A thought provoking post…
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Category Archives: Defining Messianic Judaism
Messianic Jewish Conversion: Avoiding “The Bandwagon Effect”
There is a concern about a possible “bandwagon effect” if Messianic Judaism established a conversion process.
This fear is unfounded if the Rabbis and leaders follow strict guidelines. Of the Non-Jews that I know in my synagogue only 1 or 2 would seek this conversion process and all have been involved in Messianic synagogues for many years. These are people who have a calling to sojourn with Israel and who as Non-Jews seek to make Torah their life.
So then, how can we hold back the “bandwagon effect or “mass conversion” of Non-Jews to Messianic Judaism?
First off, like in other forms of Judaism, the Rabbis must rebuff those seeking conversion, so as to test their commitment to the process. This rebuffing is also a test of the calling and commitment to the whole of Jewish life.
Also important is education in that the prospective convert must be committed to a Jewish life and to their connection to all of Israel not just “saved Jews”.
The prospective convert must be actively a part of the life of a Messianic synagogue, the life of the local Jewish community and have training and knowledge of Torah and Jewish practice.
They should also stand before and be examined by a Beit Din made up of recognized Messianic Jewish leaders in which their commitment to Jewish life will be examined.
Of great importance is that for prospective male converts brit milah or dam brit must be done. Circumcision is the sign of the Covenant in the flesh and this must be a part of the conversion process. At least for men this will be a real sign of commitment to Judaism and a Jewish life.
The prospective convert should also go through immersion as the final act of commitment to Messianic Judaism.
Also important in the process is the taking of a Hebrew name, as they become son or daughter of Abraham and Sarah.
This calls for leadership and guidance by recognized leaders. We can take this important step in our maturation and I believe that there are respected leaders willing to take the responsibility for this important work of allowing those like Ruth, to tangibly cast their lot with the Jewish people.
Building A Jewish religious movement for Yeshua
In seeking to be a Judaism, a Jewish religious movement for Yeshua within the Jewish people and for the Jewish people we will ask Jewish questions, seek to give Jewish answers and credibly live out our lives as Messianic Jews as a part of the Jewish community, rather than the missionary model as one who goes into the Jewish community as an outsider to target the “unsaved Jews” for conversion to Christianity. We see the Jewish people as “us” and not “them” and therefore our desire is to live credible Jewish lives that we can make the Messiah seen within Israel as the Messiah followed by Torah honoring, Jewishly connected, Messianic Jews. Our hope is to be a light for Messiah within the Jewish world.
In this identity we embrace our oneness with all of the Jewish people as an act of faithfulness to God and to His Torah and not some act of “seeking man’s approval”. We seek God’s approval by living as he intended as a Torah community that follows the Jewish Messiah.
Yeshua is central to the building of a mature Messianic Judaism, because he is the Messiah that we honor. Our desire is to make him known within the People of Israel and this can only be done by seeing the Jewish community as our community of reference and living within Jewish life embodied in our respect for Jewish tradition and Torah living as we seek to be organically connected within the Jewish community as the Jews who follow Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah.
Yeshua can only be properly seen by the Jewish people as he really is as the Jewish Messiah, by being made known by a credible Messianic Judaism that reflects a love for all Jewish people and with a vital connection to the People of Israel.
May we live lives that make Yeshua known within a Judaism, Messianic Judaism.
Messianic Jewish Leaders Speak Out Against “Christ at the Checkpoint” Conference.
A group of international Messianic Jewish leaders including the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) and the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) has come out with a pre-emptive response to the upcoming “Christ as the Checkpoint” Anti-Israel, anti-Zionism conference that represents the ugly resurgence in force of Christian supersessionist and anti-Jewish thought and policy.
Below is a link to a video and the text of the statement:
Leaders of the UMJC and MJAA joined forces again this month (see “UMJC, MJAA respond to Messer video) to issue a statement on a matter of deep concern for the Messianic Jewish community. The statement, on the “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference scheduled for March 5-9 in Bethlehem, included leaders of the International Messianic Jewish Alliance and the International Association of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues. The first “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference, held in 2010, drew much criticism for its biased treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and promotion for this year’s event raises the same concerns (see www.christatthecheckpoint.com.) Here is the joint statement in full (or you can hear it read at http://youtu.be/Mk0GPnPqtj0):
As representatives of the international Messianic Jewish community, we raise deep concerns about the anti-Israel and, indeed, unbiblical nature of the Christ at the Checkpoint conference soon to be held in Bethlehem.
The Messianic Jewish community has noted the growing opposition to Zionism and the state of Israel within some elements of the Evangelical Christian world. Such opposition ignores the profound and ancient connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and the modern history of the founding of the state of Israel. Equally troubling, this opposition is often linked to a resurgent supersessionism, the doctrine that the church replaces Israel as God’s covenant partner. This theology, which has led historically to anti-Semitism and the tragic oppression of the Jewish people, appears to permeate this entire conference.
The conference is being promoted internationally and features speakers from around the world, including prominent American and European Christians, several of whom have a decidedly anti-Israel bias. We address the following to the conference organizers as evidence of our concerns:
- Your conference title, “Christ at the Checkpoint,” places the Israeli border checkpoints as the central issue of Christian concern. You frame the entire story of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in terms of Israel’s alleged oppression and abuses, with no historical or political context provided, and no allegations of oppression or abuse on the part of any Palestinians or other Arabs historically or currently.
- You state a desire for “hope in the midst of conflict,” and for peace and reconciliation among followers of Jesus. Sadly, both the structure of your conference, with its one-sided focus on the Israeli “occupation,” and the anti-Israel record of some of its key representatives, work against peace and reconciliation.
- Your website features speakers who repeatedly raise “the grim reality” of “the occupation” as virtually the only challenge that Palestinian Christians face.
- Your conference objectives discredit Zionism alone of any political movement, thereby undermining your own talk of peace and reconciliation, which would require seeing both perspectives.
- You claim to “stand resolutely against all forms of violence and racism, regardless of the perpetrators,” but the only form that you mention is Zionism. There is no mention of the violence perpetrated against Jews by Palestinians, including Hamas, which regularly attacks Israeli civilians.
In the tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there are two claimants to justice, Jews and Arabs, and true reconciliation efforts must recognize this reality. We urge you, therefore, to be true to your own affirmations and disassociate from all anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish expressions during your upcoming conference. You have taken a stand against Zionism as “ethnocentric.” We disagree with this characterization and challenge you instead to take a stand against anti-Semitism, against jihad, against fascism in the Arab world, and against the cult of child martyrdom, as promoted by many opponents of Israel, including several that have hosted visits by your organizers.
We urge you to state support for peace efforts between Israel and the Arab world that recognize the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, and its right to firm and secure borders, without any threat of terrorism.
We urge you to remember the terrible history of Christian supersessionism, which led to invalidating the Jewish people and their unique covenant with God, stripping away the Jewishness of the Biblical message of redemption for all through the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), and promulgating Biblical interpretation that demonized the Jewish people and inevitably resulted in centuries of Christian anti-Semitism and persecution of the Jewish people.
And, finally, we urge you to remember the words of that famous Rabbi, Paul of Tarsus, who wrote these words to Gentile Christians concerning their relationship with the early Messianic Jews and the Jewish people:
But if some of the branches are broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root that supports you. Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. (Rom. 11:17-18)
Paul Liberman, President
Joel Chernoff, General Secretary
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
Howard Silverman, President
Russell Resnik, Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations
Jeff Forman, Chairman
International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues
John Fischer, President
Joel Liberman, Executive Director
International Messianic Jewish Alliance
Like this:
One Mitzvah at a time.
This simple concept is so important being that doing the mitzvot plays such a vital role in living out Judaism. So often Torah observance is presented as an all or nothing proposition, either you are Torah observant or you’re not. This approach can turn a lot of people off to pursuing a Torah life.
So then wherever you are in your Torah journey you can find a new mitzvah to add to your life and over time add one more and so on and so on (there are 613 mitzvot so there is a lot of on and on and on).
So this is our task find some new way to walk Torah and honor God this week:
1. Lighting Shabbat candles
2. Helping those in need
3. Studying Torah
4. Davenning
5. Giving to your synagogue
6. Buying kosher food
7. Putting a mezuzah up
These are simple acts and baby steps in infusing holiness into our lives.
So then let’s get doing our mitzvot, one mitzvah at a time!
Leading Like Yeshua – Servanthood
In Yochanan 20:17-28, we read about the important topic of leadership and we get some important lessons on leadership from our Messiah.
We read first of Ya’akov and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai and their desire for a prominent role of leadership in the Messianic kingdom:
Then Zavdai’s sons came to Yeshua with their mother. She bowed down, begging a favor from him. He said to her, “What do you want?” She replied, “Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Yeshua answered, “You people don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He said to them, “Yes, you will drink my cup. But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it.” (vv. 20-23)
Yeshua’s response demonstrates that Ya’akov and Yochanan were not aware that leadership, as Yeshua demonstrated it was a path of sacrifice.
In the next verses we get some important words from Yeshua on what a leader should be:
But Yeshua called them and said, “You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (vv. 25-28)
The path to follow to be a leader like Yeshua is not the path of seeking power or position for selfish motives to be a tyrant or to be a leader without taking into account that there is sacrifice required. Yeshua lays out here that leadership requires one to be a servant and to like our Messiah demonstrate a life of leading by serving others.
With Passover just about a month ago, I am reminded of Yeshua giving his talmidim an important lesson in leadership which took place at Passover:
Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him. (Yochanan 13:3-5)
In this lesson on leadership we see our Messiah taking on the role of a slave and washing the talmidim’s feet, in this Yeshua’s teaching on leadership became a visual demonstration.
As we look to the future of Messianic Judaism we must seek to build up the next generation of leaders. For those of us in their 20’s and 30’s who will have to be these next generation leaders we must follow our Messiah’s example and grow as servant-leaders. For our mentors and teachers we need your support and help to stay on the right path and if we stumble off the path like Ya’akov and Yochanan did, like Yeshua did point us back to the right path.
So then let us seek to be like our Messiah and follow his example and lead by serving and may we each play our role in building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future!
Intentional Messianic Jewish Community – More than Saturday morning.
To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more thanSunday and Wednesday nights
‘Cause if you can’t come to me every day
Then don’t bother coming at all(To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice by Keith Green)
As we continue to explore the building of a Messianic Judaism for the future we need to realize that intrinsic to living a true Messianic Judaism is that it is more than just something we do on Saturday mornings but a lifestyle done seven days a week guided by our Torah.
The above words written by Keith Green, of most blessed memory, who was a Jewish follower of Yeshua who left this world before the Messianic Judaism movement began, and therefore framed his Yeshua faith within the Christianity of his day, lays out that a life of following God is not just attending services but living everyday for God. I imagine that if Keith would be living today as a Messianic Jew that I imagine the lyric would be “I want more than saturday mornings…”. One of my cherished memories was meeting Melody Green, Keith’s widow at a High Holyday service about 10 years ago and she shared that Keith would have loved to participate in Messianic Jewish life if he would have had the opportunity in this world. He is now living each moment in the radiance of King Messiah.
Though we don’t have Sunday and Wednesday as our days of religious services (common in evangelical Christianity), the lesson we can learn is that there is more to a Messianic Judaism life, more to walking in the way of Torah, than just attending Shabbat services and doing Messianic Judaism for 2-3 hours on Saturday mornings. Messianic Judaism is a life of walking Torah everyday and is more than just being a Sabbatarian, but a Jewish life of walking a Torah life each day.
So how can we consciously build up a daily walking in Torah ways?
The key is community, being that Judaism is to be lived communally. We need to seek to build up chavurot, Erev Shabbat gatherings, home study groups and even seek to build intentional communities of Messianic Jews living together, either in shared housing, in the same apartment building or in houses in the same neighborhood. We need to be in community to fully live out our lives walking Torah in “the other 6 days”.
We have to move beyond the “commuter synagogue” model wherein are “community” is grounded in whatever people are willing to travel 20-50 miles to Saturday services and at 2pm, head back to their separate lives. If we want Messianic Judaism continuity, we have to have Messianic Judaism community.
May we seek to walk in God’s Torah each day and seek to build living breathing 24/7 Messianic Judaism communities!
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