My teachers: Who I’ve learned from in faith and politics

I was recently at a beautiful multi-congregation Sukkot event and was surprised by the number of people are celebrating Sukkot for the very first time. There are many people – often, Christians who left the church – who are finding renewal in Torah and the Messianic movement.

Some of these Messianic newbies asked me about ministries I’d recommend. Michael Rood? First Fruits of Zion? 119 Ministries?

Having been in the Messianic movement for effectively my entire 33 years of existence, I’ve come to witness good fruit from certain ministries and individuals, while others produce little or no fruit. Through it all, I’ve come to trust several Messianic ministries and teachers as people who are faithful to the Scriptures, engage with Jewish and Christian scholarship, temper the sensationlism that too often characterizes Hebrew Roots Christianity, excise the cruft of Messianic Judaism religion-emulation, and major on the important matters of faith.

These are the individuals and ministries that have had the most impact on my faith over the years, people I’ve come to trust. You’d do well to learn from them.

Faith

• Messianic Apologetics
  Scripturally-sound, balanced teaching engaged with Christian and Jewish scholarship. Messianic apologist J.K. McKee and his ministry defends and advances a pro-Messiah, pro-Torah faith in the God of Israel from a position of conservative Biblical scholarship. Sees believers joined with the Jewish people as part of an enlarged commonwealth of Israel. Has an excellent Frequently Asked Question section answering a wide variety of Messianic-minded questions.
• Torah Resource
  Tim Hegg, Rob Van Hoff, and a host of mature, theologically-trained teachers expound on the Bible through articles, books, videos and podcasts. Avoids the sensationalism of Hebrew Roots and the religion-emulation of Messianic Judaism. Advocates for a Torah-observant faith through Messiah. I enjoy their podcast, The Rob & Caleb Show, where they tackle relevant issues in the Messianic and Hebrew Roots worlds.
• Messianic Publications
  Laying a firm foundation in Messiah and Torah. Apologetics, study, articles and more from a host of guests from the independent Messianic movement, both Jewish and gentiles believers. Recent articles include opinion pieces like Christianity vs. Judaism: A False Dichotomy, apologetics resources like It is often said: 2000 years of Christianity cannot be wrong, and 64 reasons to keep the 7th day sabbath.
• InterFaithfulness
  The Messianic Jewish agenda stated concisely and articulately by the inimitable Messianic Jewish pioneer, Rabbi Stuart Dauermann. While his calling and focus is specifically towards Jewish people, I find his talking points broadly applicable and intellectually provocative. Argues for the “More Jewish Jesus” – a Messiah who is halachically Torah-observant and calls Jews to become better Jews.
• David's Tent
  Wisdom on world events from Israeli believers Avner & Rachel Boskey. Prophetic look at Israel, the Church and the nations. Avoids the wild-eyed end times nuttiness of many other eschatology-focused ministries.
• Dr. Michael Schiffman
  Real wisdom. Lessons gleaned through life. Messianic Jewish Rabbi and Chevra Humanitarian founder Dr. Michael Schiffman writes frankly on struggles, life stories, wisdom, charity, and more.

I’ve learned a great deal from the above ministries and teachers.

That isn’t to say I’ve learned nothing from others – including my parents, my Messianic real-life friends, and local Messianic congregation. Nor does this list imply I endorse 100% of the above. Rather, the ministries and people listed above have demonstrated over several years to have a remarkably high wisdom-to-junk ratio,, high enough to say, “These are ministries Messianic believers would do well to learn from.”

Politics

As a political conservative who desires to see Judeo-Christian values remain foundational to Western civilization, I’ve been positively influenced by conservative Jewish voices Dennis Prager and Ben Shapiro:

• Dennis Prager and Prager University
  Dennis Prager is a reasoned, articulate voice for goodness, faith, and Judeo-Christian civilization. He is a political talk show host for over 3 decades. His recent work, Prager University, produces short 5 minute videos on culture, politics, faith, and more from a Jewish conservative viewpoint. Changing minds one video at a time. Check out the Prager University YouTube Channel. His nationally syndicated radio show is a rare gem of wisdom on life, faith, male and female differences, marriage, human sexuality, God, Israel, the United States.
• Ben Shapiro
  Sharp and reasoned, this young Jewish conservative firebrand combats the errs of leftism, holds principle over party, and is a powerful voice for Judeo-Christian values. Editor of The Daily Wire news. His Ben Shapiro Show daily podcast is a goldmine of political rationality, a razor’s edge of hard reality in a feelings-based, politically-correct climate: “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”

News

Folks also ask me about trustworthy news sources on Israel. There are a few that I cautiously learn from:

• Times of Israel
  Moderate news source on the land and people of Israel. Avoides the self-destructive, leftist politics of Haaretz. More balanced than YNet or Jerusalem Post; fewer ads too.
• Kehila News 
  Stories, teachings, news, musings from Messianic believers in Israel.

Do you have teachers or news organizations that you've learned from and have come to trust?  Let us know in the comments.