Muslims, Jesus, and Burger King, Part I

I have recently been inspired after reading one of Carl Medearis's books (Muslims, Christians, and Jesus) and listening to several of his talks on the Kingdom of God. They have been wonderful, and last week I kind of just said "you know God? I'd really love a chance just to imitate Carl's approach to Muslims and talk to them about...ya know - Jesus. Not white republican pro-Israel Jesus - just Jesus. I think He's enough, and I'd love a chance to invite some Muslims into the kingdom of God."
Several times this week, I've prayed that I would meet some Muslims this week. I guess God was ready to meet that prayer head-on. So far this week, I have had not 1, not 2, but Five encounters with Muslims from both Bangladesh and Jordan. Each has been special, and I'm convinced more than ever that Jesus is already alive and working among Muslims and that they just need someone to come along and help them connect the dots...may He be praised !

The following story took place Monday here in Atlanta:

I was looking for a place to hole up for an hour or so- somewhere where I could read a Doug Carter book about ministry partnership. I figured that Burger King was just a good a place as anywhere, and since I was in there, I figured I had to order something to justify my using their air conditioning for the next hour. I greeted the Mexican lady behind the counter in my typical "hola, como estas?" style, and then proceeded to greet her friend who also appeared Latina. Now, interestingly enough, that lady responded to me in Spanish, but then Gabriela said "oh...no. She isn't Latina; she's from Bangladesh." Not to be deterred, I greeted 'Ferosa' with some of the very few Bangla words I remembered from my trip to Bangladesh in 2004.

"Kamen acho?" I asked (how are you).

"Balo ache," she replied. She was stunned when I told her a few other of my words and said that I had been to Jammulpur, Mymensignh, and Dhaka, where she was also from. A man who had visited the "bahut sundar" (very beautiful) place of Bangladesh - absurd ! I told her that I was reading a "Balo boy" (good book) and pointed to it. She was shocked =)...

15 minutes later, Feroza came out to the dining room where I was sitting. I asked her a couple questions, and the next thing I know, she's sitting across the booth from me....(what was happening here?)

(End of Part I)

The deep thought for the day

"Everything that's free is either because of someone else's generosity, or someone else's theft." - Jacques Savrier

From Tim Dearborn's article in the Perspectives textbook

Missions - Privilege, Not Duty!

"Lack of interest in mission is not fundamentally caused by an absence
of compassion or commitment, nor by a lack of information or exhortation.
And lack of interest in mission is not remedied by more shocking
statistics, more gruesome stories or more emotionally manipulative
commands to obedience. It is best remedied by intensifying peoples’
passion for Christ, so that the passions of his heart become the passions
that propel our hearts.

Missions must never have first place in the Church’s life. The Church is
to have but one Lord – one passion – the One in whom all the fullness
of God dwells, who has reconciled all things to himself. If the Church
today is in need of a conversion, it is always and only to Jesus Christ.

It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the
world. Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world. Grasp this
inversion of subject and object, and participation in God’s mission will
become a joyous, life-giving privilege. Miss it and mission involvement
will eventually degenerate into a wearisome, overwhelming duty.

Mission is ultimately not a human response to human need. The
Church’s involvement in mission is its privileged participation in the
actions of the triune God." - Tim Dearborn, "Beyond Duty" - Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

Good stuff!!