Today’s FFOZ

First Fruits of Zion teaches Torah to the Body of Messiah. Apparently, some folks are wondering if this is still true. I can assure you that it is!

Boaz Michael, the founder of FFOZ, is a cherished friend and we regularly engage in heartfelt, passionate conversations, that I hope he values as much as I do. Toward the end of a lengthy discussion this afternoon Boaz asked if I would be willing to make a statement about what I know to be true on a first-hand basis.

In the interest of full disclosure I need to let you know that I serve on the Theological Advisory Board of First Fruits of Zion. So do some people with whom I don’t see eye-to-eye on everything. That is one of the things I love about Boaz and FFOZ. Those of you who know me will probably chuckle (because they’ve heard it so often) when I say that maturity is defined by an ability to dwell in tension. Well, let me tell you, Boaz dwells in tension! Sometimes I may even cause some of that tension; I pray no more than is necessary.

Boaz and I are in the midst of an ongoing discussion about what language best serves the cause of Messiah in our world. This is an extraordinarily frank and challenging discussion that is possible only because of the great trust and respect each of us have for the other. Actually, when it comes to language, we are almost exactly on the same page, but we’re working to ensure that the motivation and theology behind our choice of language is the same, or at least that we’re comfortable with where they might be slightly different.

To be specific, we are wrangling over exactly what today’s community of God ought to understand from the 15th and 21st chapters of Acts. However, there is another issue that is not up for discussion. Boaz expresses it this way, though it is probably not his favorite way to say it, “We are obligated to be disciples of the Master.” We both like the phrase, “Believing Jew and Gentile alike are called to full covenant participation.”

In the paths where both Boaz and I walk the word “obligation” has become a nuclear bomb of sorts recently, with the potential to derail almost any conversation. Perhaps this is why Dwight Pryor is fond of saying that he would love to discuss the opportunity of Torah, but has little time for discussing obligation. Dwight has discerned over the years that much of the time those who get hung up on a discussion of “obligation” have bigger heart-issues in more desperate need of attention. (Certainly this is not always true, there are theological concerns over the word “obligation” that bear potentially dire consequences and I am all for discussing them in the right place, at the right time, and with the right people.)

I have pressed Boaz hard on these issues and neither he nor FFOZ is waffling on the truth that all believers are called to holiness, and that the way of holiness is described and prescribed in Torah.

One of the reasons that I support FFOZ is the humility with which I have seen them operate. I’ve seen Boaz swing a bit too far on a particular issue or another, and I’ve also seen him humbly accept correction and move back the other way. That is an example I believe we can all safely follow.

Keep Boaz and FFOZ in your prayers. The pressures on him/them from multiple sides are enormous. This is the consequence of committing to walking in tension and seeking to say no more than the Scriptures themselves say; no one else will ever be satisfied that you’re completely “getting it right.”

Heaven help us when we’re tempted to think we have it all figured out.