April 20, 2024

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Islam

Can Jesus followers still call themselves Muslim?
Missiological Issues, Islam, Missiology, Contextualization, Insider Movements

Can Jesus followers still call themselves Muslim?

Can followers of Jesus from a Muslim background continue to call themselves Muslims? This post will explore whether one’s Muslim identity as a Christ follower is an ongoing permanent identity or is simply a transitional phase as the believer matures.  Many Insider Movement advocates see the retention of one’s socio-religious identity as permanent (see Rebecca Lewis’s article, “Insider Movements: Honoring God-given Identity and Community,” in Understanding Insider Movements). In fact, retention of one’s socio-religious identity is one of the distinctive elements of Insider Movements. I question whether this is possible without redefining Islam or Christianity or both. Who defines whether one is a Muslim? Fred Farrokh is “a Muslim-background Christian who has been involved in ministry to Muslims for over 30 years” (see his article, “Indigenous Perspectives on Muslim Identity and Insider Movements.”) In the last month, Farrokh has written a very helpful seven-part series on “Identity Development and Transformation… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Talking with Muslims about faith
Islam, Evangelism, Missiological Issues

Talking with Muslims about faith

In my colleague’s review of the book, Dialogical Apologetics, in this blog, Gary Ridley noted that dialogue with adherents of other religions has often been seen as mutually incompatible with evangelism.  Dialogue has been used to describe inter-religious discussions in which evangelism is not seen as necessary or even a desirable goal. The book Gary reviewed points to another way of viewing that dialogue. I would like to extend that conversation to focus particularly on dialogue with adherents of the Islamic faith. Unknown to most of us,  including myself until recently, Christians have a very long history of these interactions, extending back for many centuries.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Can we call Muhammad a Prophet?
Islam, Contextualization, Insider Movements, Revelation, Missiological Issues

Can we call Muhammad a Prophet?

Insider movement advocates discuss the appropriateness of converts saying the Shahada which identifies Muhammad as God’s prophet. There is not a consensus on this point. Yet saying the Shahada is part of Muslim identity.  Is there any way that we can refer to Muhammad as God’s prophet without compromising the authority of the Bible? In 2014 the International Journal of Frontier Missiology published an article by Harley Talman entitled, “Is Muhammad Also Among the Prophets?” (vol.31:4 Winter 2014). Subsequent issues contain responses and counter responses with Ayman Ibrahim (vol. 32:4 Winter 2015; 33:3 Fall 2016) and John Azumah (vol. 33:3 Fall 2016). I am not going to detail their discussion. You can read their whole dialogue in the archives section of the IJFM website.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Insider Movements: Understanding the Issues
Missiology, Contextualization, Insider Movements, Missiological Issues, Church Planting, Disciple-making, Islam

Insider Movements: Understanding the Issues

“Over the past fifteen years missiologists have produced a massive amount of literature related to the contextualization debate surrounding the proposals of Insider Movement proponents.” So begins J. Henry Wolfe in his article, “The Development of the Insider Movement Paradigm” (published July 2015, www.GlobalMissiology.org). I have tried to digest a good portion of that material over the last few months and add my testimony to the truth of Ecclesiastes 12:12 – “Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” The definition of Insider Movements John Jay Travis defines an “insider” as “a person from a non-Christian background who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior but retains the socioreligious [sic] identity of his or her birth.” (Understanding Insider Movements, kindle loc. 827).  His working definition of Insider Movements (IM) then is:… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Islam, Resources, Training, Book Reviews, Contextualization, Missiological Issues

Review: From Seed to Fruit, 2nd Edition

The Second edition of From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues among Muslims, edited by J. Dudley Woodberry contains reports and analyses of the Global Trends and Fruitful Practices Consultation in 2007. The consultation included almost 500 people from around the globe involved in outreach to Muslims. The book is a tremendous resource for anyone involved in Muslim ministry. Many of the fruitful practices would find application among other people groups as well. The tone was upbeat and realistic. The Introduction reports:           Muslims are following Jesus throughout the spectrum of types of contextualization – from those in traditional churches using non-indigenous language to secret believers. A majority of the fellowships are in what is called the C3 to C5 range – that is, from using the Muslims’ language and non-religious indigenous cultural forms and calling themselves Christians to “Messianic Muslims” who… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
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