It was one of those typical Bed & Breakfast scenes. Eight strangers around the breakfast table hoping it doesn’t get awkward. I noticed a warm look in the eye of the couple to my right. In a moment, we had an interesting conversation going about Obama and McCain.
He voted for Hillary Clinton but was now warming quickly to Obama. I’d just read a USA Today editorial where Obama was recently asked how he defined sin and replied, ” Being out of alignment with my values.” Of course we know sin isn’t about being out of alignment with our own values…or Obama’s for that matter…unless he really is our savior. It seems my breakfast mate and I weren’t aligned on our politics. Yet, I somehow was drawn to him, nonetheless. I soon asked what he did for a living. “I’m a Rabbi,” he kindly responded. Interesting, we weren’t aligned on Jesus either!
The chat then seamlessly shifted to the challenges Jewish synagogues in the states were facing. I was surprised to find that it mirrored the challenges of the Christian church.
He shared how Jewish young people are losing their identity and loyalty to the faith. A remarkable 50% are now marrying non-Jewish spouses. In addition, the young Jewish men and women demand a “sense of purpose” in their faith and an opportunity to be engaged in the church rather than simply attend it. These and other shifts are resulting in a 10% decline in synagogue attendance. All these are signs of a slipping influence…an influence that both Jewish and Christian leadership had enjoyed for centuries.
He also shared that 66% of first generation US Asians were now marrying non-Asians as well. Our younger generations have lost their loyalty to the many organizations and cultural identities that glued us together. They are rapidly becoming independent of longstanding denominational identities too.
Despite our differences I felt quite connected to Rabbi Elie and his wife Linda, a bright and caring neurosurgeon. Our shared struggle with decline in both the Christian and Jewish church suggests it isn’t simply about our own “internal doctrinal differences” or “another younger generation’s” search for their own way. It appears to be a far more complex challenge that spans political, doctrinal, and generational issues. A challenge rooted in how people make sense of their life and connect with others in a digital age.
Okay - let me ask what every blog reader wants to know…..what did you have for breakfast?!? Knowing you, it included eggs and something green.
So, how do we not only gain appreciation, understanding, and empathy for the Jewish community, but also learn from and with them on these topics?
Michael
In the July/August edition of Outreach Magazine Lee Strobel wrote a column about the disconnect between the Christian and Jewish communities. His main idea was before Christians can connect with the Jewish community we must begin to understand the effects of anti-semitism in the church’s past - a concept most Christians are oblivious to.
What a challenge we have as Christian to humble ourselves to our neighbors and more accurately reflect Jesus!
It’s the same under the surface issue that is facing all faiths. People, tired of religion, tradition, and division, want the real deal.
We should get into studying and understanding different faiths and different cultures within our own Christian faith. When the jewish faith sees Christians trying to resolve the cultural divisions in our faith, I think we will start to see more connecting between the Christians and the Jewish community.
Let’s first take the beam out of our own eye.
Christian leadership has to make it a priority to get past this racial, cultural, and denominational divisions that exist in the church.
If the church can get it down into the core of their being, that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, the world will take notice. The Word says that we are ingrafted into the family of God. When we make Jesus our Lord and Savior we become a new creature or a new race of people. We are Gods people by faith, there is no longer black, white, brown, yellow. We all become children of God our Father.
When we humble ourselves to love and understand our brothers and sisters in Christ, we wont have a problem understanding the rest of our neighbors in this world.