Sue Samuel at Front Range

Messianic Recording Artist, Sue Samuel and her husband Brian, will be performing at Front Range on Saturday, July 7th at 7:00pm. Visit the Facebook Event here: Sue & Brian Samuel

Come out and enjoy original praise and worship music by this very talented Messianic Jewish couple.

Visit her website: SueSamuel.com

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Getting Back In The Swing

As a bi-vocational pastor (i.e., having a fulltime job in addition to overseeing a congregation) I've seen a pattern in the ebbs and flows of 'busy seasons' especially around the Moedim. This year, however, after Shavuot the busyness seemed to increase and hold at a steady, accelerated pace. I take this as an indication of a number of things: 1) my children are getting older, 2) our community is growing, 3) business is picking up.

As my children get older I have noticed that each of them are requiring more and more one-on-one interaction. This takes time and effort, which I will gladly give. The conversations are getting deeper, the questions are more thoughtful, and the bike rides are getting longer! There's nothing that can compare to spending time with my family.

As our community grows it requires more attention too. Delegating tasks is now a necessity if I'm going to get anything done, namely prepare a message for Shabbat. God continues to send folks our way and folks continue to step up to serve. We will be appointing deacons in the next month or so. This is an exciting step in the development of our community and an indication of the blessings of God on this local body.

Being in the HVAC business for the past few years I've come to understand the 'busy seasons' in this industry as well. When the weather gets warmer, the phone begins to ring off the hook. Thankfully we are gainfully employed with service and maintenance calls to businesses all over the Metro Denver area. Although I'm not a service technician and sit at a desk, I still feel the increase of work in our shop. Thank God for the heat!

Although I haven't made a blog entry over the past month and a half, I haven't been short of topics to write about, just the time to do it. There have been many things that I've wanted to address or comment on, but because more and more topics keep popping up every week, I may never get back to those thoughts. Oh well, I'll just keep moving forward and try to get back in the swing of things.



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Choosing Greener Grass Over Community

The grass is always greener on the other side. But maybe
it's because the other side was fertilized with harmful
herbicides and pesticides. Be careful!

In our Torah passage last week we read about Reuben and Gad asking to stay in the wilderness instead of joining the rest of the tribes of Israel in crossing the Jordan River and entering the Promised Land. The tribes fo Reuben and Gad had acquired an exceedingly large amount of livestock, presumably after the destruction of Midian. But on their way into the Promised Land they noticed that the land on the east side of the Jordan River was good for livestock—their livestock. So they petition Moses and request that they stay there, east of the Jordan, and forfeit their inheritance in the Promised Land.

Moses takes issue with this petition. He equates their appeal with the actions of the 10 spies, their forefathers, who lost faith in God and spread fear throughout the community. This sin is what kept them in the wilderness for 40 years to begin with and they are potentially going to take the people through the same thing. If they do, Moses lets them know that it will be on their heads. By desiring to stay in the wilderness they will cause the people to lose hope in their mission and faith in their God. This was not a light matter.

Moses knew that these unexpected, selfish actions would cause some to doubt the purpose of their hard work. It would cause them to second guess their mission and ultimately lead them down the path of disobedience and away from God. Imagine going through 40 years of wilderness-living with these folks—working toward the same goal, going through the same hardship experiences—and then once you arrive at your final destination, the goal of your 40 year trek, they bail on you. It would be incredibly discouraging.

The same can be said about churches today—when the going gets tough, the selfish get up and go. This is because in most churches today multigenerational faith is not preached. As a result, some families find themselves hopping from church to church in search for the ever-elusive 'perfect community.' Once they think they've found it, they settle down for a few months, maybe a year, until they find some imperfections with their new church family. When the opportunity comes, they decide that these imperfections are enough reason for them to leave. They feel that their departure is justified and they move on to next temporary commitment. The sad reality of this scenario is that the children have been carefully watching all along. The children of the families that stay in the church and, more importantly, the children of the family that leaves and moves from church to church. This experience will have a negative impact on their ability to commit to a community of faith when they are adults. It may even cause them to struggle with their relationship with God.

On the other hand, a multigenerational faith understands that, when committing to a community, the good times come with the bad. There are ebbs and there are flows. There are times of growth and times of drought. There are highs and lows. A multigenerational faith will model for their children a long term commitment to their community. Several years ago when we left our previous church that we had attended for nine years, it was tough on our children. They were devastated. It wasn't until after this event that I began to understand what it means to live multigenerationally. So now, we've committed to this community, Front Range, for life—God willing that is. I want my children to understand that long term commitments are good, like marriage.

The high divorce rate in our society is an indication that long term commitments are not valued. Marriage is no longer a commitment that lasts 'until death do us part' but 'until I get tired of being married to you.' We've become a selfish, self-centered society and when things don't go our way, we have no problem leaving. Many people today hop from job to job, house to house, school to school, church to church. etc... As a society we seem to be loosing the concept and value of long term commitments. Is it because they take work, sometimes hard work and even self sacrifice? It's much easier to leave when the going gets tough.

Although the grass may be greener on the other side, what else is on that other side? In Joshua 22 we read that Reuben and Gad realized that their children were going to pay the consequences for their decision to live outside the Promised Land. Their selfish decision took them outside of the safety of community and into the wilderness. Because they were self-centered, they put their own desires before the welfare of the children, before their commitment to their community and before their obedience to their God.

Remember, it's the children that suffer the consequences for our selfish decisions. So, when committing to a community of faith, consider trying extra-hard to stick it out during the bad times. Commit to a community for the long haul. It will only cause you to grow and it will benefit your children, God's next generation.

Related Passages:
Torah: Numbers 32:1-42
Haftarah: Joshua 22:7-9
Apostolic Scriptures: Hebrews 10:26-31



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Jewish Tradition and our Messianic Community

The Jewish Symbols Floor Puzzle from All Things Jewish

During our past four midrash meetings we've discussed Jewish Tradition and its place in the Messianic Community; more specifically our Messianic Community. This discussion brought up related topics that we briefly addressed but I may, however, elaborate on them in the future. The timing of our series of discussions was interesting. In the middle of the discussions a new issue of FFOZ's Messianic Journal was released. In it was an article called Halachic Authority in the Life of the Messianic Community which addresses this issue from their perspective. We didn't discuss this article as a group, and since only one person had a copy, we provided those involved an opportunity to read it. Another interesting coincidence that happened about the same time was the Ralph Messer/Eddie Long incident. We spent some time discussing this event because we found it relevant to the topic of Jewish Tradition in the Messianic Community.

The reason for the discussion was to get an idea of the feelings and thoughts that the community has toward Jewish Tradition. I've got my own thoughts and opinions but I wanted to hear what others had to say before we make any changes to our services. Most of the folks in our congregation have a Protestant/Evangelical background. I, on the other hand, have a Roman Catholic background with very little exposure to the Christian church. I was brought up in a very liturgical form of worship and most of the other folks have not.

As expected, the feelings and thoughts spanned the gamut from pro-Jewish Tradition to no-Jewish Tradition. The related topics ranged from tzitzit ties to Two-House theology. We weren't trying to come to a conclusion, we were just talking. But the final consensus was to continue to approach Jewish Tradition in the same way that we have been—one tradition at a time, weighing each tradition against Scripture and against our core beliefs and then asking ourselves if it is helpful, relevant and meaningful. It was a good exercise and helpful to find out where everyone stands. As we continue to grow, we may not have the opportunity to have intimate discussions like this again. I want to take advantage of this while I can.

We are Messianic but not Messianic Jewish. We realize that since most of us are not Jewish, we will be criticized for adopting and altering Jewish Tradition to fit our needs. We are prepared for this and after watching what happened down in Georgia, we know what not to do.

There is so much more to say about this topic. This is why tradition will be left as an ongoing conversation in our community.

Related Articles:
The place of Rabbinic Tradition in Messianic Judiasm
by Dr. Michael L. Brown, 1988

Traditions: Some Thoughts on the Place of Tradition in Torah Communities
by Tim Hegg, 2001



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Facebook Friends and Brothers in Messiah

"I prefer face-to-face interactions or hand written sentiments"
- Paul Blart, Mall Cop (2009)

When communicating something of importance to anybody, it would do us well to adopt the views of Paul Blart (Kevin James), the protagonist of the comedy Mall Cop. When asked if he owned a mobile phone, Paul Blart responds by saying:

"I prefer face-to-face interactions or hand written sentiments."

This is my new motto. After a few bad text, email, and facebook experiences, I have decided not to engage in e-conversations if the topic is of a sensitive nature and/or if the exchange begins to go south. There is a place for electronic media in our lives today, but it should not replace face-to-face meetings.

When dealing with any sensitive issues or confronting a wayward brother or sister, avoid using text, email, or facebook. If a face-to-face meeting is possible, we should choose this method of interaction first. If meeting face-to-face is not possible, try a phone call. Nowadays everyone has access to a telephone or mobile phone; but still, there are some folks who don't feel comfortable addressing sensitive issues over the phone. As an alternative to the phone call, or if the phone call is not possible, try the good old fashioned 'hand written' (or typed) personal letter. Letters are actually a very Jewish way of communicating important information, like halakha. Consider the Apostle Paul and his method of communicating to Churches that were where many miles away. If we can't meet in person or make a phone call, a personal letter is the next best thing.

As electronic media becomes more and more a part of our daily lives, we cannot neglect our need for personal interaction. Don't mistake emails for conversations. Don't mistake facebook for your community. Don't hide behind your computer screen. Get out and socialize the old fashioned way. Spend time in person with a family member or a friend; meet for coffee, go for a walk. Spending time together is what makes the memories that build relationships. We can have thousands of facebook friends and ‘zero’ relationships. Facebook is fun, but it should not replace the personal interaction that is necessary in building relationships and community. Besides, there is no real accountability in a long distance facebook friend. There may be some opportunities to ‘plant seeds’ online, but true discipleship is best done in person, side-by-side. When Messiah said, “in the world” I don’t think He was talking about facebook.

Related Links:
Facebook Etiquette: 10 Rules for Better Socializing
PC World Magazine

How Not to Be Hated on Facebook: 10 More Rules
Time Magazine

Essential Facebook Etiquette: 10 Dos And Don’ts
Hongkiat, online tips for designers and bloggers.

Top 10 Facebook Etiquette Rules
Your Tango, a digital media company dedicated to love and relationships.

Email and texting etiquette
Stephen Crippen, Seattle based Therapist



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