Messiah’s community is a single community expressed in diverse forms within the Jewish community and among the nations. All are called to a dedicated life of worship, neighborly service, and public testimony to Yeshua. Unity and love throughout the entire community confirm Yeshua’s role, as the One sent by the Father, and God’s purpose in Messiah for Israel and the Nations. (John 17:20-21; Acts 21:20; Gal. 2:7-8)
-from the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) Statement of Faith
I came across this link somewhat at random, and it reminded me of a question I wanted to ask the Internet.
Typically non-Jewish believers in Rav Yeshua (i.e. Christians) become aware of movements such as Messianic Judaism or Hebrew Roots through a sense of dissatisfaction with the Church, the feeling that something is missing. I remember having that sense early on in my “Christian walk”. My wife, who is Jewish, also felt something was lacking in our church experience, and when we encountered a local Hebrew Roots group (this was many years ago), she was immediately “hooked”.
It took me longer to get onboard, but eventually, as I started learning more, I began to realize that what the Bible actually said about the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel wasn’t what was being preached and taught in most churches.
My wife and I have since journeyed on separate trajectories relative to our faith and I respect her decision. She’s Jewish and she needs to be in Jewish community and to embrace Jewish identity.
My identity is less traditional and I’ve gone through a sometimes convoluted developmental process, finally arriving where I am today (though I don’t think God is finished with me yet).
Someone recently said (Don’t make me regret posting this link, Peter) that “Judaism is a communal faith and not designed to be practiced in isolation.” So is Christianity. The ideal is to find a like-minded community of fellow believers and to “fellowship” with them.
Over the years, I’ve transitioned between numerous communities, starting with a Nazarene church, then a Hebrew Roots/One Law congregation, then to a Bible study/home fellowship, then (eventually) back to Hebrew Roots, and most recently, I attended a Baptist Church for two years (and have since left). There were times in that history when our family was just alone in our faith, and times, including the present, when I am alone as an individual.
No, I’m not revisiting the idea of community for myself. As nearly as I can tell, that door is closed for more reasons than I can list in this brief blog post. However, it did occur to me that there are very few paths to community for someone, particularly a non-Jew, who generally believes in the tenets of faith as described by the UMJC (no, I’m not affiliated with them, and no I’m not specifically advocating for them — they just happen to be a handy example).
Even if there were a Messianic Jewish community in my area, and even if I felt I’d be welcome there, I probably wouldn’t attend out of respect for my wife’s sensitivities on the matter.
But what about other non-Jews who have my point of view?
There are plenty of Gentile-only Hebrew Roots One Law/One Torah congregations out there of various sizes and configurations. Some have a few Jewish worshipers, but they almost always were not raised in a Jewish home nor had the benefit of growing up in Jewish social and religious community. Those Hebrew Roots groups are also almost always run by non-Jews, although their leaders may wear a tallit and kippah and even call themselves “Rabbi”.
But there are also a number of non-Jews who have a more “Messianic Jewish-like” perspective on the Bible, the centrality of Israel, the primacy of the Jewish Messiah King, and how all that relates to the people of the nations. A view I advocate here on my blog.
If they don’t live within reasonable distance of a Messianic Jewish congregation established and operated by Jews as a Jewish community which graciously also admits non-Jews, where do they go?
It would be like being a traditional Noahide and not having a nearby Jewish synagogue to attend. I know of intermarried couples who attend both our local Chabad and the Conservative/Reform group here in my area, and the non-Jewish spouses are Noahides in Jewish community, not unlike how I think of non-Jews in Messianic Jewish community.
But what if there were a group of Noahides who lived nowhere near a synagogue? What if they weren’t intermarried to Jewish spouses, but through some other process, came to the realization that being a Noahide was what the Bible required of them in order to worship Hashem?
Apply those questions to those of us who are “Judaicly-aware” non-Jewish disciples of Rav Yeshua. Where would such a group of Gentiles go to find worship and community? Could a group of Gentiles band together to practice something analogous to “Messianic Judaism?” What would you call it, “Messianic Gentilism?”
I was wondering if those organizations that generally call themselves “Messianic Judaism” (such as the aforementioned UMJC) have established any guidelines for non-Jews who want to come alongside them but who geographically are too far away from a Messianic Jewish congregation to attend. For that matter, that group of Gentiles may not even have a skilled teacher or leader among them. They probably could use a lot of assistance and guidance.
Although the community in ancient Antioch (Acts 13:1; 15:1-2), to the best of my understanding, had both Jewish and non-Jewish members, the Apostle Paul (Rav Sh’aul) also founded many Gentile-only communities, the one described in his epistle to the Galatians being the one that immediately comes to mind. Paul “kept tabs” on these various groups, when he couldn’t visit them, through his correspondence, but the vast majority of the time, for day-to-day operations, they were run by the local members.
What did a Gentile-only “Messianic” community look like in those days? We don’t really know. Probably they looked at least somewhat “Jewish,” if for no other reason than because that was the only communal model available to them.
But this is nearly two-thousand years later and a lot has changed. Yes, ultimately the Gentiles broke away from their Jewish base and invented Gentile-only (unless a Jew wanted to leave Judaism and convert) Christianity, which almost completely rewrote how the Bible was to be understood.
Judaism too has gone through a great deal of development, and what we think of as Rabbinic Judaism today (which, in my opinion, includes at least some Messianic Jewish groups) is not the same as the Judaism(s) practiced during the late Second Temple period.
So theoretically, if a collection of “Noahide” Judaicly-aware non-Jews wanted to pursue a community consistent with how we think of Gentiles coming alongside their Messianic Jewish counterparts, is there anything or anyone they could contact to help them? What resources should they consult so they wouldn’t just be “shooting from the hip?”
And no, I’m not thinking of starting such a community here, but I’m thinking that this is an area where others like me in the world are underserved and, left on their own, are perhaps forming groups and fellowships that might be less than optimal. I think they could use some help. I’m just wondering if such help exists and if it is even possible to create viable, sustainable congregations of Gentiles who worship and live consistently with how Messianic Judaism envisions Gentiles in Messiah.
Morning Meditations 
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Thanks.
I just finished a meeting with a lady and the ‘teacher’ of my daughter’s class at a Baptist church because my daughter wanted to teach about Chanukah(Hanukkah). In a nutshell: NO, WE ARE NOT JEWISH!!! I pointed out that Jesus is Jewish, the Apostles Jewish and that (Bible) is a Jewish book. None of that mattered. They love their comfort zone, which require a willful ignorance. I am absolutely disgusted but not surprised. I am done! I am sickened by their condescending attitude like they know it all and there is nothing left to learn. My poor daughter has no one. The small One law fellowship we have visited in a person’s home has no appeal to her. None of her school friends attend. A congregation that is Messianic (I am not sure what type) in Okla.city would not bring her local fellowship which her age desperately needs. What can I do for her?
I wish I could answer that question, Cynthia. I do know that at least in some corners of the Messianic Jewish movement, there is a great concern about the next generation. The current generation of Jews and non-Jews in the movement is aging and unless the tradition can successfully be transmitted to the next generation, there’s concern that MJ will drastically shrink as time goes on.
Of course, only Hashem knows the future, and if he wishes Messianic Judaism to go on, it will.
The point of my blog post was to suggest that it may be possible for a group of like-minded non-Jews, in the absence of Jewish mentors or an existing Messianic Jewish congregation, to develop their own fellowships. The problem is how to find and use some set of unified guidelines, as opposed to having each group define their praxis based on an individual interpretation of what they think the Bible says. That’s why there exists such a wide variety of Hebrew Roots groups out there, which are largely driven by the “druthers” of their individual leaders, and why their practice extends across the spectrum, from those that look almost exactly like a church, to those that, at first glance, you’d think were wholly Jewish.
If you know of a local group of people, friends, relatives, acquaintances, who have a similar theological viewpoint to your own and they are family units with children similar to your daughter’s, then it might be possible to develop an association where you all can raise your children based on your knowledge and values.
But you have to have a bunch of people who would be willing to put the time and work in to establish and maintain a stable group willing to study together, worship together, celebrate together, and form a community that would be more than a just meet-once-every-shabbat group. You’d also have to agree regarding the materials you’d study and discuss and upon which you’d base the formation of your fellowship.
If you don’t have that or can’t create it, then I believe you’ll be in the same boat as a lot of other “Judaicly-minded” non-Jews in our nation. Collectively, there are probably thousands, tens of thousands, or maybe even more of us, but the trick is bringing us together. Sure, you can attend annual conferences and network with others around the country, maybe even forming “virtual communities” using the Internet, blogging, discussion forums, and other web tools, but that doesn’t solve your daughter wanting to have companions her own age providing face-to-face relationships.
To be fair to people in the Church, most of them have been taught the same things for years or decades, and it never even occurs to them that there’s more for them to learn or, worse, that portions of their doctrine could be in error. Churches are very tradition-driven, more so than most Christians would believe, and those traditions, more than anything, define how they understand the message of the Bible. I left the Baptist church I’d been attending for two years because I was incompatible with what was being taught, even though they were very fine people who did much good among themselves and in our local community.
I wish I could provide a more practical answer to your need Cynthia, but this is a dilemma that many people are facing all across America, and there are few congregations available, dotting the landscape here and there, usually near larger populations centers, to fill that need.
@Cynthia — I presume your daughter has friends and acquaintances from school and from your local neighborhood, and perhaps from extra-curricular interest groups (e.g., youth groups like scouting, hobby clubs for music or sports or other special interests). Have you any idea what sorts of religious opinions or views are represented among such friends? Perhaps there is some non-Baptist alternative known to, or attended by, some of them? Perhaps you might discover a more open-minded venue in which Jewishly-informed biblical values are not disdained. It was mainstream denominational intransigence and closed-mindedness that engendered the backlash of the spiritual revolutions of the 1960s-&-70s in the USA, which later settled into non-denominational evangelicalism (not to neglect the Jewish messianism that also flourished in that era). Perhaps there are similar sparks of enlightenment to be found in your area nowadays.
Thank you, Proclaim Liberty. There isn’t much here. Her school activities keep her busy. Her best friend claims to be an atheist. Honestly, I am afraid this whole thing could lead to her turning away from all of it. Prayers greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your reply.
I just finished reading this review. Have you seen this book? Your children could relate to it. http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/12/02/katz-two-faiths
There are numerous ‘communities’ meeting on the internet, usually folks of Messianic persuasion, on Shabbat. I have one of these on PalTalk [a ‘chat room’ website, if you are unfamiliar with it] to which all who want to learn and share biblical insights are welcome. BTW, I do not mean this as a shameless plug, even though it may look like one. I am saying that there are LOTS of people looking for fellowship with like minded folks, but who may be separated from the nearest one by hundreds of miles, which is the audience I, indeed we ALL on PalTalk, cater to.
If you are one of those who are any ‘type’ [ortho, conserv, etc.] of Jew or Noachide or Hebroots or 2-house [my own persuasion] or just separated from like minded believers by a distance, drop in and check us out. If you don’t like or agree with our tenor, there are NUMEROUS groups on PalTalk of numerous persuasions. I am relatively sure you will find SOME relief from your need for fellowship.
HI James,
It’s so ironic that you posted this. My post this morning (originally intended for yesterday, but postponed due to work schedule) deals with a similar subject.
I haven’t read through the comments (because I tend to get side-tracked when I do), but the congregation I attend was started by a Jewish believer under the Assemblies of God church in 1975. HIs designation is Rabbi Dr.
Cynthia, just read your question and conundrum. I am very remote from OKC, but there is a rather large congregation in Norman, OK led by Monte Judah. He has a live stream on the web of his Erev Shabbat services. Perhaps if you could check out the evening service, you could get an idea if his congregation would be good for your daughter.
@ Cynthia – I haven’t read responses to your comment yet, but can I suggest you start where you already know where to start? Prayer.
When I was attending a non-denominational church, I was growing more uncomfortable, even angry at times. But I continued attending, and was quite active in the church. I even facilitated a small group bible study that the whole church was participating in.
As I made comments, as small groups of us would pray together, I was sprinkling Jewish thought into the conversation. It was well received (for the most part.) During this time I was taking the Hayesod course on-line with First Fruits of Zion. When I was finished with the course, I asked several people if they wanted to take it. They were enthusiastic, so we asked the church if we could hold it there. It was not well received. What I didn’t know at the time was that the church believed in replacement theology. Now I loved the pastors, still do, but knew God had called me to spread the good news of the Torah. So I started a small group in my home.
I have since joined a Messianic congregation, invited there by someone also attending the church, but still have an active group going in my home from several different faiths.
God will use you. He will get you to the place you need to be. Hang in there, my friend.
@Cynthia,
One more thought. Maybe a liturgical church like Episcopalian? There is a lot wrong with the church, but it could give her an avenue of friends that at least worship Messiah. Having been involved with one for many years (and being director of Sunday School) I can tell you that most curriculum is bible stories. You just have to be discerning because there is a lot of garbage that has come into the church.
I know of whole churches who left the Episcopal faith and joined the Anglican faith due to the acceptance of homosexuality, so that is another avenue to check out.
@Cynthia: I’ve been aware of Susan Katz Miller and used to spend some time reading her blog. She is a strong advocate for intermarried and interfaith families. I don’t agree with everything she says, but she does a lot of work to develop a sense of acceptance for these families who fall outside many religious and cultural norms. Haven’t read her book, though.
@fulfilling: Greetings and welcome. Actually, your message didn’t feel like “spam” at all, so I don’t mind your response. Certainly anyone who would like to take you up on what you suggest is free to contact you and make arrangements about how to access PalTalk.
That said, if you spend any time reading my blog articles, you’ll realize I have fairly specific beliefs, so it’s difficult for me to put (normative) Judaism, Messianic Judaism, Noahides (although some argue that non-Jews within Messianic Judaism most resemble Noahides in terms of status), Hebrew Roots, One Law, and Two House in the same bucket. They are all somewhat related, but many of their theological/doctrinal positions are incompatible.
For instance, although many years ago, I did sign up to get Monte Judah’s newsletter, his position on the Book of Hebrews and subsequent debate on the topic put me off and I asked to be removed from his mailing list.
But as I mentioned above, anyone who’d like to try the PalTalk option is free do to so. For anyone interested, here’s a link to fulfilling’s blog (you could also just click his name here in the comments section to go there). Your blog could benefit from some sort of “About” page to give new readers a brief thumbnail sketch of who you are and what you represent.
@Ro: I enjoyed reading your most recent blog post and appreciated the “shout out”. You bring up a good point about how some Christian liturgy and use of the Book of Common Prayer by the Episcopal Church parallels the use of the Jewish Siddur.
Thanks, James.
What a wonderful internet community! Thank you, thank you, all of you.
@cynthia dunaway
Maybe it would be more wise to listen to your daughters school. The New Testament is not a “Jewish book” it is a book for all peoples in Christ. It’s whole intent is that purpose and the purpose of being Gods chosen peoples was for Israel to be a nation of priests in God. The Jews of Jesus time had altogether forgotten their God according to the words of Jesus himself and had begun to follow their own traditions and “fables”. Chanukah is not in the bible. It’s not a Christian or Old Testament practice. Adding it would go against many warnings of the gospels against such a thing. Getting angry with your daughters teacher is also not beneficial in any way as even if you would argue that it’s about tradition and not the adding of works to be saved, the purpose of this holiday is not to be believers in Christ, but to pay homage to Judaism.
@james I have not been to this site for very long but in my reading of it I feel like I have some opinions on the many of the open questions you form when you post. I think you are a sincere person and I feel you are confused and finding your path. I also feel like I have an idea of what you are doing wrong and it pertains to your knowledge of the word of God as opposed to the earthly matter of religion. I think you are very religious but lack an understanding of what’s in the gospels, and I do not think you would take it well if I did say what I have found to be true.
In part, your wife having “issues” with messianic Judaism is a strange indication of this, in that it would cause your relationship problems to be apart of something you wished to do to get to know God better. Messianic Jews are hated by other Jews, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. In Israel,
Christianity is much more suppressed than you see on television. My old church here in Virginia beach, one of he subsidiary-like churches of CBN preached the support Israel movement, and many in the church were always confused that Christian Jews and Arabs did not like Israel and would not say very happy things about them. This is passed off by most in the Zionist movement as anti semetism. What else is considered anti semetism is the messianic Judaism you wanted to join. Funny, this excludes a Jew from emigrating to Israel, did you know that? Buddhist Judaism is fine though. The only loop hole that was found was that half Jews from messianic Judaism citing the right of return using the fact they are not actually Jews but have Jewish blood could be allowed to enter. Does this not seem like hypocrisy? I’m going to say something else, and hope you know in your heart I’m not trying to spread hate but knowledge of the intolerance towards followers in Christ. There is a very prominent belief in Israel, and this spreads to a lot of secular and religious households in the diaspora countries as well, that Christianity is single handedly responsible for all the anti semetism in the world. The Talmud has Jesus in it, I don’t know if you are aware of that. It’s not very nice though. It’s a response to Christianity out of hate and it’s very telling of the fact rabbis put this in the text because they wanted it in. It’s not inspired, or passed from tradition, it’s about hating Jesus christ and trying to propane his name as much as possible. A popular rabbi even tied to tell Christians it was a symbol of our shared heritage, but did not explain why Mary is called a prostitute and claims Jesus is boiled in excrement in hell. Yes it’s in there. I don’t understand why people who confess that Jesus Christ is the savior and son of God would look to the fables of medieval Judaism for knowledge. Do they have some wisdom? Yes, but the same could be said of many cultures. There is a reliable base for all learning, and that is the bible. My fiancés father is Jewish, her dads family consider themselves Jews despite not being very religious as far as I can tell. They are wonderful people and I love being around them, so this is not some Jew-phobia I have, it’s years and years of studying this matter in a place like Virginia beach where the Zionism movement is strong. I would not be saying these things if I could not back them up with evidence in every case and experience of it first hand. I was taught to support Israel, and to pray for Gods chosen ones, and we had fundraisers for them. I don’t know how you will react to this, or accept the knowledge Im trying to impart to you. It is very important to understand, and I would be willing to share that with you also. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. Good day God bless.
My dear Kyle — I do not propose to refute every element of mis-statement you presented above, but I think it only fair to address a few of them in the hope that you will re-examine whence you acquired these notions.
First: “The New Testament is not a “Jewish book””. Actually, the apostolic writings are collected testimony and advice from an entirely Jewish group of men (unless you credit the sermonic letter to the “Hebrews” as having been written by Priscilla or some other Jewish woman). They write about entirely Jewish topics from a Jewish point of view. It is the shame of Christianity that they were distorted and mis-translated to purvey anti-Jewish “universalistic” doctrines. That was certainly *not* the apostolic purpose. Most of its letters represent responses to issues encountered in nascent assemblies of gentile disciples, and the advice therein represents an effort to apply Torah principles generically to a non-Jewish readership that was not legally responsible for covenantal obedience to all the requirements of that Torah, but only responsible to avoid idolatry similarly to all humanity and encouraged to exercise faith comparably to Avraham even before he was circumcised. In the sense that the phrase “new testament” is a reflection of the “new covenant” defined by HaShem to Jeremiah and cited by Rav Yeshua, the apostolic writings do reflect the principles of that covenantal renewal which was promised solely to Jews — but which gentiles may embrace by aligning themselves with Rav Yeshua and the covenanted Jewish people. The gospels include Rav Yeshua’s explicit statement that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, though he commended the faith of a gentile woman who protested that even the “crumbs that fall from the table” would be enough to satisfy her request.
Secondly, you wrote: “The Jews of Jesus time had altogether forgotten their God according to the words of Jesus himself and had begun to follow their own traditions and “fables””. That, dear sir, is an outright lie, a terrible misreading of the context of Rav Yeshua’s words, and an egregious exaggeration of their limited application to only a subset of the Jewish people at a particular point in Jewish history. The literature of the period, including material rediscovered only recently among the Dead Sea Scrolls, verifies the falsity of your statement.
Thirdly, you wrote: “Chanukah is not in the bible”. The fact that it occurred later in history than when the canonical writings of the Tenakh were codified does not invalidate the great miracles that HaShem performed to support the purification and rededication of the desecrated Jewish Temple in the second century BCE. Nonetheless, if you credit the apostolic writings as a portion of the “bible” that you recognize, then recognize that Chanukah is cited in John 10:22, and that Rav Yeshua was teaching in the Temple precincts at that time. It was, of course, appropriate that he was in Jerusalem at the Temple at that season, when dedication to HaShem and the purity of Torah living was on everyone’s mind.
Further, your knowledge of Talmud is obviously very limited, since you fail to recognize that it contains arguments and opinions about all sorts of things, both noble thoughts and very unpleasant, even crude, ones. It includes, among these many statements, polemical ones in defense of Judaism against the onslaughts of gentile Christians whose purpose was to invalidate and destroy Jews and Judaism. Anti-Semitism did not begin with Christianity — Christianity inherited it from Roman Imperialism and Greek disdain prior to that. But Christianity has been a primary purveyor of anti-Semitism from its beginnings in the fourth century CE until the 20th century when the Holocaust was perpetrated and supported by millions of good Christians. Righteous gentile Christians who tried to protect Jews were very much a tiny minority. This 16-century-long period of destructive Christian behavior is very much a part of Jewish Israeli consciousness, and that of Jews in general. No amount of Christian prayer and fundraising can erase that background of mistrust, though there are some Jews who are beginning to recognize that a recent change among some Christians has softened ancient antagonisms and even developed some supportiveness. But even where cautious optimism can be justified, there still exists fear that it might be overturned at any time. At this point, Islamic anti-Semitism may have surpassed Christian anti-Semitism, but that is a relatively recent phenomenon. Christians and Christianity are not suppressed in Israel, nor is any other religion, but it is merely tolerated rather than encouraged. Christianity among Arabs often emphasizes the worst anti-Semitic doctrines and perspectives developed by Christianity, and it is mirrored by Islamic anti-Semitism — hence these Arabs often present themselves as enemies to the Jewish people and therefore suffer from security measures that have become necessary to protect Jewish lives and property.
Perhaps your years of studying matters in Virginia Beach where “the Zionism movement is strong” need a bit of re-examination.
@Kyle: I doubt I could add anything that wasn’t already covered in ProclaimLiberty’s response to you, but I’d like to add a few of my own comments anyway. I’m not trying to be hostile or unpleasant, but one of the reasons I don’t attend a church anymore is that typical Christian theology and doctrine is incompatible with how I understand the Bible. To “decouple” the Apostolic Scriptures from the other portions of the Bible as Jewish writings is to create a great deal of confusion and misinformation in the body of Christ, which sadly, is exactly what has happened since the days when the non-Jewish disciples of Jesus chose to separate from their Jewish teachers and mentors and form the “parallel” religion of Christianity.
As far as your comments about my wife and marriage, apart from her being more traditionally Jewish in her beliefs (that’s an oversimplified statement, of course), we aren’t having “relationship problems.” We are pretty much like most intermarried couples who have differing religious viewpoints. Other than that, we’ve shared life together for over 33 years of marriage, have raised three children and enjoy our two grandchildren, so this isn’t such a “sticking point” in our day-to-day existence.
Oh, there’s no such thing as a “half-Jew”. You’re either Jewish or you’re not (at least as far as halachah is concerned). It isn’t like being half-Italian and half-Swedish. Being Jewish isn’t a nationality (being Israeli is), it’s both a matter of bloodline and covenant relationship with God (even Jews who are atheists are born into covenant, whether they want to acknowledge that fact, or not).
I’m willing to agree to disagree, which happens often in religious discussion including blogging. You are certainly free to hold the beliefs you have embraced. They seem quite consistent with many Christian churches and I don’t distain my brothers and sisters who are traditionally Christian. I simply do not share many of their doctrines.
I reserve the right to believe what I believe, which probably puts me in the minority of non-Jewish disciples of Messiah (or Rav Yeshua as PL calls him).
@Kyle, you may be right at had I handled things. But you have demonstrated quite well why I no longer go to church. I don’t mean to portray myself as super religious, but I do think of David when he said, The zeal of your house has eaten me up. Here is an article from the Huffington Post (of all places!) to help you become better informed. Proclaim Liberty, thank you, excellent response. Thank you, James, for sharing Kyle’s post. He is a perfect example of the modern church. Now, the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-s-keener/jesus-and-hanukkah-john-10-22-23_b_2233251.html
I just read your article today late January 2018. Your words reflect the loneliness of this journey as our family has experienced it also. Sort of like pioneers I guess. The journey is HARD, but hopefully those who come after us will find the path easier because of our hardships.
I’m curious how this has turned out for your family as of this date. Where are you worshiping now?
Hi Melissa,
The short answer is that we’re not or more accurately, I’m not. My children have grown and none of them are observant. My wife still attends the local Reform or Chabad synagogues, but only rarely. She’s Jewish but not a believer in Yeshua so it occasionally makes for interesting times.
I’ve heard on occasion that as the current generation of Messianic believers ages (both Jewish and Gentile) there is a deep concern that the younger ones will either fall away from the faith or choose to worship at more normative synagogues and churches. Of course both the Church and religious Judaism are concerned that their numbers are shrinking. My most recent blog post (yesterday) is called “How is Messianic Judaism ‘Trending?'” There’s a discussing going on now in the comments section trying to answer that one.
I’ve commented more than once on this blog that this is a lonely journey and although I don’t have any data with which to back my opinion, I suspect that there are a lot of us out there that no longer worship corporately and either chose family devotional time, or in my case, to go it alone.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Melissa.
Yup; as a Gentile, i “go it alone” also. Asked to convert at the reformed Jewish congregation but was turned down … and eventually felt too isolated to continue visiting. Plus my dementia symptoms interfere with remembering the Hebrew to understand songs which are majority of the 2hrs. There is also a local VERY small Messianic Jewish congregation, but they are dogmatic about ritual and very lax on teaching — which is not what i am looking for either. So i go it alone.