Shane Bennett

[A hat trick is when a hockey player scores three goals in one game. Or, in my parlance, any set of three related things!] 

Could you use some good, hopeful news?

1. Our Muslim Connect tribe has passed the 2500 subscriber threshold! I’m not really sure what that means, but it feels like a milestone. Celebrating another milestone, the Five Year Anniversary give away ends this week. If you click here, you’ll be entered to win one of five books, two sets of Apple AirPods and a Kindle e-reader.
2. Amazing Perspectives classes are starting up all over the U.S. If you’ve not been, check here to find the nearest class. You’re welcome to visit. Not only will you be encouraged and informed, Perspectives classes are also a great way to connect with your people. If you’re wondering who in your town cares about refugees and are building friendships with Muslims, you’ll find them there.
3. It’s happening. Afghans are being welcomed around the country by Sponsor Circles. I was honored to meet some intrepid believers this week whose family arrives on Saturday! They’ve worked hard, prayed like crazy, raised a ton of money and now it’s happening. Their effort and location (A town of 100K in the middle of nowhere!) has made me reconsider the possibility of launching an effort where I live. How about you? Could we find five families to band together? Is there a house for free or low cost? What about jobs? Dari speakers? And could we raise the $12,000 required for a family of five?I don’t know, but God does, and none of us wants to miss an opportunity he’s placing before us. Let me know if I can help you.

The very first Muslim Connect recalled my reassurance to an Indiana church that, “She’s not going to blow up the Walmart!” That was back when Saudi students were arriving in the U.S. in the tens of thousands and most of us, me included, had never met a for real Saudi Arabian.

Today, we have 50-60 thousand Afghans moving into the neighborhood and last week’s news that the refugee pipeline is re-opening means upwards of 165,000 more new comers. I wonder if Muslim Connect is needed now more than ever.

There’s also a special subset of humanity who’ve been on my heart in recent months: Around 422 Muslim people groups could be classified as unengaged, meaning no one is living among them, working in local languages to catalyze movements of disciples. They’re most likely not coming here. Some of us from somewhere need to figure out how to go live among them, to share the good news that Jesus died for them and God has great, abundant life dreams for them.

Because of this, I’m grateful God has seen fit to keep this little email going and our intrepid tribe alive. I’m grateful for the many of you who have donated, some year after year, to keep Muslim Connect growing. I celebrate those of you have been here from early on, even those who were among the brave 29 who subscribed to read the very first ever Muslim Connect. Thank you.

This started with simple premise:

God loves Muslims and wants to enfold them into his kingdom.
God chooses to use the likes of you and me toward that end.
If we’re going to be used, we need to increasingly learn how to think about Muslims the way God does and love them like Jesus.

Let’s do it! 

As a way of saying thank you for reading and to celebrate this anniversary, I’m giving away some prizes: Five copies of the super cool Loving Your MuslimNeighbor book, two sets of Apple AirPods and one Kindle Paperwhite e-reader! All I ask is you forward this email to two or three friends then ping me here to enter.

Thank you for reading, sharing and for all you do for God’s glory among Muslims. May he greatly multiply your kingdom success in the coming year.

You know what’s really cool? A pleasantly surprised pastor. Of course, pastors get surprised all the time: “A long term member has died. Can you do the funeral tomorrow?” “Did I tell you the kids are singing this morning so your sermon will need to be shorter!” And the ever popular, “We were going to give you a cost of living increase, but we decided to switch to fair trade organic coffee in the cafe instead!”

Here’s a challenge for the Muslim Connect tribe: Let’s pleasantly surprise our pastors by requesting this week three prayer times for Muslims over the coming months. However your church arranges to pray for special issues, either in a bulletin, from the front, or in a newsletter, ask for three of those slots. Tell your pastor you’ll provide great content for prayer, including the exact word count requested, a couple really nice slides and even a short video.

Here are four occasions to choose from. My approach is, “Ask for three, settle for two!”

Ramadan begins on April 2. Maybe your pastor would spring for a prayer guide for everyone. Maybe you could provide some prayer prompts on Sunday April 3, the second day of Ramadan. It goes for a month, so there’s wiggle room with this one!

Eid al-Fitr marks the celebratory end of Ramadan and happens on Monday, May 2-3. Let’s request a church-wide prayer slot on Sunday May 1st as Muslims end Ramadan and begin the Eid celebration.

Eid al-Adha, honoring Abraham’s obedience in offering his son for sacrifice, happens on Saturday, July 9th through Sunday the 10th. Let’s pray that Sunday morning for Muslims to understand the full symbolic weight of that story.

Finally, Sunday, June 5th is the International Day For The Unreached. Maybe go ahead and ask to preach that Sunday! If (when?) you get a “no,” settle for an all church prayer emphasis.

Let me know which of these slots you secure and maybe we can share ideas for killer content.

I’m recording a fun training talk with the head of GFM Ministries tomorrow. If you register here, you’ll be sent the link when the talk goes live later in the day. Thanks for giving it a shot.

Please see the special note at the end of this email.

When my Lyft driver’s name popped up as “Noor,” I was pretty excited and a little surprised! I was aware that the name means “light,” but had only known it as a girl’s name and the driver was clearly a dude! Well, lesson number one.

We hopped in and headed out. Like a good driver, Noor asked where we’re from. In my mind that gives me a free pass to ask him back.

“I’m from here, but you mean where my family is from? From Afghanistan.”

To which I replied, “Ah, wonderful. I really wish I knew some Dari.”

Well, that uncorked some emotion. And lesson number two!

It was an honest blunder for me. I was trying to show that I at least knew the name of a language in Afghanistan, trying to establish some rapport. Showing off!

Noor gave me a quick overview of the history of Afghanistan, the influence of Wahhabism, and the importance of calling the language by its real name, Farsi.

While I lack sufficient background to put his words into proper context, it was fascinating to hear Noor’s views and to sense the passion that accompanied them. I also got confirmation that Farsi-speaking Afghans celebrate Nowruz. That’s motivating me to help host a party come late March!

The conversation had to end when we reached our destination. As we piled out of the minivan, Noor leaned over and said, “Not one in a hundred people care to hear about Afghanistan. Thank you.”

Here’s the point, God used my bumbling, self-aggrandizing efforts to accomplish at least two things: Increasing my understanding of the Afghan immigrant world and blessing one dear representative of it. Yay for God, Noor and me!

This is the last week of my semi-annual invitation to give to help Muslim Connect grow and go forward (I’m aiming for 5000 subscribers this year!). If you’ve found value in Muslim Connect please consider donating here (under “Staff” and choose “Shane Bennett”). Half of the funds that come in from this invitation will be passed on to help Afghans as they resettle in the U.S. Thank you.

Please see the special note at the end of this email.

Life emerges from blood, sweat and tears; from hopes, desires and fears. Mary delivering Jesus in a strange, but warm and safe place, provides one of the most endearing images of Christmas.

I stood on the sidelines of the sweetest nativity re-enactment this past week. Our church had over a few weeks collected the furnishings to outfit an apartment in a nearby city for a family who’d been evacuated from Afghanistan. Delivery day came and we hauled the cargo to the newly rented apartment.

It would be home to three brothers and the expectant wife of one of them. A cousin worked for the US military, putting the entire extended family in the sights of the Taliban. Eleven of them are now here, but 30 remain in hiding in Afghanistan.

Sixteen hours after we dropped off the cargo, the wife graduated to mom status and welcomed the newest Afghan-American to the world.

My buds and I were the donkeys on the periphery of this nativity. And darn happy to be so.

As we celebrate Jesus’s birth in the next few days, with gusto I hope, may the Holy Spirit remind us to breathe a prayer for those navigating new lives like the holy family of long ago.

Twice a year I invite Muslim Connect readers to contribute to the success and growth of this email. If you’ve found value in Muslim Connect please consider giving a year end gift here (under “Staff” and choose “Shane Bennett”). Half of the funds that come in over the next three weeks will be passed on to help Afghans, possibly the family above, as they resettle in US. Thank you.

If you had two words to describe your ideal Christmas, what would they be? Where would you land if asked to describe this particular Christmas season in two words? For me: Busy and blessed. I’m feeling so much of God’s goodness these days.

But I wonder what Muslims living in a non-Muslim country experience during Christmas. What is allowed, what is forbidden and how hard is it to explain all that to your kids?

If we take a chance and invite a Muslim friend to a Christmas dinner or party or maybe even a Christmas Eve service at church, could they, would they come?

Here is a video in which a Muslim teacher, with grace and empathy, says Muslims, “. . . can do things during the Christmas season that are Muslim things to do, because we believe in Jesus, on whom be peace, and we believe in having decent, halal fun.”

In this second video, the teacher is pretty snarky and reminds me how I don’t want to preach, write or answer honest questions! He says a Muslim should not even say “Merry Christmas!”

Finally, the “Official Website of the Ahmadiyya,” who I’ve found to be some of the nicest people ever give us, “Six reasons Muslims – or anyone – should not celebrate Christmas!” Bah Humbug!

As you would guess the views are various, and I suppose their actual implementation is even more so. It all makes it pretty hard for me to imagine what it’s like to be a Muslim in the U.S. this time of year.

Similarly, I wonder what these weeks are like for our Christian sisters and brothers living in non-Christian countries like Hindu India, Muslim Indonesia or largely secular France.

Let’s pray for them both. The good news the angels shared with the shepherds is good news for outsiders everywhere. And if you get a chance, lean toward adventure: Invite some Muslims to a Christmas event and see how it goes!

If you have a story of inviting a Muslim to your house, I’d love to hear it. I’m writing an article about this next week and your story would be helpful! Thank you. 

You’ve heard the story, right? Maybe you’ve seen the video. (Or an earlier one.) Congresswoman Lauren Boebert from Colorado made a joke suggesting the only hijab-wearing member of Congress, Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, is a terrorist.

I’m curious: What was your initial reaction when you heard? For me it was a mix of anger, sadness and embarrassment, due in part to a weird mix of commonality with Boebert: She’s the representative for my district, we both claim to be Christian and we both speak out about Muslims.

Before I share a couple thoughts and suggest a response, let me make some disclaimers:

1. Yes, I probably am crazy to write about this.
2. No, Ilhan Omar does not need me to defend her. (And to be clear: I’m not defending Omar’s policies and beliefs. I am defending her right to be a person.)
3. I think this would matter less to me if Boebert weren’t vocal about her Christian faith. She referenced it in her apology (20 seconds in).

How should we think about this situation? And as people who love Jesus, is there action to be taken?

For starters, it wouldn’t kill me to take a quick check up on my own loyalties. I’d like to say I’m most loyal to Jesus, then country and family, but he and I both know it’s often my own sweet self at the top of the list.

Secondly, for anyone who claims to be a Christian, there’s no free pass based on, “Well, she did really bad things first!” We’re not talking to a seven year old about why he hit his sister.

What can we do? We can heed Paul’s admonition, “that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made. . . for kings and all those in authority. . . .” We can vote. We can train our kids to love like Jesus and attack ideas, not people.

What do Muslims do for Thanksgiving? Well, most of them probably go to work or school. But what about the several million who live in the U.S.? Do families celebrate with get togethers and eating halal turkey? Do they watch football? Presumably Robert Saleh will. He’s the head coach of the New York Jets and a Muslim of Lebanese descent. Even though no matter which of the six teams playing today win, he’ll still be second to last in the league!

Khalil Abdur-Rashid the Muslim Chaplain at Harvard University says, “Thanksgiving. . .affords people who are normally heedless and forgetful of the myriad of blessings, of which we are recipients, to at least once a year acknowledge those blessings. Consequently, Thanksgiving, while not directly legislated by Islam, is at least in essence compliant with the spirit of Islam.”

He goes on, “In most houses, the practice of circling the dinner table with family, expressing what we are thankful for, and why we are thankful for it, is a way of not only expressing thanks to Allah, but also declaring and announcing our gratitude to others. It is an expression of the verse in the Quran, “And as for the blessings (ni’mat) of your Lord, proclaim them!” (Quran 93:11).”

You are a blessing! I’m thankful to God for you and grateful to you for reading Muslim Connect. 

Maybe there are some Muslims on the way to celebrate Thanksgiving at your house right now, maybe tomorrow, maybe Christmas or next year. That would be a blessing to them and to you and your family. I’m grateful for that as well.