Jesus was a Jew.  So were all His apostles.  So were the first 3,000 converts to Christianity on the day of Pentecost.  How then did hostility develop between Jews and Christians that would eventually evolve into antisemitism?John the Baptist and Jesus were not out to start a new religion.  They stood in the tradition of the prophets, wanting to retain the foundations of the Abrahamic faith while ...  Read More

Despite the horrific lessons we should have learned from the Holocaust, antisemitism is once again rearing its ugly head, this time among people who should know better: political and religious conservatives.In earlier blogs, I explained that believers in Jesus, both Jew and Gentile, are part of a new covenant.  Israel of the old covenant was destroyed by the Romans for rejecting Christ (as Jesus p...  Read More

Paul argues that God has not rejected Jewish people and points to himself as an example.  He is accepted, not because he’s Jewish, but because he’s a Jewish CHRISTIAN.  Jews that haven’t accepted Jesus as the Christ Paul calls “hardened” (Romans 11.1-10).Paul then argues that the hardening of the Jews has opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11.11) – a wonderful thing.Then Paul say...  Read More

The leaders of Israel rejected Jesus and crucified Him, and Jesus warned them that they would lose their place (and be replaced!) for doing so (Matthew 21.43).  Does that mean God is finished with the nation of Israel and there is no future for her in the land as a nation?  Paul responds to that very question in Romans 11.I ask, then, has God rejected His people?  By no means!  For I myself am an ...  Read More

The Old Testament lays out a promise program regarding Israel and her land.  Living in the land Israel has the opportunity to obey or disobey God’s law.  Prolonged disobedience (God is very patient!) results in Israel being removed from the land and dispersed into the nations.  But Israelite repentance can bring about a return to the land of Israel.There is no indication that this cycle cannot be ...  Read More

God promised a land to Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12.1) and centuries later Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the border of that land that eventually they made their own.  Moses’ law several times reveals a pattern for the relationship between the Israelites and that land.First, if Israel obeys God’s law she will enjoy blessing, prosperity, and peace in the la...  Read More

I have encountered a growing tendency toward antisemitism among evangelical Christians, based in part on acceptance of long-debunked conspiracy theories and in part on a distorted understanding of biblical theology.  Over the next few blogs I’d like to address the theological issues involved.Interpreting the Bible (especially on this issue) is a bit complicated because first we must work forward f...  Read More

I want to write one more blog about the changes we have made in the music that we use in our worship service.When we moved into our spacious new auditorium in June 2003, young people began to come forward wanting to do contemporary music.  No one, not even the young people, wanted to eliminate hymns; they simply wanted to add contemporary music to the blend.  We did what many churches do – had ble...  Read More

Back in the 60’s and 70’s, Tareyton cigarette ads featured a person with a black eye, holding a Tareyton cigarette, saying “I’d rather fight than switch [brands].”  That’s how I felt when some younger men proposed that we try instituting online giving at our church.I don’t remember when, but younger men brought to the board’s attention that fewer people were using cash to do business.  More people...  Read More

A few have raised questions about my decision to dispense with the pulpit.  I’d like to explain why I made that change.Pulpits have a long evolution.  The most ancient churches met in homes and services were informal.  The teacher stood among the people, or in those churches that followed synagogue traditions, sat, to teach.When Christianity became legal, congregations were larger and cathedrals a...  Read More

A few years ago, I asked the elders if we could change our communion schedule from monthly to quarterly.  In this blog I’d like to explain why.I grew up in the Catholic tradition where communion was a weekly (and unexplained) ritual.  I went through the motions and did what the Church told me to.  But such regular observance without any explanation of its meaning robbed communion of its significan...  Read More

When I became the pastor, Mountain View Chapel was a tiny church, and I was without pastoral experience.  My training was on-the-job, and I led based on theories I had taken from the Bible.  One of my guiding principles was that you build ministry by managing the giftedness of the people entrusted to you.  What gifts do your people have?  Turn them loose!Initially I naively expected all gifts to g...  Read More