A Family Integrated Seder

My Children (on the left in the back) sing traditional Passover songs during the Seder.

Today we had the opportunity to lead a group of Christian families through a Messianic Seder. They are part of a Life Group at Calvary Bible in Erie. Calvary Bible has many different kinds of Life Groups, each with a different focus. The focus of this group is Family Integration. They meet and study the Bible or do activities together as families.

It seems to me that Family Integration is becoming a more talked about topic among Believers in both Christian and Messianic congregations. From my observation, many people misunderstand the Family Integrated concept and make assumptions of what it looks like and why it is done. For others the Family Integrated model is challenging because in order to integrate families in their communities, many changes in their church organizational structure would have to take place.

Another observation: Family Integration is not only popular among homeschooling families. This group of families, that we led through the Seder, is a mixture of home, public, private, and charter schooling families. In one case, a family is homeschooling one child and sending the other to a charter school. In our community, we have a mix of homeschooling and public schooling families.

As the world around us gets darker and darker, believing families are seeing the need for more intentional and consistent family Bible study, especially on the Sabbath. As parents, we are commanded by God to teach our own children (Deut 6:6-9, Eph 6:4). I pray that more believing fathers would be moved to take time out of their busy schedules and lead their own families. I believe the current Family Integrated movement is being led by the Spirit, preparing us for the return of Messiah.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers...”
- Malachi 4:5,6

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Hermeneutics Class at Agape Bible Church

Class 4 of 10 with Dr. Darrell Ferguson of Agape Bible Church in Thornton.

Although my schedule this week is totally jam packed preparing for the upcoming MSI Classes, Shabbat Service, and the Passover Seder(s) and Service for next week; I still made time to take a class in Hermeneutics tonight. Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation, especially of the Scriptures. Bible Study classes charge me. Especially good ones; and Dr. Darrell's class is downright awesome!

I first heard Darrell Ferguson back around 2001/2002 on FM 94.7, KRKS. He had a show called Food For Your Soul and at the time, he led a church called Creekside in Louisville. The show went off the air for a while and I stumbled upon it again about a year ago on AM 560, KLZ. Evidently Darrell started another church about 3 years ago in his living room. When they outgrew the living room, they met in a high school gymnasium and then they moved to a small church building and now, they are in their own building on the corner of 84th and Huron in Thornton. The church is called Agape Bible Church. The radio show is still called Food For Your Soul but it is no longer on AM 560, KLZ but you can hear it weekdays on FM 94.7, KRKS at 5:30am and 12:00pm.

I like Darrell's teachings because he is so thorough in his studying. He told me he spends 35 hours in Bible study each week preparing for his Sunday sermon. That's a lot of time and I'm sure this is why his teachings are so awesome. He is also a proponent of Expository Bible teaching. If you are familiar with Expository Bible Study/Teaching, you know it takes time and effort.

The radio show rocks but the live class is better. I'm glad he has allowed me, an outsider, to join his class and learn from him. I greatly appreciate pastors and teachers who freely share their knowledge and experiences.

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Sidney Lumet, 1924-2011

One of my movie heroes, director Sidney Lumet, died today. He was 86.

When we moved to Colorado in 1999, one of my aspirations was to make short films. A few years before we left Fort Worth I began researching independent film making. During this time I found a ‘gem’ of a book in the bargain bin at Walden's by Sidney Lumet called Making Movies (1996). In the book, Lumet explains his process of film making by recounting the production of some of his movies. Not necessarily his best or most popular movies but the ones with unique shots, interesting techniques, and big production challenges. As I went through the book I rented and watched each of the films he described. I think this is why I have a great appreciation for his work.

Below are some of my favorite movies by Sidney Lumet:

12 Angry Men (1957)

Plot Summary: A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.

A classic. If you've never seen this one, you need to.

A Long Days Journey Into Night (1962)

Plot Summary: Author Eugene O'Neill gives an autobiographical account of his explosive homelife, fused by a drug-addicted mother, a father who wallows in drink after realizing he is no longer a famous actor and an older brother who is emotionally unstable and a misfit. The family is reflected by the youngest son, who is a sensitive and aspiring writer.

This movie was filmed with the camera angle starting up high and then slowly descending as the movie progressed; like the sun setting. This technique was used as sort of a play on the title.

The Pawnbroker (1964)

Plot Summary: A Jewish pawnbroker, victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.

This movie was very hard to find; I remember subscribing to Netflix for the sole purpose of renting it. Once I returned the movie, I cancelled my subscription.

A Stranger Among Us (1992)

Plot Summary: When a Jewish jeweler is found dead and his store is missing more than one million dollars in diamonds, a New York police detective goes undercover in a community of Hasidic Jews to find the criminal. Once she is immersed in the community, she falls in love with one of the most devout members, who helps her find the criminal.

I admit, this was probably not one of his best movies and, actually, he was accused of ripping off the movie Witness which took place in an Amish community. But, it is one of my favorites because about a year after we watched it, we were turned on to Messianic Judaism. I remember watching it again after we had learned about Jewish traditions and it made more sense to me.

Watch some film clips here: Sidney Lumet: a career in clips

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Run for your life!

My morning run with the kids... today we ran in the fog.

First Lap Around the Track

Right now I have the older three running three times around the track. The girls surprised me this morning and ran four times (one mile). They got ahead of me. I was going to require one mile next week. Maybe next week will be a mile and a half!

I don't require the little ones to run, but they got up anyway and joined us. 

I want physical activity to be important to my children. In order to instill this principle I have to teach it and demonstrate it. It's tough getting up early in the morning and being consistent with this but it will be worth it in the long run (Hey, nice pun).

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Lunch with Alex Strauch...

How often do you get to have lunch with a hero in the Faith?

I had lunch with Alexander Strauch today. He is a former Elder at Littleton Bible Chapel, where he still preaches once a month. He is also the author of Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, one of the few books that thoroughly examines Bible-based Church Government.

When Thomas and Caroline Graumann came to visit our community a few weeks back, they heard that we were trying to establish elders. They asked me if I had heard of Alex Strauch and that I should meet him; so they hooked us up! I was encouraged and inspired with all that he had to share with me. I am so grateful that he took time out of his busy schedule to meet with me. I am overwhelmed by all the leaders in the local Body of Messiah (Christian and Messianic) who are willing to assit me and share their experiences, information, and advice as we try to establish this community. Baruch Hashem!

Here is a FREE abridged version of the book online:
Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in the Church
You can find more books by Alexander Strauch here: Amazon.com