Hey Buddy,
I told you I’d begin to write a series of letters to give an idea of who I am and how I got “here”, specifically focused on the big transition that happened during the last five years. I don’t think my journey is complete, but I do know this: I’m a much different guy than I was then, and I feel more purposeful, more at peace, more connected to my God, my family, my friends, my community - more complete as a man.
These letters may also help the ongoing conversations we have about knowing God and walking that out in real life, with real people. Feel free to ask me anything, and I’ll do what I can to give you honest answers and good advice.
You already know a lot of my info: married for near 20 years to an awesome little lady, father of ten (8 at home, two adopted, two didn’t make it), warehouse/logistics guy at a very successful oil & gas company, a closet carpenter, and wannabe farmer. I used to really like sports and movies, but that interest fades more and more each year, probably replaced by my growing affection for chocolate, coffee, funny stories, etc.
I guess I have settled on a simpler life, focusing on what’s important, not trying to remake the world into what I think it ought to be, but rather enjoying the good, living with the other as best I can, and trusting God with all of it.
OK, as Nacho Libre says, “Let’s get down to the nitty gritty…”
Shannon and I have always been of the opinion that we should live by what the Bible says, and serve the One True God who has revealed himself and his ways to us through Scripture. In recent years, we have begun to feel a certain disconnect from some of the widely held Christian beliefs we once embraced. We realized that our default way to answer some (not all) questions was to start with “well, we know that such and such is what we Christians believe, and let’s take a Bible verse here and another one there and we can connect our way of doing things to the Bible, so…. we’re all good.”
Trouble is, that approach starts with what I’ve been taught in my religious tradition and then bends the Bible to support it. We decided - not long after we met you - to just read the Bible, do what it says, and bend our religious thinking and living to Scripture, not the other way around.
I would describe myself as a believer in and follower of Jesus the Messiah, doing the best I can to think, talk, believe, and act according to his word(s) and his ways. I try to follow him in a Jewish way - because he was/is a Jew. I try to follow him because he was a Jewish rabbi, and students followed their rabbis around, learning their teachings and imitating their lives. (still do, actually)
This lines up a little more closely with Messianic Judaism than modern Christianity…. You see, when God decided to create “his” people, he called them to be set apart from the other nations, and taught them the “house rules” for actually *being* the set apart children of God. That offer has always been not just for Abraham’s descendants, but for anyone who hears God calling them to be his people.
Going back a few years (Spring 2020), we began to consistently observe the Sabbath in a pretty low-key, Messianic, Biblical kind of way. Basically, [on Saturdays] we don’t work (or cause others to work) or spend money unless there’s an emergency. Now from time to time there may be exceptions, but we try not to tell others how to live by our convictions, while we do our best to honor the Lord by living according to his (Sabbath) instructions. Sometimes our Sabbath looks different than this… and when that happens, we do the best we can, and we know that’s what grace is for.
OK, Spring 2020. I knew that, as one of elders/pastors of our church, my family’s observing Sabbath was out-of-step with what the church believed. I wanted to engage the other church leaders appropriately and with integrity, so I re-read the church’s Constitution & By-Laws and proceeded according to our governing documents and leadership practices.
In those documents, that church communicates their beliefs and practice are according to the Bible, which is the first and final authority on these matters. That church also leans heavily on historic confessions of their denominational faith, which they say do not supersede the BIble’s authority, but rather give clarity to its application.
I knew that observing a Biblical Sabbath put me at odds with what has long been taught as a “Christian Sabbath” (Sunday), so I studied these historical denominational statements of faith. I looked up every scripture they referenced, studied those passages, and wrote a paper expressing my dissenting opinion, which I submitted to the other elders for consideration. The teaching pastor gave us a book to read representing the denomination’s position, and set a meeting to discuss.
I disagree with that book, and the way the author interprets and applies Scripture to present his conclusions. I also disagree with the way he builds a case for a practice that the Bible never establishes (Sunday sabbath), while throwing out a practice that the the Bible specifically instructs over and over (seventh day Sabbath).
During that elders meeting, I was told that, because I have no formal training in Biblical languages & theology, my paper was invalid. I was given a chance to give up my dissent and come back into line with the denominational statements and the church practice and theology regarding the Sabbath. When I declined, I was removed as an elder. I was told my family could still be a part of the church, provided we didn’t try to talk other folks into these divergent practices we maintained.
…but other issues had already come up, and as time went on, change was…inevitable.
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