I am at Houston Hobby airport to meet some young Messianic Jewish leaders arriving for an intensive two-day retreat, watching the stream of passengers that flows by. Houston--home to NASA headquarters, world-class medical research and treatment centers, and much of the US energy industry--affords some good people-watching. People seem to be traveling for all kinds of agendas and purposes, from businessmen walking briskly with their brief cases and cell phones, to young men strolling by in tattoos and baggy shorts. One muscular guy in a tank-top inscribed "Powerhouse Gym" has a big silver Magen David dangling from his chest. It strikes me that the nine young leaders we are meeting here are travelers with the highest and most vital purpose of all, a purpose way beyond the biggest business deal or the most exciting entertainment venue imaginable. These leaders represent the next generation of the Messianic Jewish vision, serving at the intersection between faith in Yeshua and loyalty to the Jewish people, the point where God's prophetic purposes will intersect with the age in which we live.

Like much of the religious community, Jewish as well as Christian, Messianic Judaism does not have lots of younger leaders in place, so this meeting has added significance, and we have established four goals for it:

• To forge and strengthen friendships among younger leaders, as they spend abundant personal time together.
• To provide for intensive interaction with veteran leaders in the same area of ministry. The interactive learning experience is designed to address real needs and questions that younger leaders may have.
• To lay the foundation for an inter-congregational network for the next generation, both among the leaders themselves, and among the congregations that they represent.
• To provide a model upon which to build future events to benefit other younger leaders.

I credit my good friend Ron Aaronson, associate leader at Congregation Beth Messiah in Houston, for the original vision of bringing together some key leaders. Through partnership with Jewish Voice Ministries International, and contributions from Messianic Literature Outreach, Beth Messiah Congregation in Columbus, Ohio, and the tremendous generosity of Beth Messiah Houston, we are able to cover all expenses-travel, food, and lodging-for all these young men, who were chosen not only because of their potential to gain from this experience, but also for their potential influence within the wider Messianic Jewish community.

Mornings opened with prayer and worship led by the participants. On the first morning, I moderated a session in which participants told their own stories of how they came to be sitting here at such an event. In the afternoon, Richard Freeman and Ron Aaronson, leaders of Beth Messiah Houston told their own story of shared leadership and deep loyalty to each other as well as to Yeshua. The next day, we finished the personal stories and then Dr. David Rudolph (UMJC Theology chairman and staff member of Messianic Jewish Theological Institute) led a discussion on exemplary leadership. All these discussions were highly interactive, enabling the participants to connect with and learn from each other, even more than from the veterans. We also scheduled plenty of time for meals and informal connecting. Almost immediately, the men broke into pairs and small groups and got into deep conversation. It touched me deeply to see these guys connect with such openness toward each other and without the posturing or competitiveness that men sometimes fall into. This was such a vital part of the whole event, something we could not orchestrate, but which the Lord brought to life.

Seven of the nine guys had grown up in Messianic Jewish homes, but as they told their stories they made it clear that each one had to discover and work out his own understanding of life at the intersection, of how to consistently live out Yeshua-faith and Jewish loyalty. As I was getting ready to moderate the second morning, when the final two men would share their stories, a passage in Isaiah came to mind:  

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,

And floods on the dry ground; 

I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,

And My blessing on your offspring;

They will spring up among the grass

Like willows by the watercourses.'

One will say, ‘I am the Lord's'; 

Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;

Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord's,'

And name himself by the name of Israel. (Isaiah 44:3-5, NKJV)

The Lord is speaking here to all Israel, promising an outpouring of the Spirit upon their thirsty ground. This outpouring to come will result in life springing up all over the place within and among the Jewish people. I must admit after many years of ministry that I am thirsty for the waters of God's Spirit, and especially for this promised spiritual awakening that will result in young people ("your offspring") identifying themselves simultaneously as belonging to the Lord and to Israel-the twofold identity of Yeshua-faith and Jewish loyalty that we'd been discussing at the retreat.

I had read and prayed this passage in Isaiah a few days earlier as part of the UMJC Prayer Campaign, on Day 21 of the Omer, and written it down in my journal with a cross reference to Revelation 3:12:

"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And [I will write on him] My new name."

If I write my name on something, it means that I own it. Here, God and Messiah write their name upon the overcomer, just as in Isaiah, the spiritually-produced offspring write the Lord's name, and the name of Israel, upon themselves. The outpouring to come will produce many within Israel who openly belong to Yeshua and to their Jewish people.

I was about to share this passage with the guys on the second morning, when one of them opened his Bible and read, of all the verses that he might have picked, Revelation 3:12! He had no idea that I was about to read the companion verse, or that I'd recorded these two passages together in my notebook a few days before-a small but clear encouragement that the Ruach is moving among us and we need to listen for his voice.

One participant summed up the comments we heard from all of them:

"I am so excited I came! The biggest thing I'll walk away with is the relationships built over the last few days. It was the perfect blend of everything!!! Thank you!"

As I mentioned, one of our goals for this event is to create a model for future events like it through out the Messianic Jewish world. When we asked for suggestions for the future, we heard comments like these:

"It would be great to have more participants ..."

"I would love to involve more guys. I have a few in mind that would be great addition."

"Have them again and often. Seriously. The more often they happen, the stronger these ties will be."

The men who attended this retreat are eager to share it with more of their friends and colleagues. Furthermore, we all felt that women in leadership should have a chance to share in this kind of experience as well. I believe we need to hold at least two similar retreats in 2010. We were able to keep expenses down, especially with the abundant hospitality of Beth Messiah Houston, but it still takes $700-800 per participant for travel, lodging, meals, and conference expenses.

As I mentioned, this first event was a partnership effort with JVMI and other generous donors. Now I want to invite you to be a partner in such events for 2010. You can send in a gift to the UMJC marked "Young Leaders' Retreat" (to 529 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, or by calling 1.800.692.8652 with a Visa or MasterCard number), or better yet, donate right here at http://www.umjc.org/ and send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to let me know your gift is for "Young Leaders' Retreat."