What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. (1 Corinthians 3:5).
The members of the Corinthian congregation were prone to play favorites. “I belong to Paul; I belong to Cephas; I belong to Apollos.” We all do that, at least, the old Adam in us does – we put our faith, hope, and trust in persons other than the Person of Jesus Christ. “Trust not in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.” That’s sound advice in all aspects of life.
The test of any organization is its ability to transcend the persons and personalities who comprise it. That’s especially true for church organizations whose center and focus is the Person of Jesus and the Gospel of salvation in His name. We are nothing more than instruments and servants of the One who came to serve. Each of us has his or her own place, “as the Lord assigned to each.”
Higher Things is growing up into full maturity as an organization. What began as a small group of pastors with a zeal for youth has blossomed into a vast grassroots network of dedicated pastors, youth workers, and countless volunteers. We have a great magazine, a terrific web site, and three conferences that will potentially involve over 2000 youth. All of this eight short years!
We have been expertly guided by Pr. Klemet Preus as our president. He brought his name and reputation, his formidable pastoral and administrative skills, and his unflagging passion for youth to the task of guiding Higher Things through the difficult transition from an entrepreneurial “garage shop” to a vigorous organization that is able to stand on its own feet. At this juncture, Pr. Preus wants to turn his energies to new ventures and challenges, and we respect him for that. He recognizes, as we all do, that any organization that is dependent on one person is a house of cards ready to topple.
Great things are going on at Higher Things. We have three conferences this year – Scranton, St. Louis, and, for the first time in our history, on a Concordia campus at Concordia-Irvine. Our magazine is as edgy and informative as ever. Our newly remodeled web site is arguably the finest youth oriented web site on the internet. Higher Things regional retreats and local lock-ins are popping up faster than dandelions on your front lawn. We have a whole network of Christ on Campus ministries that offer the same liturgical, theological, and apologetic resources for our college students. All of this happens because of countless scores of dedicated people who freely give of themselves to challenge our youth and one another to “dare to be Lutheran.”
One of the great things about Higher Things is that we are not celebrity-driven, as so much of pop Christianity seems to be today. We don’t hire “dynamic” celebrity speakers or bring in big-name recording artists. Instead we use our own parish pastors, college professors, and parish musicians. We do this because we actually believe that God works through humble and ordinary means and that the Gospel of Jesus does not need a boost from our own ego and celebrity. As its mission statement indicates, Higher Things wants to be nothing more than a servant of the churches, “to assist parents, congregations, and pastors in cultivating and promoting a Lutheran identity among youth.”
The names and faces of Higher Things will change over the years, as they should. Each group of youth will graduate and grow beyond Higher Things, but hopefully not outgrow what they have learned and experienced in their time with us. However, the most important thing always remains the same: “Jesus Christ is the same – yesterday, today, and forever.”
