If you have not been to a Higher Things Conference you are truly missing out! The cost is excellent: If you register before December 31 it is only $325! (The conference at Mequon was filled before the end of January!) And that covers everything except your trip to and from. Held from a Tuesday afternoon through Friday afternoon, they are hosted at College campuses throughout the United States, this year It was Utah State, Florida, Concordia-Wisconsin. It's great because you don't have to worry about motel rooms, where you will eat, or transportation to and from! You sleep in the dorms, you eat the college food, and all sessions are on campus. The highlight of each day though revolves around the chapel services, 10 service over the four days as a matter of fact (with three additional "optional" short services done at the dorms).
Now I know what you are thinking, 13 services? You must be nuts. What teenager is going to want to sit through that many services! That is who this conference is for: those who have completed catechesis. In fact though, for a great number of the youth, including every group I've ever taken, has said there favorite part were the worship services, especially the Divine Service at the beginning and end.
But why would that be the case? Well listen to this:
http://youtu.be/tKJyb_oiNOw
or
http://youtu.be/ULrYskFmuFg
Yes, that is 1200 people singing hymns and every service sounds just like it! Our youth are shown that they aren't odd balls. What their pastors teach them about the Divine Service is done by others! The youth were arriving for the closing service 45 minutes before it began! It's almost like people who are excited to be going to a Packer's game!
This is what Higher Things refers to in their tagline: "Dare to be Lutheran." It's not that those who do not go are not Lutheran, but at Higher Things we are unabashedly Lutheran. Higher Things teaches youth what it means to be Christian and therefore Lutheran. We worship when we worship, we work when we work, and we play when we play. These youth not only have services 13 times each day but they also got to go to four plenary sessions and six breakaway sessions.
The organizers do not invite the biggest names in Christianity, they invite good, solid Lutheran teachers. This year at our conference our plenary speakers were Rev. Matthew Harrison, President of the LCMS as well as author and translator of many books, and Rev. Jonathan Fisk, a parish pastor, author of, Broken: 7 "Christian" Rules That Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible and host of Worldview Everlasting. (check it out www.worldvieweverlasting.org) And what did they speak on? LUTHERAN doctrine! Their topic? Crucified.
The breakaway sessions are also led by....Lutherans! Every single one of the presenters are LCMS, mostly pastors but even some lay leaders. Again what amazed me are the youth's desire to learn. As I continue to hear about the variety of sectionals I am amazed that it seems everyone of them was full. There were so many sectionals offered with a great variety. Many times I heard, "I can't decide which one to go to. There are to many I want to go to!"
I have had the privilege to now take youth to four events and this was the best yet! Can our youth be Lutheran without going to Higher Things conferences and retreats? Yes of course! But if you have such an affordable conference in which you can go to, why wouldn't you want to go!
Dare to be Lutheran? Thanks be to God that he has provided us with such great pastors and lay people who keep this organization running to continue to educate our youth! Higher Things is the organization that filled a much needed void and I didn't even get into the retreats held throughout the year that continue encourage our youth in this topsy turvy world, that has turned Christianity into a what about me and what's in it for me type of faith, rather than focusing on the objective truth of Christ-Crucified for me.
I hope you will go next year! Go to www.higherthings.org to learn more!
Peace be with you,
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