Shane Bennett

You know what’s really cool? A pleasantly surprised pastor. Of course, pastors get surprised all the time: “A long term member has died. Can you do the funeral tomorrow?” “Did I tell you the kids are singing this morning so your sermon will need to be shorter!” And the ever popular, “We were going to give you a cost of living increase, but we decided to switch to fair trade organic coffee in the cafe instead!”

Here’s a challenge for the Muslim Connect tribe: Let’s pleasantly surprise our pastors by requesting this week three prayer times for Muslims over the coming months. However your church arranges to pray for special issues, either in a bulletin, from the front, or in a newsletter, ask for three of those slots. Tell your pastor you’ll provide great content for prayer, including the exact word count requested, a couple really nice slides and even a short video.

Here are four occasions to choose from. My approach is, “Ask for three, settle for two!”

Ramadan begins on April 2. Maybe your pastor would spring for a prayer guide for everyone. Maybe you could provide some prayer prompts on Sunday April 3, the second day of Ramadan. It goes for a month, so there’s wiggle room with this one!

Eid al-Fitr marks the celebratory end of Ramadan and happens on Monday, May 2-3. Let’s request a church-wide prayer slot on Sunday May 1st as Muslims end Ramadan and begin the Eid celebration.

Eid al-Adha, honoring Abraham’s obedience in offering his son for sacrifice, happens on Saturday, July 9th through Sunday the 10th. Let’s pray that Sunday morning for Muslims to understand the full symbolic weight of that story.

Finally, Sunday, June 5th is the International Day For The Unreached. Maybe go ahead and ask to preach that Sunday! If (when?) you get a “no,” settle for an all church prayer emphasis.

Let me know which of these slots you secure and maybe we can share ideas for killer content.

I’m recording a fun training talk with the head of GFM Ministries tomorrow. If you register here, you’ll be sent the link when the talk goes live later in the day. Thanks for giving it a shot.

Please see the special note at the end of this email.

When my Lyft driver’s name popped up as “Noor,” I was pretty excited and a little surprised! I was aware that the name means “light,” but had only known it as a girl’s name and the driver was clearly a dude! Well, lesson number one.

We hopped in and headed out. Like a good driver, Noor asked where we’re from. In my mind that gives me a free pass to ask him back.

“I’m from here, but you mean where my family is from? From Afghanistan.”

To which I replied, “Ah, wonderful. I really wish I knew some Dari.”

Well, that uncorked some emotion. And lesson number two!

It was an honest blunder for me. I was trying to show that I at least knew the name of a language in Afghanistan, trying to establish some rapport. Showing off!

Noor gave me a quick overview of the history of Afghanistan, the influence of Wahhabism, and the importance of calling the language by its real name, Farsi.

While I lack sufficient background to put his words into proper context, it was fascinating to hear Noor’s views and to sense the passion that accompanied them. I also got confirmation that Farsi-speaking Afghans celebrate Nowruz. That’s motivating me to help host a party come late March!

The conversation had to end when we reached our destination. As we piled out of the minivan, Noor leaned over and said, “Not one in a hundred people care to hear about Afghanistan. Thank you.”

Here’s the point, God used my bumbling, self-aggrandizing efforts to accomplish at least two things: Increasing my understanding of the Afghan immigrant world and blessing one dear representative of it. Yay for God, Noor and me!

This is the last week of my semi-annual invitation to give to help Muslim Connect grow and go forward (I’m aiming for 5000 subscribers this year!). If you’ve found value in Muslim Connect please consider donating here (under “Staff” and choose “Shane Bennett”). Half of the funds that come in from this invitation will be passed on to help Afghans as they resettle in the U.S. Thank you.

Please see the special note at the end of this email.

Life emerges from blood, sweat and tears; from hopes, desires and fears. Mary delivering Jesus in a strange, but warm and safe place, provides one of the most endearing images of Christmas.

I stood on the sidelines of the sweetest nativity re-enactment this past week. Our church had over a few weeks collected the furnishings to outfit an apartment in a nearby city for a family who’d been evacuated from Afghanistan. Delivery day came and we hauled the cargo to the newly rented apartment.

It would be home to three brothers and the expectant wife of one of them. A cousin worked for the US military, putting the entire extended family in the sights of the Taliban. Eleven of them are now here, but 30 remain in hiding in Afghanistan.

Sixteen hours after we dropped off the cargo, the wife graduated to mom status and welcomed the newest Afghan-American to the world.

My buds and I were the donkeys on the periphery of this nativity. And darn happy to be so.

As we celebrate Jesus’s birth in the next few days, with gusto I hope, may the Holy Spirit remind us to breathe a prayer for those navigating new lives like the holy family of long ago.

Twice a year I invite Muslim Connect readers to contribute to the success and growth of this email. If you’ve found value in Muslim Connect please consider giving a year end gift here (under “Staff” and choose “Shane Bennett”). Half of the funds that come in over the next three weeks will be passed on to help Afghans, possibly the family above, as they resettle in US. Thank you.

If you had two words to describe your ideal Christmas, what would they be? Where would you land if asked to describe this particular Christmas season in two words? For me: Busy and blessed. I’m feeling so much of God’s goodness these days.

But I wonder what Muslims living in a non-Muslim country experience during Christmas. What is allowed, what is forbidden and how hard is it to explain all that to your kids?

If we take a chance and invite a Muslim friend to a Christmas dinner or party or maybe even a Christmas Eve service at church, could they, would they come?

Here is a video in which a Muslim teacher, with grace and empathy, says Muslims, “. . . can do things during the Christmas season that are Muslim things to do, because we believe in Jesus, on whom be peace, and we believe in having decent, halal fun.”

In this second video, the teacher is pretty snarky and reminds me how I don’t want to preach, write or answer honest questions! He says a Muslim should not even say “Merry Christmas!”

Finally, the “Official Website of the Ahmadiyya,” who I’ve found to be some of the nicest people ever give us, “Six reasons Muslims – or anyone – should not celebrate Christmas!” Bah Humbug!

As you would guess the views are various, and I suppose their actual implementation is even more so. It all makes it pretty hard for me to imagine what it’s like to be a Muslim in the U.S. this time of year.

Similarly, I wonder what these weeks are like for our Christian sisters and brothers living in non-Christian countries like Hindu India, Muslim Indonesia or largely secular France.

Let’s pray for them both. The good news the angels shared with the shepherds is good news for outsiders everywhere. And if you get a chance, lean toward adventure: Invite some Muslims to a Christmas event and see how it goes!

If you have a story of inviting a Muslim to your house, I’d love to hear it. I’m writing an article about this next week and your story would be helpful! Thank you. 

You’ve heard the story, right? Maybe you’ve seen the video. (Or an earlier one.) Congresswoman Lauren Boebert from Colorado made a joke suggesting the only hijab-wearing member of Congress, Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, is a terrorist.

I’m curious: What was your initial reaction when you heard? For me it was a mix of anger, sadness and embarrassment, due in part to a weird mix of commonality with Boebert: She’s the representative for my district, we both claim to be Christian and we both speak out about Muslims.

Before I share a couple thoughts and suggest a response, let me make some disclaimers:

1. Yes, I probably am crazy to write about this.
2. No, Ilhan Omar does not need me to defend her. (And to be clear: I’m not defending Omar’s policies and beliefs. I am defending her right to be a person.)
3. I think this would matter less to me if Boebert weren’t vocal about her Christian faith. She referenced it in her apology (20 seconds in).

How should we think about this situation? And as people who love Jesus, is there action to be taken?

For starters, it wouldn’t kill me to take a quick check up on my own loyalties. I’d like to say I’m most loyal to Jesus, then country and family, but he and I both know it’s often my own sweet self at the top of the list.

Secondly, for anyone who claims to be a Christian, there’s no free pass based on, “Well, she did really bad things first!” We’re not talking to a seven year old about why he hit his sister.

What can we do? We can heed Paul’s admonition, “that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made. . . for kings and all those in authority. . . .” We can vote. We can train our kids to love like Jesus and attack ideas, not people.

What do Muslims do for Thanksgiving? Well, most of them probably go to work or school. But what about the several million who live in the U.S.? Do families celebrate with get togethers and eating halal turkey? Do they watch football? Presumably Robert Saleh will. He’s the head coach of the New York Jets and a Muslim of Lebanese descent. Even though no matter which of the six teams playing today win, he’ll still be second to last in the league!

Khalil Abdur-Rashid the Muslim Chaplain at Harvard University says, “Thanksgiving. . .affords people who are normally heedless and forgetful of the myriad of blessings, of which we are recipients, to at least once a year acknowledge those blessings. Consequently, Thanksgiving, while not directly legislated by Islam, is at least in essence compliant with the spirit of Islam.”

He goes on, “In most houses, the practice of circling the dinner table with family, expressing what we are thankful for, and why we are thankful for it, is a way of not only expressing thanks to Allah, but also declaring and announcing our gratitude to others. It is an expression of the verse in the Quran, “And as for the blessings (ni’mat) of your Lord, proclaim them!” (Quran 93:11).”

You are a blessing! I’m thankful to God for you and grateful to you for reading Muslim Connect. 

Maybe there are some Muslims on the way to celebrate Thanksgiving at your house right now, maybe tomorrow, maybe Christmas or next year. That would be a blessing to them and to you and your family. I’m grateful for that as well.

The Arabic word madrasa basically means a place for education. Outside of Arabic speaking countries it has come to refer particularly to institutions focused on Islamic training. As you’d guess, there’s huge diversity in the theology and purpose of various madrasas.

Years ago some friends and I were taken to lunch after Friday prayers to a madrasa in Malaysia. As we sat on the floor, feasting on a mountain of yummy chicken and rice, a young student put his missionary training into action: With earnest sincerity he put his hand on my pastor’s knee, looked in his eyes and said, “Brother, become a Muslim.” That will leave a mark, pretty much whoever you are!

Madrasas in many parts of the world serve similar purposes for young Muslims as AWANA does for kids in evangelical churches. I think AWANA has a leg up on most madrasas in that kids can memorize scripture in the language they speak! Muslim kids usually memorize the Quran in Arabic. They learn how to say it, but maybe not what they’re saying!

Think about why you take (or might take) your kids to Sunday School, youth group or AWANA. Probably most Muslim moms and dads have similar motivation. They want their offspring to grow up and live out the faith. They want good and respectable kids.

If you grew up in church, maybe you remember early Sunday School days. One of the first people ever to teach me how to follow Jesus was Ethel Smith. Her face deeply wrinkled, breath smelling like Sen Sen, it was fifty years ago she taught our unruly class and I’ve never forgotten.

The good people at PrayerCast.com just released a beautiful video in which a former Muslim leads viewers in prayer for kids and adults in madrasas. Will you watch it and pray with me for the winsome, kingdom work of Jesus to break loose in madrasas all over.

Much thanks to those who responded to the questions in last week’s Muslim Connect, “Muslims Are Trouble.” I appreciate you. It’s not too late to weigh in, if you wish.