Category Archive: Bob Hiller

The End of Celebrity Preachers

By Bob Hiller –

Do you remember the old Nike commercials where Charles Barkley announced: “I am not a role model…I am not paid to be a role model…I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court”? I remember that commercial resonating a great deal as it came in the wake of the news that Magic Johnson was HIV positive. Johnson was a hero of mine, and as a young Christian kid, I had this naïve view of the world that successful athletes were good Christians who lead morally exemplary lives. I was in the sixth grade and went into mourning when the announcement came out. I was burned, not just because he was no longer going to play basketball, but because of my hero’s promiscuous sexual habits. My hero had let me down.

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Afraid of Church

By Bob Hiller –

As a football fan, I would love to one day take my kids to see an NFL game. Watching the games on TV, you get the impression that these games are fast-paced, high energy games with thousands of fans rooting as one body for the victory of their team. To me, the idea of taking the Hiller clan to an NFL game is exhilarating: Sitting with my kids, decked out in Broncos gear, going nuts over huge plays and hard hits. The idea of the whole thing is awesome. But, the reality, I fear, would be a different story.

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I’m Tired of Your Good Old Days

By Bob Hiller –

I have a slight infatuation with watching Stephan Curry play basketball. Watching him shoot from every angle on the court and make shots in the most clutch situations evokes a sort of childlike joy for me. His shot is so undeniably perfect that I think I can formulate an argument for objective truth from it. He has been the Association’s brightest star for the better part of two seasons and rightfully won the NBA MVP this year. He just flat schools everyone he plays. As the great Dan Patrick used to say, “You can’t stop him; you can only hope to contain him.”

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Hypothetical Preaching

By Bob Hiller –

I was recently engaged in a conversation with some theological minds on the question of preaching (Besides sports, what else is there to really talk about?). The hypothetical question was raised: “Should a pastor ever preach a sermon with no Gospel?” This is like asking: “Should Steph Curry actually be the NBA MVP?” It will create a conversation even though it is a ridiculous question with an obvious answer. But I was bored, so I bit.

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Learning to Listen

By Bob Hiller –

For the past ten years, I’ve had the joy of listening to Dodger baseball on the radio, as my call was just north of Los Angeles. Recently, I’ve taken new call to North San Diego County where, though I still get the Dodger games, I have found myself trying to listen to the Padres. This transition in listening has been a tough one, and not just because San Diego played my beloved Rockies this past week. Per usual, the Rockies didn’t fare too well. I’m used to that. No, the difficulty has been getting used to the Padres radio announced, Ted Leitner.

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Stick to the Script

By Bob Hiller –

This has been an overwhelming week for the ol’ Haymaker. I have begun serving a new congregation in beautiful San Diego County (Community Lutheran Church). Though I’ve been a pastor for the better part of a decade, I have found myself completely overwhelmed. I know it’s a pious cliché for pastors to say that their calling is too big for them, and that they have to rely on the Lord. But dude, I am in over my head. I am thrilled that the Lord has placed me in this new place. And I am completely overwhelmed.

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Try Not to Judge This Blog

By Bob Hiller –

Your Bible is bursting at the seams with metaphors aimed at delivering God’s love for you in Christ to your ears and hearts. The language of forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption, and liberation are just a few of the big themes that the Holy Spirit has chosen to convey everything God has done for you through the blood of God’s Son. We in the Lutheran camp tend to have a reputation of overemphasizing one particular way of talking about the Gospel: the legal metaphor. The technical language (for you who want to show off at the water cooler on Monday) is forensic justification.

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Jesus Doesn’t Look Like You

By Bob Hiller –

This past week, I came across an article from Christianity Today entitled “Why Jesus’ Skin Color Matters.” In it, author Christena Cleveland argues that the Western church has done a great disservice to the church by presenting Jesus as a white male. She argues that Jesus, as a first century Jew, would not have been a member of the powerful, white Roman class. Instead, he was a dark, olive-skinned member of a social minority.

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Bored with Preaching

By Bob Hiller –

Somewhere along the way, I was taught that sermons should always be about Jesus. Further into my training, I learned that this doesn’t just mean that we should talk about what Jesus did a long time ago, but that what Jesus did a long time ago is for you here and now. The proclamation of the Good News (that is, the Gospel) is not simply an explanation of sacred events, but the delivering of sacred gifts, which in itself is a sacred event. Preaching is delivering Jesus to sinners and attacking those things that try to get in His way. At least it should be. At least, that is what I was taught.

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Recovering the Virtue of Lying

By Bob Hiller –

OK, I will do my best not to bore you with the details of this week’s sports setup. This past week, after losing to Oregon in the NCAA Tournament, Duke’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, was caught on camera having a long conversation with opposing player Dillon Brooks. After defeating Duke, Brooks got caught up in the moment and didn’t act very respectfully. During the handshake, Coach K told Brooks he was too good of a player to act that way. When asked about it, Brooks told reporters, “Coach K is a legend. He just told me that I’m too good of a player to be showing off at the end. And you know, he’s right. I gotta respect Duke.” Classy. Well spoken. Good on that young man.

Later, however, when asked about it, Coach K denied saying that at all.

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Cross Bound

By Bob Hiller –

We’d prefer something else tonight. I mean, sure, it’s good for us to come and remember Jesus dying. It makes us feel a bit more holy because we are the ones on this Friday night being so very good: going to church 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.

But, quite honestly, we’d prefer something else.

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Everybody Just Shut Up

By Bob Hiller –

OK, I know me talking about Bronco quarterbacks is getting exhausting for you, BUT PLEASE KEEP READING! I actually think the point I want to get at this week is important. Let’s make a deal: you keep reading, and I will shut up about Bronco quarterbacks for three months. Deal? Deal.

Last week, I heard the great ESPN Insider (think TMZ reporter) Adam Schefter reporting on how Brock Osweiler signed with the Houston Texans and not the Denver Broncos. Schefter was asked, “Did the benching of Osweiler during the season have anything to do with his exit from Denver?” To which Schefter responded (I’m paraphrasing here), “There have been no reports that this is the case. But, you have to think it played a factor.” At which point, Schefter went on to show how his speculation was a significant reason Osweiler left. Now, this is just speculation and assumption reported as fact. A good reporter, in this case, is to simply report the facts and answer the question by saying: “Not to my knowledge.” But, ignorance doesn’t get ratings. Provocative speculation does.

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How Debating Great Quarterbacks at the Bar Will Save Western Civilization

By Bob Hiller –

Moral relativism..BOO! Ha! Scared you, right? Is there anything that gets us religious folk in a tizzy more than the relativism of our culture? I suppose one could argue that the culture is not so much relativistic over what is right and wrong. Rather, they’ve just decided to name wrong things right things. After all, when someone says, “What’s right for you may not be right for me,” isn’t that just a boring, wimpy way of saying, “You’re wrong?” Nonetheless, ours is a time where many attempt to blur the lines of what has been traditionally considered right and wrong.

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Just Change the Rules

By Bob Hiller –

Have you ever watched poetry? If you’ve seen Stephan Curry of the Golden State Warriors, you have. Curry is making a mockery of the NBA this year. It is really hard for him to miss baskets. No one can cover him. You want to hate someone that good. But then you watch him, and it’s like seeing Bizet’s Habanera from Carmen. It is flawless and beautiful. Play the song and watch his twelve (!) three-pointers from last Saturday’s game in Oklahoma City (including a remarkable OT game winner that looked like child’s play to Curry). Pure basketball righteousness. Curry is killing the rest of the NBA.  Literally no one can stop him.

So, it was fascinating this past week to listen to the fearful reactions around the league. If Curry is so deadly, what do you do with him? Since they can’t stop him, some are talking about changing the rules and adjusting the game to make it harder for Curry (and other shooters like him…of which there are none) to be so dominant.

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We Don’t Need Sports

By Bob Hiller –

I recently had a great conversation with some old friends about why I like sports. Not being fans, they could only see the negative impact of sports on culture, higher education, and the church. Though I vehemently tried to defend the benefit of sports, much of what they said resonated with me. What is wrong with sports? Or, perhaps a better question is, what is wrong with our attitude towards them?  Is there something wrong with playing and watching sports?

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Piling On

By Bob Hiller –

I know, some of you are tired of me posting about sports and theology on my blog about sports and theology (not to name names Flanagan). But, I have a really good analogy about how the Broncos defense was like the gospel for Peyton Manning. He got on the field and did nothing to help the team win, and yet was given all kinds of accolades for another’s work…anybody? You like it? Fine…I’ll move on…

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Selfish in Defeat

By Bob Hiller –

Well, friends, I am simply elated. The smile has not left my face in days! All that yelling and pillow biting and making a complete jerk out of myself in front of friends and family has finally paid off! My Denver Broncos are Super Bowl champions! I could not be happier. Watching that defense manhandle every single top level quarterback in the NFL this season (Cam Newton, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers…not so fast Philip Rivers…) has been like listening to a beautiful symphony. Wade Phillips truly produced a work of art. For me, reveling in the Broncos third Super Bowl victory is pure delight.

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This One’s for Denver!

By Bob Hiller –

Warning: This is an entirely self-indulgent blog filled entirely with my memories of the Denver Broncos. Per usual, you will find nothing theologically profound. But, this week, I’m not even trying. Instead, today you will read a fanboy at his pathetic worst, anxiously awaiting Sunday’s kickoff. P.S. Just remember, if you’d sent me money to go the game, you wouldn’t have to suffer through this blog…Go Broncos!

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Help Kickstart Bob’s Super Bowl 50 Experience

By Bob Hiller –

Luther once wrote: “We are all beggars. This is true.” This most certainly IS true. And, right now, this truism doesn’t merely refer to my status as simul justus et peccator. I am lacking in other areas in my life as well. For example, I don’t have my tickets to Super Bowl 50. At least not yet. In just nine short days our Denver Broncos will be playing in their eighth Super Bowl against the formidable Carolina Panthers! Unfortunately, not all of us can be there to cheer our boys on. But, one of us can. So, why not me?

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The Red Flag of Legalism

By Bob Hiller –

Imagine with me, if you will, a scenario that we just might see this weekend. There are two minutes left in the AFC Championship game. Denver trails the evil Patriots by three points. Peyton Manning and the Denver offense have the ball on their own 20 and start to drive. Things are clicking beautifully. Passes are completed, runs are averaging six-plus yards a carry, and the defense is on its heels. Then, Manning throws a beautiful ball down the sideline to Demaryius Thomas that puts Denver in the red zone and sets them up for a touchdown. It looked like a good catch, but Thomas’ toes were close to the line. As Denver runs down to set up for the next play, Bill Belichick, that stalwart of morals and fair play, reaches into his pocket and tosses a little red flag onto the field.

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