Being Jewish and Christian-- part 3

A few weeks ago in part one I outlined the problem and controversy facing a Messianic Jewish Presbyterian Church plant congregation in Philadelphia. In part two I listed some of the issues that I see are involved.

Let me review some of the complaints in Philadelphia. They say as much about the people involved, and perhaps their view of evangelism, as anything.

The Rev. Cynthia Jarvis is leading a group of ministers who oppose church support of Avodat Yisrael and evangelization efforts directed at Jews. She collected 150 signatures endorsing a statement that Avodat Yisrael's promotion of "messianic Judaism" is "misleading both to the Jews and to the Christians and ... contrary to our own theological tradition."

:: At its roots, Christianity was a Jewish sect. It divorced the ethnic from the religious so that the Gentiles could also become believers. I am sure, even Biblically sure, that the early Christians of Jewish origin, practiced their faith in Jewish rituals with Christian adaptations added.

She further states "The denomination in its new-church development efforts is treating Jews the same as Koreans or Ethiopians."

:: Whatever that means. It sounds like they are rather seeking those for whom their heritage is important but for whom the religion is not meaningful. It also sounds like it is a movement that seeks to be culturally sensitive, which we should be with any group we seek to share Jesus with.

"It turns out that the Presbyterian Church, the one theologically thoughtful denomination above all others, is now just one of the crowd. ... "

:: This is acceptance and tolerance of others? It appears that there is more desire to be accepting and open to non-Christian faiths than to other Christian faiths with which she disagrees. The "slam" at other Christian denominations is not tolerant. There is a Presbyterian triumphalism in this. Welcome to the crowd.

"She says it is irresponsible for the PC(USA) to be spending money for such a purpose "when the church is in major deficit" financially.

:: A very common complaint made about spending money on any evangelistic or church planting efforts. We can't afford it. We have to keep our money in-house to make sure we have a way to keep the internal stuff going. This perhaps speaks the loudest about most mainline denominations. In this, Presbyterians seem to be no different than the rest of us in the crowd. When the money is tight, we circle the wagons and talk about how to get people to give more.

The issues I talked about in part two- Tolerance and Acceptance of Diversity; Evangelism; and Culture and Tradition all show up in these statements. My closing paragraph in part two was:

The questions become, how can we truly be evangelistic while upholding the personal integrity of those we are talking to and having tolerance for them and their faith positions? Do we have to "put-down" or even openly "deny" other religions in order to share the Good News of Jesus Christ? Or is just the act of sharing in and of itself an act of violence against other cultures, religions, and peoples, as some have claimed?

So what are the answers?

For me the main purpose of evangelism is to share the Good News that I have discovered. It is not a debating society nor a "my-god-is-bigger-and-better-than-your-god" discussion nor saving souls not getting another notch in your spiritual belt. As I read the Book of Acts and see how Paul and the others went about evangelism, I discover that it is different things to different people. The best example being Paul on Mars Hill. While he personally is upset about the myriad gods and idols, he doesn't show it. He respects who they are and even uses their culture to explain about his God, never quoting the Bible, a book they didn't believe in.

Toleance and acceptance has to do with rights and privileges in society. It has to do with accepting the other person as a person of equal worth as myself. it does not mean I have to accept their view as the right one.

My question to us as Christians is why have we become afraid of telling others about something that is so important to us. If I see a life-changing movie (or even just a good one) or read a powerful book that opens me to new thoughts, you better believe that I will tell my friends about it. (That's one of the reasons why I have a blog!) Yet I am afraid to tell my story of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the new life they have given to me. I am not talking religion here- I am talking the life-changing experience of being resurrected, redeemed, saved, born again- take your pick!

Sadly, historically, evangelism has been an act of cultural and psychological violence. We insisted that being a follower of a 1st Century Jew meant you had to look like a western European Gentile. We insisted that to sing His praise we had to use a classical music style from the 18th Century. We insisted that our interpretation of events in a culture radically different from ours was normative simply because we are smarter, better educated, been around longer, our politics is correct, etc.

I applaud the Presbyterians for their insight into a way to change this. I don't know how well it will work in the long run. But they have seen that the cultural issues can be changed. They have understood that not all Christians need to look Scottish or American and sing in English for that matter. They are seeking a truly outside the box way of thinking.

In the end, I would have to agree with Bill Easum and Tom Bandy's approach to evangelism that I have heard them sum up in a simple question:

What is it about your experience of Jesus that your friends and community need to learn? Are you willing to follow Jesus into that mission field?

It is simply about being disciples.