When Avi Shalom shared with us during that Friday morning in the Tents of Mercy; he shared about the challenge it was to minister in a congregation made up of many cultures and many languages. Tents of Mercy started out with mostly Russian folks, but quickly had Ethiopian, American, European and many other nationalities represented in their body. “We continually ask ourselves what does it mean to be a spiritually renewed group”, Avi shared. “We are trying to focus on our Jewish commonalities and less on the differences of cultures”. Russians have a strong sense of community but due to the Communist era, they don’t always have a strong entrepreneurial sense. Other groups are the opposite and then for every generalization there are exceptions of course. Then one of the Tents of Mercy daughter congregations has an outreach to Holocaust survivors! What a challenge! Focusing on the common things; for them the common Jewish heritage, that makes a strong, authentic and spiritually renewed body! However…not letting the Gospel of Messiah be watered down.
In Abilene it is less striking but no different. There are those of us with a strong church background, some with no church background, with wrong teachings, with no teachings, with a vision for God taking over Abilene, some trying to survive life! Not the same international flavor of Israel, but still we have a challenge. To be authentic and real is more than a “tolerance”, there has to be transformation.
That is my prayer today that I will let God transform me in a real way that conforms me to His Son, but that doesn’t lose the “Henry-ness” that He created in me and that I become more and more part of what God is doing in Israel!
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