It was a hot summer day in 1995 when young Rabbi Marty Waldman, Secretary General of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC), was sitting in his office in Dallas, Texas, preparing a teaching on Acts 15—about the Council in Jerusalem. There, he had a "vision." Rabbi Marty saw a need for another Council in Jerusalem. This Second Council should revisit and redress the outcomes of the First. This time, the Gentiles would have to welcome back the Jews as their Older Brothers.
Rabbi Waldman, pastor of one of the largest Messianic congregations in the USA, contacted his closest Messianic and Christian friends to hear their opinion. All of them were in favor. "This is from God," they said. A group of pioneers began preparations for such an event to be realized within the next 10 years. The title of the project was to be: "Jerusalem Council II."
This hope for a quick fulfillment shifted into ecclesial realism when, a year later, a Catholic priest and theologian—Msgr. Dr. Peter Hocken—and an Anglican Canon—Dr. Brian Cox—joined the group. Their knowledge about the extended timeline of preparations for such convocations of all of Christianity, including the historic Churches, suggested the need for an addition to the title of the initiative. The name of the initiative was thus changed to: "Towards Jerusalem Council II."
In 1997, the group began a tour through Europe to meet with Church leaders and to visit places of significant Jewish suffering. A key encounter during the tour occurred when the group met Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna. Deeply moved personally by the witness of the Messianic leaders, the Cardinal opened the door for further meetings with high representatives of the Catholic Church. Subsequent pilgrimages led the group to Spain, Rome, Istanbul/Constantinople, Nicaea, Auschwitz, and Israel.
In the year 2000, the initiative adopted its current structure. TJCII is led by an International Council of Leaders (ILC), one half representing the different parts of the Messianic movement, the other half representing the many Churches and streams within Christianity. From the beginning, TJCII intentionally sought to be a prophetic sign of a unity that is both solid and broad—between the different Messianic parties and many Christian denominations. TJCII has always aimed to integrate representatives of all the main historic and independent churches, as well as the various streams within the Messianic movement. The members of the ILC are committed to one another through a covenant relationship, devoting their lives to this task and to journeying together. They meet at least once a year in Jerusalem. Four members of the ILC—the International Executive—coordinate the work of the initiative throughout the year, helping to implement the decisions taken by the ILC.
The Vision of TJCII – The One New Man
At the center of the initiative stands the vision of Ephesians 2: the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the one Body of Messiah. The atonement of the cross removed the barrier in principle, bridged the rift between the two. His sacrificial death tore down the wall of division between the people of the covenant and the nations longing for God's Kingdom to come.
This work of the Messiah must be completed through the realization of this relationship on all levels and dimensions of communitarian life. Reconciliation must be lived out in the one Body of Messiah and in every possible context where Jews and Gentiles share faith and life together.
This One New Man vision is the down payment and foundation for the restoration of peace and unity among humankind. As has already been expressed: as long as these two parts of the Body of Messiah remain separated, much of our striving for reconciliation between denominations and people groups will remain only a piece of the puzzle.
The healing of the first split is key to reconciliation within both the Church and the world. Even though many other important issues are indirectly connected to the work of TJCII—how we relate to the debate about Eretz Israel; how we understand Zionism; how peace might come to the Middle East; and other related topics—we choose to concentrate on this One New Man issue as our single, unwavering focus.
A Moving Tabernacle
Whenever TJCII begins its work in a new region of the world, the ILC meets there together. The experience is very often the same: at these gatherings, Christian leaders from most of the denominations present in the region experience something of this "unity"— according to the One New Man mystery described in Ephesians 2.
In a prophetic way, the ILC already represents the future unity of Jew and Gentile. It seems that the Spirit indwelling this prophetic sign is able to soften and still even long-term conflicts between Christian churches—at least for the moment—as a sign of hope.
The Elders of Jerusalem
The ILC works closely together with a group of Messianic Jewish Elders in Jerusalem and from the land of Israel. This group of leaders must be the welcoming partner for the ILC, enabling the work to be built on solid relationships and developed trust with the Messianic leaders in the Land.
At present, four Messianic pastors—Benjamin Berger, Marcel Rebiai, Daniel Juster, and Avi Mizrachi—coordinate this collaboration between the ILC and its counterpart in Israel.
As important as the relationships with the Jewish partners in Israel are, they can also be challenging when some Messianic Israelis express deep mistrust—especially toward the participation of Catholic or Orthodox representatives within the ILC. There is often a fear of being dominated by these large Church bodies and their history of theologically problematic teaching.
The International TJCII Office in Dallas
The Messianic-Jewish Synagogue Baruch HaShem in Dallas, Texas, played a significant role in developing this initiative from the very beginning. Today, Rabbi Marty Waldman continues to serve as the Secretary General of TJCII, and his staff oversees the international operations. This includes a Board of Directors responsible for financial oversight. As the work develops across other continents, it becomes necessary to establish regional offices equipped with appropriate staff and infrastructure.
Intercession
As TJCII is, first and foremost, a spiritual initiative, intercession is central to all its activities. This kind of reconciliation must overcome enormous demonic barriers. In every TJCII region, the formation of a group of committed intercessors is the first step we take. For this role, we recruit not merely highly emotionally motivated "Israel-fans," but rather mature believers from both sides--those with deep experience in intercession and spiritual warfare. The primary purpose of these intercessory groups is to engage in prayer against the spiritual strongholds connected to Jewish history in the particular nation or region where TJCII operates.
Theology
In each region, we seek to form a group of theologians who can "translate" the overall vision for the unity of Jew and Gentile in one Church into the theological "language" of that particular culture and/or the theology of the respective Christian denomination. The more we are able to articulate our theological focus with solid arguments—in academic terms—the better equipped we are to engage in difficult confrontations with Church leaders and theologians. Producing this kind of theological literature is one of the primary tasks of the "Theological Working Groups."
Diplomatic Work
The theological understanding has to be brought to the attention of those making decisions—both in the Church and in society. The goal is to convince them and to invite their collaboration. This means cultivating relationships with these opinion leaders, earning their interest and respect, and ultimately winning them to our cause.
Promotion
While the diplomatic work must often be accomplished in a discreet atmosphere, expanding the work of TJCII still requires a measure of publicity. A rather broad group of people must be reached with the message. Conferences, consultations, public discussions, booklets and brochures, informational evenings--whether on academic ground or in congregations—and media work all help to promote the One New Man cause. We are often confronted with the emotional question: "why haven't we heard about this foundational truth earlier?" A particular task is to win the Messianic circles in Israel, which is difficult enough. Even more difficult is the effort to convince Arab-Christian circles.
Working on all Continents
In light of historic, cultural, and linguistic differences, we must establish the work of TJCII across all continents and sub-continents.
In Europe, we have established an office in Vienna—at the geographic heart of the continent—with Austria serving a special bridge-building role between East and West, within a nation that carries a particularly difficult history with the Jewish people. We have now formed "National TJCII teams" and intercessory groups in approximately 16 European countries. These teams work in an interrelated yet self-governing manner, in recognition of the significant linguistic challenges we face across Europe. There is close collaboration between these national teams, the European director, and the office in Vienna.
TJCII North America is coordinated from the International Office in Dallas, Texas. There are several regional TJCII centers across the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico.
The work in South America must respect the language barrier between the Spanish speaking nations and Brazil. Brazil and Argentina are the countries where TJCII is most firmly established. In Brazil, the Messianic partners of TJCII are all connected through the largest Messianic congregation in the city of Belo Horizonte, which is especially focused on ministry among Marrano descendants. The TJCII leadership in Brazil includes well-known Christian "bridge-builders," among them members of the Protestant Sisterhood of Mary, who have embraced the vision and recognized how profoundly this One New Man policy could contribute to healing the religious divisions between Catholics and Evangelicals across the subcontinent.
In Asia, for several decades now, there has been a growing interest among the many Christian streams in the role of Israel as such—and in the reconciliation work of TJCII in particular. In the beginning, entire mega-churches, large congregations, house church movements, and influential Christian universities in South Korea were eager to collaborate with TJCII. Beyond South Korea, a growing number of groups in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan have shown increasing interest.
In recent years, a deepening connection has emerged with the Chinese Church and its "Back to Jerusalem Movement." Many Christians from the Pacific Islands feel profoundly drawn to Messianic Jews as representatives of the "First Nation." Each year, during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, around 1000 delegates travel to Jerusalem to honor the "Older Brother" at the conference known as "Welcome the King of Glory".
The work in Australia began shortly before the first publication of this book, around the year 2016.
The work in Africa flows from a particular intercession initiative in Nairobi, Kenya, known as the Vanguard Movement. Because the leader of this group, Elisabeth Kamau, is an Anglican deacon, many of our TJCII contacts in the region are with Anglican leaders in the neighboring countries. Among Christians in Africa, there exists a particularly strong identification with the Jewish people and their relationship to African believers.
The "Now Generation"
The future of TJCII rests, to a high degree, on a movement of young leaders known as the "Now Generation." What began as an initiative of young men and women in Europe—identifying with the One New Man vision—now draws increasing numbers of young adults in their 30s and 40s to support the work of the "Fathers and Mothers" of TJCII at every level. Many of them are already serving as Missionaries of TJCII to their generation.
