What is a Church?

   Perhaps you think “everybody knows that!” or would tell me that the answer to this question is common knowledge in the United States … but you are wrong! In recent years there are many (and that number is growing) people who have no idea what a church is or what a church stands for.
   A recent survey (2018) asked the question, “Aside from weddings and funerals, how often do you attend religious services?” 46% (almost half) answered seldom or never. About ten years a group went door to door in a small southern town and asked the question, “do you belong to a church or religious organization in this community?” An amazing 80% answered “no.” Christians who encourage each other by saying, ‘people will come to church if we just invite them,’ fool themselves. Most people who do not regularly attend religious services have no idea what happens in a church, synagogue, mosque or temple.
    And how would people know what goes on in a place they seldom attend? Think about it … do you know what goes on inside the building of another religion? Do you know what their services are like? What holy book they use? What they teach, or how they interact with the community? Do you know what they think about your religion? Do you even know how to approach them?
   During the months of August & September 2019, I will write several short blogs about the church. I will look at what it is, what it is not, and hopefully raise awareness so people of the church, or synagogue, or mosque or temple can understand there is a perception problem and better explain who they are and what they do within their local communities.

Parts of a Christmas Plan

The Christmas season ... Christmas day ... each of these hold more meaning when pre-planning takes place. Today, I want to share the parts of a good Christmas plan and a tool which will help make sure the plan falls into place (and is not consumed by the business of the Christmas Season).

The first part of the plan is to establish spiritual themes. I give each week of Advent (beginning the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 27 this year) a theme. On my website these are: 1) Prophecy; 2) The Journey of Joseph & Mary; 3) The Shepherds; 4) The Magi. Then, each day I mark in the calendar two verses (an Old Testament and a New Testament) verse to share. These can be found in a calendar on my website under the tab for Advent.

The second thing I do is to take a look at my personal calendar. Days when work demands my attention need to be more self-directed; days (weekends) when I am less consumed will become valuable family times because I plan them (early, now) for my family. Long ago I decided if I do not have three days (worship at church, a family night, and an activity day) for my family, I am too busy. The Bible commands us to pass our faith on to the next generation. If I cannot successfully pass on my faith to my children, I have failed.

Next I look at community calendars. Many great things are happening in our community that are worth sharing with my family. Churches have musicals and family days. Museums and towns themselves offer special events and concerts linked to Christmas. Many communities have live Nativities and walk through dramas, such as Walk Through Bethlehem in our community. These events share ideas and fun far beyond what we could provide for our families individually. The events also help children understand that others also feel the spiritual element of Christmas is important.

After unmovable work events and community events are logged on my calendar, I set a family night each week in order to re-tell parts of the Christmas story in a fun way. I place these days as unmovable events on our family calendar. These events (I will share more tomorrow, and each Monday) include a special meal, an opportunity to read a portion of the Christmas story, times of singing, and surprises.

With the calendar planned, I produce a tool which will make sure no day is forgotten during the Christmas rush. This tool is the simple paper chain we made as children. On the outside of each link I place the date (like November 27). On the inside I place the two Bible verses to be read, and the activities I have planned for each day. My children make sure I take off the link for the day each morning. With the promise given in print each day, there is no going back.

These ideas are contained on my website, and linked to the book Advent Journeys.

Interfaith on the Holidays

Chanukah or Christmas, Chanumas or Christikah … that is the question.  In the olden days our faith was often more consistent and predictable, but in today’s world many families are interfaith.  How does a family celebrate the holidays when one parent is a Christian and the other is Jewish?  Families could choose to avoid, but with all the seasonal displays for a family not to celebrate something is like the ostrich which places its head in the ground.

As people we are created with  a desire to believe … something.  History teaches this: every culture which has ever existed has a faith component.  Absence of faith causes people to desire; weak faith causes people to look for something stronger.  In a world with radicalized faith options, it is important for parents to teach good faith in a strong way.  So, where should a family begin?

The discussion about the holiday season should start with one statement: Jesus was Jewish.  Jesus would have celebrated Chanukah.  This statement tells us not to battle and invites us to do something a little different.  Christianity grew out of Judaism, and to bring these two traditions together accentuating the great stories of each with their identical moral base can create an environment of peace rather than battles.

How does a family bring both holidays together?  The beginning point is to talk about what is important.  Both faith traditions should enjoy a presence in the month of december, and because there are differences each celebration can own a place of its own.  Unique elements of each season: the stories of Christmas and Chanukah should be told and retold all month.  The trim of the holidays such as the tree, the dreidels, latkes, candles and lights should co-exist and be enjoyed by all.

To make plans for seasonal harmony take a look at the calendar.  Chanukah occurs at a different time every year.  The lighting of the menorah should occupy its rightful place, and can lead to a discussion on how we got our calendar … and the differences between a lunar cycle and a solar calendar.

Christmas occupies December 24-25 each year.  Worship experiences on these days, as well as other special events should be honored in families.  Young children will enjoy the festivities.  As children grow they will ask questions.  Answering questions will bring growth for parents and learning to children.  Teenagers will begin to challenge each faith, and through the challenge the parent obtains the ability to show how the love and hope of each faith should bring people together rather than split them apart.

How can this work, and how can a parent fill in some perceived gaps?  The new book Advent Journeys can serve as a guide.  This book not only shares the stories and traditions of both holidays; it also shares Jewish cultural backgrounds which are many times remain unseen as we read the New Testament.  As we see and understand the unique culture into which Jesus was born we can begin the discussion which will help us live together and celebrate both faith traditions.

The Christian faith and the Jewish faith should fit together.  Across the centuries these two religions have drifted apart, forged individual identifications and set up battle zones.  And in so doing each group has obliterated the fact that Christianity was born out of Judaism.  Judaism contains the foundation and some important keys to really understanding the world and teachings of Jesus.

Finding Jesus of the First Century

   I was destined to be different.  I could not help it, for you see I was born into a Jewish home.  And while Heinrich Heine said, "The Jews are like everybody else only more so," we all know this is not exactly true.  While I was raised in a home of faith I was always taught to question and examine the beliefs of my people in order to fully understand each concept.  In this way I learned my faith.

   One point in my faith which escaped me was how to know 100% for sure that my name was written in the book of life.  I learned a process of seeking to be right with man and with God, but still, assurance was lacking.  Christian friends tried to tell me of how Jesus died for my sins, but I pushed them away ... until ... I read Psalm 22.  Within the words of this Psalm I saw Jesus on the cross in my scriptures.  Then I understood His sacrificial death and resurrection were the assurance of forgiveness and acceptance by God that I sought.

   At the age of 17 I condemned myself to really be different: I joined (and remained in) the Baptist church.  It should be fairly obvious that Reform Jews and Southern Baptists are both different.  And while on the surface I created an image to seem like a Southern Baptist, I continued to follow in the pattern developed in me since childhood: question and examine to fully understand each concept.

   It is not that I lived two lives, I simply learned to fit into the culture of the people with whom I lived, whether Jewish or Baptist, or Floridian, or Midwestern, or Western or Southern.  Even when I go on mission assignments, I seek to relate to people according to their preferred style so as not to create barriers.  I listen a lot (in order to learn), and seek to communicate so people can understand.

   In matters of faith I sought to put together the parts of my old faith and my new faith.  I learned from the people I was around, so I could share in a relevant way as a Baptist, and understand both Old and New Testament against the background of my Jewish heritage.  I met many people along the way who sought to break out of their faith by destroying all they had learned in order to come to something new.  I continued in my faith, never really finding a reason to destroy the faith because it worked for me.  Both Jewish and Baptist where they agree and disagree, I continued to question and examine and learn.

   In the process of my learning I checked a book out of the library called the Mishnah.  This volume could be called a preservation of Jewish tradition from the times in which Jesus lived.  The book contains quotes of the Rabbis and detailed instructions for carrying out the rituals and traditions of the Jews. 

   I began to explore, for my faith is a twenty-first century faith, and their faith was a first century faith.  Some things from both parts of my faith practices I took for granted, like dreidels and latkes at Chanukah did not exist in the first century; neither did yarmulkes, or the hymns in the Baptist hymn book.  I saw in the pages of the Mishnah details I had never seen about the faith of Jesus.  I was fascinated.

   Through reading about the practices of the Levites in the Temple and the Pharisees in the Synagogues I began to enter the world where Jesus lived.  Jesus was Jewish, and the foundation of the Christian faith.  To Him they were not different, but the same.  Jesus came to provide the path of salvation and to lead us to become closer to God.  The words of our New Testament had their origins in the first century faith of Jesus.  As I questioned and examined the words of the New Testament against the culture traditions in which Jesus lived they became even more real.

   I write books to help people understand the world of the first century, and the faith of Jesus.  I want Jesus to become alive for people so they can share in the reality of His love.

The Real Topic "Connecting with God" (A Great Study!)

     Many years ago, while I was still in Seminary, I was asked to help put together a Passover Hagaddah for the Messianic Jewish Community in Louisville, KY. Across the years I have enjoyed sharing the Passover, and recently I have put this Seder into print: A Christian Passover in the Jewish Tradition. And in the process of producing this Hagaddah, God did something wonderful.
     As I tried to put the Hagaddah into presentable form, God spoke to me. This occurred while I was on a trip to see my father. As I drove, the Lord brought ideas and chapters to my mind which I had studied in the past. These realizations came from the time I assembled the first Passover Hagaddah for our group in Louisville.
     In my book Spring: Connecting with God I follow the development of the Seder, from the Garden of Eden (when Adam used to walk with God in the cool of the day); to the Communion of Abram and Melchezedek (Genesis 14:18); to the instructions of the first Passover in Exodus 12 (and its observance in Exodus 13); all the way to it’s history during time of the Kings of Judea. I teach on how the Passover has ties to the Peace offering of Leviticus 3-4 (and 7). I also examine four Passover Seders observed by Jesus in the New Testament (at 12 years of age, and each year of his ministry). I show how the agape feast of the early church is tied to the Passover, and how we will enjoy fellowship meals in heaven.
     I thought I wrote a good book, until God showed me something else. I was asked to share an outline of Spring: Connecting with God in a local Senior Adult group, and put the outline into presentation format. As I shared, I realized the book is more about our relationship with God than it is about the Passover.
     Spring: Connecting with God shows how our love for God goes from passionate to cool; and from churchy to forgotten. The book is a call for us to fan to flame the love which is in our hearts for God, and shows us how to avoid the things which cool us off. I would encourage people to take the book, and use it as a 10 week study (but then as the author I am biased). But I know study groups could be enriched through this study.

Whispers

A Whisper
Coming softly to my ears
Murmuring something
That I cannot understand
Unless I listen
With my whole being

What is it saying?
I wonder
Is it telling me
Something important
That will change
My entire life ...

(Poem © Chelsea Simon) ...
It’s completion & more poems can be found in the book.