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/ SUMMER / 2005
W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G
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Contents T A B L E
O F
Volume 5/Number 2 • Summer 2005
FEATURES 4
Losing Stupid By Rev.Tim Pauls News about professional atheletes on steroids is commonplace these days. Do 21st century sports emphasize winning at any cost—even breaking the law? Read Pastor Pauls’ thoughts on winning, losing, and healthy competition.
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Trendy Change and the Changeless One By Elizabeth Meckler
By Rev.Todd Peperkorn
After confirmation day, what comes next for the young Christian? Pastor Peperkorn gives some important tips for the post-confirmation years.
28 The Day I Got Punched when I Dared to Be Lutheran By Rev. Paul McCain Ever been punched for standing up for the Gospel? Read Pastor McCain’s story to find out why doctrine matters.
Has Christianity been taken over by fads? Elizabeth Meckler explores Christian mass marketing as well as other “trendy” events like See You at the Pole.
COLUMNS
See You at the Pole By Stanley C. Lemon
14 MINING THE RICHES: Lord, Have Mercy! By Rev. John Bart Day
See You at the Pole has become a major back-toschool event in many communities. Is prayer at the flagpole a helpful annual ritual? Stan Lemon takes a look at this fall event.
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20 Life after Confirmation
“Salvation Unto Us Has Come” Hymn Study By Rev. Peter Lange Take a closer look at the Dare to Be Lutheran 2005 conference hymn.
10 Myths on Prayer By Rev.George F.Borghardt III Can a heartfelt prayer come from words in a hymnal? Read Pastor Borghardt’s article as he delves deeper into thoughts on prayer.
11 Majestic or Merely Mediocre? A Look at the Musical Quality of Contemporary Christian Music By Mollie Ziegler
Is mediocre music sanctified by pious lyrics? In this follow-up article on Contemporary Christian Music, Miss Ziegler takes a look at the musical quality of CCM today.
12 Etiquette Moved by Grace: Why Ceremonies Matter By Rev. David Petersen Does it really matter whether you stand or sit to shake hands? Does it matter if we have ceremonies in the way we worship? Pastor Petersen offers some insight on why ceremonies make a difference in the life of the Christian.
Pastor Day reflects on the cry of two blind men pleading with the Lord for mercy. Just who is Jesus, this merciful Savior?
16 Scared of the Dark By Kathy Luder Fear factor—Kathy Luder style! Check out Kathy’s latest installment filled with horror movies, strangers in dark cars, and facing our deepest fears.
22 Why the Pope Has Nothing on Lutherans By Dr. Gene Edward Veith In Dr. Veith’s latest column, he reflects on the new pope and the implications of the papacy on Lutheranism.
25 Ex Cathedra For the summer to ponder: college students and credit cards, the “freshman fifteen,” and abortion.
26 Pulse: Aliens and Avatars: The Christology of Science Fiction By Rev. Dan Woodring Pastor Dan Woodring takes a closer look at popular sci-fi movies and TV shows and finds echoes of Scripture in unexpected places.
30 Catechism: God’s Gift of Life By Rev.Todd Peperkorn
Pastor Peperkorn looks at issues related to the death of Terri Shiavo and God’s gift of a life worth living.
HigherThings Executive Editor REV. TODD PEPERKORN Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER Editorial Assistant ADRIANE DORR Art Director STEVE BLAKEY
Editorial Associates REV. GEORGE BORGHARDT REV. TIM PAULS REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. ERIK ROTTMANN
III
Bible Studies Editor REV. TIMOTHY SCHELLENBACH Contributing Editors REV. ERIC ANDRAE PAM KNEPPER KATHY LUDER REV. SCOTT STIEGEMEYER DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Business Manager LYNN FREDERICKSEN Subscriptions Manager CYNTHIA HALL
Subscriptions Assistant CHRIS HALL
Board of Directors President REV. KLEMET
PREUS
Vice President REV. MARCUS
ZILL
Executive Director REV. DANIEL WOODRING
Secretary SANDRA
OSTAPOWICH
Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN
REV. WILLIAM CWIRLA REV. BRUCE KESEMAN SANDRA OSTAPOWICH SUE PELLEGRINI REV. KLEMET PREUS JEFF SCHWARZ 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 executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2005. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information and questions, call 260-357-5094 or email subscriptions@higherthings.org.
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Losing T
he Pauls Family Rule of Sports goes like this: we don’t mind losing, but we hate losing stupid.
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It’s bad grammar, but here’s what it means—playing sports isn’t about winning. It’s about discipline, sportsmanship, fitness, and fun. Losing by slop or sloth is “losing stupid.” I’d rather play as hard as I can and lose than play a sloppy game and win. And I’d much rather stick to the rules and lose than cheat to win.There’s nothing worse than a tainted victory. Some will call this the “Pauls Family Rule of Dignity Preservation” since we’re not exactly Olympic athletes. Part of me suspects that “Pauls” means “lacks upper body strength,” as the typical male in my family would get snapped in half like a twig if he ever ventured onto a football field. We don’t always win. We lose quite a bit. That’s okay. My kids play sports because I want them to learn some lessons for life.You win some, you lose some. Don’t play to be the best, but to do your best. Play for the team, not for yourself. This one is really important: Never, ever determine your worth by the score at the end of the game. After all, it’s just a game. Don’t get me wrong— if you can play, I’m impressed. But there’s so much more to you than athletic ability. However, there’s always the temptation to believe you’re only worth something if you win. That’s where steroids come in. Athletics is about competition and I have no problem with that, but many athletes have turned to steroids to increase strength and power. There’s major risk involved, like getting arrested. Like girls going irreversibly bald and growing facial hair or guys developing breasts. (Now, there’s a lovely prom couple!) Like permanently stunting growth. Like uncontrollable rage. Like dying young from a heart attack or a cyst that makes your liver bleed out. Not only professional athletes use steroids. Steroids are used in college, high school, even middle school. Many think it’s worth the risk. But why? We can list some reasons.There’s greed, since the best players get the top scholarships, contracts and endorsements.There’s pride, since the star gets the
recognition and glory.There’s fear of not being the best.They’re just symptoms, though, of the false belief that your ability determines your worth. If you want one good reason not to determine your worth by sports, here it is: entropy. Everything falls apart. Even if you’re the best today, you won’t be that good for long. Michael Jordan—even without steroids— used to be unstoppable; now LeBron James can leave him in the dust. In a few years, LeBron will be history. Establishing your worth by sports is a treasure that quickly passes away, even if you play clean. Using steroids creates an inflated worth that isn’t there. It comes crashing down—if not by time, then by shame. Everything done by a player who’s juiced is tainted. Have you seen Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire smiling lately? Never determine your worth by the scoreboard or your athletic ability.The scoreboard goes dark by the end of the night, and your abilities will fail. Of course, this goes well beyond sports. Some girls are taking steroids just to try for a toned look, trying to look more like a supermodel. (A bald, bearded supermodel?) But beauty also passes away. It’s just as foolish to set your worth by singing ability, SAT scores, or sense of humor. Instead, these gifts of God can become a god that wants your worship, but leaves you dead and worthless in the end. Putting your value in things that pass away is losing stupid. Now, here’s the Good News: you have worth that
By Rev. Tim Pauls
Stupid doesn’t change. You have eternal value.“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20). And God “did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). You were bought at a price. God has made you worth the blood of His only-begotten Son.That’s what He has paid to set you free from sin, death, and the devil.That’s what He paid to raise you up to everlasting life where things—and you—don’t fall apart anymore.That’s what He paid to forgive you for all the times that you fall for the temptation of finding worth in yourself. Christ died. Christ is risen. He shares that victory with you, and that victory is never going to pass away. Good luck in sports. And when you sign your contract with the billion dollar bonus, remember Higher Things. And the Pauls’ Retirement Fund. If the contract never happens, fear not.You’re worth more than the world—and you’re going to outlast it, too, because you’re among those redeemed by Christ. Rev.Tim Pauls is associate pastor and acting school administrator at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School in Boise, Idaho. He recently beat a nine-year-old in a game of “horse.” No steroids were involved. His email address is tpauls@goodshepherdboise.org.
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Trendy Change and t T
his world moves at a fast pace. One day your Tommy Hilfiger jeans are in, the next day they’re out. It seems like there’s always a new trend in the media; things are always changing. In light of all this change, we look to Christianity for a firm foundation. But lately it seems like popular Christianity is just as trenddriven as secular pop culture.
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One big trend over the last fifteen years has been “See You at the Pole,” an annual prayer meeting around school’s flagpoles. Students gather at their high schools to pray for their friends, schools, and communities.There’s nothing wrong with praying for these things. In fact, we should all pray for them! One of the problems with “See You at the Pole” is that it has become the fashionable thing to do. It is now about grandstanding and making a statement to the media rather than praying. When you go to the website, you find t-shirts, wristbands and “pole passes” for sale.You also find a section that’s specifically for journalists, complete with a history of the event and pictures of the praying students to be used in articles. Perhaps this was never the original intent of the Texan students who first prayed for their schools one night in 1990. But however you look at it, it’s not just about prayer anymore. It’s about doing the “in” thing, making a splash in the media, wearing the right merchandise. One trend that seems to have lost its popularity is the WWJD bracelet.These bracelets, which stand for “What Would Jesus Do?,” were huge when I was in high school. It seemed like everyone had one, including me. But what does this really mean? The bracelets (and key chains and necklaces, etc.) were meant to remind the wearer to think about every
action and how Jesus would act in that situation.This is a pretty hefty task. Jesus, after all, lived a perfect life. How can you or I possibly live up to that requirement? We can’t! That bracelet didn’t motivate me; it just made me feel crushed by the law. I couldn’t live up to its standards. I don’t think anyone wears WWJD bracelets anymore; they’ve been replaced with accessories from The Passion. Christian music has its ebbs and flows as well. One major trend has been modern praise and worship songs. Some of these songs are doctrinally sound and good, but some of them are fluff and stuff, the same seven words eleven times over.Yet many churches have rushed to abandon traditional liturgies and hymns and replace them with praise and worship bands, multimedia video screens, and sometimes poorly written “updated” liturgies. However, according to one of the latest issues of CCM Magazine, modern worship is out and traditional hymns are back in, so I guess those churches are out of style again. Like secular pop culture, pop Christianity is awfully fickle. In the scramble to find the next best trend, the real concern of the Church—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—can get lost.This shouldn’t be
the Changeless One By Elizabeth Meckler surprising though. As human beings, we naturally live in a world of constant change. Fashion, music, movies, life, death—everything changes. And sometimes we run after the change, seeking the next thing that will make us comfortable or cool. Sometimes change leaves us feeling tossed on a stormy sea, alone and afraid. In both of these situations, the Gospel can get lost. But thanks be to God! He has given us more than a trend; He has given us His Son to die for us. By His death, Jesus forgives us for seeking after the wrong things. He focuses our attention on an unchanging fact: His death and resurrection. We can look to that and cling to it. In it we find comfort in a changing world.The writer of Hebrews declares,“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). We can rest assured that even when life is constantly changing, Jesus is unchanging.
By His death and resurrection, He has given us life, salvation, and forgiveness of sins.These gifts do not pass away with passing trends, but remain for those who have faith. God has also given us the best “accessories” through which He imparts His forgiveness, gives us faith and strengthens it, and reassures us that He is unchanging.They are the means of grace: the Word and Sacraments.The Lord feeds us daily through His Word through which the Holy Spirit imparts the Gospel to us. In baptism, God places His seal upon us, making us His. We are reminded of this unchanging fact every Sunday when the pastor speaks the words of the Invocation,“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Lastly, God gives us Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion, once again giving us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.These are unchanging gifts from God. They remind us that in a world of change only one thing remains the same: God and His unfailing love for us in Christ Jesus. Elizabeth Meckler is a member at St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel in Iowa City, IA. She is a deaconess student in the graduate program at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Her email address is elizabeth.c.meckler@gmail.com.
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