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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Minor Traditions For Generations To Come

Esther and Vashti are popular costumes among the girls.

Mordecai, Ahashverosh and Haman are popular costumes among the boys

This past Thursday we had our annual Purim Bash, a minor celebration on the Hebrew Calendar. It's interesting to consider that both Chanukah and Purim take place in the winter. Chanukah takes place a couple of months after Sukkot and Purim takes place one month before Passover. Wow—Spring Feasts, Fall Feasts, Winter Celebrations—there is always something to celebrate on the Hebrew Calendar! Anyway...

This year we did not promote our celebration like we did in the past few years, but we still had a large turnout. I was glad to see how many people actually came out on a weekday night to celebrate with us. Our desire is to celebrate the festivals on the actual date of the festival and not a few days later when it might be more convenient. Making the effort to do this will speak volumes to our children.

These celebrations are really geared toward our children anyway. We work extra hard and make the necessary sacrifices to create fun and exciting memories that will stay with our children for the rest of their lives. They will tell their own children about the fun they had at these celebrations and hopefully make the same effort to create exciting celebrations for them. We do this for our children, the next generation, so they will take these traditions and pass them on to generations to come. This is the Hebraic way. This is a core value for us at Front Range.

To see photos of our Purim Bash, visit our Facebook photo album here: Purim Bash! 14-15 Adar 5772



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Marveling at God's Creation

We climbed as high as we could to get the best view.

Yesterday we spent the day in Boulder. We passed Chautauqua Park and drove up Flagstaff Road a ways. We found a nice place to park and get out and hike around. Although we live in Colorado and we've spent some time in the mountains, I couldn't help but notice how the children were in awe of their surroundings. The trees, the large rocks, the mountains and the altitude we had climbed. It made them laugh and sing, run and play. They marveled at God's creation and they enjoyed it. They explored the rocks and surveyed the land and when it was time to go, they didn't want to leave.

This made me consider my response to God's creation. When we first moved here from Texas, Margaret and I couldn't get enough of the mountains. Often, I'd pull over on the side of the road just to gaze at the front range. Today, however, it's not uncommon for me to go a whole day without even glancing over at the mountains. I pray that the Father keeps me in awe of His wonders and that I do not take them for granted. I don't want to become numb to the world around me. I want to be more intentional to give Him thanks and praise for the creation He made for us.

Below is a 1977 video that puts into perspective all of God's creation. Keep in mind it is not a faith-based video and it's not the latest in computer animation technology. This is a video that I saw as a child and then again in college. I hope it helps you to marvel at the world around us and at our own bodies which were fearfully and wonderfully made by God.

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There's only ONE Moses

Moses views the land from Mount Nebo.

One of the saddest pictures in the Torah is that of Moses coming to the border of Israel, at the edge of the wilderness, and then dying. Although he was specifically selected by God for the task of leading the people out of slavery in Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey, Moses was not allowed to complete his mission because of his sin. His forty year journey would end in the wilderness at Shittim, in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, just opposite Jericho.

In our parashah this week Adonai tells Moses to go up on a mountain and view the land. After he sees it, he would die. Before he ascends the mountain Moses is moved, once again, to intercede for the people. This time he prays that Adonai would not leave the people leaderless, or shepherd-less. Moses loved the flock in his care. Adonai then appoints Joshua, the son of Nun, as Moses' successor. It's not a surprise that Joshua replaced Moses; but, although he would now lead the people, Joshua's role would not be identical to Moses'.

The Torah tells us that Adonai only spoke with Moses face-to-face (Ex 33:11, Nu 12:6-8). Nobody else had this privilege. In fact, before the ordinances regarding the Kohen Gadol were in place, and possibly even afterward, Moses would enter into the Holy of Holies to speak with Adonai who would meet with him from above the mercy seat (Ex 25:22). Remember, only the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, could enter the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur, to atone for the sins of the nation. But Moses had special access to Adonai that nobody else did, not even his successor, Joshua. Regarding Joshua, the parashah says, "...he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD." (Nu 27:21) In other words, Joshua would hear from God through Eleazar, the High Priest. Joshua would be a mediator between the High Priest and the people. He would convey to the people the words from Adonai that were given through the High Priest. Although Joshua was called a prophet, he was not the Prophet (Du 18:15-18) that would come after Moses. While Joshua was a great leader, he was not equal to Moses. Joshua's main task was to see that the mission of Moses came to fruition. This is why he is exhorted to "be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded..." (Jos 1:6-9) Joshua did not add to the Torah, he followed it.

Last night as we read this passage as a family, my children already knew that Joshua was not like Moses. I was amazed at their understanding of this fact because this is not something that we've talked about before; not in our devotional time anyway. But they understood that only Moses spoke with Adonai face-to-face because only he had a special relationship with Him. Nobody had a relationship with Adonai like Moses did.

It is important to understand that Moses had a unique role in Israel's history. He was not given a specific title and/or responsibilities like Aaron, his brother the High Priest; nor was his job established as a perpetual postion. Aaron's job, on the other hand, was a position that was supposed to continue, from generation to generation, through his sons (Ex 40:12-15). Although Moses' role was not ongoing, his mission needed to be completed, hence the appointment of Joshua. Here's another important fact—since Moses and the High Priest were the only two men who could come into the presence of Almighty God in the Holy of Holies, both Moses and the position of the High Priest were types of the Messiah-to-come, Yeshua. Knowing this, it is safe for us to establish the following two points:

1. Moses, the prophet, is a type of the Prophet, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jn 6:14; Ac 3:22-23).
2. The role of the High Priest is a type of the High Priest, Yeshua HaMashiach (Heb 5:1-10).

Today, we do not have a leader like Moses and our High Priest is currently serving in the heavenly tabernacle (Heb 8:1-6). Nevertheless, it is the practice of some congregations to base their hierarchical structure of church government after the Levitical priesthood (Nu 18:1-7) or the shoftim, the judges of the cities in Israel (Du 16:18), with the Senior Pastor serving in the role of the High Priest or Moses. But remember, Moses and the High Priest were types of Yeshua, so equating the modern day position of the Senior Pastor with that of Moses and/or the High Priest would be a dangerous and potentially heretical and blasphemous stance. To equate the Senior Pastor to the shoftim is not as bad, it's just not accurate. The reason is that Torah is not the law of the land today, here in the US or in Israel; and Senior Pastor does not have the same authority in a persons life that a judge did in Biblical times. Be careful if they tell you that they do.

It has been my experience that churches that lean toward a Levitical priesthood or shoftim model of church government (also known as the Jethro model or Moses' ecclesiastical government) are authoritarian in nature and therefore, heavy-handed in their leadership style. This results in the abuse of authority over the laity, time and time again. This stance is not the position of Messianic scholars but rather the position of fringe Torah teachers.

The Biblical model for the government of Israel was for the nation in the land with a functioning Temple and priesthood. This model was never intended to be used in small church communities outside of Israel under foreign governments. Sure we may see some parallels between the Levitical priests and the church leadership and we may see some parallels between the common Israelite people and the church members; but these are only parallels; similarities. We may also find wisdom in Jethro's model of delegation for Moses because it makes sense; it's the inspired Word of God. But we need to remember, there's only one Moses and the Senior Pastor is not functioning in his role.

We are not in Israel with a functioning Temple and Levitical priesthood. We are in the Diaspora, without a Temple and without a Levitical priesthood. So how should we govern our churches? In some of Paul's epistles we can find his God-inspired, Torah-based instructions on church government that he gave to the churches in the Diaspora. If you already have a knowledge of Torah, this would be a good place to start. For a clear explanation of how to run and establish a Messianic congregation, I recommend the TorahResource course "I Will Build My Ekklesia" – An Introduction to Ecclesiology. In this important teaching, Tim Hegg explains the necessity of a plurality of leaders (elders) which was the foundation of the governmental structure in the early church.

Related Articles:

Elders, be an Example to the Flock
Set Your Heart, June 9, 2011

Who owns your Church?
Set Your Heart, July 8, 2010

"I Will Build My Ekklesia" – An Introduction to Ecclesiology
By Tim Hegg, TorahResource.com

Bet Din
By Jacqueline Shields, The Jewish Virtual Library

Synagogues, Shuls and Temples
Judaism 101



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TV Commercials without the TV

The current in-store advertisements at Walmart.

One of the reasons we stopped watching television eleven years ago was because of the commercials. Although my career, at the time, was in the advertising industry, I didn't like being bombarded with televised junk mail. Don't get me wrong, I like good commercials. I like the creative process and the thinking behind the concepts. That kind of stuff motivates me. I just didn't want it consuming a large portion of my time. I wanted less distractions in my life. One of the benefits we found in moving to Colorado was the small number of billboards on the side of the highway. Less distractions—I like it. But while I was at the store this past weekend, I realized that television commercials don't need television anymore. Commercials are now played on dedicated flatscreens that are strategically placed throughout the store. Great. Now we've got our own personal i-billboards to distract us.

Blade Runner, 1982 (Ridley Scott)
The strange Japanese advertisement on the side of a building
and later seen on the side of a blimp.

Although these in-store video advertisements have been around for a few of years now, I'm still not used to them. I usually ignore them and walk past as if they are not even there. I'd feel weird standing there watching a commercial. Wouldn't you? Actually, when I first saw one of these commercial screens, I was reminded of the commercial on the giant screen on the side of the skyscraper in the movie Blade Runner. Remember the geisha lady taking a pill and smiling into the camera? Check out the clip below. Bizarre stuff, eh? Anyway, this was one of the production details that made this futuristic world believable. The story was set in Los Angeles 2019; which is only seven years away! Although the movie was made back in 1982, the execution still holds up today. The Blade Runner screenplay was an adaption of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), by Philip K. Dick (1928-1982). If you don't know much about Philip Dick and you like sci-fi, you should check him out and check out the other films based on his works.

Eight of Philip Dick's novels or stories were made into movies. The most recent is The Adjustment Bureau (2011). Another one of Dick's story-turned-movie, Total Recall (1990), won an Academy Award for special effects. If you were to watch this movie now, the effects would seem hokey; but back in the day, they were cutting edge—I promise. Actually, a remake of Total Recall is coming out this August. I'm hoping to go see it.

Minority Report, 2002 (Steven Spielberg)
The personalized, retinal-scan powered advertisements
that seem to be all over the city.

Minority Report (2002) was a popular Philip Dick story/movie that incorporated advertising in the plot. The story is set in Washington DC, 2054, where retinal scanning technology is used by the government to monitor the population. The media also uses this technology to deliver personalized advertisements. John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is a cop on the run. In the clip below, he realizes that he cannot hide in the city because of all the retinal scanners that are mounted everywhere. Big brother is watching his every move.

Anderton is trying to solve a murder mystery while simultaneously evading the police; but in order to move about the city undetected, he has to undergo an eye transplant. He needs new retinas which will provide him a new identity. In the clip below, he enters a Gap store where he learns his new identity.

Mr. Yakamoto, that's hilarious! Get it, he's not Japanese! Anyway, Minority Report is set in 2054, that's thirty-five years away. Do you think we will have this kind of technology in 2054? I mean, right now our computers let folks know what city we are in, websites track our purchases and offer suggestions the next time we visit. Our phones tell everyone where we've been and where we're at; and these are only a few of the basic tasks that simple computers can do today. Technology seems to be advancing at a faster and faster rate which effects all areas of our lives, even advertising.

It's hard to imagine that this story was first published in 1956. I know the screenwriters adapted the story to make it relevant for today; but I also know the advertising of today is much more distracting than the advertising of the 50's. It's probably true that the advertising of the future will be much more distracting than it is today. So I guess the impersonal flatscreens aren't that bad after all. I guess I can tolerate them or at least continue to ignore them. But once they start interacting with me on a personal level, I'm going to look into getting eye transplant insurance.

Related Links:

In-Store TV Still Fighting for Respect -- and Marketing Dollars
Ad Age, 2010

Does 'Minority Report' Portray a Scary Future?
ClickZ, 2002

The Philip K. Dick Website

Total Recall, 2012
Release date - August 3, 2012



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