Aug 5, 2010
Aug 1, 2010
Monkey see…Monkey Do.
It’s really sad that many Christians genuinely love Hashem, yet in their parroting of their church doctrine or theology, they say and do things that are contrary to biblical truth. Since we are no longer students of the Word, nor disciples of the Master, but merely “converts,” we have forgotten to check our theologies and our practices against the authority of the Word. But people can’t be faulted too much. We have been lulled to believe this from the pulpit and the television for at least a few generations. We have been trained that the work of evangelism is up to the pastors and the “evangelists.” We have been trained that the work of discipleship is up to pastors & youth pastors. We’ve been trained that our denominational theology was given at Sinai. We’ve been trained that it really doesn’t matter what we do between Monday & Saturday, as long as we are baptized into our church, pay our tithes, show up on a semi-regular basis & assent to a theological confession. It’s a monkey see…monkey do mentality.
Hashem has called me to challenge this in the people around me. He has called me to be a voice in the wilderness (& sometimes a thorn in the flesh). I’m going to speak this message as gracefully as possible, but I’m not going to be silent, and I’m not going to be another monkey. This monkey’s getting off of my back. I’ve got a boat load of bananas for him, and I’ve sent him packing. Do you have any monkeys to send on the boat, too?
Apr 6, 2009
Re-discovering Jesus
I was privileged to speak at a small, Pentecostal church in Oklahoma over the weekend. I was given total freedom as to the teaching topic and three speaking sessions (two on Shabbat and their Sunday morning service). My topic was “Becoming and Making Disciples of Jesus.” I spoke on the necessity of making disciples, rather than converts and emphasized the importance of knowing our rabbi. I introduced them to this person in the illustration, using it as a springboard for looking into the Jewishness of our Master and his teachings. It was a really good weekend, filled with positive feedback and interaction. The members of this church were warm, loving and accepting and hungry for the Word of G-d. Please pray for our brothers and sisters who have just been exposed to this life-long journey of rediscovering our master.
