CHAPTER
TWENTY FOUR:
From
Islam into The Church In
Asmara, Eritrea there was a church in the 1970s which consisted of Amharas, Eritreans,
and Europeans. They all went to three different services in the three languages
spoken, but many went to a language service other than their own mother tongue.
One of the famous "missionary statesmen" from the USA visited that church, and
he had to revise one of his omniscient statements, that is, "There is no such
thing as a mixed ethnic church. Someone loses his identity, and the thing is not
genuine."
The "missionary statesman" later admitted to me that the church in Asmara was
a very healthy assembly, though it was an extreme mix of cultures. The Amharas
of Ethiopia and the Eritreans have, in recent years, been severe enemies, and
the European mix included Englishmen, Americans, Canadians, Germans, and Italians.
But, the love of Christ was shed abroad in their hearts, and their fellowship
rose far above puerile ethnic and national imperatives.
All over the world the Lord has many such churches, and why not? The Apostle Paul
said that when we come into the Lord's Church, these ethnic and national distinctions
must dissolve into the person of Christ. The
Bible, I Corinthians 12:13, For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit. The
Bible, Galatians 3:28, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
The
Lord's church doesn't need these worldly feminists to tell the saints what to
do with women. The true church has always treated its women with tenderness and
grace, but I digress.
It is however; a sorry commentary, on the churches of America, that they are so
race conscious. Black American Christians often get tired of shuckin' and jivin',
as well as the Jessie Jackson-Martin Luther King Jr. type of politics in the pulpit.
One Black family had to drive 150 miles, from New Orleans to Ocean Springs, Mississippi,
to find a sound Bible teaching church. Part of the problem is that some white
Baptists, who teach that "whosoever will may come," and who support missionaries
to Africa, will make it subtly but openly clear that they don't want Blacks in
their church. These small souled babies forget that Jesus was an olive-colored
Jew.
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The same is true in many Mennonite and Dutch Reformed churches, where a German
or Dutch name warms up the door greeters much more than Sanchez or Pucinni. The
Bible, James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren,
these things ought not so to be.
If you are attending such a local church, please change churches before you go
soul-winning with ethnic people. Dr. Ben David Lew was a born again Jew who was
a missionary to Jewish people in the Detroit area. When he got a Jewish convert
to Christ, he disciplee him closely for a short time, then he took him around
to one of the Bible-believing churches in the area to become part of the Body-life
and family. He had no services on Sunday in his headquarters, and he had not started
one "Messianic Fellowship" in the thirty years he served our Lord in Detroit.
The result
of his policy was twofold: First,
Dr. Lew was not famous, since he had no covey of Judaistic followers to flaunt
at missions conferences. Those he had won to Christ went on to be absorbed into
the Body of Christ in the Detroit area. Second,
he could not be accused of guruizing the Jewish people, as have Jews For Jesus
and the majority of Jewish missions.
An "ethnic church" is a bold denial of the power of the Holy Spirit to make men
one in Christ. Some of these Jewish, Arab, Korean, and Chinese churches in the
USA are downright mean about their special ethnic distinctions. I note also this
claim, "I am a fulfilled Jew," or "I am a Messianic Jew." Bunk! Then I am a fulfilled
Dutchman, and Pucinni is a fulfilled Italian. It is also instructional that some
of these "fulfilled Jews" have blond hair and blue eyes. Who is this Anglo kidding?
To be Jewish
or Italian in heritage is great, but to divide the Body of Christ around ethnic
distinctions is blasphemy against Christ, who died to make the Body one. It is
a roaring indictment against the lack of true New Testament Love, which is supposed
to be the first witness of the Body of Christ, as in..... The
Bible, John 13:35, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another.
Peter was told by God to kill and eat all manner of creeping things so that he
would learn not to reject the Gentile, Cornelius, whom he would later visit and
bring into the Lord's Church. I think it would be healthy to make some of these
purveyors of prejudice in the Lord's Church eat bugs and worms until they humble
themselves.
Well, now that's off my chest. Isn't the INTERNET wonderful! You can
turn your zeal loose, and some publisher cannot edit it out. So what shall
we do with your new convert from Islam to Christ? First, disciple him for a while
in your home. In spite of what I just said, don't throw him into the mix of the
assembly for a while until he has both feet planted in Christ's teaching of the
Gospel and Paul's teaching of the Church. This should take only a couple of weeks
if you know your Bible as you should. The reason I suggest this is that, if you
have chosen a healthy church to attend, your new Christian will have tremendous
experiences in Christian fellowship.
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These may distract him from the beginnings of discipleship and biblical Truth.
Do I have grounds for such a suggestion? Yes, as in the case of Paul, The
Bible, Galatians 1:15, But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that
I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles
before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with
him fifteen days.
Many times a convert from Islam is attacked violently by the Muslim community.
In Arabia, Sudan, Malaysia, and North Africa, he could be killed, often by an
order of the courts or the national police. In the USA, or the United Kingdom,
he will be socially ostracized, and he may lose his employment if he is working
with Muslims. You must be willing to take him into your home.
If there is a problem of moral propriety (a man deicipling a lady and visa versa),
then you must find him another Christian home in which to stay as a stepping stone
on to future things. Your pastor and church should be made aware of his possible
need for employment, and the saints must be encouraged NOT to talk about him to
other Muslims. He needs time and space to literally start over in virtually every
aspect of life. In our lands affected by Christendom we have no way of feeling
the sorrow of losing 100% of one's way of life for Christ. This saint could lose
his work, his family, his place in the order of society, and his religion of course.
He is going to feel rejected, and you may be his only security humanly. So, stay
very close, and visit every day for some time, paying close attention to the emotional
needs. Please, no "Christian counselors." Find
Bible texts, for him to study, which show how God comforted His children. I hope
you have a very personal friendship with The Lord Jesus Christ, for this new saint
needs to see you and hear you as you show how Jesus and the Word of God comfort
you. Your
new convert friend may even behave like a puppy, following your around much of
the time. Do not push him away at first thinking he needs to, "Go it alone more."
One missionary to Arabs in Detroit has a room in his basement remodeled just for
this purpose. He spends a great deal of time and effort helping new converts through
the transition. He also may invite a Muslim to move in for a few days while he
looks into the claims of Christ, so that he will not be discovered reading the
Bible or Christian writings.
It is also important to talk to your pastor and friends in the church you attend
because some folk are very silly with a convert from another culture. They gather
around him and make a great hero of him, and the poor fellow is at once tempted
to exalt himself. You must clear the way ahead for your friend, and make sure
that he is received as, "just one of the folks."
Page 286
Dr. Ray Sacks, a pastor and convert from Judaism, has said, "Whenever a Jew gets
saved a group of Gentile Christians gather around him, exalt him, and convince
him to start another Messianic ministry." Dr. Sacks has pastored churches for
many years without exalting his Jewish heritage beyond measure. Beware of guruizing
any believer, especially a new believer.
Now, don't confuse my next suggestion with earlier statements. To keep and enjoy
one's heritage, for its social and hospitality value, is a great delight. You
must guard your friend against those who will expect him to denounce all of his
Arabness or cultural heritage. The color of customs, hospitality, food, and even
language distinctions, are very real benefits of God's act of setting the bounds
of our habitation (Acts 17:26). Only in the Church do these cultural barriers
need to be erased as separating distinctions. You must resist lovingly those in
the Body who press your new convert friend to become absorbed into your culture
as part of his new life in Christ. He may not at once agree with you regarding
the Palestinian and Israeli issues. Leave it alone, OK? And, please do not serve
this new Arab Christian pork and expect him to change his tastes. He has lived
his whole life with the rules of Islam. Let him figure our where and when he will
establish his new liberty in Christ.
Let me illustrate how to use some Christian diplomacy. Suppose you have a Christian
in your assembly who has a bitter hate for Arabs, Palestinians, or Muslims. He
has wrapped his Bible in the American flag, and he may mouth off regularly about,
"them Ayrabs." Some Arab national leader is his favorite candidate for the Antichrist.
Now, he may rejoice in your Muslim friend coming to Christ, but he may also have
mixed feelings. He may be guilty of assuming that this new Middle Eastern Christian
will dutifully turn pro Israeli and alter all of his former Middle Eastern perspectives.
How do you help your immature brother?
Here is your strategy. First,
invite the "good old boy" and your new convert from Islam to your home for dinner.
Cook filafil, humous, and "couscous royal" with spiced lamb. Ask the ex-Muslim
to prepare the coffee in an ibrik, and serve it Middle Eastern style. By now,
you should have all of these utensils, because you will have purchased them for
the earlier days of witness. Really lay on the goodies, and end the meal with
bakhlava and pistachio halwa from the Middle Eastern bakery. Try to avoid letting
the conversation run to politics in the Middle East, but if that happens, step
two comes on quite naturally. Second,
get your immature brother aside some time later, and exhort him in love. Remind
him that the same people who launched the war on Saddam Hussein and twisted the
whole thing on NBC and CBS, are going to one day exalt the False Prophet and the
Beast of the end times.
Your immature brother needs to see the new convert from Islam as real good end-times
company.
Page 287
Show him the Bible passages that show how Christ will receive the worship and
sacrifices of the Arabs in the Messianic Kingdom. (See Chapter
Two of this book.) Ask him if it is fair for him to expect a new believer
to sort out all of the emotions of an American. Encourage him to help lift this
Muslim-turned-saint to rise up above the mud and mire of politics. Having softened
him with your hospitality, you will very likely, "gain your brother," and a great
offense will have been prevented.
If this doesn't help, please follow the pattern set forth by our Lord in: The
Bible, Matthew 18:15, Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go
and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou
hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take
with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word
may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell
it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee
as an heathen man and a publican.
Do
not hesitate to carry this to a complete conclusion, even to see the offending
brother put out of the church. If the leaders defend him, take the new saint,
and flee to an assembly which will love him. Don't waste your loyalties on ungodly
bigots. We
encourage ethnic cooking and interaction in our assembly, and it has been great
fun. In a church I served in the High Desert in California, our church dinners
included French, Creole, Mexican, and Ethiopian cuisine, as well as those famous
Bar-B-Qued ribs cooked by Mrs. Posey, a Black American Christian, and Navajo fry
bread on the side, cooked by Mrs Jo. Ed Arnold added his skills from days as a
chef at a dude-ranch. We all learned to breath fire with Chris Jaramio's chili
pepper contributions, and I added my home cured Greek olives (which is strange
for a Dutchman).
What fun it is to get out our cultural color in Christian unity, and I have to
laugh when I hear some rebel against the Gospel say, "If I become a Christian
I won't have any fun." Christians are the ones who have fun without guilt.
As the Jews say, "Enjoy!" There is no greater adventure than winning souls
to Jesus Christ. You meet such nice people after the sin is washed away. So, please,
I beg of you, don't start one of these ethnic churches and deny the Body of Christ
the joy of this Apostolic mixing and oneness which Paul valued so highly. Read
Acts 2, and note the cultural mix of the first Church.
Think of Paul on the Isle of Malta wintering over with Publius and his wild and
strange culture. Paul became "all things to all men" in order to win souls. How
would Daniel have had a testimony in Babylon if he said "Yuk" every time they
passed the fried grasshoppers. If some pastor or PhD of missiology tells you this
is silly, send him to me. I'll feed him a habanero chili pepper sandwich, and
teach him John 3:16 in Swahili.
Page 288 ETHIOPIAN
LINKS:
Here
is what happens if a Muslim sees the farse
of Islam without a Bible believer
to help him see the Light
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