2013 Fall - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies) by Higher Things: Dare to be Lutheran!

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Retrospective Issue! • Scars Forever • Are You Ready for a Miracle? • Coming Down from the Mountaintop •

Rock Star Pastors? F A L L

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higherthings

. o r g / FA L L / 2013

Getting Around the NEW Higher Things E-Magazine PDF

Click any article title to go to that article. Click the center of any page to return to the table of contents. Tap links and email addresses to open those in your browser or mail client.

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Contents T A B L E O F

Be a voiCe … for

LiFe!

Volume 13/Number 3 • Fall 2013

Special Features

4 Rock Star Pastors?

By Rev. George C. Borghardt Describe your pastor in one or two words…Go! Geek. Rock Star. Grumpy. How about…shepherd? In fact, a shepherd is the perfect description of your pastor, as Rev. Borghardt explains. And even though your pastor may have either geeky or rock star qualities, what makes him someone you should want to be around is that He is Christ’s representative for you, here to faithfully remind you of the sweetness of the Gospel through Word and Sacrament.

6 Coming Down from the Mountaintop

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By Jon Kohlmeier From the highest peaks to the lowest valleys, life can be a harrowing journey, but very often, it is simply middle-ofthe-road ordinary. And it’s at those times when the really important things—Baptism, Absolution, the Lord’s Supper, ground us and grant us strength for the next mountain or valley.

2014 National March for Life

8 Higher Things from a Youth’s Perspective

Washington, D.C. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014

By Jared Timm Thinking about attending a Higher Things conference? Find out what it’s like for your average, everyday teen. Jared makes a pitch that just might persuade you to attend Crucified 2014 next summer!

2014 Divine Service

Alexandria, Va. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014

• •

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10 From Above Retrospective!

Enjoy four pages of fun-filled photos and enthusiastic quotes from our three From Above conferences.

23 Scars Forever

2014 Walk for Life West Coast

By Rev. Michael Schmidt Everyone has a scar somewhere. All you have to do is look at it or touch it and it will bring back all of the memories associated with getting it. Sometimes the worst scars are the ones that God uses to restore us. Rev. Schmidt reminds us that there is no better example of that than the scars of Jesus: His hands, feet and side—all of which will forever remind us of how precious we are to Him.

San Francisco, Calif. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014

2015 LCMS Life Conference

Washington, D.C. January 2015, following the National March for Life

14 Christ on Campus Higher Things Through the Eyes of a CCV By Alayna Brandt Upon completing her first adventure as a College Conference Volunteer, Alayna was compelled to share her experience in the hopes of encouraging others to do likewise.

20 Youth Ministry Are You Ready for a Miracle?

By Sandra Ostapowich This is the inaugural article of our new regular feature dedicated to helping and encouraging youth leaders. Sandra makes the case that Lutheran youth crave the richness and depth that the traditional liturgy offers, as opposed to the latest, greatest cultural offerings.

28 Catechism The Table of Duties: Husbands and Wives By Rev. William M. Cwirla Rev. Cwirla expands on the occasionally used analogy of a dance to explain the role of husbands and wives in light of the Table of Duties, making it crystal clear how this union is a reflects that of Christ and His bride, the Church, and how that plays out in everyday lives.

30 Bible Study “Rock Star Pastors?”

Be sure to check out this sample of one of our student Bible studies that links up with Rev. Borghardt’s article on P. 4.

Volume 13/Number 3/Fall 2013

Bible Studies for these articles can be found at: higherthings.org/ magazine/biblestudies.html Editor

Katie Hill Art Director

Steve Blakey Editorial Associates

Rev. Greg Alms Rev. Paul Beisel Rev. Bart Day Copy Editors

Lu Fischer Dana Niemi Bible Study Authors

Rev. Mark Buetow Rev. Sam Schuldheisz Rev. John Drosendahl Subscriptions Manager

Elizabeth Carlson IT Assistant

Jon Kohlmeier ___________

Board of Directors President

Rev. George Borghardt Vice-President

Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher Treasurer

Chris Loemker Secretary

Rev. Joel Fritsche Rev. William M. Cwirla Rev. Brent Kuhlman Sue Pellegrini Matt Phillips Chris Rosebrough ___________

Executive Council Deputy Executive/Media

Rev. Mark Buetow Conference and Retreats Executive

Sandra Ostapowich Business Executive

Connie Brammeier Technology Executive

Stan Lemon

Learn more at www.lcms.org/lifeconference

a www.lcms.org/life

www.facebook.com/LCMSLife

Life Ministry

Regular Features

HigherThings

#LCMSLife

Higher Things® Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc., PO Box 156, Sheridan, WY 82801. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2013. Higher Things® and Christ on Campus® are registered trademarks of Higher Things Inc.; All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. For subscription information and questions, call 1-888-448-2359 or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org. (This phone number is only used for subscription queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@higher things.org. Writers may submit manuscripts to: submissions@ higherthings.org. Please check higherthings.org/magazine/ writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.

F A L L 2 0 1 3 _ 3

Getting Around the NEW Higher Things E-Magazine PDF

Click any article title to go to that article. Click the center of any page to return to the table of contents. Tap links and email addresses to open those in your browser or mail client.

Join your LCMS friends!

Contents T A B L E O F

Be a voiCe … for

LiFe!

Volume 13/Number 3 • Fall 2013

Special Features

4 Rock Star Pastors?

6 Coming Down from the Mountaintop

•

2014 National March for Life

8 Higher Things from a Youth’s Perspective

Washington, D.C. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014

2014 Divine Service

Alexandria, Va. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014

• •

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 2

10 From Above Retrospective!

Enjoy four pages of fun-filled photos and enthusiastic quotes from our three From Above conferences.

23 Scars Forever

2014 Walk for Life West Coast

San Francisco, Calif. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014

2015 LCMS Life Conference

Washington, D.C. January 2015, following the National March for Life

20 Youth Ministry Are You Ready for a Miracle?

30 Bible Study “Rock Star Pastors?”

Be sure to check out this sample of one of our student Bible studies that links up with Rev. Borghardt’s article on P. 4.

Volume 13/Number 3/Fall 2013

Bible Studies for these articles can be found at: higherthings.org/ magazine/biblestudies.html Editor

Katie Hill Art Director

Steve Blakey Editorial Associates

Rev. Greg Alms Rev. Paul Beisel Rev. Bart Day Copy Editors

Lu Fischer Dana Niemi Bible Study Authors

Rev. Mark Buetow Rev. Sam Schuldheisz Rev. John Drosendahl Subscriptions Manager

Elizabeth Carlson IT Assistant

Jon Kohlmeier ___________

Board of Directors President

Rev. George Borghardt Vice-President

Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher Treasurer

Chris Loemker Secretary

Rev. Joel Fritsche Rev. William M. Cwirla Rev. Brent Kuhlman Sue Pellegrini Matt Phillips Chris Rosebrough ___________

Executive Council Deputy Executive/Media

Rev. Mark Buetow Conference and Retreats Executive

Sandra Ostapowich Business Executive

Connie Brammeier Technology Executive

Stan Lemon

Learn more at www.lcms.org/lifeconference

a www.lcms.org/life

www.facebook.com/LCMSLife

Life Ministry

Regular Features

HigherThings

#LCMSLife

F A L L 2 0 1 3 _ 3

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F. Borgh a

George

Pastors

By Rev.

H I G H E R

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here’s really nothing too cool about him. Geeky would be more like it. Your pastor is probably geeky. You can tell by all the books. Did he really read them all in seminary, or does he just keep them around to look smart?

He has no sense of style. Yes, the black shows that he is a sinner and the white on his neck says that he speaks the Word of Gospel. But the same outfit every day? And when he doesn’t wear his “uniform,” he looks like he’s stuck in some past decade. Stonewashed jeans? No one wears tube socks any more, Pastor. That’s so 1990s! He talks funny and observes all of these strange customs, doesn’t he? I had never eaten a brat or seen a real live cheesehead before my pastor was called to Louisiana. Wisconsin? That’s, like, next to Canada! How did anyone from so far north end up so far south? The Lord Jesus. He did it. The Lord called your pastor to your church. He called my pastor to our church back in Louisiana. He called me from Louisiana to Illinois. Jesus calls pastors to go all over the place to forgive and retain sins, and to preach repentance unto the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. “Pastor” is the Latin word for “shepherd.” That’s what your pastor is: He is a shepherd. He tends to sheep. He feeds the Lord’s sheep and takes care of you with the Word and Sacraments. That’s why it so often sounds like your pastor is preaching directly to you! He doesn’t have a camera in your house. He knows just the right thing to say because when he preaches the Word, Christ is speaking to you (Luke 10:16). When he teaches you, Christ is teaching you. Christ is retaining your evil. Christ is forgiving your sins. Christ is saving you. Your pastor is not Christ. He’s the Lord’s servant, Christ’s ambassador, pleading with you over and over again to be reconciled to God. He represents Christ to you. The respect and love you show the pastors around you is the respect you have for Jesus. Be kind to them and you are being kind to the Lord who sent them. Reject them, make their life hard, be burdensome to them and you are being burdensome to the Lord who called them to you.

There’s nothing inherently special about your pastor. He’s not a rock star. He is a regular person. He eats. He sleeps. He might even snore at the lock-in. He gets grumpy at times. Actually, some pastors are grumpy all the time! But he would be a great person to treat like a rock star, for you can have no better fatherfigure, no better friend who will never fail you, no better person to vent to than your pastor. All of that is in the job description of “shepherd.” Everything your pastor does, from the time he wakes up until he goes to sleep, is to deliver Jesus Christ and Him crucified to you. You see Christ’s life in his life as he teaches, visits shutins and the sick, and hangs out with the youth. It’s all about Jesus and loving others. Yes, your pastor’s going to call you out for your sins. You aren’t always right. Other people aren’t always wrong. Sometimes, it’s your fault. If you are honest with God, it’s almost always your sin. He’s going to say one other word of God to you. “In the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins.” All your sins are forgiven! He’s definitely strange. He’s not well dressed. He’s most likely an actual geek. He might even have an accent and not talk right. But, the Lord called him to where you are to be your pastor. He’s the Lord’s shepherd for you. Having a pastor to look up to is better than having a friend. It’s better than having a BFF or “bestie” or a mentor. Your pastor is there to give you Jesus’ salvation that will last forever. He’s there to give you Jesus. He’s there to be your shepherd—your pastor. Rev. George F. Borghardt is the president of Higher Things and serves as the senior pastor at Zion Ev. Lutheran Church in McHenry, Illinois.

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Coming Down

from the

Mountaintop By Jon Kohlmeier

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:11 NKJV

Throughout your lifetime, there will be moments that are

considered “life-changing.” You get your first job. You meet your future spouse for the first time. A friend and classmate is killed in a car accident. Graduation days, bad breakups, relocation, and illnesses all change your life in some way.

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In the same way, you will attend events that create a mountaintop experience that could very well impact your life. If you attended one of the From Above conferences, it will probably be an experience that you remember for the rest of your life. You might even look back on those four days and say that they were life changing for you. But those moments fade. The emotional charge that came with the mountaintop experience gives way to the mundane, the routine, the boring. Some would give almost anything to feel something that strongly again. You want to feel something--good or bad--as intense as the sadness that accompanies the loss of a friend or a family member. You long for that unparalleled excitement caused by being surrounded by hundreds or thousands of people your own age who believe the same things that you do; to hear their voices joined with yours as you sing. You just want something that you can feel in your heart and your mind, something that you can remember, something that will break this boring routine in which you seem to be perpetually stuck. Strangely enough such life-changing, mountaintop experiences aren’t the important things. The important things happen in between those moments and during those not-so-dynamic times. Proverbs 22 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The important things are in your training! A concert choir spends many hours rehearsing a piece that will take them five minutes to perform in concert. A cross country runner will run countless miles in preparation for their 20-minute 5K race. The important time is spent in his training, where things become so second nature that they don’t have to exert much thought when those big moments come. Your training as a Lutheran is in your baptism: the daily drowning of your Old Adam and your being raised to new life in Christ. The Catechism shows you what that looks like. Upon waking up in the morning, you make the sign of the cross, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” You repeat the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Luther’s Morning Prayer, and go joyfully to your school or work singing a hymn. Before meals you ask a blessing and say the Lord’s Prayer. Afterwards, you repeat the Lord’s Prayer and return thanks for the gifts that God has given to you. At the end of the day you again make the sign of the cross, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” You repeat the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and Luther’s Evening Prayer before going to sleep in good cheer. You begin and end each day with the sign of the cross as you remember your baptism. That is your training in Christ’s death and resurrection. You are

trained some more as you regularly receive the gifts God gives to you in the Lord’s Supper. The body and blood of Christ, under bread and wine, are placed into your mouth for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. When those those negative life-changing moments happen, you remember your training. You remember your baptism. You remember Jesus. When you are afflicted by death, sadness, depression and anxiety, you are baptized! In that baptism, Jesus remembers you. In baptism, Christ has given you life, joy, contentedness and peace. When it feels like absolutely nothing is going your way, you remember your baptism. In that baptism, Christ works all things out for your good. And when those more positive life-changing moments happen, we still remember our baptismal training. When you get the job you really wanted, when she says “Yes!” and when your hard work pays off and you ace the exam, you are baptized! When you reach that mountaintop experience, you stay grounded in your baptism. When things go back to normal, in baptism, you receive all things as gifts from the Lord. You will experience moments that you will look back on and say that they were life changing. Those aren’t the important moments. The important things happen regularly. They train you so that when those lifechanging moments try to shake you to the core and turn your life upside down, you know how to respond as one who is born from above because Christ has called you by name and made you His own. When the life-changing moments come, this is most certainly true: In baptism, Christ has given you life from above. You are baptized!

Jon Kohlmeier is the IT Assistant for Higher Things, which includes managing our Facebook page. You can add him on Facebook at facebook.com/jonkohlmeier.

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Coming Down

from the

Mountaintop By Jon Kohlmeier

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:11 NKJV

Throughout your lifetime, there will be moments that are

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Jon Kohlmeier is the IT Assistant for Higher Things, which includes managing our Facebook page. You can add him on Facebook at facebook.com/jonkohlmeier.

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HigherThings From a Youth’s Perspective By Jared Timm

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My name is Jared Timm. I’m a fourteen-year-old boy from central Minnesota. You are

most likely used to going to church every Sunday (especially if you’re a pastor’s kid, like me) and worshiping with 150 or 200 other members, most of whom are 30, 40, or even 50 years older than you. It may be hard to imagine there are others like you. At the Higher Things conference “From Above,” there were more than 1,300 Lutherans about my age gathered together to worship the Triune God. We gathered in a theatre where, when the organ played, it filled all of the space. That’s quite a bit different than my regular church service, where about 150 members attend each Sunday to hear the same service preached by my dad, Pastor Bruce Timm. At the conference there were almost ten times that number of people all gathered together and partaking of the service. It was incredible!

Let me tell you what goes on at a Higher Things conference. Besides worship, this gathering of young Lutherans and youth leaders from all over the country, some even from Canada, includes “breakaway” sessions, where you can learn about pretty much anything that deals with faith, or the Church itself. There are three church services a day, six “break-away” sessions where you learn so much, and one plenary session a day, which is teaching that all of the conference attendees take part in. If you’re worried about how long the sermons must be to get the point across to almost 1,400 young adults, don’t be. The sermons are short, but are probably the best that I have ever heard. It’s all pretty jam-packed with Jesus. During the conference I went to sessions on homosexuality, Roman Catholicism, the Augsburg Confession, and others. Pastors from all over the country taught these, and I was really impressed. Take the breakaway on Catholicism for instance. I thought we were only different because Catholics sold indulgences and had to do good works to get to heaven. But thanks to Pastor Kuhlman, I learned that each time the priests perform “Mass” they are sacrificing Jesus back to God, because apparently, once wasn’t enough. And thanks to Pastor Fisk, who’s pretty much a Lutheran rock star, I learned about the Augsburg Confession and why it was just restating what the early church fathers believed and why it is worth dying for. I learned all that in one hour! Probably my favorite session was by Pastor Cwirla. He taught us about how faith and science go together. He told us that God gave us reason, which we use to think and figure things out, but he also told us that there is a certain point where faith takes over, and reason needs to go away for a bit. In the session on homosexuality by Pastor Buetow, I heard about one of the major issues in our culture today. I learned that when Jesus died for all sinners, that included homosexuals. He explained how the root of homosexuality is lust. We can’t condemn them just because what they are doing is a sin, without understanding that we, as sinners, deserve the same condemnation.“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11-12). After hearing these words, it opened my eyes to the fact that we are all sinners, and Jesus died for all of us. If you think that all of this sounds pretty cool, then you should definitely talk to your pastor and youth leaders about coming to the next conference, because there is no other place where you will hear the Word of God preached and the sacraments administered together with more than a thousand kids just like you in such a unique setting. There are no screens, no plays in the front, and no worship bands—just the Word of God. Higher Things is super awesome, and you should definitely check it out for next summer—you won’t be disappointed! Jared is the son of Pastor and Valerie Timm. He is a sophomore at Sauk Rapids - Rice High School. He plays soccer, triple-jumps in track, and recently became an American citizen.

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HigherThings From a Youth’s Perspective By Jared Timm

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My name is Jared Timm. I’m a fourteen-year-old boy from central Minnesota. You are

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“My favorite thing has been the breakaway sessions. So far I’ve only gone to three and they’ve all been pretty decent and pretty good.” – Edwin Chapman, age 16, Salem Lutheran, Taylorsville, North Carolina.

“It’s an incredible experience to be around hundreds of people who believe the same thing you do. You see that the religion you believe is strong around the nation, which gives strength, courage, and ammunition to fight the pressures of the world.” – Jonathan Voyes, Pensacola, Florida

FROM

“Enjoyed singing all of my favorite hymns and, coming from a small church, I think it’s fun having so many voices. I appreciated Rev. Gerald Paul’s sectional on Mormonism, too.” – Amy Schaffer, age 18, Trinity Lutheran Church in Sidney, Montana.

West Lafayette, IN Purdue University July 9-12, 2013

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“I like the church. It’s very touching.” – Trevor Yates, age 17, Divine Savior Lutheran Church, Shepherdsville, Kentucky

2013

Higher Things Conferences

“I especially liked Compline because it’s new to me. It’s so nice to know that we we’re going to bed right after hearing God’s Word.” – Candace Debowey, Springfield, Illinois

cran ity of S Univers -28, 2013 June 25

Pacific Lutheran University July 16-19, 2013

“The breakaway sessions are my favorite. They’re fun.” – Samantha Knox, age 14, St. Athanasius Church in Vienna, Virginia

“I love singing lots of hymns that might not always be considered cool, because here are over 1000 kids who think it’s cool.” – Naomi Kuddes, CUNE student, CCV

n, PA n Scranto to

Tacoma, WA

“I’d tell people to come because we’re Lutheran. Attending Higher Things is what we do. I always feel that the sessions answer the questions.” – Andrea Hogsett, Imperial, Nebraska

“I like the choir. I really like singing but our church is really small. It’s fun to come to a place where there are so many people singing.” – Molly Perling, age 15, St. Paul’s Grenwich, Kentucky

“I really enjoyed working with Kantor Hoffman in the choir and appreciated Pastor Ware’s sectional The Divine Serve-Us.” – Margot Brose, age 18, Our Savior Lutheran Church in Evanston, Wyoming, fifth-timer.

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FROM

West Lafayette, IN Purdue University July 9-12, 2013

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“I like the church. It’s very touching.” – Trevor Yates, age 17, Divine Savior Lutheran Church, Shepherdsville, Kentucky

2013

Higher Things Conferences

“I especially liked Compline because it’s new to me. It’s so nice to know that we we’re going to bed right after hearing God’s Word.” – Candace Debowey, Springfield, Illinois

cran ity of S Univers -28, 2013 June 25

Pacific Lutheran University July 16-19, 2013

“The breakaway sessions are my favorite. They’re fun.” – Samantha Knox, age 14, St. Athanasius Church in Vienna, Virginia

“I love singing lots of hymns that might not always be considered cool, because here are over 1000 kids who think it’s cool.” – Naomi Kuddes, CUNE student, CCV

n, PA n Scranto to

Tacoma, WA

“I’d tell people to come because we’re Lutheran. Attending Higher Things is what we do. I always feel that the sessions answer the questions.” – Andrea Hogsett, Imperial, Nebraska

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“The services are awesome. They gave me goosebumps. I couldn’t believe that the kids belt out the songs and they know them. The way the hymns are played on the organ gives me goosebumps,” – Carol Ward, a first-time attendee and recent convert to Lutheranism from Fort Collins, Colorado.

“I had a lot of fun and I now have a new perspective on the Bible and what I believe in. I liked how there were several short worship services throughout the week.” – Kenneth Wolfrum, Grace Lutheran Church, Dyer, Indiana

“I was amazed by the gigantic organ in chapel. My favorite sectional was Angels and Demons, taught by Rev. John Dreyer.” – Benjamin Barritt, age 16, Trinity Lutheran church in Cleghorn, Iowa. His first conference.

“My favorite sectional was ‘How the Jehovah’s Witnesses Get Jesus Wrong. ‘ I liked it because my dad taught it and it was really informative and I didn’t know that much about Jehovah’s witnesses before the class.” – Zachary Skovgaard, age 14, Elm Grove Lutheran Church, Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

FROM

“The conference has been really fun. I really like the sessions like the one about Understanding Islam.” – Paige Bagnall, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Cass City, Michigan

“My favorite part of Higher Things are the CCVs and Pr. Borghardt.” – Aaron Huber, age 16, Elm Grove Lutheran Church, in Elm Grove, Wisconsin

“It’s been a lot of fun this year because I could better understand the classes I attended and could relate to them because of things going on in the world right now. I really like the fact that it’s so interesting to high schoolers.” – Jamie Burton, Maryville, Washington, 2nd timer

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“I loved the services but really loved the breakaway sessions. They addressed very specific issues that kids are dealing with or should be dealing with. They see that other pastors are saying the same things and doing the same things.” – Rev. Daniel Pool, Clinton, Iowa, 2nd timer.

“I really, really enjoyed the conference. It’s nice to focus on specific topics and learn about them in detail. I really enjoyed how many times a day we attended services. The liturgy really reminds us of why we’re here – to worship God and grow in understanding. When you go in there and worship with everyone, it’s family-like and makes me feel at home.” – Kristen Larson, a first-time attendee from Forks, Washington.

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FROM

“The conference has been really fun. I really like the sessions like the one about Understanding Islam.” – Paige Bagnall, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Cass City, Michigan

“My favorite part of Higher Things are the CCVs and Pr. Borghardt.” – Aaron Huber, age 16, Elm Grove Lutheran Church, in Elm Grove, Wisconsin

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Christ On Campus

HigherThings Through the Eyes of a CCV By Alayna Brandt

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s I sit here looking at my view of Lake Michigan from my dorm room at Concordia Wisconsin, all I have left to remember of the From Above conference at Purdue is my “Kiss Me I’m Lutheran” pin, a Fort Wayne Seminary bag, and great memories. This was my first year as a College Conference Volunteer (CCV). Having previously attended two Higher Things conferences, I knew the routine, but was anxious to see how the process worked from the inside. I was surprised by the amount of planning that went into each activity and service. Whether we were packing green bags full of HT magazines or running around the quad hiding Easter eggs, it was the highlight of my summer. As a CCV I was able to reconnect with old friends from past conferences and make new ones. People I met years ago at Higher Things have now turned into classmates, rival athletes and best friends.

Regardless of how many times the CCVs got to cut in the lunch line, there was much more to the week than fun adventures. I had the opportunity to worship Christ while being surrounded by other young Lutherans. You see, I constantly buy into the lies of the world that I have to be the smartest or thinnest. I often rely on myself during times of temptation. I fail to trust in God’s plan for my life and constantly question whether I am pursuing the correct major, relationship, or life goals. But all of these sinful habits remind me of my need for the Gospel. Because of their focus on Word and Sacrament, Higher Things conferences never fail to nourish my faith. Through the speakers, Divine Service and the Lord’s Supper, Higher Things reminded me that no matter what faults I find in myself, God sees me as a redeemed child of God, full of potential and washed in the blood of Christ. I was reminded repeatedly throughout the week about the love and forgiveness of sins that is given to me from above in my baptism and Holy Communion. From Confession and Absolution to the closing hymn, Christ crucified for my sins was boldly preached to me and the rest of the redeemed sinners that week at From Above. Higher Things also reminds me that I am not the only confessional Lutheran teenager out there. Many people think that young adults cannot handle the liturgy or don’t care to. But as a teenager, I say we can and we actually want to handle it! Satan uses the world to throw so many distractions at us. Social media tempts us to break the Eighth or Ninth Commandment by gossiping about or coveting what our friends are posting about their lives. We don’t have time to read the newspaper

or even our textbooks so we turn to 140-character tweets and Cliff Notes for information. Teenagers are saturated with entertainment. By the time my day is done, the last place where I want to be entertained is in God’s house. That is why I find the liturgy and hymnody so refreshing and comforting. None of it is based on fleeting, earthly emotions like everything else I am used to. Instead it relies on God’s almighty Word which is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,” (Hebrews 4:12). Many often consider teenagers too young to understand the words of the Te Deum. Some think we’d rather be entertained by guitar solos and flashing lights and that we are unable to appreciate value of the sweet words

found in hymns such as “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle.” But God’s Word says in Hebrews 5:13-14,“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Teenagers can handle more. With instruction and guidance from our pastors, professors and teachers, we can understand and appreciate the Book of Concord. We enjoy canticles and the Gloria in Excelsis. We are daring to be Lutheran! God instructs us to grow in our faith. I Corinthians 13:11 says “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a

child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Putting behind those childish ways can only be done by the careful study of God’s Word. Higher Things gives young adults this opportunity through daily worship and learning. It increases our confidence in our ability to defend and share the Good News. Above all, teenagers, along with the whole company of believers, are reminded of their salvation given to them from above by Christ’s death and resurrection. Matins is still floating around in my head and I’m already making plans to meet up with the new friends I’ve met. I’ve been able to impress my family, friends, strangers and cats by my extensive knowledge of dead languages, which now, along with the Latin phrase, Coram Deo, has expanded to include anothen, the Greek word meaning from above. While memories of this past From Above conference may fade, God’s Word remains steadfast, no matter the circumstances. “Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, be for all the noblest tree; none in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit your equal be; symbol of the world’s redemption, for your burden makes us free.” LSB 454. Alayna Brandt is a junior at Concordia University Wisconsin where she is studying Lutheran elementary education with minors in English and theology. She has fierce Falcon pride, played CUW lacrosse and channels her flair for dramatics into the theater program. She loves cats, Kopp’s ice cream, Matins, and the comforting truth of Proverbs 19:21. She can be reached at alaynajoy24@gmail.com.

Christ On Campus Is:

@ The campus ministry arm of Higher Things @ Pastors and laity interested in confessional Lutheran campus ministry @ A growing and developing network of 113 campus ministry chapters @ A great source for campus ministry resources

Learn More About Our Chapters:

higherthings.org/campus Contact Rev. Sam Schuldheisz: samwise.schuldheisz@gmail.com

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@ North Carolina State University @ NW Oklahoma State University @ Pittsburg State University (KS) @ Rhode Island College and other RI Colleges @ Sam Houston State University (TX) @ San Francisco State University (CA) @ Slippery Rock State University (PA) @ South Dakota State University @ Stanford University (CA) @

(PA) @ University of South Dakota @ University of Tennessee @ University of Tulsa (OK) @ University of Pittsburgh and Other Pittsburgh Area Colleges @ University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee @ University of Wisconsin—Superior @ University of Wyoming @ Valparaiso University (IN) @ Vanderbilt University (TN) @ Wright State University (OH)

@ Air Force Academy (CO) @ Ball State University (IN) @ Boise State University (ID) @ Brock University (Ontario) @ California Polytechnic State University @ Carthage College (WI) @ Central Michigan University @ Chico State University (CA) @ Colorado State University @ Cornell College (IA) @ Dickinson State University (ND) @ George Mason University @ Grand Valley State University and Calvin College (MI) @ Harvard University and Other Boston Area Colleges @ Indiana University @ Indiana State University @ Lake Superior State University (MI) @ Mississippi State University

Texas State University (TX) @ University of Arizona @ University of California—Berkeley @ University of Colorado @ University of Connecticut—Avery Point and other CT Colleges @ University of Illinois @ University of Iowa @ University of Louisville @ University of Minnesota—Duluth @ University of Minnesota—Morris @ University of Minnesota—Twin Cities @ University of North Carolina—Greensboro @ University of North Dakota @ University of Northern Colorado @ University of Northern Iowa @ University of Oklahoma @ University of Pittsburgh

Christ On Campus

HigherThings Through the Eyes of a CCV By Alayna Brandt

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Christ On Campus Is:

Learn More About Our Chapters:

higherthings.org/campus Contact Rev. Sam Schuldheisz: samwise.schuldheisz@gmail.com

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Registration

Crucified HIGHER THINGS 2014 CONFERENCES Gainsville, FL

University of Florida (July 1-4, 2014) ————————————

Mequon, WI

Concordia University – Wisconsin (July 8-11, 2014) ————————————

Logan, UT

Utah State University (July 22-25, 2014)

Crucified Why Higher Things?

We live in a culture of blurry religious distinctions and do-it-yourself spirituality. Youth, especially, need solid ground that will nurture lasting Christian faith. Rather than treating youth as an adolescent subculture and confusing them with religious experiences that cannot be replicated at home, Higher Things believes in challenging youth to learn the pure doctrine of the Christian faith. By teaching them the same message that they hear at home, youth grow in the fullness of the Christian faith as they come to appreciate historic liturgical practice and its unique focus on God’s gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation for us delivered in Word and Sacrament.

GHER THINGS 2014 CONFERENCES The Theme: Crucified

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Crucified. We preach Christ and Him crucified. I desired to know nothing amongst you other than Christ and him crucified. The words of the Cross are to those perishing foolishness but to us being saved they are the power and wisdom of God. Crucified. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. It was necessary for the Son of Man to be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the Law, be crucified, die, and after three days rise again from the dead. Crucified. We were crucified with Him in the waters of Holy Baptism. As surely as we died with Him, we rose with Him. We live in Him. We eat the Body and drink the Blood of the one who gave up His life on the Cross for us. Crucified. Join us this summer, as we receive all the gifts that come from the Lord who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate and raised from the dead on the third day. His crucifixion is our faith. His crucifixion is our death. His resurrection is our justification by faith alone.

Registration will open on November 1, 2013 and close as each site reaches capacity. We work very diligently to keep costs as low as possible while providing the best conferences we can – every year! The per-person rates below are based on the date your group’s registration fees are paid in full. Additional fees may apply for registrations and changes made after May 1, 2014. Balances paid after June 1, 2014 will be subject to a per-person late fee. See the detailed registration materials for more information about fees and deadlines.

University of Florida (July 1-4, 2014) Concordia University – Wisconsin (July 8-11, 2014) Utah State University (July 22-25, 2014)

Nov. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013

Jan. 1, 2014 to Feb. 28, 2014

Mar. 1, 2014 to April 30, 2014

LATE (on or after May 1, 2014)

$325

$350

$375

$400

Your Registration Fee includes: • Conference Programming (Planning, Catechesis, Worship, Entertainment) • Three (3) Nights of Housing (double capacity) • Nine (9) Meals (Tuesday dinner through Friday lunch) • Conference Handbook • Daily Services Book • Conference T-Shirt Not only can you register your group online at crucified2014.org, you can pay deposits and your balance online too! All you need is a valid HT Online account. If you don’t have one yet, you can sign up for one at higherthings.org.

Age Requirements

Higher Things conferences are generally planned for high-school-aged youth, but registrants may be any youth who have been confirmed prior to the conference, including middle school and college students. We recognize that the ages of confirmed youth vary from congregation to congregation, and just ask that if a group is bringing young people who are not yet in high school, the group leaders be prepared to provide additional supervision accordingly.

Chaperones

Chaperones must be at least 21 years old at the time of Registration, and approved by the group’s pastor to serve in that role. There must be at least one (1) male chaperone for up to every seven (7) male youth in a registered group, and at least one (1) female chaperone for up to every seven (7) female youth in the group. There is no restriction on the number of chaperones that may register with a group. All chaperones and other adults in a group must complete the registration process. If you are unable to recruit the necessary number of chaperones from your congregation for your youth to attend a conference, Higher Things will be happy to help you find other groups from your area who would be willing to “share” their chaperones with you.

Conference Capacities

The Higher Things conference at the the University of Florida has a capacity of 500 registrants. The conference at Concorida University – Wisconsin has a capacity of 1,200 and the conference at Utah State University has a capacity of 600 registrants. We’ll be making detailed registration information available very soon! But if you just can’t contain your curiousity and excitement, you may visit crucified2014.org or email conferences@higherthings.org regularly to make sure you haven’t missed anything!

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Registration

Crucified HIGHER THINGS 2014 CONFERENCES Gainsville, FL

University of Florida (July 1-4, 2014) ————————————

Mequon, WI

Concordia University – Wisconsin (July 8-11, 2014) ————————————

Logan, UT

Utah State University (July 22-25, 2014)

Crucified Why Higher Things?

GHER THINGS 2014 CONFERENCES The Theme: Crucified

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University of Florida (July 1-4, 2014) Concordia University – Wisconsin (July 8-11, 2014) Utah State University (July 22-25, 2014)

Nov. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013

Jan. 1, 2014 to Feb. 28, 2014

Mar. 1, 2014 to April 30, 2014

LATE (on or after May 1, 2014)

$325

$350

$375

$400

Age Requirements

Chaperones

Conference Capacities

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Youth Ministry

Are You Ready for a

Miracle? By Sandra Ostapowich

ince I began attending and coordinating Higher Things conferences, I’ve witnessed no fewer than 22 miracles. It’s always in different cities, but from pretty much the same place. I always watch it happen in the very back of the chapel—lectern side—I don’t know why I stand there and rarely sit. That’s just where and how I end up.

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The miracle is that what goes on is not supposed to happen. Kids don’t like this sort of thing. It goes against all the rules of “successful” youth ministry. Young people aren’t even supposed to like it. They aren’t able to worship meaningfully this way. Youth ministry gurus have taught that if you want to keep young people coming to church, you’re supposed to make it a comfortable, familiar experience. Get a fancy espresso machine and some couches. Convert the sanctuary into a less imposing worship center, cobble together a praise band, and start playing the popular songs from the Christian radio station. That’s what youth want, so that’s how you get them there.

But we don’t do that. It’s completely absurd! Youth attend fourteen (yes, that’s 14) “stuffy,” traditional services with pre-written liturgy and hymns out of the hymnal. Pastors wear vestments. An altar and a pulpit. And an organ. Fourteen services in just four days. We fill their ears with Christ and Him crucified for their sins. It sounds intense. It is intense. Teenagers should be running in the other direction! Or at least they should be tuned out, asleep, or texting. But they’re not. I can see them from my vantage point in the back. They’re engaged! They receive Jesus. They don’t complain or ask for more “relevant” music. No, they want

more hymns. We have videos of them singing hymns on the way home. They want more liturgy. They can’t wait until Advent and Lent and, especially, Holy Week— because that’s when there are more services at church! And young people today aren’t supposed to understand hard, multisyllabic, jargon-y words like “concupiscence,” or “Christological.” And they certainly don’t want to feel judged or guilty by hearing about things like actual sin. Have we forgotten what these same young people are studying day in and day out in school: chemistry, literature, biology, calculus, and memorizing plays for sports, as well as pages upon pages of music? If teenagers can do all that, they certainly can handle learning real theology, too. At Higher Things conferences there are lots of different breakout sessions for them to attend. Teenagers really can be challenged. They’re not stupid. The quickest way to run them off is to treat them like they are. Conference after conference, I see young faces light up because they’re looking forward to singing the “Te Deum” that morning. (Which they do in parts.) They’ve even corrected chant tones after the pastor or organist has botched them. I have listened to them confess in unison that they have sinned in thought, word, and deed by what they have done and what they have left undone. That’s just not supposed to happen! They’re supposed to sit there, all angst-ridden and bored! “Lord, I believe, help now my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) It really is nothing short of a miracle. It’s a strange, and yet a kind of mind-numbingly obvious concept at work here. When youth are taught what being Lutheran is all about—what we believe, teach, and confess—and why we do the things we do (because there are usually pretty good reasons for them)...they are more likely to stay Lutheran. When young people are conversant in their own faith, beyond spiritual-sounding words and warm-fuzzy feelings, they’re better equipped to withstand the challenges they’ll face from the world. Attending a Higher Things conference is kind of like going to language immersion camp, only for four days youth are immersed in the waters of Baptism. They return home, dripping with the Gospel. They spend the bulk of each day learning various facets of what it means to be Lutheran, and repeatedly join their voices with those from of all believers before them, as the Church confesses as one in worship. If you don’t have a very organized youth group, getting your congregation’s young people together to attend a Higher Things conference is a great way to kickstart them or get them moving in a new direction.

It’s also a really good way to keep the momentum up, and for your youth to see they’re not the only ones who believe and worship like they do. In the off season, to get things going at home, there’s no better advice I can give than to get together regularly with your youth (even if it’s only a couple of them) and open the Bible together. Pray together. Create an environment so that youth are comfortable talking about their faith and their lives outside church. HT magazines and Bible studies are great resources to get those conversations rolling. Gather up the younger kids and bring them to a retreat. Or hold one for your area! A Higher Things retreat

provides a brief taste of what goes on at a Higher Things conference. It’s a great way to get junior youth excited about learning more about their faith even while they’re still preparing for confirmation! It’s tempting to doubt and worry that it’s all suddenly going to flop. Thankfully, Jesus forgives my unbelief. Yours, too. But it’s not about us doing a great job putting on a few conferences, or getting the youth trip planned. And it’s certainly not about us trying to be cool and exciting. It’s about His Word. His Sacraments. When I doubt, there’s always next year’s conferences to remind me. I’ll be in my usual place, in the back, on the lectern side—watching yet another miracle. Sandra Ostapowich is the conference and retreat coordinator for Higher Things and served for 9 years on the Higher Things Board of Directors. She lives with her son in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she is also studying for her PhD in Missiology at Concordia Theological Seminary.

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Youth Ministry

Are You Ready for a

Miracle? By Sandra Ostapowich

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t was a cool summer night in 1989, and my brother and I were riding our bikes up and down the street while some adults discussed the issues of the day on the porch. On one particular pass of the neighbor’s old metal garbage can, I rode too close, and a piece of metal that was sticking out caught my hand. There was blood, there was pain, and there were screams.

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Scars

Forever By Rev. Michael Schmidt

A summer night that otherwise would have been long ago forgotten, is still frequently remembered almost 25 years later as the scar from that night is still barely visible on my hand. Every time I look at it and see it, I am reminded once more of that night, and the lesson I learned to not ride my bike too close to old metal garbage cans. Perhaps you have your own scars that tell their own stories: the scar from the surgery to repair a broken bone; the scar from a fall where you landed poorly; the scar from your own summer night, when you were innocently playing until something went wrong. Each scar tells a story—each mark is a reminder of that particular day. Over time, those scars may fade, and you can even have procedures to hide them from view or erase them, but they never truly go away. And yet, in our eternal Easter joy, we are reminded not of the marks upon our bodies, but of the marks that are left upon Jesus’ body. The crucifixion will leave its own permanent marks upon Jesus: holes in each hand, holes in each of His feet, and a hole in His side. These marks are constant reminders of what Jesus suffered on your behalf: holes in His hands and feet from the nails that were pounded in in order to affix Him to the cross; a spear piercing His side to ensure that He was dead.

They are reminders both for Him and for you. Each time you look at Jesus, and see the holes in His hands, feet, and side, you are reminded again and again of all that Christ suffered, even death upon a cross, for you, so that you might have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But they are also reminders for God the Father. For each time you sin and ask for God’s forgiveness, there is Jesus, seated at the right hand of His Father in heaven, pointing to His hands, feet, and side as a reminder that He paid the price for you so that you might have the forgiveness of sin and live. Two thousand years later, Jesus is still pointing to those holes, still reminding His Father of what He did for you. Every scar tells a story; every scar is a reminder of an event that might otherwise have been long forgotten. But while your scars may fade with time, for Jesus, those holes in His hands, feet and side are just as clear today as they were on that first Good Friday. Each time He sees them, each time you see them, there is the reminder of God’s great love for you—a love that would stop at nothing to ensure that you would live; a love that has scars to prove how deep and broad it truly is, and how far Jesus has gone on your behalf. Rev. Michael Schmidt is pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Natoma, Kansas. He blogs at revschmidt.wordpress.com

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Scars

Forever By Rev. Michael Schmidt

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Higher Things Retreats!

An Open Conversation on Music in the Church A Look at the Elephant in the Room

When: November 1-2, 2013 Where: Trinity Lutheran Church 1401 W. Boonville New Harmony Rd. Evansville, Indiana Cost: $30 per person RSVP: Trinity Lutheran Church Pastor Steve Kieser pastor@tldarm.org (812) 867-5279

We'll answer these and many more questions about the Sacrament of the Altar as we hear what Jesus gives us in the meal of His body and blood and why He gives it to His people.

When: November 8-9, 2013 Where: Zion Lutheran Church 4206 W. Elm Street McHenry, Illinois Cost: $50 per person RSVP: Zion Lutheran Church Rev. George Borghardt revborghardt@gmail.com (815) 385-0859

A Higher Things® Youth Retreat

Jesus, the Lamb of God, fulfilled the Passover meal and instituted the Holy Supper of His Body and Blood. What is this feast? How does it fit in to our lives as Christians? Why do we get confirmed before we receive it? How come everyone doesn’t receive it with us?

Confessing Jesus in a BROKEN World

Come hear some good answers to your questions. We'll learn how to separate science from pseudoscience, how good science supports what is in the Bible, and how we can still be faithful Christians in a scientific world.

A Higher Things® Youth Retreat

You pick up the Bible, and read about a man walking on water and turning water into wine. Then at school, you learn that science has proven that those things couldn't have happened. Has science made it impossible to be a Christian?

At the Lamb’s High Feast

Science and Scripture: Best Frenemies?

A Higher Things® Junior Youth Retreat

Over the years our conferences have explored many aspects of the church’s worship life, and together we have rejoiced over the wonderful gifts that have been handed down to us in liturgy and song. But there is one topic, the proverbial “elephant in the room,” that has been begging for attention; that topic concerns the choice of music for use in the church. This year we intend to address it head-on.

What if I promised I could teach you the seven sure-ﬁre ways to spot a counterfeit savior in a sermon, a bible study or a crowd? What if I said I could show you that these seven classic fake saviors are all just spices trying to ﬂavor the same old boring dish of "Lie"? Put it all together, and you'll identify all the ways the Devil tries to make your faith in Christianity Broken, not to mention a glimpse of the antidote to it all. (Here's a hint: it's the real Jesus!)

When: January 17-18, 2014 Where: St. Paul Lutheran Church 128 Fillmore Street SE Chatfield, Minnesota

“Making Melody: A Composer’s Brain on Church Music”

“Hearing Is Believing: But If Music Is a Universal Language, Why Don’t We Agree on What It Means?”

“The Sound of Beauty: Discerning and Creating Beauty in the Liturgy and Its Music”

Thomas M. Winger The conversation about music and the liturgy can only be fruitful if we agree on what the words mean. What is the “liturgy”? Is music part of the liturgy? What happens to the liturgy if the music changes? The Lutheran confessional writings provide precise theological vocabulary to help us find our way around this vexing topic. Dr. Winger’s introductory essay lays a foundation for the conference by seeking the definitions and distinctions necessary to speak and think clearly.

Barbara J. Resch Although the same sonic waves reach our ears, each of us processes and reacts to musical sound differently, based on a complex and highly personal interaction of environmental and neurological factors. What are the implications for music in a setting to which worshipers bring a range of musical experiences, preferences and expertise? Are we so bound by our culture and environment that certain musical languages become ineffective in supporting our worship? Dr. Resch draws on insights from the fields of neuroscience and the psychology of music in addressing these critical questions.

Stephen R. Johnson What makes the church’s place in history today unique in comparison to all previous eras when it comes to sacred music? What challenges do composers of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs face today? Of what kinds of practices do we need to be cautious, and what kinds of practices are we free to employ? Composer Stephen Johnson discusses these questions and more as we explore the Lord’s song from a particularly musical point of view.

Kent J. Burreson In our modern, individualistic, western society deciding what is beautiful is often left to the eye and ear of the beholder and listener. While the individual’s perception of “the beautiful” must not be ignored, there are standards for beauty within the Christian story that shape the Body of Christ. Discerning those standards involves questions like: What is beautiful in Christian worship? How do we assess the beauty of the liturgy’s music? Dr. Burreson’s concluding essay will outline a way for creating and assessing liturgical beauty that flows from culture as a gift within the created order and that finds its essence and focus in the most beautiful thing of all—the Lord Jesus Christ.

Cost: $50 per person RSVP: St. Paul Lutheran Church Judy Goldsmith, Registrar judyg@rochester.lib.mn.us (507) 867-4604

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“What’s Right for the Rite? Theological Discernment in Matching Music to the Liturgy”

The Good Shepherd Institute More retreats are being scheduled and planned all the time! If your church would like to host a junior youth retreat this fall or winter, contact retreats@higherthings.org.

Fourteenth Annual Conference @ November 3–5, 2013

For more information and online registration visit www.ctsfw.edu/GSI, email gsi@ctsfw.edu or call Annette Gard at 260-452-2224.

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Higher Things Retreats!

An Open Conversation on Music in the Church A Look at the Elephant in the Room

We'll answer these and many more questions about the Sacrament of the Altar as we hear what Jesus gives us in the meal of His body and blood and why He gives it to His people.

When: November 8-9, 2013 Where: Zion Lutheran Church 4206 W. Elm Street McHenry, Illinois Cost: $50 per person RSVP: Zion Lutheran Church Rev. George Borghardt revborghardt@gmail.com (815) 385-0859

A Higher Things® Youth Retreat

Confessing Jesus in a BROKEN World

A Higher Things® Youth Retreat

At the Lamb’s High Feast

Science and Scripture: Best Frenemies?

A Higher Things® Junior Youth Retreat

When: January 17-18, 2014 Where: St. Paul Lutheran Church 128 Fillmore Street SE Chatfield, Minnesota

“Making Melody: A Composer’s Brain on Church Music”

“Hearing Is Believing: But If Music Is a Universal Language, Why Don’t We Agree on What It Means?”

“The Sound of Beauty: Discerning and Creating Beauty in the Liturgy and Its Music”

Cost: $50 per person RSVP: St. Paul Lutheran Church Judy Goldsmith, Registrar judyg@rochester.lib.mn.us (507) 867-4604

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“What’s Right for the Rite? Theological Discernment in Matching Music to the Liturgy”

Fourteenth Annual Conference @ November 3–5, 2013

For more information and online registration visit www.ctsfw.edu/GSI, email gsi@ctsfw.edu or call Annette Gard at 260-452-2224.

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Now Available for Nook, Kindle, and Other E-readers!

HIGHER THINGS

Reflections H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 26

Higher Things is pleased to provide free daily devotions, called “Reflections,” for youth and their families. These Reflections are centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and are based upon each day’s texts from the weekly readings in the one-year lectionary and from Luther’s Small Catechism. You can download and print a seasonal Reflections booklet, subscribe to the daily Reflections and receive them in your e-mail box or connect to an RSS Feed and Podcast by visiting: higherthings.org/reflections.html

Have you ever wondered what it means to support

Have you been a faithful contributor and ever asked, “where does the money go?”

It goes back to the youth in providing conference scholarships, defraying the expenses of our college conference volunteers, and enabling us to keep the costs of conferences, retreats, and publications as low as possible. That’s why we continue to enlist your support. Please give it your most prayerful consideration, as we greatly value your partnership with us as we support parents, pastors, and congregations in daring our youth to be confessing Lutherans. Your gifts can be directly made on our web site at higherthings.org/support or send a check to Higher Things, PO Box 155, Holt, MO 64048. Higher Things is a registered 501(c)(3) corporation and is a Registered Service Organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. F A L L 2 0 1 3 _ 27

Now Available for Nook, Kindle, and Other E-readers!

HIGHER THINGS

Reflections H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 26

Have you ever wondered what it means to support

Have you been a faithful contributor and ever asked, “where does the money go?”

Catechism

Husbands and Wives Table of Duties:

The Fourth commandment is

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really a commandment about order and vocation. We all have a place and a purpose, a vocation, a calling. We serve one another as servants of God doing God’s goodness and mercy for others. The Small Catechism’s Table of Duties deals with the various areas of our temporal life together: Home, Church, and State. This is where God places us, blesses us, and through us, blesses others.

We’ve discussed Church and State in previous articles. Now it’s time to focus on the family. The “home” goes back to our first parents, Adam and Eve, and their children. Home is where we first learn about order and authority. We are born into a home and under the authority of father and mother. Even before we were conceived and born, there was already an order of husband and wife that established a household—what we call “marriage.” When you marry, you are forming a household. In marriage, a man leaves father and mother and is joined to his bride in a “one flesh” union that reflects that of Christ and His Bride, the Church (see Ephesians 5). A woman leaves her family and is ordered under her husband as the head of her household, just as the Church is ordered under Christ as her Head. In this ordered arrangement of man and woman as husband and wife, each “dies” in order live for the other. He lays down his life for her. She lays down her autonomy to live under him. He gives; she receives.

Someone once characterized marriage as a “hierarchy of equals.” Before God, man and woman are equal in dignity. “Male and female, He created them.” But before each other in marriage, they are ordered in a hierarchy of equals as head to body. Marriage is a dance. It’s not the kind of dance where everyone moves to his or her own step, but rather ballroom dancing where couples dance together as one. In ballroom dancing, the rule is that the man leads and the woman follows his lead. If she attempts to lead or he tries to follow, the dance won’t look right, and they will wind up stepping on each other’s toes and falling clumsily to the ground. Even if she is the better dancer, he must lead and she must follow, or the whole thing doesn’t work. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27). In the marriage dance, the husband’s leading is intended to make his wife look good. He covers her sins, forgives her faults, never says anything bad about her. To him, she is pure and holy. That’s how Christ treats the Church, and you, as a member of His Body. Likewise, the wife’s following honors her husband’s lead. “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:22-24). She honors him, respects him, and speaks well of him to others. To speak of marriage this way sounds a bit out of step. The world doesn’t dance this way very often anymore. Dancing is pretty much an expression of one’s own “individuality” where we wiggle around however the music moves us. We can even dance by ourselves, if we wish, or any way that suits us. But that’s not the graceful dance God invented when He made Eve from Adam and brought her to him as “bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.” Marriage is

By Rev. William M. Cwirla

never about “me” but always about “him” or “her.” Viewing marriage as God’s order for the home changes the way we look at potential wives and husbands. Is he honorable? Can I respect him? Do I love her as I love myself? Is she to die for? Can I trust him to be the head of the household? Can I trust her to follow my lead? Of course, in any dance, toes inevitably get stepped on. Sometimes people trip and fall and even take their partners to the floor with them. Sometimes we might be tempted to stop the dance altogether or take up with a different partner. That’s where forgiveness comes in. Our Christ dance is always done with Adam’s clumsy feet. Husband and wife need to pick each other up, forgive one another, and resume the dance that began when they first said, “I do” to their wedding vows. That’s possible only with three little words: “I forgive you.” That’s how you keep the dance going even when you don’t feel like dancing anymore, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. That’s how some couples who have been dancing for 50 or 60 years keep in step. They forgive each other. In the resurrection to eternal life, we are neither married nor given in marriage. We get to share eternally in our greater union in Christ. But in this temporal life, there is no greater, more intimate union than the ordered union of man and woman as husband and wife. It is the foundation of the home and the building block of society. It is a celebration of our being made male and female. Father in heaven, bless husbands and wives in their holy vocation, reflecting the marriage of Your Son and His Bride, the Church, into whom we have been baptized. Amen.  Rev. William M. Cwirla is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, and serves as on the board of directors for Higher Things. He can be reached at wcwirla@gmail.com.

F A L L 2 0 1 3 _ 29

Catechism

Husbands and Wives Table of Duties:

The Fourth commandment is

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 28

By Rev. William M. Cwirla

F A L L 2 0 1 3 _ 29

Star Pastors

A Higher Things Bible Study • Fall 2013

Introduction: This study looks at some of the qualities that God’s Word describes in the gift of a faithful pastor. It aims to distinguish the man and the Office and yet see the man holding the Office as a gift whereby the Lord gives us His forgiveness through water, Word and Supper.

What is the most important thing your pastor does? Do you think his personality is an important part of his job? Why or why not?

What does Jesus say about His preachers in Luke 10:1, 16? How is this a warning? How is it Good News?

3 H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 30

Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. How does Paul describe what he delivered to the Corinthians? How did he act and preach? Why is this important for them?

Read Jeremiah 1:4-9. What is Jeremiah’s response to his call to be a prophet? How does the Lord answer him? What does this teach us about our own pastors?

What qualifications does Paul tell Titus a bishop (pastor) needs? See Titus 1:7-9. What do these qualifications have in common? What is their purpose? Why is it important for the pastor to hold faithfully to the Word?

How are we to receive what our pastor’s preach and teach? See 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

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How are we to regard our pastors? See Hebrews 13:17-18. What should we do for our pastors? See Galatians 6:6. How can we gladden and make our pastors happy?

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Close by singing or praying LSB #682, “God of the Prophets, Bless the Prophets’ Sons.” (This is an ordination hymn, often sung when a pastor is ordained and installed at a congregation.)

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What does Paul say that pastors are in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21? Why is this important for us and how we know God sees us?

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Star Pastors

A Higher Things Bible Study • Fall 2013

What is the most important thing your pastor does? Do you think his personality is an important part of his job? Why or why not?

What does Jesus say about His preachers in Luke 10:1, 16? How is this a warning? How is it Good News?

3 H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 30

Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. How does Paul describe what he delivered to the Corinthians? How did he act and preach? Why is this important for them?

Read Jeremiah 1:4-9. What is Jeremiah’s response to his call to be a prophet? How does the Lord answer him? What does this teach us about our own pastors?

How are we to receive what our pastor’s preach and teach? See 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Higher Things

Rock

Subscriptions

Subscribe to:

Single or Gift Subscriptions Yes! I want to subscribe to HIGHER THINGS MAGAZINE.

■ ■ ■ ■

How are we to regard our pastors? See Hebrews 13:17-18. What should we do for our pastors? See Galatians 6:6. How can we gladden and make our pastors happy?

Group Subscriptions

Subscribe, renew, and pay online at www.higherthings.org

Close by singing or praying LSB #682, “God of the Prophets, Bless the Prophets’ Sons.” (This is an ordination hymn, often sung when a pastor is ordained and installed at a congregation.)

What does Paul say that pastors are in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21? Why is this important for us and how we know God sees us?

Subscribe, Renew, and Pay online at higherthings.org • Also available – Higher Things online edition! For more information e-mail Subscriptions@higherthings.org or call 1-888-448-2359.

Now Available!

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2013 Fall - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

Articles inside

The Table of Duties: Husbands and Wives

Scars Forever

Youth Ministry: Are You Ready for a Miracle?

Christ on Campus: Higher Things Through the Eyes of a CCV

Higher Things from a Youth’s Perspective

Coming Down from the Mountaintop

Rock Star Pastors?