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Higher Things

Inside this issue:

• Face to Face • I Am a Sinner • When A Loved One Dies

W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G

/ WINTER / 2009

Worship, Theology, and Roller Coasters… Where do I sign up?

www.ctsfw.edu/christacademy

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Join guys like you, guys who have been encouraged to consider serving the Church as a pastor. ✠ Worship together ✠ Study together ✠ Play together

For more information about Christ Academy, please call us at 1-800-481-2155. You can also find information at the seminary’s Web site www.ctsfw.edu/christacademy or e-mail christacademy@ctsfw.edu

June 20–July 3, 2010 Theme: "Evangelical Responses to Non-Christian Religions" Featuring: "Ministry in a Pluralistic Context" with Dr. Douglas Rutt and Dr. Adam Francisco.

Students will explore how to present and defend the faith "with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15)" during a day-trip to Chicago where we will visit the Baha'i temple, a mosque, and a modern Jewish synagogue.

Concordia Theological Seminary ✠ 6600 N. Clinton St. ✠ Fort Wayne, IN 46825

Contents T A B L E

O F

FEATURES 4

Me and JSB

By Mrs. Katie Schuermann A long time ago in a land far, far away, before Lady Gaga and Kanye West, people listened to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. And, as it turns out, Bach’s music is still loved by Lutherans today. Mrs. Schuermann is dropping the beat with Bach, and you just might want to also.

Your Pastor Is a Nerd

By Rev. Hans Fiene It’s true.You know it is.Your pastor is a nerd. He’s always saying things that are goofy, acting silly, dressing funny, and, well, just plain reveling in his extreme nerdery. How’s a kid supposed to deal with that? Speaking as a nerdy pastor who knows, Pastor Fiene is going on the record about the dark side of pastoral nerdery.

How to Date Like a Normal Person

By Mrs. Jeni Miller If you’re a Lutheran teenager with a pulse, you’ve probably realized that there are members of the opposite sex in this world . . . and that they’re fun and even sometimes cute. So, what’s next? Do your parents pick your spouse? Do you have six boyfriends at once? What a teen to do? Mrs. Jeni Miller went on a date or two in her life before meeting her husband, and she’s ready to give some advice.

10 Are Christians a Tribe or Are We a Nation?

By Rev. James Hageman Being in the body of Christ can sometimes be hard to define. Are we part of a special group of people cut out of the exact same theological cloth? Or are we a nation, a big group of random people all united under the banner of Christendom? Pastor Hageman has an answer, and you might be surprised at his conclusion.

12 Face to Face

By Mr. James Lee Roman Catholics pray to Mary.The Reformed practically refuse to acknowledge her. And Lutherans are right in between. Mr. Lee takes us back to Luther who sliced and diced his way through the arguments of how exactly we should view Mary. Saint? Sinner? Yes.

14 It’s a Problem

By Mr. John Pawlitz Why are we here? You’ve probably had a science teacher or two who said that (a) the world was most certainly not created in a week and (b) evolutionary theory is the only logical explanation for the world’s existence. Mr. Pawlitz recommends something a little different, that we view creation in light of its Creator, and it makes all the difference!

Volume 9/Number 4 • Winter 2009

19 Afraid of the Dark

By Mr. Nicholai Stuckwisch What is it about the dark that makes it so creepy? Let’s face it: it’s a little unsettling. But what’s even scarier is the thought of life apart from Christ. Mr. Stuckwisch explains why there’s no need to be afraid of the dark when the Light of the World is there to guide you.

20 Grace Alone

By Rev. Todd Peperkorn Zombie. Noun. Walking dead. A person that resembles someone who is emotionless and painless.Me. You. Wait. What? Who just called you a zombie? We did.That’s right. Without Christ, you are dead in your sins. But, Pastor Peperkorn is quick to note, God has given you grace through Jesus’ death on the cross. No more dead man walking for you!

24 The Good Calling

By Rev. Heath Curtis As young men, you’re under a lot of pressure to choose a college, a career, a first job. But hold up one second. As Lutherans, we are not do-ers. We are receivers. Pastor Curtis wants you to know that God, in His good time, chooses these things for us. And, believe it or not, He may just give you the blessing of marriage and a family! See? That choice wasn’t so hard after all.

26 Can’t Fool Me

By Mrs. Rebekah Curtis Raise your hand if you think women are no different than men. What? No takers? You’re right. And so is Mrs. Curtis who’s about to tell you what makes women unique and why their vocation in life is so different from that of men.

COLUMNS

22 When a Loved One Dies

by Mrs. Christine Mons College is already a difficult time. But, for some students, it's compounded by the loss of a friend, parent, or sibling. If you or someone you know has experienced this kind of great loss, Mrs. Mons' article will give you and them comfort and hope in Christ.

28 I Am a Sinner

Rev. David Petersen We’ve got good news and bad news.The bad news is that we’re sinners, and because of that, we never love God with our whole heart.The good news? We are forgiven sinners who live by and through grace, and Rev. Petersen fills you in on why.

HigherThings

Volume 9/Number 4/Winter 2009

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SANDRA OSTAPOWICH REV. JOEL FRITSCHE REV. DAVID KIND REV. BRENT KUHLMANN SUE PELLEGRINI JEFF SCHWARZ KEN SCHULTZ ___________ Higher Things® Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc., 5009 Cassia, Boise, ID 83705. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2009. 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 http://higherthings.org/magazine/writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.

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Your pastor is a nerd. H I G H E R

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By Rev. Hans W. Fiene

Now, I’m not 100 percent entirely certain about this. I wouldn’t swear to it in a court of law. But, based on many years of observing myself and other pastors, as certain as I am that your pastor went to a Lutheran seminary in St. Louis or Fort Wayne and as certain as I am that your pastor wears black socks on Sunday morning, I’m just about as certain that your pastor is a nerd. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In all reality, it’s most often a good thing for your pastor to be a nerd. Nerds are often avid readers who excel in their specific area of training. And this is good. You want a pastor who knows who’s who and what’s what on every page of the Bible and who can spend all day quoting the Word of God from memory with the same skill that enables nerds of other varieties to rattle off endless, memorized quotes from Napoleon Dynamite or Star Wars. But while there are many great things about having your pastor be a nerd, there is also a dark side to pastor nerdery—that dark side being an overwhelming desire to be seen as quite the opposite of a nerd. And, unfortunately, when pastors give into the dark side of their nerdery, they do it in the worst way possible: by trying to show the youth of the congregation how awesome they are. Whether it was your pastor or someone else’s, you’ve probably witnessed this before.You’ve probably shuffled nervously in your seat as a called and ordained servant of the Word unleashed supposedly hip words and phrases that you vaguely recall using yourself about five years ago.You’ve probably cringed in embarrassment as he made reference to some pop culture thing of your generation that you’re pretty sure he just learned about through the power of Wikipedia four days before. In all of this, you’ve probably thought to yourself,“Uh, if this is what it means to be a Christian, I think I want out.” And whenever such a thought is thunk, you’ve just witnessed the great tragedy of a pastor making the Gospel seem quite lame in his attempts to be cool. So, what’s a teenager to do when he witnesses his pastor giving into the dark side of nerdery? What’s a youth to do when she worries that her shepherd might be scandalizing the faith of his younger sheep? Well, as it turns out, there is much we can learn by looking to Scripture’s chief of sinners and chief of nerds: the apostle Paul.

There is no doubt that Paul was a giant nerd. Based upon his own words, it’s very easy to picture him back in his days as Saul the Student, perhaps having skipped several grades of Pharisee school, never failing to raise his hand to answer every question, and always making certain he got the best grade on every exam.“And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people,” he says in Galatians 1:13,“so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.” And yet, when Paul reveals this about himself, he doesn’t do what you might expect a nerd pastor to do. Prefacing the above Scripture verse, Paul states,“For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13). And through these words, Paul reveals that he isn’t listing his accomplishments of intelligence and zeal because he wants to wow people with his awesomeness. Instead, he’s listing those same accomplishments to reveal the great mercy of God in Christ Jesus, to reveal the great love of a Savior who could forgive a sinner as great as Paul, even using him to serve and build Christ’s Church. Here in these words, Paul shows us that, if a nerd pastor wants to avoid scandalizing the Gospel by giving into the dark side of his nerdery, the greatest way he can do this is simply by preaching the Gospel, by forgetting himself and focusing on Jesus Christ and His mercy. And so, if ever you see your pastor making the faith look stupid while giving in to the dark side of nerdery, don’t just roll your eyes and leave it at that. Remind him of what he should be doing. Remind him of what that nerd apostle did. Remind him that he never needs to impress you with anything other than how greatly God loved you through the pierced hands and feet of His Son.Tell him that, even if he doesn’t know what music you listen to or what you think is funny, he’ll still be the awesomest, coolest, best pastor you could have whenever he tells you that your sins are forgiven in the blood of Christ. And, if ever you tell that to your pastor, you can say it in good conscience because it’s true.The pastor who preaches Christ is always the awesomest, coolest, best pastor there is. Even if he’s a big nerd. Which your pastor is. Probably. Rev. Hans Fiene is pastor of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado. Contact him at pastorfiene@gmail.com.

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A Sinner By Rev. David Petersen

he first of Luther’s “Christian Questions and Answers” is “Do you believe that you are a sinner?”The answer, of course, is,“Yes, I believe it. I am a sinner.”These questions at the end of the Small Catechism are meant for those who intend to receive the Holy Communion.

Luther doesn’t ask us if we have sinned. Of course we have. The real problem is not that we’ve sinned, that we’ve fallen short and sometimes forgotten who we were or failed somehow.The problem is that we cannot and do not love God with our whole heart and our neighbors as ourselves. Sure, we sometimes do some nice things and don’t hurt other people. We occasionally refrain from carrying out the evil thoughts in our heads. We sometimes look good in an outward way. But we never love God with our whole heart. Never. We always keep a part of our heart for ourselves. We are always thinking about ourselves and are highly aware of whether or not we’re hungry or cold or bored. We are always looking around to see who is noticing us, and we want to get credit and honor among our friends and neighbors. The reason we’ve sinned is because we are sinners.That’s the problem. It’s not the sins we do but the sin we are. Do you believe you are a sinner? Yes, I believe it. I am a sinner. What does this mean? It means that we can no more stop sinning than we can force ourselves to keep our hand on a hot stove. We are helpless against ourselves.There is no cure for this and no exceptions. It is in our nature and is with us even when we do good, even when we try to pray or come to church or keep the Law. We are sinners. This is a very unpopular idea. It is bad for self-esteem. It is not encouraging or uplifting. It is not praise songs and spiritual mountaintops. Rather, it is the killing truth of the Law: we are born into this world as selfish little pigs, evil and wicked and self-centered. Our working philosophy is always “I want what I want when I want it,”1 which is to say,“Now!”This is the anger that overcomes us in a traffic jam. I just want everyone to get out of my way. I am angry because I want to go where I want to go now. I can’t go because there are other people in the world. I not only wish the world was mine alone, but I am angry because I actually think it should be. Many modern people understand something of this, but some refuse to call it sin. Some think it is the way that the tooth-and-claw of evolution has designed us. Being evil is a survival device like unto the long neck of a giraffe or the camouflaging spots of a leopard. In that case, fornication is only natural.That is what you are.You are following your instincts to survive and trying to propagate your genetic code for the species.This is what animals do. Who are we to say it’s sin? The best these thinkers can suggest is that we learn to cope, to suppress our baser desires when they threaten social

stability. But then they encourage us to give in to them when we are alone or with other consenting adults. Note the irony: these are the same people who tell us that Christianity’s talk of sin makes them depressed. In fact, Christianity is far more optimistic than they are, because Christianity judges evil for what it is, sin for what it is, and seeks not to cure it but to destroy it. Sin can be overcome . . . just not by us.The reason this view seems depressing is that they don’t see the problem. No perfectly healthy person walking down the street is thrilled to be offered a heart transplant. But for those who are dying of heart failure, it’s a Godsend.2 The only way the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope and joy is if it is a rescue away from evil, and that’s only so if the diagnosis has first been announced and even suffered. Luther’s questions don’t stop with the Law. He also asks, “Do you hope to be saved? ”“Yes,” we say,“that is my hope.”“In whom then do you trust?”“ In my dear Lord Jesus Christ.” And then a little later,“What has Christ done for you that you trust in Him?” And we confess:“He died for me and shed His blood for me on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.” We are sinners, to be sure. But we are forgiven sinners. Every saint of God is.That is what a saint is: someone who has been forgiven, who has been baptized, who has been cleansed through the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What we cannot do, the Lord has done and is doing. He doesn’t cure sin; He kills it. One of the places He kills it and replaces it with His own righteousness is the Holy Communion.There He joins forgiven sinners to Himself. We eat His body and drink His blood to proclaim His death until He comes again that “we may learn to believe that no creature could make satisfaction for our sins. Only Christ, true God and man, could do that;” and that “we may learn to be horrified by our sins, and to regard them as very serious.” And, finally, and most importantly, that “we may find joy and comfort in Christ alone, and through faith in Him be saved.” Yes, I am a sinner, a forgiven sinner, who lives by grace through faith. Rev. David Petersen is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His e-mail address is prdhpetersen@gmail.com. 1 Peter Kreeft, Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pensees (Ignatius Press, San Francisco 1993) p. 148. 2 Ibid.

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