Religion in the Valley: Cult or calling?

Messianic Christianity growing rapidly, leader says

By Tricia Pursell

Thousands of little-known home groups and congregations across the globe are in the midst of observing Rosh Hashanah — the “Jewish New Year,” which began at sundown Friday.

But these observers are not necessarily of Jewish descent. They call themselves Messianic Israelites. Others call them Messianic Christians.

“We believe the Scriptures teach we should believe in Jesus, or Yahshua, and keep the commandments, too,” said Miles Wilson, of Watsontown. He and his wife, Dina, have been facilitating a Messianic group at their home since 2000, and three years ago came under the umbrella of the Messianic Israel Alliance, of Tennessee, founded in 1999.

On a recent Saturday, approximately 30 observers from across Central Pennsylvania gathered under a tent in his yard, as Wilson blew a ram’s horn to begin the service. They named the 12 tribes of Israel as they faced the south, north, east and the west.

“Shama tshuba,” they said as they turned in each direction.

The words mean “Hear, repent and return.”

They then began to sing. Several left the tent to gather in a circle for a Davidic dance, jumping and clapping to the beat. Later, they broke out tambourines and danced again.

The group meets regularly to celebrate the commanded feasts as found in the Old Testament — Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles and Yom Kippur, to name a few.

These Christians’ Sabbath falls on Saturdays.

And they eat kosher foods.

“You can learn about it, but the best way is through keeping it,” said Wilson, a former Baptist.

However, they do not keep such practices out of obligation for salvation. Grace through Jesus Christ alone is what gives them the promise of eternal life, they believe.

“We see the danger in people trying to earn their salvation,” Wilson said.

“I do it out of love,” said his wife, Dina.

Just like parents set rules to protect their children, so God, or Yahweh, has laws for a reason.

“I don’t have to do them,” she said, “but I do them because I love Him.”

Following the Law — the first five books of the Old Testament — is a part of meeting with the heavenly Father and being obedient to His word, she said.

Jesus, or Yahshua, came to fulfill the Law, they say, not to end it.

“He (God) couldn’t possibly have been cherry-picking,” Wilson said. “He couldn’t possibly have meant the Law was to come to an end at the cross.”

Since 2001, Bob and Cheryl Schechterly, of Bloomsburg — who lead a Messianic teaching group called Honoring Israel in Solidarity (HIS Ministry) — have been to Israel five times.

“When we were there for the first time, the Holy Spirit just started speaking to our hearts to go back to the basics, to the root of who Jesus is,” said Cheryl, raised a Catholic and associated with the Assemblies of God for 20 years. “Once we started praying about that, He just revealed so much in the Scriptures.”

The Schechterlys also meet regularly with about five families to study the Bible and worship Yahweh.

The average age of the attendees is about 50, with all coming to the faith later in life — an unusual concept in most religions.



A “grassroots movement”

Messianic Christianity is a “grassroots movement,” said Scott Diffenderfer, executive director of Messianic Israel Alliance, which supports 10 congregations in Pennsylvania and 130 congregations nationwide. It is one of the large organizations associated with the faith.

“It’s springing up all over,” he said. “At this point, it is fairly exponential in its growth.”

Messianic Israel Alliance is not a denomination, he explained, but rather an organization that helps to facilitate individual Messianic groups seeking direction.

“They are coming in every denomination, every tongue, all nations,” Diffenderfer said. “We’re not threatened by diversity. It actually gives us strength.”

Earlier this month, 1,200 people gathered in Orlando, Fla., for the Messianic Israel Alliance’s annual conference.



Conflict with

the orthodox Church

“Messianics are very affable and affectionate to the Law,” Wilson said. The concepts of the Law were God’s, after all. “We believe it’s natural for people of God to navigate towards these things.”

However, with most Christians in America leaning toward a more Gentile, or non-Jewish, approach in their teachings and beliefs, such practices are unpopular.

“I think the (orthodox) Christian church believes that we’re legalists,” said Angie Gearhart, of New Columbia. She and her husband, Scott, and their six children, join the Wilsons in Watsontown for Saturday services. They have been involved with Messianic groups for the past 10 years.

Through research, they discovered how the Protestant church, over the years, began to change how the first-century Christians practiced their beliefs. Holidays celebrated in orthodox Christian churches, such as Christmas and Easter, Angie said, have their roots in the worship of pagan gods.

“It made us start to question why we are doing all these traditions of the church, when they’re not really found in Scripture,” Angie said. “That’s when we decided to leave the (orthodox Christian) church.”

“Traditional teachings really hold sway,” Wilson said, but, “If you walk the faith of the Bible, it’s going to make you peculiar.”

Many Messianic Christian groups are considered cult-like by mainline Christian denominations.

“People are always threatened by what they don’t understand,” Diffenderfer said, but added, “There is a general dissatisfaction with mainline Christianity.”

“Consciences are being pricked,” Schechterly echoed. “People want to know the truth.”

Said Wilson: “They just don’t know where to go. It’s just a matter of finding each other.”



Seekers called

to “be careful”

Finding the right Messianic group can be tricky.

“We have to be careful, because everything we hear and see, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s from Him,” Schechterly said. “You can get way off base very easily.”

Sincerity is not enough, Wilson said.

“Blind faith is sinful,” he said. “We might want something to be true, but unless you find out true facts, you have to stay objective.”

An article in the Christian Research Journal warns of some Messianic groups verging on being cult-like.

The Assemblies of Yahweh, based in Bethel, Berks County, is one of them, the journal states.

Joseph Dunkelberger, of Milton, is the elder of a local Messianic group that has 42 assemblies, including some in Kenya and India. He was formerly affiliated with the Assemblies of Yahweh, until he said they kicked him out.

“They get very legalistic,” he said. “They seem to go over the Law very heavily, and forget about the Savior.”

Dunkelberger has displayed a couple of signs on Route 15, north of Lewisburg, one calling on what he calls the apostate church: “Come out of her my people,” it reads.

He also writes and prints tracts and makes a point to discuss his faith often with others.

“It’s a progression of following the truth,” he said of the faith.

Approximately 10,000 people in 100 countries are part of the Assemblies of Yahweh, according to Jacob O. Meyer, directing elder and founder, who said Dunkelberger’s group does not have sound doctrine like the Assemblies of Yahweh does.

“I feel like we’re growing, getting bigger,” Meyer said. He began the group in 1966, and has corrected about 40,000 to 50,000 errors in a Revised Standard Version of the Bible, he said.

They do not usually associate with other Messianic groups or other Christian denominations, he said.

“We believe this is sound doctrine, so we stick with our teaching,” Meyer said.

Assemblies of Yahweh members raise as much of their own food as possible, and all the men wear beards. They also have their own radio and television broadcasts.

“I cannot consider them to be a part of the Christian community,” Jim Ritter, pastor of Watsontown Baptist Church, said of the Assemblies of Yahweh. “Should Christians beware of this group? Yeah, definitely.”

“They say some very nice, almost flowery, things about Jesus,” he said. “But it’s about what they don’t say.”

Groups such as Dunkelberger’s, and the Assemblies of Yahweh, are run as a sort of dictatorship with no accountability or oversight, he said. “Then,” he said, “the mechanics are in place for abuse of power and control.”

When a group sets itself up as a lone ranger group, he said, “I start getting nervous. It’s the makings of a cult.”

-- E-mail comments to tpursell@dailyitem.com

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