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Bless your Muslim Neighbours at your local event

How can you put on an event for your Muslim neighbours as a church or Mahabba group? First of all, you need a pool of ‘warm’ contacts.

Bless your Muslim Neighbours at your local event
Refugees, asylum seekers
                                                                                   Antonia Brixey
How do we care for traumatised asylum seekers ...

A Mahabba member shares advice on how Christians can help traumatised refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

How do we care for traumatised asylum seekers and refugees
asylum seekers, From the Network, Refugees, Stories
Anisa Ismail Wright
Jesus dined with sinners

A Mahabba member describes some of her experiences as a Muslim Background Believer in a UK church and writes about the attitude of Jesus all Christians should display.

Jesus dined with sinners
Dave
Cultural Launch Pads

It is important to identify a cultural launch pad that will help the listener start their journey with context. This member articles explains the idea with two examples of reaching out into Muslim communities within the UK.

Cultural Launch Pads
Mahabba Network
The Good Shepherd

A reflection on five lessons from Jesus in John 10, helping us to not just talk about the Good Shepherd to Muslims - but to come to look like Him.

The Good Shepherd

Strident attitudes to Muslims

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August update

Things may seem to have gone quiet – but – a lot is happening behind the scenes. I was asked to update you now, to tide us over until September, when things pick up again in earnest.

My role in the Mahabba Network is to help implement our core purpose and vision; working with the network to ensure we have what is needed to flourish. A key part of this is to increase connectivity through sharing across the network.

An important felt need in the network seems to be how we respond to the current rise in strident attitudes to Muslims – especially in some Evangelical circles. This is being expressed verbally from some pulpits; online audio/visual materials; and in combative behaviour.

Since the change in political climate in the USA, I have noticed that some Evangelical groups in the UK are openly seeking to discredit Muslims, as though it were a new clause of the Great Commission. What’s more even fellow Christians are being denigrated publicly online and in print, for responding to Muslims with ‘grace and truth’. It would be great to hear from you if you are noticing anything along these lines, where you are.

It was suggested that the network should devise a “position statement” on ministry with ‘grace and truth’. This could be available on the website to point people to. It could be an effective way of dispelling misunderstanding that ‘grace and truth’ is a “soft” option; “naïve” or “liberal”. It would be to clarify where the term ‘grace and truth’ comes from; what the Bible says about it; why it is ‘Christly’; why it is part of historic Christian witness; how it can be modelled in practice; as well as identifying the political issues which are feeding ‘right wing’ strident views.

My sense is that people linked to the Mahabba Network, are engaging with ‘grace and truth’ on a spectrum from the ‘relational’ to the ‘robust’. So over to you – Do you concur? Would such a statement help us? How do you understand the term ‘grace and truth’? How far does it resonate with what you are doing and seeing in your area? My own feeling is that a position statement would also help to profile the unique contribution the Mahabba Network is making to the national conversation.

It would be great if you would add your thoughts to the Discourse discussion thread; or chat about your views to the Regional Facilitator in your area. Please be assured, whatever is important to you is certainly of keen interest to the network. Thanks for reading this and let’s keep one another covered in prayer through August.

Have a great remainder of the summer!

Have your say on Discourse

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Steve is a member of the Mahabba team, with a particular focus on development and strategy

All of them

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All of them

I have recently been running the ‘Come Follow Me’ course with a new Believer from a Muslim background one to one. I have been moved by the commitment of the student. One course question asks the student ‘What are the costly things you might have to give up’? ‘a. Your reputation in the community, b. your employment or business, c. your family, d. your property or inheritance, e. other’? His answer was ‘All of them!’ Matthew 19:29 is very apposite for such followers!

The method of learning used in Come Follow Me is ‘Head, Heart and Hands’. The ‘Head’ part is covered by the student reading the weeks notes alone and answering simple questions on them in their book before meeting to discuss it with their advisor. When the student has done this it works very well. I find that my student comes to meet with me already having a good grasp of the subject. Our meeting is where the ‘heart’ section of teaching applies. As we review the basic content of the weeks study together, perceptive questions are asked (given in the Advisors Guide). These really help to draw out the students feelings and experiences on the subject. This is a very important part of the course. The course outwardly may appear to be academic as it is in book form, but these questions really make it come alive. At the close of each week a practical assignment is given that relates to that weeks lesson. This is the ‘hands’ section. As the Advisor and student pray and live out the course during the following week, practical discipleship growth can take place.

The examples in the book are all taken from the Muslim cultural context, with Muslim sounding names and illustrations. Many of the examples are taken from real life. The other general examples are also extremely well informed on the Muslim experience of life. I have often heard my student exclaim ‘This was written for me!’ and ‘the author knows my situation!’.

The subject matter covers conventional discipleship matter such as ‘New Life in Christ’, ‘Talking with God’ and ‘God’s word for Us’. It also covers subjects you may not often find in a discipleship course such as ‘Reasons for Persecution’, ‘Husbands and wives’, ‘solving our disputes’, ‘Fate and Magic’. All of the twenty subjects draw on a wealth of understanding of Muslim culture and the challenges faced by a new disciple to Jesus. The Advisor Guide contains very helpful cultural clues about Islam, so that a novice to Islam can run the course very effectively.

The course is also available in numerous languages which enables an advisor and student to operate in two languages if necessary. In my case I have an English Advisors guide and my student both the English and Farsi translation. It is a little cumbersome getting four books out each time, but it has ensured that the meaning of weeks subject is communicated clearly.

Finally books only get you so far. The course requires an Advisor to be prayerful, hospitable and willing to walk the walk with the student. If they do, they will find it almost as rewarding as the student!

Further details on the course can be found here: https://come-follow-me.org/about

Chas is a member of the Network Circle team and as a Regional Facilitator, supports groups in the London region.

Everyday religion

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Everyday religion

“People seek for methods of learning to love God. They hope to arrive at it by I know not how many different practices; they take much trouble to remain in the presence of God in a quantity of ways. Is it not much shorter and more direct to do everything for the love of God, to make use of all the labours of one’s state in life to show Him that love, and to maintain His presence within us by this communion of our hearts with His? There is no finesse about it; one has only to do it generously and simply.”
— Brother Lawrence, Practising the Presence of God

We hear many statistics about the decline of Christianity in the West. There is even a dedicated Wikipedia entry called, ‘Decline of Christianity.’ It seems to be an assumption even within the Church that makes us shake our heads and question the state of the world.

What are these statistics based on? They generally use census data or depend on surveys that ask about membership of official organisations, or about attendance of formal events. Yet, sociologists of religion have realised that this cannot be the full picture of religious life.

Now the study of religion has shifted beyond the old dualism of ‘official’ and ‘folk’ religion that suggested a life of faith is lived either in orthodox beliefs and practices or popular expressions of visits to shrines, pilgrimage, ritual healing and stories of miracles. As if we couldn’t do both. See for instance the growth in pilgrimage.

Currently sociology of religion is studied as ‘Lived Religion.’ It pays attention to wherever and however we find people invoking the sacred. This can be on the sports field, at the work desk, in the washing of a patient’s hands or the telephone conversation with a hurting friend, or, as with Brother Lawrence, when we’re peeling potatoes.

Our daily activities are motivated and shaped by our culture, beliefs and the authority we subscribe to, which in turn is shaped by a religious heritage. All of these factors combine to shape our intentions when we engage with our neighbour. Is it out of guilt or love, honour or shame, fear or power? The question therefore is to see what paradigms of thought underlie Lived Religion.

The WhenWomenSpeak network brings together thinking and practice that help us question our assumptions, not only about the beliefs and practices of others, but also to see how the Bible addresses these paradigms, and sometimes help us understand our own motivations in a new light. At a recent workshop in Bristol, we started exploring paradigms of honour and shame, rites of passage and purity to hear from each other how these frameworks help shape deeper connection to our neighbour.

Try this for yourself. Read Matthew 15 and see which parts are shaped by ideas about purity and which have to do with honour and shame. How does Jesus display his divinity in an everyday activity?

Georgina is a member of the Network Circle team and as a Regional Facilitator, supports groups in the West region.

Why (and how) I am part of the Mahabba Network

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Why (and how) I am part of the Mahabba network – by Steve Bell

“The Mission [or church] which perpetuates habituated practices is doomed, due to non-responsiveness to nuance and change.”
— Ted Ward – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

We seem hard-wired to “maintain” the existing, rather than “establish” what’s needed! The Great Commission was first entrusted to spiritual entrepreneurs (‘apostolic’ people), however, mission structures are largely configured around ‘maintenance’; a focus on the regions behind us, rather than ‘pioneering’ the regions beyond us (2 Corinthians 10:16).

When necessary ‘regions beyond’ people pull away from the pack; aim for the essence of the Great Commission; research the context; prayerfully reflect; galvanise and take radical action. The seeds of past DNA and vision endure (Job 14:9) but not methods and structures. Mahabba is an expression of ‘new wine’ (Matthew 9:17) and its “network” structure is a ‘new wineskin’.

While the fledgling needs maintenance, 90% of the global mission taskforce is being placed in ‘Christianised’ areas with a viable national church (1). Little wonder that – generally speaking – mission structures have dropped the ‘apostolic’ baton of their pioneers and hold to the status quo by rationalising; collaborating to retain economy of scale to prolong a status quo that’s in terminal decline. Some will do anything but embrace radical change, which might be threatening to the organisation’s ‘heritage’.

The former structure has served very well for 150 years but over time, they have succumbed to the pressure to adopt clunky formal practices. An unintended consequence is that it has led to a customer/supplier relationship between mission agency (the specialist) and local church (client). The system has unwittingly marginalised the local church in the mission process.

Pressure is building for the ‘democratisation’ of mission because more churches are taking ownership, which makes “network” an emerging structure to watch. This ‘new wineskin’ is now needed due to issues such as globalisation; Christians travelling overseas for work; the ‘ends of the earth’ have come to Jerusalem and is living in our postcode; a felt need by Christians to be ‘up-skilled’ for the cross-cultural context we now live in.

The wineskin to engage with this is not the ‘formal’ but in ‘network’. This is why I declined the title “director/national facilitator” of the Mahabba Network, choosing instead to prayerfully explore with the team, how best to build its existing aspiration to be a network. I am excited to be part of fulfilling the vision of seeing: ‘Fruitful ministry among people of Muslim heritage as a normal part of church life. This is born out of an ‘apostolic’ instinct. It seeks to co-operate with God to bring the unseen into existence rather than re-hash the past, which is tantamount to re-organising deckchairs on the Titanic.

We are living in a “pan-geographical” and “issue-based” era of mission (2). Local churches are therefore baptising and nurturing people with Muslim heritage (my own included). The Mahabba Network exists to encourage, facilitate and resource this trend; this is why I sense the Lord’s permission to join the leadership team – not as a ‘corporate’ leader but – as a “gift-person” in God, who carries some key roles, including “strategic implementation”.

I look forward to connecting with everyone in the network.

Sources

  1. Ralph Winter – U.S. Center for World Mission & Intl. Society for Frontier Missiology

  2. The 3 eras of modern mission: 1792 onwards “Coastlands” (William Carey et al); 1865 onwards “Inland” (Hudson Taylor et al); 1934 onwards non-geographical sites “Unreached Peoples” (C. Townsend & D. Mc Gavran) from everywhere to everywhere. http://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/four-men-three-eras

Steve is a mission analyst, trainer, writer and speaker. Contactable on 07815 042033 or e-mail stevebell2101@sky.com

Eid 3: Love

Lovefast prayer and action campaign from the Mahabba Network

Day 33 of 30

By Chas from Mahabba’s Network Team

Daily verse

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
— John 15:9

Thought for the day

Love

Do you remember how you first began to love Muslims? There are many ways we may have begun. How can this love be sustained in the coming year? Firstly, love comes not from ourselves rather ‘love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God’. (1 John 4:7-12) So we need to remain very close to the source of love - ‘Abide in my love.’ (John 15:9) Secondly, we need to live from His love in all our relationships -‘They will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:35) Then we can carry this love out into the world by sharing our faith verbally or by giving a Gospel to read; through our practical action and by inviting them into loving relationships; and through prayer leading to signs and wonders.
Let our love be genuine.

Prayer for the day

What has God been saying to you during Lovefast? Note two action points (in your prayer journal) for your future involvement with Muslims and resolve to keep on praying for them.

Daily action

Watch this video of UK Christian leaders addressing our Muslim friends. Consider joining the Mahabba Network as a way of keeping connected with your Muslim neighbours… Maybe you can become a Friend of Mahabba and support the ministry.

Learn more

Eid 2: Pray

Lovefast prayer and action campaign from the Mahabba Network

Day 32 of 30

By Phil S from Mahabba’s Network Team

Daily verse

“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Thought for the day

Pray

We have now been praying for 30 days during the Ramadan fast.

This has focused on both the global through the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World guide (promoted in UK by Interserve) and also our own Mahabba Lovefast prayer and action campaign, which has had more of a local focus.

Muslims have ben fervently praying during this period.

They generally follow a pattern of five daily prayers (one of the five pillars of Islam), similar way to the Christian monastic tradition.

The Muslim call to prayer is called the adhan.

I have experienced it as incredibly beautiful when sung acapella in the mountains of Pakistan but also as a cacophony when played through loudspeakers in a mega-city.

But this Lovefast has also been a call to prayer. And we want to continue. To ‘pray without ceasing’.

Join in the Jumaa Prayer campaign every Friday at 12noon to continue praying for your Muslim friends and neighbours. We will be posting more look out for the hashtag #JumaaPrayer.

Prayer for the day

Join in the Jumaa prayer campaign every Friday at 12pm to continue praying for your Muslim friends and neighbours.

Daily action

Find out a good time to visit a Muslim friend and take them a gift, maybe some dates, or something halal. And don't forget to continue to pray. It makes all the difference. One way to continue is to join in with our Mahabba Jumaa prayer initiative.

Learn more

Your turn

Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources

Do you want to involve your church in blessing Muslim people through prayer and friendship?

There are new 30 Days of Prayer church resources available for you:

  • Pray Together as a Congregation

  • Small Group Session

  • Night of Power Prayer Meeting

  • Prayer Walk Guide

What’s your next step after 30 Days? There are loads of resources to help you on your journey.

Learn more

Partners of 30 Days of Prayer

Eid 1: Eat

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Day 31 of 30

By Phil S from Mahabba’s Network Team

Daily verse

“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
— Matthew 11:19

Thought for the day

Eat

Muslims end Ramadan with the feast of Eid-al-Fitr, which is a time for Muslims at the end of the 30 days of fasting to dress up and celebrate with family. (Like Easter at the end of a long Lent or Christmas after the anticipation of advent.)

Maybe some of you were able to take part in an Iftar party at the time of breaking the fast. (We love to hear any stories from you.)

Why not take the opportunity to invite your Muslim friends (along with others) for a meal in your home, or in your community.

Eating together always builds community.

‎Lovefast, which has been running during the 30 days of ‎Ramadan is now over.

The daily blogs will stop at the end of Eid. Now it’s party time and the opportunity for us to start wishing Happy Eid to all our Muslim friends – learn to say the appropriate Arabic greetings: 'Eid Mubarak and Khair Mubarak'.

Prayer/ACTION for the day

Send a text message to any Muslim friends you have wishing them ‘Eid Mubarak’ (blessed festival) and telling them you're praying for them, that God would bless them.

Daily action

Get hold of a copy of "Simply Eat: Everyday stories of friendship, food and faith” and think about inviting some friends to your home for a shared meal (you can try out one of the recipes in the book).

Learn more

Your turn

Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources

Do you want to involve your church in blessing Muslim people through prayer and friendship?

There are new 30 Days of Prayer church resources available for you:

  • Pray Together as a Congregation

  • Small Group Session

  • Night of Power Prayer Meeting

  • Prayer Walk Guide

What’s your next step after 30 Days? There are loads of resources to help you on your journey.

Learn more

Partners of 30 Days of Prayer

Breaking news: Steve Bell joins Mahabba's Network Team

Steve Bell, formerly of Interserve, joins Mahabba Network

Steve Bell, formerly of Interserve, joins Mahabba Network

From Bryan Knell, chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mahabba Network (UK):

“It is my great pleasure to announce that Steve Bell will be joining Mahabba Network (UK)’s Network Team, with particular responsibility for leading strategy.

“Steve is best known for his book ‘Grace for Muslims’, which exactly represents the Mahabba ethos, and the course, ‘Friendship First’ which Mahabba is constantly promoting.

“We believe this is a strategic addition which will strengthen the Mahabba UK Network and expand its influence going forward.”

Find out more

Lovefast 1: Getting together

Lovefast prayer and action campaign from the Mahabba Network

Day 1 of 30

By Georgina from Mahabba's Network Team

Inspired by today's entry in 30 Days of Prayer, but with a UK twist!

If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →

Daily verse

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hears my voice, I will come in to him and eat with him and He with me.”
— Revelation 3:20

Thought for the day

Doing things so we can be together

For the past 4 years Christian and Muslim women have been getting together in our town to read their scriptures, to enjoy food and do crafts together.

We've built up relationships that carried on beyond these activities in each other's homes. While the meetings were informal and enjoyable, they do take planning and initiative. Someone needs to take responsibility for booking a venue and printing texts and sourcing crafts.

As (western) Christian women we don't have a particular code of hospitality like the Fulani 'koddirgal.' We sometimes felt burdened by strategic planning for these meetings. However, this changed at one of our recent community events when one of the Muslim women gave us a new perspective.

We were drinking tea and reflecting on the way people seemed to connect in a natural way throughout the day. Her explanation was that 'We want to be together, so we do things.'

Her comment turned our expectations upside down: our aim is no longer the clever planning or the smooth running of events but the being together. My Muslim friend reminded me that Jesus wants to be with us, so he knocks on the door of our hearts to enter in (Rev. 3:20).

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, give me a heart of flesh that truly wants to be with people, so that our encounters may lead to them hearing you knocking at the door of their heart.

Daily action

Take time to really listen to someone over a cup of tea (or coffee). Simply find an excuse to 'be together'

Your turn

Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Partners of 30 Days of Prayer

Lovefast 0: Fasting and prayer

Lovefast prayer and action campaign from the Mahabba Network

Day 0 of 30

By Phil S from Mahabba's Network Team

Inspired by today's entry in 30 Days of Prayer, but with a UK twist!

If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →

Daily verse

“Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning….”
— Joel 2:12

Thought for the day

Fasting and prayer

The overall theme for this years 30 days of prayer is 'hospitality'.

30 Days of Prayer represents an opportunity to pray for unreached people around the world.

And there seems to be a direct link between this global prayer movement and the rise in interest of followers of Jesus within the house of Islam.

Lovefast is about rooting this to our experience in UK. We will be looking at the same themes, but applied to Muslims in Britain.

The 30 days of Ramadan are a great opportunity to meet Muslims friends as they are desperately seeking Allah, as they fast and pray to draw nearer to God.

You can sympathise as they take ‘nil by mouth’ - no food or drink from sunrise to sunset, and then the joy of breaking their fast with dates and an Iftar meal.

You may be invited to an Iftar meal yourself at a local mosque, or an event run as part of the #BigIftar But use this opportunity to reach out to your muslim friends

Prayer for the day

Pray with Paul from Romans 10:1:

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved

Why not write down the names of five Muslim friends you know and pray for them throughout Ramadan?

Daily action

Ensure you’ve got a 30 Days of Prayer booklet during Ramadan and sign up to Mahabba’s #lovefast so we can pray and act together as a Network for our Muslim friends

Find out more

Your turn

Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Partners of 30 Days of Prayer

Lovefast -1: Hospitality

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Day -1 of 30

By Phil S from Mahabba's Network Team

Inspired by today's entry in 30 Days of Prayer, but with a UK twist!

If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →

Daily verse

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
— 2 Corinthians 9:6

Thought for the day

Hospitality in the Muslim World

Hospitality is an important, almost a central, part of Islamic culture. Offering kindness and generosity to guests is considered a duty which one owes to God. Therefore, many Muslims believe that to honour and welcome a guest is to honour and welcome God.

Hospitality is expressed in different ways in different cultures, but throughout the Islamic world it is characterised by generosity and self-sacrifice. No matter how little one might have, it is a point of honour to share it with guests.

In the prayer 30 day guide contributors to tell us about what hospitality looks like in the Muslim people groups they live among. And in Love Fast we reflect on these themes and apply them to our UK context

Food, of course, plays a significant part and you are warned that some of these articles may make you feel very hungry! Even during the month of Ramadan when fasting is the focus, the feasting that happens after sunset each day is sumptuous and shared freely.

Hospitality brings people together. It invites us to talk with one another and grow in spiritual understanding both as an individual and as a group. We hope you will enjoy these descriptions of hospitality in different Muslim cultures and be inspired to pray in a way that reflects that spirit of generous welcome.

Prayer for the day

Lord we pray that as we identify with our Muslim brothers and sisters during this month of Ramadan. You would help us to pray for them to discover more of You. And help us to find ways to act and get involved with their lives so that together we can discover more of Your Loving Heart.

Daily action

Make sure you have a copy of the 30 Days of Prayer booklet during Ramadan. Check on the website, and sign up with Mahabba for the daily feed of #lovefast prayer and action campaign.

Find out more

Your turn

Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Partners of 30 Days of Prayer

Resurrection season

Resurrection season

Greetings to all across the Mahabba Network in this resurrection season!

May Jesus the resurrection and the life be revealed to our Muslim friends and neighbours - as he was to the two on the Emmaus road when their eyes were opened and their hearts burned within.  

This will be our prayer through the (fast-approaching) month of Ramadan when our friends are fasting, seeking God and often more spiritually open; a time when Jesus has been revealed to many, often in a dream or vision.

You are invited to join Lovefast this year - if you are not already signed up, do join with the growing number who will be reflecting, praying and engaging in simple ways on each of the 30 days of Ramadan. It starts Monday 6th May. This is a great way to catch more of God’s heart for Muslims - a daily email, informing and inspiring.

Lovefast will follow the daily topics of the 30 Days Prayer Guide - this year’s theme is hospitality. 30 Days of Prayer is a global prayer movement that has grown amazingly from small beginnings 26 years ago so we get to join with thousands of Christians praying worldwide. It should be no surprise to us that in that same period movements to Jesus have happened in numbers never seen before, right across the Muslim world! God is moving in response to the prayers of his people.

Lovefast supplements the 30 Days Prayer Guide and connects particularly to our Muslim neighbours here in the UK. May we see movements here too!

What better and more significant time to pray blessing for Muslim neighbours? Sign up to receive the daily Lovefast updates at www.mahabbanetwork.com/lovefast

Some comments from people following Lovefast:

“The daily email helped me not to forget!”

“Lovefast has helped me to notice more Muslims in the crowd each day!

“I have learned a lot.”

“It’s great to feel part of a community of people who are reaching out with God’s love and praying together.”

Depending on a God-given mediator

Depending on a God-given mediator

It was an unusual place to be. There were about eighty of us, mainly men but some women too. I was the only non-Muslim present. We were in a hall down a dingy back street used for Asian weddings and other social events by those unable to afford the high-status venues in Manchester. The gathering was in honour of a sort of Sufi revivalist preacher.

I had spotted the event on Facebook. I had heard about this man and wanted to hear him for myself. Most of those who attended belonged to his group. They sang their way through their standard liturgy in Arabic printed out in a beautifully presented book which supplied the text in Arabic along with a full English translation. The liturgy tells the story of the birth of Muhammad, embellished with legends and celebrations of his greatness. This was supplemented with hymns pronouncing blessings on Muhammad, who they styled as the mediating prophet.

Then the visitor delivered a thirty-five minute sermon. He spoke on Muhammad’s uniqueness, his perfection, how he was purer than any man that ever lived and possessed a personal knowledge of God greater than anyone else ever, that he alone was the means by which the immense mercy of God was available to those who put their faith in him. Yes, he was taking the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, and assigning them to Muhammad. It was depressing to listen to.

The speaker instructed his listeners that pronouncing blessings of Muhammad was the key to being blessed by God. He further instructed them that imitating every detail of Muhammad’s practice in worship must be their top priority. No other worship would ever be accepted by God.

How, I found myself thinking, could we ever talk about common ground with these people? But it was there. Here was an assembly seeking connection with God, knowing that they needed more than formal religion could supply. Here was a group of people convinced that God’s plan and purpose was that rather than depend on their own abilities to please God, that they should depend on a God-given mediator who could give them assurance of acceptance. What they were seeking exists and it is found in a different person, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). May the glories of the true Christ be declared and revealed to them.

Responding to the New Zealand mosque attacks

Responding to New Zealand mosque attacks: Small gestures drown the voices of hate

Responding to the New Zealand mosque attacks in the city of Christchuch

Small gestures drown the voices of hate

The 150 Psalms of David have been called the ‘prayer book of the people of God’.

They help to give us language to talk to God and are full of praise and adoration, plus real questions and lamentation. They give voice to our concerns.

Psalm 10 has helped me express my own reaction to the Christchurch acts of terror at Masjid Al Noor and Linwood Mosque on 15 March.

(And I was able to share this at our local mosque in Woking – Shah Jehan the oldest purpose built mosque in the country - for their Prayer & Peace Vigil on 23 March.)

And it starts with the big question: WHY?

Why did this happen…

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Ps 10:1

It graphically describes a godless perpetrator of violence, who:

Sits in ambush in the village in hiding places, he murders the innocent; he lurks in ambush like a Lion in a thicket

And it uses equally graphic and realistic, very human language:

Arise O Lord… Break the arms of the wicked and evil doer, Call his wickedness to account till you find none

And the last two verses sum up our thoughts and prayers for those in New Zealand:

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted,
you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed
So that the man who is of the earth may strike terror no more

We stand together as people of faith (and none) and echo:

The terrorist wanted to instil fear This is a time to demonstrate LOVE through action:

Ultimately, with God’s help, LIGHT will always prove stronger than darkness and LOVE will prevail, despite the cruelty and brutality present in the world.

Muslims are choosing to follow Jesus; joining his family

Muslims are choosing to follow Jesus; joining his family

Today in Britain growing numbers of Muslims are choosing to follow Jesus; joining his family. We need to understand their needs, care for them and help them grow in him. And we want to learn from them.

God is answering the prayers of many over years and now there are churches across the country grappling with the joy and the challenge of welcoming believers from a Muslim background.

This month we are highlighting Joining the Family (JtF) resources – here is a message from Roxy, JtF coordinator.

I love the word hospitality which for Muslims often starts in the heart attitude of honouring guests into their own homes.

The Greek word for hospitality, Xenia (guest friendship), is again a heart attitude offering friendship to someone who may be far from home.

The word Xenophobia is the fear or distrust of someone who seems strange or foreign.

May we ask God to change our hearts towards people from Muslim backgrounds and not be afraid but be open to those who are far from home when they enter our churches, places that may seem strange and a long way from their spiritual home if not their physical home.

“Hospitality is something I appreciate about Eastern cultures. I have visited many countries of Asia and the Middle East, and in each place it’s the same. When I enter a home I will automatically be offered refreshments… It’s biblical too. Do you recall the account of Abraham rushing to kill the fattened calf for three random strangers who passed by his tent? That kind of elaborate hospitality seems extravagant to western readers but makes sense in an Eastern culture… But this full-blown treatment of guests can all get too much… That’s why I like the idea of ‘laid back’ hospitality. I want my friend of Muslim background to feel welcome and I will always offer drinks and nibbles if they drop by… Laid back hospitality lowers the barriers for me and, I believe, makes it easier for my friend to know they can come and I won’t have to make special arrangements.”
— Joining the Family book. P. 74-75

I pray that as described by Tim Green (above) we would be people who offer guest friendship to people of Muslim backgrounds in laid back hospitality.

Joining the Family aims to enable churches to be places of welcome for believers of Muslim backgrounds through providing resources, training and support to church leaders and those who disciple believers of Muslim backgrounds in the UK. Our vision is threefold:

  1. Churches are more confident to receive believers of a Muslim background

  2. Theological trainees have an increased awareness and knowledge of the needs of believers from a Muslim background

  3. Believers of Muslim backgrounds receive better emotional and spiritual support

To find out more or to contact JtF head to:

www.joiningthefamily.org

It’s a crazy idea… When do we start?

“Every Friday lunchtime, I go with hundreds of others. I go because this is the most blessed time to pray. I dress properly, wash properly, walk in the right way to the mosque and listen well when the Imam speaks. These things mean my sins are forgiven for the next week.”

This is how my friend described Friday prayers – an important time in the week for him.

How we long for our Muslim friends to know that they don’t have to do all these things to be right with God. How we need to pray that God will open their eyes to see the forgiveness that Jesus freely offers.

As we see the crowds going to Jumaa prayer every Friday, what better time to be reminded of Jesus’ compassion for the crowds and to cry out to the Lord of the Harvest.

250 years ago, Jonathan Edwards wrote,

“I have often said it would be a thing very desirable and very likely to be followed with a great blessing, if there could be some contrivance …..wherein we should all unite on the same day…Some perhaps may think its being all on the same day, is a circumstance of no great consequence; but I can’ t be of that mind…It seems to me, it would mightily encourage and animate God’s saints….. to think, that at the same time, such multitudes of God’s dear children, far and near, were sending up their cries to the same common Father, for the same motives.”

Well, we now have such a ‘contrivance’, a means to unite in prayer on behalf of our Muslims neighbours.

At noon on Fridays a UK-focused topic for prayer, a single prayer point, will be provided for us to unite in crying to the Father. It might not be possible for us all to pray at that exact same time but our prayers to the same end will powerfully combine.

“It’s a crazy idea, and it’ll never work… When do we start?”
— Ocean’s Eleven

We start next week! Please join us from Friday 1st Feb, and encourage others to share, in this simple crazy act - standing together to see God establish his kingdom. Initially the prayer point will be posted at noon on the following social media channels:

Facebook
Twitter
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests”
— Eph 6:18

Note from the Network: January update

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Note from the Network

January update

“We’re praying, believing and working for the gospel to spread through families and a whole community - for disciples to make disciples who make disciples. Why not here?”

This is a big prayer of one Mahabba group going into 2019. Remarkable things are happening in the wider Muslim world - more Muslims have come to faith in Jesus in the past 25 years than in the previous 14 centuries combined! Why not here in the UK?

These monthly newsletters have been highlighting the four Es that describe the Mahabba network. Each local expression of Mahabba is Encouraging prayer and Enabling and Envisioning all Christians to Engage in love with Muslims.

We seek to envision the Christian community - all Christians, churches, church leaders - for God’s heart and purposes for the nations to be caught, for the church to see and seize the opportunities he has brought to our cities and towns.

Envisioning is happening in many ways - inspiring churches with stories of what God is doing, helping church leaders to strategise, to see their vision fulfilled for Muslims following Jesus, and to equip church members through courses and resources like Joining the Family:

“Recognising that it’s important to find and serve alongside local church leaders who share the vision and are open to collaborate, I presented the vision of church based outreach to Muslims at the ‘Churches Together’ Leader’s Meeting in our borough. It was attended by more than 30 leaders of different churches who then launched a prayer initiative which meets weekly moving between various churches and has led to outreach to Muslims.”
“The Joining the Family course was superb – all the better for having equal numbers of Iranians and Brits! Some positive outcomes were – Brits seeing the importance of being family to BMBs, Iranians seeing church as theirs and beginning to take ownership of what happens, two of the Brits engaging with our Farsi-speaking fellowship and befriending newcomers. Others are asking when we are running the course again!”
“We are investing time in talking with church leaders and gaining local church ‘buy-in’. So far we have run training courses in three main churches.”
“I would recommend the Joining the Family course without hesitation as it helps us understand where those from Muslim background are coming from and this in turn helps us understand where and how we can help them grow in faith and integrate into the church.”
“In the coming year we want to pray for local churches to connect with our group and to see how we can serve and equip them in engaging with Muslims and making disciples.”

Let’s keep sharing the stories. If you are not yet part of Discourse, Mahabba Network’s discussion forum, do sign up here. It’s the place to be for sharing and learning from one another.

This is an amazing time to be alive and partnering in prayer to see God’s purposes for Muslims fulfilled. Let’s pray this will be a fruitful year for us all, beyond all we ask or imagine.

Join us on Discourse

This is part of a series of regular updates from all involved with the Mahabba Network. They will be published here on the blog, but the best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our newsletter; you will receive a prompt when the latest one is available. Previous updates can be found here.

Your turn

  • Pass this update on to those you know and encourage them to

  • We value your prayers for this and welcome your feedback here.

  • Feel free to leave any comments below or send them via the Contact Us page

  • Subscribe to the maillist so that you get further news as soon as it is published

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Note from the Network: December update

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Note from the Network

December update

Christmas greetings to all across the Mahabba network! May we know, in a deeper way, Immanuel – the one who has ‘moved into the neighbourhood’ – for ourselves and our Muslim friends.

“Friendships with Muslims have enriched my life beyond all I could ever have anticipated, and yet there was a time when I didn’t know how to start making connections. Mahabba creates a bridge across the chasm of the unknown, and can equip you to start friendships that will enrich your life and those of your new-found friends.”
— Lynn Green, YWAM

At the heart of the Mahabba network vision is the enabling and equipping of all Christians. We certainly need experts and specialists - Mahabba draws on the understanding of those with deep cross cultural experience. But befriending Muslims can’t be the responsibility of just a few. We know it is through the everyday encounters of all Christians that Jesus will be made known to countless Muslim neighbours, colleagues and friends. Every local expression of Mahabba seeks to enable local Christians – help them to see the opportunities, grow in confidence, build bridges of friendship and share Jesus with Muslims. Here are a couple of quotes from the network:

“At the beginning of this year we ran a Friendship First course in Watford with 10 people from one church who all had significant involvement with Muslims most weeks during the course, and many of those contacts are continuing. In January, we are going with a second course.”
“‘How to Share your Faith with your Muslim Neighbour’ is a booklet and half day training. The training, which we have run in London, includes testimony, teaching and insights on how to answer the common questions asked by Muslims. The goal is to initiate friendships in our workplace and neighbourhood and share our faith effectively.”

These are just two of the courses and resources available. Find out more and think about planning a course or training with others near you in the new year.

https://www.mahabbanetwork.com/friendship-first

The booklet is downloadable free at https://www.mahabbanetwork.com/bookshelf/share-faith-muslim-neighbour

A means for learning from one another across the network is the on-line forum – Mahabba Discourse. This will be fully operational from 1st Jan and we invite you to sign-up now…

There are many ways equipping is happening and it would be great to hear what you have tried – what training has worked well and not so well. Please add a comment below.

This is part of a series of regular updates from all involved with the Mahabba Network. They will be published here on the blog, but the best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our newsletter; you will receive a prompt when the latest one is available. Previous updates can be found here.

Your turn

  • Pass this update on to those you know and encourage them to

  • We value your prayers for this and welcome your feedback here.

  • Feel free to leave any comments below or send them via the Contact Us page

  • Subscribe to the maillist so that you get further news as soon as it is published

Sign up

Note from the Network: November update

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Note from the Network

November update

“The ministry of Mahabba is preparing the ground, the hearts of dear friends from Muslim background - whether long term citizens or recent refugees. It’s happening through the cry of intercession breaking up hard ground and through friendships of trust being formed - building foundations on which the Lord can do a great work.”

This recent reflection shared by a UK missions leader is encouraging. We don’t always see the results of our praying, our reaching out in love - but we can be sure God is at work and responding to the prayers of his people. He’s moving in Muslim communities, working in hearts and drawing people to himself. Be encouraged! Our sowing in prayer and in love will reap a harvest.

Last month’s update introduced the restated Mahabba vision:

Loving all Muslims - A relational network giving Muslims the opportunity to find and follow Jesus

  • Encouraging prayer

  • Enabling all Christians

  • Envisioning the Christian community

  • Engaging with Muslims

Mahabba, in the first place, is about encouraging prayer - helping to grow regular persistent prayer for Muslims. This happens primarily through:

  • Helping to start and support local prayer networks.  There are now 60, and growing, local networks of prayer and ministry

  • Sharing ‘fuel’ for prayer.  We can encourage, build faith and give thanks together through sharing across the network our testimonies and reports of God at work. We can stand together to pray for new initiatives, specific needs and current struggles. The new Discourse on-line forum will be a great place for this to happen from the new year. Also look out for the new Jumaa prayer updates coming in the new year

  • Ideas and models for prayer.  A challenge for us all is keeping prayer focused and alive, and we need different ways to do that. Here are a few experiences from one local network: 

“We are finding our prayer times more God-centred through building in more worship, intentionally making time to listen for God’s priorities before praying those back to him, and praying scripture - applying God’s word to pray for different situations. We’ve established a pattern for town-wide prayer - fortnightly meetings with people from five or six churches . This we’ve extended to termly prayer gatherings hosted by each of those churches in turn, the most recent taking over a Sunday evening service with around 80 attending. Annually during Ramadan a prayer concert attracts a larger number still. These bigger events have served to draw more to the fortnightly prayer times.”

Maybe something there could be helpful for your situation.  May all we do be grounded in fervent prayer.

These updates will reflect more on the 4Es (encourage, enable, envision, engage) in coming months. Do add your thoughts and comments below. It would be great to hear something about prayer for you locally - struggles as well as successes. We want to be real in relating!

This is part of a series of regular updates from all involved with the Mahabba Network. They will be published here on the blog, but the best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our newsletter; you will receive a prompt when the latest one is available. Previous updates can be found here.

Your turn

  • Pass this update on to those you know and encourage them to

  • We value your prayers for this and welcome your feedback here.

  • Feel free to leave any comments below or send them via the Contact Us page

  • Subscribe to the maillist so that you get further news as soon as it is published

Sign up

Note from the Network: October update

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Note from the Network

October update

The main take-aways for those attending the recent ‘Engage’ training day in Edinburgh were: to be more bold; more intentional; to just go for it; seize the moment; and be less afraid in stepping out and speaking up. This is so encouraging and so central to what Mahabba is about – ordinary Christians (not that such a person exists!), all Christians, taking every opportunity to ‘sow’ widely and befriend Muslims. 

A few weeks ago we mentioned the Mahabba vision review which has been on-going across the summer. Thank you to many - local coordinators, regional facilitators, trustees and others connected (and not connected) with Mahabba - for valuable input.

We were seeking greater clarity and focus in restating what the network is about. We felt God’s clear confirmation that Mahabba has a unique and strategic place in his purposes and of the distinctives and objectives we should hold and pursue. It’s more than six years since the network was formally launched and we’re grateful for all God is doing - yet sensed his push to go again with renewed expectation.

Loving all Muslims - this ‘strapline’ highlights an overriding value for all we do - in prayer, in reaching out, in discipling precious Muslims… There will be many and varied approaches across the network but it’s always in love and with respect that we engage Muslims and their communities.

A relational network giving Muslims the opportunity to find and follow Jesus - here is a restated vision-mission statement. Mahabba is not an organisation or agency, rather a network where there is sharing, mutual encouragement and support, relationship and resourcing. Our desire is that Muslims have the opportunity to discover Jesus for themselves and decide to follow him.

The vision is worked out through:

  • Encouraging prayer - helping to grow regular persistent prayer for Muslims  

  • Enabling all Christians - helping Christians to see the opportunities, grow in confidence, build friendships and share Jesus with Muslims 

  • Envisioning the Christian community - inspiring Christians with what God is doing and helping church leaders see their vision fulfilled for Muslims following Jesus

  • Engaging with Muslims - building bridges with local Muslim communities, reaching out in love, sharing Jesus and making disciples who reach their own community

We’ll expand on each of these four Es in the coming months with stories of how they are being worked out across the network, seeking to encourage greater sharing and learning from one another.    

Please feel free to add below more of your thoughts and reflections.

Look out for news of the new Mahabba online forum coming soon. Replacing The City, it will enable secure discussion, sharing of ideas and questions, news of resources, courses and events…

This is part of a series of regular updates from all involved with the Mahabba Network. They will be published here on the blog, but the best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our newsletter; you will receive a prompt when the latest one is available. Previous updates can be found here.

Your turn

  • Pass this update on to those you know and encourage them to

  • We value your prayers for this and welcome your feedback here.

  • Feel free to leave any comments below or send them via the Contact Us page

  • Subscribe to the maillist so that you get further news as soon as it is published

Sign up

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