`ROUND TABLE': HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE TWO METHODISTS, A PRESBYTERIAN AND A PRIEST?

This week's show was done without Grant Gillard, pastor of First Presbyterian church, being present. (Left to right) Scott Lohse, Conway Briscoe, pastor of Zion United Methodist church and Rev. J. Friedel, director of Catholic campus ministry.

(Left to right) Conway Briscoe, Rev. J. Friedel, Jan Whitehouse, KUGT station manager, and Scott Lohse discuss the show on Wednesday.

Conway Briscoe turns the topic over to Rev. J. Friedel.

If you haven't heard the one about the two Methodists, a Presbyterian and a priest then you haven't been listening to KUGT AM 1170 on Sunday from 1:05 to 1:20 p.m.

The program "Round Table" has been on the air for a year and a half now and offers its listeners a religious perspective on the news from pastors of different denominations of Christianity.

Scott Lohse of New McKendree United Methodist Church in Jackson approached the station manager of KUGT with the idea of a radio show when he came to Jackson.

Lohse offered to deliver a completely produced show to the radio station if they would give the air time.

He got the air time and he began producing the show.

The new station manager Jan Whitehouse was present at the show's taping on Wednesday at New McKendree Church in Jackson.

Lohse had been doing a radio show in Farmington and before that he did a radio show in St. Louis.

The discussion group from time to time will change, but the main four religious broadcasters now are Lohse, Conway Briscoe, pastor at Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville, Grant Gillard, pastor at First Presbyterian Church and Rev. J. Friedel, director of Catholic campus ministry.

Rev. Friedel has been with the show since it began.

Many other area pastors have rotated into the show when one of the regulars can't make it.

They seem to have a good time taping the shows.

"I enjoy the shows immensely because it is a great discussion of theology," Gillard said.

It's a forum where they can all articulate their theologies and Gillard, Friedel and Briscoe credit Lohse with creating the right atmosphere.

The show deals with news from religious editors from various media sources and the topics vary greatly from week to week.

This week's show was taped on Wednesday and Lohse, Briscoe and Friedel (Gillard was not present for this taping) discussed an article in "Atlantic Monthly," entitled "The Search for a No-Frills Jesus."

The article discusses a reconstructed Greek text of a possible lost gospel that scholars have named "Q."

This first century writing contains sayings by Jesus and was possibly written before the gospels in the Bible.

The controversy caused by the international group of Biblical scholars as to the true meaning and consequences of "Q" on Christianity were discussed by the round table group for this afternoon's broadcast.

The group also taped the show for next week about a school teacher in St. Louis that was fired from her job for allowing her students to use indecent language in their written assignments.

She won her court case and got her job back. The round table discussion about this topic kept the pastors talking for the full time as did the subject matter for this week's show.

They do the show because it is fun.

"It is also good to hear the other perspective," Briscoe said.

"We need to model for other people that work with people of other religions and show how we can work together," Rev. Friedel said.

"It's a ministry to the community," Gillard said.

The pastors did agree that they agree on a lot of broad subjects and that there is some apologetic argument when it comes time to get specific.

There have been times when they have come to real strong consensus on topics, but most topics bring many different perspectives from the panel.

"We seem to have pretty good rapport," Lohse said.

The basic format of the show opens with a question and they talk about it and then they leave the audience with a question.

"I want people to think about their faith all the time and not just while their at church," Lohse said.

"Our idea is just to use our minds to give a religious perspective to the news. We feel we are the religious news guys for the area," Lohse said.

"We hope it catches on," he added.