Shane Bennett

I got a call today asking me to consider not showing the halftime show during our church’s Super Bowl party this Sunday. Apparently Bad Bunny really is!

I’m not sure what’s right or wrong on this, but I’m confident the safer route for me as a pastor is to not show it. But then I also think, it’s safer to not even have a Super Bowl Party. And honestly, it’s probably safer not to have a youth group. No kids get hurt, messed up or misled on my watch if I have no watch! 

This ends up landing me here: It’s always safer on the couch. 

Not sure if you should show the HT show? Don’t have the party and avoid the decision.

Nervous about a new relationship? Don’t engage. Stay on the couch. 

Didn’t finish your “Read Through the Bible in a Year” program last year? Stay on the couch and keep your Bible on the night stand this year. Much safer to not start than to fail again.

The maxim is also a good antidote to involvement with Muslims. 

If you’re considering a new effort to connect with or bless Muslims, let me be clear: It’s safer to stay on the couch than it is to introduce yourself to someone, to advocate for Muslims’ welfare within your church, to visit a Muslim city, and the couch is certainly safer than relocating yourself and your family to a distant Muslim neighborhood. (And asking people to give you money to do so!)

So why do we do it? Why do we care about Muslims? Why do we, at least slightly and temporarily, set safety aside and get off the couch?

Paul captures the why in Romans 15.16 “God gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God. . . .” 

Like Paul, we’re given grace so we can offer the living God to Muslims. And then, grace upon grace, we offer Muslims to the living God! Muslims get the life they need. God gets the worship he wants and deserves.

Join me in resisting the safety of the couch?

PS: If you want to tell me what to do about the halftime show, I’m listening!

Ramadan, the annual month of fasting for Muslims, begins on (or around!) February 18th. 

You could recognize this time in any number of ways:

1. Move to a Muslim country for the rest of your life. No time like Ramadan to start that!
2. Take a group of friends to pray on site in a Muslim city! Choosing to go pray among the Muslims of Norilsk, Russia would be advantageous if you plan to fast with them. Since the sun rises at 9:18 AM and sets at 5:25 PM there this February and Muslims only fast during daylight hours, your task would be less arduous than for most.
3. Fast for a day or two or 28! You probably know more than me about fasting, but I know this much: A grumbly tummy serves as a good reminder to pray!
4. Speaking of prayer: Praying for Muslims, and inviting others to join you, are two of the best things you can do to mark Ramadan. Check out #5 on the list, then I’ll share some ways to pray.
5. If it’s possible, hang out with Muslims! Invite other non-Muslims to do so with you. Ramadan is a time of great hospitality and unusual spiritual openness. Ask God to connect you to Muslims with whom you can walk through Ramadan.

Prayer Ideas
Grab a pdf version of the excellent, perennial 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World or get one (hundred!) in print from faithful Muslim Connect reader John at Bibles for the World. 

I’m planning to make these available at my church and around. This might create a bit of a ruckus there and at your church. Maybe you could ask for some space in the bulletin or on the website to put a weekly prayer request. This could be low key provocative, but I think it’s a righteous ruckus! 

Finally, give a listen to Jeannie Marie’s just uploaded podcast about Ramadan. She’s way smarter than me! Great info, winsomely presented. 

Now go make a righteous ruckus! 

I felt some regret Monday when my current favorite devotional, Lectio 365, featured a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. This reminded me I’d said nothing to acknowledge the holiday at church on Sunday. It doesn’t help that Lectio 365 is from Britain! (Well, it does help me be humble!)

The devotional quoted a speech King gave in Memphis the night before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Have you heard of it? It’s come to be known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” and it rocks. I’m aware that MLK’s record is not roundly viewed as without blemish. I’m no expert on that. As an aging career mobilizer however, I feel a little expertise in the realm of mobilization: This speech is fantastic. 

Moving toward his conclusion, King referenced Jesus’s parable of the Good Samaritan, “And so the first question that the priest asked — the first question that the Levite asked was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’”

As you may have experienced, there’s real, though for most of us mild, risk in advocating for Muslims. What will happen if we do? People may squawk, misunderstand and disparage.

King goes on, “But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

Paraphrasing King’s call for fair pay for Black sanitation workers in Memphis, I would ask, “If we don’t stop to help Muslims learn of the love of God in Christ, what will become of them?” 

King wrapped his sermon with this, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. . . .I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”

We too have been to a mountaintop. It’s called Revelation 7.9 and we’ve seen some from every Muslim tribe, tongue, people and nation standing before the throne and before the Lamb. God will accomplish his purposes, and by some gorgeous grace, he’s invited us to join him. Praise God and thank you, Dr. King for the encouragement.

PS: Fun news: Get this, I had a chance this afternoon, at a memorial service, no less, to use the three words of Farsi that you and I learned last week in Muslim Connect. (Check it out, if you’ve not seen it yet!) It was super fun and kind of silly, but an elderly Bahai Persian dude asked me to pray for him afterward, so I’m saying a win. If you want, join me in asking Jesus to meet him before his journey on earth comes to an end.

The list of things I cannot control is long, diverse and seemingly multiplying! And now, outside of the mysterious and powerful tool of prayer and the part of my taxes that go to pay for the US military machine, I am powerless to control the outcome of the current street strife in Iran. You, too, I’m guessing.

But here is what we can do: We can say hi. While this admittedly solves nothing, it is, and I have absolutely no doubt about this, a step in the right direction. Connecting with an Iranian is good for the souls of both the connector and the connected. 

My off and on efforts to grab hold of a tiny bit of Farsi haven’t been successful. On the off chance you’ve shared that experience, here are the first three phrases we need to say “hi” to the next Persian person God causes to cross our path. (And I’m praying right now that happens soon for many of us!)

1. Salaam (sah-LAHM) is your go-to Persian greeting that works everywhere! Dorood (doh-ROOD) adds a touch of elegance to your greeting. This more poetic alternative to salaam carries a hint of traditional Persian charm. (Short video on salaam, dorood and chetori here.)
2. Chetori (che-TO-ri) is a short, sweet “how are you” question that works perfectly in relaxed settings. Stretch-out chetoori (che-TOO-ri) to sound extra friendly to Persian ears. Reply with “Khoobam, merci, to chetori?” (I’m good, thank you, and how are you?)
3. Khodahafez (kho-da-HA-fez) is your everyday “goodbye” superstar! This friendly phrase literally means “may God be your guardian” and fits perfectly in any situation. (Pronunciation)

I borrowed the words and most of the descriptions for those three words from a helpful page on the Preply site. 

It feels weird to me to be an American these days and it must be at least a little angsty to be a Persian American (or a Persian in America), as well. May God open some kingdom doors for us this week. If he does, let me know how it goes! 

You’d be forgiven if you missed what’s unfolding in Iran over the past twelve days. Goodness knows there’ve been some other headlines. This unfolding wave of protests may hold more potential for lasting change than any in the past. 

Since Iran is home to more than 90 million Muslims, here are five things I think you should know.

1. Protests are growing.
   They started off in response to an economy in free fall, but now have expanded into the political realm with calls for regime change. The Iranian currency has lost 60% of its value since mid-2025!

   Between my writing this email and your reading it, protests will have likely expanded to new cities and the rial dropped to new lows. 

2. Leaders are trying to respond.
   The Iranian government is dangling a carrot while wielding a stick: Several dozen protesters have been killed, even though the policy is to not harm peaceful marchers, but resist those deemed violent. At the same time, an cash-equivalent payment of $7/month is being given to almost all Iranians. This will be helpful to the poorest, but seems unlikely to buy peace. 
3. Iranian leaders are facing a two-front war.
   In a change from previous times of vast protest, the Ayatollahs are currently facing trial both internal and external. In addition to economic woes and spreading protests, Israel continues to threaten further attacks and President Trump is on record saying he’s ready to come to the aid of the protesters. His colleague and supporter, Senator Lindsey Graham said on Jan. 6th, “And to the Ayatollah: You need to understand, if you keep killing your people who are demanding a better life, Donald J. Trump is gonna kill you.”
4. Christians are being scapegoated.
   As often happens to minorities, Christians in Iran find themselves the focal point for police response.
5. The Iranian Church has grown like crazy.
   While I long for times of peace for all Iranians, and particularly those following Jesus, praise to God and kudos to Iranian Christians who have valiantly endured and grown through struggles I cannot even imagine. 

May a fresh time of peace in Persia result in Kingdom advance such that all that has gone before seems small. 

We made it to 2026. Well done! 

Let me briefly share with you four hopes I have for the New Year.

Hope #1
Brewing efforts and new ones yet to be conceived will result in the number of unengaged Muslim people groups dropping from 390 to under 200, on the way to zero! Progress is being made in South Asia, Eastern Africa and Indonesia. May God bless us to see the day when no Muslim people group is left without the first witness for Christ in their midst. 

Hope #2
That Frontier People Groups would rise in the consciousness of the global church. An FPG is an Unreached People Group with 0.1% or fewer Christian Adherents and no confirmed, sustained movements to Jesus. Thirty eight FPG are over 10,000,000 in population. Most of those people live in India and more than half are Muslims.

Hope #3
I sincerely hope the number of large scale evil things done in the name of Islam would plummet in 2026. 

Hope #4
As I write, it’s Commitment Night at the Urbana missions conference in Phoenix. Please join me in expressing this hope in prayer: Father God, smile down on the hundreds of people making decisions to follow you to the ends of the earth. Help them to obey all the way. And God, would you give them opportunity to speak to their families and churches when they return about your love for all peoples. Thank you. Amen. 

You made it through Christmas. Well done! Hopefully your goals were higher than simply “making it through,” but kudos nonetheless. But before you get all smug, there are two more holidays today! 

Boxing Day
With murky origins in the giving of food boxes to British workers, this sweet little holiday is often lost between the behemoths of Christmas and New Year’s. Since living in England for a Christmas, I’ve enjoyed the traditional long walk on Boxing Day. 

But right now I’m thinking of boxing in another of its definitions: Punching the stuffing out of your opponent. There are people whose ministry to Muslims consists of pugilistic apologetics. People like Al Fadi, Beth Peltola and David Wood devote their time and energy to debating Muslims by pointing out Islam’s flaws and highlighting the truth of the Gospel. 

Most of us lack the knowledge, and possibly zeal, to relate this way. It’s also not the best approach for many Muslims, but there are things we can learn from our sisters and brothers who engage in polemics. 

St. Stephen’s Day
The second holiday today is related to the first. December 26th is also St. Stephen’s Day, in which the wise and powerful deacon is commemorated for his life and martyrdom. Your stream of church might not celebrate saint days. Mine doesn’t. But if we can learn from Al Fadi, Beth and David, we can certainly learn from Stephen, his life, his outreach and his last words which make up almost all 60 verses in Acts 7! 

Here’s how these two holidays are connected: Those who engage in feisty, pugilistically inclined debate sometimes find themselves on the painful side of a rock toss. (And every opposition short of that.)

May God use all manner of engagement to help Muslims find life in Jesus. And may God protect and empower those who lay it all on the line today for the sake of truth.

I had a challenging phone call last Friday. A guy I used to go to church with arm wrestled me over my thoughts toward Muslims. I think I cleared up one issue: “No, I’m not trying to get Christians to follow Islam.” On other matters, I didn’t fare so well. He was firm that I didn’t understand how bad Muslims are. I tried without success to respond. 

Then two days later, Bondi Beach happened. He hasn’t called back, but I suspect he’s thinking, “I wonder if he gets it now?”

Do you ever struggle like I do? Though none of us would liken ourselves to Elijah, do you ever feel like a solitary voice? Standing alone, waving a flag that says “Let’s love these people God has made.” Against all common sense and community feeling. Against wisdom and security. Contrary to at least some voices in our government. 

Florida Congressman Randy Fine, “It is time for a Muslim travel ban, radical deportations of all mainstream Muslim legal and illegal immigrants, and citizenship revocations wherever possible. Mainstream Muslims have declared war on us. The least we can do is kick them the hell out of America.”

You know what no one is against? Children’s Ministry. Sunday morning childcare and Bible stories. 

I confess it sometimes seems appealing. 

But you know this, God doesn’t just want the kids in my church to follow Jesus. He wants Muslims from every stripe, sect and sentiment to give him complete allegiance and to find the life that the wee babe was born to purchase. 

The massacre at Bondi Beach was horrific and the pain will last through generations. May God have mercy on those who suffer now as a result. And may God smile on our cousin who demonstrated the heroism we usually only see in movies. 

PS: I’m writing this week’s Muslim Connect en route to Indiana to hang with my Mom as she has surgery tomorrow. I’d be grateful if you’d lift her up to the Father with me. Thank you.

My high school junior daughter is wrapping up her first set of dual credit courses at our local community college, including a history class called The World: Antiquity to 1500. (Yeah, that’s a wide swath of time!) Her final assignment intrigues me: She’s to write a paper talking about how empires have helped both Christianity and Islam survive and grow and how both Christianity and Islam have helped empires grow and consolidate power. 

The past is fairly murky, at least to me, but worth looking at. Maybe the present even more so. History daughter is sad that history prof made her limit her investigation to the timeframe of the class. She was hoping to bring in some super-recent historical thinking to these questions. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this: How have Christianity and Islam both helped and been helped by the empires they’ve overlapped with over the years?

Seems that Christianity got off to a good start even against the wishes of the empire. Islam got going by using the sword to become the empire!

We got a boost when Constantine declared Christians officially cool in 313 AD. Then a few hundred years later we’re teaming up with the king to go get Jerusalem back for our side. 

Crosses and Crescents collided at Tours in 732 and Vienna in 1683. 

Later on, the discovery of black gold under the sands of the Middle East propelled an austere and demanding form of Wahhabism outward to many parts of the planet. And now my beloved country makes me cry with our new blending of the Church and Empire. 

That wee babe in Bethlehem had no idea what he would stir up. Even so, I’m glad he came. May all his dreams be fulfilled in my heart, in yours and all over the world.

PS: In case you’re wondering, I just found out history daughter got a 96% on her paper! 

“The truth, as usual, is complicated.” (Now, there’s an observation with broad application.) So begins Abdu Murray’s recent reflections on the growth of Islam in the West. 

Murray is a Muslim-background Christian with an extensive apologetics ministry and a law degree! He encourages us to discern the real concerns from the exaggerations when considering the growth of Islam in our midst. 

Islam is growing in the West, certainly. Much of it by immigration and birth rate. Murray points to an additional factor, the appeal of Islam.

He says, “Islam offers what secularism can’t: a clear message and a sense of belonging. It calls them [young men] to discipline, duty, and identity.” He also contends that “Islam’s stridency looks refreshing” in the midst of churches who’ve “grown timid.” (Yeah, I got a little defensive at that, too! Now I’m trying to think it through.)

In response to this appeal and growth, Murray believes, “None of this justifies hostility or paranoia. But neither does it allow for naïveté. Islam’s growth doesn’t prove that the religion is true. It proves its followers take their faith seriously, and that should wake us up.”

When Muslims look at how we personally, and our churches collectively, live out the Gospel, do they see “a faith that is intellectually credible, morally grounded, and compassionately lived?” Are we willing to go beyond the headlines and engage in the messy truth of our interconnected cultures? 

Murray calls us not to panic, but to preach. I love that. May God give us opportunity and courage and may the Holy Spirit go before us to prepare open hearts and thoughtful minds.