My Story: Jew to Christian
September 12, 2021
Today I’m not going to tell you something you need to do, or something you aren’t doing. That’s the good news! I’m not going to preach at you. Today, I’m going to share my story with you, maybe give you a little thought about Judaism, some broad generalizations, how some Jewish people look at Christians . . . and go from there.
The bad news!? This may take a little longer than 20 minutes, but I want you to gain an appreciation of where and how I grew up and what led me to Jesus and what impact that makes in my life.
Why am I doing this? Well . . . I was asked by a few people to share my story and today seemed like the right time.
I was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Actually, it was in a village. When you think of most villages, you think small, however, the village I was raised in at the time I was considered the largest village in the world.
It’s not just my opinion, but they had the signage to prove it. Skokie was a village of about 73,000 people, located just north of Chicago, only about 30 minutes from downtown on a clear driving day, which was rare. And only about 20 minutes to the beaches of Lake Michigan.
Skokie’s claim to fame was having the notorious bank robber, Baby Face Nelson’s bullet riddled dead body dropped off in Skokie; and a Nazi march was scheduled for Skokie, which went to the supreme court. It caused a great deal of turmoil, and ultimately became a movie, appropriately named, Skokie, starring Danny Kaye.
So, why was the Nazi march such a big deal in Skokie? Because at the time I was growing up, Skokie was approximately 80% Jewish. Along with Skokie, other communities on the North Shore of Chicago were predominately Jewish.
I grew up, not knowing the difference in other religions. I knew we were Jewish and that was about it. For example, I thought Catholic and Christian were synonymous. There was no teaching about other faiths.
I ate Jewish soul food. Eating stuff like hot dogs (never ask for ketchup, have dark green relish), lox and bagels, matzo ball soup, pastrami sandwiches, potato pancakes, gefilte fish and more. We always had no school for the main Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur. When people called Winter vacation, Christmas vacation, frankly, all I cared about was no school.
I grew up as the youngest and only son in my family. My parents had two daughters who were 7 and 9 years old than I was. This birth order is something I will talk about later.
My family was what I would consider a very typical Jewish family. And in some ways, we were no more typical than some families which consider themselves Christian today.
A typical Jewish family didn’t talk about God, unless there was some anti-Semitic program or actor/actress who was on television.
We didn’t pray before meals.
We didn’t read the Bible - and didn’t have one in the house. When I refer to the Bible, for the Jewish person, that would only be the Old Testament.
We didn’t go to Temple to worship on the Sabbath. We only went on the 2 main Jewish high holidays, which I will explain in a few minutes.
For example, after I became a Christian, I was having lunch with my mom, in a Jewish deli of course, and asked my mom about the Old Testament, basically testing her on knowledge of Jewish history. I didn’t think it was too hard. I basically asked her, who came first chronologically . . . Moses, Noah, Abraham or David. I thought those were the 4 biggies of Jewish history. She had no clue. My point to my mom was not to embarrass her, but to point out that if she was Jewish, she needed to know and understand her faith. Her response was that she was born a Jew and she will die a Jew. She didn’t say that with animosity, it was simply who she was.
For many Jews, there is a great deal of ignorance when it comes to knowledge of the Old Testament, and most especially of the New Testament.
A great deal of Jewish life is passed on by tradition. We often live off of traditions in our families and even in our churches. We do things the way we’ve always done them because it feels comfortable and that comfortable way has morphed into becoming a tradition. Remember the movie Fiddler on the Roof and the song “Tradition?” That’s how we lived.
Because we didn’t talk about the 10 commandments or much about the Bible, I learned my Old Testament lessons from movies like . . . Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments.
In terms of actual Jewish religious practices when I was growing up, we had 4 main holidays we celebrated. . . . Anyone know what they are?
There’s a great description in the Bible, in Leviticus 23. As they occur during the year . . .
Passover - which is the story of the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery from Egypt. On this holiday, we have what is called a Seder. It’s a ritual meal in which throughout the meal we eat different foods which symbolize the plight of the Jewish people as they were slaves and as they were fleeing Egypt. During the Passover holiday, which lasts for 8 days, you are not to eat anything which has yeast in it.
That means no bread, cakes, bagels, nothing like that. You can eat matzo, which is that flat bread which does not have much of a taste to it. But you can doctor it up to make it taste better. My mom used to make rolls with matzo meal, which at least gave you some form of bread. During the Seder meal, we would read a book called the Haggadah. This would recount the Passover journey for the Jews.
As Christians we also can celebrate Passover, as we see the symbolism of Christ in the celebration. One thing to remember as a Christ follower, we see the Old Testament through New Testament eyes. If it is possible, when you are reading through the Old Testament try to remove those New Testament eyes. This may help bring more of the Old Testament to life and help you to better understand the people in that day.
The second major Jewish holiday, which was just celebrated, is Rosh Hashonah, this is the Jewish new year. It is not celebrated like our new year, with lots of wildness. In fact Rosh Hashonah starts the most solemn time of year for the Jews. Remember Jewish holidays vary on our calendar from year to year because they use the lunar calendar. During the period of Rosh Hashonah, Jews pray to be inscribed into the Book of Life.
You might say something like . . .
----- La Shana Tova is the traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah which in Hebrew means "A Good Year."
------ Ketiva ve-chatima tovah which translates as "May You Be Written and Sealed for a Good Year."
Rosh Hashonah begins a period of repentance for the Jews. In the Talmud which includes a discussion of Rosh Hashanah it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, in which the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed "to live." The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous; the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living."
Yet, I would venture to say that most Jewish people don’t have a clue about what supposedly is occurring in the heaven regarding their fate.
The next holiday occurs 9 days later, and that is the holiest of holy days for the Jewish people. It is called Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement. The focus is atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting, worship and prayer, spending most of the day in synagogue.
According to Jewish tradition, during Yom Kippur God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. The period between the two holidays is called the Days of Awe.
During that time a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against others.
If you’ve ever fasted for a few hours, you will know what it’s like to fast for 25 hours. I’ve done it and let me tell you, if you watch television during that time, it kills you. Plus, there is no brushing your teeth, no sips of water. This is a total fast.
The last of the major holidays is Chanukah - which is called the festival of lights. This holiday occurs because during the time of the revolt by the Maccabees which can be found in the Apocrypha, there was only enough oil in the temple for one day, yet the oil lit the lamps for 8 days, which was a miracle from God. Thus we have the holiday celebration.
Giving gifts was never part of the tradition of Chanukah, however, during Chanukah it is customary to give gelt (money) to children to teach them to increase in charity and good deeds; and it adds to the holiday spirit. This tradition dates as far back as the 13th century.
Jews play games at Chanukah, and maybe you’ve seen a dreidel or played with one. We would play for pennies, not big bucks. In my family we would receive gifts the first night, and sometimes small gifts for each of the following nights.
I know I’ve given you lots and lots of information about Judaism, now I want to shift for the next part and talk about my conversion and the issues surrounding that. Then, hopefully, by 2 or 3 pm, I’ll wrap up.
When I was 8 years old, (I told you 2 or 3 pm), I began to attend Hebrew school.
I couldn’t find a good picture of the temple, it’s called Bnai Emunah, which means “child of faith.” This is the podium area. What’s in the red box is like an enclosed cabinet and this is where they keep the torah.
A Jewish boy or girl would attend Hebrew school until their Bar Mitzvah (boys) or Bat Mitzvah (girls). This simply means son or daughter of commandments. When you are bar mitzvahed, you are viewed as an adult according to Jewish law, meaning you are required to follow all 613 of the Jewish laws, you can own real estate, and you can get married.
So, I attended Hebrew school for 5 years, which meant I went to Hebrew school after I got out of public school. You would go for 2-3 hours a night, 3 times per week. Just imagine if we asked families to devote that much time to have their children in the church, without games and play time. It was mostly classroom sessions and some singing; and that was about it.
After 5 years, when I was 13, I had my Bar Mitzvah, in which you read out of the Torah. This is part of what I had to read. It is the first time a Jewish child is eligible to read from the Torah.
And yes, this is me and this is my sisters and parents. There’s a big party afterwards, in some ways like a wedding. Lots of people, food and dancing.
I had to read from the Torah. It’s a combination of singing and chanting. Which is scary for me, since I can’t carry a tune. But it works in Judaism, because you do a lot of chanting, which actually works out better than singing. I also had to give a speech, mine was about prayer.
My family attended temple services only on the High Holidays, Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur. It’s kind of like the C and E Christians, those who attend only at Christmas and Easter. That’s how most Jews are. The temple is pretty empty most of the time, but at Yom Kippur, we actually had to buy tickets in order to enter the worship at the temple.
You see, they didn’t pass the collection plate during Sabbath worship, because that is considered work and breaks the Sabbath law. So, you would join the temple and pay an annual membership fee, which entitled you to receive a certain number of tickets for the holy worship services. They did have services which were free at the local high school. But if you wanted to hear the main rabbi, the cantor and choir, you had to be a member.
As I went through high school and college I would attend these worships and fast on Yom Kippur, even doing it in college, sometimes it was just to get out of school, then hang out all day. I remember breaking one fast by going out for Chinese food with some friends. That’s not the best way to do it.
Anyways, if you were to ask me about my spirituality at this time, I would have to say I was more of an ‘agnostic.” I believed there was a god, but I didn’t believe in God. I didn’t pray, unless I was in trouble, and then it was pretty futile anyways. I just kind of lived life and enjoyed whatever I was doing.
My dad’s philosophy was that his purpose in life was to provide for his family and try to follow the commandments by doing good. When you think about it, that’s a pretty sad existence, because in essence you’re placing yourself in God’s seat.
Just do good, be a nice person, provide for your family, and you’re in. In fact, that’s a lot like some Christians. And it’s all arbitrary to what we think is good.
After I graduated from Northern Illinois University with a major in Finance, I began working and traveling as an investment auditor. My goal in life at this time was self-gratification. I was out to please myself, enjoy myself and make lots of money if that was possible.
During this time I dated a girl who asked me to go to church with her. I said yes, but church really meant nothing to me.
Well, the first time going to church with her, a few things happened. The senior pastor was not there and one of the associates was preaching that day. I also need to mention this was a church of 3,000. So, instead of a 60 year old white haired man whom a friend and I later nicknamed “the great and powerful oz”, (this was because the lights shined right on him when he preached and with his white hair, he seemed like the wizard from the wizard of oz. Instead, preaching that day was a 34 year old former college tight end, turned pastor. He told some funny stories and whatever he said that day seemed pretty relevant, especially if you took Christ out of the service.
Also during the service when people prayed, I would look around, because I was not going to bow my head and pray to Christ, and as I looked around I saw everyone’s head bowed. They were actually praying and listening to what was being said.
You see, in the temple on the high holidays, since much of the service was in Hebrew, you didn’t always know when you were praying and people would come in and it seemed to be a mockery, as they would be talking and shaking hands with people they hadn’t seen in a year. So, it really hit me when I saw people into the prayers. I also had a sense of a presence during the prayers, which I now would call the presence of the Holy Spirit, but at that time, I was not sure what it was.
Well, the next day, I was leaving for Tulsa, Oklahoma and a 4 week auditing job. During the first two weeks, for the first time in my life I pulled out the Gideon’s Bible in the dresser drawers. I started to read the Old Testament, but it was the KJV, and I was a little stuck.
So, after two weeks I came home for the weekend and we went to church and talked more, and she gave me her Bible. I took it and began to read it, but since I was Jewish, I figured I knew the entire Old Testament, you know, through our buddy Charlton Heston. How little I really understood.
So, I began a journey or reading the New Testament and was fascinated by what I was reading. I still didn’t believe in Jesus, but I was slowly coming around. It was not going to be a road to Damascus type of conversion. I really enjoyed and was troubled by the New Testament.
I knew the Spirit got to me, when I would lay in bed and read the Bible and begin to cry at what happened to Christ. Over the first year, I read over the New Testament about 6 times. I just read it and read it over and over again. I never formally got on my knees to accept Christ, in fact, I didn’t even know how to do that. Just one night, I realized I believed and didn’t even know it. It seems strange how that could happen, but it was right in front of me.
I had prayed to God that if He would take away my back pains and heal me, then I would certainly believe in Him. Well, I still have a bad back, but here I am today.
I became more and more involved in church, working with the youth ministry and eventually getting involved as a volunteer with inner city gangs in Chicago. That was an amazing ministry. I had the opportunity to work and minister to guys who committed murders, sold drugs, stole, carried weapons and more. I knew guys who are in prison and guys who killed and were killed.
For the next 3 years I participated in the life of the church, attending, ministering to the youth, gangs and going through a Stephen’s ministry course, in which I was then able to help others in need. I still hadn’t told my parents about my faith.
My parents had a number of aunts and uncles killed in Germany and I even had a neighbor who was in a concentration camp. So, I was venturing into nasty waters. Add to this the fact that I had vaguely remembered my oldest sister becoming a Christian in 1970, at the height of the campus riots and the Jesus movement. She came home all excited to tell my parents she believed in Jesus, and so should they. It was not pretty. So, I had that in the back of my mind.
Eventually, though people began to ask me when I was going to go to seminary. I had no clue what seminary was. Although I knew some guys who were going to Northern Baptist in Lombard, Illinois. Eventually, I took one course in the Spring, just to test things out. I was overwhelmed at the knowledge of these folks. They were throwing out scripture left and right, and I was in over my head.
The first class was an evangelism class in which we had to go into the community, to a mall, to a college, walk the street, and go to a mission in Chicago to talk about Jesus. I was freaked out. I never talked to anyone about Jesus, and here I was walking the streets of Chicago. Well, after that class I decided I was in over my head, so I did the only logical thing, I applied to go to seminary full time.
Well, now I was in trouble because I was going to have to sell my 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home, quit my job and move from sprawling Naperville, Illinois to a one bedroom cinder block apartment on campus. I was going to go from a rising auditor, with a good pay check and a nice expense account, to working as a youth pastor for $6,000 a year at the church of 3,000.
I had to talk to my parents. I was scared and freaked out. I was supposed to meet my parents for dinner, but pushed it up a week, just to get it over with. I was literally shaking on the insides. Before we were to go out, I dropped a bombshell on my parents. I had no clue how they would take what I was about to tell them.
You see, I started by telling them I was going to church and I believed in Jesus, which was not warmly received. Then after I gave them time to let that sink in, about 1 minute, I proceeded to tell them I was quitting my job, moving and going to seminary to be a minister. I didn’t know how my parents would react. My dad’s comment was that I was stupid. My mom, who is the last person I would ever want to hurt, went into the kitchen and softly cried, and I cried with her. Needless to say, we didn’t go out for dinner that night.
On scripture that has always struck me were the words from Jesus in Luke 14. Listen to what Jesus said - -
25 Now great crowds accompanied Jesus, and He turned and said to them,
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:25-27
Those are pretty radical words from Jesus. His call is to HATE!? He’s the same guy who said to love God, love your neighbors and even to love your enemies. Yet, He calls us to hate those who are closest to us. What’s that about?
Really, it’s a play on words, but that is the commitment we must have to Jesus. We must place Jesus first and in essence, TO LOVE OTHERS LESS THAN Him. That’s what Jesus is getting across. I have to love Jesus more than my family, those closest to me. And if I do, then I will in reality love them better, because Jesus is first. Well, that’s really what I had to do with Jesus and my faith. I had to make that decision that He comes first and I don’t. I had to place everything second to Jesus. And that was not easy and it still isn’t easy, if we were willing to admit that.
My mom, being the person she was would never disown me. She always gave me unconditional love. She didn’t like what I did, but that didn’t stop her from loving me. As for my dad, he wouldn’t talk to me. I was allowed in the house, but the only way he would speak to me was if I spoke to him. I really didn’t know if he would disown me, kick me out of the house, slap me, I really didn’t know.
As time moved forward, he softened and would talk to me, but we never spoke about church or school. In time he would share some of his knowledge of the Bible, and I wondered why he never did that when I was younger. Ultimately, he would give me advice about ministry and ask about the church. He came to visit me one time when I was at a church in Illinois, but he wouldn’t walk into the sanctuary.
My sisters were supportive of me. I had the privilege of baptizing one sister, which was really cool. My other sister died very suddenly about in 2005. My mom died on Mother’s Day, 1991. Which really was fitting. Mother’s Day is not a bad day, it was an honor to have her die on that day. My dad died in 2008.
I want to wrap up - - -
After seminary, I worked as a chaplain at two hospitals, one an acute care hospital; and a physical rehab hospital; in which I dealt with patients who had amputations, transplants, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes, as well as pediatrics. I’ve seen people involved in motorized vehicle accidents, including hot air balloons, trains, ATV’s, boats, and more. And the best part of working at the rehab hospital was meeting this great looking young lady, who is truly my better half. After about 5 years, God was impressing upon me to move into church ministry.
I wanted you to have a better idea of me and my background. Many of you already knew this, but I would guess have forgotten some details. What I learned when I was doing some research on my old temple where I grew up is this . . .
When I had my Bar Mitzvah in 1971, the temple was one of the largest in the midwest. There were over 900 families who were members. Late in the 1990’s they were down to 250 families. In 2004 they merged with another temple and closed the doors to the temple.
That really saddened me. Even though I haven’t been there in years, that was my home. I bring that forward to you, the people of FBC. You’re a great people and I really believe if we hold to passages like Luke 14 . . . we will be fine. If we live by them, we will be fine. If we forget them, then just like the Israelites who were exiled, so too will we.
My final thought is that it’s more important to agree on the essentials, to have unity of faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, to be agreeable even in disagreement in the non-essentials. To be able to hold to the truth in Jesus Christ.
It doesn’t matter what color the carpeting is, it doesn’t matter what color the walls are. Even in the method of worship, really doesn’t matter. Because if the true risen Lord, Jesus Christ is proclaimed, then that is what is most important. May we never, never lose that. May we build on our unity and help the world see Jesus as the only and final hope in our world!
