Easter, Halloween — Same Thing

The new chocolate covered Jack-O-Lantern Peeps.
I saw this at the gas station.

I'm not big on marshmallows but my kids are; especially in s'mores. I guess they're fun to roast over the campfire, but I don't go out of my way to buy them for myself. Growing up, I never got into the Peeps marshmallow chicks for Easter. Mom would put them in our Easter baskets but I wouldn't eat them; I'd give them away. But regardless of my opinion, Peeps have been the quintessential Easter candy for some time now. Their marshmallow chicks have been an Easter tradition for families in the U.S. since the 50's. After visiting their website I discovered that, in 1958, Peeps began expanding their line of marshmallow shaped candies to accomodate other holidays. They now have marshmallow shaped candies for Easter, Christmas, Valentines Day, and Halloween. Besides a Peeps candy tribute, what do these four holidays have in common? Unlike Independence Day and Thanksgiving, the origins of these four holidays have pagan roots. If you find this alarming, I encourage you to do some research. Below are links to Google search results that will help you begin your investigation:

• Pagan origin of Christmas
• Pagan origin of Easter
• Pagan origin of Valentine's Day
• Pagan origin of Halloween

For the record, I'm not saying that Peeps are pagan, but I do know they are not Kosher.



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Self-Excommunication and Matthew 18

In this blog post I will examine two comments made by Senior Pastor Mark McLellan in his Pastor's Corner commentary found on his congregation's website. The entry in question is titled In The Beginning... (The publication date was not provided. The link was sent to me on Tuesday, October 26, 2011.) In this essay McLellan comments on the two couples and the one single person who have been disfellowshipped from his congregation in the 17 years of his leadership. He also explains his understanding of the basis for congregational disfellowship in Matthew 18:15-20.

As a former elder of the Harvest I take issue with this commentary because I was part of one of these disfellowships and I do not recall the same outcome. I would be remiss not to address it. In addition, I find his understanding of the Matthew 18 passage flawed and believe that this errant understanding goes beyond the halakah of a local community and it will have ramifications that effect other Messianic communities. I believe that a proper understanding of the passages in Scripture that instruct us how to disfellowship are vitally important.

I find these two statements in this public commentary quite alarming and deserving of closer examination and questioning; especially in light of recent events.

Self-Excommunication

In his commentary, McLellan states the following regarding the single person who was disfellowshipped from the Harvest:

“The single person had excommunicated herself and we simply acknowledged and upheld it.”

How does an individual excommunicate herself?
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, excommunication is 1) an ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership and 2) exclusion from fellowship in a group or community. So self-excommunication would mean excluding oneself from fellowship in a community. This is a general description based on the latter definition. But in an ecclesiastical sense, self-excommunication would mean that the individual has deprived herself of church membership. How does that work?

How does someone perform a self-excommunication?
In the Catholic Church self-excommunication can be 'automatic' if a member of the church commits a sin, like having or even approving an abortion. By willfully committing a sinful act, a person could instantly cut themselves off from the Catholic Church. Also, people who choose to 'officially' leave the Catholic Church and renounce their faith can go through a process of de-baptising themselves. This is also a form of self-excommunication. I do not believe that either of these examples is what is being referred to in McLellan's statement.

What is self-excommunication in a Torah Community?
The woman who 'excommunicated herself' remains a believer in the Body of Messiah today. She has not renounced her faith like the example above. It has been common knowledge that she joined another Messianic Community in the Metro Denver area. So, what is self-excommunication? How did she excommunicate herself? And how was this 'simply acknowledged and upheld?' Are self-excommunications only binding to the local kehilat? Should every local kehilat have self-excommunication as part of it's halakah? All of this is a very puzzling enigma that begs for further clarification.

Matthew 18:15-20

In his commentary, McLellan explains his understanding of the basis for congregational disfellowship in Matthew 18:15-20:

“…the basis of congregational disfellowship found in Matt. 18:15-20 is not the initial sin being brought to (or attempting to be brought to) the attention of the respondent(s), it is the on going and stubborn refusal of the respondent to simply meet with the petitioner/witnesses from the congregation they are a part of, to hear the initial concerns.”

According to Mark McLellan’s understanding of Matthew 18:15-20, the sin of the individual is not the basis for congregational disfellowship, it is the refusal to meet. With this rationale, an individual can continue in their sin and avoid disfellowhip by simply meeting with the person or people who are concerned about their sinful behavior. I do not see 'simply meeting' as the goal of the passage. While a meeting is a vehicle for communication, it is not the basis for disfellowship. Matthew 18:15 says 'go to your brother', it doesn't say 'call a meeting and have him come to you.' Nowadays 'going to your brother' can be in the form of a personal visit, a phone call, or even a letter; but it must be done 'in private.' Announcing to the entire community or Cc-ing everyone on your email list that you are beginning 'Step One' of the Matthew 18 Process is not private. It has to be one-on-one, in private.

The basis for congregational disfellowship in Matthew 18:15-20 is the refusal of the sinning brother or sister to repent of their transgression after it has been brought to their attention. The point is to save them from his or her immoral behavior and if they refuse to repent, to protect the body from their leavening sin (1 Corinthians 5:1-6).

The steps of Matthew 18:15-20 are clear:

1. Go to the sinning brother in private, one-on-one, and show him his sin so he will repent (v.15).
2. If he doesn’t listen to you, then take one or two other people with you, as witnesses, and confront him again (v.16).
3. If he still refuses to listen to you and your witnesses, then tell the entire ekklesia (local community) (v.17a).
4. If he refuses to listen to the entire community then disfellowship (excommunicate) him (v.17b). This includes contacting other local congregations and alerting them to this situation encouraging them to point the sinning brother back to the ekklesia so he can make amends.

A few side notes: When initiating the steps of Matthew 18:15-20, whether you are a church leader or church member, if you intentionally manipulate the process, you might be guilty of sin. Also, Step One is not a summons to come and stand before a board of directors, but a private one-on-one confrontation to win a brother from his sin. And finally, Step One should never be announced to the entire community.

In conclusion, after reading Senior Pastor Mark McLellan's In The Beginning... commentary I am left wondering—how does an individual excommunicate herself? Is it even possible? And then I am left hoping that nobody has been disfellowshipped for not attending a meeting. Excommunication and disfellowship are reserved for immoral, unrepentant, leavening sin within a community.

Below is a well balanced and practical teaching on this issue:

Excommunication and Church Discipline (00:21:00)
By Kevin Swanson of Reformation Church in Castle Rock, Colorado 8/22/2010

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Related Articles:

In The Beginning...
By Mark McLellan

Bishop Says Nun is Automatically Excommunicated for Rubberstamping Hospital Abortion
From LifeSiteNews.com, By Peter J. Smith, May 17, 2010

Debaptise Yourself - Making It Official
National Secular Society

What Every Roman Catholic Should Know about Self-Excommunication
by Robert Schutzius, September 15, 2009




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In the Springs at the Garden

Taking a hike in Colorado Springs at Garden of the Gods
Aaron (5), Miryam (7), Isaac (8), Maya (11), Michaela (13)

Although I have a lot of Hebrew homework to do, yesterday morning we decided to drop everything and drive down to Colorado Springs and spend the day at the Garden of the Gods. Because the forecast says 'snow' for Wednesday and because the past few weeks have been a very busy time, Margaret felt like we needed to spend some time together as a family. It was a great idea.

The Garden of the Gods is one of the more popular tourist attractions in Colorado. The natural red rock formations are amazing to look at and marvel at Hashem's creation. Because we had Little Mo with us, our ability to do some 'real' hiking was limited. We stayed on the paved trail but we were still able to see some awesome sites. Click on the photos below to get a closer look at some of the sites we saw...

North Gateway Rock

Three Graces

Gray Rock

View from the Sleeping Giant

Related Link:
Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center
Central Garden Area Map



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Don't Learn Hebrew By Yourself

My Hebrew Classmate, Mike Formby, and me.

When doing something as crazy as learning Hebrew, it's best not to do it alone. When he found out that I had signed up for the TRI Beginning Hebrew Grammar Course, my buddy Mike signed up too. It's good to know that someone is there to encourage you when taking on something as difficult as this. It's also good to know that I am not the only one attempting this with a full-time job and a family! It takes a lot of discipline and it's a huge sacrifice, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Thanks Mike, for the encouragement!



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What I Went Through To Get A Lulav This Year

The Four Species I got through R. Yoseph.

For the past few years I've moseyed into Aharon's Bookstore just days before Sukkot and picked up a set of the Four Species without any issues. Because of this experience, I've never orded a lulav in advance. I was spoiled, I guess. This year, however, when I walked in Aharon told me that he didn't have any extra. He told me to try Hillel. So I did. I walked in the building and down the long hall following the signs to the last room on the right. The two young men with peyot said they didn't have any extra to spare. They told me to try Aharon's. I said I'd been there, so they told me to try Chabad. So I did. But when I walked into the Chabad House, nobody was there. I looked around, used the restroom and left. As I was driving back to our side of town I said a silent prayer and remembered my friend R. Yoseph ben Gershon at Shorshay HaMashiach in Evergreen. I figured if anyone knew where to get the Four Species this late in the game, it would be R. Yoseph. So I called him up and after a short conversation catching up on recent events, I told him my situation. He said he'd have to check to see if he had any extra and call me back. While I waited for his call, I called Pastor Bill Berg at Roeh Israel, in Denver, to see if he could help. Pastor Berg recently published a Messianic Machzor that I've been waiting to get a copy of. Unfortunately his first shipment didn't come in until a couple of days before Yom Kippur. Oh well, I'll get a copy for next year. Anyway, after we talked for a while I told him my situation. He laughed and said that a couple in his community have supplied him with the Four Species for the past few years; but now they don't attend anymore. He hadn't ordered a lulav for Sukkot. He had dropped the ball too! He told me he went to Hillel and they turned him down; but when he went to Aharon's they had one last lulav to sell. I thought, "that was mine!" Then R. Yoseph called me back. He had an extra one that I could buy. He mentioned that R. Bristol from Standing Strong, in Denver, was driving out to pick up his order for his community. So I called up R. Bristol to see if he could pick mine up too. After talking for a bit, he said he'd help me out. He called me as he made his way down the hill and we met in a Walgreens parking lot. We talked for a bit, he gave me my lulav and the went on our ways.

This year getting a lulav was the most challenging time ever; but it gave me the opportunity to talk to some of the local Messianic leaders that I respect and look up to. It's good to know that there are folks out there that you can lean on from time to time; and it's interesting to see how the Festivals can bring together people with different expressions of faith.

Chag Sameach.



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Holy Smokes I'm Reading Hebrew!

Here I am, up late at night learning me some Hebrew from Tim Hegg.

I can't believe it! I'm reading and translating Hebrew! It's coming along slowly but I'm doing it and I am amazing myself. The key is to stay on top of it; practice, read, study, memorize. It's hard man, it's hard. The class is really accelerated. It's only week five and we're already into gender, person, and number (singular/plural); and vocabulary words!

I sure hope we get a break for Sukkot.



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Rolling Home

We'll be there soon...

You got 24 hours before Yom Kippur!



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Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

One of my creative heros, Steve Jobs, died today. He was 56.

At the various agencies that I worked at you could tell what your job was by the computer you worked on. The Mac was the machine that 'creatives' used. If you were not creative, you didn't get a Mac; you got a Windows machine. I've always worked on a Mac.

I hope Apple will maintain or surpass the level of inovation that Steve Jobs brought to this company that challenged and changed the world of personal computers.

Related Post:
Can we get along?



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Weird Texas Traditions

Wow, our unique visits are booming!
(sorry for the bad pic)

Every time we visit Texas a few things always seem to happen. 1) I never have enough time to visit all of my family and friends, 2) I end up losing a pair or two of socks, 3) Somehow, our site stats go off the charts! I don't know how or why but when I hit Starbucks, the only place I know around here that has decent Wi-Fi, and logon on to Google Analytics, "Blam-o!" we rock the visits when I'm in Texas. Maybe I need to come back more often :)

I think this time it's because the Fall Festivals are here and folks are looking for a place to celebrate. I've been getting a lot of phone calls too; this is unusual, especially for Yom Kippur. Maybe it's because we added the Evening (Kol Nidre) Service. Not sure. Loving it though!

Now I'm off to Rob's to see my nieces and nephew and then back to the in-laws to make tostadas...

I'll be up late studying tonight.



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Are you sure you are ready?

You can fool some of the people all of the time, 

and you can fool all of the people some of the time. 

But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time 

and you will never fool a Holy God.

The Gates of Repentance are starting to close. Yom Kippur is quickly approaching and you have to ask yourself, "Have I truly made or am I truly making Teshuvah? Do I have a heart that is bent toward restoration with God and my fellow believers? Or am I bent toward division." How we act during these Days of Awe and how we respond to the call to repent will determine the setting for our upcoming year.

Make restoration, don't divide.



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Driving 800 Miles To Encourage Mom

Mom and me, October 2, 2011

FYI -- This post was typed on my Android with my right thumb...

My mother hasn't met the latest addition to our family, little Moses, who was born on June 11, 2011; almost 4 months ago. She has also recently had back surgery and has not enjoyed the recovery process. All the medication and discomfort has worn her out and as I talked to her over the phone this past Friday, she sounded very discouraged.

Margaret and I thought it would be a good idea to cheer her up by surprising her with a visit from her newest grandchild. So we loaded the Suburban and drove out, after the close of Shabbat, to Fort Worth, Texas--my hometown. I recruited the support of my only sister, Sonnya, and upon arrival, we blessed the socks off Mom.

After our 14-hour drive to my parent's house we carefully placed Mo, still in his car sear, in front of their front door. We rang the bell and hid. Sonnya did a great job at getting Mom and Dad to the door to see who it was. They didn't recognize him, of course, but quickly realized who he was. They were pleasantly surprised to see us all.

It's good to be home for the week.



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