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Islamic StudiesChurch Planting Thoughts
Part I Dr. Robert Patton adaptation of materials
of Roland Muller
Three considerations
The messenger – must be considered authentic
The message – must be in context to be understood
The community of faith – must replace the umma of the Muslim faith
Part I
The Messenger
The messenger Gaining acceptance is key Learning the language well is a
must For Arabic speakers, this
automatically commands respect
The messenger Learning the culture and its basis
Fear-based Shame-based Guilt-based
Who are you? The role in society is important to
know for the church planter Good to be seen as a specialist in
religion eventually But often best to start as a learner if
you are new in the culture
Who are you? Show godliness in your l i fe Build bridges into the l ives of
others
Godliness Study and know the Bible Death to self – we must be
broken and not proud of ourselves, but confident in our God Life-experiences help
Godliness If we use teacher-based
evangelism We need to know ourselves as well
as the material We need to know the culture Preach and teach
Spiritual status of the individual helps our approach
Not interested, or even hosti le Somewhat interested Seeker Convert Disciple Leader
When not interested Seek opportunities to challenge their
viewpoint, worldview, etc But many do not go farther = at this
point, do not invest inordinate time
Somewhat interested Answer objections if they are serious Do not be surprised if they go deeper
into their own religion I have seen this presenting the gospel
to nominal Christians as well
Seeker Must reconcile differences between
Christian belief and his current teaching
You may become the teacher, or take him to someone as the teacher
Teacher must show that the real authority is the Word of God
Learn to be a teacher Study the methods of teachers in the
culture Be culturally appropriate – As an example, never point your feet
at someone if you are teaching Muslims
Learn to be a teacher Note what Hudson Taylor did
Not just Chinese clothes, but Clothes of a Chinese teacher or
scholar He used methods which were
appropriate Thus he dressed appropriately
Teaching Be careful about notes – they may
focus on them rather than the Bible itself
Be careful that you handle the Bible as your Holy book with respect
Teaching Muller recommended six one hour
sessions on basics Usually a few days between lessons Repeat – memorization is good
Teaching was focused Two or three main points Often teaching one on one best -
or two good fr iends Avoid men teaching women – it is
culturally offensive
Teaching Parables and proverbs are good
Sometimes for the hosti le Often for the interested Used to teach wisdom
Be careful that the parable or proverb clearly i l lustrates Biblical truth
Nearness in Muslim culture
Blood relationship Marriage Adoption Hospitality requirements Language also marks you as to
closeness Conformity is expected in close relation-
ships
Honor & shame Occur in strong group cultures Groups make basic decisions in l i fe –
l ike education, marriage, religion Honor for the group higher importance
than individual rights Family gives support to those inside it,
but expects conformity to its demands
Trust Usually trust those who are near Often hard to trust a God who is
considered far away Hope – for a Muslim, placed on your
own actions. You want your good deeds to outweigh your bad
Ultimate destiny basically depends on your works and actions
Group honor The group is his insurance as
well as everything else Losing a group = losing identity If one dishonors the group, the
eldest son must restore the honor
Situation for new Muslim convert
Can abandon faith and go back to Islam
Can abandon Islam and may get kil led Secret believer Become mentally unstable Integrate through the Holy Spirit
Goals Keep convert alive Unite faith as true believer Spiritual growth Come out as a follower of Jesus Integration of fel lowship
Goals – how to integrate?
Understand how the believer related to family
Recognize those who wil l be opposed and pray for them
Goals – how to integrate?
Recognize group weaknesses & sin & how deal to with them
Recognize the new believer’s weaknesses & sin; confess and abandon sin & yield to the Lord
Help believer see that he cannot l ive a two-faced life
Discipleship support Often requires daily contact Believer must have new group of
fr iends and support Believer needs daily spir itual input He may need to discuss non-spiritual
things
Coming out & making a stand
Very important Be a model in the family Demonstrate positive effects of
Jesus l iving in the new believer
Coming out & making a stand
Perhaps approach the most sympathetic person in the family – explain that he wants to serve God and also honor the family
They may try to dissuade him, but then see that there is an improvement
Discipleship Try to get him to read the Bible himself
and spend time in prayer He may need a place of refuge May want to memorize verses, and
later stories Learn to pray based on the claims of
the verses or point of the Bible story
Part II
The Message
Worldview Central to
Values Beliefs Feelings
Biblical worldview – see what happened when sin entered
Major effects of sin Guilt – conscience bothered them
Focus of western civil ization Shame – before God
Focus of eastern and mid-eastern cultures Fear of God
Animistic cultures Note – God solves all 3 problems
Guilt Focus is on guilt vs. innocence Focus is on securing our rights
yet avoid feeling guilty
Guilt
Weakness in the west – anything is OK as long as it does not hurt another “I ’m OK, you’re OK”
Roman law – the law is above even the emperor
Eastern church Question - how can I stand before
a Holy God and be in relationship with others? Focus more on shame than guilt
Eastern church Islam is more l ike this They cannot conceive of a man
that can make laws for everyone = this is God’s perogative Unity of religious and civil affairs
Problem for shame based culture
Shame based culture – problem of seeing sin occurs even when not found out
Confession is wrong if i t brings shame to your family
Fear-based – Note that is true in folk rel igion too Fear of man
Enemies Dictators, the state, etc.
Fear of the supernatural Demons, etc.
Answer – Power
Power Secular world – power comes from the
material universe Religious – power comes from outside
the material universe. Some use: Protection by rules (taboos) to avoid
offense Appeasement by sacrif ice
Confrontation in folk rel igion
There is real power backed by Satan Witchdoctor, shaman may partial ly
control the power Jesus Christ has all power, and lives
within the believer Ultimate complete victory comes
through Jesus Christ
Confrontation Often a power struggle with Satan by
the believer, who should show that Christ has greater power
The lost are turned from the power of darkness to the power of l ight
Shame-based Dominant mode – shame versus honor,
rather than guilt for breaking God’s standard of right versus wrong
Shame comes when the sin is exposed, but is a different emphasis from guilt for hurting a third party
Shame-based Shame – frequent responses in a
shame-based culture First covered up Second, denied Third – avenged if i t cannot be denied
Thus resentment at being exposed directed against those who exposed them
Shame treatment In the middle-east – avenged
Accuse someone of giving shame Make him pay, even death May need to pay blood money
In the far east – often suicide, as for example, Japan
Lying in a shame-based cultureculture
If lying protects the tribe or group, it is OK, because it is a lesser wrong than bringing shame to the grop
If i t is for self ish reasons, it is wrong
Lying in a shame culture Sometimes in the west with the young,
it is to be cool. “not cool” is shameful Sometimes people in this culture
crit icize to keep you from being proud = a kind of backhanded compliment
The Bible & shame I was surprised! Muller stated that
there are more references to shame and honor than to guilt and righteousness in the Bible
God raised His people from slaves to holding their heads high – Lev. 26:13
Only God can elevate to honor – not the person themselves: I Peter 2:6
Mankind is defi led We are guilty, but also defi led (totally
depraved and totally defi led) We must be cleansed (with the blood of
Christ) Muslims believe that prayers are more
honored in honorable places – mosque, Ka’aba
Mankind is naked
Mankind is naked before the Lord, but now clothed in Christ’s righteousness: 2 Cor. 5:1-2
In Leviticus 18, sexual sins is combined with “nakedness”
Mankind is naked
Sin separated us from God because we are naked and shameful and God is honorable
But God clothes us in the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is totally r ighteous and honorable
Restoration Only God can restore honor God uses a mediator, Jesus Christ
Restoration God adopts us, considers us sons, and
elevates us to joint-heirs with Christ. The heir is in a position of prominence
and honor We must balance this with Christ’s
preference for humility and service
HIS power God moves us from weakness to
strength But not our strength, but HIS
strength, which is stronger than the strongest
His healing We are sick but He heals us
Not only physically Also spiritually
You may be able to start with honor, and then show redemption from guilt to innocence
The root of honor is not Pride
God will not honor the proud – they wil l swell with pride
He honors the humble – which brings HIM honor
All cultures All cultures are a mixture But often one area dominates Scratch where they itch
To be continued with Part II