Category: News

Announcing…

The 2006 Higher Things Conference will be held at

Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO

July 18-21, 2006

More details will be coming over the next several months, but hopefully this information will be helpful to many of you as you begin to make plans to join us in 2006.

When more information is available it will be posted at www.higherthings.org and be made available in the magazine.

Pastor Marcus Zill
HT Vice President, 2006 Site Coordinator

Pastor Dan Woodring
HT Executive Director

Announcing…

CHRIST ON CAMPUS III
A Higher Things Conference on Campus Ministry
Bloomington, IN, June 28-30, 2005
Check it out: http://higherthings.org/html/campus/events/cocIII.html

General Information
Christ on Campus III is the third annual Higher Things conference for those engaged in campus ministry. Whether you are already doing campus ministry or  are just getting started; whether you are a full or part time campus pastor, a town & gown pastor, a DCE, a DCO, or an interested layperson, this conference is for you.

We are pleased to have two outstanding speakers who will address different topics important to campus ministry. There will be lots of opportunities to share ideas and resources with others at the forefront of campus ministry.

This year we will again hold a special pre-conference workshop on the basics of campus ministry. And, of course, there will be plenty of chances to socialize and simply get to know others with whom you will be able to network long after you have returned home. You won’t want to miss Christ on Campus III!

Date and Location
June 28th through June 30th, 2005. The conference begins Tuesday afternoon, ends Thursday mid-afternoon. It will be held at University Lutheran Church & Student Center in Bloomington, IN. ULC is a full time campus ministry and campus congregation serving the students at Indiana University.

Pre-Conference Workshop
A special half-day workshop intended for those who want to learn the basics of leading a confessionally faithful campus ministry will be held the afternoon of June 28th. Led by pastors at the forefront of campus ministry today, this workshop will help provide you the tools and mindset you need in your campus work.

The Speakers
Rev. Dr. Michael Eschelbach
Associate Professor of Theology at Concordia University in River Forest, IL.

Cinema Sophia – “Using Cinematic Worldviews to Catechize”  Young zpeople live, think and speak the world of films they view. Yet film, like all other art, reflects realities of sin and grace. Hosting films and leading discussions about them is a fantastic means of meeting and connecting with students. Learn about the approach in general, and learn about some specific examples employed by someone who has hosted films for the last 4 1/2 years on campus at CURF.

Critical Thinking – “The Philosophy of Religion on Campus.”
When meeting a person for the first time, mention that you are a theologian and the conversation is over. But if you tell them you are a philosopher, they will pour their hearts out, giving you an opportunity to engage them in issues of truth, which inevitably leads to discussions of The Truth. Hosting a time for young people to pursue the philosophy of religion is welcome and provides a means to promote critical thinking that allows college students to see the Truth clearly.

Rev. Dr. Steven Hein
Director of the Concordia Institute for Christian Studies in Colorado Springs, CO.

Holy Anguish – “Helping College Students Deal with Doubts”
When the faith of college students is assaulted on the secular campus today, many can become silent sufferers of doubt. Doubt is not synonymous with unfaith, but it is serious business…a holy anguish for faith-life that needs proper attention. Doubt can lead either to unfaith or to greater maturity. It all depends on how it is treated. Doubt means something is wrong with faith. It is either malformed or malnourished. Understanding the symptoms, causes, and kinds of doubt can be vitally important for on-target ministry by those who seek to teach college students the Word of God.

NOTE: Also invited to speak is Rev. Dr. Norman Nagel, Systematics Professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Nagel was a former a former campus pastor of 17 years at Valparaiso University.

Cost & Registration
Registration is $69, though those who register before May 1, 2005 can  receive the early bird rate of $59. Please fill out and mail in the registration form.

Download the Christ on Campus III Registration Form

Accommodations
Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodations. The following are near by and recommended. Special rates available if you mention this conference.

Indiana Memorial Union
900 E. 7th Street
(800) 209-8145
(Just across the street from University Lutheran Church)

Motel 6
1800 North Walnut Street
(812) 332-0820

University Plaza Hotel
1710 Kinser Pike
(812) 334-3252 or (888) 406-4262

Shuttle Information
The Bloomington Airport Shuttle is $22 one way, and brings you right to the door of the Indiana Memorial Union (just across the street from ULC). It begins trips from the Indy airport at 6:40 am and leaves every two hours until after 10:00 pm. The number to call is (812) 332-6004 or make reservations online at http://www.bloomingtonshuttle.com.

For More Information
[About the Conference]
E-mail Rev. Richard Woelmer or call him at (812) 336-5387.

[About Higher Things Campus Ministry]
E-mail Rev. Marcus Zill or call him at (307)745-5892.

CHECK OUT THE NEW & IMPROVING WEBSITE:
http://higherthings.org/html/campus.html

Downloads

Christ on Campus III Mailing

Christ on Campus III Registration Form

Regular visitors to the Higher Things website (www.higherthings.org) may have noticed a few changes happening there in recent weeks.

There ARE quite a few exciting developments going on at HigherThings.org!

Most important is the change that you probably can’t even see.  We had the entire site reprogrammed.  This allows us to add all sorts of cool features (which I will fill you in on momentarily), and to do so really easily.

Now about those cool NEW features…

ONLINE FORUMS (http://higherthings.org/forum/)
The e-mail lists that you have come to know and love for years are now even more easily accessible as online forums.  You’ll be able to have even more conversations with even more people – AND your inbox won’t get clogged with stuff you don’t want to read.  Participate in the discussions of your choosing.  We’ve got lots of discussion ideas started already, register a username and start talking!  Middle and High School students, we’ve got a MouthHouse (including Didache) forum just for you.  Lutheran Student Union college (and beyond) students have already begun using their forum.  Thank you to the LSU members for testing things out and getting it all started!

MAGAZINE
Starting with last issue (Winter 2004), when you click on the magazine cover, you’ll be taken to a page that gives an overview of the articles in it.  Same as before.  BUT, now you can post comments tell us right away how great (or not) you think every article is!

CAMPUS MINISTRY
(http://www.higherthings.org/html/campus.html)
Going to www.htcampus.org will take you to these revised pages, really cool stuff.  More to come. ‘Nuff said.

PAYPAL
In the interest of making everything convenient for those who support us, Higher Things has opened an account with PayPal to handle online magazine subscriptions as well as to accept direct donations.  Higher Things operates and exists on the generosity of people like you, this is will make financial transactions not only easier for everyone involved.

HT – BLOGS
Breaking into the world of blogging, Higher Things has asked a few people who we think have interesting things to say to say them on a blog:

The Confessional Cowboy – http://blog.higherthings.org/zill/
by Rev. Marcus Zill, Chair of Higher Things Campus Ministry.

The Lutheran Logomaniac – http://blog.higherthings.org/peperkorn/
by Rev. Todd Peperkorn, Executive Editor of Higher Things Magazine.

Madre’s Missives – http://blog.higherthings.org/madre/by
Sandra Ostapowich, Secretary of Higher Things.

Bloghardt’s Reflector – http://blog.higherthings.org/borghardt/  by Rev. George Borghardt, author of the Higher Things Reflections, and member of the Higher Things Magazine Editorial Board.

That about does it for now.  Watch for more developments in the future.  We still have lots of ideas to implement in the future.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me at ostapowich@higherthings.org.

Sandra Ostapowich
Higher Things, Web Committee Chair

Dear friends,

As of today we have received 1150 registrations for the Dare to be Lutheran Conference this summer in St. Louis. Our capacity is 1100, which means that 50 are on a waiting list. Everyone whose registrations were post marked on March 7 or before are registered.

As I said earlier, there is a possibility that we can add 40-50 spots.  We will also, without doubt, have a few cancellations.

If you have not registered yet, you may still do so to get on the waiting list. If you don’t get in, your deposits will be returned to you, so there isn’t anything to lose.  We will maintain the waiting list until May 1.

If your group is already registered, and you know of a cancellation, or if someone decides to give away their spot, and you do so by April 29th, we will refund your deposit for those spots as long as there are still people on our waiting list. Usually, we never refund this deposit, but we are doing so this year in order to give some others the possibility of attending. But we need to know by April 28, otherwise you will forfeit your deposit if you have a cancellation for which you are unable to find a substitute. In other words, not only will you be saving money, but you’ll give someone the opportunity to attend the conference.

If you have any questions about this, email Pr. Woodring at woodring@higherthings.org.

Dear Friends,

As of this afternoon, we are at 90% of conference capacity.  We have  slightly more than 1000 registrants for the Dare to Be Lutheran conference next July.  This means that we only have roughly 100 spots remaining.  We may be able to exceed the total of 1100 by around 50-60 registrants.

I realize that over the past month I gave various and sundry estimations of how much time groups have to register before we are full.  In these conversations, I have stressed that I really have no way to predict.  Two weeks ago we were less than 50%.

At any rate, I am estimating now that we will reach our capacity of 1100 within 7-10 days. This is only a guess. We could fill up completely with tomorrows mail, or it could be another month.  But I definitely would urge groups who still want to attend to move quickly.

We will create a waiting list of groups after we reach 1100 in case we are able to find more space, and in the event that we have some cancellations (which we always do).

Thank you all for your support toward Higher Things, your encouragement, and prayers.

Pr. Daniel Woodring
Executive Director
Higher Things, Inc.
www.higherthings.org

Higher Things serves the Lutheran Church by providing resources for congregations to use in ministry toward youth.

Would you like to make a donation to Higher Things?  You may do so at our website using your credit card, or by writing to the following address:

Higher Things
1615 E Buffalo St
New Buffalo, MI 49117

Once again, just in time for your Lenten preparations, Higher Things is pleased to provide daily Lenten Reflections for personal or congregational use!

The Reflections will also be emailed daily during Lent to the Reflections e-mail list. If you are not yet signed up to receive Higher Things Reflections via email, send any message to Reflections-on@lists.higherthings.org.

You can also download all of the Reflections here or view them as they are posted daily here.

The web site might not look too different, but the entire site has been reworked and is now on a new web host. This will allow Higher Things to expand more and provide even better services to those who Dare to be Lutheran!

Merry Christmas! The winter issue of Higher Things is in the final stages of going to press, but we wanted to give you a little Christmas cheer as our Lord prepares you for His arrival! You will find linked below electronic (PDF) versions of the following articles that will be featured in the winter issue, to be released in early January:

Special Christmas e-Preview Issue