Many people today are curious about Messianic Judaism. Are you? B'nai Ohr Beth Tefilah is a Messianic congregation in Lindenhurst, Illinois, who state that Jews who believe in Jesus remain Jewish. There is one main problem, namely, that B'nai Ohr is not a Jewish group at all, but a Christian group. Specifically, they are members of the Southern Baptist Convention. I will prove this, using information from their site and other Christian sites. Each time, links will be provided so you can see the evidence for yourself.
Southern Baptist Affiliation B'nai Ohr is a full-fledged member of the Southern Baptist Convention. In fact, you can find them listed on the Southern Baptist Convention's web-site. Here is the link to their listing:
Click Here Would a real Jewish group be listed on the Southern Baptist Convention's web-site? Of course not! As a Southern Baptist church in Illinois, B'nai Ohr can also be found on the church list of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Not exactly a place where you find a real Jewish congregation. Here is the link to the proof:
Click Here Additionally, B'nai Ohr is also a member of the Lake County Baptist Association. Here is the link to their site, you can find B'nai Ohr on their church listing:
Click Here Again, not exactly a Jewish-type of organization-a real Jewish group would never join a Baptist Association.
Christian Leadership Bnai Ohr is led by "Rabbi" Steve Barack. However, Steve Barack is not a rabbi, but a minister of the Southern Baptist Convention. Here is the link to his listing on the Southern Baptist Convention's web-site-obviously not a place where a real rabbi would be listed:
Click Here Also, you can find Pastor Barack and B'nai Ohr on the Illinois Baptist State Association Church Planting tracking system. Does the Illinois Baptist State Association really "plant" Jewish groups...no! They only plant churches. Here is the link:
Click Here It is probably not suprising that you can find Pastor Barack's wife, Maureen, on the Southern Baptist Convention web-site. Here is a link to photos from the Southern Baptist Convention's 2002 annual meeting. The third and fourth pictures are of dancers from B'nai Ohr, the fourth picture being of Maureen Barack. Would a real Jewish group provide dancing for the Southern Baptist Convention? Would they even be invited? No and no. Here is the link:
Click Here Then again, you can also find Maureen Barack with her very own listing on the Southern Baptist Convention's minister listing. Here is the link:
Click Here So the Barack's both have their own personal listing on the Southern Baptist Convention's web-site. Clearly, they are not Jewish leaders, but Christian leaders.
Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship The Southern Baptist Convention sponsors a ministry for Jewish evangelism, called the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship. Steve Barack has served as the President of this Southern Baptist Convention ministry! Pastor Barack, in a speech at the 2003 Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship's meeting, was clear about his true intentions. His goal is to convert the Jews. According to the article, as reported on the Southern Baptist Convention's web-site: "Sharing the Gospel message with the Jewish people in order to complete the Great Commission is their main purpose, the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship's president said at a June 16 meeting in Phoenix.
And Southern Baptists have an opportunity to play an integral role in assisting the fellowship achieve their goal, said Steve Barack, rabbi at B'nai Ohr Beth Tefilah, a Messianic fellowship in Lindenhust, Ill.
"The size and influence of the Southern Baptist Convention gives us the opportunity to evangelize more people," Barack told about two dozen people attending their 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. gathering. The fellowship met prior to the June 17-18 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix.
"If Jewish evangelism becomes a focus for Southern Baptists and matches the biblical mandate of ministering to the Jews first, then we can fulfill the Great Commission together," Barack said.
In addition to assisting local Messianic congregations to increase in size, Barack said the fellowship also encourages partnerships with Southern Baptist churches....First, the fellowship exists to promote Jewish evangelism. Second, the fellowship promotes Messianic congregational planting. Third, the fellowship acts as an ambassador to the Southern Baptist Convention.
Speakers at the Messianic Fellowship meeting included R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.; Jim Sibley, coordinator of Jewish ministries for the North American Mission Board; and Doug Metzger, director of NAMB's Strategic Focus Cities initiative.
Is there even any question about the goals of Steve Barack, the leader of B'nai Ohr? Here clearly desires the conversion of Jews to Christianity. Here is the link to the article, the quotes are from the 1st-5th and 8th-9th paragraphs:
Click Here
The Name An organization's name tells the reader a great deal about the organization. "Bill's Pizza and Soda" tells the hungry person that the store sells pizza and soda to eat. B'nai Ohr Beth Tefilah's name tells the reader that their congregation does not have a solid grasp of Hebrew. If you look at their web-page, they claim that their name means "Children of Light House of Prayer." Here is the link to their site so you can see this:
Click Here So what is the problem? Well, their name is grammatically incorrect. To properly say "Children of Light House of Prayer", you would say "Beth Tefilat B'nai Ohr." B'nai Ohr has the grammar reveresed and leaves out the "t" at the end of "Tefilah", demonstrating a poor grasp of Hebrew grammar. A real Jewish group would not have a name that is grammatically incorrect!
Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here
An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here Countermissionary Counseling
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Jews for Judaism Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Torah Atlanta
Outreach Judaism
Torah Life and Living Great Sites, Priceless Information
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Outreach Judaism Counter Missionary Reference Torah Atlanta Messianic Verses in Tanach Kosher Judaism Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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