W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G
/ WINTER / 2002
from
the
editor-in-chief
I admit it. I’m a techno-nerd.
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Anyone who knows me will tell you the same. Laptops, cell phones, handhelds, you name it, I have it. I think we have 4-5 remote controls in our living room.There are more screens open on my computer than a sane person should have. It’s ridiculous. It’s probably even pathetic. But it’s who I am. I’ve been that way most of my life. I think I got my first computer when I was about 11, and by the time I was 15, my room was crammed with junk, computer parts, floppy disks, junk galore. I even worked at a computer store when I was in high school. How much more nerdy can you get? I think part of the reason I got into computers was because it was a way for me to rebel and separate from my parents in a way that wasn’t self-destructive. I could sink into my own little
world of games and wires and didn’t need to let anyone else in if I didn’t want to. I could rebel without ever leaving my piles of stuff. It was pretty handy. But one of the hardest lessons for me to learn is the reality that human beings are meant to be in community. "Let US make man in our image," as the Lord said in Genesis 1. Because we are in God’s image, we are in community. We have a relationship with each other that goes deeper than wires and little blips on a screen. Even though that image of God has been marred and tainted by sin, in Christ we bear it every day.This changes how we look at Him and at each other. In this issue of Higher Things, we discuss Tattoos, The Image of God, Piercings, Homosexuality, Pop Christianity, and even zits! In some ways, the thread that holds these issues together is the question of how our life in this world reflects the image of God and how it is reflected by the image we received from Christ in our baptism. It is this image that we remember as we prepare for the coming of Christ in the manger and the tomb and the font. That image of God is a gift, given to you freely for His sake. I try to come out of my little compushell for air every once in awhile. And even though we mar God's image in us with selfishness and pride, rebellion and fear, somehow He still manages to do great things through lumps of clay like you and me.
Yours in Christ, Pr.Todd Peperkorn Editor-in-Chief Higher Things: Dare to Be Lutheran
T A B L E
O F
CONTENTS
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7
The Image of God
HigherThings
by the Rev. Chad Bird, Professor of Old Testament at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN
Volume 2/Number 4 Winter 2002
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. Sin shattered that image, but Jesus fixed everything. In Him you see God Himself and God sees you as He wishes you to be. You’re back in the image of God for you’re in the Image Himself.
Editor-in-Chief REV. TODD PEPERKORN
To Do or Not Tattoo
Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER
by Rick Baue
Tattoos and piercings are becoming more and more popular with young people today. What are some things to consider before deciding whether or not to go under the needle?
10 In His Face Lutheran Youth Conference 15 Pulse by the Rev. Eric Andrae, Pastor of Campus Ministry, International Ministry and Academy Rector, First Trinity Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA
What magazines are you reading? Pastor Andrae takes a look at some popular magazines read by teens.
18 A Day in the Life of the Luther Parsonage by Julie Stiegemeyer
Katie Luther, wife of the Reformer Martin Luther, died 450 years ago this month. Read about a fictional day in her life as she assisted her famous husband during the Reformation years.
21 Don’t Drink the Water by the Rev.Tim Pauls, Associate Pastor/Acting School Administrator at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Boise, ID
Don’t drink ocean water.That stuff could kill you. Instead, remember you’re in the boat, and the One who drowned to get you there is alive and with you. He’ll get you home.
22 Light in the Auditorium by Lori Lewis
Searching for the Gospel in all the wrong places. Lori Lewis shares her experience in visiting a wide variety of denominations and what she discovers about her Lutheran roots.
24 What’s the World Coming To? by the Rev. Kevin Karner, Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Muncie, IN
What’s the world coming to? The acceptance of homosexuality, as an alternative lifestyle, is gaining momentum.Will Christians be willing to hold out a lifeline to those who would otherwise be swept away?
25 Zits in the Tent by Kathy Luder
See how something as gross as zits restored a friendship between two long-time friends.
Managing Editor PAM KNEPPER
Editorial Associates REV. TIM PAULS REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. SCOTT STIEGEMEYER DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Art Director STEVE BLAKEY
Business Manager LYNN FREDERICKSEN
Bible Studies Editor REV. ERIK ROTTMANN
HIGHER THINGS, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS President REV. KLEMET
PREUS
Vice President REV. MARCUS
ZILL
Executive Director REV. DANIEL WOODRING
Secretary SANDRA
OSTAPOWICH
Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN
SANDRA OSTAPOWICH REV. KLEMET PREUS JEFF SCHWARZ DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH MOLLIE ZIEGLER REV. MARCUS ZILL Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the editor-in-chief of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2002. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information, write to: Higher Things Magazine, P.O. Box 580111, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158-8011 or e-mail to Subscriptions@higherthings.org. For general information about Higher Things, Inc., please e-mail info@higherthings.org.
28 Sacraments or Substitutes by the Rev. Daniel Woodring, Pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, New Buffalo, MI
Writing our sins on index cards and burning the cards, doesn’t take sins away. Instead, forgiveness of sins is found in Christ— in His absolving Word, and in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord‚s Supper.
30 Beauty on the Inside by the Rev. David Petersen, Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN.
We are reminded that beauty which is skin deep won’t last, but beauty in our souls will.
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF T fter midnight into the dark German countryside, in the back of a merchant's wagon, Katharina Von Bora and a dozen other nuns escape from their convent on Easter morning 1523. The young women huddle between barrels usually full of herring as the wagon carries them away from their cloistered life to the city of Wittenberg. Martin Luther had arranged for their transport, little knowing that Katharina would later become his wife. So begins the story of two remarkable people who—by God's grace—impact history. The following is a peek into the early years of the Luthers’ marriage, when Katharina juggles two babies, a three-story household, large gardens, boarders, and her husband, Martin Luther.
5:00a.m.
4:00a.m. 4:30a.m.
Found Elizabeth pale and burning up! Make haste to help her, O Lord! Aunt Lena is cooling Elizabeth, so I can finish breakfast. Wolfgang will run for Dr. Schurf.
A
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Praise to the Lord whose mercies are new every morning. It is cooler this morning; fall days are blowing in across the Elbe as I watch the river from my window. Today I must cut the last of the lettuce and radishes. Must hurry to start the bread to rise. But before that, a fire!
Praise the Lord for small things. Found that after I went to bed last night, Aunt Lena had measured out the ingredients for the bread and Wolfgang—for once—had carried in the wood. Wolfgang, ah Wolfgang, when will you ever do your work properly? The walls of the kitchen need to be whitewashed. And a laundry room needs to be added to the first floor—so much to do!
Just gathered the eggs and found the speckled white hen huddled in the corner of the stall. She may not last through the winter.The sausage is crackling in the pan, will start the eggs soon. Already I hear Elizabeth crying from her cradle. Must tend to her before she wakes Doctor. He's been looking so tired lately.
"Kate understands the Psalter better than the Papists." – Martin Luther _____________
5:10a.m. 6:30a.m.
Dr. Schurf said there have been rumors of a plague. Could this be little Elizabeth's illness? Can't bear the thought of more sickness in our home. Doctor was near death just last year.
"Wedlock grounded on God's Word and a house in which God's Word comes upon the table like the daily bread, that is a blessed house." – Kate Luther
By Julie Stiegemeyer
HE
LUTHER PARSONAGE
7:30a.m. 1:00p.m. 8:45p.m. During breakfast, as I held Elizabeth, Hans climbed onto my lap. Doctor said,“Look how Katie handles the little ones, in a graceful dance. I'd look like a camel if I tried that!” He jokes, but I see the worry in his eyes, as he looks so lovingly at Elizabeth.
Aunt Lena is trying to console Elizabeth. She alternates between short restless naps and crying spells.The poor child. Dr. Schurf said we'd just have to wait and see. What herbs might help, I wonder?
Doctor and I put little Elizabeth in her cradle, and my dear husband leans over to me and says,“I love you, Kate, more than I love myself.That is literally true. I would rather die than that harm should come to you or the children.”
9:30a.m. 7:00p.m. 9:30p.m. Just found two more of Doctor's nephews at our front door. We have already taken in three others, plus our own two children. Doctor's sister cannot care for them anymore. She is too ill. Our money is running out, but God will provide, somehow. Must keep working in the kitchen. Doctor and the students will take a break from lectures for dinner in just a half hour. Pork and apples today.
Into the living room for chess and tonight “The Tortoise and the Hare”. How Doctor loves Aesop's Fables.Tonight he read the ten commandments as Hans listened, enraptured on his lap. Doctor said he'd like to write a book explaining the teachings of the Bible in a simple way for children. How will he write another book when there is so much other work? Thank the Lord, Elizabeth's fever has broken, though she is still pale and sleepy. Hans and the dog are wrestling as my dear Doctor looks on and laughs his hearty laugh.
Just as I put out the light, we heard a knock at the front door. I wonder which wedding gift he'll give away this time to the poor beggar visiting us, even at such an hour. But as Doctor always says, “Our Father in heaven is rich. God will provide!” Ah, that my dear husband would be just a little less generous! But that is tomorrow's trouble.Tonight we rest in the peace of Christ. Julie Stiegemeyer is a pastor's wife, mother, and writer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a member of Concordia Lutheran Church.
"My Lord Kate drives a team, farms, buys cattle, herds, brews beer, and between times reads the Bible, after I promised her fifty gulden if she finished it by Easter. Great earnestness in it; already she is beginning the fifth book of Moses." – Martin Luther
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The lights in the auditorium were dimmed.The Kansas City School of Prophets took the stage.These “prophets” claimed God had given them a special ability to prophesy future events in people’s lives.The audience had been instructed to write their names on a piece of paper, and then each paper was placed in a large wheel onstage, much like a lottery wheel on TV. The host then began randomly pulling names out of the wheel and calling on a prophet to prophesy over that name. I knew I should not be there. I knew this was kooky.Yet, I was so desperate that I remained open to the possibility that I could find some message from God there. You might be wondering how a girl from a Lutheran school background could find herself in such a situation. Believe me, I was wondering myself! Surprisingly enough, I was a good Bible student.When I was in grade school, I followed the vicars around, asking them questions. I made plans to become a deaconess, but I left college before finishing the degree. Instead, I ended up on Christian radio. Once there, people began to question my faith. Was I “Born Again”? Did I really “Know Jesus”? I was told that my faith was
Light H I G H E R T H I N G S
22
only “head knowledge”, and that I needed to “ask Jesus into my heart”. One of the women I worked with was the wife of a pastor who had a very large non-denominational church in town. She invited me to visit their church. I found the music there so compelling. I had been raised in a LCMS church that had introduced me to contemporary Christian music (CCM). In fact, even as early as 6th grade, I was helping to lead the congregation in this type of music. But I found this church’s music to be much better! There was a great band, songs that moved me, and to top it all off, everyone, including the pastor, wore jeans! This church was all about “altar calls”. While music played, you walked to the front of the church and made the decision “to follow Jesus”.They told you to “stop playing church” and “give your heart to Jesus”. The problem was the emphasis was not on the cross. In fact, I don’t remember ever hearing that you should come to the front because Jesus died and saved you from your sins. Instead, the promise was that God would make your life full and happy. Long speeches focused on modern man and how lonely and empty he is. Loneliness could be eliminated if you come down
in the
Audi
front and did your part by confessing Jesus. Then they took you in the back room and gave you a book on how to walk with God. The emphasis was on serving God, living a holy life and leaving the world behind. Ironically, Jesus dying for your sins was considered elementary knowledge, and therefore hardly mentioned at this church. You were supposed to get past that message and become a mature Christian, digging into the meat of the Word.The truth is they meant that you needed to live by the Law! I tried to live by the law, but I thought there was something wrong with me since I was still sinning. So I tried other churches. I went from one church to another trying to find the congregation that had the answer to my questions. Home churches were supposed to be more spiritual, but here I heard horrible teachings and witnessed some really strange stuff. I went to a church that had all heavy metal heads in it, even the pastor. Word of Faith churches said the charismatic church I had come from was weak. I kept deciding that the present church I was attending was not spiritual enough. I needed a stronger experience to keep me going. Through it all, no one ever pointed me
to the cross! In fact, the cross seemed to be offensive to many people. I was pointed towards everything else as an answer and it always left me feeling emptier than ever! Funny thing, it turned out the LCMS was where I ended up finding the assurance from God I’d been searching for. It did not depend on how cool the music was, how well I obeyed God, or how current with the culture the church was. In the LCMS, I found rest—rest in Christ. The things I had been prompted to think were elementary—the cross, forgiveness—were the very things that finally brought me home. I had so much pop culture stuffed down my throat that I no longer wanted to hear it in church. Today, I revel in the Lutheran liturgy that transcends my culture. I am joyful that Christ comes to me in the Lord’s Supper, rather than me trying to come to Him in an altar call. How can the Gospel be considered elementary? Where else in time and history did God come to earth to die in our place? It’s so amazing that we will still be pondering that in heaven. Lori (Campbell) Lewis is a former DJ in Orange, California. Currently, she is a homemaker in San Diego, CA.
orium
By Lori Lewis W I N T E R 2 0 0 2 __ 23