Category Archives: Uncategorized

If forcibly displaced people were their own country, they’d rank 13th in order of population! That’s just after Japan and ahead of the Philippines. 

Today is World Refugee Day. Thanks for taking a moment to try to take in the situation. Look over my commentary, click a couple of links and if you’re a visual learner, drink in the three stunning graphics below that I poached from an insightful Al Jazeera article. 

Three things to remember:

1. God has a warm heart for displaced people. Jesus is God and experienced with his family the trauma of fleeing for their lives to a foreign land. 
2. If you’re an American Christian, please join me in growing our understanding of the situation at our southern border and refusing to conflate and hate. 
3. The majority of refugees today are Muslim.Al Jazeera says, “As of 2024, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of all refugees came from just five countries: Afghanistan (6.4 million), Syria (6.4 million), Venezuela (6.1 million), Ukraine (6 million) and Palestine (6 million).”

Four things to do:

1. Pray: Here’s a brief meditation and prayer you can pray through and share with others. 
2. Pay: The INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR REFUGEES serves displaced in many places. Your gift to them would be put to good use. 
3. Play: Football, chess and dolls are supra-cultural. Find a place refugees gather nearby or far away and take some time to play. I think it would fall under Jesus’s category of “cup of cold water in my name.”
4. Invite them to stay: Americans recently have been given the opportunity to band together and sponsor refugee families. Remembering that God doesn’t ask anyone to do everything, how cool would it be for Christians to receive grace from Him to help bring the number of refugees admitted all the way up to the 125,000 ceiling! 

The annual Hajj is here. Two million Muslims will make this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca. They’re fulfilling one of the five pillars of Islam and hoping to receive God’s forgiveness for their sins. 

Please grab this provocativeHajj prayer guide and join with believers seeking God’s best blessing for the pilgrims. 

Tomorrow (Friday, June 14) will be a worldwide day of prayer for Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. Please share this link freely and plan to pray at noon in your time zone. 

Thanks for praying for the retreat I’m hosting. God’s hearing and answering your prayers. 

Would you like to hear something really cool? Last week a friend from Montana donated his theological library to my church! I now have about 2500 books on my reading list! 

And this one: Soul by Soul: The Evangelical Mission to Spread the Gospel to Muslims by Brazilian journalist Adriana Carranca. 

Carranca, who is not a believer, became friends with fellow Brazilians in Afghanistan who happened to be missionaries. In the book, she tells their story in order to, in the words of Frontiers’ founder Greg Livingstone, “. . . let the world know it ain’t just “gringos” risking their lives to tell Muslims who Jesucristo really is.”

I suppose you might share my mix of hope and fear when a mainstream journalist writes about missionary activity. The reviews seemed solid enough and excerpts sufficiently gripping for me to encourage the effort by buying the book. It should arrive this weekend. Want to grab a copy and read it with me?

I’d also love to hear what you’re reading lately. I’m currently reading At Home in Mitford to my wife, Unoffendable on the recommendation of a church member and am committed to re-read Francis Chan’s The Forgotten God, because I want to be better friends with the Holy Spirit. 

As you’re interested and able, please sharebook recommendations here for the rest of the Muslim Connect tribe. 

PS: Please pray for me: I’m hosting a retreat next week for a cadre of missions people who’ve rallied to the dream of no unengaged people groups by the end of next year. Currently our best research says there are 1586! Ask God to help us take the steps he has in mind to the end worship arises from among all peoples. Thank you.

As I write, the kiddos around here are enjoying their last day of school! Starting tomorrow, in the “always-make-me-cry” words of C.S. Lewis, “The term is over. The holidays have begun!”

The advent of summer means a couple things for our Muslim Connect tribe. One, of course, is that you should plan to visit my ridiculously beautiful part of Colorado so we can share a coffee together! But there are also fresh opportunities to care for our Muslim cousins. 

Three Summer “To Do’s:”

1. Practice the Power of the Popsicle
   At less than a dime each, these frosty sticks of joy are hard for anyone to pass up. Take them to the park, take them door to door, invite kids over to enjoy them. Popsicles are the summertime ticket to friendship!
2. Bring on the Book Club
   If you’ve got a thoughtful Muslim friend, consider inviting them to go through A Christian Reads the Qur’an with you. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited right now. 
3. Mull Over the Mercury
   Let the rising temps remind you of the hottest places on earth, both literally and metaphorically! (Seven of the top ten on both scales have Muslim majorities!)

Bonus Kid activity (Because I’m not the only one planning work for them!): Send your kids to the Unengaged Explorer Tool. In the “Religion” and “Population” drop downs choose “Islam” and “100K to one million.” Choose a people to research. Write five sentences about them, a prayer for them, and draw a picture of them.

Two “Do Not’s!”

1. Don’t serve beer and brats! Definitely invite Muslim friends, or friends to be, over for a cook out, but go the extra mile to source halal meat and drinks. 
2. Don’t ask a conservatively coveredMuslim woman, “Are you hot in that?” But do check out Huda Fahmy’s hilarious book, Yes, I’m Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab.

I pray you have a wonderful summer and that God gives us all grace to love Muslims like Jesus does in the coming weeks. 

I really hope when you read the subject line above you thought, “Here we go. This oughta be good.” 

You’ve likely seen news of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, perishing in a helicopter crash. Seven others, including the foreign minister died along with him. 

Because the president’s job in Iran is basically bringing the Ayatollah’s wishes to fruition, his death does not upset the core of the government. On the other hand, experts say he was a likely pick for the next Ayatollah. Since the current one is 83 (What kind of country has leaders that old?!), that job may be getting posted soon. 

Two questions come to my mind with Raisi’s death: 

1. Is it ok for believers to be glad when a bad guy dies?God told Ezekiel, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” But perhaps Raisi’s death means the death of fewer people, along with the possibility of less oppression for a lot of people.
2. What is ahead for Iran? Since chatting with a Persian believer almost 25 years ago, feeling his passion for the overthrow of the clerics, I’ve longed for the day when the government of Iran would change.

   I’m thankful for the unprecedentedgrowth of the church during this time of the oppression, but I desire for the oppression to end.

   How might that happen? God alone knows, but people speculate: Various opposition efforts chip away at the bastion of the established government. The precarious relationship with Israel could spark change. Maybe something entirely unexpected will happen.

   Here’s my hopeful hunch: Although few people willingly give up power, and the Mullahs are not among them, we all get older and die. As the passionate revolutionaries shuffle off, they’ll be replaced by less feisty leaders, more open to conversation, to the existence of Israel and to a thriving economy that serves more than a cadre of elite, be they Muslim or otherwise. 

In our youth group’s valiant journey through the book of Acts, we arrived at chapter 15 last night. This is where the early gang gets together in Jerusalem to decide if those crazy Gentiles need to be circumcised in order to get Jesus. Since I have an unhealthy fear of middle schoolers and am regrettably still part middle schooler myself, I was big time wary about the hand that was sure to go up with the question, “Shane, what is circumcision?”

As my wife wisely predicted, it didn’t happen. But the traumatic anticipation has me thinking today about the practice, particularly why Christians would or wouldn’t circumcise their baby boys and why Muslims tend to do so. [To be clear: We’re discussing male circumcision, not female. I find no reason to not consider FGM wrong in all its forms.]

While Jews still circumcise their boys, they do so for ostensibly religious reasons. Christians, at least in the U.S., snip at a fairly high percentage, even though the Bible in general, and Acts 15 specifically, indicates it’s not a command from God. Interestingly, circumcision is not mentioned in the Quran, but Muslims (after Jews) practice it at the highest rate. 

So what’s your guess why we do this? 

I can hear some of you saying emphatically, “We don’t!” Fair enough. But many Christians and Muslims do, and do so outside of any religious conviction. 

My hunch: We don’t want our sons to be different from most in a fairly sensitive, even taboo, part of their bodies. Under the cover of sketchy medical reasoning and pretty heavy family and cultural pressure, we go with the flow. 

Muslims additionally see circumcision as indicative of membership in the global ummah or community of Islam. 

While I’m sure I don’t understand the full meaning of Paul’s challenge to “circumcision of the heart” in Romans 2.29, that internal, spiritual surgery is certainly a more significant snip and one from which we could all benefit. 

Have you ever shown great courage? Maybe you killed a spider for a girl you really liked, stared down cancer or gave birth to another human (Shout out to the moms!!).

Life these days (like all of them before) calls for courage. Sometimes a little, other times more than we suspect we have. 

In Acts 5.29, Luke writes that Peter and the apostles told the Sanhedrin, “We must obey God, rather than any human authority!” They said this to the very authority that had both the means and motivation to kill them.

I’ve never decided to obey God at the direct risk of my life. Although I did get 186 vaccinations two years ago so I could travel to Ivory Coast!

Seriously, though, my heart goes out to sisters and brothers who will choose today to stand for Jesus against the advice or demand of the powers-that-be who threaten their lives and livelihood.

I think of the fear Christians confront in Modi’s India, the feistiness of believers in Iran and particularly the courage of Muslims who’ve decided Jesus really is who he claims to be and have chosen to stick to it. 

People like a guy I’ve been reading about whose notoriety seems to have gotten a whole nation asking for his head and those of his family. I admire the bravery of the people who attended this conference for Muslim Background Believers. 

I also think of the young wives who are standing today against their husband’s demands to deny Christ, the men who are telling beloved uncles they are following Jesus, the husbands and fathers who are trading good jobs for the kingdom of God. The aunties and grandmas who are working two jobs to feed the kids and pastoring their church. 

May they see their captain and savior Jesus today in a fresh, powerful and sustaining way. 

Something is happening all across the U.S. right now: Perspectives classes are reaching the end of their 15 week run and participants are either figuring out how to get back to normal life (a few) or how to integrate an epic experience into the rest of their one wild and precious life (most). 

I love teaching Lesson 15: Talking about how to find a spouse if you’re going to be a missionary (really), what it takes to collaborate with others to do huge Great Commission tasks and how to take the next steps in the specific roles God has in mind for you. 

You’re probably familiar with the World Christian roles the class talks about: Intercessor, Sender, Goer, Welcomer and Mobilizer. 

They’re all great roles, essential it seems to the global work of God and super fun to kick around with people. 

Due to chronic time management issues with the first three roles, I almost always rush through Welcomer so I can end with my role (and my favorite) Mobilizer. This is regrettable. 

To all those living the welcomer life, I apologize. 

God in his kindness has seen fit in our day to open the door for many Muslims to come and live in the U.S. This is a gift in many ways. Not the least that it’s way cheaper to have an Afghan family over to your house for dinner (even if you pay more for halal!), than it is to go to Kabul! 

While it’s less expensive to welcome refugees, asylum seekers, international students and migrants, it’s still hard work. 

And vital. 

Welcoming honors the giver of the gift by receiving newcomers with joy and kindness. It honors the biblical value of hospitality that has sometimes faded almost to invisibility in our day and culture. And it honors soon-to-be participants in the joyous kingdom of God, for these are those Jesus spoke of, “. . . many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

Join me in lifting a glass to our welcomer colleagues. May Muslims from far and wide drink deeply of your kindness and hospitality and may God give you kingdom success beyond your wildest dreams.

What’s your earliest memory of something smelling good? I mean really good? Mine is the now long departed Colonial Bakery in Muncie, Indiana. We took a field trip there in early elementary school, but even driving by, the aroma of plain, soft white bread baking was intoxicating for a pudgy young boy like me! It ministered to my senses and my soul. 

The Colonial smell has never been topped, but it has been challenged. As I’ve traveled and lived in various parts of the Muslim world, food in general and bread in particular, has been a consistent component of the joy a place and its people bring. 

In northern Jordan, I discovered that fresh baked pita delights whether it holds shawarma or boiled eggs. During a summer in Izmir, Turkey, one of our breakfast chores involved a two minute walk to the local bakery where I traded 50 cents for a loaf so fresh it was nearly too hot to hold! 

A short bike ride from our home in Holland, an immigrant bakery introduced me to the rest of the tasty corpus of Turkish bread. 

Though I found it in Fresno and it’s at the edge of what many of us might call “bread,” Ethiopian Injera is wonderfully sour and spongy. 

Chapatis baked on the inside wall of a tandoor in Pune, India cheered my team after a two hour train ride went pear-shaped and lasted until midnight! 

High on the very long list of things that make Malaysia wonderful, Roti Canai is bread at another level and a favorite of my friends who love that land and people fiercely. 

Since Jesus called himself the Bread of Life and Paul says his followers are the aroma of Christ, with bread on your mind, I have a two fold challenge today: 

1. Bake one of the breads. Smell the smells and pray for the people. (I’m planning for this one. Feel free to join me.) Send me pics so I can pray with you! 

2. Go buy one of the breads, smell the smells, share the bread and THE Bread with Muslims in a neighborhood nearby or city far away. (I’m dreaming of a roti spree in a downtown KL street market with the aforementioned!)

This Muslim Connect email is emerging as I sit in a Q & A session at a big church with Larry Osborn. Do you know of him? The guy’s pastored a cool church for decades and has the scars to show it. He also seems to have the sort of humility (with an amusing dose of cynicism) you love to see in long-term followers of Jesus. I’d encourage you to buy one of his books and watch some talks on YouTube.

Fascinating and Heartbreaking Migration Data Points

Increased numbers
According to the UNHCR, as of April 14, 2024, a total of 48,618 refugees arrived in Europe via one of the Mediterranean routes. Of these, 46,629 used one of the three main sea routes and 1,379 came overland. An estimated 473 died or went missing trying to reach Europe.

Increased deaths
According to international media outlet Deutsche Welle, a total of 8,565 migrants died in 2023, 20% more than in 2022 and the highest total since 2014. The Mediterranean remains the deadliest route with more than 3,100 deaths. A little more than fifty percent of the deaths worldwide resulted from drownings.

Who’s Hosting Syrian Refugees?
Statista reports the top three nations hosting Syrian refugees in 2022 are in the Middle East: Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan which collectively hosted over 5 million Syrians. In Europe in 2022, Germany, Sweden, and Austria hosted the largest number of Syrians with a combined total of nearly 708,000 people. 

Beautiful Image
Violins, violas, and cellos made from the wood of boats used by refugees to reach Italy were premiered at Milan’s La Scala opera house in a concert performed as a tribute to those who perished trying to reach Europe. The violins used in the performance were made by inmates at one of Italy’s high-security prisons. The performers at La Scala hope to perform at other concert halls across Europe.

Thank you once again to the good folks at Dimitrov Research Center for the Crescent Reading email from which these points were drawn.