Category: Life Issues

Rev. Mark Buetow

As you move up out of middle school and into high school and from high school into college, the Lord has given you, beside your parents, teachers, and other adults to help you, a very important person: your pastor. This week, the church celebrates the festivals of three pastors (St. Timothy on January 24 and St. Titus on January 26, with St. Paul’s Conversion in between). It’s a good time to stop and remember why you need a pastor more than ever as you face the challenges of going from youth to adult.

Let’s start with your Baptism. The pastor you have now may or may not be the one who baptized you. But the pastor whom the Lord has given you now has the job of reminding you whose child you are even when it seems like you’re a wandering orphan. Your pastor will remind you that when you were washed with water and the Word, you were made a child of God. Right now, there are a lot of influences around that want to force their identity on you. Be cool. Be bad. Be yourself. Be whatever you want. When all those confusing voices make you uncertain, your pastor will remind you who you are and to whom you belong. In Jesus, by your Baptism, you are a child of God. You are His dear and precious child because His dear and precious Son died and rose for you. When you doubt your identity, ask your pastor. He’ll tell you!

Holy Absolution. Your pastor knows you. He knows what you do even if you don’t tell him. He was a kid once. He was in high school. He went to college. He knows the temptations that are out there. And so it is that your pastor may gently take you aside and remind you that you might not be acting like a child of God. That there might be some repentance needed there. Yet your pastor would only do that so that He can absolve you. Forgive you! Declare to you the Good News that even though you’ve messed up, pulled a whopper, done something stupid, in short, you sinned–for Jesus’ sake those sins are gone. Wiped out. Bled for by Jesus. Died for by Jesus. Left in the empty tomb by Jesus. Forgiven. Forgotten by God. Your pastor’s job is to remind you of that. When you are burdened in a way that you can share with no one else, go see your pastor. He’ll lead you to the cross and the font and the altar and pronounce forgiveness so that you can go in peace!

The Word. Your pastor is there to help you face the challenges to your faith that the devil, world and your own sinful nature throw at it. Especially in high school and college, those around you are good at challenging what you believe, calling it into question, trying to prove to you that it’s wrong and foolish. Sometimes even your close friends who belong to other denominations and religions will try to show you that what you believe is wrong. Your pastor is ready to strengthen you with God’s Word. With the comfort of the scriptures. With the Good News of Jesus. Along with reminding you of God’s promises, your pastor can help you sort out the arguments and issues you have to deal with and understand them with the wisdom of God’s holy Word at your disposal. Your pastor is trained to help you give a ready defense of your faith and confess Jesus boldly in a world that wants to ridicule and laugh at your believing in Jesus. When you have questions you can’t answer, go see your pastor. He’ll help you sort them out and answer them with God’s unfailing Word!

Holy Communion. Your parents try to keep up with your appetite by keeping the fridge full. Your health teacher tells you to watch what you eat so you stay healthy. And there’s always the appeal of grabbing some fast food with your friends. The Lord has given you a pastor to make sure you also eat regularly the food that gives eternal life. Your pastor wants to make sure you don’t miss out on the gift of eating and drinking Christ’s body and blood. Even when you’re young you can experience death. It might be a grandparent or younger family member. A friend dies from cancer or is killed in a car accident. Even if you think you are invincible you know that death is out there. And only one thing can overcome it, beat it, and defeat it. That’s Jesus who rose from the dead and who promises that in eating His body and blood He will live in you and you in Him and He will raise you up from the Last Day. In an uncertain world where anything can happen, when you worry about what your future holds, go see your pastor! He’ll give you the body and blood of Jesus as God’s own promise that you are taken care of now and forever.

There’s too many attacks on you from the devil, the world and your sinful nature for you not to need your pastor! He’s the one guy out there who isn’t there to judge you or condemn you but help and comfort you. He doesn’t do it with worldly wisdom or cheap psychology aimed at teenagers. No, he’s got something much better to help you. He’s got God’s Word. As a steward of Jesus’ gifts, your pastor is Jesus’ connection to you your whole life long and right now, too. So go and put your pastor to work. He’ll be glad you did. For after all, the Lord has called him to be a pastor for you!

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. He is also the Media Executive of Higher things.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. – Galatians 3:27

It DOESN’T matter what you wear to church. It DOES matter what you wear to church. Well, which is it? It doesn’t matter to Jesus what you wear to church, but it does matter to your neighbor.

Every so often the topic comes up about how we should dress for worship. In the “olden days” (like when your grandparents and maybe your parents were your age) women wore dresses to church and men wore suits. After all, they reasoned, how can you not dress your best for the Lord? It shows reverence and respect. Fast forward to today. In many churches, people come dressed pretty casually: flip flops, tank tops, shorts and jeans. Older members who look at the kids dressed this way often remark, “Well someone ought to say something! How can their parents let them dress that way!” The kids, of course, have mastered the art of appealing to some generic love of God: “God doesn’t care what you wear because He just wants you there!” So what to wear to church?

It really doesn’t matter to Jesus. St. Paul writes that Jesus gave Himself up for the church, washing her and making her spotless and presenting her to Himself in splendor as a pure bride with no spots or blemishes or wrinkles. (Ephesian 5:26-27) Paul also says that to be baptized with Christ is to be clothed with Jesus. When you go to church, you are actually wearing Jesus, no matter what clothes you put on that morning. In fact, you are wearing Him every day. Every moment and every day of your life, your Father in heaven looks at you and sees not jeans or suits or dresses or flip flops. He sees Jesus. Perfect, holy, spotless, righteous, Jesus. When you sin, your sins are forgiven. God doesn’t see them either. What clothes you wear doesn’t bother God because you’re wearing Jesus.

At the cross, Jesus was hung naked and in shame for your sins. What happened to his clothes? They were taken by the sinful soldiers who nailed Him there. What a picture! Jesus dies naked, a reminder of sin and shame; you get His clothes! So no worries about how you appear before Jesus! He’s made you look great. He’s covered you with Himself. It doesn’t matter to Jesus what outfit you’ve got on since it’s all covered by Him!

But it does matter to your neighbor what you wear. If what you’re wearing in church or what you’re doing while you should be paying attention to God’s Word is a distraction and hindrance to others, then we need to repent and rethink what we’re doing. Young ladies: if the clothing you wear is a distraction to the young men around you, perhaps you should rethink your choice of outfits. Maybe the Lord’s house isn’t the best place for that low cut top if it takes someone’s mind off of God’s Word! Young men: if your dressing like a slob makes people shake their head at you instead of paying attention to Pastor, perhaps it’s time to rethink what you throw on for a Sunday Morning. Maybe the Lord’s house isn’t the best place for that death-metal t-shirt with the bloody skull on it! Again, it’s not as if the Lord is offended, but these things distract your brothers and sisters in Christ who, like you, should be in church to hear the Lord’s Word and receive His gifts.

The same goes with cell phones and texting. With whispering and chatting. With going in and out during the worship service. There’s nothing you can do to irritate the Lord. He has His Word and gifts for you! But it might drive your neighbor nuts. So there is room for some repentance. Repent of doing things that take your own mind and heart away from paying attention to the gifts Jesus has for you. Repent of doing things that tempt your neighbors’ minds and hearts away from God’s Word. The Lord knows our flesh has enough distractions in church without us adding to them for ourselves or others!

To those who say it matters how you dress for the Lord, you can confidently answer, “No it doesn’t! To those who say that it doesn’t matter how you show up for church you can say, “Oh yes it does!” Doesn’t matter for Jesus. Matters for your neighbor.

When the Lord sees you, He sees no sins. No spots. No blemishes. No wrinkles. No stains. He sees the righteousness which he earned for you on Calvary and in which He has wrapped you up in your Baptism. When your neighbor sees you, well, they should see the same thing: a redeemed child of God who is perfect in God’s sight. But in case they don’t, let’s not give them a reason to think something else! And all together with them, with the suits and the jeans, the flip flops and the dress shoes, the young and the old, the stodgy and the carefree, we can rejoice to be the holy and beautiful bride of Christ. That’s exactly what Jesus has made us and how He sees us. And His righteousness is clothing that looks amazing no matter what the fashion trends or season, whether we are in His house or out in the world. My, but don’t you look great dressed in Jesus!

by The Rev. George F. Borghardt III

I got an email from somebody today, I wanted to respond, but the email bounced…

The question concerned whether or not a pastor was a faithful pastor.  When considering whether a pastor is faithful or not, don’t go by his name.  Don’t go by what other people say about him. 

“He’s one of our guys… He’s a liberal… He’s conservative.. He’s faithful…”   We then we judge and dismiss based upon the man, rather than his confession.  Good name, good guy, therefore our guy.  Bad name, their guy, therefore bad guy.  Being from the district office doesn’t make a guy good or bad.  It doesn’t make him trustworthy or not trustworthy.  That’s the way of power (Rome) and the way the world does things…  Jesus never did, nor should we.

Jesus knew what was in men – nothing good. Not in the good ones, not in the bad ones.  Not in Nichodemus, not in woman caught the act.

So, listen to the guy’s preaching.  Does he deliver Christ and Him crucified?  Does He know the Gospel?  I’m not talking about being super liturgical or from a certain teacher.  You’ll learn about him from his preaching.  How’s his doctrine?  Does it mesh with his practice?  Do they go together? 

Then, if you get the chance, is he actual willing to suffer for the Truth?  Our clergy are basically either cowards are wanna-be martyrs.  We bend to the person who screams the most at us.  Or we cover our own failures by blaming others.  So, we snap and are proud and then say that we suffered on behalf of Jesus.  Both of these type of clergy love the glory of men rather than glory of God.   it’s what we sinners do and we’ve all done it.

A faithful pastor, will confess Jesus crucified for your sins and be willing to suffer for that confession.  His hands may shake.  His voice may crack.  His language may be rough.  His tongue may be course.  But, he confesses, he does not deny His Lord – even if it does him in.  And if he doesn’t confess Jesus clearly, it horrifies him and he will confess his sin and then confess Jesus.

A faithful pastor is concerned with shut-ins, widows, hospital calls, and young people.  He tries to actually study.  How will he know what to teach?  He calls or visits vistors.  He might try to send some back to their pastors rather than just adding them to his parish.  And no one recieves glory from what he does or doesn’t do – but Jesus alone.

All pastors have their pets – from abortion to youth to whatever they seem to be most concerned about.  These are fine as long as they don’t get in the way of the preaching and teaching of Christ crucified.  The pet may be good and godly, but when it takes over, then we are right back to the doing something for someone other than Christ.

In the end, we aren’t saved by being good pastors or laity, but by Christ alone.  If we are saved by how faithful we are, we’d be utterly lost.  We’d never live up.  Christ alone is our righteousness and hope.  His Cross for us.  His death in our place.  His resurrection is our justification.

And when you go looking for a preacher to put that Gospel into your ears:  Trust not in names or princes.  Same with names. Go with what they confess and do.

In Christ,

Pastor Borghardt

Pastor Borghardt is Assistant/Youth Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe, TX. He also serves as Conferences Executive for Higher Things. You can listen to Pr. Borghardt every week on Higher Things Radio.

by Nathan Fischer

There is nothing more important, more vital, and more necessary to the world than putting an end to suffering. At least, that is what we are supposed to believe. Suffering is the worst kind of evil. It affects everyone everywhere indiscriminately. Children go hungry, the poor freeze in the cold, and the rich contract deadly diseases. There are too many situations in life that are out of our control, ensuring that at some point, in some way, suffering comes for us all.

Therefore, one of the primary missions of the world has become to point an end to suffering. Death is a huge problem for us, so through modern medical science the life expectancy of people has been doubled from that of the past. Of course, now that people live longer, we have to deal with previously rare diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In recent years, cancer has reared its ugly head and now AIDS and other viruses are becoming more of a problem.

That seems to be the way things work in the world. One problem is crushed, affliction is put down, only to have three or four new diseases or terrible incidents take its place. From tornados to violence, diseases to earthquakes, starvation to tsunamis, there is no end to the suffering that plagues this world. Oftentimes our attempts to fix these terrible events even make them worse.

Ending suffering has become such a goal, that even death is seen as better than suffering. Through breakthroughs in medical science, they can now save someone who has been shot in the head. However, when that someone ends up in a vegetative state, suddenly the world does not know how to respond. Would it have been better had they died? Should we pull the feeding tube? The aged and infirm suffer from so many afflictions that perhaps it would just be better to let them die “honorably” through physician assisted suicide. Never mind the fact that it is because of modern science that they are living so long that they need to be put to death in the first place. In a very sad way, it is quite ironic.

All of this begs the question, then, of why it is so important for the world to eliminate suffering. Why pour so much time and effort and resources into ending something that appears to have no end? Quite simply, that is the world’s only hope. For the world, the only heaven that can exist is a “heaven on earth” – a place where all get along peacefully and there is no pain or suffering or death. The world looks fervently for this utopia that they are sure is bound to come. So many believe that it is just around the corner. If only we could stop all of the wars, find a cure for cancer and AIDS, and preserve human life through every technological means at our disposal.

For the Christian, this is a difficult topic. On the one hand, it seems that the world is doing something good and right – putting an end to suffering is a worthy cause, isn’t it? On the other hand, it does seem as though the world takes the matter too far sometimes. How do we deal with suffering? How do we deal with the world’s constant battle to end it? Do we unite with the world, oppose them, or try to find some sort of middle ground?

The fact of the matter is, those are all the wrong questions. For the Christian, there is only one way to view suffering in the world, and that is through the lens of the cross. When the elimination of suffering becomes our ultimate goal, and the cross of Jesus Christ takes a second-place seat in our theology, then what we do is just as evil and wicked as if we lied and cheated and stole from our neighbor.

There is no good deed apart from Christ. There is no end to suffering apart from Christ. That is not to say that we should not strive to help others – not at all. However, the end of suffering cannot be our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal must be Jesus. In the cross of Christ, there is peace, and sometimes it is a peace through suffering, not a peace apart from suffering. There is nothing in Scripture that places an end to suffering above everything else. Heaven is not found on earth alone. Heaven is found in Jesus. Heaven is found in the death and resurrection of the Son of God.

It is through the Suffering Servant that heaven is brought to us; it is through the death of Christ, received through God’s holy gifts, that we inherit eternal life. We then have compassion, because we have Christ.

The goal to end suffering has become an idol to the world, and is an ever-present temptation to Christians. That is why Jesus came. He forgives you for your failures, He bears your suffering in Himself, and He leads you through this life and into the next. He is what the world seeks. He is yours, because you have been baptized into His suffering and death. There is no other answer to the suffering found in this world. There is only Jesus Christ.

Nathan Fischer is a graduate of Concordia University – Wisconsin. Among other interests, he and his wife Katie enjoy watching movies, playing video games, and comparing and contrasting them with our faith. Nathan and Katie are also expecting their first child.

by The Rev. Mark T. Buetow

First of all, don’t panic! Your biology teacher didn’t create you, die for your sins, or make you a new creation in Holy Baptism. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all about that work. Second, your biology teacher is just teaching what he or she’s been taught. They can’t help it if they’ve learned to trust in an unproven theory developed by a man who spent too long on a ship looking at animals he never saw in the zoo when he was a kid. (That would be Darwin…) And it’s not your biology teacher’s fault that the scientist who wrote the biology textbook your teacher learned from isn’t the Lord who actually created and sustains all things. After all, if the Lord wrote a book about where things come from, like, say, the BIBLE—well, we know with certainty that what is written in it is true, because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. So you see? No need to panic if your biology teacher is an evolutionist. Rather, because YOU know where the world comes from and who the Savior is, you can sit back and learn what exactly it is the world thinks about where it came from without having to get all bent out of shape! That means you can study and learn all about evolution, still get your “A” and still be a Christian.

But for some people this is a big deal, so let’s consider a couple of important ideas. The first is this: We believe, as God’s Word teaches us, that the Lord made all that there is out of nothing in six literal days. That’s what the Book of Genesis says. While this is important, it’s NOT the Gospel. The Gospel is that our sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus who died for them and rose again. Can a person trust in that and still think the earth took gazillions of years to have evolved the platypus? Of course they can. Because faith means being in Christ through Baptism. Or, to put it another way, the BIG DEAL is always Jesus, not “how many days” did it take to make the earth. Beware of those so called “Christians” who look down on others who don’t believe and take every word of the Bible literally, as if someone is outside of God’s grace because they haven’t understood every word of the Bible just yet. (Such people don’t either, by the way. Just ask them what’s there in the Lord’s Supper!)

On the other hand, however, creation DOES have everything to do with the Gospel and Jesus. And here’s why: When the Son of God came to save sinners, He came to be one of us. That means He became a man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. God became a Man. He put on human flesh. Why? To bleed and die like we do and in that way save us from our sins. The Book of Hebrews says that God didn’t become an angel. He became a man. He didn’t become a fish or a small furry mammal or a monkey and then a human. As the book of Genesis says, everything is “according to it’s kind” (Gen. 1). This is important. It means that man IS unique among all of God’s creatures. Rather than just the end product of a love affair between stupid monkeys and smart monkeys, Man has always been at the top of God’s creation. Even before Man had sinned and rebelled and run away from God, the Lord chose to become one of us to save us.

The sad thing about your biology teacher is not that they try to follow science. It’s that the science they follow leads them to the conclusion that Man is just one more random organism out there in the universe. There’s the Devil’s lie in all this: that Man isn’t really special, The Gospel teaches us that we are the center of the Universe. Maybe not the physical universe, but the center of God’s universe. After all, He made everything out of nothing and topped it all off with man made in His image. And as if that were not enough, when that top-of-the-line creation failed and fell away, God Himself came personally as one of us to redeem us from that sin and death. That means man is special, not in himself, but because the Lord became one us and saved us.

So your Biology teacher is an evolutionist? No worries. Just pray that he or she might know the Word of God and be turned in repentance to faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that your teacher will, if they don’t, know that Jesus came not to change or evolve us into something better, but to rescue us from sin and death and put us back in the place we used to have, back when the Father made all things by His Word in the first place. Don’t worry, your teacher may teach evolution but Jesus who became Man and saved the world from sin and death is the same yesterday, today and forever. No evolving with Him. Just saving and forgiving!

Rev. Mark Buetow is Pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Qoin, IL. Pastor Buetow is Editor of the Higher Things Reflections and Internet Services Executive.

by Sandra Ostapowich

There’s a LOT of hype out there about this book, and it usually starts like this: “Well I haven’t read the book and don’t want to read the book, but here’s my opinion about what I’ve heard about this book…” Or: “So-and-so from this branch of theology liked it/didn’t like it, and that tells me everything I need to know about the issue.”

I’ve been taught some pretty wackadoo theology in my lifetime. And it’s a hobby of mine to read books and watch “religious” movies just for the fun of ripping them to theological shreds. On the other hand, I’m just as eager to find nuggets of good theology out there for public consumption as well. So I was skeptical and had low expectations of The Shack because there’s rarely good stuff out there, but I also had an open mind – willing to consider a perspective I hadn’t before, and to think in new ways. 

On both counts, I wasn’t disappointed.

Generally speaking (because I could go on and on and on with specifics – my book is full of post-its and underlining!), The Shack is a bit like Pilgrim’s Progress in that it is not so much the plot line that is important but the dialogue between the different characters. In The Shack, the main characters are Mack Phillips and God – “Papa” or El-ousia, Jesus (as Himself), and “Sarayu” (a.k.a. the Holy Spirit). In a very small nutshell, Mack has a vision in which he spends a weekend hanging out with the Triune God at the dilapidated shack where his young daughter was molested and murdered – but in the vision, it’s a beautiful lakeside cabin.

What I really enjoyed about The Shack was that complex and substantial theological questions are handled in a very accessible and Gospel-filled way. This book tackles issues like the “otherness” of God, the problem of evil, original sin, relationship, the Cross, reconciliation between God and mankind, the Trinity, grace, freedom, love, and forgiveness in dialogue. As one who prefers to learn and teach through dialogue rather than lecture, I appreciated the conversational give-and-take as Mack’s understanding develops.

I was taught by the late, great Gerhard Forde that you can talk about theology, even talk about Jesus Himself and everything He did all day long, but until it is made personal – until it’s all for you – it’s not the Gospel. It doesn’t do anyone any good to talk about how Jesus died and rose unless Jesus died and rose for you. That personal aspect of the Gospel and the centrality of Christ’s work is made abundantly clear over and over again in The Shack. Every doctrine – even the Trinity itself, is explained as being for us. That one was new and different for me to think about, yet so consistent with the larger picture I’m surprised I hadn’t thought of it sooner.

Young is big on relationships. It’s a very strong theme throughout the vision. God’s relationship with Himself in the Trinity, and His relationship with us (only possible through Jesus), and our human relationships with one another. God didn’t create relationships to be hierarchical, but so that we could serve and love one another. Relationships are meant to be free, mutually submissive, and loving. And at the center of it is Jesus, Whose death and resurrection reconciled God to the world.

Some have suggested that The Shack is “emergent” because of its emphasis on personal relationship with God and its anti-institutionalistic stance on religion. This, no doubt, appeals to proponents of that movement. And while that may be true, I don’t think it’s entirely accurate. My impression is that Young does a great job with the Gospel, the for you behind everything God does, the problem of evil, submission, love, forgiveness, and even the atonement – better than I’ve probably ever encountered outside the Bible and Small Catechism. Salvation’s achievement is clearly taught and proclaimed in The Shack. Where it falls short is in the delivery of salvation and God’s gifts for us in Christ through His instituted means of Word and Sacrament. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone I wouldn’t be willing or able to have a continued conversation with.

And that’s my biggest beef with The Shack – it stops short. Over and over and over and over again, Young emphasizes God’s desire for a relationship with all people through Jesus, as well as the fact that only He can and has done everything necessary for that to happen. But the reader is never told where she may go to continue that relationship aside from looking to her own feelings, “visions”, impressions, private revelations, dreams, etc. I don’t think Young would be opposed to finding God where He has promised to be for us – in His Word and Sacraments. My guess is that he just doesn’t know about it, or understand that God is present and continues the relationship in tangible, external ways. So, his readers probably won’t know about it either.

The problem with failing to address the delivery of God’s gifts for us is that it also leaves the reader wondering if we are being taught universalism in this book. Clearly, The Shack teaches universal atonement (so do we). But when there is no concrete delivery of the benefits from that atonement achieved for everyone through the means of grace, there is nothing to be rejected and therefore no real consequences for rejecting all that God has done for us. Young deftly dodges questions about this issue when interviewed, and carefully avoids it in the book. Strangely, for all his emphasis on everything being for us, Young seems to be ignorant of just how Jesus makes Himself concretely for us.

However, that’s exactly where we, as Lutherans especially, can step in and pick up the ball. We know where the Lord continues to come to us on a regular basis to give to us of Himself – not because we follow the rules better than other churches, or because we have the best rituals, but because that’s what He has promised to do for us. He has not only reconciled us with Himself through Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, He nourishes His relationship with us through His Word and through the daily dying to our sinful nature in Baptism, and through the nourishment of His own Body and Blood. We don’t have to go to a rundown shack and hope to have some sort of visionary encounter with God in nature, or our trust in our own feelings in order to have a relationship with God today. We know that the Lord comes to us, to love us, to forgive us, to give us His gifts, and to serve us every week in clear and tangible ways. He says so and His Word is True.

Sandra Ostapowich serves on the Higher Things Board of Directors as Secretary. She is Christian Education and Youth Director at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Loveland, CO.

by The Rev. Joel Fritsche

This past summer twenty-two high school men gathered at Concordia Seminary—St. Louis for its annual Exploring the Pastoral Ministry (EPM) event. St. Louis was as it always is in August—hot and sticky. Nevertheless, these young men spent three days with seminary professors, students and local pastors because someone (a pastor, teacher or relative) saw in them the potential for full-time service as a pastor in Christ’s Church.

On the first day of the event, after orientation and a tour of campus, we dove into Holy Scripture to learn more about what it confesses concerning the Office of the Holy Ministry with a study and discussion entitled, “Being a Shepherd of God’s Flock.” We rejoiced in how the Lord Jesus Christ works through the pastor to feHis sheep with His life-giving Gospel. Fellow admissions counselors Rev. ed Kyle Castens and Rev. Paul Philp discussed ways in which high school men can prepare for the pastoral ministry. One of the many things they mentioned…“Get involved in Higher Things!” As always we encourage all young men who are interested in pastoral ministry to talk about it regularly with their pastor.

The official theme for this year’s EPM event focused on the Office of the Keys and Confession. Dr. Norman Nagel had been scheduled to teach on the Office of the Keys. However, Dr. Nagel suffered a stroke earlier in the summer, so Dr. Robert Kolb graciously taught in his place. Among other things, Dr. Kolb related stories from his experiences as a teacher and pastor overseas. Next, Dr. Ronald Feuerhahn taught a sectional on Confession and Absolution, even demonstrating the Rite of Individual Confession and Absolution from the hymnal. Rev. Philp “confessed” his sins. For some reason he forgot to confess that he belted me across the face earlier that week. But that’s the beauty of the Lord’s Absolution. We need not torture ourselves to confess every sin we’ve committed in order to receive Holy Absolution.

A key part of the event involved a couple of servant projects that the guys did alongside some of our seminary students. We spent a few hours at Dr. Feuerhahn’s home pouring concrete and creating a ramp from the Feuerhahn’s driveway to their front porch. Dr. Feuerhahn has Parkinson’s disease. The ramp provided a much easier route for him to get from the driveway to his front door. It was a joy for our visitors to sit at the feet of Dr. Feuerhahn when he taught them, but also to “wash his feet” as they served him in Christian love. Several hours were also spent at St. Peter Lutheran Church in St. Louis doing construction work to prepare the facilities there to act as a community center in the area. We were busy painting, busting up concrete, and cleaning up stuff people had dumped on the church property. I even got to bust up an old fiberglass tub with a sledgehammer.

For the last night of EPM, we held a “town hall meeting” discussion on the joys and challenges of pastoral ministry with several local pastors and a couple of professors who served numerous good years in the parish. EPM guys had an opportunity to formulate their questions ahead of time so that we could spend the max amount of time letting them hear from our panelists. Questions ranged from preaching and worship to what the genus maiestaticum is (ask Pastor Borghardt what that is).

Worship, as always, played a critical role in EPM. We spent time in God’s Word through devotions and prayer services throughout the event. Seminary students led devotionals and Dr. Tim Saleska, Rev. Philp and I each led services in the evenings. The guys did very well singing hymns and canticles from LSB without accompaniment. Some of our guests assisted with worship by serving as acolytes and lectors. We were certainly

Finally, there were plenty of opportunities to kick back and let off some steam. Guys played basketball, frisbee, numerous board games, and even bollo (otherwise known as hillbilly golf). On Wednesday evening we took in a Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium. Don, our master event coordinator, even snuck in some tofu ice cream bars for snacks throughout the event. It really did taste like an ice cream sandwich! I don’t think anyone knew they were tofu but Don. By the end of the event there was one thing we all knew, what a gift this ministry of Christ is to His Church! How awesome it is to stand in His stead, speaking His Words of forgiveness and life.

For more information about Concordia Seminary’s upcoming events for high school men and women, visit www.csl.edu.

The Rev. Joel Fritsche serves as an admissions counselor for Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, MO. He, as well as his counterparts at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN, are always eager to discuss vocation with high school and college-aged men.