Identity
When we tell people about the things God has taught us and how we live out our faith as a biblical community, we are often asked, “Well, what are you? Are you Christians? Are you Jews? Are you Messianic? Are you Hebrew Roots? Are you a Church? Are you a Synagogue?” Etc.
It is never our intention to dodge the question or give anyone the impression that we have some sort of mysterious identity. We don’t. We are a very down-to-earth, spiritually oriented group of people who passionately seek God – who love worshiping Him, studying and applying His word, and being Messiah’s body on earth.
Frankly, a lot of the “labels” that are used to identify spiritual communities are tied to religious traditions – and a lot of the traditions that man has invented are not biblical. While we love and believe in Messiah Yeshua (“Jesus” to most), we have learned that most of Christianity is based on traditions and practices that deny
the eternal, foundational, covenant structure of Torah and our God-given heritage as children of Abraham – a heritage that is ours through Messiah (Galatians 3:29). We have also learned that much of the Christian tradition is a mixture of God oriented beliefs that have been combined with ancient pagan mythology and practices.
By God’s leading, we have intentionally decided not to use any label to identify ourselves because they come with a “package” to which we do not subscribe. Instead, we are quite simply a “Biblical Fellowship” that worships, prays, studies, serves, ministers, witnesses, and simply tries to follow the word of God, not the traditions of man.
Since we do not use a neat, snappy label to describe ourselves, and since many people are not quite satisfied with us saying that we are just a “Biblical Fellowship,” we end up spouting off a rather long autobiographical paragraph that is still being refined! It goes something like this: “We are a Bible believing, Torah honoring, Commandment observing, Spirit-filled community that endeavors to walk with the one, true Living God – YHVH – in a personal relationship based on love and obedience. We are followers and disciples of YHVH’s only Son, our Messiah, Yeshua, who is the way, the truth, and the life, and we are open to and depend upon YHVH’s mighty Spirit to guide and empower us. We love and respect the Hebrew scriptures of the TaNaK (“Old Testament”) and the Apostolic scriptures of the B’rit Hadasha (“New Testament”), studying diligently to understand the will of YHVH that is found in His word. We believe that there is one God (YHVH), one book (the Bible), one kingdom (of YHVH, our Father Elohim), one story (the consistent, unbroken lineage of God’s people from Genesis to Revelation and beyond), and one people (Israel – into which we are grafted as followers of Yeshua). We are a lover of community with other believers with whom we worship and serve in Spirit and truth.”