Category Archive: Bob Hiller

Stop Playing So Hard?

By Bob Hiller –

“You need to tell your boys to stop playing so hard!” That was what the opposing coach yelled at my son’s rugby squad last year after one of our boys, a bit too aggressively in her opinion, knocked one of their’s to the ground. “They need to take it easy!” That’s right. She yelled this at a rugby match! Rugby! I mean, in every other sport, when you are playing rough, someone will say, “Hey back off. It’s not like this is rugby!” The rugby pitch is the place where you are supposed to play rough. That is part of the beauty of the game! It is organized rough play. If they can’t play rough when they play rugby, when are these kids supposed to play rough? In soccer? (Ha! I know I made Koch smirk with that one…)

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Making A Statement

By Bob Hiller –

Are folks still talking about all those important theological statements being made by America’s most popular Christian conference speakers? OK, that is a bit of a snarky opening sentence, but what’d you expect from my blog? Though perhaps not as earth shattering as Twitter has made them out to be, the Nashville Statement and the Denver Statement are pretty serious business. Never heard of them? Well, I hadn’t either until last Thursday, by which time, they had taken the social media world by storm There I was, delighting in a Guinness at the local pub, when my brother pastor asks me, “Why haven’t folks taken a strong stand against the Denver Statement?” Being a native of colorful Colorado (God’s favorite state, I’m sure), and awaiting the final preseason game for my beloved Broncos, I thought perhaps someone from the old Orange and Blue had brashly predicted a Super Bowl victory.

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Must Famous Athletes Preach?

By Bob Hiller –

Last summer, as the Major League Baseball season approached the playoffs, the YouVersion Bible app on my smartphone capitalized by offering a devotional for athletes written by professional ball players. I guess the way it worked was each player was either given or chose a particular verse of Scripture and wrote a devotion based on the text. I figured I ought to take a gander as I do write about the intersection of sports and theology. I was prepared for the worst. Much to my delight, however, some of the devotions weren’t half bad! In fact, more than one centered on the bloody cross and free forgiveness of Christ Jesus! Others were a bit more predictable. You know the ones where Paul’s encouragement to the Philippians, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” is applied to making the JV volleyball squad or overcoming an injury. (Can you imagine Paul sitting in his cell thinking to himself, “How will I inspire that poor 13-year-old kid who can’t hit a free throw to save his life? Ah, I know! Philippians 4:13!”) To use a delightful sports metaphor, these devotions were really hit or miss!

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Pastor, that’s Not Your Wife

By Bob Hiller –

She is very attractive for you, isn’t she? And you can’t seem to leave her alone. You love being the center of her attention. When she compliments you, you feel like you can conquer the world. You’ve even become an expert on wooing those compliments out of her. You know what she likes to hear. Sure, there are times when she’s not happy with you, and it drives you crazy. You grow self-defensive, yet you obsess over winning back her love. But you know exactly what you need to do to make her love you again; you just need to tell her what she wants to hear. There’s just one problem with all of this: She’s not your wife, pastor. She belongs to Jesus.

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The Glory of Humility

By Bob Hiller –

If the NBA is good for nothing else, it sure does supply some great offseason drama. If you haven’t been keeping up with the ESPN gossip channels, then you might not know that Kyrie Irving, the second-best player for the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers, wants out. Despite the fact that his team has been to the NBA Finals three years running, it seems that Irving is tired of playing in the shadow of LeBron James. If the rumors are true, Irving wants to be a franchise player, the focal point of whatever team for which he plays. He wants center stage and a team built around him. He believes he has the talent to be the number one guy on an NBA team, and he wants to prove it, but it won’t ever happen in Cleveland so long as LeBron stands in his way. So, he wants out.

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Believing Ain’t Easy

By Bob Hiller –

Have you ever heard that one can preach too much Gospel? Have you ever encountered phrases like “cheap grace” or “easy-believe-ism?” Perhaps you’ve heard a preacher wax on about how the Gospel of salvation by grace alone is true, but it is the “milk” for baby Christians. At some point, the sermon goes, we need to move past the baby food (in this case, the Gospel) and get to the solid food of Christian living. An over-emphasis on justification or grace alone waters down the faith and makes it too easy. We need, it is said, to graduate from the elementary teachings of justification and move into the more mature teachings on sanctification.

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Monsters in the Pews

By Bob Hiller –

Who do you think is sitting in the pews on a typical Sunday morning? Are our congregations filled with sin-conquering saints living from one victorious moment to the next, or are our pews filled with sin-bound failures who are hanging on for dear life? Maybe it’s a mix of both. Maybe it’s a mix of both in the same seat. For the folks who come to our churches on Sunday morning, what does it mean for them to live the Christian life? Perhaps asked in a better way: What do the lives of the Christians in our churches actually look like?

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Racism in Our Ears

By Bob Hiller –

A couple of years ago, when I first started writing for this blog, my brother told me I needed to deal with some of the pressing social issues in our culture. He said that since I write a good deal about sports, I should talk about race in sports. I have been incredibly hesitant to do this for many reasons. First, I am a rather privileged white dude. My views on race are not going to be particularly well informed. Second, I try to keep my blogs to issues of preaching + ham-fisted sports analogies, though I have blogged about social issues before. Third, I have an aversion to the social gospel, which I don’t believe should be confused with biblical Gospel. Fourth, and perhaps this is the most shameful reason, I am afraid of causing offense where offense need not be given (the key word there is “afraid,” read “cowardice”). To be fully honest, I don’t know the utter depths of the issues. I cannot argue for or against politically conservative or liberal views with any sort of competency. I am ashamed to say that I live in a rather white world where issues of race are not on my doorstep every day apart from what I hear in the news or see on social media.

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Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Condemned to Comparison

By Bob Hiller –

Michael Jordan resides on LeBron James’ back. There he hangs heavy, always whispering into LeBron’s ear: “I am undefeated in the Finals. You have a losing record! Who cares if you’ve made more Finals than I have? I have enough rings to start onto the second hand! You’ll never catch me!” Jordan is LeBron’s accuser. He refuses to let go of LeBron. He refuses to get off his back.

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The Isolated Pastor

By Bob Hiller –

Well, if my calculations are correct, by the time you read this blog (I am writing this on Tuesday night), the Golden State Warriors will be on the brink of completing their undefeated playoff run by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the NBA Finals. (Though, if you read my blog, you know my calculations are rarely correct…) Chances are that LeBron James will carry Cleveland to take one game. But I don’t think it will matter much. Golden State is stacked. The overindulgent signing of the great Kevin Durant in the off-season made the already incredible Warriors a near lock as this year’s champions. Handily winning every single playoff game may not make for great viewing, but it does make the Warriors rather impressive.

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Judging Tiger Woods

By Bob Hiller –

What has happened to Tiger Woods? Honestly, can you think of anyone who has taken a harder fall than Tiger? It really wasn’t all that long ago that he was untouchable on the golf course and in the public eye. I believe his weekend schedule used to consist of rolling out of bed, having a cup of coffee, winning a major, and then going to party with Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. No athlete in the world was as celebrated as Tiger Woods. No athlete was as invincible.

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Confirmation: Join the Resistance!

By Bob Hiller –

This past Sunday, our congregation rejoiced with all the saints and angels over four eighth graders who stood up to confirm their faith in the triune God. At our church, we enjoy personal testimonies from each of the confirmands. I always enjoy listening to the students talk about how they believe in the death and resurrection of the incarnate God for them. I love hearing the pro me in action! But the part of the service that really gets me is the old rite of confirmation. In it, these eighth graders renounced the devil, confessed their faith in the truth of God’s Word, committed themselves to a life filled with and formed by the Word and Sacraments, and said they were willing to stake their lives on this confession. What is not to love in this rite?

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Who Is the Greatest Theologian?

By Bob Hiller –

One of the great joys of the sports bar is what we might call the “greatness debate.” You know how it goes: “Who is the greatest point guard in the league right now?” “If you could start a franchise with three players in the league, who would you take?” “Give me your top five post-season quarterbacks after 1980.” Beer-induced passion sets in producing delightfully aimless arguments with no real answers. Everyone has a chance to flex their sports-trivia muscles and pile on the guys with the worst answers (a position I know all too well).

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Blogging for Good

By Bob Hiller –

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing blogs lately. Having to produce weekly content on The Jagged Word is a strange experience. As Doc Scott pointed out some time back, doing this on a consistent basis is a bit of a roller coaster. I wonder what sort of good my words are doing, if any. Or I grow too proud of what I write, and then I feel foolish over the pride but shoot to make myself proud again next week. I’m a very self-involved person, after all. Does this simply become white noise, or are we doing some good ruffling some feathers in the blackhole that is Lutheran social media? Is there any value, or even virtue, in writing a weekly blog?

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Coloring Book Jesus vs. the Dark Night of the Soul

By Bob Hiller –

A few weeks back, my son brought me a picture he had colored out of a Bible story coloring book. It was Jesus carrying the cross. My boy had done a fine job of coloring Jesus’ Hulk-like legs yellow, the Lord’s mighty six pack orange, His everlasting arms purple, and the old rugged cross green. Though He was all muscle and rainbow, this burden was not easy for coloring book Jesus. After all, His face did seem a bit uncomfortable having to bear that Kelly green crucifix. Don’t misunderstand me, I was impressed with how well the boy is coloring within the lines, and the color scheme wasn’t all bad. But I have to be honest, I am just a tiny bit uncomfortable with a coloring book page of the our Lord bearing the cross. Maybe I’m being picky, but coloring Jesus on His way to Calvary does seem to take away from the gravity of the Passion.

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Lent Is for Fasting; Easter Is for Feasting!

By Bob Hiller –

Isn’t it weird what a come down Easter is? I mean, we spend forty days in the repentant darkness of Lent, withholding “alleluias” from our lips and fasting from some pleasure in order to drive us to more focused prayer. Then Easter comes, the Alleluias return, lilies cover the altar, and we all log back on to Facebook with mouthfuls of chocolate. The fast is over, and it is time for the feast. So we do—for one day.

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Good Friday

By Bob Hiller –

We’d prefer something else tonight. Sure, it’s good for us to come and remember Jesus dying. It makes us feel a bit more holy because we’re the ones being so very good on this Friday night, going to church and contemplating the suffering of our enfleshed God. Oh, we can explain this death, tell you how He did it for us, and feel pretty good about our well-educated confession.

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