The Operation Log of Agent Delta

10 Signs You've Just Returned from a Higher Things Conference:

1. Random parts of the liturgy pop into your head when you’re not busy thinking about something else.
2. You make sure you are ready for church by 9:00AM. You are not deterred by the fact that it is Monday.
3. You have to keep reminding yourself that you’ll be able to go to bed before midnight.
4. You are depressed because you haven’t attended a class taught by Pr. Cwirla today.
5. You look for your lanyard before you leave your room.
6. Pr. Cwirla is your hero.
7. You hope you’ll bump into your friends at breakfast, before remembering they live halfway across the country.
8. You feel funny leaving your house without your backpack.
9. You think your congregation doesn’t sing loudly enough.
10. When your pastor goes up to the front of the church at the beginning of the service, you look for the ten other pastors that should be with him.

Friday:

We woke up and ate at our normal time, then rode the campus connector bus over to chapel. Alex joined us for breakfast, but not for the bus ride over to chapel. Instead of Matins, we had a Service of Confession and Absolution, in preparation for Divine Service later in the day.

After chapel, we proceeded to Breakaway E. Alex, Andrew, Paul, and I all chose to attend “Infant Baptism: For You,” by Rev. Brian Thorson. Rev. Thorson taught an excellent session. He began by asking us for arguments we had heard against infant baptism, then proceeded to debunk as many of them as time would allow. He gave us a ton of Bible verses in support of infant baptism and the various concepts that go along with it, such as the fact that we are sinful from conception. Rev. Thorson also pointed us to a study that says that infants can lie. Here's a link to the study; I haven't had a chance to read it yet: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/07/01/scibaby101.xml

Unfortunately, Alex had to leave the conference a few minutes before the sectional ended, due to his travel schedule. After the sectional ended, Paul, Andrew, and I went over to our fifth and final plenary session. Before the session started, Mrs. Ostapowich told us that 1191 youth and adults attended FOR YOU in MN, and that only 268 of those had ever been to a conference before. She also said that between FOR YOU MN and FOR YOU NC 34 states and 4 foreign countries (, , , & ) were represented.

After announcements, Pr. Cwirla began teaching. Today, he focused on confession and absolution. After Pr. Cwirla’s talk, we all went to lunch. We then proceeded to Divine Service. There were noticeably fewer people in attendance at this service than at previous services, because several groups had to leave early on Friday.

After listening to Rev. Klement Preus’s excellent sermon, singing several beautiful hymns, and being fed the Lord’s Supper, the conference was officially over. The MHers hung around at the front of the chapel for a few minutes for several group pictures, including a couple with Pr. Borghardt.

After taking the pictures and saying our good-byes to everybody, the Gehlbachs and I walked back to Centennial. While Mrs. Gehlbach and Mrs. Fischer went to get the Gehlbach’s car, Paul and Andrew hung out with me in my room, where we played Egyptian Rat Slap and Liar (both of those are card games, in case you don’t recognize those names).

After the Gehlbachs left, I helped load the conference supplies into a truck for the drive to North Carolina. I got to go out to dinner with the conference staff, and I also got to meet a really cool guy by the name of Ted Rosenblat (sorry if I misspelled your last name, Ted). He really likes Hillsdale College, and just might be paying me a visit up there one of these days.

After dinner, Mrs. Fischer & I went back to our rooms. My flight home was Saturday morning, so I spent Friday night in the dorms, once again sleeping the sweet sleep of the conference attendee.

Thursday:

My day today started at 6:00. After breakfast at 7, Paul, Andrew, and I took the campus connector bus over to the concert hall for chapel. Matins was at 9:00, as usual; and Rev. Cwirla preached the sermon.

After Matins, we proceeded to Breakaway D. I went to “He Descended into Hell,” by Rev. Glen Gutz. Paul and Andrew went to different sectionals. Rev. Gutz’s sectional was excellent. Matins ran later than it should have, so Rev. Gutz didn’t have as much time to speak as he should have had. I had been taught about the descent into hell several years before the conference, but time had washed it out of my memory. Rev. Gutz’s class reminded me that Christ’s descent into hell was not a part of His suffering, but rather a proclamation of His victory over Satan. Rev. Gutz also discussed some of the misconceptions about Christ’s descent into hell that have been taught throughout the years.

Next, it was time for Plenary 4, taught once again by Rev. Cwirla, who discussed how salvation is delivered to us through baptism. Next, it was time for lunch; followed by Vespers. Rev. Stiegemeyer’s sermon contained what became the sermon simile of the week: “Sin is like manure on a baloney sandwich. It doesn’t matter if you only get a little bit on the corner; the whole thing is contaminated.”

We then proceeded to the third and last class of our in-depth sectional. Rev. Stiegemeyer gave a fascinating and informative talk on Wicca. He said that Wiccans are typically used to being rejected, so take them seriously if you talk to them about religion. Don’t stereotype, since there is very little uniformity among Wiccans. Things that are true of one Wicca group may not be true of another. Pr. Stiegemeyer ended his first two classes with a “Celebration of Knowledge” (AKA, a quiz); but he didn’t have a celebration of knowledge for us today.

After our in-depth ended, we had about an hour of free time, during which most of the MHers managed to find each other and hang out together in Middlebrook. We then took buses to Midway Stadium, where we had a catered BBQ dinner. The baseball game we were going to see was supposed to start at 7:00, but was pushed back to 7:30 because of rain. The movie “Angels in the Outfield” was shown on the scoreboard, and all the MHers had plenty of time to socialize, since we all sat near each other during the game.

Partway through the game, we all got up and went behind the stands to stretch our legs. We ended up staying down there and playing various camp games, of which Alex had a seemingly endless supply. As soon as the ballgame was over, we proceeded to the central part of the stadium for evening prayer. Yes, we had evening prayer in a baseball stadium. Instead of an organ, there was a flute, and instead of a choir, there was a soloist. Pr. Borghardt preached the sermon, and we were then bused back to our dorms to once again sleep the sweet sleep of the conference attendee.

While we were having evening prayer, the stadium grounds crew was performing its post-game duties. I wonder what they were thinking as they listened to 1200 Lutheran youth and their chaperones sing the liturgy. They probably didn’t think much of us as we descended upon the stadium before the ballgame, all of us wearing our red T-shirts. We were probably just another group to them. Sure, there were some of us who would applaud every time a pastor walked by, but there are wackos in every group.

But then we started Evening Prayer. That had to have been something they had never seen or heard before. 1200 of us crazy, tired Lutherans coherently singing the Liturgy, listening to Pr. Borghardt’s sermon, and singing “O Blessed Light, O Trinity.” What they thought of us, I will probably never know. But, just as with the U of M ushers, I hope and pray that what those groundsmen saw and heard that night inspired them to find a Lutheran pastor, perhaps Pr. Kind, and find out what on earth we were doing, and why we were doing it despite the fact that the ballgame had ended later than it should have. Why didn’t we call the whole thing off and go back to the U of M to get some sleep? Why did we persist in having this service? Those are questions that I hope are asked by those who saw and heard us, and I hope those questions lead their askers to faith in Christ Jesus.

Wednesday:

I woke up at 6:00 AM this morning. The cafeteria wasn’t going to be open until 7:00 AM, so why on earth did I set my alarm for 6? The answer is that I like giving myself more time than I will need to do things. I made sure that Paul and Andrew were awake at the times they had requested. We then went down to the cafeteria in our dorm. Breakfast was good. Andrew started his morning tradition of spiking his orange juice with Vault (Coca-Cola’s answer to Mountain Dew).

After breakfast, my group leader drove us over to Middlebrook at 8:00, because she needed to be there early to help out. Paul, Andrew, and I, not being needed for anything, went and hung out outside the concert hall. Matins wasn’t until 9:00, so the outside doors of the hall were locked. We spent our time thoroughly exploring the area around the hall to see if there was a shorter way to our in-depth sectional (there was, but we didn’t find it at the time). We also fought a brief lightsabre battle outside the building. Once the outside doors were opened, we headed up to the second floor to refill our water bottles at the drinking fountain, and to wait for Zeke to show up and the ushers to let us into the chapel.

Throughout the conference, ushers who worked for the University of Minnesota passed out worship books, ushered people to seats, and controlled access to the concert hall. I can only wonder what was passing through their minds as they watched and listened to confessional Lutheran services and sermons three times a day. I can only imagine what they thought when they realized that the chapel was as full at 9:00 or 10:30 in the evening as it was at 9:00 in the morning. Perhaps some of them will go to Pr. Kind’s campus ministry this fall to find out what was motivating us crazy Lutherans to come all the way from Texas to go to church and Bible study. Perhaps some of the ushers already have found time to talk to Pr. Kind. I can only hope and pray that they have, and that their ears will be opened to God’s Word.

Pr. Kuhlman preached the sermon at Matins that morning. After the service was over, Paul, Andrew, and I headed to Breakaway B. Zeke was in red group, so he went to Announcements and Plenary 2. For Breakaway B, Andrew and I went to “Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide?” by Rev. Mark Tuffin. Paul went to “Islam: The Religion of Peace,” by Rev. Philip Houser.

Rev. Tuffin, who taught the Breakaway that Andrew and I went to, lives in Australia. Notice that I say he lives in Australia, not that he lived in Australia. That’s right: Rev. Tuffin and his group came all the way from Australia to attend this conference. I wonder what the U of M staff thought or would have thought of that? Surely some of them knew that groups from Australia, Canada, and Sweden were in attendance; and surely some of them had to be wondering what on earth would make people come from half-way around the world to attend church and Bible study.

Pr. Tuffin first discussed what is meant by the term conscience. He then discussed the work of the conscience, and the symptoms of a guilty conscience. Next, he discussed the path to a clean conscience, putting a strong emphasis on Private Confession and Absolution. He also reminded us of Luther’s speech before the Diet of Worms, and to always keep our consciences subject to the Word of God.

I would have loved to have talked to Rev. Tuffin, since I have visited Australia several times. Those of you who know about my childhood will know why I was in Australia. Those of you who don’t can e-mail me to find out about my childhood. Unfortunately, as soon as Rev. Tuffin’s sectional ended, Andrew and I had to hurry over to Announcements and Plenary 2. 

Pr. Wilken also taught Plenary 2. His theme today was that everybody loves Jesus. As proof of this, he showed us pictures of about 15 different Jesuses, as portrayed by our culture. There was football Jesus (being tackled, and playing without a helmet), dancing Jesus, soccer Jesus, bling Jesus, gangsta Jesus, and others. He then reminded us that Jesus may not have been like we want to imagine Him. He followed this by reminding us that Jesus never said “love me.” Jesus said “trust me.” Loving Jesus doesn’t get us to heaven. Trusting him does.

After Plenary 2, we all went to lunch. The cafeteria food was good, as always. After lunch, we went to chapel for Vespers. Pr. Sollberger, a former CCM band member, preached an excellent sermon. After Vespers, we went to Plenary 3.

Plenary 3 was taught by Rev. Cwirla. He began his presentation by adding Lego Jesus to Pr. Wilken’s montage of Jesuses. Pr. Cwirla then told us a little about himself, before delving into how the forgiveness that Jesus won FOR YOU is delivered to us. If I remember correctly, Rev. Cwirla talked about Communion on Wednesday.

After Rev. Cwirla’s presentation, it was time for Breakaway C. Paul, Andrew, and I all went to “How Can a Lawyer Defend a Cold-Blooded Killer?” by Christian Preus, an insurance lawyer, and brother of Rev. Klement Preus. Mr. Preus based his presentation on the separation of the Kingdom of the Right (the church) from the Kingdom of the Left (government and secular affairs). He pointed out that in our vocations in the Kingdom of the Left we are subject to the rules and laws of the government, and the requirements of our vocation. The vocation of a lawyer requires him to defend his client. It is not his vocation to determine the guilt or innocence of his client; that is the vocation of the judge or the jury. The lawyer’s job is simply to do the best he can in his vocation, and leave the rest to God.

Next, it was time for part II of our in-depth (Ancient Regurgitations: Countering the Cults). Rev. Stiegemeyer discussed Jehovah’s Witnesses in this session. I knew practically nothing about JWs before this session, so I was writing like crazy throughout most of the class. If you want to know more about what was covered in this session, just leave a comment here or send me an e-mail. For the moment, I’ll simply pass on some practical advice about JWs. First, if JWs come to your house, don’t engage them in religious conversation unless you have studied their religion, and are prepared for a discussion. Politely turn them away. Second, if they offer you a tract or pamphlet, DO NOT ACCEPT IT! If you accept it, the JWs will take that to mean that you doubt your own religion, and ripe for the picking, so to speak. Another interesting tidbit: JWs actually prefer to be turned away, because they view that as a sort of martyrdom or persecution, for which they’ll be glorified in heaven.

After Rev. Stiegemeyer’s fascinating presentation, everybody went over to Coffman Memorial Union, the U of M’s student union, which had been reserved for us for the evening. Paul, Andrew, and I goofed around at a game of pool, while Alex played a real game. We then played Apples to Apples with all the MHers that showed up (Alex, Andrew, Anna, Christopher, Erik, Maggie, Mrs. Gehlbach, yours truly, Zeke and probably one or two others whose names escape me). At 8:00 we went to watch ComedySportz. For those who haven’t heard of it, it is a comedy improvisation team that treats comedy like a competitive sport. They take audience suggestions, and challenge two teams of actors to do skits based on those suggestions. Points are then awarded to the team that performed the funnier skit (as determined by the audience). Alex is a huge fan of ComedySportz, and he was thrilled to be chosen as an audience volunteer to be in the show. He got to go up on stage, and make sound effects for a skit.

After the ComedySportz show, we played Apples to Apples again for a few minutes before heading over to the chapel for Evening Prayer at 10:30. Rev. Buetow preached the sermon. Afterwards, we went back to our respective dorms, and once again slept the sweet sleep of the conference attendee.

I just returned from the FOR YOU Higher Things conference in MN. It was an awesome conference. I learned so much, as did all 1191 attendees. The worship was incomparable to anything else on the planet. Nearly 1200 Lutherans singing the liturgy and such hymns as “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing” and “Salvation Unto Us Has Come” is truly magnificent. What follows is a brief account of the conference as experienced by me.

Day 1: Tuesday

I had arrived on Monday, so I woke up in my dorm room Tuesday morning. In the morning, I helped with various things until Divine Service. All of the services were held in the Ted Mann Concert Center, an auditorium with two levels of balconies. The pastors and staff of HT did a beautiful job turning this concert center into a fitting place of worship. I met up with Paul and Andrew Gehlbach, and their mom (who are all really cool) shortly before the service. We then proceeded to what would become our usual seats: On the right side of the concert hall, on the second-floor balcony, close to the altar. We sat in this same group of seats for all but two services.

Divine Service was wonderful. Words cannot convey the sheer beauty and the sheer awesomeness of 1200 Lutherans singing hymns and the liturgy, and being served communion by eleven pastors (8 pastors serving communion, 2 pastors carrying chalices to be refilled, and 1 pastor refilling chalices). The very thought of contemporary worship seems vulgar in comparison to the beauty of the Divine Service.

Paul, Andrew, and I then went to the first of three classes of our in-depth sectional: “Ancient Regurgitations: Countering the Cults,” taught by Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer. Rev. Stiegemeyer gave a wonderful presentation on Mormonism. Unfortunately, I was unable to take many notes because the lights were turned off so that everybody could see the PowerPoint presentation.

Everybody was divided into either Red group or Blue group, since the dining hall couldn’t handle all of us at once. The Gehlbachs and I were in blue group, so we went to eat dinner while the red group went to their first breakaway session. The food was quite good for cafeteria food. I believe it was this night that they served lasagna (though I may be wrong). The lasagna was quite good.

After dinner, we went to Breakaway A. We all attended “Can a Christian be a Soldier,” by Rev. Rob Jarvis, a great guy who did an excellent job leading the CCVs (and a group of runners at 6:15 every morning). I didn’t take notes at this sectional. Rev. Jarvis taught vocation: Fighting for his country is the vocation of a soldier, and it is not part of his vocation for him to decide whether the cause for which he is fighting is just, since he may not know as many facts about the war as those who give him his orders.

We then went to Plenary 1, taught by Rev. Todd Wilken, host of Issues Etc. Rev. Wilken’s main point was that anybody can die on a cross. Death by crucifixion is not significant in and of itself. What is significant is that Jesus died FOR YOU. Look up the word “for” in the dictionary. Only one of the numerous definitions listed should be used in the phrase “FOR YOU.” That definition, Rev. Wilken said, was “in the place of.” Christ died “In the place of you.” He died “FOR YOU.”

We next went to evening prayer. It was as beautiful as the Divine Service. Everything I said about the Divine Service pretty much applies to this service as well, and indeed, to all the services. They were all beautiful, and all remarkable.

After this beautiful service, The Gehlbachs and I met up with the other MHers outside of the concert hall. Zeke Bartlett (a really cool kid) was there, as were Maggie Rhein, Anna & Erik Horner, Christopher Harman, and a couple other people whose names escape me at the moment. We also bumped into Alex (Chief of Sinners on the HT forums).

I had known that Alex was coming to this conference, but I hadn’t expected to meet him. I am really glad that I did meet him. He is such a cool kid. He wrote a liturgical hymn for a creative writing assignment for school. How cool is that? He is confessional to the core and is determined to be a pastor. I can’t wait to hear him preach once he is ordained. He will be a jewel among confessional pastors.

We all hung out in the concert building until it had to be locked. We then went across the street to Middlebrook Hall, the dorm where most conference people were staying. We hung out there and had a ton of fun. The Gehlbachs, Alex, and I were staying in Centennial Hall, which was about a 15-25 minute walk from Middlebrook. Fortunately, my group leader had a car and a parking pass for both locations, so she drove us all to Centennial. Paul, Andrew, and I each had a room with only one bed. Paul and Andrew were directly across the hall from me. We got to bed around midnight, and slept the sweet sleep of the conference attendee.