The question that confronts those of us who have a burning passion for the restoration of Christianity’s Hebrew heritage is this: How can we keep this work from becoming another passing fancy of a fad-conscious society and ensure that it makes a profound and lasting impact upon the lifestyle of a large segment of the Christian community and changes forever the church’s thinking with regard to Israel, the Jewish people, and Judaism?

I believe the answer to this question is found in the strategy that King David employed when he proposed to restore the ark of the covenant to a place of prominence in Israel. Listen to 1 Chronicles 13:1-3’s account of this event: “Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader. And David said to all the assembly of Israel, ‘If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God . . . let us bring back the ark of our God to us.’ ”
In a virtual re-enactment of this ancient Davidic strategy, the Holy Spirit is now calling leaders of the Christian community to come together and consider how we may restore and perpetuate the New Testament order of God’s Judaic system of praise, worship, and service. This work is too great for any one man or any single organization to accomplish; therefore, it is vital that leadership be brought together for interactive dialogue and collective strategy. Networking is the focus of God’s designs for this time, just as it was in David’s day.

Leaders must abandon their proclivities toward self-aggrandizement and turf-protection to become mutually submitted to one another. We must learn to work together as with a teamwork that respects and honors one another’s talents and otherness. We must stop trying to build up our own ministries and concentrate on helping one another facilitate the breaking forth of God’s kingdom.

One means of achieving this goal is to adopt a true servant-leadership model, of which David is a prime example. He was able to include the leaders of Israel and “all the people” in the important decisions because he was the servant of God and of the people. Jesus said it well: “He that is greatest among you, let him be your servant.” Servanthood is the model for New Testament leadership. God is looking for servants, not lords, for facilitators, not dictators.

This concept runs cross-current with traditional Gentile ideas of leadership where power is grabbed by the heaviest hand and maintained with murderous efficiency. Our model must be the yeshivas of the ancient Jewish sages, where every man was “greenlighted” to express his views on every issue and where all issues were decided in the safety of a “multitude of counselors” (Proverbs 11:14; 24:6). This is the biblical environment in which unity of vision and strategy can be achieved.

Because of its emphasis on orthodoxy and credalism, Christianity has sought to establish unity through uniformity. If some could not subscribe the prescribed “faith,” they were anathematized, excommunicated, ostracized, and often murdered. This approach to unity has produced a fragmented Christianity engaged in internecine carnage, with more energy expended upon exchanges of polemic pyrotechnics than upon engaging the enemy of men’s souls. Denominationalism’s quest for purity of doctrine has more often than not produced impurity of the soul. As Pogo in the comics said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us!”

The Judaic model of unity, on the other hand, is one of unity in diversity, with each person’s distinctives respected. With this model, we can affirm our brotherhood in Adam or in the Messiah, equipping us for the Christ-mandated task of loving all mankind. We can be our brother’s brother regardless as to his ethnicity, race, culture, nationality, or denominational affiliation.

If the cause of restoring the church’s Judaic heritage is to succeed in changing the face of Christianity, it will do so only because those who have this vision come together in truly Judaic fashion to promote and sustain this cause. We must reach out with compassion to all of our fellow citizens of God’s kingdom to invite their involvement in the research, analysis, and development of the concepts of restoration. We must dare to be inclusive. When others draw a circle that excludes us, we must have the grace and wisdom to draw a bigger circle that includes them. If we present this restoration message with love and inclusion, it will be said universally, “the thing seemed right in the eyes of all the people.”

Let us network ourselves together, collectively discovering and restoring the Judaeo-Christianity that the apostles practiced. Together we can present the world with a living model of biblical faith, restoring the shekhinah and bringing honor to God

Dr. John D. Garr is the founder and president of Restoration Foundation.