Steppe of Faith

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Theology / Church

Mojic Baldandorj is a Mongolian Christian leader who has served as General Secretary of the Mongolian Evangelical Alliance, as founder and director of the Mongolian Mobile Training Centre, and who is currently pastoring a church in Mongolia and lecturing on Old Testament Studies at Union Bible Training Centre in Ulaanbaatar.

In world history, the Mongolian Empire is considered to be the biggest land empire the world has ever known. In the 13th century the Mongol Empire extended halfway around the world, stretching from Korea to Hungary under the leadership of Chingis Khan. Historians today acknowledge that during the Mongol Empire there were many Mongol Christians in the royal families and royal court. The famous historian, Marco Polo, tells us that 200 Christian missionaries were requested to come and evangelize the whole empire under the reign of Hubilai Khan but the Pope failed to respond to this request. With the fall of the Mongol Empire, Buddhism was introduced from Tibet and the remaining three centuries saw the saturation of Tibetan Buddhism in every family and clan of Mongols until the country became the second communist country in the world in 1924.

During the communist regime, Mongolia remained closed to the outside world for the next 70 years. Known as “the end of the world“, it was totally impossible for Christian missionaries to enter the country until the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s. In 1990, Mongolia entered into a new page of history, freedom and democracy.

Taking advantage of this new freedom and democracy, the first Christian missionaries arrived in Mongolia in early 1991. They could only get into the country as English language teachers in those times. It is recorded that the first Christian gathering was founded in spring of 1991 with students from an English class. Three churches separately formed by the end of the same year with 40-50 local Christians coming to worship on Sunday. For just under three years, the passionate new believers spread the Good News day and night. Through street evangelism, home visits, and showing the “Jesus“ film, the Good News was proclaimed to the newly-opened country. Revival came to the land. The Spirit of God brought new spiritual freedom and revival to thousands of Mongolians who were thirsty for eternal truth.

It is estimated that by 1996, in less than 4 years since the first Christian church was established, almost 60 local churches had been born with over 6,000 adherents of Jesus coming to those local churches. Then by 2002, over 200 churches had been planted literally in each and every of Mongolia’s 21 provinces with 25,000 followers of Jesus in Mongolia. Today, 19 years later, the country is home to 550 evangelical churches with over 50,000 adults, plus thousands of children coming to worship the one true God.

We believe that it is only the power of God which has brought this great breakthrough. The whole nation is experiencing the move of God in real ways in peoples’ lives. The message of Jesus is not only preached from the pulpit, but its real life-changing power is seen in the lives of many. The church of Christ is being built in this nation gradually but surely.

Many national leaders today feel that the young Mongolian church is reaching her “teenage” period. We feel that the excitement of being “young” is gradually over as the church is facing many new challenges. In this article, I would like touch on one issue which is very important for future church growth in Mongolia.

The explosion of rapid church growth creates a leadership shortage. Suddenly we realize that many new-born local churches lack Christ-like, servant leaders, whose personal life and character mark them out as a genuine disciple of Jesus. We have seen in the past that churches can be planted in a relatively short time with many different resources from the West or Korea. However, we have discovered that that is not the end of it. The church needs a good leader. To make a good and godly leader, it takes a long time.

In recent years, unfortunately, a considerable number of pastors and leaders have resigned or have been forced to resign from their ministries due to sexual sins, unfaithfulness in handling offerings, and personal character issues. Sometimes, their position and ministry are regarded as more important than their spiritual growth and personal encounter with God. We see, unfortunately, that many “good“ leaders fall through the hole, committing sins, and some of them giving up on their faith. When a leader falls, the name of Jesus also falls with it. Of course, developing leaders into godliness is not a one-off event. It is a lifelong process. There might be many ways to develop leaders in other parts of the world, but in the Mongolian church context, the following two practices must be essential steps in developing leaders: personal discipleship and role modeling mentorship. It is my own experience and observation in the Mongolian context that it usually takes as long as 7-10 years or more of personal discipleship and mentorship to see a committed young leader emerge.

I believe that our brothers and sisters in the Western world have a lot to offer for future leadership development in the young Mongolian church. It is estimated that there are over 600 Christian missionaries from many parts of the world working and living in Mongolia. Some of them teach at Bible schools and many work for social projects, but it is my sincere wish that we could work together hand in hand to develop national leaders into Christ-like leaders. We could sit together to discuss real life issues of leadership and promote national leadership development programmes. We could provide personal mentorship for those young leaders. We could work together for training countryside church leaders in their local context. I am not saying that there is no partnership at all. What I am saying is that what we do today is not sufficient and efficient.

Over a hundred years ago, God’s faithful servant, James Gilmour (1843-1891) from the London Missionary Society tried to reach our ancestors for Christ. He ministered to Mongols over 20 years, but saw no converts at all. His precious prayer is passionately noted that,

‘If only the truth can be made to reach their understanding, it is not to be doubted that God will in His own time and way, even among the Mongols, and notwithstanding all difficulties, apply it with living power to the hearts of men, and call out from among them those who will confess Him before their countrymen, and smooth the way for those who afterwards shall follow their examples (Gilmour, 1882:219)’

God has granted His time. It is now time to cooperate and train, mentor, and disciple these young leaders for the powerful transformation that God will bring to our nation.

Family and change

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Other

However, some traditional values have, in fact, contributed to the problems that have always plagued the Indian family – problems such as wives being deserted, domestic violence, child abuse, female infanticide, dowry, and abuse of daughters-in-law – so returning to “traditional family values” cannot serve us well in all respects.

Christians and Criticism of Culture: God’s plan for family differs in many ways from that prevalent in South Asian culture. The Bible judges all cultures, because it is God’s word for all people. No culture is perfect, and people must change a cultural custom if it does not meet God’s standards.

Cultural behaviours are fine when they have no moral implications; however, if cultural customs lead to morally unacceptable outcomes, like casteism, that will not allow a fellow human being to be treated as an equal, then Christians must speak against it, and work against it. Judging women as less valuable and their wishes invalid, treating daughters as unwanted, or discriminating against them in food, health, education, value and love in the family, is morally unacceptable. Unjust family customs call for change

Jesus as the Example for Cultural Change: Our example, Jesus, rejected much of the culture of His time. Jews did not eat with non-Jews or associate with people they called sinners, but Jesus disobeyed, eating with people said to be unclean (Mark 2:15-17, 14:3, 18-23). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “It was said… but I say to you…” (Matt 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). He was explaining to His followers that they could go against their own culture. It is the task of Christians in each nation to understand the culture and follow Christ in saying graciously, “But I say to you…” All of us can work to change family structures and patterns that damage both families and individuals.

Suicide: South India has a higher rate of suicides per 100,000 people than anywhere else in the world. The four states are estimated to have 50,000 suicides a year, approximately 137 a day. In most of the world, three men commit suicide for every one woman, but research on young people in Tamil Nadu found that two young women commit suicide for every one young man. Suicide was the reason for the death of 50 to 70 per cent of young women who died. An Indian women’s group in London said, “The high instance of suicides among Asian women is linked to abusive practices within Asian families.”

Beulah Wood, a Partner with IS NZ, is an author, editor and lecturer. This article has been excerpted from her latest book, Families in the Plan of God: a Theology for South Asia, which addresses the needs and problems of the South Asian family and culture. For more information please visit the Resources section on our website www.interserve.org.nz.

VIA Design

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Business

Driving by braille

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Other

Ricky always says that it was the food that attracted him to India. He grew up in Mamaku, a small community near Rotorua, and the Indian lady who ran the shop, “made the most delicious curries in the world. She prepared my palate for India long before I knew I was going there.”

Ricky’s first trip to India in 1990 exposed him to biryani, halva and aloo gobi. He also met many Muslims, and enjoyed the ease with which any conversation could turn into a religious discussion: the delicious food and amazing conversations convinced him he had to return to India. Viv’s first visits to India were made in support of a child sponsorship ministry. Her heart went out to the children there, and she, too, knew that she would return.

Prior to becoming Partners, Ricky and Viv studied in India at the South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) in a village near Bangalore.

“Living on campus at SAIACS eased us gently into aspects of Indian life, such as irregular bus services that were always going to arrive ‘soon’, markets where the buyer truly had to beware, and auto-rickshaw drivers who always knew where to go even if it wasn’t where you needed to be!”

After finishing at SAIACS, Ricky and Viv returned to New Zealand, were accepted as Interserve Partners, and in August 2000 they and their baby daughter, Susie, moved to Delhi. Life in Delhi was very different, and everyday travel included arguments with auto-rickshaw drivers over the fare, and near-death experiences as buses brushed past the flimsy three-wheeled rickshaws.

“We lived on the ground floor of a threestorey house, and our landlord, who lived upstairs, always seemed to be visiting.

We thought he was just exhibiting the extraordinary hospitality that is ingrained into Indian life. But then we learned that he struggled with us allowing Susie to cry herself to sleep – when he heard her cry, he would come downstairs – because in his culture, a baby should never be allowed to cry without being comforted.

“We now live in a four-bedroom apartment, on the third floor of an eight storey building. Viv and I both come from farming backgrounds, so it was a challenge at first to adjust to apartment living. In winter the temperature drops down to 4 degrees Celsius, but in summer it gets up to 45 degrees, and we all camp out in the only room with an air conditioner – our bedroom.”

In order to learn Hindi, Ricky attended a Government-run language school, and both he and Viv went to the Landour Language School in Mussoorie each summer for three years. The challenges of dealing with scorpions in the old cabin and leeches on the tracks made the Hindi lessons seem easy!

“We can really only speak survival Hindi, though, enough to shop, and talk about health and work. English, not Hindi, is the common language in our apartment complex, because the people who live here come from all over India, and therefore speak different languages.

“We tend to eat mainly vegetarian style: rice, dhal (lentils), vegetables, and some chicken. The supply of beef is extremely limited in Delhi as it is illegal, however buffalo meat is allowed. It’s definitely a shock coming back to New Zealand and eating red meat every day.”

After five years of using public transport the family finally bought a car in 2005. For Viv it meant immediate freedom, but Ricky found the transition more of a challenge. He finally came to enjoy driving, though, when he discovered Rule #1: you can do anything as long as you do it slowly enough!

“In India we drive by braille. Everybody has scratch marks on their car, and if you don’t, you have had a shonky panel-beating job. After driving in Delhi, New Zealand roads were a bit of a culture shock: cars are fast, there are so many rules, and drivers seem unforgiving and ill-prepared for anything out of the ordinary. In India we expect everything on the road: cows, elephants, bikes, trucks… going forwards, sideways and backwards. I could be on the motorway, reversing up the fast lane, and that’s okay… People reverse down the flyer because they haven’t taken the right turn-off, and it works, because everything is done at a much slower pace.”

Ricky also found shopping in New Zealand to be a culture shock. “The vast supermarkets and task-oriented shoppers were overwhelming. And I couldn’t get over the enormous range of food to choose from – a whole aisle for breakfast cereals alone!”

Viv is involved in an administrative role at the international school where their children are students. What excites her about the school is the totally Christian culture that honours Jesus, and values each child no matter what So how long will this Kiwi family remain in India? “Every time we come back to New Zealand on Home Assignment, we ask ourselves, ‘Are we being effective?’ and ‘Is it still working for our family?’ And if we can tick those boxes, we return to India.”  Ricky and Viv live near Delhi with their two children, Susie and Thomas. They have been working in India for ten years. their religious beliefs are. About 70 children, from 19 different nationalities, currently attend the school.

Ricky started his own business in 2002, publishing books in both Hindi and English, with a focus on publications written in and for India, and especially on those written from an Indian Christian perspective. Through his business Ricky encounters people from all walks of life. As he lives out his Christian faith, even in small things like paying invoices promptly, people in the business world notice the difference, and opportunities for conversations about faith have opened up as a result.

Ricky is also passionate about empowering Indian Christians to effectively connect with, and minister to, their Muslim friends and neighbours. He thrives on being able to teach believers how to communicate their faith in a way that will be heard, and has helped to develop a module on Islam for SAIACS’ MTh (Religions) programme.

From the Director

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Other

India… they say you either love it or you hate it, there’s no middle ground. Maybe it’s because in India everything about life is so intense, so rich, so colourful, so strongly flavoured, and so loud. India gets under your skin!

India has had a profound impact on my own life since, as a young seeker from a disillusioned western background, I first encountered her. I was one of a generation of dropouts, searching for meaning and a different way through life. As I drifted through the subcontinent and took in the incredible intensity, experimented with drugs, poked my nose into temples and mosques and churches, and befriended holy men and ordinary folk alike, something in me changed, and I have never been the same since.

What most deeply changed me, in the midst of this amazingly potent and often toxic mix of culture, religion, and existential struggle, was when Jesus walked into my life with such clarity and authority that I became a sold-out Christ follower. It was a power encounter – a spiritual conquest – and sharing Jesus through mission became my prime pursuit and passion.

India does that to people – it inspires passion. One of the things I love about Indian Christians is that they love Jesus with an abandon and fervour that we in the West find hard to follow. They have an understanding of the powerful nature of God, and can engage in theological or philosophical thought whilst also caring for the needy. Yes, there are other aspects where they – like all of us – fall short and fail. But when walking and living with Indian Christians in close quarters as we did, in intentional community – wow, you need to be madly in love with Jesus or you pack your bags and get out.

This is the country where Interserve was born, and India’s vibrancy and passion still pulses in the veins of our fellowship. Interserve grew of age in India before reaching out beyond her borders, and as a mission fellowship we have now come full circle, sending India’s sons and daughters to share the good news of Christ abroad. And while still financially needy and stretched, India has other resources – like her people, her multicultural context, and passion – that she is rich in, and wants to contribute towards mission.

One of the hallmarks of our Indian inheritance is Interserve’s concern for gender equality. Created to serve the women of the zenanas, Interserve has, from its inception, been a mission that stands against the tide, and stands for equality, justice, and an integrated gospel that brings freedom from any yoke of slavery. Intrepid women from across the world responded to the call of Christ to help bring freedom to India’s girls and women through education, and the opening of schools, colleges and universities.

Then at a time when it was still considered indecent for women to train for a medical career, Interserve pioneered women’s medical missions. This in turn led to Queen Victoria sanctioning the training of women doctors, both in the UK and India, and the provision of medical care and hospitals for Indian girls and women. What an amazing story of God walking with His people (see page 6).

As you read this GO, and the range of articles contributed by Partners from across the Interserve world, may some of that same Indian passion, that vibrancy and life, encourage you in your walk with Jesus.

Finally, we had a great Interserve Day last month, and recently our IS NZ Council met to brainstorm on God’s leading regarding the future of missions. We are interested in hearing what you sense God is saying to the wider body of Christ, and to us as Interserve – please do drop me a line, I would love to hear from you!

Teaching English Showing Jesus

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Education

Fresh thinking on how to show God’s love through teaching English By Damian, an Interserve England and Wales Partner.

All of us are able to remember a favourite teacher, someone who stood out, someone who left a lasting impression on our lives. Would it be fair to say that we often learned as much from who that teacher was than what they actually taught? It is both exciting (and daunting) to ponder how our presence in the classroom interlinks with our spirituality and the way we teach. The way in which we live out our belief system, the Jesus way, has the potential to touch our students as much as the content of our lessons.

That is why teaching English is very precious – to kingdom work, ourselves, and the people around us, the reason being that teaching English should be all about relationship. Every time students are asked to turn to one another and practise an aspect of language, there is interaction, dialogue and exchange. The way we treat our colleagues, local staff and family will be noted by onlookers. The measure of love and concern for our students (even disruptive ones) will be remembered by at least some. When the photocopier is in a bad mood, you can be guaranteed our reaction will be recorded in someone’s memory. People notice kingdom qualities in the everyday events of our lives and relationships. We embody His love, forgiveness, reconciliation and relationship by doing just that – persevering, loving, giving, forgiving, hoping and praying – even when there is no encouragement or apparent response.

It is incredible that an estimated two billion people are learning English in the world’s education systems and as independent adults. We have been given a (limited?) God-given opportunity to meet this huge need for language skills and improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities. It could be limited because English has become a ‘basic skill’ in many of the world’s education systems and millions are gaining proficiency in the language. As early as 2010, it is predicted that the number of English learners could begin to decrease with demand for teachers accordingly. For now, though, it is enough to know that a third of this world is learning English and there is a harvest that needs diligent and committed teachers for an intense and complex task. Moreover, the demand for English teachers is significantly greater in the least evangelised parts of the world.

It is true that teaching English has allowed legitimate access for my family into a region that has often been hostile towards believers, as well as flexibility and the potential to interact with people from all walks of life – at work and in the community. There is a bewildering mix of children, monks, students, doctors and foreign business people in my class. We see these people around town every day. Being vulnerable has had a profound effect on interdependency. They help us with our electrical problems. We visit their shops and eat in their restaurants. They come round for pot-luck parties. Their children play with our child in the garden. They come to sample English tea. They take a Scripture portion and talk about spirituality. My wife helps them with their homework. Being a teacher in community has profound relationship potential, especially when the role of the non-teaching spouse and children is seen as a precious part of that teaching witness. Why study about English food and not actually try some especially cooked by the teacher’s wife?

Teaching English, however, is so much more than a means to an end, so that one can do a socalled greater spiritual task. Limiting Christian witness to direct and explicit forms of evangelism would be a great loss – for teaching is precious in itself. Rather than being ‘missionaries in disguise’, we should see teaching as part of the evangelistic witness of our whole lives (cf. Rom. 12:1). Moreover, in the midst of difficulties and discouragements, it is good to be reminded that the quality of my teaching is a vital way of sharing God’s love with my students. In meeting their most immediate and pressing need, that is, helping them out with their English, the diligence with which I offer my expertise is a ‘visible and credible’ measure of my concern. The way in which we teach also makes one of the ‘strongest and clearest’ statements of what a Christian is like – and indirectly the One we follow.

Ponder the reflection of this thinker: The work expresses and agrees with our word of testimony; the word explains the witness of our work. Work is not just a means to an end, a necessary activity so that we can love and witness. Work is a part of that witness.

I am convinced that many students think deeply about the reasons behind quality teaching, commitment to the task, a caring attitude, an ‘as for the Lord’ work ethic (cf. Col. 3:22) and clear moral standards.7 All the more so when they realise that many of us are volunteers who have left family and put aside career opportunities back home. This had led quite naturally to some questions and opportunities to share – with discretion. Relying on His power and wisdom, we can only trust that our efforts in and out of the classroom will do more than improve grammar but also have eternal impact in this difficult country. May the reflections continue.

Tough Love

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Community Development, Arab World

In many of the poorer houses here the walls don’t always reach up to the roof which is shared by several houses. There is often a gap through which sound travels from next door. Or through which, if you stood on something tall – say, a table – you could look.

I was visiting Wendy when I met Amanda in this way. She squeezed up against the top of the wall to peer over at me. I could only see a slice of her face: an eye, part of a smile, a flash of the orange scarf tied around her hair. She greeted me and chatted for a few minutes before disappearing again behind the wall.

In a scandalised whisper, Wendy told me Amanda’s story. Unmarried, she had had a relationship with a local man and become pregnant. Her parents kept her hidden at home ever since. When the baby was born Amanda’s mother strangled him because he was illegitimate and a shame to their family. Amanda is still imprisoned in the house; she has never been out since.

“Do you visit her, Wendy?” I asked. “No, my husband won’t allow it.” “Does anybody visit her? Does she have any friends?” “No, nobody visits her because of what she did.”

We sat in silence for a bit as I chewed over the information. I was horrified that Amanda’s mother – a woman who had once held her own babies in her arms and loved and nurtured them – could have killed her own grandson. I wanted to cry for that little boy that never got to live. And I thought about Amanda, lonely and isolated, forever living out the consequences of her sin. And then I thought about the community. Steering clear. Staying away. Lest they be contaminated by her sin, or incriminated by association; tainted. Neither her family nor her neighbours will forgive Amanda for what she has done. And while her family will deny what has happened, others like Wendy will continue to repeat it in hushed tones. It will be revisited often, as a warning to the young women of the neighbourhood, against the follies of romantic involvement or of doing anything else which might bring shame on their families.

Yet I know that there is forgiveness available for Amanda. There is One who has already redeemed her and who is waiting to take possession of His prize. One who sees that she is precious, though at fault; beautiful though broken.

So this morning, as I write this, I am asking myself again “what would Jesus do?”. And the problem is that I know the answer. I’m just not sure I’m ready to act on it. In a culture where reputation is everything, am I willing to throw mine down, to bring Jesus to this woman? And while the questions crowd in, “what would the neighbours think?” and “would they still want to know me?” or perhaps seemingly more important, “what will it do to my witness?”, I know that these thoughts are foolishness. The truth is that this is incarnational living. The demonstration of God’s forgiveness. The extension of His grace to all. And if it ruffles a few feathers in the neighbourhood, so be it. As John said, “He must become greater; I must become less.”(Jn.3:30) After all, His reputation is my concern; my own is not.

Mission to North Africa

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Education, Arab World

Getting there had its surprises and challenges, such as being escorted off our flight in Dubai by two Emirati policemen, but our recent short-term mission trip to a Muslim-majority North African country was very successful.

We had been invited back (after a similar outreach last year) to teach conversational English at a university in the country’s secondlargest city. Three of the team made it into the country without any problems, but when Mitch and I tried to fly out of Dubai, after being assured by the university that our visas were waiting, we hit a snag. The airline wanted to ensure that our visas were in order, so we confidently gave them the university’s contact details, then talked our way onto the plane. And were promptly escorted off again when it was discovered the visas hadn’t yet been issued.

On our first evening there, we went for a walk after dinner through the vegetable market. Grace was enthusiastically taking photos when three policemen demanded her camera. When we refused, we were taken to the police station for questioning. We called the university who contacted the vice-chancellor who rang the Chief of Police, who then released us. Surprisingly, the incident had a positive outcome, as it raised our profile in the community, and we received cheery waves from the police wherever we went.

Over 70 took part in the course we taught, including the faculty from several universities and Masterslevel students. The course, called ‘Understanding, coping with, and implementing change’, was highly participative, and included stories from the Bible, connecting them with the concept of change. The team members established links with their students outside of class, visiting them in their homes or going out on trips or sharing meals with them.

These were opportunities for deeper sharing, talking about personal and spiritual issues. We prayed for some of our students at different times and the scriptures were shared.

In my speech at the closing ceremony, in the presence of the Vice Chancellor and the Dean, I told the students, “Over the past week and a half, we’ve heard stories of change in the lives of the prophets: Adam and Eve, Noah, Joseph, David, and Jesus. What was common in all these stories was the power and grace of God. These are not just historical stories of people who lived long ago – they are just as true for us today because God is alive and working today. It is true that as Christians and Muslims we will understand God’s work differently, but we can also declare that we all seek to serve and worship God as we best understand Him.”

There was a real sense of spiritual openness amongst the people, and it seems that widespread Sufism has softened some of the hard edge of the way Islam is practised. Our prayer is that God will continue to open up doors and hearts in this country.

From Fear to Family

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Other, Arab World

“I think I need to be honest,” the evangelist said, looking me straight in the eye. “I know that I am supposed to love the people I’m reaching out to, but when I think of Muslims, I think of terrorism, political posturing, and burqas. That’s why I’m here tonight: I need to learn to see the real people behind the stereotype of Islam.”

‘Here’ was a four-week series of seminars that I was running in Gloucester, UK, entitled Understanding your Muslim Neighbour. Aimed at people from local churches, the seminars were designed to inform and equip the churches, and help them build good relationships with their Muslim neighbours.

This is not the first such course that Urban Vision, Interserve’s cross cultural team in England and Wales, has held. Another course, called Friendship First, was developed by Steve Bell, the England and Wales National Director. About six weeks in length, the Friendship First course aims to bring about a deeper understanding of, and attitude change towards, our Muslim neighbours, and sums up the ethos of Urban Vision: how can we call anyone to Christ unless we first show them that they are loved?

Tim and Rachel Green have also developed an interactive course, which draws on the Friendship First material. It runs over ten weekday evenings, and helps people engage with their Muslim friends, and be able to present Christ to them in a culturally sensitive way. The most recent course (it runs every year in their home town) had nearly 40 participants from a dozen local churches. Now this model is spreading to other towns. The aim is for ordinary Christians to gain the vision, confidence and skills they need to share Christ with ordinary Muslim people. Mission to Muslims is not just a task for specialists!

The 2001 census revealed that about 1.6 million Muslims, from many different cultures and backgrounds, live in the UK. While that’s only 2.7% of the population, because of media coverage (including some Christian media approaches) and a certain strain of politically active Islam, many Britons have an underlying sense of fear and of ‘being taken over’.

Urban Vision is working towards breaking down that media-fed fear, and encouraging Christians to engage with Muslims in long term friendship. And as Christians step out of their comfort zones, lives are being changed and communities transformed – not just amongst Muslims, but also amongst those Christians who are reaching out.

While people from Muslim situations are used to living faith publicly, worshipping communally and praying together frequently, church-goers in the UK are used to praying in private and being slightly embarrassed about faith in public. To be open to the needs of new followers of Jesus from a Muslim background is to be challenged to be public, communal and family in ways that take us beyond our comfort zone, and modify our existing church structures.

And yet, isn’t this the challenge of Jesus Himself? Is this what we’re called to do and have maybe slipped away from?

Jesus calls us all to follow Him, from stereotype to neighbour, from fear to family. In doing so we too are changed and new family members are found and welcomed by the Father.

Colin Edwards is the Team Leader for Urban Vision. Originally from NZ, Colin is coming back on Home Assignment in August.

Shining the light

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Other, Other

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe … The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (John 1:5-9).

As believers, we are called to be a light in the dark places. Unfortunately, though, interactions between Muslims and Christians tend to involve more heat than light. I know people who will happily engage in a debate but who refuse invitations to genuine discussions: they want to win, not to understand.

I have a book containing correspondence between Christians and Muslims, written during the first three centuries of Islam’s development. These letters reveal an amazing lack of understanding of what the other believes. In many ways it can be characterised as:

M: Our prophet is the last and greatest prophet.

C: Oh yeah, well, ours is the light of the world.

M: Oh yeah, well, so is ours. Ours is the light of creation.

C: Well, ours is the word of God.

M: No, he’s a word from God, and to obey the word of our prophet is to obey God himself. So he brings that final word. So there!

C: Well, ours is the Son of God.

M: Oh yuck, that’s a disgusting thought that God would have sex with a woman. Ours is beloved of God from all time.

You get the picture. And, in one form or another, with varying degrees of finesse, this “my prophet is bigger than your prophet” approach to witness has been utilised in much of the dialogue between Muslims and Christians. However, few in each community really know what the other believes. For example, when Christians defend the idea of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to Muslims, they don’t realise that Muslims understand the Trinity to mean “Father, Son and Mary”. And when the tenor of interactions is that of feeling attacked and needing to defend (on both sides), the result is conflict, not relationship.

Many expressions of Islam Persians, Bengalis, Pakistanis, Indonesians: these are all large populations that are mainly Muslim. Indeed in the new Pew Report on Islam in the World we see that most Muslims aren’t Arabs: “More than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Each Muslim community has its own flavour and expression of Islam. True, just as going to Catholic Mass or to McDonalds is fairly much the same the world over, Muslims can go to any Mosque in the world and feel at home in the ritual and prayer. But in an unfamiliar community, they may also find outlooks, beliefs and practices that astonish them. In Bangladesh, for example, there are hymns of praise to the prophet Muhammad, which traditionalists in the Middle East are appalled at. And in India there are Muslim holy shrines where people go to pray for children and healing, something which the traditionalists also oppose.

We do ourselves, our message and our Muslim neighbours a disservice when we assume that Islam is a monolithic whole. We need to get to know the individuals and their community, their beliefs, their outlook on the world and who they are in their setting. This will mean asking questions and being willing to listen and learn, and making ourselves available to spend time with them, including sharing meals and attending events together. Don’t be afraid to share the celebration of Christmas, as Muslims honour Jesus and are generally happy to celebrate his birth and share in the Bethlehem story. Similarly, prayer is an expected part of public and private life for Muslims. To offer to pray for your neighbours in their daily experience is usually warmly welcomed. In praying with Muslims we have seen people experiencing healing, peace in difficult times, and provision when it was needed. One man said, “Each time I came here I felt such peace. How could I not respond?”

Called to testify A Christian’s primary role in witness is just that: witness. We testify to what we have seen and heard. We’re not called primarily to argue against someone else’s faith, to counter opposing arguments. We’re called to say what we’ve experienced. We’re called to tell our story.

I have a friend in Bangladesh, whose life was turned around by joining a Sufi group (kind of like a charismatic group headed by saints within Islam); he went from a life of violence and alcohol to one of piety. He discusses Christianity with many people and hasn’t been at all convinced by any arguments.

There is one thing about Christianity, however, that gives him pause for thought: when he asks expatriate Christians, “So, what brought you to Bangladesh?” and they reply, “Because God told me to come”, that rattles his cage!

My friend would dearly love to hear the voice of God. He prays, he practises meditation and follows his saint, but he has never experienced God being with him. And that is the same for many Muslims: although they long to experience God, He is so great and powerful – and distant – that the idea of actually knowing Him, particularly as Father, and hearing from Him, is beyond what they can imagine.

Our witness is our story – are we willing to share it? How did we come to know Jesus? How does He relate to us today? What happens when we pray? Yes, we must know our Bibles, and yes, the more information we have on their faith and ours the better, but the heart of our witness is our story: our experience and our relationship with Jesus.

We are not called to combative oneupmanship; any discussion along the lines of “my prophet is bigger than your prophet” will be fraught with defensiveness and aggression. However, as we build relationships with Muslims, and start to share our story, our testimony, we will be making claims that challenge their beliefs. To say that “I prayed for my neighbour and he was healed” is to say “Jesus heals”. Our Muslim friend will be struck by the idea: “Wait a minute here – Jesus heals. But Muhammad doesn’t.” Similarly, to say “Jesus led me” is to say that Jesus is alive; for a Muslim, Muhammad is dead. We must let these comparisons arise naturally, in the course of our everyday interactions with Muslim friends: if we start to push them, then we will see walls raised very, very quickly. However, with gentle honesty and a simple telling of our ongoing story, we can be public about our faith in a way that expresses our love, and still allows the light of Christ to shine.

Colin Edwards is Team Leader of Interserve’s Urban Vision in the UK. 1http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=450