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| Eliyahu (Elijah) |
At times I wonder if I am a denominationaly-insane Christian. In July of 1968, when I was a newborn Jew, a Jew with all the proper "Jewish credentials", no one ever denied my Jewishness A little known fact is that I truly considered going to a yeshiva (Reform Jewish seminary) in Cincinnati, Ohio until my senior year in high school. That is where I first read the Brit Chadashah (New Covenant), and that is where my 20 years of religious study began.
After I publicly declared my faith in Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Christ), I became an intense Messianic Jew (denomination). There I was a Jewish believer in Yeshua and I was in a congregation that had other Jewish believers and I was overjoyed. Even though my new wife refused to attend worship services due to the lack of her understanding of Hebrew in the worship liturgy I continued to attend the congregation each shabbat. I became friends with the Messianic Rabbi and I was even granted a special ministerial post to reach the addicted. It was during this time that I began preaching. But as I continued to study and read Scripture I found what I think of as (I hate to say this word) hypocrisy in the movement.
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| MJAA Worship |
Each Sabbath the congregation would gather and go through a "Rabbinical Jewish-like" liturgy. High Holiday worship services praised often and lovingly of Yeshua, but I always believed that the liturgy was "off" in some manner Biblicaly. You see, like many present day Jewish Christians I do not adhere to any of the many volumes of the Jewish Midrash, Mishnah or Talmud. These works, all of them, are not the Word of God; rather they are simply the interpretations of Torah written down by the Rabbis. The Oral Traditions as these works are called where first created during the Babylonian Exile in 586 BCE. It was a manner to hold together the Jewish nation when they were in Exile. It was the only way they could think of as they had no way to sacrifice to the Father. These works of the ancient Rabbi's should be prized; culturally and historically. Thus came about my first issue with the the entire worship service. If we, as Jewish Christians, disbelieve in the Oral Traditions then why are they such a huge part of Messianic worship today? The answer will often be that they still practice Rabbinical rites and customs in the hope that they will remain Jewish to those non-believing Jews. To show the non-believing Jewish community that they can accept Messiah Yeshua and remain Jewish. That is hypocrisy.
The second odd practice was with the Messianic Jewish movement as a whole. Though it is contrary to everything within Scripture the Messianic Jewish denominations of today worships in divisions with their Gentile counterparts. It has been inferred that there needs to be a division between believing Jews and Gentiles. The rationale says that as Jews we should have our own Messianic Synagogue and the Gentiles may have whatever denominational church they so wish. I am a firm believer in Olive Tree Theology, the belief that Jews and Gentiles can and should be worshiping together without fear of assimilation or cultural assassination. I declare openly that I became a far better Jew after coming to Yeshua. In fact, I am the most Jewish member of my immediate family.
After I decided to leave the Messianic Congregation, I worshiped at an United Methodist and a Pentecostal church. Neither church felt right, so we (now as a family) began to tour church's in our area. Long story shortened we ended up in Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church. My wife and I love it spiritually, but the true gift was that this church was eager to learn the Jewish roots of Christianity. The pastor and I became good friends. I know that there are some church members who thinks I am a IFB and that I am just hanging on to my Jewishness and that I am at risk of becoming a Judaizer. This line of thinking has never bothered me.
That leads up to when I got sick. Keep in mind that I have always been a bit sickly. But it was 19 months ago the the gastroparesis started, that's when my life changed, vomiting two or three time a day does that to a person. It has only been over the past week that I have begun to feel spiritually healed. Physically I am a mess. The issue here is that during these past 19 months I have turned off everything in my life. Except for archery shoot here and there, there was nothing to aid my health, but I will continue. La Chaim! (to Life!)
Now this absence for 19 months have left a noticeable change in my family. It centers around a question of identity. What is my family? Are we a Messianic Jewish family? No way ho-zay! I believe my wife considers herself an IFB, same with my daughter. But I am not sure what I am. I know that I am part Jewish, part IFB. So what could I call myself but a Jewish Christian. I also like Hebrew Christian. But make no mistake, of all the Gentile and Jewish churches available my belief structure is definitely IFB. Call me an IFB-Jew. lol
