Missions Catalyst 10.19.11 – Practical Mobilization

In This Issue: Carl Medearis Speaks Out

• FEATURE: Carl Medearis Speaks Out (on Hanging out with Muslims, Muslims Taking over America, and Why We Forward Scary Emails)

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FEATURE: Carl Medearis Speaks Out (on Hanging out with Muslims, Muslims Taking over America, and Why We Forward Scary Emails)

By Shane Bennett

In this month’s Practical Mobilization column, author Carl Medearis chats with me about how to reach out to Muslims, how to invite others to do so, and whether or not Israel deserves special attention from Christians.

Carl and his family lived in Lebanon for a dozen years. Carl speaks around the world and writes at his blog, the Huffington Post, and CNN, where his recent article generated nearly 3,750 comments! You should definitely buy his latest book, Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism.

Spend Time with Muslims

Shane: So I have this desire for Muslims to follow Jesus. What are some ideas for putting that desire into action?

Carl: Many of us have Muslim neighbors, co-workers, and relatives. I’m serious about the relatives. I hear more and more often, “My son married a Muslim.” Or more likely, “My daughter married a Muslim.” If you love these guys and you want to see them consider Jesus in a new way, spend time with them. Simple as that.

We see this in the life of Jesus. He was intentional about being with people. He seemed very people-centric, not spending most of his time in strategy meetings and prayer meetings, but either with people or away from people with the Father. Not in meetings, but with people.

In my mind, this is the first, and by far most important, step.

What do you do when you’re with them? Well, that’s interesting, but being there is the main point. Spend lots of time with your Muslim friends; as much as you can afford. Then because you love Jesus, things of the Bible will naturally spill out of you.

Shane: Great, so I’m spending time with Muslims, but I think I’m the only one at my church and among my friends who cares. How can I bring them on board, especially my pastor?

Carl: Invite them to spend time with Muslims with you. Nothing you give people to read, listen to, or watch is better than this: Invite a Muslim family over to dinner and invite your pastor too. Say, “I enjoy these new friends (who happen to be Muslims). Want to hang out with us?”

It can be a mistake to overfocus on the fact that your friends are Muslim. Rather, think of it this way: They’re so much fun, so enjoyable. Your pastor is missing out on some fun. If you don’t believe it, don’t say it. But if you’re enjoying being with them, you’d want more people from your life to be involved, right? Nothing like a wonderful fun evening, good food, and interesting conversation to hook someone into that life. It becomes real.

Shane: But let’s be honest here. Sometimes it’s more fun to hang with someone pretty much like me. Someone who knows and likes the stuff I know. Someone who speaks with my vocabulary and accent.

Carl: Yes, sometimes we do the hard thing because it’s right. There is sacrifice and calling in moving our lives alongside those of our Muslim neighbors. There’s also a biblical mandate for compassion: In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus told us to reach out to the guy in the ditch. Don’t be the Levite or the other guy. This does cost. It does take time. But many Muslims are in a tough situation in the U.S. and other places. Misunderstood and under suspicion. And here’s what I’ve found, almost as soon as you take the time, you’ll find Muslims are very enjoyable, sometime more so than your other neighbors! As you do this, you’ll find it becoming more fun. You’ll find yourself asking, “Will I spend Friday night hanging with my childhood friends (which is fine), or would I like to call Ali and Fatima?” Get over the initial shock and you’ll love it.

Helpful Resources

Shane: What are some of the best resources you’ve seen for training us how to understand, relate to, and build friendships with Muslims?

Carl: Again, the main thing is spending time with Muslims. It’s no good learning a bunch of stuff, if you never hang out! That said, here are some resources I like.

1. The Bible. It’s a best seller for a reason. I see it beat my books this quarter, again! The Gospels in particular are the best training manual. I get asked all the time about what resources I recommend. I suppose people expect me to say my book, but it’s way down the list from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John’s books. We should read them for ministry style and strategy.

How did Jesus do things? We see Jesus hanging around and ministering in an Eastern context, in a very Eastern way. Most of our ministry training consists of learning how to answer questions, but Jesus never really did that. He didn’t answer most questions, but instead asked another. Paul, on the other hand, answered. He used logic and debate. But we need to take our style for reaching out to Muslims from Jesus, not Paul. Relationship is king, not feeling like you can, or even need to, answer every question intellectually. Why did Jesus teach that way he did? Because it connected. Our “point one, point two, point three” teaching doesn’t connect with Eastern hearts and minds. Retrain yourself in the way of the Gospels.

Way down the list after the Bible:

2. The Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class. It’s hard to beat in terms of encouraging and preparing people to connect with Muslims.

3. Many people find help in my book Muslims, Christians, and Jesus.

4. I find Fouad Masri and stuff from Crescent Project, like his Bridges curriculum to be interesting. Fouad walks a good line between various ideas of approaching and engaging Muslims. [Editor’s note: Carl will be speaking alongside Fouad and Josh McDowell at Crescent Project’s Oasis Conference in Washington, DC, November 3-5.]

Peacemaking Initiatives

Shane: There seem to be a growing number of “peace initiatives” developed by Christians to build bridges between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. I’m thinking of Abrahamic Alliance, Peace Catalyst, and Trac5. What do you think about such efforts in general? What are the pros and cons of such efforts, and how do they fit into God’s kingdom purposes?

Carl: They’re great. I’m all for peacemaking. Jesus said peacemakers are to be called the sons of God. This really is an amazing title, given that he spoke of himself that way. I think the ultimate peacemaking involves reconciling men to God, and that only happens through Jesus. But other peacemaking has great value as well. We sometime think about the Middle East or Jewish/Muslim/Christian relations in general and say, “It can’t be fixed. Why do you get involved?” At least I get that from Christians. My non-Christian friends think making an effort for peace is cool. It’s honorable to be involved in peacemaking.

That said, I do see a potential danger – getting stuck with political and religious peacemaking, and not going through to the most important reconciliation: man to God.

I’m not advocating universalism or an idea that we’re all the same. No, we’re different, but we should be nice to each other as we try to honor God. We also say the best way to make total peace with God is through Jesus. It’s tempting to stop at personal peacemaking, not bringing in someone’s need for salvation in Christ. I resist that temptation. Peacemaking is a great starting place, but not the ultimate destination.

Scary Emails

Shane: What are two or three of the biggest wrong ideas that you see Christians have about Muslims as you talk around the U.S. and the world?

Carl: Christians are guilty of passing on these emails about Muslims that claim to help us “understand the times,” but are actually fear-mongering and irresponsible. You know what it is? It’s called gossip and it’s a sin. Don’t listen. Don’t pass them on.

Too often we haven’t read the Qur’an or talked to scholars, but we take what is said as possible enough to pass on! 1 Corinthians 13:7 says we need to love and believe the best about people. I can tell you this: The Qur’an does not say Muslims are supposed to kill all Christians and Jews. It simply does not say that. [Editor: Check Carl’s website for more on this topic.]

I think we need to relax, take a deep breath, and not pass on stuff we don’t know about. I’m not on a campaign against these emails. I just don’t pass them on. I “reply to all,” asking the sender to please stop forwarding them. I ask, “What emotion does reading that email invoke in your heart? Is it from God or from the devil?” Let’s not fall into Satan’s hands. Let’s err on the side of love, not fear. Allow God to drive that fear out from us with love.

I also hear Christians worrying about Muslims taking over the U.S. and imposing sharia law. Muslims comprise 0.5% of the U.S. population. Honestly, I don’t see a takeover in the near future. People are wondering about an Iranian or Saudi Arabian type of sharia being imposed in the U.S. I don’t see that happening in 1,000 years, certainly not 100%. That’s propaganda. A great love story is powerful, but a horror story carries even more punch today. Nutty Muslims in America? Sure. But those ten are free to think what they want and we’re free to ignore them.

And even saying, “Well, not all Muslims are terrorists,” shows prejudice. It implies that “most, just not all” Muslims are terrorists. Do we really think that? [Editor: Are we really that bad at math?]

Christian Zionism

Shane: OK, let’s close this out with a bang: Are Jews (the 14 million alive today) God’s chosen people who should be given priority by Christians?

Carl: (laughter) Everyone deserves love, time, prayer, and energy. So if God’s called you to Jews, go for it. We’ll go for it with Muslims. Should we spend more [time/money/energy] on Jews? Perhaps we should spend proportionately. There are maybe 14 million Jews and 1.5 billion Muslims alive today! But I don’t think there’s a calculator in God’s heart. I only half-jokingly tell people, since Paul says in Romans 11:25-26 that Jewish hearts are hardened until the full number of Gentiles come in: If you go to Israel, lead an Arab to Christ!

Regarding the pretty serious issues that fall under “Christian Zionism,” here are some of the best resources I know: Whose Land? Whose Promise? by Gary Burge, and Christian Zionism. by Stephen Sizer. You can also check my website for some of my thoughts.

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Many thanks to Carl for his time and insight. Buy his books at Amazon or at his website. Please post your thoughts on this article at Missions Catalyst and, if you’re willing, forward it to two (or ten) people to help get the word out.

Shane Bennett has served in missions mobilization since 1987, much of his energy going to recruiting, training, and sending short-term teams. He’s been on research teams in Bangkok, Bombay, and Turkey. He coauthored Exploring the Land, a guide to researching unreached peoples, and has written numerous articles.

Shane now works as a public speaker for Frontiers and is part-time missions pastor at Commonway Church. He and his wife, Ann, have five school-aged children. They live and work in Indiana.