July (Web-only) 2004

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Bill McCartney's latest goal: Improving relationships between evangelicals and messianic Jews
Promise Keepers founder and former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney "has quietly founded Road to Jerusalem, a Denver-based group whose stated goal is to improve relationships between evangelical Christians and messianic Jews," Denver Post religion writer Eric Gorski reported yesterday. The Toledo Blade had reported in March that the group "will rally churches to support Israel and Jews." Here's what Blade reporter David Yonke wrote back then:

"With what the headlines are today, with what's going on, we must stand with the Jew and we must let him know we support him," [McCartney] said.

The Road to Jerusalem will not try to "assimilate" Jews into the Christian church, he said, disagreeing with critics who say that Jews who accept Christ as the Messiah are no longer Jews but Christians.

"That's not true. That can only be perpetuated by unbelievers. Read Romans 9:1-5," he said sternly, referring to scriptures in which Paul writes, among other things, that God's promises are for the people of Israel and that the ancestry of Christ is traced to the Jewish patriarchs.

"That's Paul. He's a messianic Jew. That's his heart, and that's the same heart I see in all these messianic Jews," he said. "I see a sacrificial heart, a courageous heart. I believe messianic Jews are among the most courageous people in the world."

It seems, however, that supporting messianic Jews may be a larger thrust of Road to Jerusalem than supporting the nation of Israel. After all, there are many conservative Christian organizations aiming to support Israel, but few designed to improve relationships between evangelicals and messianic Jews. It's doubtful ...