Monthly Archives: July 2026

I’m writing this week’s Muslim Connect from the road while the smart/tough/beautiful wife takes a turn at the wheel. We’re en route back to Colorado from a couple of my favorite places in the world, Mom’s house in Indiana and the New Wilmington Missions Conference in Pennsylvania. 

Here’s what I wish for your soul today: That someone in your tribe will reach out to let you know you matter to them, to God, to the world. My Mom is really good at that. And those precious Presbyterians at NWMC, ahh, they were so kind to me, to Anna and the kids. 

Surely one of the best gifts of God to us is connection with like-minded believers. 

Sometimes we can feel lonely engaging in the Godly activity of advocating for the Gospel among Muslims. If you’ve experienced that, you’re not alone! It comes with the territory, it seems. But maybe we can help our colleagues when they face this. 

Here’s the challenge: Think of three or four friends in the fight, people who share your conviction that God loves Muslims with the same intensity as he does the rest of humanity. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind some who could use a boost. Shoot them a quick text or email, drop a post card in the mail or maybe go a little crazy and call them on the phone! 

Nothing major here: Just let ‘em know you love them. Remind them God delights in them. Tell them their love for Muslims is beautiful and probably just what Jesus would do.

Insightful Read 
A dear friend and Muslim Connect reader pointed me to a challenging article kicking around what happens when Christians see a Muslim doing something Jesus would probably do and mistake him for a Christian. It’s a quick, winsome, but firm nudge to wonder, “How and why do I think like I think?”

Did you ever really want something to be dead? Something socially acceptable like a weed or a spider? Or maybe a little darker like that guy who did stuff he should never have done? 

It’s a human emotion and the Bible is full of people who experience it and sometimes act on it. One of them is Jonah. He tried to out-game God so the Ninevites would die. His eponymous book does not treat him kindly.

Jesus is the great counter-example to Jonah. He’s a brilliant picture of empathy for enemies. In fact, Paul illustrates this in Romans 5, “While we were still God’s enemies, Jesus died for us.” I know you’ve heard this since church camp when you were eight, but how crazy good is that?

Similarly, God calls us to have empathy for our enemies. 

Somehow, at a super high level, that means empathy for people who are calling for the death of our president. 

If like me, you’re unsure what that looks like, let’s try empathy for however many tens of millions of Iranians just want to live their lives, not serve as pawns in a global, geo-political showdown. 

That’s tough, too, so maybe we can try wondering when we see a Muslim family, “What’s it like to be them right now?” and “Jesus, what would a church look like for those guys?”

On the way to that, please join me in emphasizing empathy for people just like us: Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors. 

Some buds and I received training last Sunday in how to care for people reeling from the ongoing forest fire in our broader neighborhood. Our instructor, Kat, nailed it, encouraging us to notice people, ask good questions, invest in relationships and lead people to the deeper hope and life of Jesus. 

It’s not rocket science, but it’s not easy. God help us look more like Jesus than Jonah.

Our home and church building are safe, but we’re not allowed back to them yet. I just chatted with a couple from our church who’ve lost their home. They escaped, from a dead sleep to driving in ten minutes, with a handful of important papers, their pets and each other. To hear them express faith in the midst brought tears to my eyes. 

Around 250 homes have been damaged or lost. Seems like our family’s biggest issue will be removing yucky food from an unpowered fridge/freezer. Right now I’m super happy my smart wife is a vegetarian! Rotting veggies smell, but not like meat! 

Thank you to the many who’ve prayed for us and expressed concern. You made this week easier for us. We are grateful. 

As experience often does, this has built empathy in us. We thank God for that. We’re also grateful for a very special community church service on Sunday. 

If you’re praying, ask God for pastoral wisdom for me, for access to our home in the next two days and for comfort and provision for the many who’ve lost so much. Thanks. 

World Cup: As I write, the last remaining Muslim majority country, Morocco is two hours away from playing France. The irony of the colonized facing the colonizer is tasty. Perhaps the match will be decided by the time you read this. Ah well, it’s just a game, no? 😉

If you’ve been around Muslim Connect for more than a week or two, you probably know I have a soft spot in my heart (and probably my head) for refugees and other sorts of displaced peoples. 

Now we’re experiencing the very slightest introduction to that world. You may have read about an explosively growing wildfire in southern Colorado. Since Monday, we’d been watching, praying, hosting some early evacuees and assuming we’d stay at home until the fire was dealt with. 

Wednesday mid-day we watched the fires creep up and over the last ridge before our house (although still ~5 miles away). Soon our phones began to bark out commands to hit the road. We’d expected a comfortable time of pre-evac, but ended up hitting the road in 15 mins. 

Let me be clear: I’m not saying our situation is within a light-year of what most people experience when forced to flee. But I will say this: I feel more empathy for those who drive or walk away not knowing if their house, their life, will be there to return to. 

This afternoon my wife and I stood in a line at Disaster Services, waiting to register for the card that will eventually let us return to our house or the lot it used to stand on. I looked around and thought, “This is what people do, but in a language they don’t speak, without AC, with people who don’t want them around, with more fear and less hope than we had.”

May God have mercy on displaced people. Us for sure and our chunk of southern Colorado, but even more for people who leave with little hope of return and no end of challenge ahead.