About the Author
Rick Richardson has been in the "hebrew roots" movement for over 40 years. He is president of Christian Renewal Ministries International and executive director of the Elijah Project. Rick is also a radio and television personality living in the Seattle area with his wife and two children.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Phenomenon
Something is happening. In every denomination within the Christian Church there is a drawing -- a tug back to the origins of our faith. We who are being drawn are seeking something, but we are not always sure what that something is. We are part of a phenomenon, trying to the best of our abilities to follow that tug that we believe is God Himself drawing us back to our beginnings.
From my perspective, it is not necessarily essential to know why the phenomenon is happening, only to see that it is. It is somewhat like the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Many people feel like the character played by Richard Dreyfus. They are pulled toward Jerusalem. They are compelled to reevaluate, and begin to observe in a more complete way, the Sabbath and the Biblical Holy Days. Prayer and gratitude and an eagerness to learn are becoming more prominent in their lives. They find a kinship with complete strangers who are also being pulled the same direction, to the same end.
There is no organization that will control or contain it. It is not our doing -- it is God's. That, however, does not mean that there will not be organizational attempts to take control and even take credit for the movement now a-foot. This, in itself, is the biggest obstacle that we are facing: to allow ADONAI to do His work, and for those of us who are leaders to be gentle guides; to not evaluate our own significance as of any importance; to not read ourselves into prophecy; to not focus upon our own accomplishments, as if they were the important factor.
When you get right down to it, none of us have the market on being able to even fully comprehend what He is doing. Every time I believe I understand the breadth of what He is doing, I soon realize I was only seeing the edges of a small corner.
What then are we to do? Should we sit back and ignore it, avoiding taking any active role? No, but neither should we force it into our individual areas of comfort and familiarity. We should be aware of, and watchful for, those people eager for followings: for the person who believes that God has given His truth to them alone.
As phenomenees and observers of this phenomenon unfolding, let us not be focused in narrow areas and subjects that will divide us. Rather let us focus on what unites us: the topics, issues, and values that we can clearly see we are all moving toward; asking each other for patience and understanding; being able to teach and be taught; not forcing or convincing, but gently guiding, directing, and educating in the service of one another.
