In This Issue: Islam in America, Inspiring Videos about Prayer, and Upcoming Mission Events
- USA: A Man from Iraq and What Happened on Capitol Hill
- RESOURCE: Five Great Videos about Prayer
- EVENTS: New on the Missions Catalyst Calendar
Before we dive into today’s edition – which includes a news feature and some cool videos – let me give a big “thank you!” to all who sent us encouraging notes in response to last week’s edition.
It’s a huge help to know you find what we do useful and inspiring. We love hearing that you’re passing along things you read in Missions Catalyst to others. That’s really our hope – that the news, ideas, and materials we share would equip you to be a resource person for others.
Here’s one group we think we could serve better: missionaries serving outside their own countries. Of course, some are overwhelmed and trying to stay focused. We know that feeling! Others live in situations where getting emails with the word “missions” prominently featured would be a bad idea.
Many, though, might find Missions Catalyst a great, simple way to stay in touch with what’s going on in ministries beyond their borders. It’s also free, consistent, and relatively easy to digest. If you work for a mission agency, consider offering your folks on the field an invitation to subscribe to Missions Catalyst.
Thanks for helping us spread the word!
Marti
USA: A Man from Iraq and What Happened on Capitol Hill
By Erich Bridges, Baptist Press, September 29, 2009
I have a Muslim friend named Alaa who arrived in America with his wife and four children last year.
They escaped Iraq about half a step ahead of death.
Alaa celebrated the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Later, he aided a US soldier who was shot during a skirmish with Iraqi insurgents on Alaa’s street in Baghdad. Within 72 hours, Alaa had been targeted for revenge by local militia thugs. His second son was kidnapped. The kidnappers crushed the boy’s hand with a trunk lid as they tossed him in the back of their vehicle. They beat the child daily while demanding a small fortune for his life.
Desperate, Alaa ransomed his son with his life savings and the help of relatives. He went into hiding with his family. His house was destroyed by insurgents. Three months later, the family fled Iraq. After two years in another country, they finally entered the United States as refugees.
Alaa and his family have received a lot of practical help since arriving here, from lodging and transportation to medical and job assistance. Most of it has come from Christians – and Alaa is very thankful. “They help me every time!” he says with amazement, smiling broadly.
The family is struggling to learn English and make ends meet, but they love America. The kids make good grades in school. Better days lie ahead.
Does Alaa sound like the kind of guy who secretly plans to take over America for radical Islam?
He experienced his fill of radical Islamists in Iraq: They nearly killed him. Today he’s mainly interested in becoming an American citizen. He also welcomes discussions of the gospel because he’s seen it lived out by people who care about him and his family.
I thought about Alaa as several thousand Muslims gathered in Washington to pray on the west lawn of the US Capitol September 25. The event was billed as “Islam on Capitol Hill,” an opportunity to “illustrate the wonderful diversity of Islam.”
Various Christian groups expressed concern about the event, which failed to draw anywhere near the 50,000 Muslims that organizers had anticipated. National Muslim organizations reportedly declined to participate. Questions were raised about the motives of the sponsors, who proclaimed “Our time has come” as the event’s theme. One organizer, Hassen Abdellah, was part of the legal team that defended one of the attackers in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The public relations timing of the rally also was less than ideal, coming on the heels of headlines about new plots by homegrown Muslim terrorists to attack US targets that had been foiled in recent days.
Most of those who actually showed up for the Washington gathering quietly prayed in the shadow of the Capitol. The colorfully dressed crowd appeared to be a mix of US-born and immigrant Muslims.
One of the main speakers and organizers, Imam Abdul Malik of Brooklyn, NY, made no secret of his ambitious agenda: “America, I announce to you it is my intention to invite your children to the worship of one God [Allah],” Malik said during a 40-minute address. “It is my intention to remove every idol from every place. Nothing physical – it is a confrontation of ideas.”
Malik also paid tribute to the freedom of speech and religion America affords: “What we’ve done today, you couldn’t do in any Muslim country. If you prayed on the palace lawn there, they’d lock you up.” Many Christians living in Muslim lands would heartily agree with that statement.
Some Christians who came to the Washington event protested it – and Islam – with banners, chants, and at least one blaring megaphone. Others watched, listened, prayed, and sought opportunities to engage Muslims in conversations about God and faith.
The second approach is a more effective mission strategy – if you’re interested in talking to Muslims rather than at or about them.
“I say for people to get out and interact with people, to get to know Muslim people,” said Daryl Thomas, a Muslim carpenter from New York who attended the Washington gathering. “That’s basically what it is, just not knowing. So whatever’s in front of you, whether it’s the media or someone who doesn’t like Muslims, you start to believe it. So you’ve got to get to know [us] for yourself. Get out and visit mosques just a like a friend would invite you to another church.”
He’s right: Like it or not, we now live in the crossroads of the world. America has become a fragmented, chaotic marketplace of ideas, cultures, religions, and philosophies. It’s frightening and frustrating at times.
It also presents one of the greatest mission opportunities in the history of the Christian church.
Chances are Muslims live, work or go to school near you – or soon will. Befriend them. Help them. Listen to them. Share Jesus with them.
That’s what I’m doing with my friend Alaa.
>> Source with photos from the Capitol Hill rally. This article also appeared as “Talk to Muslims – Not at Them” on Erich’s blog, WorldView Conversation, where you can read more and leave comments.
>> Editor’s note: Want to reach out to Muslims in America? Consider attending this conference, reading this book, or spending some time on this site.
RESOURCE: Five Great Videos about Prayer
We can magnify God’s glory by celebrating what he’s doing through the prayers of his people around the world – and joining them. Watch these five short videos from the 24-7 Prayer movement:
Prayer as Movement: See how this wild explosion of prayer, mission and justice started by accident and spread into more than a third of the nations on earth.
Prayer as Community: Meet a truly radical modern-day, monastic community which has moved into a picturesque village of Ramsdorf [Germany]. “Our neighbors just call us ‘The Christians’ because we’re the only ones they’ve ever known…”
Prayer as Creativity: “If hitting [drums] in a Tulsa [USA] warehouse can be an expression of intercession, is there any act of human creativity which cannot be turned to prayer?”
Prayer as Mission: Meet the quietly heroic 24-7 Ibiza [Spain] team as they break up fights, clear up puke, and generally take prayer from the sanctuary onto the streets, pubs, and clubs of Europe’s biggest party island.
Prayer as Justice: In the mafia-run walled city of Boys Town [Mexico], Kelly Greene is praying with women and men caught up in cycles of prostitution, poverty, and drugs. She knows that prayer is a dangerous, dirty business, but lives are being changed.
EVENTS: New on the Missions Catalyst Calendar
Upcoming ACMC regional conferences:
October 30-31, 2009 South Central region (Austin, TX, USA)
November 6-7, 2009 New England region (Boston, MA, USA)
March 5-6, 2010 South Central region (Tulsa, OK, USA)
March 13, 2010 Midwest region (Oak Brook, IL, USA)
April 16-17, 2010 Mid-Atlantic region (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Upcoming webinars from The Mission Exchange:
October 8, 2009 John Pearson on “Mastering the 20 Management Buckets”
October 15, 2009 Willis Avery on “Making Disciples of Oral Learners”
October 22, 2009 Paul Borthwick on “Overcoming the Problem of the Superficially Converted”
For details on these and other webinars, see The Mission Exchange site.
Also…
November 6-7, 2009 Interserve Conference: Doing Business to the Glory of God (Edinburgh, Scotland)
December 1-4, 2009 Call2All Middle East Congress (Wadi El Natrun, Egypt)
>> For more events, see the Missions Catalyst events calendar.
Questions, comments, submissions? Contact us.