never done that. Okay. Maybe it's – Usually it separates, like, work references or one thing like that. And then a personal reference. Past history has to play, and then personal references. That makes sense. It does stink when you're such a poor judge of character, though, that the person that you tried to use as a reference doesn't want to work with you. Yeah, that's true. That shows kind of a lack of judgment on their end. And it does look kind of odd if you're applying for, like, an executive position. You're like, here's the janitor at the place I used to work. Me and him talked about it every day. I mean, you know, like, it doesn't seem apples to apples. You know, this is the kind of performance we're looking for. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I would certainly provide the reference.

Probably give him a heads up if it's going to be negative. But, yeah, I'd probably – Would you give him an out? Like, would you say – like, let him say, oh, you know what? Since it's going to be negative, I don't want that reference? Well, yeah, because it's up to them whether they provide the reference or not. Me as a reference. I think just being fair of what it is. I mean, the problem is it's awkward because obviously this lady has not ever approached that conversation before. And I tell you what, that's what sucks about the deal is that she's been dishonest to a certain extent. If this guy is convinced that she would be a good reference and she's not a good reference because she doesn't really like the guy, she's somehow been dishonest in that relationship. It was likely that she's been dishonest in that relationship for him to be fooled like that. Either that or the guy is a complete dunce, which is possible. Everybody loves me. Hey, can I sleep at your place? Oh, it's Randy again. He's the everyman. Dear former colleague, if you're asked again, tell your former co-worker you are not comfortable assuming that responsibility. Don't be defensive and don't allow the person to pressure you, and you do not have to explain why you have chosen not to give the reference. That's good. I would probably say – I think it's more fun to tell him. Yeah, I agree. If Ben came up to me and said I'd like to be a reference, I'm going to say you don't want to do that, Ben. I think that's a mistake. Seriously, why not?

I'm just saying you probably don't want to do that. Let's just say I know you. Yeah, okay. Yeah, that was Dear Life from the Past. I don't know. I like this good advice. I like this good advice. I think cash is fine. What makes me think about Christmas gifts? It's brought me and him together. Are you more of a cash person or are you more of a gift from the actual gift? I have one person on my list. Depends on the person. My old dad gives me cash because he doesn't care to know me in general. I think it's easier just to hand over cash opposed to getting involved. He's a lazy old goose that one. And then he goes, cash is king. Well, I just celebrated with Christmas with my dad just this past weekend. And his girlfriend wanted to get me and my wife a real gift. And he's like, no, just give them cash. That's all they want. And then she found out later he accidentally deleted our Christmas list that we'd sent out. But he usually gets his cash, which is fine. I mean, if I were your dad, I would think that too, though, because that's what you asked for for your wedding. I mean, seriously. No, yeah. Just give me some dough. I put it on our list, but I think it's a difference between.

Because she really wanted to give us a gift. She wanted to have that value we looked for you. But then he was just like, I just want to give him cash so they can get what they want. I get that from the gift giver's perspective, though, right? Like, there's nothing that feels better than seeing a need and filling a need. You know what I'm saying? And people think that cash is impersonal because you could take the need money and spend it on Baby Ruth or something. And then I'm really disappointed. I did. But I think you have to take yourself out of it, right? Are you giving a gift to give a gift? Or are you giving a gift to get the warm feeling on your head? You know, if you're really giving a gift just to give a gift, cash is probably all right. I scanned a Pepsi for my wedding registry. Somebody got it for me. I did. Sort of like the whole point of the money is sort of like the practicality of it. Like a good medium, maybe like a gift card or something like that. I mean, it's personal. Like you're going to an actual store. Visa gift card, though. Then you can use it anywhere. That's, to me, not the best. Might as well have gotten them to cash. Might as well be cash. Yeah, but I'm saying, like, if you go to a store, you actually may be thinking about maybe they would like to go to that store. But it's also a practicality of, like, they can get anything they want in that store. So it's sort of a gift card in a store.

You know, the problem with a gift card is always like, let's say I got 50 bucks to the Vaughn Mawr, which is where I do most of my shopping. Oh, Vaughn Mawr is… It's obvious. It's obvious. Okay. So I'm at the Vaughn Mawr doing, getting my duds. It's where you buy, like, true religion deans and diesels. I've never heard of that. It's really expensive clothing. Mike's not even allowed in the Vaughn Mawr. I sound but a goodwill. But anyway, I'm at the Vaughn Mawr. I'm at the Vaughn Mawr. I think it's just Vaughn Mawr. And so every time I got a gift card to go somewhere, I always find something that's like 15 bucks more than the gift card, you know? Because I'm like, well, I'm already 50 bucks a head. I just as well buy this, whatever. And I always end up putting more money into it. That's true. Gift cards do cause irresponsible spending. Yeah, they do. You're like, well, you know, I need a 12-pound bag of fun-sized Butterfingers. Why not? I got 50 free bucks. Give me that. I always buy stupid stuff. I do feel like you're kind of restricted with the gift card sometimes. Yeah, I do.

I like Visa gift cards. And it really depends on the person. Like, if I have some people, I would welcome a check because it's going to be a hefty one. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, certain family members who will write a bigger check. I've completely changed my opinion of you. Like when I got the gift cards. No, but I mean, I'm being honest. If they ask me, if they give me, I'm saying if they give me an option. I mean, I'm not going to be like, hey, yo, I just, I know you got a lot of dough. Can I just have a check? So here's the deal. I'm rich, right? So you just want money or? But if they have the, I mean, gosh. But I like Visa gift cards or like the ones that you can use anywhere. Yeah. Except for the vending machine. Where do you spend your money? But how, you're going to, I don't know. I don't think I'm going to take the Christmas money I just got and go, ah, I really need that candy bar. No. But if you have a vending, if you have a Visa debit gift card, though. I feel like we're different people. I most certainly would do that. Thank you, Grandma. I would say, what else?

I can't buy powdered donuts with my own money. I'm supposed to be paying bills with that. The worst is if Grandma sends a check and doesn't specifically address it to the children. I'm like, well, this is family money. This could very well go into the candy bar fund. One of them doesn't have teeth. One of them probably shouldn't have candy bars. I guess I'm the only guy eating. Merry Christmas to me. That's a big nugget of wisdom right there from you. That's good. You have two babies? Two. Two, yeah. Two. We got a check like that this year already. That's why I thought it was funny. It was for our little boy. We have a two and a half year old, but they didn't address the, they just left the pay blank Yes, I like a kid to cash it. So, and he obviously doesn't have a checking account, but, and they didn't designate it either. So, it wasn't designated funds. I wouldn't be a poor parent if I have a five year old and a two year old and like, wait, that sounded bad. I have to finish. We did, we actually bought him something with it, but we didn't spend, I don't want you, that sounded awful.

I guess what, I, don't feel too bad. I don't know. Those kids are going to spend the money recklessly. Yeah, seriously. They're not even old enough to handle money correctly. He would buy every Lego set. Yeah, the only way to subvert this is, my mother-in-law knows this about me, so she gets savings bonds. And it's very awkward to cash in your daughter's savings bonds, so, even I won't do that. But like, 20 bucks from grandma from Wisconsin, she doesn't ever know. You know, we'll go to McDonald's. You can't buy driving gloves at the Vaughn bar with a savings bond. All right, Gracie, now let's go get Daddy some driving gloves. Nothing looks cooler in a minivan than Goodwill clothes and driving gloves. Daddy's got to look good for his radio show. All right, that was Dear Live from the Path. If you'd like some advice from the folks at Live from the Path, write Dear Abby, and then we'll just steal it. Yeah. That's pretty much the process. We don't maintain any type of list here. Anybody looking for legitimate advice, this is the wrong place. But send it to Dear Abby, and we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can. If we find your letter interesting, then we'll read it on the air. I didn't really call his lead. My name's not Randy. You don't know me. Call me Biff, and point me to the Queen's House.

This guy sounds like a real winner, I tell you. Especially the way the impression's been done. Yeah, yeah, I feel like I've captured his essence. Hey, you've been listening to Live from the Path. Thank you so much for tuning in this week. Thanks to the folks from the Dive for hanging out with us. Yeah, thank you. Sunday night starting at 4.30, right? Yeah. Come by. Yeah. The door's open at 4.30. The door's open. There's a meal there. High school only, though. High school only? And junior high is on Sunday mornings at 10.30. Can someone take a cab to your place? I don't know, can I? But we do have open houses. Like, if they've got, let's open the open house in January 8th. What? Yeah, we have some events coming up. So, hey, so real quick, what do you got? What's coming up? January 8th for parents, open house at 10 o'clock for junior high parents. And then Michelle can tell you about, we have two other events coming up. Tell them about yours, and you can tell them about yours real quick, real fast.

February 24th, we have chick night coming up. So, 6th through 12th grade girls, we'll meet at the church. We'll do some things there. And then we're actually going to go to Sky Zone, Des Moines. Which is not open yet. It's not open yet, we'll be actually one of the first groups that gets to go and kind of experience what Sky Zone has to offer. It's basically like a, it's just full of trampolines and foam and basketball hoops. Yeah. So, yeah, that's our chick night, February 24th. Yeah, I'll hook you up with the address, the web address. Boom. And you can register for that. Yep. At pogstudents. At pogstudents.com. You can register for chick night, and then Brandon will tell you about fight night. You can register for that there, too. Yeah. All of it's at pogstudents.com, and then you just do like slash fight night slash chick night, I believe. But fight night is like, it's on March 2nd. It's for guys. It's just a big event we're doing. They'll come hang out at pog, at Point of Grace. And then we're going to go out to Sky Zone as well. And then at that night, too, we're going to go to Sportsplex West. It's just going to be a sweet night for guys to come and hang out.

And we've rented these places privately. So, there's, we have the whole facility. That sounds awesome. Yeah. I'm really, is there going to be violence? Absolutely not. I feel like the name implies violence. Well, like not getting, it's a series of guy events that we do. Last year was the first one, and this one's round two. Next year, we're doing main event. It's all about fighting for our lives. Yeah. I like it. Brotherhood dudes together. If you do want to check out Sky Zone, because it is like the coolest thing. It's skyzonesports.com. It's, yeah, it's, we're super excited to go there. We had over 100 guys there last year. Cool. So, do you buy a lot of pink Bibles? No, I don't think. They don't go over as well on the fight night. Come on, guys. Open it up. Come on. Pink outside, hope inside. Awesome. Well, so, make sure you check the, you can go check the website.

It's thedivetv.com. And be checking in. Kids, if you need a place to go for a free meal and some Jesus, that sounds like a pretty combination. I mean, even the Lord provided fishes and loaves. Yeah. I'm just saying, it's a good combination. And it's happened Sunday nights at the dive. I think this is the place to be. All right. Sounds awesome. I'm way too old to go. And you can also check out more information on the church. It's at pointofgrace.com. Media content is on there. You can listen to sermons, both for the church itself and also at thedivetv.com. Yeah, go check it out. See what you're getting into, right? You know, check it out. If you dig it, show up. Yeah. Sounds good. All right. Well, thanks so much for coming to you guys. Have a wonderful week. Thank you, Zach. Thanks for having us. We're going to send you out with a little bit of promo stuff from the dive so you can just have a good idea of what's going on there.

We will see you next week. There might be someone here next week. Oh, by the way, we're going to start selling Zach's CD on our website. So people don't have to remember a bunch of different websites. They can also go to all of it at one place. They still need to go to his site, but tonight, I mean. Will you sell our life in the past year? I'm praying about that. Pray about that. Keep praying. I like this guy. I like you to pass on that, too. If Jesus was a no for us, we did it anyway. Big mistake. All right. You've been listening to Life in the Past. You guys have a wonderful week. We will see you next week, 10 to midnight, on lifeinthepath.org. It's all about the pressure to perform. Leaving God is all about the freedom to be who he created you to be. Father, I am shaking. Don't shake your world. You will be my first love. Be my first love. I'm talking about following Christ. I'm talking about pledging outright allegiance to Jesus. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church, God. And we are the church.

God has given us a mission. He's given us a calling. It's a clear calling. I want us to care less about ourselves and more about them. I want us to be genuinely, look at me, brokenhearted about their eternity. I am unaware of these afflictions. Strive to live such lives so that among the pagans, they can't even accuse you of doing well. And they may see your good deeds. And even they will eventually glorify God. Know how he loves us so, how he loves us, how he loves us so. We will follow him. And we will look like complete idiots. And we will be made fun of. And people will persecute us because we say we love Jesus. And we will not fold. And we will not walk away. And we will be made fun of today.