Is "Folk Islam" the Correct Terminology?

From the Summer 2009 edition of the Zwemer Journal for Muslim Studies, pgs. 15-16:

"Beware of worn-out interpretive stereotypes, such as "folk Islam." Christians in Muslim lands are in the habit of using the term "folk Islam" for any belief or practice that varies from Islamic doctrine, often termed "normative Islam" or "orthodox Islam." Folk Islam has become a catchall term used for practices such as divination, jinn cults, healing and exorcism, pilgrimages to holy places, and hanging a blue bead to protect against the evil eye.

When you view the lives of ordinary Muslims as folksy, deviant, or inconsistent with "normative Islam," you attribute a kind of ontological status to the Islam of Qur'an and Sunna. Do really want to be perceived by the people as having imbibed the Islam of the 'ulamā [scholars], who tend to belittle the ignorant ways of their people? Why should you join them in such judgments? Neither as Christians nor as ethnographers is it our business to decide what the true Islam is.

In your church do you sit on pews? Do you pass an offering plate during worship? Do you bury the dead in a casket? Do you think of "winning them one by one" as divinely ordained? Does one form of worship or singing bless you more than others? The scriptural basis for such beliefs and preferences is doubtful; therefore, if we were to apply to ourselves the same standard often applied to Muslims, many of us would be labeled "folk Christians." Ask yourself how such a label feels before applying it to Muslims.

It is best to avoid the term Folk Islam and speak instead of the "Muslim culture and life ways" of a specific people, time and place. If you are interested in the spirits Muslims believe in, then "the spiritual world of Arab Muslims in Cairo" is a good rubric.

Anthropologists now see the framework of "great tradition" and "little tradition" which was once used to distinguish between "orthodox" and "folk" Islam as an impediment to good ethnographic interpretation. There is a problem also with the assumption that the spirit beliefs of Muslims are survivals of a native "animistic" or "tribal" culture. Sometimes this kind of indigenization of Islam in local forms is demonstrable, but one must be careful, because historical evidence for Islam's assimilation of local spiritual practices may be lacking. What is more, comparative evidence may suggest that Muslims in geographically diverse places share the same or similar ideas and practices, in which case it is unlikely that the source is local animism. ("Animism" may not always the best word either; "spirit beliefs" is more generic and safer.)

Along with anthropologists, Christians should be careful about this kind of religious profiling. We follow Jesus, who loved and honored simple people. He listened carefully to the beliefs of the Samaritans (never calling them "folk Jews") but was often at odds with the theologically adept Pharisees (the 'ulamā of the Jews). Christianity shares at least one conviction with anthropology, that it is unwise to take sides with the powerful, when doing so would preclude trusting relationships with the people."

Top Ten Team Pitfalls, Sinclair

From Appendix 5 of the book a Vision of the Possible; Pioneer Church Planting in Teams by Dan Sinclair:

Top Ten Team Pitfalls

From my observations, it seems that these strategic issues can make a huge difference in the long run to the team's viability and impact. This is a summary of principles found elsewhere in the book. At the very least, this list of pitfalls can make for a lively team discussion!

10. Not being very clear regarding the people group and location the Lord is calling the team to work amongst.

9. Workers absorbed in high-hours jobs, even when not fully necessary.

8. Male workers trying to do everything out of their home, rather than basing ministry from an office or something. It is very common for team leaders to say they've learned this lesson about 3-year mark.

7. Allowing team misunderstandings or team leader / team member differences to fester and go on too long.

6. The team leader not building the team well. Recruiting anything with a pulse, rather than co-workers with a level of proven gifts and maturity.

5. The team leader not responding well to oversight; undervaluing the role of accountability and coaching.

4. Weak commitment to personal and corporate prayer about the work, with expectancy.

3. Not really understanding or being convinced about church planting.

2. Excess time in non-church-planting activities, such as team meetings & team activities, meetings with other workers, correspondence with folks back home, email, etc. [Of course some time spent in these areas is vital. But it can be overdone.] Getting into all forms of field activity other than language learning, evangelism and discipling. Spending too much time in front of computer screens.

1. The team leader being weak, passive, insecure or non-directive in his leadership role—usually due to insecurity and fear of rejection. Not being clear with team members concerning expectations. People begin to operate as a group of "independent contractors" rather than as a team. Team leaders must learn to stay graciously firm about team standards. Likewise there can be insufficient accountability and direction individually of team members' ministries. Weak accountability can lead to permanently weak patterns. Finally, related to this, the team leader can sometimes fail to keep people motivated, eager and expectant about their tasks and goals.

Group Discussion:

Hand out this list to everyone on the team. Take 20 minutes for each person to mark each item as to: a) whether or not they agree this is important; and b) rate it 1-to-5 (with 5 being highest) as how much of a problem it currently is to the team. Then discuss as a group.

Twelve Proofs that Mohammed is a True Prophet

A short article on the prophethood of Mohammed by Shaykh `Abdul Rahman `Abdul Khaliq (head of the Heritage Revival Committee in Kuwait):

"My brothers and sisters everywhere! With this essay, I am not singling out the adherents of Islam - to which I ascribe - but rather I am writing this essay to every man and woman throughout the whole world.

I ask Allah that He facilitates (tat) this essay reaches every ear, falls under the sight of every eye, and is understood by every heart...

Muhammad the son of `Abdullah is Allah's Prophet and the Final Messenger Sent by Allah to the Inhabitants of Earth.

My brothers and sisters everywhere! You should know that the Messenger, Muhammad the son of `Abdullah (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) is Allah's Messenger in reality and truth. The evidences that show his veracity are abundant. None but an infidel, who out of arrogance alone, could deny these signs."

These are listed in the article as proofs that Mohammed is a true prophet:

1. The fact that Mohammed was illiterate
2. The prophecies of the Qur'an
3. The literary eloquence of the Qur'an
4. The perfect life of Mohammed
5. The extreme love Muslims have for Mohammed
6. The worldwide influence of Mohammed to this day (the most influential person who ever lived)
7. The way all Muslims everywhere seek to live like Mohammed
8. The uniqueness of Mohammed
9. The fact that people from every ethnic group and social status follow Mohammed today despite persecution
10. The beauty and majesty of the Qur'anic description of Allah and the perfection of Islam
11. The good manners of Mohammed
12. The fact that the law and creed of Islam defies imitation

Read the whole article.

Is it a fair question to ask, "Do Muslims worship Mohammed?" Of course most do not, and it would be blasphemous in Islam to do so, but the affections many Muslims have of Mohammed seems very close to idolatry.

Jesus, Pharisees, and Muslims

We all know the importance of ceremonial cleanliness and purification in Islam. For instance, if you touch something haraam you have to wash yourself in a specific way seven times. I have even heard of a ceremonial cleansing prescribed for Muslims if you pass gas while praying. I am not trying to make Islam seem corny; being physically and spiritually clean/pure/spotless is at the heart of Islamic faith, with many rules and regulations to govern what it means to be clean before God.

Much of Islam parallels 1^st century Phariseeism. I find it interesting that Jesus and his disciples ceased (or never did in the first place) ceremonial washings before eating (Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:2; Luke 11:38) given how important it was to Pharisees. So when I saw the book Learning Evangelism from Jesus I was excited to see in the Table of Contents a couple chapters about how Jesus dealt with Pharisees called, Revealing the Pharisee's Heart, and Religious and Moral Traditionalists: The Problem of Rules and Traditions. Here are some quotes from those chapters:

"Those who think they are well have no need of a physician. Those who believe themselves to be righteous will never listen to Jesus' offer of mercy to sinners. Such people need to be persuaded that they are sick, that they are sinners."

"In Luke 18, Jesus is speaking to some who were "confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else" (Luke 18:9, NIV). As he does on so many similar occasions, Jesus tells a story, this time about two men at the temple… Luke 18:10-13… The story teaches us about three basic characteristics of a Pharisee." 1. Pride, 2. A Critical Spirit, and 3. Lack of Mercy.

"How does Jesus respond to all this seemingly well-intentioned effort to be zealous for God?" [See Mark 7]

"He begins by quoting the prophet Isaiah and accusing them of hypocrisy… An external focus readily decays into hypocrisy, for the outer appearance of spirituality can quickly replace the much more demanding inner devotion of the heart." [Mark 7:6]

"Jesus accuses them of raising human rules to the status of God's law… The apostle Paul teaches in his letter to the Colossians that, despite their appearance of wisdom, such rules for Christian living have no value in restraining the indulgence of the sinful nature (Col. 2:23)." [Mark 7:7]

"Whenever we add our rules to God's law, no matter what the original motivation, the effect will be to replace God's commandments with human rules." [Mark 7:8]

"He says in effect, "The teaching of the Pharisees and the scribes is absolutely worthless in helping you walk in God's ways."" [Mark 7:14-23]

"The words of Jesus to the crowd were so shocking and so radically different from anything they had ever heard before that the disciples did not understand this "parable."" [Mark 7:17]

"Jesus denounces the traditions and spiritual disciplines of the Pharisees and teachers of the law far more strongly that we might expect."

"If we try to make worship obligatory, we will produce either spiritual arrogance or superficial observance and a resistant heart."

"We also need to think about Jesus' evangelistic intent in this discussion of the problem with the rules and traditions of the Pharisees and scribes… Jesus is hard on them because their pride in their knowledge of the laws and their commitment to keep them is an obstacle to faith. His passionate denunciation has the purpose of humbling them."

"When we read in the book of Acts that a great number of the Pharisees eventually came to faith, we know that the Lord's severe words bore their fruit in time; for he did at last gather many of those reluctant and obstinate people to himself."

"The problem we face is this: "When could it ever be appropriate for us to speak to people with the severity of Jesus?" This is a very difficult question to answer, for unlike him, each one of us has a Pharisee in our own heart… Is our denunciation of these obstacles to the gospel motivated by a passion for truth and by compassion for the Pharisees?"

"We must sit at Jesus' feet and recognize that legalism is an implacable enemy of the gospel of grace."

"Attacking legalism is necessary to bring about the salvation of the legalists themselves by humbling them before the Lord, before his truth, and before his grace. Attacking legalism is also necessary in setting people free from the rules that the legalists impose upon them. We are to proclaim liberty: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal. 5:1). This proclamation of liberty from legalism is one of the great friends of true proclamation of the gospel, both to the church and to the world."

Church Planting or Development? Word and Deed in Biblical Balance

What is the gospel? Is it a verbal message of salvation? Is it a cup of clean water? Both? Is it wrong to dichotomize between the physical and the spiritual? What about the temporal and the eternal? In our obedience to the "great commission" should we focus on church planting or development?

For a while I have struggled with the balance of words and deeds as they relate to new covenant ministry. Then I read this quote and it put it all together for me:

Many people who say that evangelism and the Word are more important than mercy and deed base this on a belief that the "spiritual" (ministry of the word) is more important than the "physical" (ministry of deed). It is common to speak of "the priority of the spiritual," but is that a biblical idea? God created both the material and the immaterial halves of reality (Gen. 2:4-7). Both the material and immaterial came under the disorder and decay of sin (Gen. 3:14-19). Moreover, God plans to redeem both our spirits (Heb. 12:23) and our bodies (1 Cor. 15)-both the material and the immaterial. How, then, can we speak about the "physical" as being less important than the "spiritual"? Does God give one priority over the other?...

Having said this, we must nonetheless recognize that, from one perspective, the ministry of the word is the most radical ministry. What do we mean by that? "Radical" often is used to mean "extremist," but that is not the fundamental meaning of the word. The radix is "the root"; to be radical means to go to the root of a thing. We said in an earlier chapter that our alienation from God, our condition of being in a state of "condemnation" (Rom. 8:1-2), is the root from which all our miseries flow. Psychological brokenness, social injustice, and even physical disintegration are due to and flow out of our warfare with God. Thus, the more radical ministry to the condition of man is to proclaim the word of faith (Rom. 10:8-13). There is no more fundamental means to cut the root of sin and death than with the verbal message of the gospel.

Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy, p. 114

Humankind's greatest problem is a "spiritual" one; separation from God. All other problems stem from our evil rebellion against him. So if our greatest problem is spiritual, then the solution is in kind. Thus, the gospel is a not a cup of clean water, but a cosmic reality of the person and work of Jesus who reconciles humankind with God through his death and resurrection. Carson says this:

Pundits have often noted that many in the Western world have become single-issue people. The church is not immune from such influences. The result is that many Christians assume the gospel (often, regrettably, some form of the 'simple gospel') but are passionate about something on the relative periphery: abortion, poverty, forms of worship, cultural decay, ecology, overpopulation, pornography, family breakdown, and much more. By labeling these complex subjects 'relatively peripheral' I open myself to attack from as many quarters as there are subjects on the list. For example, some of those whose every thought is shaded green will not be convinced that the ecological problems we face are peripheral to human survival. But I remain quite unrepentant. From a biblical-theological perspective, these challenges, as serious as they are, are reflections of the still deeper problem—our odious alienation from God. If we tackle these problems without tackling what is central, we are merely playing around with symptoms. This is no excuse for Christians not to get involved in these and many other issues. But it is to insist that where we get involved in such issues, many of which are explicitly laid upon us in scripture, we do so from the centre out, ie beginning with full-orbed gospel proclamation and witness and passion, and then, while acknowledging that no one can do everything, doing our 'significant something' to address the wretched entailments of sin in our world. The good news of Jesus Christ will never allow us to be smug and other-worldly in the face of suffering and evil. But what does it profit us to save the world from smog and damn our own souls? There are lots of ways of getting rid of pornography. For instance, one does not find much smut in Saudi Arabia. But one doesn't find much of the gospel there, either.

The point is that in all our efforts to address painful and complex societal problems, we must do so from the centre, out of a profound passion for the gospel. This is for us both a creedal necessity and a strategic choice. It is a creedal necessity because this gospel alone prepares men and women for eternity, for meeting our Maker—and all problems are relativized in the contemplation of the cross, the final judgment, and eternity. It is a strategic choice because we are persuaded that the gospel, comprehensively preached in the power of the Spirit, will do more to transform men and women, not least their attitudes, than anything else in the world.

D.A. Carson, For Such a Time as This: Perspectives on Evangelicalism, Past, Present and Future, p. 83

I think the fog over what constitutes the "gospel" can be cleared up by distinguishing between the "gospel" and the "effects" of the gospel. When we have been redeemed and are in a relationship with God, then this good news works itself out in all areas of our life holistically. The gospel changes more than hearts because it changes hearts first. But we do a deep disservice to people when we collapse evangelism and social good to the same level. Yes we should "do good to all people" (Gal. 6:10) and "be zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14) and "devote ourselves to good works so as to help cases of urgent need" (Titus 3:14). But we should not forget what makes that all possible to begin with (2 Cor. 5:11ff).

One illustration a friend shared with me recently is the relationship between faith and works. Of course faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). But the precedence is not with works, it is with faith. Genuine faith makes good works possible: the purpose for which we are saved (Eph. 2:10). There is a lot of overlap between church planting and development, but they are not the same. Properly planted churches will have a heart for development, but if not, they are "dead."

What all people fundamentally need is the gospel, and what the developing world fundamentally lacks is not development, but indigenous churches. Meeting the development needs of the world is a job only the Spirit-empowered local church can manage in my opinion. So in our zeal for development we must contend that church planting is the biblical and strategic indispensable focus for the good of people, and ultimately, for discipling nations.

Related:

The Gospel Coalition Video Panel Discussion "Gospel Centered Mercy Ministry vs. The Social Gospel" (12 minutes)

"What do missionaries do?" by Michael Griffiths

The Resurgence And: Words and Deeds

Nabeel's Testimony

Curses

From Sam Storms at Enjoying God Ministries on Doors to Demonization:

One of the problems in discussing curses is the failure of most people to define precisely what is meant by the term. Although curses were most often verbalized, biblical curses have little if anything to do with modern profanity. To curse is to call down or a send forth, from a supernatural source, calamity, trouble, chronic harm, or some other form of adversity upon another person or object. It is to speak evil of another person (hence, malediction or imprecation) with a view to inflicting injury (both physical and spiritual).

The Anchor Bible Dictionary says, "to curse is to predict, wish, pray for, or cause trouble or disaster on a person or thing" (I:1218).

Another problem in discussing curses is the misapplication of certain biblical texts. For example, appeal is often made to Gal. 3:13 ("Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'"). The problem is that this text and the OT passages on which it is based all refer to divine judgment, not demonic attack. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-28 are devoted to articulating the grounds on which God will "curse" a person as well as "bless" him/her. Clearly, to be the recipient of a "curse" in this context means you come under divine judgment. God sends calamity or disaster or punishment in one form or another because of disobedience. Likewise, to be the recipient of a "blessing" is to experience his favor, his bounty, prosperity and the like. When Jesus is said to have redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us, the meaning is that he has suffered, in our place, the righteous wrath of God which we justly deserved. Therefore, Christians are no longer subject or vulnerable to a "curse" in that sense of the term.

In Joshua 6:26 and 9:23 a curse is pronounced by Joshua on both Jericho and Gibeon. But again, in both cases this appears to be a calling down of divine judgment, not demonic harm. In 1 Sam. 17:43 we see that pagan people in ancient times (in this case, Goliath) believed that curses (calamity) were the work of their gods. Spoken curses were thought to possess a power that derived from whatever deity they served. A curse was thought to trigger the release of malevolent spiritual energy toward the person or the object being cursed. See also 2 Samuel 16:5-12.

The question remains: Does the Bible speak about demonic curses? Do we read in Scripture of anyone invoking or calling down or sending forth a demonic being to bring pain and problems, harassment and harm, to another person? This would appear to be what the Moabite king Balak asked Balaam to do regarding Israel. God himself forbids Balaam from cursing Israel: "you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed" (Num. 22:12). Although no mention is made of demonic spirits being involved, it is reasonable to think that they would have been the instrument of bringing calamity on Israel had Balaam carried through with this task. As far as I can tell, there is no NT example of a demonic curse, although there are numerous NT instances of a curse as an expression of divine judgment for sin.

Proverbs 26:2 is especially instructive, if we could only figure out what it means! It reads: "Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, so a curse without cause does not alight" (NASB). Or again, "Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest" (NIV). This seems to suggest that a curse is not effectual in itself. If it is undeserved, its impact is undermined. What would be the implications of this? At minimum, it would seem that a curse is, in itself, incapable of leading to demonization apart from the moral complicity of the person involved.

...when necessary, use words?

Mark Galli at Christianty Today talks about the famous quote from Francis of Assisi who is said to have said, "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words." Galli mentions two problems with the quote:
1. Francis of Assisi did not say it, and
2. It is not biblical.

"Preach the gospel; use words if necessary" goes hand in hand with a postmodern assumption that words are finally empty of meaning. It subtly denigrates the high value that the prophets and Jesus and Paul put on preaching. Of course we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel is a message, news about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns. As blogger Justin Taylor recently put it, the Good News can no more be communicated by deeds than can the nightly news.

Many have noted how Francis modeled his life on Jesus. But it wasn't just about the life of poverty, but also the life of preaching. We have no instance of Jesus performing a miracle and not speaking a word of comfort or challenge afterwards.

Paul articulated succinctly what Francis and Jesus felt in their souls: "How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" (Rom. 10:14).

To be sure, words used cheaply, thoughtlessly are worse than no words at all. As Westmont College professor Marilyn McEntyre says in an essay in the upcoming August issue of Christianity Today, "In an environment permeated with large-scale, well-funded deceptions, the business of telling the truth, and caring for the words we need for that purpose, is more challenging than ever before."

That being said, a better saying (which you can attribute to anyone you like) is this: Preach the gospel—use actions when necessary; use words always.

HT: Khalid bin Malek

Retooling the Gospel for a Muslim, J.D. Greear

The below are selections copied from J.D. Greear in a chapter for his forthcoming book called Breaking the Islamic Code: Explaining the Gospel to Muslims:

“Three key words define Western presentations of the Gospel. The first is formula. Bill Bright’s Four Spiritual Laws, variations of which have been popular among Western Christian missionaries for years, outline four propositions about God. Each of these propositions, offered like premises in a syllogism, compose a “formula” for salvation.

The second word is forgiveness. The “formula” denotes man’s primary problem as guilt, and thus proscribes forgiveness as man’s primary need. The third word is death, for this the mean’s by which forgiveness is given. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.

This is an accurate and faithful reading of the Gospel. However, such a presentation is often met by Muslims with stiff resistance on all three accounts. The very idea that God is bound by or behaves according to “laws” or according to a formula is offensive. The logic of penal substitution that our forgiveness requires is also confusing, as Muslims reject that God requires something in order to forgive, or that Christ’s work now obligates God to forgive us. Finally, Muslims have difficulty seeing God as a victim who died in weakness.

For these reasons, approaches like the “four spiritual laws” have not proven to be the most effective way of sharing the Gospel with Muslims. Our Gospel presentation might be more effective if built around the words “cleansing,” “victory,” and “story.”

1. Cleansing

One of the most unusual things for Westerners living among Muslims is the Muslim’s focus on ceremonial cleanness. Many Muslim rituals center around the need for purification. There are a number of substances which are considered najis (filthy), and if a Muslim comes into contact with one of these he must cleanse himself. The list of these substances is numerous, and includes pus, blood, dogs, pigs, profuse sweat, menstrual cycles, and dung. Explicit instructions regulate daily activities so as to ensure that the Muslim remains free of impurity.

Cleansing from najis is called wudu. The details of wudu make up a sizable portion of any Islamic theology text, and are a common theme in the hadith.

For many Muslims, the wudu has an inner, spiritual connotation as well. Sufis talk repeatedly about “the wudu of the soul.” They depict forgiveness in terms of cleansing and describe the final state of the believer in Paradise as “shining from the final washing of wudu.” Even Sunni Muslims, who emphasize God’s lofty transcendence over His creation, believe that the greatest reward of heaven will be to stand face-to-face with Allah. In that presence, they believe, they must stand perfectly clean.

A pertinent problem for the Muslim, then, is how to achieve an inner purification sufficient to stand before Allah. The standard Muslim response when I asked about this was “doing repentance” and “performance of the prayers and fast.” Yet, that raises the question of how it is consistent to say that purification from najis (physical impurities) requires a vigorous washing process, while purification from inner impurities requires only repentance.

Jesus explained that what defiles a man is not something he contacts in the outside world, but something that comes from within his heart (Matt 15:18–20). If the physical defilement of dogs, swine, or excrement must be cleansed by sand and water, then to be cleansed from spiritual defilement such as blasphemy, hypocrisy, or adultery, much more must be required!

The Gospel teaches that the blood of Jesus is the cleansing agent able to remove the contaminants and corruption that separates men from God. The blood of the cross is wudu for the heart, able to cleanse it from najis and defilement. It releases the offender from the vestiges of the haram, and brings the believer face to face with God.

The Story of Diana:

Once I asked an Islamic friend to explain to me why she washed as she did. She explained it was to remove all the najis with which she had come into contact throughout the day. I asked her what she though was the most “najis” thing of all. Her answer, without hesitation, was “pork.” She explained that contact with pork required a vigorous, seven-fold scrubbing. I asked her if there was anything that might be filthier to God than pork. After a while, she said she supposed idolatry was the filthiest thing of all to God. I asked where idolatry took place. She said, “the heart.” I asked, “So, you cleanse the body vigorously, but how do you cleanse your heart?” She said, “We just repent of our sin, and that cleanses us.” I objected, “You can’t just repent of touching the pork, you must also wash. How is repentance able to cleanse the heart of idolatry but not the hands of pork, seeing that idolatry is filthier than pork?” She thought for a moment and then said, “That is a great question. I don’t know.” I continued, “Every time you talk to God you do so with a filthy heart. It’s kind of like your imam (religious leader) came over to eat at your house. You had cleaned up everything in the house to honor his coming. When it came time to serve dinner, you brought out the head of the pig. This is what you are doing when you pray.” My friend seemed to understand. I explained to her that we Christians believe that the blood of Jesus is the cleansing for the soul. Later on, through this understanding (as well as some other factors), she put her faith in Christ.

2. Victory

Muslims and Christians agree that each man will one day die, and that apart from God nothing has the power to live. God demonstrated that He alone is sufficiently powerful to overcome death, and He did so in the resurrection of Christ. As the Koran states, only Allah possesses the power of resurrection (22:5–6).

Christ’s work should therefore be presented as victory. The humiliation of the cross was part of the victory of the resurrection. In Christ’s death God destroyed the enemies of life and His purposes for His creation, purposes which were restored to men in the resurrection. Resurrection was the goal of Christ’s work, and thus the essence of salvation (Rom 7:24–25; Gal 2:20).

Unfortunately, the resurrection often plays little to no role in Western presentations of salvation. Western theologians often speak of the resurrection as if its primary purpose was simply to prove that Christ’s work on the cross to pay for sins had been successful! The resurrection is often added as an historical footnote, not a mighty act integral to accomplishing salvation.

The resurrection declares that God is the Victor, the sole possessor of life and conqueror of the grave. Presenting salvation in this way broadens the appeal of the gospel to Muslims, as it bases its appeal on something other than a justice system which Muslims are explicitly taught to reject.

3. Story

There is no substitute for getting a Muslim to read and study the Bible on their own. The Bible story itself is much more compelling that logical syllogisms that “prove” Jesus had to be the Savior. Why? First, Muslims do not accept that any condition could require God to do certain things be done in order to secure salvation. Merely presenting “better” rational arguments for why God acted as He did are not likely to change the Muslim reaction: God doesn’t belong in a syllogism. Furthermore, the Koran has armed Muslims with dogmatic propositions that bypass rational argumentation. “Storying” the Bible preaches the Gospel to Muslims while avoiding those obstacles.

Building a witness around these three elements, cleansing, victory, and story, will put the Gospel into a more intelligible form for Muslims. A missionary employing this approach need not think that he is abandoning the orthodox principles of the Gospel in doing so, as this approach has rich biblical and historical support. It may be different from how Western missionaries are accustomed to thinking about the Gospel, but preaching the Gospel in a manner the receiving audience can understand has been part of faithful biblical mission since the Apostles’ first missionary journeys.”

Read the whole thing (6 pages).

What Muslims believe about Allah

1. He is the one God, Who has no partner.
2. Nothing is like Him.
   
3. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation.
   
4. He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just.
   
5. There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship besides Him.
   
6. He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was, and will be when nothing else remains.
   
7. He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful,the Supreme, the Sovereign.
   
8. It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything.
   
9. He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind. He sent Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all mankind.
   
10. His book is the Holy Qur'an, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept without change.
    
11. Allah knows what is in our hearts.

These are some of the basic guidelines Muslims follow in their knowledge of God:

1. Eliminate any anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their conception of Allah. His attributes are not like human attributes, despite similar labels or appellations.
   
2. Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described Allah to be, no more, no less.
   
3. Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the modality of His names and attributes. Belief totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one cannot believe in some and disbelieve the others.
   
4. One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated attributes, i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy - 'The Living' and then say that He is without life.
   
5. Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in what is being described (referents). As a robotics arm differs from a human arm, so the "hand" of Allah is nothing like a human hand, His speech is nothing like human speech, etc.
   
6. Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and thus may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those meanings that are in accordance with what is specified by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are acceptable.

Source: IslamWay.com
HT: John Stringer

Hard and Soft Skills for Leaders

From LeadersSummit.Org:

"If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, you will tend to treat every problem as if it were a nail." Maslow

It's important for leaders to have multiple "tools" in their "toolbox." If you have a limited and incomplete set of leadership skills, your leadership will always be lacking.

HARD SKILLS (what a leader does)

• Vision - A leader must have vision (a picture of the future that produces passion).
  
• Team Building - A leader inspires and influences followers and chooses and works through a team.
  
• Change Agent - A leader must be willing and able to negotiate major change within the organization.
  
• Execution - A leader is ultimately responsible for and involved in getting the right things done.
  
• Communication - A leader is responsible for communication throughout the organization.
  
• Inspire - A leader knows that, “leaders lead by pulling rather than by pushing; by inspiring rather than by ordering”. (Bennis and Nanus)

SOFT SKILLS (who a leader is)

• L3 (life-long-learning) - A leader must continually grow and develop as a person and lead from the over-flow of a vibrant life.
• Authenticity - Every person is unique on the "inside." An effective leader knows himself and lives an authentic life.
• Emotional Intelligence - A leader is aware of and knows how to properly respond to the emotional world.
• Character - A leader must excel in character (ethics and morality) and possess key character traits that are essential for leadership.
• People skills - A leader must possess the attitudes and abilities to relate to people in a productive and wholesome manner.
• Social Intelligence - A leader understands, “the accumulated wisdom that comes from constantly observing and learning what works and what doesn’t in human situations”. (Albrecht)

HT: Khalid Bin Malek

Al Jazerra: US troops urged to share faith in Afghanistan 4 May 2009

US soldiers in Afghanistan have been filmed with local language Bibles and urged to be "witnesses for Jesus" despite anti-"proselytising" rules.



Update: CNN reports that the US Military confiscated and burned the Bibles in response.

Allah: Boss or Father?

“How can the inner workings of the heart be changed from a dynamic of fear and anger to that of love, joy, and gratitude? Here is how. You need to be moved by the sight of what it cost to bring you home. The key difference between a Pharisee [read believer in Islam] and a believer in Jesus is inner-heart motivation. Pharisees are being good but out of a fear-fueled need to control God. They don’t really trust him or love him. To them God is an exacting boss, not a loving father. Christians have seen something that has transformed their hearts toward God so they can finally love and rest in the Father.”

- Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God (New York, NY: Dutton, 2008), 86.

HT: Of First Importance

The Gathering of Teams of Laborers

Here are my notes from Chapter 12, "The Gathering of Teams of Laborers" in From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues Among Muslims by Andrew and Rachel Chard who have this to say about teams involved in church planting among Muslims:

"Teams of church planters are better equipped than 'lone rangers' to reach remote people in difficult places, no matter how committed people on their own might be. The overwhelming witness of the Consultation's research is that in the bringing together of people with different gifts for the appointed task, there are numerous benefits that both bear fruit and lighten the load on individuals. In this chapter we will look at significant factors in the formation and the life of fellowship or church-planting teams amongst Muslims, keeping the goal of church-planting movements in mind."

(FP = Fruitful Practice)

FP 1: Identifying the right leadership for the team

"Across the regions represented at the Consultation, it was agreed that team leaders need to be wisely chosen, not left to fall into positions by default."

The Qualities Practitioners Said They Wanted in a Leader:
• An evangelistic heart • Experience • Vision • Passion • Faith • Ability to delegate • Prayerfulness • Servanthood • Ability to recognize gifts in others • Love of people • Praiseworthy character • Availability

FP 2: Aiming for a large enough team

"This implies that team size matters, and it does."

• Teams with fewer than four adults showed a greater probability of not planting even one fellowship or church.
• Teams with eight or more adults had a greater probability of planting at least one fellowship.
• Teams with twelve adults showed a greater probability of planting multiple fellowships.

"It would seem, therefore, that if our desire is to see church-planting movements, we need to be aiming for larger numbers of laborers in each team, supporting the strategy of sowing widely. Research suggests that five or six team members should be the lower limit of a team size."

FP 3: Having members with a variety of gifts for the task

"From the Arab World, a worker reports that a combination of spiritual and practical gifts was critical to team unity and functioning in their ministry setting. This is echoed by many presently serving in Muslim fields. Team leaders and members of church-planting teams should be prepared to embrace a wide variety of ministry within one team, freeing team members up to work where their gifts and passions lie, but keeping all that the team does connected to the vision. There needs to be recognition that working within one's skill set will energize workers, while working outside one's skill set often leads to early attrition."

FP 4: Recognizing that women are essential members of the team and serve effectively

"Not only do women have significant roles in the team structure, but in the Muslim world, they have access to women and children even while men are restricted in this area. Also, women team members are usually able to talk at a deeper level with Muslim women much sooner than male team members are able to with Muslim men."

FP 5: Valuing language learning proficiency and culture adaptation

"The reality is that the attrition rate in workers who do not learn the language well is faster than for those who do. One vulnerable group are mothers with young children, who frequently struggle to get out and learn language well. Having said that, those who are not good with languages should not lose heart, for within fellowship planting teams there needs to be an acceptance that different people have different aptitudes. The mutual accountability must still be there, but tempered by this understanding and driven by a strong desire for each team member to succeed by reaching their potential."

FP 6: Valuing prayer and a growing walk with God

This was expressed in various ways:

• Practicing an intimate walk with God
• Involvement in sustained prayer, fasting, and spiritual warfare
• Mobilizing extensive international, focused prayer

"Godliness is more important than striving to reach ministry goals."

FP 7: Having a vision and focused intention

"A Memorandum of Understanding or similar document lessens the myriad of potential distractions. A worker from East Africa said, "As an ongoing team, we have a Memorandum of Understanding, which states our vision and our goals. We have written down our core values and our commitment to one another as team members. All these things help us to hang together when there are struggles within the team or when there are discouragements in ministry that might otherwise entice us to give up.""

FP 8: Being flexible in strategy and willing to adapt and modify

FP 9: Surveying and assessing the needs of the people, profiling their identity and the status of the Gospel

FP 10: Building a team mentality

"Getting to know one another well and learning to care deeply for one other needs to be worked on consistently… Time needs to be invested in orientation and in learning how team members think and feel, how they express themselves (or do not), and how they react to different personalities. This will be largely the job of the team leaders who will often find their team members to be ready and willing but also sensitive to being hurt while perhaps being insensitive to hurting others, the common combination of people in culture shock."

FP 11: Demonstrating love for the people

"The team needs to be put together for love; leadership must be servant-like; all of the team's ministry must arise out of love. Our love must show the uniqueness of God's love through Christ. Showing the love of God through acts of kindness, community development projects, or in the day-to-day shared living with Muslim people does not go unnoticed."

FP 12: Partnering with others for fruitfulness:

• Partnering with Muslim leaders, such as a "man or woman of peace"

"One strategy that some see as very effective for church-planting teams involves finding a 'man or a woman of peace' (based on the principle in Matthew 10:11) or someone in the locality who might be called a 're-starter', that is, one who is well respected and has the ear of the people or one who has the ability to get things going in their communities."

"One participant wrote, "We had a Muslim man who was intensely interested in Jesus. He loved Jesus and had the respect of many people in the community. He started telling people about the Injil (Gospel). We did not seek him; God gave him to us.""

• Partnering with same-culture or near-culture evangelists who share the vision

• Partnering with other agencies

"A field worker writes that someone from each agency in his or her locality would get together and swap information and materials, bring news of projects, and give testimonies of what was happening in his or her ministry. It was a very positive relationship with encouragement for everybody involved."

• Partnering with local churches

"There is agreement that 'local' national pastors like to be involved alongside expatriate efforts, able to advise and assist where possible, but this issue is also fraught with problems and questions. Where there are big cultural differences between the believers of existing churches and the Muslims to whom a witness is occurring, a point of healthy contact can be hard to find. Unless those very churches themselves become charged with passion for Muslims, there often seems little chance of being able to integrate MBBs into the existing congregations/cell groups."

Conclusion

"We believe that after the significance of having the Word of God to teach us and being indwelt by the Spirit of God as our counselor and guide, the next greatest provision for us as 'workers in God's vineyard' is the concept of teamwork. Have we not seen in this chapter how working as a team brings strength and ability for the task? Can we not see how much good sense it makes to work in teams whenever possible? No, it will not be problem-free, and team members will not always feel that their team is the best they could have. However, what better way is there to combine strength and skills, passion and wisdom, to blend differentness with grace, in order to bring fruitfulness—in order to bring in the harvest?"


Buy the book.

What is Islam?

What is the purpose of Islam for Muslims? Why did Allah establish the religion of Islam through Mohammed as a mercy for mankind? The heart of Islam can be described in the following three categories:

1. Outward Conformity: In Islam, “God created humankind innocent, but they have made choices to their own detriment. Nevertheless, human beings are not essentially evil, but basically good. They are finite, mortal creatures, who are honored by God to be his representatives and servants on earth. Even though human beings are not essentially sinful and have no fallen nature, they are intrinsically weak, frail, imperfect, and constantly forgetful of God. Consequently, God sends them prophets to call them to submit to his sovereign will” (Geisler). If humankind is intrinsically weak and prone to make mistakes, then Adam and Eve did not “fall” but simply forgot the law. God in his mercy then gives the Qur’an which is guidance for life, so that Muslims know how to live on the “straight path” and remember the law of God. Muslims must conform to the law; this is perhaps the greatest concern for Muslims everywhere. In Islam Adam and Eve were not created for fellowship with God. If there was no fall, then there is no need for redemption from sin.

2. Social Control: When Christians study the Bible, the usual end result is called “theology.” But when Muslims study the Qur’an and the Hadith, the end result is “law.” Muslims glory in the fact that they have a rule for almost every situation in life. And when these laws (usually called Sharia) are properly enforced, Islamic societies experience peace, prosperity, and blessing. One paradigm to describe Islam is Phariseeism. Islam aims to bless society through the enforcement of rules and laws.

3. Worldwide Political Influence: As a religion of peace from God, Islam is meant to spread and ultimately rule over the whole earth. Mohammed was a political ruler, a statesman. It is perfectly legitimate for Islam to be advanced politically. Mohammed’s military conquests set the example. Islam is as much a political expression as it is a religion (although personal conversion should never be forced on anyone- the Qur’an teaches that “there is no compulsion in religion” (Baqara 2:256)). That is why religion and politics are so closely related in Islam.

Unfortunately, the church has embraced this model at times throughout the centuries. But when Jesus was offered rule over an earthly kingdom, he refused and went to the Cross instead. He said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting” (Jn. 18:36).

Will we worship in heaven?

As I was hanging out with some friends the other day, one guy was getting a hard time from his friends for still being single. I couldn't understand exactly what was being said, but he said something like, "On the day of Resurrection (the Last Day in Islam) I will experience marriage" with a sly grin on his face. He explained more to me about the "virgins" that are available to men in Paradise (Heaven). He also talked about the wine that doesn't make you drunk and the food that doesn't make you fat, all so that man can "take his rest" after he dies. He also mentioned that, in Paradise, "there is no more worship."

I wondered if I heard him right at first, so I asked, "When we stand before Allah in Paradise, the Almighty, the Holy One, and there is no sin anywhere, how can we not worship? Isn't our duty in life to worship and enjoy Allah now and forever?" He quickly agreed with me and then changed the subject.

I should have been gentler, but sometimes part of me is pleased that I could so easily shame someone for an incredibly low view of God. I guess it is pride that makes me feel that way.

However, it should deeply sadden us that there are so many trapped in a prison of works-based righteousness all for an eternal "rest" of nothing but self-centeredness and self-indulgence. God is greater.

Why I work with Muslims

Top 10 Mistakes Leaders Make

David Mays' book notes on The Top 10 Mistakes Leaders Make, by Hanz Finzel:

Leadership is a lot more intense than I ever imagined. Further, it can be dangerous. "We hold the power to do irreparable damage to our followers by the mistakes we make." (14) "The greatest lessons I've learned about good leadership have been through my own mistakes." (16)

Chapter 1. The Top-Down Attitude
Autocratic domineering. This is the mother of all hang-ups. It is foundational to all the rest of the mistakes. "If you have it, you will spread it to everything your leadership hands touch." (25)

Chapter 2. Putting Paperwork before Peoplework
"People are opportunities, not interruptions." (43) "All Task-oriented type A personalities must learn to slow down and allow people into our lives." "There is still no substitute for quiet, prolonged exposure of one soul to another." (44)

"…We have subtly made task orientation more desirable in our leader selection process." [But] "leadership is essentially a people business. Experts confirm that the most effective leaders spend most of their time being with people and solving people
problems." (49)

Chapter 3. The Absence of Affirmation
"We wildly underestimate the power of the tiniest personal touch of kindness." (61)

"Humans…need to have their emotional batteries charged often." (62)

Chapter 4. No Room for Mavericks
"Mavericks [pioneers] can save us from the slide toward institutionalism." (73)

"One of the best ways to take the wind out of the sails of visionaries is to send their ideas to a committee." (81)

Not all troublemakers and malcontents are worth the pain to have around. (85)

Chapter 5. Dictatorship in Decision Making
"The major players in any organization are like its stockholders: They should have a say in its direction." (89)

"It is impossible to learn anything important about anyone until we get him or her to disagree with us; it is only in contradiction that character is disclosed." (93, quoting Sydney J. Harris)

Chapter 6. Dirty Delegation - Refusing to Relax and Let Go
"Nothing frustrates those who work for you more than sloppy delegation with too many strings attached." (111)

"We must be careful not to micromanage people to death. Delegation means giving people the freedom to decide how jobs will be done." (116)

Chapter 7. Communication Chaos - Singing from the Same Page in the Hymnal
"Rumor mills are part and parcel of every work group." "…people can begin to create their own reality if the true reality is not communicated." "Never assume that anyone knows anything. This is a core leadership principle. We can never communicate enough in our organizations." (130)

Chapter 8. Missing the Clues of Corporate Culture
"Corporate culture is 'the way we do things around here.'" (151) "An organizations' corporate culture is the way insiders behave based on the values and group traditions they hold." (152) It is a set of unwritten rules. Each organization has a unique personality. "Corporate culture is a powerful force. It can at times be so strong that people develop a religious attitude toward their company, so devoted they are to its culture." (154)

Chapter 9. Success without Successors
"Mentoring is a nonnegotiable function of successful leadership." (177)

"Success without a successor is failure." (179 quoting Warren Webster)

Chapter 10. Failure to Focus on the Future
"Vision is an effective leader's chief preoccupation." (201)

"Leadership is seeing the consequences of our actions further in the future than those around us can." (205 quoting Bill Gothard)

"The most notable trait of great leaders, certainly of great change leaders, however, is their quest for learning." (206 quoting John Kotter in Leading Change)

"Leaders are paid to be dreamers. In fact, the higher you go in leadership, the more your work is about the future. I have very little influence on what is going to happen in my organization in the next six months, but I am making daily decisions that could have a profound impact on us five years down the road." (208)

Read all the notes. Buy the book.

Fundamental Difference Between Islam and Biblical Faith

I find the below summaries on the difference between the two faiths to be helpful.

Spear of Phinehas posts:

Chawkat Moucarry, who holds a doctorate in Islamic Studies and serves as Inter-Faith Relations director for World Vision, summarizes the fundamental different between Islam and Christianity:

"Above all, the means by which fallen human beings may be reconciled to God are fundamentally at odds in the two traditions. In biblically-faithful Christianity, the grace of God crowns everything, as guilty human beings are reconciled to their Maker by the sacrifice that God himself has provided in Jesus’ death on the cross. Christians are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live repentant and obedient lives that they would not otherwise choose. In Islam, while appeal is made to the mercy of God, the hope of paradise rests fundamentally on personal obedience to God, repentance, scrupulous avoidance of major sins, and confidence that one’s good deeds will in some way atone for one’s bad deeds." A Christian Perspective on Islam, 40

David Shenk in Journeys of the Muslim Nation and the Christian Church summarizes:

“The message of biblical faith is that God in the Messiah enters personally into our sinfulness to redeem us from sin and death. God, in the Messiah, actively and personally and lovingly pursues us so that we might be reconciled to him, to one another, and to creation. The message of qur’anic faith is that God, the merciful and compassionate one, sends his will down to us. In submission to his will we find well-being. Jesus offers redemption; the Qur’an offers guidance” (170).

Biblical faith is trusting completely in the redemptive work of God in Christ, whereas Islam is trying to constantly remember God by following his guidance.

Welcome

Welcome to Circumpolar - a series of short readings related to muslim ministry intended to equip and resource followers of Jesus to advance the gospel among Muslims.

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The future content of this blog...

Church Planting - Unreached - Contextualization
Evangelism - Jesus Fellowship Movements - Spirituality
Leadership - Teams - Partnerships
Loving - Balanced - Biblical