Category: Articles

Rev. George F. Borghardt

When Adam saw Eve, it was on like Donkey Kong! She was the cream in his jelly donut, the icing on his cake, the Yin to his…well, you get the point. She was made from his side. He was “not good” without her.

They were the happy ending to Romeo and Juliet. They were Edward and Bella without the fangs and blood. They were more royal than William and Kate and more perfect than Westley and Buttercup.

And, like any good love story, when Adam saw Eve, the world froze for him. What else was he to do other than to break into song? “Finally! This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh! She shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken from a man.” A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24) Did she giggle like a school girl? How could she not? She completed him. She wouldn’t “be” without him.

She loved him. He loved her. They were holy. They were pure. They were chaste. They were decent. It was friendship and like and love all in that one instant. They happily-ever-after-ed and were married. Then, came the honeymoon and all the “two-becoming-one-flesh-ness.”

Then, there was the Fall. Adam tried to possess Eve. They used one another. They turned their God-given desire for each other into something that would become its own god. They ate what was not given to them to eat. They disobeyed the God who created them and brought them together. Sin came into the world, and with sin came death. They fell and we all fell with them.

Lust is one of the fruits of their fall. It is the twisted, fallen desire to do something with someone who isn’t your Adam or your Eve. It is the thought behind the action, the urge before the doing. It starts innocently enough, with just a second look—an itch that quietly asks to be scratched. What if? Wouldn’t that be nice? A kiss…maybe more. Just a little thing. What’s the harm in letting your mind wander a bit? And before you know it, the daydream goes from PG, to R, to NC-17.

Hearts race, minds contemplate how to make the dreams come true, we get excited, maybe even communicate what we want to the other person. There are no accidents here as we run, scheme, and plan to make what we want a reality. Lust always ends in full blown sin. Always. You can’t have hot coals in your lap, says Solomon, and not get burned (Proverbs 6:27).

That’s lust, not love. Love comes from the God who created Adam and Eve. It is patient and doesn’t go too far. It doesn’t treat others as if they are possessions or just things to be wanted, owned, or consumed. Love is seen in the suffering and death of Jesus.

That’s how Christ loves His bride. She is born out of the water and blood flowing from His pierced side. She’s doesn’t exist to scratch His itches or just to give Him pleasure. No, He serves her. He cares for her. He loves her! He really does. He loves her not only with words but also by giving up His life for her.

She receives from Him, lives from Him, breathes from Him. He gives to her, who she is. His Words wash her. His Words feed her.  His Words change her world. She is who she is because He speaks her, creates her into being.

He is chaste. He refrains from immorality. He is decent. He makes His Bride chaste. He makes her decent. He is holy. She is holy in Him.

For you were bought with the price of the holy life and bitter sufferings of Christ. He has redeemed you, bought you back, from all your sins, from all your lusts, from all your itches, to be his own. You are His. He is yours.

You are chaste in Him. You are decent. You are pure. You are not lust-filled. You wait until marriage to do all the things that aren’t given you until marriage in Christ. You are holy in Him.

One day, He may give you your Adam or Eve. It could be Katniss or Peeta or Gale. He will give you the particular gift that is just right, very good, and just for you. You can wait to do what isn’t given to you to do until then. And if you have failed already, He has given you forgiveness and a new start. You are right now, for Christ’s Cross has made you chaste and decent already in Him.

Rev. George F. Borghardt is the president of Higher Things and serves as the senior pastor at Zion Ev. Lutheran Church in McHenry, Illinois.

Rev. Mark Buetow

“Pastor, I’m gay.” “No, you’re baptized.” “What do you mean? I know I’m baptized but I’m telling you I’m attracted to the same sex.” “Yes, and you’re baptized.” “What does that have to do with being gay?” “Because what defines you is not your sexual orientation or your addictions or anything else like that. What defines you is not your sins. What defines you is what Christ has done for you and given to you. So, you are baptized.”

The trouble with talking about “homosexuality” or any other sexual “orientation” is that when we define people by whom they are attracted to, we’ve already given into the world’s lie that you can be and do whatever you want. The world’s underlying assumption that “anything is okay, provided it doesn’t hurt someone else” is a powerful and compelling argument that is tough to refute. Maybe you’re defined by whom you sleep with. Same sex? That makes you gay. Maybe it’s by what you’re addicted to or recovering from, such as alcohol—so then you’re an alcoholic or recovering alcoholic. We love our labels and it is precisely those labels that allow us to excuse our sins and at the same time demand that people recognize us and give us consideration based on our sins!

St. Paul pulls no punches with the Corinthian Christians. He declares: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The simple fact is, sin harms our neighbor and separates us from God. It draws His wrath and judgment. And it isn’t just this sin or that sin, it’s all of them. No one is excluded from that list. If you lust after the same sex, then this judgment falls upon you. If you lust after the opposite sex, well, same judgment. If you steal, drink too much or are straight but sleep around, you’re under this judgment as well.

But St. Paul is not done there. We completely miss the point if we ignore the next verse: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Here St. Paul takes all those sins and drowns them in the waters of holy baptism. Just as your Old Adam was drowned in holy baptism, a new man came forth in Christ, to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. And there it is: the answer to all of our lusts and others’ sin. It is the truth that our Old Adam pursues his selfish pleasures while the new man is free in Christ from the chains of sin. You are baptized. Therefore what does it all have to do with “homosexuality”?

For those who are gay or struggle with some gender issue. You are baptized! God has not abandoned you. You are not less in His sight because of your struggles against sin. He has beaten sin for you. All of the guilt, doubt and despair you may feel has been answered for on Calvary. The struggle you face to live a “sexually pure and decent life” is the Spirit’s work in you. Your failings to do so are covered by Jesus’ blood and left buried in His tomb. Your victory over these very real and very bitter struggles is the baptism which the sign of the cross remembers, the absolution your pastor speaks, and the Body and Blood of Jesus He gives you.

For parents or friends or family of someone who is gay. You are baptized! Every struggle you have, every tear, every harsh word, every uncertain reaction, every bit of mockery or derision from others—all of that, too, has been nailed to Jesus and His cross. The very real conflict between shame and support, between loathing and love, is bound up with the God who became flesh for you and washed you to make you His child. And that water and Word have washed away every sin you’ve done dealing with all of this, too.

The simple fact is that the Christ loves His Church and gave Himself for her. He has washed her and made her His spotless bride. She was born from His side in water and blood and she is washed and nurtured by that same water and blood. The church is the Bride of Christ, bought with His suffering and death, purified by His Word, and prepared for her Lord for an eternal wedding celebration.

Homosexuality, promiscuity, divorce, adultery, fornication—anything that is against marriage or denies marriage—denies the truth of Jesus and His church. But it is precisely in the truth of what Christ has done for His church that all sins are forgiven. 
All of them. Without exception. None greater or less than another. All of them are covered by Christ’s blood. And every struggle, and every failing, and every transgression, is covered by the promise of your baptism. This is why the whole Christian life, whatever you struggle with, is nothing other than a life in the Divine Service, hearing over and over the promise that Christ does not abandon us in our sins but forgives and gives us life.

The church does not accept the world’s view that “anything goes.” But neither does it seek to judge certain sins more than others. Rather, the church lives by Christ’s gifts. By His forgiveness. By His Word, water, body and blood. There is nothing else by which the Spirit works in us to rescue us from the world’s way of thinking and the darkness of sin. And that is why, when it comes down to it, the question isn’t “Are you gay or straight?” It’s “Are you baptized?” And if you are baptized, you are the Lord’s. Your Old Adam is a dead man and in Christ, you are righteous, innocent, and pure, now and forever.

Author’s note: The reality of genders struggles, often driven by the influence of the permissive world around us, means that much confusion can arise. Readers facing these sorts of issues and struggles are encouraged to speak with their pastor, whom the Lord has given to bring forgiveness and the comfort of Christ to them.

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in DuQuoin, Illinois and serves as the deputy and media services executive for Higher Things. He can be reached at buetowmt@gmail.com.

Bob and Cyndi Myers

BOB

Looking back on more than three decades of marriage gives us pause to reflect on God’s gift of marriage. I confess that as a young man there were many times when I wished that I could see into the future and know just what lay ahead for me. I guessing that sometimes you might think that, too.

We know couples who are happy in marriage, couples who are unhappy in marriage, singles who are happily single, and singles who are discontented in their single state.

So, would it be a good thing to be able to see decades into the future? Would it lead to a sense of peace or a sense of despair?

The popular culture will always try to describe norms of behavior or shape your view of what is important in dating or in marriage. Very often these influences on behavior simply boil down to personal appearance, popularity and social status.

Each person, each couple, is unique in many ways, and yet each are the same in that they are given to live out the vocation that the Lord has given them.

CYNDI

As a young woman I dreamed of someday meeting that one person whom I could love and be loved by “til death do us part.” Not yet understanding my vocation as daughter, sister, student, co-worker and friend, it seemed there was something more I wanted. I was not content with what I had and with whom God had made me to be.  I thought I would be happier if I were smarter, prettier, and thinner, had a more prestigious job, a handsome and popular boyfriend, etc.  The Lord tells us to be content in Him and trust that God will provide all that we need. Amazingly, God’s love is so great that He also gives us 
gifts we don’t even ask for.

In 1980, I was very content with my life and being single. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, which included going to church (or not), visiting my parents (or not), serving my neighbor (or not). One day a friend and co-worker approached me and began telling me about a guy her spouse worked with. She said, “You guys would be perfect for each other” so she asked my permission to set us up on a blind date to meet at their home for dinner. We all laughed, talked, ate, and just had a great time. That evening, my blind date asked to see me again, and we dated for several months. All the while, I never thought: This is the one.

BOB

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Holy Word! His Word points us to what it is that we should consider important. We can see that it is considered important to be equally yoked, and by that I mean man and woman alike under the yoke of Jesus. Christ is the one who said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” But I would further advise you to consider what that means within the world of believers. It can be quite difficult if one person is from a church body that joyfully receives the Sacraments and the other person is from a tradition that disregards the Sacraments and even goes so far as to deny the effective work of God in them. For these reasons it is important that you consider these things when you choose a person to date and even more so when you consider the possibility of marriage.

The Lord has promised to give us everything we need (2 Peter 1:3). We do not necessarily receive everything we want. We daily sin much, and often are not content with what we have been given, yet we have a Father in heaven who delights in giving good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).

God alone supplies all that we need to sustain this body and life. He has provided a perfectly created order, and a picture of this relationship is described in Ephesians 5. Read the Table of Duties in Luther’s Small Catechesis and hear what it says to husbands, wives, youth, parents, and children.

So while you haven’t been promised, and you’re most likely not going to get a sign from above in the form of a halo of shimmering light over “Mr. or Miss Right,” you have been given the promise of eternal life, the assurance that He cares for us, and the historical fact that He gave Himself up for us.

In Christ we are never alone. God has promised “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

CYNDI

God chose this man to give to me through the gift of holy matrimony and on April 7, 1981 we were joined by God at His altar. I could not have imagined all that He would bless us with. Throughout 33 years of marriage, we have been through good times and bad but looking back, the hardest times were the ones that made our marriage stronger. Keeping Christ as our focus helped us to grow in our faith and in our marriage.

God has blessed us in more ways than we could have ever thought to ask for, two children, two grandchildren, steady employment, a home, a faithful church and pastor, opportunities to serve our neighbors, good health and so much more.

God gave me the perfect spouse—the one He created for me!

But we are chosen by Him and made perfect through His son Jesus Christ and THAT is the greatest gift of all!

Bob and Cyndi Myers live in Milton, Florida and worship at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Pensacola. When they are not busy being parents and grandparents, Bob, a retired Navy Mustang, is a truck driver and Cyndi is a travel agent for the military. Both greatly enjoy working with youth at church, particularly in catechesis. They can be reached at myers.w.robert@gmail.com (Bob) and navwif@gmail.com (Cyndi).

Rev. Joel Fritsche

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed 
is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame 
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5 ESV)

My wife and I have three sons. I’d say my quiver is quite full, even though I don’t have seven or eight children. Arrows in the hand of a warrior? Yes, I’d say so, but I suppose I mean that a bit differently than the Psalmist. Of course, I agree with the Psalmist, too. Don’t get me wrong. My gates will be well-defended with my three Russian-born adopted sons and their genetic body-building physiques. Did you see Rocky IV? Enemies beware! You will lose! But sometimes the arrows are aimed right back at me. That’s what I was getting at. Honestly, I struggle as a father. It’s a weighty vocation with increasing demands, not just on my time, but on my patience, too. It’s tough raising three boys! Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them? It’s true. In spite of the struggles and challenges of parenthood, there are many blessings.

As a pastor, I officiate at about five or six weddings per year. In premarital instruction I talk with couples about children: the blessings and challenges. Each time at the wedding service, I read those words in the opening sentences about marriage and the blessings that God gives along with it. The one that comes toward the end is this: “God also established marriage for the procreation of children who are to be brought up in the fear and instruction of the Lord so that they may offer Him their praise” (Holy Matrimony, LSB 275).

Children are only one of the many blessings of marriage. I always wanted to have children and I always thought I would have children. But I wasn’t devastated when my wife revealed before our engagement that she had known since childhood that she would not likely ever conceive and bear children. If children are a blessing from the Lord, then is being unable to have children a kind of punishment? The Gospel says no! Jesus bore the punishment of her sins, as well as yours and mine.

Seeing that my wife had a peace about her circumstances was comforting to me. Anticipating the other blessings God gives in marriage, like mutual companionship, help and support, and the delight husbands and wives are privileged to have for one another moved us forward into marriage. And it wasn’t long after our wedding that we started looking into the possibility of adoption. Five years later we were on a plane flying across Russia with two little boys. Three years after that, we were bringing home their brother from the same region in Russia—from the same birth mother even.

I can’t say that I never wonder what it might have been like for my wife and I to have had biological children. I know she wonders, too. Childbirth is an incredible miracle. Every birth is a living reminder of our Savior’s birth. But adoption certainly has its picture, too. It carries that image of new birth—our adoption by God’s grace in Christ (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15). My sons will always be a living reminder to me of that blessed truth. I pray that the reality of their adoption will hold that image of Divine grace before them throughout their lives also.

Speaking of images and pictures, I find that through my children, there’s a unique blessing to be received. A family of five living together under the same roof presents a picture of its own. As I recognize and confess my sins within my vocation of father, as I struggle with my lack of patience, as my anger sometimes gets the better of me, I see a brighter reflection of a heavenly Father who poured out His anger over my sin—not on me, but on Jesus. There’s hope for me, despite my failures and sins as a father, because I have a compassionate heavenly Father who loves me in Christ. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him (Psalm 103:13).

By God’s grace, the Holy Spirit increases my desire to be patient with my children and to show them the same compassion that God the Father shows me. It encourages me to be a faithful father, to bring these boys up in the fear and instruction of the Lord. And despite the challenge of that part of my vocation in the 21st century, the blessing of children abounds and overflows even into the lives of others. I see it as I look out into the pew and see my sons singing the Gloria or confessing the Creed. I see it when my parishioners tell me the joy that they experience when they hear my sons singing and praying. It’s yet another picture, a living testimony of childlike faith in Jesus.

A heritage from the Lord? Indeed! The fruit of the womb a reward? Definitely. My quiver is filled with the Lord’s blessing for my wife, for me, and for my neighbor, too!

Rev. Joel Fritsche is an adopted child of God, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Staunton, Illinois, and a member of the board of directors of Higher Things.

Sandra Ostapowich

“I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:32-34)

Unless your family is rather unusual, being unmarried is pretty much the default for American teenagers these days. A lot of your friends are probably dating, and thinking and dreaming about marriage to their “special person” one day. Maybe you are, too!

Or maybe not.

It can be difficult when it seems like everyone else is dating and has a special someone with whom to hang out and rehash the day’s drama. When the winter semi-formal or spring prom comes up, you can cover your lack of a date by collecting a group of friends to all go together. Or you just don’t go at all. Maybe it’s just too awkward. Who likes being lonely in a crowd…of couples?

Being single, especially once you’re out on your own, can be really hard. It’s so, SO easy to give in to the temptation to despise the vocation you’ve been given. Family (even strangers) will pat you on the shoulder and encourage you to do just that! “Don’t worry dear, it’ll be your turn soon. Someone as wonderful as you is just too good not to be snatched up yet!” they say, consolingly.

I get it. It weighs on us when so many things in society revolve around couples and families. Ironically, it’s often worse in the church, where the ideal man is a husband and father and the ideal woman is a wife and mother. And then there’s you: none of the above. Less than ideal. Maybe not even a real man or woman.

Everyone says it’ll get better…but what if it doesn’t? What if you end up watching your friends and (younger) relatives check off those significant milestones of engagements, weddings, and births, never getting to experience them yourself? What if that person never walks into your life and you’re stuck alone, forever?

[Cue the Accuser’s whispers in the back of your mind, “You’re alone because there’s something wrong with you. You don’t deserve to be loved. You’re so pathetic. You really are going to be alone for the rest of your life.”]

But singleness isn’t a curse. It’s not the anti-vocation to the real vocation of being a husband or wife. And it’s definitely not a prison sentence to a life of solitary confinement, as you wait (oh-so-impatiently) for some romanticized, idealized, significant-other to swoop in and save you from this miserable existence so you can finally start living a real life. A married life.

Repent of this kind of thinking! You already have a Savior—One who has loved you to death, and has raised you to new life again.

The reality is that being single is a perfectly good, God-given, God-pleasing, genuine vocation. St. Paul even says it’s better than marriage (1 Corinthians 7:8, 38)! The very fact that you are not married is an actual vocation all its own. It’s not even the “not-married” vocation, it’s just you! Not alone—but you, as a unique, individual child of God; you, set apart in Christ, for the Lord to serve your neighbor through you; you, holy by virtue of your baptism.

Regardless of how you feel, you’re not alone. You just aren’t married. That’s a huge difference. When you’re not oriented around a spouse, you are free to take advantage of a whole world of opportunities around you! Not for sexual relationships, mind you, but for all sorts of relationships in which you can invest your time and energy and love, with all that you have been given in Christ—and without worrying that you’re neglecting a spouse and children as you do. What a gift your singleness is to your neighbors!

So when you’re feeling lonely, fight against the swirling vortex of self-pity. Go visit someone stuck in a nursing home, whose friends have all died and who hasn’t seen a relative in weeks. When you want someone to hold your hand and tell you everything is going to be okay, go sit at the bedside of a hospitalized member of your church for a while. Hold her hand and remind her of her baptism. When you long for someone to tell you you’re wonderful and matter to him or her, volunteer to mentor a kid who has probably never heard another person telling him that he’s good for anything.

And if the day comes when He gives you a spouse, then that’ll be a gift for you. Each day that He doesn’t is another day for you to turn your attention toward serving Him in the place where He has put you, caring for the neighbors that He has put in your world.

And so your singleness can never be a curse; it is a gift. After all, the curse of sin was already borne by Jesus. He has no curses for you. The One who was truly alone is the One who suffered and died for the sins of the world. In Him, you are never alone. He is with you always, each day, in the Word which forgives you, in the baptism that washes you, and in the Sacrament that feeds you.

Sandra Ostapowich is the conference executive for Higher Things and served for 9 years on the Higher Things Board of Directors. She lives with her son in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where she is also studying for her Ph.D. in Missiology at Concordia Theological Seminary.

With Rev. Mark Jasa’s recent article in The Lutheran Witness, we wanted to highlight his work again with this article from our Apologetics Issue of Higher Things Magazine.

Katie Hill

For 47 years the University Lutheran Chapel has faithfully ministered to students at UCLA—from those who need their faith nourished to those who have no faith at all. And since August 2005, Rev. Mark Jasa has served as pastor there, bringing his unique life experience and apologetics skills to the table, sometimes literally.

In the beginning
Pastor Jasa was born into a Lutheran household and has fond memories of going through Little Visits With God with his parents. However, he was a skeptic at a young age. He recalls believing that everything was finite, that there was no infinite God and he feared, therefore, that perhaps he himself didn’t even truly exist.

In junior high Jasa came to the conclusion that all religions were basically the same, or as he put it, “You need to be good to get the good stuff.” He reasoned, why choose one? So, he chose nothing. By the time high school rolled around, he had developed a keen interest in biology. He felt his teachers clearly cared for him and invested time in him, so he had no reason to doubt what they said. Jasa operated under the assumption that evolution was true and God really wasn’t necessary.

In the back of his mind he recalled hearing a sermon wherein the pastor said, “God loves you in spite of yourself.” And he remembered the words in the liturgy, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” (1 John 1:8). But he shoved those things aside and left the church for a time. No one seemed to have any good answers. It wasn’t personal. Not yet.

The turning point
In college at UCLA, this thinking was reinforced. Evolution=fact. Bible=lie. But a fear of death had begun to creep in and take hold. One day he was asked a question by a man named Cliff Knechtle, a Christian apologist who travels from college campus to college campus conversing with skeptics. “Is Hitler bad?” The question haunted Jasa. It dawned on him that of course he would have to say yes, but then that meant, logically, that there had to be a standard—a law. It was a watershed moment for Jasa, who vividly recalls that day when he said aloud, “I believe in God.”

However, it would be some time before the full impact of that truth settled in. He continued to grapple with these matters. There are things that are true. Right and wrong do exist. But how could he prove it? He was on a quest for truth, but not salvation yet.

During his investigations he began to see that Jesus as a Savior was unique. Reading through Isaiah 53, he saw that claim of the Bible began to take shape. Another benchmark: Jesus is God, but not necessarily my savior. In fact, for Jasa it all boiled down to: “Jesus is the one sending me to hell.” Clearly it was not good news yet.

Now it’s personal
Two Lutheran friends of Jasa would often take the time to engage him in many discussions and while he loved the interaction he was not personally convinced. His fear of death had continued to grow over the years. So one fateful day, these two friends took him to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, where Jasa heard the words that he says changed the course of his life: “The good news is outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners.” Jesus’ promises were coming from the mouth of Rev. William Cwirla. “He has an amazing way of telling you that the Gospel is for you,” Jasa explains. Now it was personal. Now it was for Mark Jasa.

At this point Jasa knew that he wanted to be a pastor but he still lacked direction. At the urging of Rev. Cwirla and another pastor, he spent time as a missionary in Japan. He started putting more apologetics pieces together, reading Francis Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics and Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict. He wanted to know how to be an effective apologist. He wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

What he began to notice was that in all of the world’s religions, there aren’t promises—only demands. Joseph Smith doesn’t make promises. Mary Eddy Baker doesn’t make promises. Mohammed definitely doesn’t make promises. But Jesus does…over and over and over again.

After Japan, Jasa went to Concordia seminary in St. Louis and served his vicarage at Humboldt State University in California. He recalls an incident after working with a student there, who claimed, “Mark Jasa has convinced me that God exists.” Jasa could only think, “I have failed!” Of course it was gratifying to lead someone to that point but he wanted to be able to clearly communicate the truth of the Good News—the promises. Lutheran attorney Craig Parton explained to him that the Lutheran doctrine of Law and Gospel, as well as Christ’s resurrection, are the keys to effective apologetics. Jasa took this and ran with it.

The harvest is ripe
In August of 2005, Jasa was installed as the pastor at the University Lutheran Chapel at UCLA. It was here where all of those pieces he had been gathering together formed a wonderful portfolio that would be utilized and tested in the most satisfying ways. His ministry there involves two worship services a week, Bible studies, fellowship and three days of evangelism on campus. He also gives lectures on various apologetic-oriented topics. Jasa has gained a reputation for posting unique and sometimes provocative signs, e.g. “Religion is for the weak,” in plain view on his ministry table that prompt people to stop and ask questions…all part of the plan, of course.

Jasa says that his preferred apologetics methods are ones anyone can use. He explains that, for the most part, we can approach apologetics with intellectual arguments or existential arguments (someone’s experiences). He likes to employ either or both, on a case by case basis. For example, talking to someone who feels guilty (existential) may drive that person to know the truth (intellectual). Jasa says we often try to include information/facts that aren’t necessary. He makes it a point to ask himself, “What does he or she need?” Then he leads them to the truth. This is an application of God’s Law and Gospel. He encourages anyone defending the faith not to focus on the existence of God, although it is okay to talk about that with someone if they bring it up. Also, he advises you not to spend hours trying to prove evolution is false. This will take you away from the heart of the matter. Instead, make sure you have your facts straight on the resurrection. He notes that the Josh McDowell book mentioned earlier, as well as John Warwick Montgomery’s book History, Law and Christianity are must reads in this regard.

Jasa says to keep in mind that there are certain things nearly everyone can accept. One of them is, “I have chosen to hurt others and have contributed to the way the world is.” Also, most people are afraid of death, so it is important to bring them back to that point. Finally, it’s okay to concede a point with someone, particularly if it is taking you away from the truth you are leading them toward. For example, if someone tells you the Trinity is a crazy idea, tell them they’re right, but on judgment day what do they think will happen?

“It’s a delight to be able to do what I do—whether I’m in the pulpit proclaiming Christ to our members or talking to atheists and telling them that Jesus is really free. Being a Lutheran is the easiest thing in the whole world because all you have to do is tell people what is true.”

Rev. Mark Jasa can be reached at markjasa@gmail.com You can read more about the LCMS ministry at UCLA at www.ulcbruins.org.

Katie Hill is the editor of Higher Things Magazine and the mother of two active teens in Gilbert, Arizona. In her spare time she is an elementary teacher. She can be reached at katie.hill@higherthings.org