Nachi Gordon sits down with Sam Gordon (no relation), who spent 30 years as an evangelical pastor in Nigeria and South Africa, leading congregations of over a thousand people and preaching to followers across Africa. In 2011, a dream he couldn’t shake set him on a path of pro-Israel rallies and conferences across Africa, until a Jewish tour guide in Nazareth told him, “We could be friends, but not brothers.”
Sam shares the book he found on the flight home that changed everything, keeping Shabbos and kosher in secret with his family, the Sunday he shut down his own church, being turned away by the Beth Din three times, and how his whole family, along with 17 people from his former congregation, converted. Today he lives in Har Nof and is finishing his smicha.
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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:48 Sam Gordon’s Roots in Nigeria
5:03 Thirty Years as a Pastor and a Following Across Africa
8:51 The 2011 Dream: “It Is Time for Israel”
13:06 Searching for Answers and a Pro-Israel Conference in Norway
18:10 Rallies for Israel and the Africa Israel Initiative
24:49 Fighting Replacement Theology and Bringing Bishops to Israel
27:22 “We Could Be Friends, But Not Brothers”
29:06 An Identity Crisis and Two Chasidim on the Plane
32:02 Reading Every Jewish Book Sam Gordon Could Find
35:09 “I See Myself on the Pages”: Jewish Customs in a Nigerian Tribe
38:35 Keeping Shabbos and Kosher in Secret
41:50 The Zionist Federation and Feeling the Void at Church
42:36 “No More Jesus”: Chaos in the Congregation
44:07 Quitting Christianity Means Quitting a 30-Year Career
50:12 “I’m Sick and Tired of Living This Way”
52:26 Shutting Down the Church
54:04 Congregants Join and the Road to the Beth Din
57:52 Converting as a Family, Plus 17 More
58:58 Making Aliyah and Life in Har Nof
1:02:57 A Bracha From Rav Shalom Arush and How the Kids Handled It
1:05:33 Writing the Book and the People Sam Gordon’s Story Inspired
1:08:16 Closing and Meaningful Minute Plus