Author Archives: shanedar

I’m guessing you’d answer “No” to the question in the subject line. I sure wouldn’t, but when some ding-dong burns a Quran, you can almost bet money someone’s going to die. (And double or nothing says that someone will have had nothing to do with the burning!) 

Ever wonder why this is? 

The whole answer is more than my brain can apprehend and would certainly take up more than 300 words, so here’s a part of the deal:

Most Muslims think of the Quran differently than most Christians do the Bible. (I say “most” because “Muslims” and “Christians” cover a whole bunch of different kinds of people.) 

In an article on Zondervan Academic, Jeremy Bouma shares some of the late Nabeel Qureshi’s thoughts about how we think differently about our holy books. 

The Quran Is Viewed as the Eternal Word of Allah
“As Qureshi explains, ‘[The Quran] is the closest thing to God incarnate [within Islam]… Its place in Islamic theology is that of Jesus in Christian theology’”

The Quran Is Understood as God’s Literal Words
“‘Since Muslims believe the Quran is an eternal expression of Allah, they do not think that the Quran was written by men in any sense. It is the very speech of Allah, inscribed on a heavenly tablet, from which it was read by Gabriel and dictated to Muhammad. Muhammad had nothing to do with shaping the text; he only relayed it.’”

The Quran Is the Why of Islam
“Perhaps the most critical difference between the Quran and the Bible, writes Qureshi, is that the Quran is ‘the basis of why Muslims believe in Islam.’ The Quran is Islam’s why in part because of its purported literary excellence, numerous prophecies, scientific knowledge, mathematical marvels, and perfect preservation.”

“‘Unlike the Quran, the primary use of the Bible is to serve as the basis of what Christians believe, not why they believe.’”

For Christians, our why is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That’s also why we love Muslims and why we hope, pray and work so that they’ll meet him in a real way. 

Special Request: A couple of times a year I invite Muslim Connect readers to partner in the cost of producing, sending and growing the email. Muslim Connect is free, but if you’ve found value in it, please consider sending a gift. Simply click here, find the “Staff” drop down and select “Shane Bennett.” Thank you very much. 

Have you ever had occasion to tell someone about your commitment to Muslims? It can be awkward, no? I met a fascinating couple recently. As we chatted, I asked what they did. Both were scientists. When they asked me, I said I was a pastor and a writer, that I helped Christians figure out how to act like Jesus toward Muslims. They responded, with eyebrows raised so high they could have doubled as sun visors, “That’s interesting!”

It can be difficult to befriend, defend and contend for people who follow a faith that differs from ours in such key ways and whose adherents, no matter the minuscule percentage they represent, do reprehensible things. 

Why do we care about Muslims?

I think about Jesus cleansing the temple, the “bomb in the barnyard,” a catalytic action that would see Jesus dead just a week later. Such a crazy event on the face of it, but when you dig deeper, even more provocative. Jesus quotes Isaiah and Jeremiah: “. . .my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Assuming most of his listeners would know the contexts of these quotes, the implications are stunning. 

Among many other promises, God says through the prophets, “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord,” and “I will be merciful . . .only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows. . . .” (Is. 56.6, Jer. 7.5,6)

That’s part of why we love Muslims: We long for them to not be exploited, for cheap, fear-mongering headlines, for political pawns, for bogeymen de jour. We long rather for them to commit themselves to the Lord, to receive the good blessings of a great God through Jesus. 

May the same Jesus who cleared the Temple, clear our consciences to see Muslims, to love them with the same love he has.

A couple of times a year I invite Muslim Connect readers to partner in the cost of producing, sending and growing the email. Muslim Connect is free, but if you’ve found value in it, please ask God if he’ll give you grace to send a gift. Simply click here, find the “Staff” drop down and select “Shane Bennett.” Thank you very much. 

School starts for my three young, summer-drunk kiddos in just under two weeks. I could tell you the number of days (and hours!), but I don’t want you to think I’m counting down! 

I am wondering though about who the new kids will be and how my kids might or might not reach out and befriend them. In a broader sense, I’m aching for a new kid who is also Muslim, possibly the only kid in class with a brown face, an odd name and an aversion to pepperoni pizza. Who will connect with her?

Here are five practical ideas to share with your kids, a niece or nephew or a youth group

1. Find the new kids and say hello! Hard for most, impossible for some, this is the starting point: “I’m going to care more about others than myself for a minute. I’m going to take the first relational risk.”
2. Ask the new kid to sit with you at lunch. Acceptance and a place to belong are gifts that actually give what a new pair of Chuck’s only promises. 
3. Connect on social media. If your kids aren’t on social media yet, good for you! Hold steady. If they are, see if any of the new kid’s spaces overlap theirs. 
4. Get their parent’s phone number. Play dates don’t happen without parent connections. 
5. Invite them over for Roblox. Or music. Or Bluey. Or homework. Doesn’t matter so much what. Just opening your home is magic. And be sure to have some halal snacks! 

As my “Little Middle” wisely pointed out: Kids do this, particularly if the new kid is Muslim, at risk of their own social standing. They’re in good company. Jesus took such risks as well. He’ll also walk with them right up to the new kid. He has a fondness for both outsiders and young disciples.

A couple of times a year I invite Muslim Connect readers to partner in the cost of producing, sending and growing the email. Muslim Connect is free, but if you’ve found value in it, please ask God if he’ll give you grace to send a gift. Simply click here, find the “Staff” drop down and select “Shane Bennett.” Thank you very much. 

Even though I drive a 98 Ford pick up (or maybe because!), I’m seriously jonesing for an electric car lately. Not a Tesla, I think they’re a little too bougie for me. More like a Chevy Bolt or something small from Hyundai/Kia. 

In classic Baader-Meinhof fashion I now see EVs everywhere, probably due in small part to there actually being more, but mostly because I notice them.

In an effort to “frequency bias” us all regarding unreached peoples, I want to share a list from mobilizer extraordinaire, and friend of Muslim Connect, Neal Pirolo’s book, Internationals Who Live Among Us. (Which you should totally buy!)

Neal says we find these groups in most of our towns and cities:
Students
Visitors
Business people 
Illegal aliens 
Refugees
Ethnic communities

If you’re not crazy pressed for time, go back over the list and ask yourself, “Where are these people in my town? Where might I cross paths with some of them this week?”

Each of us could learn so much from people in each of these groups. Neal goes on to remind us that it’s also strategic to reach out to them for the following reasons:
They are close at hand. They have moved into our neighborhood.
They represent a segment of our population with dramatic growth.
Reaching them does not cost the “mega-bucks” of going to another country.
Doing so is good training for those who will go to another country.
Often little effort yields a great harvest.
Many are are open to the Gospel.
Because Jesus said “I was a stranger and you invited me in. . . .”

Sometimes it’s just nice to hear some good news, don’t you think? Stuff like, “the cute girl likes you!” Or, “Jesus didn’t stay dead.” And, “They’re filming a fourth season of The Chosen!”

Here are three bits of good news to warm your heart, stir your mind and wring just a tiny bit of dopamine out of your hypothalamus. 

Drugs in the Streets
Under pressure from John Green, his legion of fans and others, Johnson and Johnson took steps to forego enforcing a secondary patent on their anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline. Estimates indicate that generic forms of the drug will help six million people over the next four years. Some of the most burdened TB countries are Muslim majority.

Bozos at the Door
Maybe you remember I went to Cote d’Ivoire in February, funded in part by the kind and generous Muslim Connect tribe. We connected with a guy who’s deploying workers to unreached areas of the country. My church began partnering with one of them, a guy from Togo named Edem and his family.

This report dropped in last last week: “[Muslim] Bozo people. . . line up at Edem’s door for prayers. He seems to be a new person they consult for prayers, for protection. This is an access to share the gospel.” Bozo people are currently unengaged, but maybe not for long!

Me in the Pulpit
My senior pastor for the past decade and preaching partner for a chunk of that time is taking a district superintendent role in the Northwest. I’ve agreed to step in as interim, with the possibility of assuming the role.

His departure is sad, but good. I’m hoping my taking over will be good for the body, even while I likely learn, “Dang, this isn’t as easy as he made it look!”

I’d appreciate prayers for this new responsibility and am open to whatever advice the Lord might nudge you to share with me. Thanks.

PS: I’ll continue to write Muslim Connect. Here’s hoping that’s good news!

The verse of the day for July 4th in the U.S. was Galatians 5.13. Low hanging fruit, don’t you think? 

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Definitely good fruit, low hanging or not. 

While Paul was most certainly not thinking about the U.S.A.’s Declaration of Independence when he wrote that, we do value and enjoy a hearty measure of freedom in my home country. Maybe our political freedom is a cousin of the freedom we enjoy in Christ. 

If so, let me say I’m happy to be an American, to have the freedom to follow my conscience. I’m likewise happy to be a Christian: To know I can eat bacon and I don’t have to offer a sheep to a priest to pay for last week’s sins. 

But what does Paul mean when he goes on to say, “Don’t use your freedom to indulge the flesh?” Well, for me, for starters, “Don’t eat all the bacon. Don’t watch all the movies. And don’t act like those who disagree with me are evil, malevolent and hell-bent on destroying all things holy and me.” 

They’re not, you know. 

People who disagree with us about Muslims (or disagree with me about a lot of other stuff) are mostly doing their best, following their understanding, trying to do the right thing. I indulge my flesh when I nurture the deadly duo feelings of personal attack and superiority to those who think differently from me, both believers and not. 

If I’m going to serve them humbly in love, those feelings are going to have to die. Free and dead. It’s the only way to live.

Are you having a happy Wednesday? I hope so. Today is a holiday: Two of my favorite people return from a week in Guatemala tonight and I’m a happy camper! 

Of course it’s also a big day for Muslims: Eid al-Adha. 

1. It’s the second biggest celebration on the Muslim calendar after Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan. 
2. It falls toward the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is currently underway. A record-breaking crowd of 2 million were expected to take part in the Hajj this year. 
3. Eid al-Adha commemorates Abraham’sdevotion to God and willingness to sacrifice (in the Muslim mind) Ishmael.
4. A key part of the celebration involves families killing a lamb, goat or cow. The family keeps one third of the meat, gives a third to extended family and the final third to people in need. (I think this may be a good model for our family’s Christmas budget. The percentages! Not gutting a goat!)
5. The Abe and Isaac storyhas a cartload of meaning for us too, doesn’t it? We see in it a foreshadowing of Jesus’s sacrifice, through which, in the words of Paul, “God was pleased. . . to reconcile to himself all things. . . .”

Would you join me in praying today that many Muslims would be given insight into the mystery of reconciliation within the sacrifice? Ask God to open doors and hearts so our sisters and brothers serving among Muslims would have the honor of adding fresh joy and hope to the happy holiday.

Do you ever wonder, “What if?” What if there was a fire and we were left with nothing but an insurance check? What if a wealthy old aunt died (in peace, after a long, productive life) and left me a huge inheritance? What if I went all rich young ruler with Jesus, but did decide to sell it all and give it to the poor? 

Let me invite you for a moment to think past the limitations of responsibility and prudence to briefly entertain some possibilities! Let your eyes get a little big and your heart race as you ponder these crazy ways to connect with Muslims and probably come up with a couple of your own.

1. Start a businessraising goats to sell to halal butchers. Haven’t you always loved baby goats?
2. Take a course and go on tour to debate Muslims. While polemics is outside the scope of my expertise and comfort, some friends assure me it’s working to connect Muslims to Jesus.
3. Get a master’s degree in India for cheap while building relationships among some of the hundreds of unengaged peoples there.
4. Text ten friends and ask them to prayerfully look over the Welcome Corp website. If you don’t feel called to go where Muslims live, perhaps God would use you to bring them here.
5. Join me in putting the Quran on your summer reading list. I’m not excited about it, but I’m gonna do it. Let me know if you’re with me. Here’s some rationale and Nabeel Qureshi’s wise caution and encouragement.
6. Download DuoLingo. Commit to learning Arabic. Spend next Christmas in Turkey impressing Syrian refugees.
7. This one you’ve got to invite me along for: Buy a boat (with your aunt’s inheritance or the insurance check), run a discipleship school on board as you sail along the Turkish coast, through the Greek isles to Sicily, reaching out to asylum seekers along the way.

If any of the “going” ideas above gets your pulse racing a bit, please check out my brand new Muslim Connect video on Going.

Most of my interactions with Muslims have been with those who are poor, facing life with limited choices, resources and status. Of course that doesn’t describe all Muslims. Some of the richest people in the world follow Islam and some majority-Muslim countries are quite pecuniarily proficient! 

This made me curious about who’d top the richest and poorest lists. 

Determining “richest” and “poorest” countries can be tricky. Experts disagree on how to quantify those designations, and I’m far from a demographic expert. Most will use gross domestic product per capita, with some adjustments to allow for relative purchasing power. 

That said, here are the lists as I see them:

Richest Muslim-majority countries
Qatar, Kuwait, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey, Libya, Malaysia

Poorest Muslim-majority countries 
Somalia, Niger, Chad, Afghanistan, Sudan, Mali, Yemen, Guinea, Tajikistan, Pakistan

As fun and gratifying as it may be to judge the rich countries (“It’s easy to be rich when everyone wants your oil. . .and you rule as, or like, a king!), that probably does no good. Further, since God loves them, their populations should not be overlooked in gospel outreach efforts. 

As for the poor, I’m sure I can’t imagine many of the challenges so many face. I want to avoid “white savior complexes,” but at the same time move in the flow of God’s heart for people who are marginalized and suffering. Further, while it’s certainly easier to wonder why the rich Muslim countries don’t make life easier for the poor ones, I want us to ask God what he would have us do. And I want to pray for his kingdom to come, for the justice, prosperity and shalom he desires for all. 

If you like your global Christian demographics served up factually with a side of solid research, you’d be crazy not to sign up for Justin Long’s Weekly Roundup. It will bless your soul while stretching your brain.

You know that classic dream where you’re trying to run, but it’s like you’re in mud? Or in real life you’re trying to get out the door to church and the teenager is still in the bathroom and the 7 year old shows up at the car with a jar’s worth of Nutella on his face and hands? 

Life is full of friction, my friend. Both yours and mine. 

When you make a mental move toward connecting with a Muslim, it seems like a multitude of barriers manifest themselves. Here are a few I’ve faced. Maybe you can relate to some of them. 

1. Fear: This has stopped more good activity in its tracks than the rest of the list combined. Fear of rejection, failure. Fear that people who dislike Muslims might be right! 
2. Time: There are real commitments and duties but, honestly, don’t some of us worship an idol of busyness that allows no margin for outreach? 
3. No Muslims: What if none live near me? Wait a little bit. Or try this or this.
4. Think we know too little: “What if they ask a question I can’t answer?!?”
5. Think we know too much: “I know those Muslims. They’re up to no good! Don’t validate them!”
6. Other ministry: None of us can do everything! You can’t die on every hill.
7. Hopelessness: Can anything I can do really make a difference? 
8. We prefer dominion to communion: Is it possible our national value on military spending and deployment seeps into our Christianity and we don’t befriend Muslims because we’d rather conquer them? 

If any of these make you want to raise your hand and say, “Yep. That’s me,” let me know and we can pray for each other.