Missions Catalyst 11.08.06 – Practical Mobilization

In This Issue: On World Domination and Having Lots of Kids

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Practical Mobilization by Shane Bennett is published once a month.

On World Domination and Having Lots of Kids

By Shane Bennett

How many kids do you have? Kind of a personal question, isn’t it? In the interest of full disclosure, I have five. I don’t have five because we set out for five or because we wanted to make a social or political or religious or cultural statement. We have five because we thought four would be nice and then didn’t quite get the cap screwed on tight. We don’t have six because we thought one more might kill both of us and thereby orphan them all.

I just read an alarming article about birth rates among various peoples and how this links to Muslims taking over the world. To give you a feel for the article, here’s the title: “The future belongs to Islam,” and the subtitle: “The Muslim world has youth, numbers, and global ambitions. The West is growing old and enfeebled, and lacks the will to rebuff those who would supplant it. It’s the end of the world as we’ve known it.” Raising alarm (a somewhat dubious purpose) seemed to be the main purpose of the article, and it worked. I was alarmed and challenged in my thinking. Sadly, the author offered little in terms of challenging my doing. But for those of us who love Jesus, maybe some change in doing is called for. And just maybe, we need to invite the people God has given us voice with to change their doing as well.

Click here to read the article. I highly recommend it. It’s well written, thoroughly researched (“By 2050, Yemen will have more people than Russia”), compelling, but longish. If you don’t want to read it, here’s the upshot: In as much as Muslims (from many different Muslim cultures) tend to have many more children than do people from non-Muslim cultures, Muslims will in the foreseeable future gain increasing power, particularly in Europe.

So how do we respond to current fear of Islamic world domination, particularly as supported by this demographic reality? Well, for starters, you could follow my example and have lots of kids. But maybe you’re single, maybe you can’t have kids, or maybe you have well-reasoned arguments for only having one or two. Good point. But since fear is often crippling, what else can we do? Here are some of my thoughts. I welcome your contribution to this discussion. E-mail your thoughts to me.

1. Remember God’s purposes.

Lately I’ve enjoyed thinking about how God shows us his purposes in Psalm 96 – expounded on by Steve Hawthorne in his article, “The Story of His Glory.” Psalm 96:2-6 talks about the showing and telling of God’s glory, or, as Hawthorne puts it, the revealing of God’s glory. Most of the rest of the Psalm invites us to acknowledge, declare, celebrate, and reflect that glory back to God. And not just us; the nations, the trees, fields, and oceans as well! Steve sums this up, “God reveals his glory in order to receive glory from his creation.” Well put, and worthy to remember. For me, this gives foundational structure to life. God reveals (How can we be so lucky?) a bit of his glory to you and me (and all the rest). We in turn spend our short lives and all eternity reflecting that glory back to him.

2. Remember Jonah’s mistake.

Of course, part of “ascribing to God the glory due his name” involves inviting others to the party. The invitation list is long and staggeringly undiscriminating. Like a starry-eyed couple who can’t seem to scratch any names off their initial wedding invitation list, God apparently wants everyone to attend. Sometimes for some of us, that causes some problems. Deep down, we find there are some folks who we’d rather see experience God’s judgment. Happily for me, the times when I damn people to hell don’t get recorded and eventually canonized for all of us to read about. (Plus I usually get to repent before lasting damage is done!) Not so for Jonah. Poor guy. Knowing that if he preached, Nineveh might repent, and if Nineveh repented, God would not smoke them, he didn’t want to go preach. To me it seems that Jonah made a misguided effort to protect his safety, and maybe even Israel’s national security, by prioritizing it over God’s glory among and from Ninevites.

3. Remember Jesus’ example.

Jesus seemed willing to invite anyone to the party, prioritizing God’s glory among all peoples, even if it compromised his reputation (John 4, the Samaritan woman at the well), his well being (Luke 4, in Nazareth), and of course his life. In John 12 we see Jesus connecting with Greeks, then wrestling with the imminence of the cross. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour” (John 12:27). Then, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). Jesus prioritized God’s glory even above his life.

4. Remember who the real enemy is.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 that we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood, and John tells us in I John 3:8 that Jesus appeared to destroy the works of the devil.

5. Remember to ask questions first.

I would do well, and maybe you would too, to seek out some Muslims, build some friendships, and ask some questions. I suppose we shouldn’t ask one of our friends to speak for all of Islam, but it might be interesting to get their take on some of the big discussions: Do all Muslims want Islam to take over the world? If not, what’s the difference between those who do and those who don’t? Do Muslims and Christians serve the same God? What do Muslims want from Americans? And, of course, how many kids should people have?

6. Remember our brothers and sisters.

I have a friend who occasionally complains about his current church situation and his role as pastor of his flock. Generally though, he cuts short his complaints, saying something along the lines of, “I face nothing compared to our brothers and sisters in Sudan.” Or many other parts of the world. Let’s not forget them, or, though not technically our brothers and sisters in faith, Muslims who suffer due to the imperialistic desires of some aspects of Islam.

7. Remember to discuss this with our Father and with each other.

“God, what are you doing? How are you at work in the world as it is and as it is becoming? How can we join you?” And maybe a little confession time among friends would be helpful. “I’m afraid of what Muslims want.” “Honestly, I hate them.” “Sometimes I wonder if God is getting beaten. If the Muslims are winning.” Good questions and concerns to be brought into the open before God and some friends.

I’d love to hear your thoughts regarding this. E-mail them to me, and I’ll compile the responses for the special Christmas edition of Practical Mobilization next month.

Questions? Problems? Submissions? Contact publisher/managing editor Marti Smith.

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