I am outraged. And I am disgusted. Understand that as you read. It will not be my intention to pull any punches. As a pastor, it has always been my practice to err on the side of grace. I will not do that here. If I err, I will purposely err on the side of the law. If you can’t handle that, stop reading.

I made the mistake the other night of reading the Grand Jury Report on the child molestation charges against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. He has been charged with 40 counts of child molestation. It has left me unsettled for days. According to witnesses and the victims themselves, Sandusky molested eight boys on multiple occasions over 15 years.

More disheartening and disgusting is that these boys were part of a foundation started by Sandusky called “The Second Mile”, which was created to encourage and support boys from abusive homes. Many of the boys were molested in the Penn State shower rooms. For ten years or more, multiple PSU leaders and coaches, including legendary coach Joe Paterno, knew of- or even witnessed- the allegations, yet did nothing about it. Arguably, turning a blind eye and covering up the abuse, enabling Sandusky to prey upon young boys- and perhaps even worse!- for 15 years.

As I write, there are more than a dozen other boys who have come forward, as well as a horrific investigation into even more sinister and sickening allegations.

You go right ahead and sit high on your horse and tell me that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Although seemingly noble, it’s a load of manure. First of all, we’re all guilty (Romans 3:23). Nobody’s innocent. Secondly, 12 sinful jurors can consider all the evidence they want, and can make decisions based on a strong “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard, but the bottom line is this: You are not innocent until proven guilty. If you are guilty, you are guilty. Period.

And don’t pull out Matthew 7:1 and stick it in my face. “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is one of the most misquoted verses in the bible. Simply put, you and I are not to judge the soul. That’s God’s job. But you better believe that the Lord gives us not only the right, but the responsibility, to judge actions. In fact, the Lord condemns us if we do not judge the wrong deeds of others: “If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” (Ezekiel 3:18)

Make no mistake, Jesus loved the world (John 3:16)… and even begged His Father to forgive those who were killing Him (Luke 23:34), but… don’t think for a moment that the actions of Jerry Sandusky don’t make Jesus sick to His stomach. Jesus pulls no punches: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)

Strong words, eh? Don’t miss what Jesus is saying here: Jerry Sandusky would have been better off dead than to do what he did. (Reminds me of what Jesus said about another man: “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."- Matthew 26:24.)

One commentator writes on Matthew 18:6- “The sin is so heinous, and the ruin proportionally so great, that he had better undergo the sorest punishments inflicted on the worst of malefactors, which can only kill the body. Hell is worse than the depth of the sea; for it is a bottomless pit, and it is a burning lake. The depth of the sea is only death, but hell is tormenting.”

As much as my sinful nature wants to judge Jerry Sandusky’s soul to the deepest levels of hell, that’s not my job. But for me to suggest that Sandusky would have been better off dead? Well… quite frankly… that’s what Jesus would do.

My gut feeling is that Jerry Sandusky will soon meet his Maker, most likely by his own hand. It would fit that he lived life as a coward, so it would not surprise me that he die as one.

At the end of this sad story, the truth is simply that Jerry Sandusky deserves hell. But then again, so do I.

Here’s the naked truth: I am a much better man than Jerry Sandusky, but both he and I have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It’s just plain stupid for me to feel good about getting closer to the mark than Sandusky, while we’re both falling to our deaths, neither capable of crossing the gap on our own.

Sandusky may ultimately come to see his deplorable sins for what they are. Depraved. Insidious. Sickening. And if he is cut to whatever heart remains in his soul, he may find himself broken before the Lord, begging for forgiveness.

And Jesus… well... He will happily give it.

If this is the case, then Jesus will welcome Jerry into heaven.

But pardon me, Lord, if I don’t look for him when- by Your grace alone- I get there.

The over-hype of the NFL draft has me reminiscing of my days at the seminary call service. 100 pastors, one-by-one “drafted” into churches, waiting for our names to be called, and anxious about where we will end up. Kristen- as did many other wives- came to the call service with a map of every state in the U.S. Churches were assigned candidates to places like Immanuel Lutheran in Zap, North Dakota, and my other buddy Darryl assigned to the Lutheran Church of Nassau… in the Bahamas.

I almost wonder what the present day hype would be surrounding the leaders of the early church, drafted into ministry…

Mock Draft:

1. St. John the Apostle. Perhaps a bit of a reach at #1, this “son of thunder” (Mark 3:17) earns his nickname. His measurables are unquestioned. His faithfulness as the only disciple present at the crucifixion reveals a boldness not found in his pre-Pentecost counterparts. Yet, there are no character issues with John, largely evidenced by his humility. There is only one apostle of Jesus not mentioned by John in the gospel, and that is John himself. Endurance, wisdom, creativity, introversion, and speed (John 20:3-4) define the #1 pick on the board. Lutherans will take note of John’s impressive reps, specifically his sacramental focus on Word (John 1), water and wine (John 2), water and spirit (John 3), living water (John 4), body and bread (John 6), and water and blood (John 19).

2. St. Paul of Tarsus. Paul drops on the Big Board largely due to his run-on sentences, and run-ins as a youth. A pre-draft consensus #1, Paul’s strengths are clearly demonstrated in his heart for missions, his relentless pursuit of pure doctrine and theology, and his no-holes-barred approach toward teamwork (Galatians 2). However, Paul is a natural leader, not a follower, which created friction among teammates (Acts 15). Although Paul’s integrity is strong, some are concerned about his off-the-field issues dating back to his pre-Damascus days (Acts 7-8). Yet Paul is gym rat… there are no concerns about Paul’s tireless work ethic (2 Corinthians 11).

3. King David. Certainly #1 on many draft boards, Bethlehem’s David is a veritable giant-slayer. Wise, strong, courageous, and rugged, David has all the intangibles of greatness, but has a penchant to lose focus. Some are concerned that following his early victories in Philistine, success came too easily for David, culminating in a very public moral scandal (2 Samuel 11). However, his contributions in literature, music, architecture, and government are epic. Well-rounded and versatile, David could easily be the #1 pick.

4. Moses. Talent is clearly evident in this pick, but his ability to lead is debated among scouts. Although significant victories earned early success, Moses ability to follow through to the end has lead to some to label him a high risk/ high reward project. Highly volatile (Exodus 2:12, Exodus 32:19, Numbers 20:11) and stubborn, Moses also demonstrates a competitive perseverance not easily found.

5. St. Peter, Cephas. Peter plays on raw emotion. This is both his great strength (Luke 22:33) and weakness (Luke 22:62). His competitiveness is remarkable, and his combine numbers as evangelist are off the charts (Acts 2:41, Acts 4:4). Peter, given the nickname “Rock” is best known for his iron-clad confession of faith by which even the gates of hell could not prevail (Matthew 16:18). Whereas St. Paul is more of an all-purpose defender, St. Peter is a specialist.

6. Abraham. Possibly one of the great steals of the draft, Abraham could find himself dropping due to questions of consistency, heart, and impatience (see Moriah, Egypt, and Hagar). Yet Abraham’s track record is one of leadership, dedication, and persistence. If Abraham is still on the board at six, take him.

7. Noah. A man of unparalleled faith. Noah sails into the top ten due to his innovation. Noah’s vision was groundbreaking, and his capacity to think big has the Lions, Bears, Panthers, and Jaguars seriously looking at him. A notable DUI has scared away some, but character issues are not concern for this captain.

8. King Solomon. This would be a smart pick. Solomon has demonstrated a wisdom beyond his peers, yet even his intelligence is unable to keep him from questions of promiscuous behavior. An exceptional team-builder, you can build a franchise around this selection, but Solomon finds himself falling for good reason (1 Kings 11:4).

9. St. Matthew. A crafty veteran, Levi’s greatest strength is in ability to change directions (Matthew 9). Only one of the three in the top ten (John, Peter) from the Joshua Tree of leadership, Matthew’s focus is as a defensive specialist. My money is on Matthew to be a great commissioner, with this not-to-taxing pick.

10. St. Mary. Large groups of draft-beatniks have Mary ranked #1 on their boards, but the feeling here is that it is far too much of a reach. The blessed Virgin certainly has insight, devotion, and a better handle on the playbook than most, but her lack of playing time (as evidenced by the fact that Mary is mentioned on only 5 occasions, and never mentioned after Acts 1) has many concerned.

The Sunday service at Guardian lasts all of 60 minutes (give or take). It is filled with Scripture, music, confession, communion, and a lot of thoughtful preparation and dedicated service. I recently processed through the man hours that are involved in bringing you one 60-minute worship experience, and- believe it or not- each worship service at Guardian involves as many as 200 hours of prep work in God’s people bringing God’s Word to your heart. So… I thought I’d take a few moments to give you a sneak peek at the goings-on behind the scenes.

Guardian subscribes to “Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish”, a Concordia Publishing House contribution that focuses worship services upon weekly gospel themes. Although it would certainly be easier to use the same 3-4 liturgical formats found in the front of the hymnal each week, Creative Worship capitalizes on the rich theology of the lectionary series of the church year; i.e., we follow a universal three-year cycle of readings that walk us through 1) the life of Jesus, and 2) our life in Jesus, focusing on each of the gospels one year at a time.

Great care and thought are given in editing the services to bring a creative, yet consistent approach to worship. As senior pastor, I take it upon myself to prepare the order of worship for virtually all worship services at Guardian.

Hymn choices are arrived through a variety of criteria. Traditionally, Guardian has not confined herself to only Lutheran hymnbooks, but certainly finds the large majority of singing from the time-tested hymns of the faith in Lutheran hymnody. The simple test of hymn selection is 1) it is biblically based and Christ-centered? 2) it is sing-able? 3) it is thematic… because hymns draw our focus to the overall theme of the day?

Additionally, as pastor, I operate under a set of pastoral guidelines that help me process through the placement of congregational singing.

1) We will generally not sing more than one unfamiliar hymn on a given Sunday. It is quite frustrating to try to sing song after song that is unfamiliar. Guardian loves to sing out, we are much less inclined to sing out if we are not confident in how we should be singing.

2) I usually try to break up long (6-7+ verses) hymns throughout the service, or cut back altogether. There is a tediousness to singing 10 verses of a hymn in one sitting.

3) Trick of the trade: I try to keep the closing hymn upbeat and short. It’s a good thing if you’re still whistling the closing hymn two hours later!

4) Tempo and meter are factors in the seasons of the church year. Reflective and troubling tempos are natural fits for Lent, not Easter.

Much thought and preparation is given to the way in which a hymn is musically offered to the congregation. From the instrumentation (organ, digital keyboard, grand piano, brass or percussion support, etc) to the delivery (the musical interpretation of each verse), there is a careful thoughtfulness to communicating God’s Word set to music. In my years of ministry, I have not found an interpreter of verse more poignant than our very own music director.

Choir and bell anthems are strategized based on the themes of the season. Each five minute choir anthem, for example, delivered on a Sunday morning requires roughly 60 man/woman hours (30 choir members practicing for two hours) to pull it off. Imagine the prep time for every bell choir anthem, children’s choir, soloist, instrumentalist, etc. The “service time” in glory to God adds up very quickly for every musical offering.

Trivia question: What individual attends the most worship services at Guardian in a given year. Pastor A, right? Wrong. The correct answer is Don and Donna Ryktarsyk. Although every item that appears on the screen is processed through Pastor A, the Ryktarsyks- with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers- lead, load, and launch it all. Sunday after Sunday, service after service, both visual and audio ministry finds itself in the sure hands of Don and Donna who spent an enormous amount of weekly time prepping for a flawless delivery of sight and sound.

Currently, the senior pastor generates all visual presentations (weekly readings, communion hymns, sermon powerpoints, etc).

Rubrics are the rituals or ceremonies surrounding the worship service, such as altar preparation, ushering, acolyting, communion set up, etc. Each worship service has a team assigned to prepare the added elements of worship as necessary, be it the addition of a baptism, or the changing of the paraments (altar décor). For many years, faithful men and women have spent hours upon hours humbly, yet joyfully taking great pride in the beauty of the settings of our worship life. A simple walk through the sacristy following a communion service will find a room of half-a-dozen men, sleeves rolled up, soap and water running, cleaning the communion vessels. Or the changing of the altar color from white to green takes six women to accomplish (not to mention the cleaning and scrubbing of the altar following the splashing, spraying, or the downright spilling of communion wine upon the altar linen). The list of those who contribute to the behind the scenes preparations of worship is seemingly endless. More time and effort are spent preparing the settings of worship than most would possibly imagine.

-I’ve adopted a procedure (that may or may not have pre-dated my time here) of kneeling during the confession of sins during communion Sundays, and standing during non-communion Sundays.

-The practice of chanting the liturgy in worship was largely instituted due to the simple science of acoustics. The sung word carried more effectively and with more clarity than the spoken word in many large sanctuaries. Logic would dictate that upon the advent of electronic amplification, the need for chanting would cease, but it became such a beloved staple in worship to some that chanting continues in many churches. I do not prefer to chant, but certainly am very comfortable doing so from time to time for the sake of traditional pleasure.

-The baptism of a child is found in Jesus’ words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”, and that is all. Everything else that surrounds the order of baptism in a worship service is adiaphora (neither commanded nor forbidden). I find the four pages of single-spaced baptismal liturgy in LSB (p.268) to be wonderfully thorough in theology, but rather taxing in practice. This is why I skip large portions during our baptisms at Guardian.

-The traditional “extending the hand of peace” is not seen much at Guardian lately. I realize that this has been a practice that has been enjoyed by many, and I realize that it is, indeed, missed by some. My thoughts on the subject are multifaceted and quite thorough. Look for next month’s edition of The Messenger to further examine this topic.

-The distribution of communion is found in Jesus’ words “Take and eat…”. How communion is distributed is adiaphora. I appreciate the opportunity Guardian traditionally offers to take one’s time to contemplate, reflect, come, kneel, receive, return, and rejoice, but I also find a celebratory tone in the continuous line method. Guardian is further exploring the chance to offer more opportunities to receive in this manner.

-The communion servers prepare themselves not only spiritually in prayer, but also practically, as they wash their before serving. The pastor also sanitizes his hands at the altar immediately before communion.

-There are primarily two reasons I don’t like to use the pulpit to preach. One is that I have never been comfortable being far away and isolated from people as I speak (to me it feels a bit cold and impersonal). In my first church, St. Thomas, Eastpointe, the pulpit was located behind the altar, a veritable triple-barrier between God’s Word and His people (the communion rail, altar, and pulpit). Secondly, I feel constrained in a pulpit. I like to move as the Spirit moves me… literally!

-I have spent years of Sunday mornings in robes and chanting, and years of no robes and guitars, but if given a choice, I prefer the vestments (robe/stole) along with the variety of worship (organ or piano, new or old, just not the same over and over again).

-“This is the Feast”, the traditional Hymn of Praise (est. 1982) is just that… a hymn. I love “This is the Feast”, but I also love “Holy, Holy, Holy”, “Thy Strong Word”, and “Shout to the Lord”… and I don’t want to sing them every Sunday. It is my pastoral practice to sing “This is the Feast” as often as we sing our other favorite hymns throughout the course of the year. Most of the favs will be sung 3-4 times every year.

-Although I am very much in favor of creative worship, there are some things I won’t mess with, such as the Lord’s Prayer (“Thys” and “trespasses” will stay) and the Creeds (although we use confession of faith from the Lutheran Confessions, the creeds should not be altered).

Ok, for those of you still reading, I need to end this article at some point, because as I sit here writing, I’m realizing that there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. So consider it finished… for now.

It’s no secret, I am a sport’s junkie. But in my world where football, hockey, World Cup, and basketball are all the rage… baseball is king. I have been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember.

So here’s what I’ve learned through the stain that was the Steroid Era in baseball: Records are, indeed, meant to be broken. But they are not meant to be shattered.

It took 34 years for Babe Ruth’s homerun record to be broken in 1961. So, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had at it 37 years after that, it felt right. It made sense. It was time for that record to be broken. However, when it was broken six times by three different players over the same five year period, something was amiss. I couldn’t be right. It didn’t make sense.

Well… it was wrong. They cheated. The record wasn’t broken, it was shattered… with steroids.

So here’s what the stain of the steroid era has done to me: On Thursday, June 24, 2010, John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut in the fifth set of a Wimbledon match, 70-68. The previous record of any major tennis match was set in 1969 when the score in the fifth set was 25-23. This three day, 11-hour match was 70-68 nearly tripling the previous scoring record, while doubling the time record of 6 ½ hours set in 2004.

Records are meant to be broken, not shattered…

Everybody is celebrating this Isner/Mahut tennis match with the verve and vigor that is eerily reminiscent of the panache of Sosa/ McGwire. So, to that end, I am cynically thinking (and apparently the first to suggest) that Isner and Mahut cheated. Not with performance enhancing drugs… just with a performance.

Yes, I am popping the international bubble and suggesting that Isner and Mahut were in cahoots.

How else can you explain it?

Yes, the Steroid Era has tainted me. Turned me into a cynical sap.

If you don’t like it… don’t blame me… blame Barry Bonds.

I am a big fan of Christian music. Aside from some old school crooners (Michael Buble, Harry Connick, Tony Bennett, etc.), I have a hard time being drawn to music that is devoid of meaning. I believe Louie Giglio’s quote on music: “All music is worship music. Worship is our response to what we value most. Whatever is worth most to you is what you worship. How do you know what you worship? It’s easy. You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of that trail you’ll find a throne; and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship.”

To that end, I offer you my Top Ten Favorite Contemporary Christian Albums released in 2009.

I am an avid CCM fan, but my tastes tend to fall on the side of classic rock (Boston, The Eagles) and singer/songwriter (James Taylor, Billy Joel). I haven’t listened to all CCM releases, but here are my favorites from 2009:

1. Kutless: It is Well.

        Style: Worship Rock. Compare to Creed.

2. Seventh Day Slumber: Take Everything.

        Style: Worship Rock. Compare to Bon Jovi

3. Unhindered: Be.

        Style: American Rock. Compare to Dave Matthews Band.

4. Skillet: Awake.

        Style: Hard Rock. Compare to Linkin Park

5. Steven Curtis Chapman: Beauty Will Rise.

        Style: Adult Contemporary. Compare to John Mayer

6. Christy Nockels: Life Light Up.

        Style: Adult Contemporary. Compare to Taylor Swift.

7. Decyfer Down: Crash.

        Style: Hard Rock. Compare to Breaking Benjamin

8. Casting Crowns: Until the Whole World Hears.

        Style: Pure American Rock. Compare to Nickelback

9. Switchfoot: Hello Hurricane.

        Style: Alternative Rock. Compare to Kings of Leon.

10. Leeland: Love is on the Move.

        Style: Singer/ Songwriter. Compare to Paul McCartney