sbc_and_reformed,
In reply to:
[color:"blue"]Is Jews for Jesus as rabbinical as these others?
My wife is a Jewish Christian originally from Philadelphia, so we have had quite a bit of exposure to various "congregations" and also missions to Jews over the years. In her early years as a Christian, Susan attended a congregation in Philly--not the one in the article--which was heavily "rabbinic", with way too much authority granted to its founder. This group, like others we have heard of, was a synergism of Jewish ceremonial ritual, including post-Biblical traditions, with emphasis upon additional faith in Y'shua to enable one to be a "completed Jew". She left after being warned that if she started visiting churches or using the name "Jesus" she was in danger of being "assimilated" as a Gentile. The Lord used a reading of Galatians to show her that such a group is in fact led by modern-day "Judaizers". Their refusal to sever ties with the unbelieving community, which they pragmatically defend as "enabling them to reach more Jews, instead of driving them away", is rooted in a refusal to be associated with the offense of the cross (sorry, that is a forbidden word: I think it is something like "the wooden device formerly used for execution").
We have not seen Jews for Jesus following the same pattern. For one thing, they consider themselves a missions organization, rather than a denomination. They are committed to connecting interested parties, with whom they speak, to local churches. Of the leaders we have known and occasionally worked with over the years, there has been a range of theological maturity and orthodoxy. A dear friend who is currently starting a new work in Germany (of all places!), while in the States, belongs to a decidedly Reformed (in the Christian sense, lest there be any mistake) church of our denomination, and is clearly not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whatever faults and errors the group as a whole is prone to, however, I would have to say that the rabbinical approach is not one of them.