eas t
D A R E
T O
B E
L U T H E R A N
14 pg.
igher Things Higher
F The
e– enc fer Con ngs Thi her Hig 06 20
Inside this issue:
• Persecuted for the Faith— Lutheran Youth in Sudan • The Truth About Mental Illness • Christmas Angels: Do They Fly, Float, or Stand by Your Side? W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G
/ WINTER / 2005
Merchandise
Ecclesiastical Art CD - $50
The Friendly Face of Higher Things Merchandise: Meet Naomi Kavouras! (merchandise@higherthings.org).
Mark quantity for each size/item ■ GOLD “Dare to be Lutheran” Adult 100% Cotton T-Shirt – $15 Ea. S _____ M _____ L _____ XL _____ XXL _____ ■ RED “Dare to be Lutheran” Adult 100% cotton T-Shirt – $15 Ea. S _____ M _____ L _____ XL _____ XXL _____ ■ YELLOW HAZE “Dare to be Lutheran” Ladies cut 100% cotton T-Shirt – $15 Ea. S _____ M _____ L _____ XL _____ XXL _____ ■ RED “Dare to be Lutheran” Ladies cut 100% cotton T-Shirt – $15 Ea. S _____ M _____ L _____ XL _____ XXL _____ ■ RED “Dare to be Lutheran” Polo Shirts – $30 Ea. S _____ M _____ L _____ XL _____ XXL _____ Ecclesiastical Art CD – Number of CDs _____ x $50 Ea. = _________ Total for CD
Polos - $30 T Shirts - $15
Shipping and handling: For orders under $50.00, add $5.00 for shipping and handling. For orders over $50.00, shipping and handling is free. Sub Total __________ Shipping and handling (under $50 order add $5.00; over $50.00, free) __________ GRAND TOTAL __________ ■ Bill my Credit Card #__________________________________________________ ■ Visa ■ MasterCard Name on Card________________________________ Signature_______________________________________ Exp. Date ________ ■ Check Enclosed (checks made payable to Higher Things) Pay online with *Canadian orders add 20%. Overseas orders add 50%.
Ship to: www.higherthings.org Name ____________________________________________________________ Street____________________________________________________________ City___________________________________ State_____ Zip______________ Send order form to: Higher Things Merchandise, P.O. Box 34266, Parma, OH 44134
Vintage Copies of Higher Things Available! eed to lead a Bible study on a topic Higher Things has covered? Want to share Higher Things with your youth group or a friend? Back issues of Higher Things are available!
N
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 2
12 issues will be bundled together and sold for $15 a set or single copies of issues can be purchased for only $2.00, plus shipping and handling.Treat yourself or some deserving youth group to copies of Higher Things! You may mail in your order for the package of twelve different issues using the form below, or go to the web page to mix and match and purchase through Paypal.
12 issues packaged together . . . .$15.00 Single issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2.00 each Go to www.higherthings.org for more info or call 260-357-5094.
I love the classics, so please send me my vintage copies of Higher Things. Total Quantity 12 packs x $15__________ Total Quantity single Issues x $2__________ Shipping and handling (under $50, add $5.00; over $50.00, free) __________ GRAND TOTAL __________ ■ Bill my Credit Card #__________________________________________________ ■ Visa ■ MasterCard Name on Card_________________________________ Signature_____________________________________ Exp. Date __________ ■ Check Enclosed (checks made payable to Higher Things) *Canadian orders add 20%. Overseas orders add 50%.
Ship to: Name _________________________________________________________ Street_________________________________________________________ City___________________________________ State_____ Zip___________ Send order form to: Vintage HT Offer, Higher Things, Inc., P.O. Box 185, LaOtto IN 46763-0185.
Contents T A B L E
O F
Volume 5/Number 4 • Winter 2005
HigherThings
FEATURES
COLUMNS
4
16 Kathy and the Wonderful, Beautiful, Happy, Very Good Day
The Devil’s Opera By A.B. Fouts Are praise services the cure for depression? Can praise music take away your despair? Read this intriguing article to explore the heartache of bipolar disorder and the truth of the Gospel.
5
Dear Pastor . . . Questions and Answers about Depression By Rev. Dan Krueger Dear Pastor, I need some advice. I’m feeling so depressed. Can you help? Is there something wrong with my faith? Pastor Krueger helps to clear up the confusion.
8
Looks Can Be Deceiving By Seminarian Joshua Genig Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization over fifty years old, has groups at more than thirteen hundred college campuses. Is this parachurch group helpful to Lutheran college students or not?
11 Tea and Philosophy By Adriane Dorr The TGB Society serves up tea, good conversation, and thoughtful discussion. See what this college group is all about.
12 Christmas: On the Earth By Rev. George F. Borghardt III The Christmas narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are favorites of many. Pastor Borghardt explores one aspect of the story— the angels’ role in our Lord’s Christmas coming.
22 Lutherans in Sudan By Hipi Elisa Hipi is the daughter of Rev. Andrew Elisa, the president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Sudan. She lends some thoughts about God’s unceasing blessings in the persecuted and war-torn country of Sudan.
By Kathy Luder Kathy’s day starts out crummy and goes downhill from there. At the end of the day, Kathy flops on the couch, and her perspective suddenly changes.
18 Blog War on the Wrath of God By Dr. Gene Edward Veith Was Hurricane Katrina an example of God unleashing His wrath? Read about Dr. Veith’s blog wars and God’s wrath, grace, and our hope in Christ.
20 MINING THE RICHES: A Promise of the Lord By Rev. Brian Mosemann In Mark 4, Jesus calms the sea and quiets the waves. Pastor Mosemann reflects on this text, on our resistance to trust in God, and on the Gospel promises of our Savior.
26 Pulse: I Kissed Legalism Goodbye By Adriane Dorr In this Pulse column that reviews several books on “Christian dating,” Ms. Dorr reflects on boyfriends, girlfriends, hand checks, and Christ’s everlasting grace.
28 Dare To Be Lutheran: Sin, Certainty, and the Gospel: Why I’m Not Eastern Orthodox By Rev. Paul Gregory Alms In this semi-regular column, Higher Things seeks to understand our distinctiveness as Lutherans. In this issue, Pastor Alms lends his thoughts about the Eastern Orthodox Church and our Gospel-rich Lutheran heritage.
30 Catechism: Lead Us to Resist Temptation By Rev. David Petersen We continually struggle with temptation, just as our Master, Jesus, was also tempted. And yet we hold fast to the hope we have in Christ when all earthly sufferings, including temptation, will finally be removed.
One the cover: An Angel Appears to the Shepherds From Printing the Word: The Art of Watanabe Sadao An exhibition of prints from the collection of Anne H. H. Pyle The Gallery at the American Bible Society, New York City
Also in this issue: 10 Letters to the editor 14 Information about The Feast Higher Things conference in July 2006 24 News and Notes 25 Lower Things: WWJD? By Nathaniel Rhein
Publications Executive & Editor REV. TODD PEPERKORN Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER Editorial Assistant ADRIANE DORR Art Director STEVE BLAKEY
Editorial Associates REV. GEORGE BORGHARDT REV. TIM PAULS REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. ERIK ROTTMANN
III
Bible Studies Editor REV. TIMOTHY SCHELLENBACH Contributing Editors REV. ERIC ANDRAE PAM KNEPPER KATHY LUDER REV. SCOTT STIEGEMEYER DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Marketing Manager MARY JO JITER
Subscriptions Manager CYNTHIA HALL
Subscriptions Assistant CHRIS HALL
—
Internet Services Executive REV. GEORGE BORGHARDT Conferences Executive REV. BRUCE KESEMAN
III
Leadership Executive SUE PELLEGRINI
Christ On Camous Executive REV. MARCUS ZILL
— BOARD OF DIRECTORS President REV. KLEMET
PREUS
Vice President REV. WILLIAM Secretary SANDRA
CWIRLA
OSTAPOWICH
Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN
BRUCE PARADIS REV. RICHARD RESCH JEFF SCHWARZ BEVERLY YAHNKE MOLLIE ZIEGLER Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2005. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information and questions, call 260-357-5094 or email subscriptions@higherthings.org.
W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 3
The
the lyrics on the Power Point projector disappear. Everyone screams wildly. Life of Christ Church is supposedly a Lutheran Christian church.They have a private high school here. I’m in the gym. I played basketball here once. Now I’m listening to crappy, Lutheran musicians sing pop knockoffs.The God these people worship must like rowdy mobs.“Where’s Jesus’ mosh pit?” I want to know. Eric won’t even look at me. Bible verses are read.The bongo guy talks about how God loves everyone so “Let’s raise our voices in thanks!” He starts praying. Everyone else puts an arm in the air. Some people signal a touchdown. Or maybe raising both arms will act as a doubly powerful Holy Spirit lightning rod. “Jesus,” Bongo Man says,“we just wanted to thank You for Your great love for us, for giving us Your Holy Spirit on this wonderful day!” People randomly say,“Amen!” I zone out.Thirty feet to my right in an unlit corner a big wooden cross is attached to the wall. Jesus died on a cross.That’s why I’m here. Because Jesus loves me. And Jesus loves Eric, my roommate who dragged me here—twice. But Eric stopped talking to me when I refused to sing along for the second Sunday in a row. “Eric!” I defended myself,“Medicine doesn’t even help my depression, okay? My brain isn’t wired like yours.” But he had insisted. Give it another try. God would reveal His love for me. I’d feel better. Eric’s euphoric; he’s doped up on God. He tells me,“You just need to believe.” I tell him,“I believe there will be food in the cafeteria for dinner.You don’t see me skipping to the Commons like an idiot ecstasy addict, waving my arms in the air!” Whatever.The “love” that swept over the crowd when the music started bypassed me. But Eric is the real idiot. I made a stupid, stupid mistake. I confided in him. Sometimes I think about
Devil’s Opera By A. B. Fouts
illions of Americans suffer from clinical or manic depressive disorders. Despair, guilt, shame— what draws these people out of the darkness into Christ, the light of the world? You might be surprised what doesn’t.
M
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 4
Pay close attention to this narrative. I’m at Life of Christ Church with my friend Eric, who dragged me here for the second time. I’m watching as some bongo-playing moron on the dais gyrates to “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” The praise band is well equipped: eight-piece trap set, full-size keyboard, electric and bass guitars, a high tech and professionally installed sound system, and a spotlight. Most upstart bands would give eye teeth for the guitars alone.When the song ends,
suicide. And he had the cure.This is his solution to my problem— this “praise service.” The only reason I came to Life of Christ a second time was because I hoped (even though deep down I knew it wouldn’t happen) that maybe this time God would let me soar too. Everything I hoped would make me feel better—none of it has worked, including this absurd church. What a sham this turned out to be—this sick devil’s opera. The young man telling the story suffers from a bipolar disorder.This chemical disorder, like all mental illnesses, manifests itself differently in different people, but its particular trademarks are soaring periods of mania, followed by crushing despair, which is the stage the narrator is suffering. People with this and related mental illnesses cannot be uplifted or cured by upbeat songs and joyous crowds.These physical diseases need a doctor’s supervision. Cancer patients can’t wish away tumors. People with mental disorders cannot wish
away sadness, despair, emptiness, self-loathing, fatigue, anger, fear, anxiety, and any other debilitating emotions. A cure for mental illnesses at large is non-existent. There are effective methods for stabilizing bipolar and other disorders, but they are largely medical, not only situational (e.g., diet and exercise, being around exciting people in exciting places). Why then, in light of the Gospel’s joyous message, do some people still despair endlessly? Doesn’t the Gospel promise “peace that passes all understanding”? Does Christ’s sacrifice not apply to the mentally ill who often worship and commune in bleak anguish? Christ once told a complaining St. Paul,“My grace is sufficient for you.” And it is. Christians are already dead— drowned in our Baptism, crucified with Christ. But we are also alive, risen with Him in that same Baptism, longing for eternity. Like Job, who lost everything—everything— Christians cry,“Though He slay me, my hope is in Him.” If a mentally ill individual is told praising God will ensure feelings of love, happiness, and peace, their chemicallyimbalanced bodies will likely prevent it. Praise songs become Satan’s property as he uses them to spread the lie that the unhappy are the unwanted. Suffering is part and parcel of a Christian’s life, used powerfully by God for our good and His glory—as we take up our cross and follow the Suffering Servant. We don’t have God’s promise for happiness! Instead, our LORD promised us His peace in the midst of the earth’s travail. Suffering with anything, including bipolar disorder, is not a measure of the magnitude of our faith, nor can we expect that “sufficient faith” will exempt us from suffering. Praise God salvation doesn’t depend upon how we feel! Feeling sad doesn’t change God’s love for us. Salvation rests in the promise and gift of God in Jesus Christ.Through Baptism God gives hope to His people.This hope abides even in our afflictions, even in our depressions and illnesses. For hope, real hope, is in God’s baptismal promises. And that hope—and hope is not a constant joy and unrelenting urge to praise God—preserves us steadfast while we wait. We look heavenward—sometimes in the impatient darkness of mental illness—until Christ returns. What then can draw these poor afflicted souls out of the darkness? The same thing that drew our Lord out of the grave’s darkness–God’s Word and promise. God’s praise will be sung with full voice and heart by all His joyful sons. Even if we are sad now and suffer many trials, even if our faith seems insufficient, God’s grace is sufficient.Tears will be wiped away, and despair destroyed. Agony sees light at the tunnel’s end.The devil’s opera will end. Andrea B. Fouts is a Masters of Arts in Religion student at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.You can reach her by e-mail at abbrunsvold@excite.com.
Dear Pastor . . .
Questions and Answers in Dealing with Depression By Rev. Dan Krueger
Dear Pastor, Often when I was young I felt blue. But now as an adult those feelings seem to be a deepening depression. What’s going on? Certain life events can cause depression. Jesus Himself wept at the grave of Lazarus. However, while Jesus experienced these feelings, He also experienced joy. His reaction was to a situation and was not a characteristic of mood. Clinical depression is not a reaction to a situation, but a mood that intrudes into every aspect of life. Along with a general sense of depression or a negative outlook, people slipping into depression withdraw from activities they used to enjoy. If a day is full of ten positives and one negative, people who are clinically depressed might spend 90 percent of their time thinking about the one negative and 10 percent of their time thinking about the nine positives. As depression deepens, the individual might start to feel that things are hopeless and may begin to think, write or talk about death or suicide. Along with these mood changes, there are also characteristic physical and mental changes. People with clinical depression often experience a significant Continued on next page
W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 5
Looks Can Be
De
ave you ever noticed how looks can be so deceiving? Maybe you’ve invested your money in a pair of FOAKLEY (“F”ake Oakley) sunglasses. Maybe you responded with haste to one of those “You’ve just won a million dollars”phone calls or letters. Day after day, people are deceived by looks. Sadly though, the way of our world is to try and get an between the teachings of CCC and the advantage through deception. Although it hurts our ego Lutheran Church can be quite difficult. But remember: looks can be very deceiving. and our wallet when the world deceives us, it is even So we need to take a closer look. We need more damaging when we are deceived in the Church. to lean in and see if there’s an “F” next to
H
To date, nearly thirteen hundred college campuses have made room for one of the oldest campus ministries: Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). It was started in 1951 by Bill and Vonette Bright. Since the inception of the organization, the mission has been to share the Gospel with college students and eventually win them to Christ. By powerfully bringing the message of Jesus to college campuses, CCC looks to enable students to make a decision for Jesus. In many respects, the core beliefs of CCC look quite similar to what one would find in many Lutheran churches. Although CCC allows for freedom of belief and practice in many areas, the group is quite adamant about upholding what it would
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 8
deem the “fundamentals of faith.” It promotes the teaching of the Holy Trinity, the two natures of Christ, His virgin birth, His atoning death, His resurrection from the grave, and the work of the Holy Spirit to bring spiritually dead sinners to new life.This is not unlike many Christian churches; yes, even the Lutheran Church. Consequently, deciphering
our Oakleys or a fine line on our winning letter. However, when we discern between practice and doctrine that is true or false, we do not base our decision on a hunch or a guess. We take a closer look by turning to God’s Word for illumination, which shows us the foundation of our faith, Jesus Christ. Although CCC should be commended for its endeavor to share Jesus with college students, its members present Him in such a way that He seems an abstract figure. It is though they say,“Yes, He did a gracious thing nearly two thousand years ago, but He is no longer integrally connected to us and His creation.” Their Jesus is far off. He is in heaven giving advice and demanding a decision. But that is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Bible doesn’t leave us with an abstract, intangible Jesus.The Bible teaches that Jesus comes to us. When He comes, He comes concretely. He joins us to Himself in the life-giving waters of the font. He gives us His Holy Spirit. He forgives our sins. He grants eternal life. We are made His precious bride, and our faithful bridegroom promises that He will never leave us.There is no room for decisions and dedications here. He does the choosing and the dedicating! He has cho-
eceiving By Seminarian Joshua Genig
sen and dedicated us for Himself. He has made us His own in the waters of Holy Baptism. He graciously feeds us with the tangible food of heaven: His own body and blood. Our Jesus is Emmanuel. He is God with us in a fleshly and concrete way. This is real. Jesus gives Himself to us. He is not in heaven pointing fingers. He is on every Christian altar that confesses Him and celebrates His Supper. He is at every font where water and Word make disciples. And He is on the lips of every pastor who speaks in His stead and at His command His words of absolution and grace. He is there physically. He is there with His precious body, dripping blood, sanctified waters, and life-giving Word. All who are wearied by the changes, chances, and trials of this life, especially the college life, are given Christ concretely.There is nothing abstract about Him. He is with us. He feeds us. He restores us. Jesus Christ has made us bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh.You also, who dare to be Lutheran, Christ has made you His own. He will never leave you. He will continue to sustain you in a tangible, life-giving way. He will come to you—concretely.
Seminarian Joshua D. Genig is a student at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and vicar at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Illinois. His email address is jgenig@stjohnwheaton.org.
W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 9