If you ask me what is the distinguishing mark of the Communist, what it is that Communists most outstandingly have in common, . . . I would say that beyond any shadow of doubt it is their idealism, their zeal, dedication, devotion to their cause and willingness to sacrifice. 

The Communists' appeal to idealism (one of the keys to sacrifice) is direct and audacious. They say that if you make mean (British English for "meager"] little demands upon people, you will get a mean little response which is all you deserve, but, if you make big demands on them, you will get an heroic response.  They prove in practice that this is so, over and over again.  They work on the assumption that if you call for big sacrifices people will respond to this and, moreover, the relatively smaller sacrifices will come quite naturally. 

Like attracts like.  Those who are attracted by the dedication they see within the movement will themselves be possessed of a latent idealism, a capacity for dedication.  This dedication perpetuates itself.  It sets the tone and pace for the movement as a whole. This being so, the movement can make big demands upon its followers, knowing that the response will come. If the majority of members of an organization are half-hearted and largely inactive, it is not surprising of others who join it soon conform to the general pattern.  If the organization makes relatively few demands upon its members and if they quite obviously feel under no obligation to give a very great deal to it, then those who join may be forgiven for supposing that this is the norm and that this is what membership entails.

If, on the other hand, the majority of members, from the leaders down, are characterized by their single-minded devotion to the cause, if it is quite clear that the majority are giving until it hurts, putting their time, money, thought and if necessary life itself at its disposal, then those who consider joining will assume that this is what will be expected of them.  If they nonetheless make the decision to join, they will come already conditioned to sacrifice until it hurts.

The paradox . . . is that the Communists show a faith in their people, which Christians, who are supposed to be the great defenders of the human person, are too often not prepared to show.  They ask for a lot and they get the big response they expect.

What causes some Gentiles who visit my congregation to be disappointed with us? Only three things.  First, they can experience disappointment when we lead them to expect something they do not receive.  Second they can experience disappointment when they receive something unexpected, unpleasant, and unwelcome.   Third, they can experience disappointment when they harbor expectations at variance with what they find with us.

How should we prevent and/or deal with their disappointment?  First, matching the first variety above, we must always be clear ourselves and clear with others as to who we are/what kind of community we are. At my congregatioin, I have added this phrase to our mission statement, which appears in our bulletin and which I repeatedly discuss in our announcements time:  "We are a family friendly community of Jews and Intermarrieds."   We not only have this written, but will also shortly have other documents which people can pick up at our literature site, and which make such things plain, as we will do in private conversation and public discourse as well. 

Second, as to receiving something unexpected and unwelcome, we must always endeavor to be courteous and not rude to Gentiles who visit us, while at the same time being truthful as to our identity.  This means getting clear on our communal identity ourselves, and training and policing people as to how they discuss such matters with Gentile visitors. Some people cannot be trusted to do this well, and need to be prevented from offending others due to their unawareness and style.

Third, when some Gentiles come, as they will, with their own preferred sense of what Messianic Judaism and Messianic Jewish congregations are, they will be disappointed that we don't treat them or regard them accordingly. However, we must learn to not be in the least bit ashamed about their disappointment: we did not create it-they did, or other congregations and associations did--by harboring expectations we were never designed to meet.  It is like a someone being disappointed that a vegetarian restaurant doesn't have steak on its menu.  The problem is not with the restaurant, and although the waiter or manager can be sympathetic with a client's disappointment, they must never and need never feel guilty about it. 

There is a place for some Gentiles in a Messianic Jewish congregation (besides the intermarried), but the key questions, in addition to those posted in my earlier blog posting on the matter, are these: How does this person help us to honor our identity and achieve our goals as "A family-friendly community of Jews and Intermarrieds?  How do they help us function as the Messianic Jewish Remnant, a sign, demonstration, and catalyst of God's consummating purposes for the descendants of Jacob?   Gentiles who are not helping us get these jobs done serve as a hindrance to their accomplishment.  This is especially so since it is only natural that they will invite other Gentile friends to likewise attend, and when that happens, our congregation is rapidly demographically overwhelmed. Then our congregation would cease to be or become what it has been called to be.

For us to passively allow this to happen is nothing short of disobedience. And to set Gentiles up for disappointment by not being clear as to who we are is, in the end, cruel.