Monthly Archives: October 2024

We got a dog. I wish you would have warned me! The dog is super cute and tons of fun, but ridiculously food-motivated. He’s lately taken to harvesting melons, peppers and tomatoes from our garden for himself! 

He reminds me of how food-motivated I can be. It’s possible I leaned into Muslim ministry rather than focusing on Hindus or Buddhists in part because I liked their food better! While that’s probably not the best reason, I stand by the validity of my choice. Here’s a rundown of my favorite foods from some of the Muslim places I’ve been:

Jordan: Shawarma and Kanafe

India: Boiled egg Biryani (Mock me, if you must!)

Turkey: Corba (soup) for breakfast and Adana Kebab

Morocco: Mint tea

Kazakstan: Beshbarmak

Holland: Turkish bread and Lahmacun

Malaysia: Satay

England: Samosas

Tunisia: Dates

France: Doner kebab

Sicily: Domeda

Got a favorite food from the Muslim world you’d care to share with me? I’ll drool with you!

Someone at Frontiers must share my (our?) malady because they recently released a 30-day series of prayer emails called Taste and See. Sign up here and a single, short email will begin dropping into your box each day. They feature a brief, food-oriented vignette from the Muslim world along with a “Hope for the Day” scripture and a couple of specific prayer requests. 

What a great idea. The first two emails feature dates and shawarma! I’m sold. 

Please join me in signing up and praying through this prayer guide. If you’ve got some other foodies in your life, maybe share this with them and encourage them to jump on board as well. 

You know what’s the most annoying thing on Sunday morning at my church? No, not my preaching. It’s the noise made by people opening the hard candies we place in bowls in the middle of each table! Can you hear it in your head right now?! 

(I’m on a quest to find, or personally develop, quiet church candies. Let me know if you want to partner in this endeavor.)

Pondering this while a guest spoke last Sunday morning, I was reminded that things are a little tougher in a Muslim gathering. Did you know if you pass gas during salat (scheduled, collective prayers) you have to start over?! (“Khalid, why are you back to work late again from prayer time?” “Well, sir. . . .”)

Speaking of salat, have you ever wondered what actually happens at Friday prayers? This Muslim weekly gathering is the most analogous to Christians’ Sunday morning services. As with anything when describing Muslims, there are a lot of them! Expect variety and differences. Here’s a general run down:

• Muslims gather on Friday because it’s deemed holy in the Quran and elsewhere.
• A call to prayer (adman) is given between noon and three and men gather at the mosque, washing before entering the prayer area. Friday prayers are compulsory for men, ok for women. 
• A sermon (Khutba) of around 30 minutes is delivered. It’s frowned upon to talk, read and eat (including candy) during the talk. In some situations, a pause for personal prayer is taken in the middle of the talk. 
• According to a Hadith, the sermon should be shorter, so the prayer afterward can be longer. (I know someone who could stand to learn that! You?)
• The topics of the sermons usually revolve around spiritual reminders, current events, social issues, and family.
• Immediately following the sermon, worshipers participate in two brief rounds of corporate prayer. 

I’m not planning to switch up my order of service, but I am asking God to remind me when Fridays arrive to pray for fresh Jesus life for Muslims going to the mosque to do their best to please God and get their sins forgiven. 

Hey, want a job? Someone needs to write a biography of Dudley Woodberry! Are you the one?! That guy’s life has been amazing! 

In case his name doesn’t ring a bell, Dr. Woodberry has loved Jesus and Muslims with more passion, variety and intellect than maybe any other American in the last two centuries. Here’s a super quick overview:

• Born in China in 1934 to missionary parents.

• Held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese army while a child!

• Studied at Union College in New York, Fuller Theological Seminary, the American University of Beirut, and Harvard University.

• Has lived in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and exotic Grand Rapids. (And probably visited the rest of the places!)

• Has written and taught extensively and now at 90 years old is mentoring students in his role as Dean Emeritus and Senior Professor of Islamic Studies at Fuller Seminary!

Through all of this, Dr. Woodberry has projected a kind and peaceful demeanor, quick to listen, slow to speak, relying on and winsomely sharing Jesus. 

One of my favorite things he has written was an article for Christianity Today about why Muslims follow Jesus. He said the top five reasons are:

1. the lifestyle of Christians
2. the power of God in answered prayers and healing, [including] deliverance from demonic power
3. dissatisfaction with the type of Islam they had experienced
4. spiritual truth in the Bible
5. the Bible’s teaching about the love of God

You and I would do well to emulate Dr. Woodberry as we interact with Muslims. Of his list of five, number one is up to each of us; number two just might be mediated through us; three is increasingly the situation in many places today; and four and five can be shared by us. Are you in?

Questions are the best, aren’t they? Sometimes I think I like them better than answers. My early, post-college training largely had to do with asking good questions in really cool places. Even today, I love asking questions and am impressed when people are good at it. 

Today I’ve got a question for you and a recommendation. 

If you could sit down over coffee or tea with a chill, smart, English-speaking Muslim from anywhere in the world, where would you want them to be from and what are some of the questions you liked to ask?

For me today, I’d like to chat with a Persian Muslim from Isfahan. I’d ask how things were going and if he thought his life might be better if the Clerics were no longer running the show. 

If you’re intrigued by the question, please share with the rest of the tribe 

Now, here’s the recommendation: 

My friend James White recently released a charming, little book called “Answering 15 Honest Questions from Muslims.” As I write, it’s free for Kindle Unlimited and only 99 cents to buy on Kindle. 

Here are some of the questions: 

1. How can Isa be the Son of Allah?
2. How can Allah condescend to take on human form?
3. Have the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil been corrupted and changed so that we do not have the original Holy Book?
4. Do Christians worship three gods (Allah, Isa & Miriam)?
6. Does eating pork and drinking wine make Christians unclean?

James has lived among Muslims forever and probably forgotten more about them than I’ll ever know. Here’s an idea: Grab the Kindle version for $.99 and see if you like it. If you do, the paperback might be a good Christmas gift for a Muslim friend or a blessing for the Muslims you invite over for Thanksgiving!