This section and the following are largely adapted from Roland Muller's text on reaching the Muslim community through the messenger, message, and community. Each area is briefly outlined.
2. 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
6. 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
7. Who are you?
Show godliness in your life
Build bridges into the lives of
others
8. 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
9. 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
10. Spiritual status of the
individual helps our
approach
Not interested, or even hostile
Somewhat interested
Seeker
Convert
Disciple
Leader
11. 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
12. 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
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
16. 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
17. Teaching
Muller recommended six one hour
sessions on basics
Usually a few days between lessons
Repeat – memorization is good
18. Teaching was focused
Two or three main points
Often teaching one on one best -
or two good friends
Avoid men teaching women – it is
culturally offensive
19. Teaching
Parables and proverbs are good
Sometimes for the hostile
Often for the interested
Used to teach wisdom
Be careful that the parable or proverb
clearly illustrates Biblical truth
20. Nearness in Muslim culture
Blood relationship
Marriage
Adoption
Hospitality requirements
Language also marks you as to
closeness
Conformity is expected in close relation-
ships
21. Honor & shame
Occur in strong group cultures
Groups make basic decisions in life –
like 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
22. 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
23. 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
24. Situation for new Muslim
convert
Can abandon faith and go back to
Islam
Can abandon Islam and may get killed
Secret believer
Become mentally unstable
Integrate through the Holy Spirit
25. Goals
Keep convert alive
Unite faith as true believer
Spiritual growth
Come out as a follower of Jesus
Integration of fellowship
26. Goals – how to integrate?
Understand how the believer related to
family
Recognize those who will be opposed
and pray for them
27. 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 live a
two-faced life
28. Discipleship support
Often requires daily contact
Believer must have new group of
friends and support
Believer needs daily spiritual input
He may need to discuss non-spiritual
things
29. Coming out & making a
stand
Very important
Be a model in the family
Demonstrate positive effects of
Jesus living in the new believer
30. 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
31. 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
33. Worldview
Central to
Values
Beliefs
Feelings
Biblical worldview – see what
happened when sin entered
34. Major effects of sin
Guilt – conscience bothered them
Focus of western civilization
Shame – before God
Focus of eastern and mid-eastern cultures
Fear of God
Animistic cultures
Note – God solves all 3 problems
35. Guilt
Focus is on guilt vs. innocence
Focus is on securing our rights
yet avoid feeling guilty
36. 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
37. Eastern church
Question - how can I stand before
a Holy God and be in relationship
with others? Focus more on
shame than guilt
38. Eastern church
Islam is more like this
They cannot conceive of a man
that can make laws for everyone
= this is God’s perogative
Unity of religious and civil affairs
39. Problem for shame based
culture
Shame based culture – problem
of seeing sin occurs even when
not found out
Confession is wrong if it brings
shame to your family
40. Fear-based – Note that is
true in folk religion too
Fear of man
Enemies
Dictators, the state, etc.
Fear of the supernatural
Demons, etc.
Answer – Power
41. 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 sacrifice
42. Confrontation in folk
religion
There is real power backed by Satan
Witchdoctor, shaman may partially
control the power
Jesus Christ has all power, and lives
within the believer
Ultimate complete victory comes
through Jesus Christ
43. 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 light
44. 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
45. Shame-based
Shame – frequent responses in a
shame-based culture
First covered up
Second, denied
Third – avenged if it cannot be denied
Thus resentment at being exposed
directed against those who exposed
them
46. 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
47. 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 it is for selfish reasons, it is wrong
48. 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
criticize to keep you from being proud
= a kind of backhanded compliment
49. 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
50. Mankind is defiled
We are guilty, but also defiled (totally
depraved and totally defiled)
We must be cleansed (with the blood of
Christ)
Muslims believe that prayers are more
honored in honorable places – mosque,
Ka’aba
51. 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”
52. 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 righteous and honorable
54. 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
55. HIS power
God moves us from weakness to
strength
But not our strength, but HIS
strength, which is stronger than the
strongest
56. 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
57. The root of honor is not
Pride
God will not honor the proud – they
will swell with pride
He honors the humble – which brings
HIM honor
58. All cultures
All cultures are a mixture
But often one area dominates
Scratch where they itch
To be continued with Part II