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Hang in there we are still trying!
Posted by Strider in Baptist Life, Church & Missions
I wrote this last week during the convention but was unable to get it to post. So, here is a late congratulations to our new president and some additional thoughts for you to consider while SBCImpact continues to try and recover from our technical difficulties. In the meantime, I am not even going to try and post a picture with this.
I got up this morning and read enough blogs to figure out that Bryant Wright will likely make a fine President of our Convention. Then I read some more and understood that the GCR motion passed but I am unclear on whether this is a great thing or not. Now that the motion has passed for good or ill it is time to get to work. The Lord has asked us to go into all the world and make disciples. He further defined this as starting where we are and going to the uttermost parts of the earth. Well, I am here. You help get me here and support me here. What we are finding is that God is at work wherever we go and His Kingdom is going forward at an awesome pace. We can get there. The Word says we WILL get there. There will be people from every tribe and tongue praising the Father around the throne for the rest of eternity. The question is how can we participate in that? We can reorganize and reshuffle but how must our hearts change in order to see his blessing on the nations in our lifetime? Obviously we need to be sold out, no hold out in love with Jesus. If that happens then some other heart changes might be in the making. The following chart was put together by my good friend Ted. I hope it challenges and inspires you as it has me.
Christian approaches to Muslims
If we see Muslims as …
Enemies
Our approach will be …
Attack!/Defend!
Our heart attitude will be ..
hate
If we see Muslims as …
Foreigners
Our approach will be …
Separate Coexistence
Our heart attitude will be ..
Indifference
If we see Muslims as …
Poor, uncivilized, uncultured
Our approach will be …
Invite them to be like us (join us)
Our heart attitude will be ..
Pharisaic/condescending
If we see Muslims as …
Rivals
Our approach will be …
Polemic debate
Our heart attitude will be ..
proud
If we see Muslims as …
Human beings
Our approach will be …
Respectful dialogue
Our heart attitude will be ..
listen and learn
If we see Muslims as …
Unresponsive
Our approach will be …
resigned to do nothing
Our heart attitude will be ..
hopeless
If we see Muslims as …
Lost people Jesus died for
Our approach will be …
Salt/light (demonstrate love)
Preach the Gospel (speak truth)
Pray for their needs (show power)
Become all things to all people (Pauline)
Our heart attitude will be ..
Love
The chart is for work with Muslims but I think you can see that it can apply to much more.
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Strider,
I like the chart Ted put together.
In addition to these important considerations regarding the proper attitude, I wonder if you (or someone else) have any advice on practical ways for those of us currently living in the U.S. to influence Muslims for Christ.
I have been asked this several times when I am back home. The key, it seems to me, is the heart attitude of ‘hopeless’. We must believe that God is at work among them and that His work will bear fruit. Muslims in the US feel hostility both real and imagined. They have a ‘chip on their shoulder’ already and when we approach them (tentatively, and wondering what we might find when we actually TALK to a Muslim) they can be hostile to us and our faith. We assume (I believe wrongly) that they are rejecting Jesus. The reality is that they are not, nor are they even rejecting you. They are acting out as the persecuted minority. If you can stand the initial hostility and hold out long enough to show that you really care about them, that you really love them then you may find someone who is really seeking God and would like to hear more of what you have to say. It will take time. It will take real love.
Obviously there is much more I could say but this is as far as I can go in a short comment.
I like the chart as well. Anything that describes a person whether Muslim, Jew, Atheist, Morman, Hindu and so on could be inserted in place of Muslim. When I read the chart, I had to place “liberals” in place of Muslim.
One thing Muslim’s are doing is simply not speaking out much. They continue to work undercover and have been doing that for many years. Their success shows in how they have influenced the world through the strength of the flesh. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. That is the call of the Christian as we seek the Holy Spirit for power over the influence of evil and corruption. Our fight is that of love as the last statement says in the chart above. Until we are ready to fight the fight of the kingdom we will never win.
Great article.
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