2.2.3 Internal Social-Structural Interaction
The supernatural interaction, as experienced by the individual who becomes a founder or a leader of a congregation, initially shapes the congregational life. Without other human interference, it can take many years until a congregation comes about.
It is the Lord who builds a fellowship. We never ever thought of starting a congregation. We did not even want to (26-97).
Once after it unintentionally came about, it still could fail after a time, probably because leaders devoted themselves to help drug-addicts who consumed all strength and material means available, and are not good „material” to build a stable congregation.
This whole community fell apart. ... We didn't have one heart and one mind for a congregation in God. We prayed together for almost two years, but it did not work out at all. ... But, we still believe that the Lord is gonna establish a community here again. ... We feel that it is very important in this land, it is a real expression of a life together in Jesus. The Kingdom of God. It doesn't exist in this country (26/97).
It appeared that the interviewee thought that a congregation should be measured against a lifestyle usually possible only in a religious order, and should not pass judgement unless it meets the standards of such. The respondent appeared to think that what the God of Israel could give to gentiles believers, he should be able to give to Jews, too. So, they keep on trying and working towards an ideal of community (Buber 1985).
Yet not all groups are similarly committed to a very particular quality or kind of common lifestyle. Others are much more committed to the building of communities that will more easily perpetuate and multiply themselves. They require more tolerance for human differences and „weaknesses”. One common ideal is the development of an indigenous congregation. One way to achieve such, is decisively to allow only Hebrew in meetings, even to forsake translation to guests who do not understand and speak Hebrew. The leader of such a group appears less a contemplative and artistic personality, but more like a manager and businessman.
The vision the Lord gave us, was to build a Hebrew speaking congregation. Hebrew only. There were several reasons for this. To reach Israelis, we have to integrate fully into the life here. The culture of the country is wrapped up in the language. ... We want to have an atmosphere, where any Israeli can come into the congregation of the street and feel totally at home. ... Jerusalem is an international city, the moment one gives a translation, then you can fill the hall with tourists, or people who are here just for a year or two. ... They just change the atmosphere. It also makes it difficult to build a local indigenous congregation, when you have a lot of people coming and going. This way, we have people, we know who they are, they are here to stay in the country, at least for some time. If an Israeli comes in, at least he gonna hears the things in his own language. Besides that, not only in the meetings, but also for the fellowship time afterwards, we ask people to speak Hebrew only (22/97).
This approach considerably reduced the membership in the beginning, but soon it attracted new members and the congregation began to grow fast. Yet growth, though very welcome, is still not the main issue on the agenda. „What's important is the heart” (22/97). That, of course, is a very Jewish perception of spirituality (Donin 1980: 20, Petuchovski 1981).
A lack of formal structure corresponds with this attitude (Mintzberg 1983: 295). The type ℶ (beth) congregation has one core leader, or senior pastor. In the course of time he gained one or two elders, or an assistant pastor, among his members. They meet weekly to discuss and to pray for their ministry and the congregation. They share different tasks organically between themselves and with other members of the congregation, according to whether „the Spirit gave them gifts”. Main tasks are the organization of the worship service and a growing number of home groups, prayer meetings, helping others to find jobs, to preach the word, to heal, to evangelize. Children, youth and women receive special attention in special meetings for them. In all this the leaders promote change and look out for supernatural revelation in their personal and common spirituality. In that sense they can regard their communities indeed as „a very charismatic congregation” (22/97). With this outspoken openness for a supernatural interaction, they regard themselves „a very free flowing kind of congregation. We don't have a lot of formal structures”.
This type needs not even a secretary for the administration of the congregation. While it has individuals that function as „deacons” they are not installed officially as such. Other members engage in other ministries to meet the needs of various congregations and the public, for example to help rejected and forsaken pregnant women (11/96, 11/97). Congregation building and the care for social-economic dropouts can interfere. Passion for the most needy seems to hinder the quick building of congregations, though it also can help to recruit people (22/97, 26/97).
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are regarded essentially for an efficient personal and community life. They are stressed at times in preaching and personal conversation with the pastor. Yet, nobody seems to be forced into such an experience or praxis.
We are definitely a charismatic congregation. We exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The leadership believes in what is called „the baptism of the Holy Spirit”, and „the gifts of the Holy Spirit”. But on the other hand, anybody who has received Yeshua has the Holy Spirit, he is a child of God, and there is no second class citizen in the Kingdom of God. We have non-charismatic who really want to be part of us, and they are a part of us! And I have said to them: Listen, you are just as wanted, and we are not putting any blocks if you are moving forward to any position of responsibility (22/97).
If they maintain this attitude, they will only remain faithful to their underlying Jewish norm, that „the heart”, love and unity, are all-important above everything else. This is not only valid for „the gifts of the Spirit” but also for Jewish custom.
In some type ℶ (beth) congregations men may, but don't need to wear a kippah, the skullcap (Donin 1972: 180-181). Yet in others, applying rabbinical expression would only be understood as admitting one's own spiritual poverty. A tallit, the prayer shawl (Donin 1980: 29-32), and surely tefillin, leathern capsules containing portions of Torah, to be worn with prayer on weekdays (Donin 1980: 33-38), are unlikely to be used in an ecclesiastical service. It is also not likely that members will use them in private devotion. As one interviewee put it:
If we cannot keep it 100 percent, why should we keep it 60 or 40 percent? Also, it renders nothing to our righteousness before God (22/97).
Besides the importance of the „gifts of the Spirit”, a greater freedom for women may be another characteristic of the ℶ (beth), the ecclesiastic-charismatic congregation. For Messianic Jewish congregations one can perceive women as twice restricted. First, because „in traditional Jewish society ... women were systematically barred from access to Jewish knowledge” (Sered 1992: 16). The traditional argument for that is that Jewish law considers „a woman's prior responsibility as wife and mother” (Donin 1972: 163). Secondly and similar, because it is a widespread evangelical belief, „that while men and women are equal before God in matters of salvation and grace, they should participate unequally in the life of the church” (Cucchiari 1990: 693). Usually New Testament statements of the apostle Paul are employed to underpin that view. Charismatic communities are regarded to allow more freedom for women to express their faith and to participate in community life (Cucchiari 1990: 703). The type ℶ (beth) congregation seems to fit nicely into these traditions and observations.
In our worship team, there are women. We have a sister who is teaching women in the congregation. There is a women's group, where they have been taught the word. For until now we haven't really allowed them to teach in the congregation. Last year somebody came out, 21This can literally mean: into the front of the congregation during a regular service. ) where the women thought they were a little bit oppressed. But in the area of prayer, the area of worship, the area of ministering, we allow women to minister. We do have women in positions of authority. One house group is led by a woman. The main worship people are women. I definitely see the place of women in the congregation. The more things would be in godly order, the more the women would be able to unfold. It's just a question of them going to unfold (22/97).