I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to invalidate the writings of a fine Messianic Jew and personal friend, Stan Telchin.  In his book "Messianic Judaism Is Not Christianity" (Chosen Books, 2004) Telchin argues that Messianic Judaism is not biblically sound.  While his arguments can easily be refuted by anyone who makes the effort to examine modern Messianic Judaism, I feel I must rebut some specific issues.  These concerns affect me directly since I have the dubious honor of being one of the most extensively quoted persons in Telchin's book.  I have also been personally involved in events that he mentions.

I consider my credentials sufficient to reply to Telchin's arguments for the following reasons: First, Telchin himself names me as "one of the leaders of the Messianic movement" (p.101), and says "As one who holds an international office and is deeply involved in the Messianic movement, Sedaca has made some powerful statements" (p. 103). Second, in my various roles in the movement I have been instrumental in its evolution from Hebrew Christianity to Messianic Judaism. Third, as Telchin asserts, I played a prominent role in Messianic Judaism.  Until recently I was the Executive Secretary and CEO of the International Hebrew Christian Alliance (IHCA) and instrumental in its transition into the International Messianic Jewish Alliance (IMJA). Because of the nature of my offices, I have also had the honor of visiting the most Messianic Jewish congregations in the world.  Telchin admits that his conclusions are based on observations of a few congregations and I could not disagree more with his conclusions.

I am also an ordained Baptist pastor, having served in that capacity in six churches. The problems that Telchin singles out in Messianic Jewish congregations are the same we experience in our churches, yet none denies the validity of the church!

In pages 103 and 104 of Telchin's book, he quotes from a paper I delivered at the 2003 North American Conference of the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, "Outreach Through Messianic Jewish Congregations - A History and Insight For Today." While the quotations are correct, they are selective and misleading. The premise of my paper was not to deny the validity of evangelistic efforts by Messianic Jewish congregations but to point out the need to improve the effectiveness of outreach.

While I recognize that Messianic Jewish congregations are not as effective as they should be in reaching the Jewish people, I do not consider that this denies the validity of Messianic Jewish congregations, as Telchin does.  Most importantly, I have always believed and continue to affirm the important role that Messianic Jewish congregations play in reaching the Jews with Messiah's message.  This is clearly stated in the opening paragraph of the aforementioned paper where I state that "... the modern Messianic Jewish congregation is the place and the channel to bring the Gospel 'to the Jew first'."