Last Ramadan, my friend James Wright read through the Qur’an and wrote down his thoughts and questions for his Muslim friends. Marti mentioned his book about it in our March Resource Reviews.
I want to recommend this book to you. You might find it helpful for your own understanding, but also as a tool to interact with Muslims. Find a short interview with the author in my weekly email, Muslim Connect.
You can get the book in paperback and Kindle (cheap) from Amazon or visit Wright’s website.
Source: Wycliffe Bible Translators, April 2, 2018
Think about the best meal you’ve ever had and how you felt after.
Now think about how you “eat” God’s Word. It’s so easy to just snack on Scripture, consuming little bites on apps throughout the week.
Explore what it looks like to see the Bible as a feast for your soul and learn about two language communities in Ghana who are hungry for all of God’s Word.
» Read full story with pictures and video. So inspiring. For more nourishment from God’s Word, read The Verse Next Door.
Source: Preemptive Love Coalition, March 30, 2018
These barbers in Baghdad decided their scissors and clippers were perfect peacemaking tools. Most of the barbers are Muslim, but they live close to a refugee camp for Iraqi Christians. The families who live in this camp were displaced by ISIS and many of them suffered tremendously under the extremist group, which brutally targeted religious minorities.
They are low on resources, so spending money on haircuts just isn’t possible for many of them.
Seeing an opportunity to build a bridge between often estranged communities, these barbers decided to take a step toward their Christian neighbors and help them out. Once a month, they show up at the camp and give free haircuts to whoever needs one. They chat, laugh, build relationships, and through that process, they help these families heal.
Each snip of their scissors and buzz from their clippers tells these Christian families that they are welcome and wanted in Iraq. That their Muslim neighbors are for them and want them to thrive.
If these barbers in Baghdad can figure out how to make peace with their clippers and scissors, surely the rest of us can figure out how to make peace with what we’ve got.
» Read full story and other articles in the Peacemaking Fridays series.
» Here’s an interesting video/story about reaching out to refugees in America: From War to Montana (Starbucks).
Source: World Watch Monitor, March 28, 2018
A joint commission of Turkey’s major Christian denominations has published a historic book of concise Christian doctrine, receiving the unprecedented endorsement of all the nation’s Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Syriac, and Protestant Churches.
According to Armenian Bishop Sahak Masalyan, keynote speaker at the formal book launch in Istanbul of the English edition on February 3, the “most spectacular aspect” of the book is in fact its first page of endorsements, which he declared “akin to a miracle.” “[This book] expresses the shared beliefs of the Churches in Turkey. We approve its publication and recommend that it be widely read,” the statement says.
Undersigned are the ecclesiastical leaders of all mainstream branches of the Christian faith in Turkey: the Orthodox Patriarch, Armenian Archbishop, Syriac Metropolitan, Chairman of the Catholic Bishops, and the church leader chairing the Association of Protestant Churches.
“For Churches that have ostracized each other for centuries, leaving a legacy of deep divisions and resentments,” the back cover explains, “to sign their names to such a work is no small step toward Christian unity.”
» Related to Orthodox theology and missions check out Orthodox Theology for India (Marge Network).
Source: World Watch Monitor, March 29, 2018
Like every month, Pastor Jose Prakash sent invitations for the prayer and fasting to be conducted at Fatehpur Central prayer hall. “At least 550 people accepted the invitation and joined in worship and the Bible-study sessions that followed,” he said.
Around 20 Hindu extremists in saffron-colored clothes barged inside a church in eastern India’s Uttar Pradesh state [March 28], violently assaulting the pastor and two church members.
“On the insistence of brother pastors, I had submitted a complaint letter at the local police station just to inform the police about the incident, but after coming back home yesterday night, I went on my knees in prayer and the Holy Spirit prompted me that I should not register a case against the 20 young men.
“I reasoned it with God, and I see two reasons—one that they are ignorant, and have no knowledge of what they have done; two, that they do not know the Lord, and his works. They are just young men in their twenties, who were instigated to take up violence.
“I urged the church and brethren pastors, if it pains them, please cry out to the Lord for the salvation of the 20 men.”
» Also read Hindus are Tired of Being Born Again (International Mission Board) and Resurrection vs. Raising (short piece by Justin Long).
Source: God Reports, March 30, 2018
Erik Laursen, founder of New Covenant Missions recently traveled to Ethiopia, where he met with a pastor who has been targeting an Islamic city of 30,000 people that had no Christian churches and is considered the khat-dealing hub of Africa. Khat is a plant native to the Horn of Africa that contains an amphetamine-like stimulant. Chewing the leaves of the plant is a custom going back thousands of years.
When they first started doing evangelism campaigns they would go early in the mornings before people were high on khat or drunk on the local alcohol, the pastor told Laursen. Since then, they planted the only church in the area, and have been holding two services every week. Ten new believers will be baptized soon.
“What is your vision for this area?” Laursen asked the pastor.
“We have many young adults that are ready to go (spread the Good News), and we are all ready to die for the sake of the gospel!” he said.
» See also Enemy to Brother, the story of a young man groomed for jihad who came to Jesus (Arab World Media).
Source: Barnabas Fund, March 22, 2018
A Christian woman accused of “illegal missionary activity” for demonstrating how to download a Bible smartphone app was acquitted by a regional court in Shymkent, south Kazakhstan, on March 13, 2018.
Sultanova Dilobarkhon met a woman in church in December 2017 who later asked her to rendezvous near a local café so she could show her how to download a Bible app onto her phone. Minutes after Sultanova showed the woman how to download the Bible, she was arrested by police in what appeared to be a deliberate set up.
The court noted that the Bible “is not banned literature in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and found that Sultanova was not guilty of “illegal missionary activity,” as the church attendance of the woman who asked for her assistance to download the Bible had been documented.
» See also this story from the US: Imam Spends Hours at Museum of the Bible, Says “Every Muslim Should Visit” (The Christian Post).
Greetings!
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about books; see brief blurbs below for some new and noteworthy volumes on a variety of topics. We’ve also got some free stuff for you, including an evangelism training course and instructions for a simulation of the refugee experience. Plus there are upcoming conferences and events. Is there something for you in this edition? Have a look.
Blessings,
Marti Wade
Source: Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College
How many people do you think you’ve shared the gospel message with this year? Twenty? Ten? Five? One? Zero? Research shows that 79% of unchurched people would engage in a faith conversation if their Christian friends asked; however, only 39% of Christians shared how to become a Christian with someone in the past six months.
Our Gospel Story is a free, online collection of related resources meant to move you to show and share the love of Jesus with those around you in winsome and creative ways. It includes an interactive video with evangelism scenarios, training videos, a downloadable curriculum, and other resources. The six-lesson curriculum can be used individually or with groups.
» Learn more or access the materials. Looks like these are very thoughtful and high-quality resources.
» You might also be interested in the Gospel Life Podcast.