Lunch With Islam, My Confession

Yesterday I had lunch with Islam.  Accepting the invitation of Ashfaq Taufique, President of the Birmingham Islamic Society, a leader from our church and I spent a few hours of our midday at the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center.  It was a day of firsts.  According to our hosts I was the first Southern Baptist pastor to ever visit the center.  For me it was the first time I had ever eaten anything curry.  It was the first time I had ever been inside an Islamic Mosque.  It was the first time I had ever carried on a meaningful conversation with anyone Muslim. 

Eating something curry for the first time gives me yet another possibility of something one can do to mask the natural taste of chicken.  I am fully convinced that God gave us chickens for eggs and so that their meat may serve as carriers for an array of international condiments and flavorings.  Going to the mosque for the first time gives me yet another culture credit that I so desperately need.  I am still determined to avoid the opera.  Being 37, a follower of Christ since age 19, and a pastor for 14 years, and this being the first meaningful conversation with anyone Muslim, of this I am ashamed. 

Our hosts were extremely hospitable.  The conversation was friendly and enlightening.  They allowed me to ask about anything related to Islam.  We talked doctrine.  We talked politics.  We talked terrorism.  None of their answers were surprising, yet I did find most all of the conversation enlightening.  I confess that I have had several misgivings and misunderstandings of Islam.  These men were of great benefit to me in helping me understand their faith and to separate fact from fiction.  Some issues I had with Islam were answered, others, more doctrinal in nature, were not.  I will share more of the doctrinal nuances from week to week in our current Wednesday night series “Investigating Islam.”  Yet, for the purpose of blogging I want to digest what I learned yesterday from a perspective that challenges my own faith, Christianity, as well as others who subscribe to it.

The men I fellowshipped with yesterday were intelligent, articulate, and deeply devoted to their faith.  In conversation they demonstrated to me that they have a fully integrated Islamic worldview.  What they believed about Allah/God dictated every facet of their lives, the way they process information, their opinions, and their daily practices.  One of the gentlemen at the table had committed the entire Quran to memory.  They pray five times a day.  They are committed to helping others understand their faith.  They were well versed on the Bible and could hold a scholarly conversation about its teachings and translation.  They had a great working knowledge of church history, world history, and politics.  They love their families and their neighbors.  They were apologists for their faith par excellence.

When I thought about them, their sense of devotion, dedication to study in all realms of life, their determination and patience to help me understand what they believed; and by comparison, when I thought about most of the people who claim the name of Christ, I grieved. 

If these are the men that represent Allah, I do not fear them because they are terrorists – I found them to be nothing of the sort.  They condemned terrorism resoundingly.  I fear them because they know so much about what we say we believe, but about which we do very little.  Given the opportunity to converse with most of our congregation, with most Christians, I am afraid that these men could easily shake the foundations of their faith.  And we are to evangelize them – seriously?  We are broadly ignorant of what we say we believe.  Most Christians fail to have a working understanding of Scripture to the point that they could defend it against an above average intellectual challenge.  Most cannot articulate what exactly it is they say they believe.  Naturally then, when it comes to living truth, in a world that offers us above average moral and ethical challenges, we fail miserably.    

Two weekends ago we had 500 people on our campus on Sunday.  The following weekend we had a Bible conference – 7 hours – we had 60 people in attendance.  One of our members, at lunch on Saturday, stated it eloquently, “We are not asking for 7 hours of their weekend, but 7 hours of their year – we only do this once a year.”  We are not devoted to our faith, to study, or to its practice.  Most people who claim to know Christ do not have a Christian worldview.  Most are secularists, materialists, pluralists, and/or hedonists who give God a few hours on Sunday and call it worship.  We memorize no Scripture, practice no semblance of Scripture meditation, and think fasting is a four letter word.  Because we are so Biblically illiterate we are gluttons of a decadent culture, gullible to its lies, and drunk on the world. 

The men of Islam put the followers of Christ to shame.

I have never posted so strong a message on my blog, yet God has opened my eyes over the last few weeks to my glaring lack of dedication and worship.  Yesterday I had lunch at a Mosque.  Two weeks ago I attended Shabot service at a Jewish synagogue.  In digesting these visits, I am struck by the way Jews and Muslims both equate worship to obedience.  We, Baptists, equate worship to a song set on Sunday morning.  For the Jews, worship does not end with the Shabot service, it continues into the evening meal and into the morning.  For most Baptists, the greatest desire for worship is that it end before lunch.  For Muslims and Jews, worship is every day, every act.  Life is worship.  Worship is life.  To worship is to revere God and to remember Him.  Deuteronomy 6:4-7 reads:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Christians often criticize Jews and Muslims for having a seemingly empty, rote, ritualistic form of worship.  But the proper question for us would be that if we do not do these things, how can we possibly say we believe?  James asks the same question in his epistle – read it!  If we do not teach our children the Word of God in our homes, how can we possibly say we love God, remember Him, revere Him, or worship Him?  Muslims stop five times a day to pray.  Most Christians do not dedicate five minutes of the day to prayer.  If we do not give ourselves to learning His Word, memorizing it, and learning how to practice it in daily life how can we say we love God?  Jesus asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you (Luke 6:46)?”  If Christ is not our worldview – how can we say we have been born again?  Are we saved?  If we are so inundated with the culture we must ask, “Saved from what?”  These Muslim men live a distinctly different way of life.  They are diligent, devoted, and disciplined.  Christians are called to practice the faith in such a way that it leads to a distinctive way of life, to a distinctive life of godliness (2 Peter 1:3-11).  We are not distinct from the culture.  Instead we have been assimilated into it. 

I am thankful for the hospitality and friendship these Muslim men have extended to me.  I want them to know Jesus as the Son of God, Redeemer, and Savior of the World.  But I understand now, more than ever, what Jesus meant when he said that if the salt loses its saltiness, it is worthless and will be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet (Matthew 5:13).  My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, at this point, if we do not repent of our sin and return to truly following Christ what we are calling Muslim men and women to is not salvation, but moral compromise.  I accept responsibility.  I am an under shepherd of Jesus.  I repent before everyone who reads this today, and before my God.  May there be no mistake that the rest of my life is lived in Christ.

Comments

Michelle and Sammy said…
Bro Brian...Sammy and I are sitting here together and we just finished reading this post. To say that tonight was "out of this world" is the understatement of the century. I am not sure how many people attended the service tonight, but when I was on my face praying, I felt like there were hundreds of people around me!! God was all over and in that place tonight! Thank you again for being so bold and unashamed and for challenging us! We both confess that we are not at all what we should be for our Lord and Savior and we commit to make worship an ongoing practice in our home and in our DAILY walk!! Worship is obedience and true happiness is only found in obedience to Christ! We love you Bro Brian. We are behind you, supporting you and praying for you!! Be encouraged, lives are being changed! Forever His, Sammy and Michelle
Anonymous said…
For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.Philemon 7
Thank you for sharing from your heart and ecnouraging us in the Lord Jesus to desire more...more of HIM. May we live our lives set apart and never be satisfied with mediocre Christianity so that the world may know!
Love,
JW and TW
RevRossReddick said…
Brian, in a part of the States that is increasingly xenophobic, I applaud the courage it took to post this. I am afraid most people's conceptions about Islam are built upon scathing caricatures touted by major media outlets. I pray you don't get too much backlash, but I might expect some.

Interfaith conversations are something the Presbyterian church has always done well. I remember being in youth group and going to a Mosque and Synagogue; it didn't shake my faith but made me aware of a larger world. I would encourage you to work toward fostering more interfaith events for younger groups. It can be revelatory if done right.

I remember one of the first things some Birmingham Presbyterian pastors did after 9/11 was call their neighboring Mosques. We offered our congregation members to accompany Muslim women to the grocery stores etc. since reports of profiling violence had already started. This ministry afforded many "first encounter" stories just like yours.

Your lunch is more proof that people need to meet those whom they are so ready to condemn. And the truth of the matter is this: we have much to learn from these dedicated and devout people, even if their beliefs aren't ours.

Curry is good with goat BTW...haha. Take care....
Steve Cowan said…
Pastor Brian,
I am so very grateful for your post. As a Christian philosopher and apologist who teaches on world religions and our need to engage their followers intellectually and with integrity, I too am saddened and frustrated by the lack of commitment and biblical worldview that the vast majority of Christians have. You are so right: the average Muslim can not only defend what he believes, but he can dismantle the beliefs of the average Christian such as they are. How different from the long lost tradition of the church in the Middles Ages and the Reformation who took the life of the mind and doctrine seriously, and were committed to living out the Christian faith in every area of life. Please keep sounding the call!
Anonymous said…
Forgive my boldness Brother, but I rather feel that in your heart you were already vexed at the weakness of todays believers faith.

I remember listening albeit some time ago to a short series on prayer that you did. I was challenged, rebuked and encouraged by it and remember thinking that if your congregation were similarly challenged then your prayer meetings by now must be a vibrant place to be.. . .

Listening to your sermons online from my home in Scotland I have offtimes wondered if your congregation are aware how they are blessed by God having you as their teacher.

I can wholly recommend fasting whilst seeking The Lords Face in prayer Brother, as one whom fasts on a wkly basis I can say from experience it brings you closer to our Heavenly Father.

Worry not Brother, our walk with The Lord at times may be feeble, BUT, at least we are walking in the way of THE MASTER.

Gods blessings on your head.

Hughie
Rajesh said…
Dear Brian,

Seems like you have been a wee bit too hard on yourself here. Accept my utmost respect in your courage to put to prints almost all the thoughts that came through your mind. Islam is a very beautiful religion, and the true followers of Islam are wonderful people to interact with. Your decision to meet and later record this interaction would do loads to ease the brewing tensions in the US and rest of the world. Let there be more dialogues.
Anonymous said…
Pastor Brian...I am afraid that you have been terribly misled by The Enemy on Islam. I pray that you and those who follow this blog will research further behind the veil. An excellent place to start is the video, "Three Things About Islam."...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkC6G7LYfQc

Another excellent resource is this article from The Barnabas Fund, "The Islamisation of The West."

http://www.barnabasaid.org/_images_files/content/BFAid/Pull_outs/Pull_Out_Jul_Aug10.pdf

For more information, please research sources on this site...America's future depends on it!

Barack Obama & Islam...

http://bit.ly/dCnmjX
Dan Caudle said…
Brother Brian I thoroughly enjoyed your teachings on Wednesday 01/26/11 and truly God was in the house. The Holy Spirit was at that alter ministering to those on their face. Ministering to those who were not ashamed, ministering to those who were repenting and confessing that they had fallen short in their Christian walk. I pray that you continue to be guided by God in all that you do.

Proud to sign my name

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