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Contents T A B L E O F
Volume 16/Number 3 • Fall 2016
Special Features 4 The Sophia of Worthy Reception
By Rev. George F. Borghardt Do you ever wonder if you’re truly worthy to receive Christ’s Body and Blood? By giving you a peek into the precious life of his 14-year-old daughter, Rev. Borghardt addresses that concern with compelling clarity.
6 Praying for Your Front-Line Pastor
By Rev. Duane Bamsch October is Pastor Appreciation Month and what greater way to show gratitude for your pastor than to pray for him. As an experienced pastor himself, Rev. Bamsch lays bare the typical struggles that characterize his vocation.
8 Higher Things Conferences: A Life-Changing Experience
By Benjamin Heinz Benjamin’s enthusiasm is contagious as he recounts his adventures as an attendee and College Conference Volunteer at numerous HT conferences. He might just convince you to sign up!
10 Who Am I?
By Rev. Harrison Goodman That’s a good question and probably one of the most common asked by each one of us. The key, according to Rev. Goodman, is deciding whether you are going to listen to the world’s answer or God’s declaration.
12 Free to Sing in Faith
By Taylor Schmidt Maybe you have the dulcet tones of an angel. Or perhaps your pipes could make paint curl (at least you think so). Even so, there is a great deal of richness in the historic liturgy that magnifies God as giver and us as receivers, which Taylor strives to encourage you to remember as you sing in church.
14 Bread of Life Photo Retrospective Check out our photo collage and see if you recognize anyone!
20 Does Everything Happen for a Reason?
By Sarah Grandfield-Connors Isn’t it the classic question of the unbeliever to ask, “If there’s a God why does he allow so much suffering and pain?” Even if your identity is found in Christ, you will have times when you ask, “Why?” Sarah poignantly shares her story of grief and how God has answered that question for her.
22 The Stepfamily Redemption Connection
By Katie Hill To say the forming of a stepfamily is a life adjustment would be a major understatement. Katie explains that, in the midst of all of that adjusting, God sees a stepfamily as fertile ground to work His redemption through Christ Jesus.
HigherThings
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Volume 16/Number 3/Fall 2016 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. Gaven Mize Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard Copy Editor
Dana Niemi Bible Study Authors
Rev. Randy Blankschaen Rev. Jacob Ehrhard Rev. Aaron Fenker Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz Subscriptions Manager
Elizabeth Carlson
Regular Features
___________
16 Check out the HERE I STAND Higher Things 2017 Summer Conferences!
President
28 Catechism: The Gift of Stuff
By Rev. William M. Cwirla We may never find out what happened to Rev. Cwirla’s yellow Schwinn bicycle but by the time you finish this article, you’ll definitely have a better understanding of the Seventh Commandment.
30 Bible Study:
Higher Things Conferences: A Life-Changing Experience Be sure to check out this sample of one of our student Bible studies which links up with Benjamin Heinz’s article on P. 8.
Board of Directors
Rev. George Borghardt Vice-President
Rev. Duane Bamsch Treasurer
Mr. Eric Maiwald Secretary
Rev. Joel Fritsche Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher Sue Pellegrini Matt Phillips Rev. Chris Rosebrough ___________
Executive Council Deputy Executive/ Conference and Retreats
Sandra Ostapowich Media Executive
Rev. Aaron Fenker Business Executive
Connie Brammeier Technology Executive
Jonathan Kohlmeier Marketing Executive
Ann Osburn
Development Executive
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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 2016. Higher Things® is 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 1-888-4826630, then press 4, 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.
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The
Sophia
of Worthy Reception By Rev. George F. Borghardt
My daughter’s Sophia’s name means “wisdom.” She’s more precious to us than rubies! (Proverbs 8:11) She has taught me more about being a pastor than any theology book or seminary class. Her whole life flows from God. She literally can’t make it on her own. She lives and grows completely and totally from the God who gives gifts to her. In her conception, she received as gift from the Lord one of the rarest genetic disorders in the world (partial trisomy 9q, partial monosomy 21q). This means that the bottom of the ninth chromosome was copied and attached itself to the bottom of the twenty-first chromosome, and some of twentyfirst chromosome was deleted...in every cell in her body. She was baptized just after her birth with the Lord’s Name and three squirts of a syringe. She spent nearly a quarter of her first year in the hospital, winning every lottery she could, too—every test was a 1:1,000,000 chance or “probably not this but we are going to test for it just in case,” she won that one too. What can I say? She’s just a winner. The experts said she wouldn’t ever be anything other than “a bump on a log” and that she wouldn’t live more than a year. But she just kept receiving the gift of life from God. She wanted to play with her brothers, so she learned to roll. She rolled everywhere! Then she noticed that everyone else was walking, so she learned first to army crawl and then to walk. It was a big deal—even when she was seven years old—that she could walk. Not bad for my little “Bump on a Log!” Now, my Little Bump on a Log has turned 14 and what about her partaking of the Lord’s Supper like the other kids her age? Surely the Bread of Life is for her, too! The world’s wisdom says, “No.” She can’t talk. She’s delayed in many ways. She can’t communicate like you and I can. She makes hand signs and uses an iPad. How can she have the Lord’s Supper when she can’t even go through confirmation class? The Small Catechism says, “Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’ But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words ‘for you’ require all hearts to believe.” Faith! Faith makes even a Bump on a Log worthy and well prepared for the Sacrament—faith in the words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Whoever has faith in those words, and believes that Jesus lived and died for them, and that He comes to them in the Body and Blood of the Lord’s Supper receives exactly what the Lord says: the forgiveness of sins. The world’s wisdom is completely wrong! It would have
you look inside yourself to see how prepared you are, how much theology you know, or how you feel about God to determine if you are worthy for God’s grace and care. Get your life together and then God’s gifts will be for you. Stop sinning so you can come to the Lord’s Supper. The world’s wisdom is so wrong that following it is what would actually make you unprepared for the Sacrament! Reject Jesus, choose your sins over Him, and you truly aren’t worthy. Doubt these words, don’t believe them, go with what you think or feel or do, and Jesus’ Supper isn’t a gift to you anymore. It’s deadly poison for your soul. So, Sophia stood before her pastors and was asked the questions that everyone was asked at their confirmation. She answered “Yes” by raising both of her hands over her head. That’s the way she says “Yes,” like a referee signaling a touchdown. “Do you renounce the devil and all His ways?” Touchdown. “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?” Touchdown. “Do you believe in His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit…” Touchdown. “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?” Touchdown. And so, she confessed her faith—faith that receives both good and bad from Jesus. Faith that trusts the Word of God in the water to deliver the Cross to her. Faith which believes that the Absolution spoken by her pastor is just as valid and certain even in heaven as if Christ her Lord had forgiven her Himself. Faith that believes Jesus’ words, “This is My Body,” means “This is my Body,” and “This is My Blood really means, “This is my Blood.” Her pastor tried to teach her about the Sacrament since she was a baby. I would get on my knee and hold the Host up to her face and say, “Sophia, this is Body of Christ.” I would hold the Cup up and say, “This is the Blood of Christ.” She would simply respond with her sign for “Please,” which is to rub one hand across her stomach. And so on this day, after her great confession, the pastor held the Body and Blood of Christ to Sophia’s mouth and said, “Take, eat, the Body of Christ…Take, drink, the Blood of Christ.” No touchdown this time. No please. This time, she turned around and touched a certain button on her iPad. “Amen,” it said. Gift received. That’s faith! Maybe, my little Bump on a Log has some Sophia wisdom for you, too. Don’t look at yourself to see if you are worthy for the Lord’s Supper. Don’t look at your life and how it’s going. Don’t get wrapped up trying to figure out how you feel about God that day. Confess your sins. And run to the Sacrament where you are forgiven. If you have doubts—about God or yourself—take them to the Lord’s Supper. And the Body and Blood of your Lord and Savior will strengthen and keep you steadfast in the one true Faith unto life everlasting. Rev. George F. Borghardt is the senior pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in McHenry, Illinois. He also serves as the president of Higher Things.
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Higher Things Conferences:
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A Life-Changing Experience By Benjamin Heinz
This summer, I had the extraordinary opportunity to serve
the Lord in sharing the gospel with hundreds of youth, including myself: first, on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and then a week later on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa, I laughed, sang, read the Lord’s words, made friends, received forgiveness (and quite a few blisters), ate, walked, lived and breathed in an environment centered entirely in Christ. I’ve gone to quite a few Higher Things conferences since 2010, and every year I’ve always looked up to the College Conference Volunteers (CCV’s) and imagined myself becoming one of them, serving the Lord and having a blast while doing it. Fast forward six years later and my waiting was finally over. Over the course of the week that I participated as a volunteer for HT, I slept very little, learned very much, and ran all over the place with my fellow volunteers to make sure the conference ran as smoothly as possible. Meeting awesome new CCV friends was not only a plus, it also gave me the opportunity to be part of a cohesive and effective team. At the end of the week, I felt incredibly accomplished in the fact that my new friends and I had done our best to serve the Lord in whatever way was needed. While my experience as a CCV has been a highlight for me, each Higher Things conference has changed me as a person forever. First, participation in each conference has brought about a change of perspective. Yes, this is the same faith you’re being taught in your home churches, but hearing the same word taught by at least a dozen different pastors is very different than experiencing just one or two in your home church. Every single pastor and teacher at a Higher Things conference has a different story—a unique way they came to teach the gospel to others. Some are converts to Lutheranism, while others have been lifelong Lutherans. Some started out their adult life training to become a pastor; others did not follow that path until much later. So when we get to hear the same words of Christ in all those different voices it can mean all the difference in how it is received. This has helped me to grow in the Gospel in ways that I might not have through hearing from only one pastor at my home church. Second, there is a sense of community at a Higher Things conference you will never feel anywhere else. Everyone you see and meet at a Higher Things conference is there for one reason: Jesus. Because of this, there is a deep connection that you can feel with complete strangers. Many of my closest, dearest friends in the world I met “by chance” at a Higher Things conference, all from towns and churches I’ve never heard of. It’s become clear over time that
meeting these people has been no accident, as the Lord clearly brought me together with them for a reason. Randomly bumping into a stranger can be the beginning of a friendship with your future best friend. Why? Because these friendships start in a pure and raw form: centered in Christ. With friendship grounded on the one true solid Rock, it’s unshakeable and unforgettable. Third, every single year I get an infinitesimally small idea of what heaven is like during the final service of a Higher Things conference. At the end of the conference, you’ve learned so much, experienced so many things, and have returned to where you began: at the Lord’s Table. In this service you receive the Lord’s gifts, while the orchestra is playing along with the organ to these beautiful hymns, and you hear God’s Word infuse all you have heard throughout the week and in that moment you realize that this is the closest thing to the celebration in heaven that you can ever experience on earth. At a Higher Things conference, you understand what it means to believe what you believe and how you believe it, how you worship, and how you learn. You’re broken by the Law and raised in the Gospel of Christ. As both an attendee and as a CCV, I’ve discovered how God can use His people as His hands and feet to share His gifts with folks from all walks of life. Ultimately, the best part—one “Thing” is “Higher” than the rest—is the focus on Jesus, for you!
Benjamin Heinz (far left) is currently a freshman at Concordia University Chicago in the Lutheran elementary education program. When he is not attending conferences or delving into his studies, Ben appreciates reading comic books, watching Star Wars films, playing the trumpet, and drawing superheroes. He is a member at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lanesville, Indiana.
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