Rabbenu
A Discussion of Messianic Judaism, the Emerging Messianic Jewish Paradigm, and Related Leadership Issues from the Preoccupied Mind of Rabbi Stuart Dauermann, PhD.
All Contents ©2004-2007 Stuart Dauermann - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Back up and Running
To All My Blog Friends,
Well, here I am up and running again. As you know., my former blog site went belly-up and it's taken quite a while getting up and running on a new site. Actually, this is a prior site that I once abandoned, but am now reopening.
Just a bit of recent news to get the flow of things going. As some of you know, I was in Hawaii last week, teaching. My God, it was beautiful. . .and this, coming from a guy who is no scenery groupie. The ocean itself was beautiful. I found the surf breaking on the shore to be hypnotic. . .and a perch about twenty yards above the breaking surf, an excellent place to pray. When it came time to get on board a returning plane to Los Angeles, I was genuinely sorry to be leaving. . . .Sigh. . . .
Here's part of a note I wrote to a friend who asked what I was doing there, just in case you are interested.
The institution for which I was teaching is called University of the Nations,
connected with a Mission organization, of all things, called YWAM [Youth With
a Mission, no longer an applicable name, since the average member is in their
thirties or forties!] The head of their Jewish Studies division implored me
to come and teach them a course on "The Jewish Mind." I warned her that I am
an unapolgetic radical, and that my views are controversial and stigmatized
by some . . .in the Messianic Jewish fold. I told her that if invited I would let fly with my own core convictions. She gamely said, "O.K. Let's do it!"
I gave them a full dose of my life journey and my convictions about a Messianic Judaism that is truly a Judaism, and about the reasons for my controverial status: That I refuse to base my life and ministry on a census of hell for example. [(Somje people I know) insist that every Jew who does not believe as they do and who has not prayed to receive Christ as personal savior is *necessarily* in hell. The necessity comes from their syllogistic thinking, proof-texts, theological grid, and mission model]. I take as my watchword rather the words of the angel to Peter in Acts 5:6: "Go, stand in the Temple, and proclaim there all the words of this life." In other words, I stand in the midst of Jewish life and community proclaiming a way of life--not a census of hell.
The second reason I am controversial is that I strongly affirm that God is more appreciative of Jewish piety than is the evangelical establishment.
I told this to the people I taught: they wanted to know and agreed with me unblinkingly. I also taught them a full dose of my missiological principles and convictions, and my undestanding from Scripture that God is going to bring the Jewish people as a people to himself in convenant faithfulness through Yeshua the Messiah in the power of the Spirit in these last days. This being the case, a faithful Messianic Jewish Movement will pursue such a return ourselves, in order to be a demonstration and catalyst of that greater return to come.
I also taught from a now out of print but still available book, "Schmooozing" by Joshua Halberstam, PhD, in which he chronicles the opinions and conversation of American Jews among themselves on matters as diverse as gender roles, dealing with non-Jews, Jewish smarts, money, etc. This was an excellent means of helping these students to understand what Jews are really like rather than what people imagine Jews to be like.
My accommodations were at the Royal Kona Hotel, and were marvelous. The view
of the ocean was breathtaking, and my balcony was about forty yards above the
ever-fascinating breaking surf. I got some good rest and read a couple of books. I only taught three and half hours a day. . . .
posted by Stuart Dauermann @ 7:40 PM
1 comments
I am posting my own comment here, as I have been having trouble rightly informing my select mailing list of blog invitees. For the time being, *I am making the blog open to any and everyone*--reserving the right to edit out Flamers and their ilk, of course. Meanwhile, friends. . .now you can add your comments too! Looking forward to hearing from you
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