Author Archives: shanedar

You know what I find unsettling? Pastors who lift. I’m more comfortable with a cushiony guy who regularly takes seconds on sausage gravy and biscuits at Men’s Breakfast.

Most pastors are (presumably) very spiritual and likely pretty smart. If they’re also ripped, I’m tripled trumped!

Such was the pastor I met with yesterday. Impressive. But I had more vision for Muslims. Of course I did. That’s my gig. The pastor shared how in the early years of the church plant they scraped just to pay salaries. There was no money for missions, Muslim-oriented or otherwise.

Covid clobbers aside, there may now be funds for the frontiers and I’m wondering what I might do to win his heart and the church’s for Muslims.

I don’t know them well, but I’m wondering what God might give them, how he might shape them. That leads me to wonder what I want my own church to know and believe about Muslims. I want them to know that. . .

. . . anger, fear and apathy are not the only sensible responses to Muslims.

. . . God is actively bringing Muslims into his growing kingdom.

. . .while few live near us, Muslims are not inaccessible. In fact, I just began a friendship with a guy in Iran!

What about you? If you could shape how people at your church think about and act toward Muslims, what would you like to see result?

This edition of Muslim Connect is 25% shorter than normal! Please take that extra time to comment here. Thank you!

In the annals of famous last words, few are as pervasive, inclusive and pumped full of promise as the mandate Jesus gives his disciples (including you and me!) in Acts 1.8, “. . .you’ll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

It’s both a charge and a promise, a nudge and an assurance. Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus followers from all over will take the good news everywhere to everyone.

It’s an echo of the covenant God cut with Abraham so long ago, “I will bless you. . .and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Has the promise been kept? Yes, in many places, in many ways for many peoples. But also no. It has yet to become reality for others.

Good friends of mine are investing prayer, money, and copious cogitation in the development of a list of Muslim peoples who’ve yet to experience that witness for the first time or who are currently without it.

Their term is unengaged. The technical definition is something like, “no one is on the ground, speaking the local language, working toward reproducing discipleship movements.”

As the list nears completion, they estimate around 500 Muslim people groups fit that definition. 500 groups, ranging from thousands to tens of millions in size, among whom no witnesses have yet to begin the work.

Babies are born and grandmas die. Pandemics are fought and wars are lost. Tears are shed and laughter shared. All without the first witness to the cosmos-shifting good news that God came, lived, died and rose again.

500 of these groups. What are we going to do? What does God want us to do? What about me? What about you?

Maybe like me, you love to befriend Muslims, but struggle to talk about deep stuff.

How do you turn a conversation toward spiritual things?

Often when I think about this question I’m faced with the awkward realization that I’m not as spiritual as I wish I were. Which is quickly followed by, “What the heck am I doing even talking about stuff like this?!?” But I want to grow and maybe you do too. And one of the pleasant side effects of reaching out to others is growing spiritually yourself.

Here are three ways to turn the corner.

1. My Facebook friend Ginny is a treasure who talks to tons of Muslims. She says, “Let’s become ‘conversationally fluent’ with the Bible, knowing how to speak it into ordinary conversations, without long explanation or embarrassment.”

A specific way to do this is to springboard from topic of conversation to something Jesus said. “That reminds me of a story Jesus told.” Then tell it!

2. Ginny also says we can turn the corner by, “sharing what God has done and is doing in our life! We can know these things, but if we don’t feel confident sharing them, we’ll stay silent. It’s critical for believers to develop this fluency with each other, to normalize it in conversation with other believers. We embrace a cultural belief that it’s invasive, rude, or inappropriate to talk about Christ. We think there’s some sort of complex dance leading to a conversation about Jesus. But that’s not true about our own culture nor most Muslim ones.”

Particularly share how God relates to your pain. Everyone hurts. “I’m struggling with this, but God is helping me.” Or maybe I believe or am trying to hope God will help me.

3. Finally, ask how you can pray for your friend. Then do it. Hand on shoulder right here and now or awkwardly typed out prayers if you’re connecting online! This might deepen things in a hurry!

Do you have other, perhaps better, conversation shifters? Share them here.

We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known. . .       – Brené Brown

Last week I asked you to choose which type of Muslim Connector you were. Of those who responded, almost 70% chose “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” the option for people who prefer to engage Muslims through building friendships. (If the options in your email were not selectable I apologize. MailChimp.com had some indigestion.)

To start developing skill and confidence in building friendships with Muslims, here are the four super basic steps we need to take and the mistake to avoid. If these feel like kindergarten to you, please pass them on to friends who might be new to all this “Muslim stuff!”

1. Go where you’re more likely to find Muslims. Not so good: Bars, church, Trump rallies or in these crazy COVID days, anywhere in public! Better odds: Pakistan, Louisville, ethnic groceries/apartment complexes/neighborhoods, and in these crazy COVID days, online.

2. Ask good questions. Cultivate curiosity. Risk bugging a few, while blessing most.

3. Share food. Whether you bake, broil or fry in oil, many Muslim cultures are deeply wired to accept, then return, food-borne hospitality.

4. Share your life. Involve Muslim friends in both normal and exceptional events. Share yourself at the level of depth you’d like the relationship to go to. I’m terrible at this. I want so much to look like I’ve got it together, but this is the path to connection. (Tweet this.)

Avoid this mistake: Don’t put off talking about God. Don’t wait to speak about, and to, Jesus with your new Muslim friend.

What basic steps would you add to this list? Please comment here.

Next week we’ll look at turning the corner to spiritual conversations. 

I hope you have absolutely killed this week! I have absolutely just barely made it alive to almost the end of the week! School’s begun here in our little part of the world and that means I’m riding herd over three kiddos doing a variety of in-person, hybrid and full-time virtual school.

This yields two results: I’m hitting my daily step goal walking back and forth between the two kids and their gremlin-infested computers and two, I’m struggling to string together two consecutive thoughts.

Arguably, I’ve never been that skilled at stringing together thoughts, but it’s even tougher these days. As a result, you get the rapid fire bonus round of Muslim Connect today.

Four super quick ideas

David Wood
If you like poking the bear, David Wood might be your guy. He’s crazy smart and pleasingly snarky! His “Five Reasons Christians Should Learn about Islam” video is a great start. His YouTube channel has both brief and long form videos. What sometimes seems to me like lack of respect and honor for Muslims also reminds me that God feels free to use all kinds of people to get his work done.

Pray for Muslim Teachers
Faithful Muslim Connect reader Mert encourages us to pray for Muslim school teachers. He interacted with one yesterday who was praying not to lose her sanity. While we’re at it, let’s spread that prayer net out to include all teachers.

Joke of the Day
Why do Muslims like Covid? Because they’re not getting blamed for it! Yes ISIS desperately tries to validate itself by stepping up attacks and encouraging children (!) to spread the disease to non-believers, but most normal Muslims must be happy that the damage of the virus is not getting pinned on them.

Thank You Video
The annual Muslim Connect summer fund raiser was designated to help me purchase equipment for effective videos. Watch this video that’s both a thank you and a tribute to the success of the campaign.

You’ve probably heard the basics: Muhammad married Aisha when she was six and consummated the marriage when she was nine and he was 53. No way around it, that behavior is gut-wrenchingly wrong. Any place, any time in history: Sex with a pre-pubescent girl is wrong.

If you agree with the age numbers, I assume you agree with the judgment.

Here’s the question: If the prophet of Islam did something as horrendous as that and the 1.8 billion followers of Islam don’t excoriate him, are they not likewise guilty?

And following: If they are guilty of pedophilia, should non-Muslims take against them whatever action is necessary to either change their minds or remove them from society?

Or, is the equation not as black and white as we’d like? Is there nuance?

Turns out not all Muslims agree on Aisha’s age. One Muslim scholar friend responded to my inquiry, saying, “She was 19. I thought this issue was settled by now.” (Honestly, I haven’t been able to discover what percentage of Muslims agree with that and a Christian friend warned me about spreading Islamic propaganda by sharing that idea.)

The complement of Muslims who do agree with the traditional age markers of six and nine must either think pedophilia is ok, have reasoned out a way to deal with it or just ignore the issue. (They wouldn’t be the first religious people to do something like that!)

What about you and me? Would we be more relieved or grumpy should sound research and consensus take the “Scarlet P” off Muhammad’s robe?

If you agree most Muslims today are not “pro-pedo,” (as I suspect you do) what do you say to Christian friends who disagree?

How do our hearts and minds on this issue contribute to the growth of God’s kingdom among Muslims?

Expect re-wording and retracting next week! I’m less expert and more fraidy-cat in this discussion, but my soul resonates with my former organization’s motto: With love and respect inviting all Muslims to follow Jesus.