So He Can Attend A Baseball Tournament?

Eric Liddell refused to run on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath,
in the 100-metres race during the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

If you read the article which was the subject of my post about Mars Hill Church, you may have noticed an interesting detail to the story; a detail that caught my eye anyway. The article was about Westboro Baptist Church picketing Mars Hill Church and how Pastor Mark Driscoll led his church in responding with Christ-like love. It's really a great story. The detail that caught my eye was a brief statement toward the end of the article. The article states that on the particular Sunday that Westboro Baptist had planned to picket Mars Hill, Pastor Mark's sermon was prerecorded so he could attend a baseball tournament that his son was playing in. I understand this to mean that he missed Sunday services in order to go to this baseball tournament. The Pastor was not at Sunday services with his church?

Growing up in the Catholic Church, my parents and our priests instilled in me the value for attending Mass on Sundays. When I was in the Army, on my own and away from home, I attended Mass sporadically. In college I really didn't attend at all; but once our first child was born, Margaret and I began attending Mass again on a regular basis. If there was something happening on Sunday that prevented us from attending, we would go to Mass on Saturday evening which was permissible in the Catholic Church and 'counted' as Sunday Mass. There was some security knowing that the church was there and the priests were going to be there to perform the service. Never was service cancelled and the priests always showed up. I've heard of pastors broadcasting services across town to multiple church sites, but a pastor prerecording a sermon and not evening showing up?

I know that Sunday is not the Sabbath that we, Torah-Observant Messianics, observe; but Christians do believe that Sunday is the Sabbath or their Sabbath, as in the 4th Commandment. Whether Christians have the day wrong or not is not what I am concerned about here. The Biblical principle of Sabbath observance should be, theoretically, the same whether you worship on Saturday or on Sunday. I know some Messianics may get up in arms about this comment and may find it wrong and/or impossible for me to compare Christians with Messianics, Saturday with Sunday; and that Sabbath observance cannot be done on the wrong day. I've thought about all of this, just hear me out. My point is this: Adonai commanded us to rest and convocate on the Sabbath. My questions are this: 1) What does it mean for us to rest on the Sabbath? 2) What does it mean for us to convocate on the Sabbath? 3) Finally, is attending a baseball tournament (or a similar event) a valid, Biblical reason to break the commandment to convocate (and potentially the commandment to rest) and miss Sabbath Services?

I am finding it necessary to explore these questions and more regarding the 4th Commandment and Messianic Sabbath observance from an Hebraic perspective. I'm really not too concerned about Mars Hill and whether Mark Driscoll missed Sunday services or not; my concern is for our local community and the development of a Sabbath halacha for our congregation. I hope to delve into this subject over a series of posts. My goal is to begin a discussion for the leaders in our community regarding Sabbath observance for Messianics today.

Below are some passages worth looking into:

Genesis 2:1-3
Exodus 16:23-30
Exodus 20:8-11
Exodus 23:12
Exodus 31:13-17
Exodus 35:2,3
Leviticus 19:3
Leviticus 23:3
Leviticus 26:2
Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Nehemiah 13:16-19
Ezekiel 20:12

Matthew 12:1-13
Matthew 24:20
Mark 2:18-28
Mark 3:1-12
Mark 15:42-16:13
Luke 4:14-30
Luke 13:10-17
Luke 14:1-6
Luke 23:50-56
John 7:14-36
John 19:31-37

Acts 15:6-21

Colossians 2:16-23
Hebrews 4:1-10


~

Making Witchcraft Commonplace

Driving into work this morning I heard a radio ad by Car Toys that disturbed me. I looked up the ad on their website so I could hear it again and I found out that the new Car Toys slogan is "It's Almost Magic." As expected, they have a few more radio spots based on this theme and a couple of television commercials too. The idea behind the campaign is that customers are so surprised by the way Car Toys transformed their vehicle that they are now convinced Car Toys is using magic. The commercial that I heard is titled "Illegal warlockery". It features a teenaged girl who is giving feedback to Car Toys about the work they did on her mother's minivan.

You can listen to the ad here:

I'm not coming down on Car Toys as a company or the products and services that they provide. I love good quality sound and I've heard they do some good work. In fact, if I had a few extra bucks I'd like to put a new stereo in our family Suburban and maybe a GPS; but anyway...

I get the idea behind the ad campaign—Wow, Car Toys does some really cool stuff to cars; so cool that they could not have done it without the help of magic. I get it, pretty neat concept.

What bothers me is the way terms related to witchcraft are thrown around and made to seem so commonplace. I understand, it's a secular radio station, if I don't like it I can turn it off, whatever. My point is this: I have never heard witchcraft talked about so lightly in an advertisement and presented in such a way that makes it seem like everyone does it. For example, the girl in the ad, figuring that Car Toys is into magic, says, "I'm super stoked that you're into the dark arts." First of all, my children would probably ask me what 'super stoked' means and then they would ask what the 'dark arts' are. Consider that—they are called dark arts. Since when is dark, as in the occult, a good thing? And why is this teenaged girl stoked about dark arts? Do her parents know she is into the dark arts? Do they approve of this?

Then the girl says in a normal everyday kinda tone "...I do love witchery, so call me." You might be thinking, "Michael, don't you watch TV? Haven't you seen all the vampire shows? What's the big deal? This stuff is everywhere." Well, no. I don't watch TV and I haven't for over 10 years now. And yes, I have heard of the vampire shows; that's why I don't watch TV! We don't read the Harry Potter books either or any other books that glamorize witchcraft. When she was very young, my oldest daughter threw away all of the Disney books in our library that mentioned magic—and that was MOST of the Disney books. This was her idea because we taught her early on that witchcraft was not of Adonai. Back to the commercial—is witchcraft really that common in our society that we think it's okay for an average teenaged girl to casually admit over the airwaves that she loves witchery? Is this okay or something that we should just overlook? If it is, our society is further down the tubes than I thought. How many people have heard this commercial and thought, "How nice, my daughter and all her friends are into witchery too."

Her final comment is what put me over the edge. She ends her feedback by telling Car Toys, "We should read tarot cards or like, listen to my boyfriends mix-tape." If you listened to the YouTube commercial above, this is what you heard her say. But what they aired on the radio was something different. Tarot cards are bad enough but instead of the 'mix-tape' comment she said, "We should read tarot cards or like, burn some sage." I took this as a reference to marijuana (which I haven't totally discounted); but after a bit of research, I found that burning sage is an occultic practice used in cleansing a home of evil spirits. Why do we even need to mention these pagan rituals in commercials and put ideas into the minds of our impressionable children? Since when has the occult been a good thing?

The other radio spots are not any better. I have not watched the television commercials and at this point, I don't plan to. What it boils down to is this—we live in a fallen world that is getting darker and darker. We, as believers in Messiah Yeshua, need to become brighter and brighter. I pray that the topic of witchcraft never becomes commonplace in my home and in the minds of my family.



~

Christ-Like Love Demonstrated At Mars Hill

Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church

Remember the passage in Scripture where the apostle Paul organized a protest against a church that he thought was sinning? Him, Barnabas and Timothy held up big bright colored signs, picketing in front of the entrance, yelling at the people as they entered the church. Remember that? Oh yeah—it didn't happen. As soon as I began reading this book about Biblical conflict resolution I coincidentally stumble upon an article about a recent conflict between two churches. This past Sunday in Seattle, Washington, the Westboro Baptist Church picketed Mars Hill Church because they believe that Mars Hill teaches lies about God. Mars Hill is the church of popular pastor, speaker and author Mark Driscoll.

If you've never heard of the Westboro Baptist Church, just do an Internet search and you will quickly find out who they are. Although they call themselves Baptists, this group is not associated with or accepted by any of the many Baptist denominations here or abroad. They have a history of protesting events wielding signs that contain crude messages of condemnation. According to the article Fred Phelps, the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, told CNN in 2006, "You can't preach the Bible without preaching the hatred of God." There is a lot that can be said about this statement and the actions and beliefs of the Westboro Church; but I'll just mention a few of my concerns about this statement. First, what exactly does God hate? We have to first identify in the Text what God hates and make sure we are not inserting our own pet peeves in this list. Secondly, did God call the church to focus solely on the things He hates? What is the purpose and the role of the pastor and the church? Are they supposed to be consumed and preoccupied with the sins of the heathen, rubbing transgressions in their faces? Finally, is this method of callous public ridicule displaying Christ-like love; a love that leads to repentance? How many people have actually repented and come to a saving faith in Messiah Yeshua as a result of these protests? This display of hatred is precisely what I see between denominations and churches today; of course not to the same degree of anger and ridiculousness, but it's still there.

If this happened at your church, how would you respond? If you had a few days notice, how would you prepare? Mark Driscoll was made aware of the planned protest through his facebook page. He had a few days to prepare and I applaud him for the way he reacted to the situation—he reached out with love. What a perfect opportunity for him to lead his community in demonstrating Christ-like love and character. He could have reacted in the same way that others have in the past by fighting-fire-with-fire, but instead, he applied a bit of spiritual-judo. This countercultural, Biblical, Christ-like response caught the attention of newspapers across the country. What a great testimony and example for the Body of Messiah.

Read the article here: Church welcomes Westboro protests, even though they deeply disagree



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Make Every Effort To Keep Unity

I am now starting yet another book on love. This one is called If You Bite And Devour One Another : Biblical Principles For Handling Conflict by Alexander Strauch. When I met with Alex back in April he told me the key to a healthy Church and healthy relationships is love, Christ-like love. Once we can grasp this concept and follow after the example of our Messiah, our communities and our families will thrive. He then gave me three of his books on love. This one is his latest book, which was released in May. He explained to me that years ago, when he was a young Christian, he saw conflict and anger, bitterness and fighting between mature Christians in his community. He could not understand how a believer in Yeshua Messiah could behave in such a manner. This experience is what sparked a desire in him to begin studying about Christ-like love. He's been studying and writing about love ever since.

If You Bite And Devour is about conflict resolution within the body. In the book Strauch explores God's way of handling conflict so congregations may experience peace and unity. The goal of the book is to provide a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about conflict and to help believers learn how to respond to conflict according to biblical principles. At this point I've only read the introduction during my lunch break; but I am eager to start digging into this book this evening. Another thought that Alex shared with me is that the more we study and teach Christ-like love, the more we will begin to love like Christ did.

"We must recognize that every conflict is an opportunity to display Christlike character, the wisdom from above, and the reality of the gospel in our lives. Every conflict is a test: Will we respond according to the Spirit, displaying its beautiful fruit, or will we react in the ugliness of the flesh? Every conflict reveals whether we practice what we preach, whether we are doers of the Word or hearers only. Every conflict indicates the genuineness of our faith."
-- Alexander Strauch from If You Bite And Devour 

Download sample chapters of this book here: Bite And Devour



~

Have You Left Your First Love?

I just finished another short book about love called Love Or Die : Christ's Wake-Up Call To The Church by Alexander Strauch. The book is based on Revelation 2:4 and is an encouragement for churches to begin to study about, pray for, teach on, model, guard and practice love, Christ-like love. Stauch explains that today, we don't hear enough about love in the Ekklesia of Yeshua. This is true. We need more of it; not just taught but demonstrated. In order to understand what Christ-like love is, we have to first study it in the Scriptures. In the back of the book there is a study guide that digs deeper into the examples of Chirst-like love (here is the teachers guide). This is another book that I would recommend for leaders who desire to have their communities and families overflowing with Christ-like love.

Download sample chapters of this book here: Love or Die



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And Sought To Put Him To Death

The Brit Milah of Moses Michael Gonzales took place on the eighth-day,
16th of Sivan, 5771 which corresponds to Saturday, June 18, 2011

A week before my son was born I had a dream about his circumcision. In the dream we were at our church building celebrating with our entire community before the ceremony when I realized I had not yet told the mohel about my son's birth. It was only a couple of minutes before we were to begin the Brit Milah (Covenant of Circumcision) liturgy and the mohel was not there. He lives in Fort Collins, which is at least an hour away, and at this point I wasn't even sure if he was available to make it. My gut was filled with anxiety as I looked out my bedroom window, beating my fist on the window seal wondering what to do (don't ask me how I got to my bedroom—it's a dream!). I thought, "How could I, a leader in our community, be so negligent and miss this important detail?" I woke up convinced that this dream was true. I was still beating myself up and my gut was filled with nervousness. It all seemed so real. I turned to my wife, put my hand under the covers, reached out and felt her belly. Ah, relief. She was still pregnant. It was only a dream. The anxiety left but the thoughts remained.

The Covenant of Circumcision is one of those appointed times that doesn't give you a lot of time to plan—only eight days. We knew we were having a boy so we knew we would be needing the services of a mohel. We contacted a mohel one month prior and made him aware of our son's expected due date and the fact that Margaret usually gives birth two-weeks early. Our son was actually born four days after the due date which really through us all for a loop (see: In Uncharted Territory). A few hours after the birth I contacted the mohel to tell him the news and found out that he was going to be out of town on the eighth-day. I felt anxiety starting to develop deep in my gut. 

On top of the short notice after the birth of a son, what makes it even trickier when planning for a circumcision is when the eighth-day falls on Shabbat (Sabbath) or a Moed (Feast Day). In our case it fell on Shabbat. That's why you should always have a 'Plan B' in case the mohel is not available or something goes wrong with the logistics. My fallback plan was to have a local pediatrician perform the circumcision; however, this plan only works Monday thru Friday during normal business hours. The anxiety began to intensify.

It is the responsibility of the father to make sure that his infant son is circumcised—that would be me. Also, the elders are to live exemplary lives for their community to follow—that would also be me. You could say that I had a lot riding on my shoulders at this point and it was feeling like a ton of bricks. I had recently announced to the community that everyone would be invited to the ceremony and once I found out that the ceremony fell on Shabbat, I knew that there would be a good turnout of members. My concern was that my dream was coming true. I did not have a mohel lined up yet and everyone was going to show up and see that I was not prepared. Huh-boy. I was now feeling the same anxiety that I did after the dream.

I don't want to come across legalistic about the situation, but I believe that circumcision is important—important to Adonai. If we desire to follow the Torah, then we should do whatever we can to perform the circumcision of our infant boys at the appointed time. The ordeal I was in brought to mind the incident in Exodus 4:24-26 concerning Moses and his wife Zipporah. This is an odd passage about the circumcision of Moses's son that has drawn much attention and debate. The popular explanation of this passage is that Moses—the appointed leader of his people, the representative of Adonai, and the person chosen to deliver the Torah to Israel—had procrastinated and neglected to circumcise his own son. Because of this, Adonai came down and "sought to put him to death." Now, I don't think that my life, or anyone's life for that matter, would be in danger if the circumcision of an infant son is neglected. But the fact that I am the leader of my home, a leader in a Torah-Community and I am a teacher of the Torah means that I will someday have to answer for my negligence and my bad example. I would never make anyone feel guilty about not circumcising their sons or doing it on the 'wrong' day, but I will strongly recommend to the families in our community to try as hard as they can to do it and do it on the eighth-day.

Through the providence of Adonai, after a couple of days of butterflies in my stomach, I was reconnected with the mohel who circumcised my second son, Aaron, on Yom Kippur 5767 (2006). I confirmed the date and scheduled the ceremony. The community was there and everything went off without a hitch. My third son, Moses, was circumcised on the eighth-day as commanded. Baruch HaShem! After all of that I have now come to realize that the circumcision was the easy part; now comes the commitment and diligence in bringing him up in the discipline and instruction of Adonai (Ephesians 6:4).

~

A New Appreciation For Doug

From Right to Left:
Doug, Beall, Joshua, Justice, Liberty, Jubilee, Faith, Honor, Providence, and Virginia Hope

I went to the CHEC Conference today but I did not follow my initial plan of attack. I found out last night that, due to airline problems, Doug Phillips was not going to speak at the morning General Session. I decided not to go to the conference at all but then, in an attempt to cure her cabin-fever, Margaret wanted to go. Of course we had to bring five-day old Moses with us, so his first outing was a homeschool conference (Yeah!). As odd as it sounds to take a new born to a conference, we were not alone. I was actually amazed at the amount of infants at the conference. I don't remember there being this many babies in previous years.

The first full session we saw was the 1:00 teaching by Doug Phillips' called The Family Table. This lesson was basically an encouragement for homeschooling families to make dinnertime a special occasion; a time for bonding and learning. In his teaching I learned something about Doug that surprised me--he's Jewish on his father's side.  He mentioned his father's Jewish identity because it was his father who instilled this principle in him. This idea of family fellowship and teaching during a meal is an Hebraic concept. He also suggested that, during dinnertime, parents teach their children to sit still and listen.  This serves as a good time to practice for Sabbath Services.

We missed the 2:15-3:15 session because, well, Moses was hungry and a bit uncomfortable so we had to find a place for Margaret to nurse him. We spent the time together talking about what we had just heard and learned and how we could apply it to our family.

We caught the last session at 3:30 called A Homeschool Vision Of Victory by Doug Phillips. In this lesson he expressed the importance of why we, as believers is Messiah, should homeschool our children. He shared a little bit more about his Jewish heritage that helped to give me a better understanding of and a new appreciation for him and his ministry. He mentioned that he attended Hebrew school as a boy and that he knows many Yiddish words and phrases because his family spoke Yiddish in his home. He revealed that he comes from a long line of Rabbis who claim to be of Levitical descent. Because of his father, Doug is familiar with Judaism and Hebraic thinking. I have come to the conclusion that the passion that he has about the family stems from the Jewish influence in his upbringing. A lot of what he teaches about the family is Hebraic in nature. Now it makes sense to me why I've been drawn to his ministry and teachings. He's coming from the same perspective.

For another Hebraic perspective on homeschooling I would recommend this article by Tim Hegg called Homeschooling -- Why? In this article Tim Hegg comes to many of the same conclusions that Doug Phillips and other proponents of homeschooling have made. Could homeschooling be a more Hebraic or Biblical model for education?

He also told them a parable: 

"Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 

A disciple is not above his teacher, 

but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher."

Luke 6:39-40

Who is teaching YOUR children?



~

CHEC Conference 2011

Ah yeah - Doug Phillips, RC Sproul Jr and Kevin Swanson are speaking at this years CHEC Conference. I can't make it to all three days, but I think I will go tomorrow; and this is my plan of attack...

8:30-9:45 (General Session)

Doug Phillips

Toxic: Seven Poisons Which Threaten

The Health Of The Home School Movement—And Their Antidotes

The homeschool movement was birthed out of a principled desire to return education to its biblical foundation. But dangerous influences have emerged which threaten to undermine the coherence, purity and significance of the homeschool vision. In this session, your eyes will be opened to seven of the most insidious poisons being absorbed into the heart of home education and offer solutions necessary to restore health

10:00-11:00

Kevin Swanson

Homeschooling—Capturing The Vision

What is it about home education that has profoundly re-energized education and produced such outstanding academic results? Here, Kevin presents the basic elements that make up an outstanding homeschooling experience for your child. This message will give the first-time homeschooler confidence and vision, and help provide encouragement and a reality check for the experienced home educator.

1:00-2:00

Doug Phillips

The Family Table

As families have become disconnected, the centrality of the family table has been neglected. Scripturally, the table is defined as a place of peace, discipleship, hospitality, and cultural transformation. Christ communed with His disciples around a table, and for lasting reformation to occur in our time, families must likewise embrace mealtime as an opportunity to fellowship with one another and glorify God.

2:15-3:15

R.C. Sproul, Jr.

Perseverance

Not a day passes without our faith and our convictions being assaulted. Whether it is worldly influences seeking to destroy the foundation we stand upon, or influences from within the Christian world seeking to undermine the direction of our families, the attacks and discouragement are real. Perseverance is of utmost importance if we are to stand our ground and forge ahead in the tasks given to us.

or

Kevin Swanson

Entertainment And Your Family

There are biblical principles for entertainment, and in this workshop, Kevin Swanson will measure the relative benefits or drawbacks of cottoncandy novels (e.g. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew), historical adventures (e.g. G.A. Henty), “classic” novels, 19th century Victorian fare, the fantasy genre, Walt Disney motion pictures, television (from Andy Griffith to 24), recorded music, and radio drama

3:30-4:30

Doug Phillips

A Homeschool Vision Of Victory

Home education is a God-ordained means of accomplishing His purposes in the home, the hearts of young people, and in society as a whole. Doug will discuss the historical significance of the homeschool movement, the true objectives of home education, and the importance of a multi-generational vision of victory

Man, there are so many more sessions that I'd like to attend. My plan may change when I get there.



~

A Blessing on Shabbat

Behold,
children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

– Psalm 127:3-5, ESV

Aaron (4), Miryam (6), Michaela (13), Moses (0), Maya (11), Isaac (8)

Moses Michael Gonzales

9th of Sivan, 5771

which corresponds to

Saturday, 11 June 2011

Birth Parashah:

Beha'alotcha (When you set up)

Parashah: Numbers 8:1 - 12:16

Haftarah: Zechariah 2:10 - 4:7

Apostolic Scriptures: Revelation 11:1 - 19

~

Elders, be an Example to the Flock

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

Pslam 133:1, ESV

My blog entry last Wednesday has got me thinking about the disunity within the Greater Body of Messiah. Why is unity lacking within the Body? This problem goes back centuries, so I don't think it will be solved anytime soon; but we can at least try to address it.

R.C. Chapman, the pastor, teacher, and evangelist known as the Apostle of Love, said that "Humility is the secret of fellowship, and pride the secret of division." In other words, the proud do not have much fellowship because of their pride; while the humble do not experience much division because of their humility. It is said that "humility makes the avenue to glory." This phrase is a reference to the path of humility that Messiah took for our sake. He humbled Himself for us and in His humility, Yeshua demonstrated His love for us (Phil 2:6-8).

The ability to maintain unity within the Greater Body of Messiah is an indication that love abounds; love for our fellow brother. We must have love in our personal relationships if we are going to maintain unity. We must have love in our marriages if we desire to maintain unity in this special, holy relationship. We must have love within our families, between parents and children, in order to have unity within our homes. Paul tells us that we, the members of the Body, are to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph 4:3) We must be eager to love our fellow brother in Messiah. So how can we achieve and maintain this unity within the Greater Body? I believe it needs to be taught and demonstrated by the leadership.

Teaching and demonstrating unity within the Greater Body of Messiah is the responsibility of the Elders in the Ekklesia, or the Local Body of Messiah (1 Peter 5:1-11).
Note: Because of the variations in titles used within the Messianic Community, I will simply say Elders when referring to the leaders of a Local Body and I will use the term Ekklesia to refer to a Local Body.

What is the Ekklesia?

The Ekklesia is the body of believers in Messiah Yeshua, Jewish and non-Jewish. In Biblical times each city had a local assembly of believers or an ekklesia also called a church (e.g., the churches in Ephesus, Galatia, Corinth, Colasse, etc...). Today in our modern society we have many, many churches or ekklesia in our cities comprised of many, many different Christian denominations. Most of these modern, local ekklesia do not associate with one another because of their differences in beliefs.

Who are the Elders?

The elders, like shepherds, protect their flock.

The Elders are the leaders and overseers of the local ekklesia sometimes called the under-shepherds (this is because Messiah Yeshua is the Chief Shepherd over the Greater Body of Messiah). Like a shepherd, the Elders guard, protect, care for, and feed their flock. Elders are men of integrity and spiritual maturity from within the local body. They are not imported or transplanted but homegrown. They are not given a test to take in order to qualify but rather their character makes it evident that they are worthy of this high calling. (For more on the qualifications of the Elders see 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.)

The Focus of the Elders

The elders are called to focus on their own flock.

The Elders are called to shepherd the flock that is among them (1 Peter 5:1-5). In other words, their responsibility is for the flock or the local church whom Adonai has put under their care. Like a good shepherd, an Elder will focus on the sheep in his flock, pushing them toward Adonai and helping them to develop their gifts (Eph 4:11-16). It is their responsibility to help the people in their local church develop faith in Hashem. To put it plainly, the focus of the Elders is inward, toward their own communities. They are called to be examples (1 Peter 5:3) to the local ekklesia and the ekklesia are called to emulate their own Elders (Hebrews 13:7).

When Elders lose their Focus

When elders lose their focus, their flock is not being cared for.

Believe it or not, like it or not, the flock is watching and emulating their shepherd. Really, they do. I once attended a gathering of men from a community where the Elder/Pastor told off-color jokes; he was also present at this meeting. At one point the jokes from these men got so bad and inappropriate, the Elder/Pastor had to put a stop to it. I attributed this incident to the fact that these men would see their Elder/Pastor behave in this manner so they felt comfortable behaving this way in front of him. They were emulating their shepherd, their elder.

One problem that I've seen today in the Greater Body of Messiah is that some Elders are losing their focus on their own communities. Rather than having an internal focus on the spiritual growth of their flock, they focus on matters outside of their own communities. This can happen with syndicated Shabbat Services and online teaching ministries, but this becomes most harmful when the focus of the Elders, and therefore the community, becomes the problems and shortcomings of other churches and denominations. It would be more understandable to have a parachurch ministry with this kind of mission but this is not the call of the Elder and/or the Church. When Elders belittle and berate the beliefs of other denominations they breed dissension within the Greater Body of Messiah. The members of communities like this will in turn belittle and berate the beliefs of their extended families, their friends, their coworkers and their neighbors. They bash the Christians in their life with the Torah and then tell them that the Torah is a blessing.

The Messianic Community has come out of the Christian Church to embrace the Hebraic Roots of their faith. Many new Messianics feel duped by the Christian Church and have feelings of resentment, this is understandable; but Christians are not our enemies. They are our brothers and sisters in Messiah and we should approach them with love and humility if we are going to reach them with the truth of the Torah. This love and humility must to be demonstrated by the Elders so the individuals within their respective communities can and will emulate them.

I'll end with a few quotes by R.C. Chapman:

"Humility is the secret of fellowship,
and pride the secret of division."

"Pride nourishes the remembrance of injuries;
humility forgets as well as forgives them."

"When mutual intercession takes the place of mutual accusation,
then will the differences and difficulties of brethren be overcome."

~

Learning About Love

I finished a book yesterday called Agape Leadership, Lessons in Spiritual Leadership From the Life of R.C. Chapman by Robert L. Peterson and Alexander Strauch. It's a challenging little book (80 pages) about love and humility, forgiveness and self-sacrifice. R.C. Chapman (1803-1902) was an elder at Ebenezer Chapel in Barnstaple, England who decided early on in his ministry that he was not going to only preach Christ, he was going to live Christ. His life is an example of how to live as a disciple of Jesus. I would recommend this book to any Church Leader who is eager to promote love within his community. I may even get a copy of this for every family at FRMC.

Download sample chapters of this book here: Agape Leadership


~

In Uncharted Territory

Moses Michael Gonzales

Margaret has passed her due date, which was yesterday. She's never gone this far in her past five pregnancies. We have kept in consideration that perhaps the conception date is off; but then again, with the amount of discomfort she was feeling last night, I'm not so certain that this is the case. The reality is it could be any minute now. I'm loving the suspense.



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Jews, Messianics and Christians—Where's the Unity?

Below are some thoughts, observations and opinions about unity within the Greater Body of Messiah.

Diagram 1 – Faith Overlap

It is no surprise that Messianics are in a unique situation. They can be found in the middle of the Rabbinic Jewish and Protestant Christian faiths. They identify with Rabbinic Jews because they believe that the Torah, the Law of God, is relevant for believers today while simultaneously identifying with Christians; because they believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is Messiah. Many Messianics have come out of Christianity to return to the Hebraic Roots of their faith. Some find that now they identify more with Rabbinic Jews than they do with their Christian brothers. They become enamored with the traditions of the Orthodox Rabbinic Jews and usually embrace an American-Ashkenazi expression of worship. It seems that these Messianics relate to those who 'do' what they do more than those who 'believe' what they believe. To an extent, this thinking is correct because in Hebraic thought 'doing' and 'believing' are inseparable. But their desire to adopt Rabbinic traditions has no merit in the Rabbinic Jewish community.

Diagram 2 – Faith Relationships

The Children of Israel were called to be a light to the nations, but Rabbinic Jews have made little effort to reach out to non-Jews with the truth of the Torah. This is why, in the diagram above, there are no arrows coming out of the brown circle representing Rabbinic Judaism. The green circle represents Protestant Christianity while the blue circle represents the modern Messianic Community.

Below is an explanation of the arrows in the diagram which represent relationships between these faiths.

1. Welcome: Rabbinic Jews are willing to associate with Christians in select venues because they see Christianity as a separate and distinctly different faith. The Jews have the Old Testament and the Christians have the New Testament. The Jews have Adonai and the Christians have Jesus. But today, more Christians are realizing the importance of Israel and the Jewish people in relation to the return of Jesus. The result is an abundance of Christian groups who support Israel. Without a doubt, the Jewish people are grateful for this support but by and large, this effort to 'reach out' is not reciprocal.
   
   
   
2. Welcome: Christians are more accepting (or at least tolerant) of Messianics than Messianics are of Christians. This is an observation. I'm not saying that all Christians are lovey-dovey over Messianics. In fact some Christian leaders consider Messianics legalists or Judaizers. I am referring to personal, one-on-one relationships. Again, these are my observations and experiences. When we started The Front Range Messianic Community we met some Christians who supported us until we got on our feet. They never had anything negative to say about our Messianic beliefs. Since then, some of the most influential people that we've met have been Christians. They've inspired us and helped us and none of them have looked down on us because of our Messianic faith and practices. They may not totally agree with us but they haven't belittled or berated us either. We have a connection with them through Yeshua and His Ruach.
   
   
   
   
3. Not Welcome:  Messianics are not welcome in the Rabbinic Jewish Community--period. Messianics who think otherwise are mistaken. The Jews for Judaism article Is The Christian Movement Called "Messianic Judaism" a Form of Judaism? can shine some light on how Rabbinic Jews view Messianics, Jewish and non-Jewish. I don't blame Rabbinic Jews for the way they feel about us. I'm not mad at them for not accepting us or our Messiah. On the contrary, I pray for them and Israel. They are God's people whom He loves.
   
   
   
4. Not Welcome: I have seen some Messianics act hostile toward Christians. I'm not talking about all Messianics, but I know some who have ill feelings toward Christians. When the word Christian is mentioned, their face puckers at the thought of these Greek-minded pagan idolaters. I have to admit, I was like this early on in my walk in Torah. I was ready to bash any Sunday-keeper who crossed my path. But then I was reminded of the mercy and grace that my Savior extended to me when I was a pork-eating, Sunday-keeping Roman Catholic. I saw how I was not extending to my Christian brothers the same love and patience that Messiah extended to me. Christians are taught Christian doctrine; it's what they know and believe. Bashing them with the Torah isn't going to make them desire it. It will only repel them. It is a shame to see folks who have been walking in Torah for many years continue to disassociate with Christian brothers because they do not 'do' what we 'do'. Messianics have more in common with Christians than they do with Rabbinic Jews. We have Yeshua and His Ruach. Besides, Christians follow the Torah more than they realize and more than Messianics give them credit for. Regarding the Body of Messiah, Paul said:
   
   "Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom."
   - Ephesians 4:2,3 CJB
   
   

Finally, what about unity within the Greater Messianic Community? Is this even possible? The Messianic Community has so many variations today, can we find a common ground to agree upon?

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