Free to Serve

Loneliness

"Revive the art of hospitality in your home. Some of the loneliest people are in the churches."

        --Carl F. H. Henry

Small Thoughts of God

As we head into Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, this is great time to remember the difference between "religious practices" and actually turning to God with true, vibrant, saving faith. So many people leave the church because they don't see Christians drawing near to God. They appear, on the outside, to have boiled Christianity down to a to-do list. Such Christians have small thoughts of God.

This is a point made by J.I. Packer in 1973 when he wrote, Knowing God. It's a point I discuss in greater detail on the Nine Marks blog, here. 

If you are in the Atlanta area, join us at noon Friday, April 22nd as we celebrate in Scripture reading, song, and prayer the Son of God who came to us and died for us.

Muslim Resistance to the Gospel

After my trip to the MIddle East, I read Al Mohler's post, "Why is the Muslim World So Resistant to the Gospel?" He summarizes an argument presented by a Christian professor, J. Herbert Kane, over thirty years ago. I found the six points Kane offers very helpful. Take a look.

Thinking through evangelism to the Muslim world is important because Islam is the world's second-largest religion. Out of sheer compassion we should reach out to our Muslim neighbors with the Gospel.

I had a conversation with a Muslim in Egypt who was convinced I would one day turn to Islam. "Islam," he told me, "is the fulfillment of Christianity. If you are truly a faithful Christian, one day you will submit to Allah."

He is wrong. Christ is and forever will be my Lord. He is more than a prophet, he is God. I shared with my new friend how I became a Christian. I told him Jesus must be more than a prophet since he is God. My new friend listened patiently, but kindly disagreed. I got his email so I could follow up. In the back of my mind was 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

I pray he sees the cross as the power of God.

 

New Perspective

I just read Robin Spangler's review of Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley, and I want to commend it to you. It is a shocking look at the false bill of goods our culture has bought when it comes to the roles of men and women. These views have changed everything from how teenage girls dress to how couples use their home.

I love this question from Robin's review, "Is your home a community and a place of ministry and outreach or your museum of materialism and consumerism?" Our culture teaches us to view the home as a place to isolate ourselves from the world. The Bible teaches us to view the home as a place where men and women can reach the world for Christ.

Good stuff. Read it here.

Lessons from Overseas

I'm back in Atlanta now, and have had some time to reflect on our trip to Egypt and Dubai. Egypt is a third-world country. Years of a political corruption and spiritual darkness have decimated this nation. Dubai is is a modern wonder of the world. It boasts the world's tallest building and largest mall and yet in that city rampant materialism and an Islamic state meet, making one of the strangest unions imaginable. Over the course of two weeks we visited churches, talked with pastors, looked at efforts to reach the Middle East with the Gospel, and prayed about what role MVBC should play in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

For now, here are five lessons I think we as a church need to take away from this trip.

1. We should be humbled by the risks many Christians are taking to follow Christ. A few nights into the trip I joined a group of Christians in Egypt learning about evangelism. Many of these believers spoke the Gospel into the lives of Muslims, knowing full well they would be targeted as anarchists. Yet they persist. We take no real risks in America to share the Gospel. We should be humbled by those who do.

2. We should be amazed at how God uses the local church throughout the world. One church we visited is carefully and deliberately raising up men and women to leave for the sake of the Gospel. Another church is equipping believers with the Word and watching while they start ministries of their own. Another church has started a pastoral intern program and plans on sending these men out to some of the most difficult places in Asia and the Middle East. The common denominator in each church is the Gospel that grips our lives, brings us into community with other believers, and uses us to make the glory of God known.

3. We should be aware that Satan has a powerful hold on millions and millions throughout the Middle East through the false teaching of Islam. Only God can break Satan's hold. We should be ready to contend for the faith. Muslims see Islam as the fulfillment of Christianity. They see faithful Christians as people who have yet to arrive because we fail to accept God's final revelation Allah gave to Mohammed. The Koran binds its adherents to a religion of works where one never has assurance or hope. It is a religion without true joy. In Egypt and Dubai it is the dominant faith and, sadly, it is growing fast.

4. We should be thankful for the freedom we have to gather as Christians. Police officers stand outside churches in Cairo when they meet. The government says this is so the state can protect the church from radical Muslim attacks. In reality it is so the state can listen to make sure that the Christians within don't speak against Islam. One church in Dubai had a gathering shut down because it wasn't in an approved location. Another church we met meets regularly without approval and could be shut down at any moment. Another church in Egypt meets in secret. But the believers are eager to meet! They want to be together, learn together, and encourage one another.  What freedoms we have here in the United States. Be thankful.

5. We should support the persecuted church. The most poignant time of the trip was when we met with Iranian believers temporarily out of Tehran. They explained how they cannot meet in public, how the secret police tap their phones. They told us how their pastor was killed and the new leader was in jail. There is no freedom of religion. Evangelical Christianity is seen as a threat to the state and it is shut down with the full force of the police. These believers are about to head back to Tehran. They will face real danger. As we minister in the States we should be supporting brothers and sisters like this. 

Muslim or Christian?

In Egypt, it is one or the other. You are either Muslim or Christian. Judaism--not acceptable. Atheism--not allowable. HInduism--okay to visit but don't expect to stay. The driver's licenses in Egypt make this clear. Check out this photo below. It's a picture of the back of an Egyptian license (no personal information). It's in Arabic and the second line from the bottom consists of three words. Reading from right to left, the first word is "male." The last word is "married." The word in the middle is "Christian."

There are about 80 million people in Egypt. Rough estimates suggest that 65 million are "Muslim" and 15 million are "Christian." The vast majority of those labeled Christian are Christian in name only. A much smaller percentage are true believers.

Licenses which require someone to indicate whether he is a Muslim or a Christian is one way discrimination and even persecution against Christians takes place. It may be as small as being denied a promotion. It could be much worse if a Muslim convert to Christianity tried to change their id status from "Muslim" to "Christian" -- which is why most don't.

As Americans, it is hard to imagine what it would be like to live in a culture like this. It strikes me as akin to racism. On January 25, 2011 a revolution started in Egypt which led to the resignation of President Mubarak. In the long run, this may be bad news for true believers if the new regime is even less tolerant to Christians. In the meantime, there is some degree of optimism. The pictures exemplify the hunger for more freedom in Egypt. The first was taken in Alexandria, the second in Cairo:

Update from Cairo

Mike, Bryan, and I are in Cairo visiting with local church pastors and missionaries. It is remarkable being in a city of 20 million that is overwhelmingly Muslim. We hear calls to prayer five times a day. One pastor shared about a recent convert from Islam to Christianity. When his wife found out she contacted the Secret Police. They arrested him and detained him for several days. When he was finally released, his wife had divorced him, taken the kids, and he had lost his job. Thankfully, a church welcomed him with open arms. 

We have had a safe, productive visit thus far. Please pray for meaningful conversations in the days ahead. As you can see from the picture below, there is a form of godliness here--men praying practically all the time. But it has no power.