Life Issues

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. 

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.

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.

by Sandra Ostapowich

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.

by Sandra Ostapowich

It probably wasn't most brilliant idea I ever came up with to get a tattoo in college (junior year, March 12, 1993 to be exact), but at least it was a Trinity symbol. I had been thinking of getting a tattoo for a while, I just didn't know what to get done. When I saw the triangle of three fish embroidered on a kneeler pad in Cleveland, OH, I knew that was it. Before it registered in my mind that I was a paying customer and could make the artist change the design (even if he was big and scary-looking), "Ace" was already working on the outline, which is well...permanent.

by Sandra Ostapowich

More often than not, 1 Corinthians 14:33-34 is quoted to keep women in line, to remind us that we are prohibited from being pastors because Scripture tells us that we are not permitted to speak in church. It's usually quoted by men, and frequently with a scowl.

by Sandra Ostapowich

So Tracy Lagondino became Thomas Beattie.  She apparently felt like she was really, truly a male deep down inside.  She took lots of male hormones to counteract her naturally occurring female hormones and had her girl bits cut off and the remaining stuff fashioned to resemble boy bits...but she retained the girl parts inside.

by Sandra Ostapowich

It takes a lot to disturb me.  I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is what it is.  I have been disturbed.  And of all things, by a song I heard on the Top 20 station on my radio between random errands the other day.  I normally just listen to news or the 70's station, but I was actually trying to get an idea of what teens are listening to these days.  Did I get an earful!

by Laura Koch, Foster Mom

My husband and I began our journey as foster parents more than two years ago. After many conversations and prayer we decided that fostering would be something that would be good for our family to do. Our children were growing up, we had the space for one child and taking care of children was something we have naturally done over the past 21 years. Our county was (and still is) in need of foster parents, so we decided to attend an informational meeting.

by Sandra Ostapowich

The way we dress communicates something about us, doesn’t it? Some professions have ways of dressing that identify people as having certain vocations. Whether they are actual uniforms or unique attire, we can usually pick out of a crowd someone who works in the medical field by her scrubs, a member of the clergy by his clerical collar, a road construction worker by his orange vest and hardhat, or even the pairs of local Mormon missionaries by their black pants, white shirts, and clean-cut hair styles.

by Jon Townsend

In Gloucester, MA at the local high school there was a sharp increase in the number of pregnancies amongst the students – four times higher than normal. This sparked a debate about handing out contraception in the school – even without parental permission. TIME Magazine asked the principal Dr. Joseph Sullivan about the issue and he responded: "a lack of birth control played no part" …. “That bump was because of seven or eight sophomore girls," Sullivan told TIME. "They made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together."

by The Rev. Richard Woelmer

As a campus pastor I’ve talked with many a parent terrified of sending their pride and joy off to college, where opportunity to exercise new-found freedom is around every corner. If your parents went to college, chances are they remember the atmosphere pretty well. Perhaps they managed to get through it with their faith intact, or were part of the majority who forsook church during their twenties, and then realized the need to return once they became new parents. I, too, remember the free-wheeling world of college life. So please understand if your parents exhibit fear. It is natural—and well founded.

by Jon Townsend

Jon Townsend is at odds with a world that preaches contracepting ourselves out of existence. He invites you to rediscover the opposing view: God’s promise that children are always blessings, not curses. Better stewardship of our earth does not necessarily mean it is better to have fewer stewards! Read on!

by Glenda Mumme

Lately my husband, David, and I have been watching HGTV’s “House Hunters” show in the evenings after our children go to bed. Many of the commercials are various HGTV stars promoting and encouraging viewers to “change the world…start at home.” Of course they want me to do this by changing my light bulb, turning off unused appliances (or buy new, more efficient ones), or some other such “green” thing. But I change the world more by being a mother who stays home, fulfilling my role as a woman.

by The Rev. Larry Beane

People who don't live in New Orleans have a lot of misconceptions about Mardi Gras and Carnival. The stereotype is that it's a pornographic display of public nudity and drunkenness. Church groups even send "evangelists" to try to convert the revelers.

by Frederic S. Durbin

In addition to being a writer myself, I teach writing at a university. On the first day of each new course, I talk to the students about the impact and far-reaching effects of writing. Students are considering their futures, their careers—where they will fit into the world, and how their lives will affect the people they encounter. I point out that if a person wants to change the world for the better, writing is one of the very best ways to do it. All that we know about the ancient world, we know because people wrote things down. We can feel what others have felt, see what they’ve seen, and understand something of their thoughts—all through the wondrous power of the written word to span time and geographic space.

by the Rev. Jacob Sutton

God changes your vocation. God gives you meaningful employment. God gives you employers and other authorities at work. God gives you governmental authorities. God gives you parents. God gives you a family, spouse, children.

by Deaconess Sara Lemon

Sadly, to many who hear the name “Phoebe,” the most vivid image in their minds is that of the spacey, brutally honest, but loyal blonde from Friends. A far better role model is found, ever so briefly, in the epistles.

Discover Saint Phoebe and her vocation with Deaconess Sara Lemon, as Saint Paul commends “Phoebe our sister” to you.

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.

by The Rev. Rick Stuckwisch

"It may sound crazy to 21^st century ears, but maybe the arranged marriages of the past weren't such a bad idea."   What?!  Is Pastor Stuckwisch serious?!  Perhaps you better read this in context.  Then you can comment!  Let myHT know if you agree or disagree with our dear friend and catechist.

by Karen Gabriel

With so many books on "youth ministry" available today, it's often difficult to decide which ones to pick up and which ones to leave on the shelf. If you are interested in youth and what is happening in the spiritual world of teens then do pick up Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers.

by The Rev. Rich Heinz

“What do you want to do when you graduate?” “What career would you like to pursue?”  Questions like these are asked of teens and college students all the time.  In fact, some start early, and sometimes we even ask children before they enter pre-school!  But how do you respond?

by The Rev. Rich Heinz

At each Divine Service, we pray a Collect of thanksgiving following the Holy Supper. Did you realize that that you are praying to the Lord about your vocations? Take a look at how the Lord continues Divine Service between Sundays, in your daily life.