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Higher Things Radio is back from conferences! In this Post-Coram Deo Episode we do some reflecting on how the conferences went. First, Pr. Borghardt and Jon check in on Sandra Ostapowich to reflect and talk about the breakaway she taught at conferences. Then they are joined by Pr. Sam Schuldheisz of Redeemer Lutheran in Huntington Beach, CA. Pr. Schuldheisz talks about how his youth group responded to Coram Deo.
by Pr. David Oberdieck
Something is terribly wrong. Teenagers from across the LC-MS have been attending Higher Things youth conferences. They worship three times a day, listen to weighty teaching in plenary sessions, participate in a variety of substantive sectionals, and they like it!
Higher Things is an organization run by dedicated LC-MS pastors and lay people who challenge teens to “Dare to Be Lutheran.” Being Lutheran means nothing less than enjoying the abundant grace of God in Jesus Christ. Higher Things Conference Executive, Pr. George Borghardt, put it this way, “It’s all about Christ.”
Higher Things put on three outstanding conferences for LC-MS teenagers as July 2011 rolled around. They gathered on college campuses in Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Bloomington, Illinois. If your church hasn’t yet participated, start planning for next year. Say “no” to fluff, and say “yes” to Higher Things!
What makes Higher Things unique? “First of all it is campus based…parents send their kids to science camp, music camp, all kinds of camps. We are essentially ‘Lutheran camp’,” said Pr. William Cwirla, President of Higher Things.
“The kids spend four days on a college campus all together. This is different from going to a hotel… where everyone is scattered and then gathered. Here they’re staying in dorms. They’re all together. They eat at a common place, the cafeteria… A lot of friendships are made as a result,” He said. “Basically it’s a four day intensive emersion in Lutheranism.”
This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of fun to be had by the teens (adult leaders have fun too!). The conference at the Illinois State University in Bloomington featured rock climbing, scavenger hunts, sports, karaoke contests, movies, swimming, a talent show, and more.
These conferences are as weighty and meaningful as they are fun. Consider that worship is an important part of the gatherings. Higher Things will not have colored lights, a disco ball, fog machines, and a rock band leading worship. What they do in worship reflects what the average Lutheran congregation does week to week as they use the hymnal. It supports the local congregation rather than undercutting it.
The Illinois gathering had 1,200 participants from 29 states and four Canadian provinces. What is it like to hear all those young people worshipping the Lord? “It floats my boat,” Pr William Weedon commented. He was the Chaplain for the Illinois conference.
“They’re belting it out. They’re loving it. I’ve heard several people who have never had the opportunity to experience evening prayer before and that’s their favorite service,” he said. “I wish all the people that think ‘to really engage young people you have to put on a show’ could just come in and experience what this is like where it’s no show. We’re just doing the church’s worship the church’s way.”
Sandra Ostapowich, Conference and Retreat Coordinator, shared the experience of her youth group. One of their favorite parts was the Matins service. “Kids aren’t supposed to like what we’re doing,” said Ostapowich, “but they do.” Take Courtney for instance. She is a teenager from Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Perrysburg, Ohio. She really liked the sectionals and the Magnificat from the Vespers service.
The sectional topics are another important part of the conferences. They are at the same time theological and practical as they apply Lutheran theology to contemporary issues. Note some of the titles this year: “Consumed by Addictions,” “Dating, Relationships, and THAT,” “The Fatal Flaws of Darwinism,” “Talking to Your Non-Lutheran Friends about Jesus.”
What kind of effort does it take to put on conferences like these? “We have one full-time staff member in the organization and that’s the conference coordinator,” said Borghardt, “It takes at least a year and a half of planning to put on a slew of conferences.” The work is largely done by volunteers.
This is one reason the conferences are comparatively inexpensive. Early registration costs were from $300 to $330. That includes room, food, fun, and the conference itself. That is hard to beat.
Next year’s conferences are as follows: 26 – 29 June at Wake Forrest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; 3 – 6 July at Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, Missouri; 10-13 July at Concordia University Irvine, Irvine, California; 17-20 July at Brock University, St Catherines, Ontario.
Rev. David Oberdieck is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lebanon, MO. Coram Deo – Illinois was his fourth Higher Things Conference. This article originally appeared in Christian News.
The locations for TWELVE, the 2012 Higher Things Conferences, were announced at the end of this years conferences. There will be four conferences next year:
Registration information will be available in early September. Registration will open November 1.
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Live from Coram Deo – Atlanta! Pr. Borghardt Jon are joined by Pr. Heinz, Pr Buetow, Pr. Fisk, Pr. Cwirla and Chris Rosebrough. They each talk about their breakaways that they presented at the Coram Deo conferences.
Higher Things is pleased to announce the next set of Daily Reflections. This set covers Trinity 5 through Trinity 10 – July 24, through September 3, 2011. To download the Reflections in a printable booklet format, click here.
In Christ,
Rev. Mark Buetow
reflections@higherthings.org
Media Executive Higher Things
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Live from Coram Deo – Illnois! Pr. Borghardt, Patrick, and Jon are joined by Lutheran Youth, Pastors Fritche, Heinz, Buetow, Bamsch, and Kornaki. Throw in some singing, laughter and good theology and you have a great live episode of HT-Radio.
Rev. Kurt Onken
1 Kings 8:22-30
Where do you go to find God? Where do you go to learn about him? To find out what he really thinks about you? To find out what your status is Coram Deo … that is, “before God.”
Nature? Some people search for God in nature. The power of ocean waves. The splendor of mountain peaks. A starlit sky in the desert.
You can certainly see evidence of God in nature. After all, in Psalm 19, David sang, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). There is beauty in creation. Order. Signs of “intelligent design.” Life.
But what do you do when things become disorderly and full of death?
For those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest, what do you do when a mountain blows up in your face, like Mt. St. Helens did a number of years ago?
For those of you from California what do you do when the ground starts to shake, and buildings and overpasses begin to topple down on your head?
For those of you from the plains states and the Midwest and the South, what do you do when a tornado tears through your neighborhood and demolishes everything in sight?
And what about those people on the seacoast of Japan, whose homes and lives were swept away by a wall of water following an offshore earthquake?
Creation is not always a happy place. It’s broken. It’s fallen. If you didn’t know the whole story of Adam and Eve – how rebellion against the Creator brought death and destruction into creation – you might not like the One who created the cosmos. You might not like the God you were searching for in nature. You might find him to be capricious. Arbitrary. Unpredictable. Downright mean.
So where else might you go to find God? Where else might you go to learn about him? To find out what he really thinks of you? To know what your status is Coram Deo?
How about your heart? Some people search for God in their hearts. They base their opinions about God on their feelings, their emotions, their inclinations. They meditate in solitude, trying to listen to God’s voice speaking from within. They may feel that their heart is “strangely warmed.” They imagine that there is a “burning in their bosom.” But how do you know it’s not the burrito you ate yesterday? Or perhaps it was the Double-Double cheeseburger with grilled onions from In-N-Out.
When you look inside your heart, you might not like what you find there. Jesus knows what you’ll find there. What did he say about the heart? “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matt. 15:19). Our hearts are deceptive. Your sinful nature will either cause you to deny what’s in your heart and make you think you’re okay before God. Or it will cause you to despair when you recognize the ugliness there.
Dear Christian, God does indeed dwell in your heart. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). Jesus “dwell[s] in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17). And Romans 8:11 says, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Yes, the Triune God does indeed live in your heart.
But that’s not where we are directed to find him … that is, if you want to know for certain where he is, in particular where he is for you, with his grace and mercy and forgiveness.
Not nature. Not your heart. But a house! “God’s House.”
Remember when you were children in Sunday School, and you called the church building “God’s House”? Perhaps you even thought the pastor was Jesus, and that he lived there. But then you got older and you realized how silly that was. God cannot be contained in a building. Even wise King Solomon knew that. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27).
God cannot be contained in a building. But he can certainly will to be present in a building with his grace and mercy. He willed to be present in the temple. He appeared there in a cloud. He promised to be present on the mercy seat between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. The temple was indeed “the house of the LORD.” His Name was there. His Word was proclaimed there. He listened to the prayers of his people offered there. He forgave the sins of the people there. Wherever God’s Name is, there he is with his grace and forgiveness.
God cannot be contained in a building. But there came a day when “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The temple in Jerusalem was replaced by the divine presence of Jesus. The temple and all its bloody sacrifices found their end in Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose bloody sacrifice on the cross is the once-for-all payment for your sins and mine.
So now where do you find God? You still find him wherever he has placed his Name.
His Name was placed upon you when water was poured over your head “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
His Name is placed upon you each time you confess your sins, and your pastor says, “I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
And the Crucified and Risen Jesus is truly present at every altar where he gives us his body to eat and his blood to drink.
All these things most often take place in a church building. And so, it’s not so silly after all to call it “God’s House.” Sometimes it’s elaborate and ornate. Sometimes it’s simple and plain. Sometimes it’s rather shabby and rundown. Sometimes it’s a college theatre. But if God’s Name is there, then he is truly present with his grace and mercy. Wherever God has placed his Name, that is the best place to go to know where you stand Coram Deo. You are a sinner who deserves nothing but wrath and condemnation. But Jesus suffered and died in your place. Through baptism you are united to your Savior’s death and resurrection. You bear the holy Name of the Triune God. You are a part of “God’s house of living stones, built for his own habitation.” God listens to your cries and your prayers. His eyes are open toward you night and day. And your sins are forgiven.
Amen.
Rev. Kurt Onken is pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Marysville, Washington. He also served as Catechist for the Coram Deo Conference in Las Vegas.
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In this Pre-Coram Deo episode of HT-Radio, Pr. Borghardt is joined by the Coram Deo Plenary teachers. Pr. William Cwirla and Pr. Brent Kuhlman talk about all things Coram Deo. They take a look at Romans and the Creed and whatever else comes to mind over the course of the hour. We also check in with Sandra Ostapowich just a few days away from the first Conference.
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Pr. Borghardt and Jon are joined by Rev. Mark Buetow in Episode 141 of HT-Radio. When Pr. Borghardt remembers to hit the record button Pr. Buetow talks about all things Trinity. He walks through the Athanasian Creed while discussing the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the one Godhead. Then, just a week and a half away from Las Vegas, we check in with Sandra Ostapowich for this weeks Coram Deo Stress Update. She talks about catechesis, worship, the service project, and of course fun!
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At Higher Things conferences each summer, we worship, we work, and we play. We receive the Gifts given to us, we grow as Christians in the study of His word, and we rejoice in fellowship with fellow Christians from across the country (and beyond!). This year, we will have the opportunity to extend the love that Christ has given to us by His death and resurrection to our fellow man in their time of need.
This summer, during each week of Coram Deo, conference attendees will have several opportunities to assemble Personal Care Kits for Lutheran World Relief. These kits provide a small bit of comfort to people in areas affected by disaster or turmoil.
Over the next few weeks leading up to this year’s Coram Deo conferences, we need to gather the items need for the kits. Here is what we need to collect for each kit:
LWR has made the following requests about the items donated so that kit distribution is safe and fair to all recipients:
If anyone is unable to collect and ship/transport the items needed, but still would like to help with this service project, you are welcome to make a monetary donation for kit items to be purchased at each location or to go toward the shipping fund to send the complete kits to LWR. Please send checks made out to Higher Things and designated for this purpose to:
Higher Things – Coram Deo Service Project
P.O. Box 155
Holt, MO 64048
Please contact Erin Stephens (estephens@higherthings.org) to let us know what supplies we may expect and to request shipping addresses for donated supplies.
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4:9-11
