GlocalNet

Several of you that heard my presentation at Georgetown have asked me for my points, notes, etc., that I gave at the Global Leadership Forum hosted by John Esposito, Professor and founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Tala Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, and Chris Seiple of the Institute of Global Engagement.  So, here it is . . . . . The Title of the blog was the title of my presentation along with Imam Yayhendi - the Muslim Chaplain of Georgetown, Sayyid Syeed the National Director of the Islamic Society of North America, and David Johnston who for 16 years was a pastor and teacher in Algeria, Egypt, and the West Bank - another Fuller alum.  He focuses on Islamic law and theology in Muslim-Christian dialogue - teaches part-time at Yale, University of Pennsylvania, etc.,  I’m sorry I ran out of cards, if you go to Northwoodchurch.org you can find my email there and contact me - it will come through my assistant.  So, here are the notes . . . . You will notice a couple of things come up in this I didn’t get to in the presentation.  . . .

This is an honest title to which we are addressing - and I like that - only when we are honest and speak clearly do we know what we are talking about.  Political correctness has no place in theological explanation no more than it does in scientific exploration.  Say it kind - say it in love, say it with respect, definitely say it with humility, but say it honestly.  We are all someone’s heretic - if not our own!  When we speak of partnership I would say that the people I feared most are the people I’ve come to love, admire, and enjoy being around the most. 

First, I feared Vietnam and the communist.  I grew up watching the death count every night on the news and my Dad as a pastor burying soldiers.  When we began to work there, I came to love the Vietnamese people.  We have had over 70 exchange students live with our church members for their final year in high school and it has been marvelous.  We had a boy live with us, his name is Ti, and he is famous at our church.  We love him like our biological son – no, he is not a Christian as a result of living with us.  Yes, I wish he was - how’s that for honesty?  Regardless, he has all the blessings and rights of being one my children though his biological parents are in Hanoi.  Not only can we live together with irreconcilable theological differences - we can make a difference.  We have experienced that as a church, and my family has experienced it in our home. 

The second group of people I feared the most was the Muslims in the Middle-East.  As I came to understand the Vietnamese communist, I was thankful God didn’t have me working with Muslims in the Middle-East - they might chop my head off!  9-11 changed all that.  The exchange student Ti, had just come to live with us, and we sat at the supper table and I began to weep not knowing where things were going but where they were probably headed thinking of my son who was a senior in high school - what would this mean?  It led to our doing some development work in Afghanistan with the government there.  I came to love the Afghans and began to understand Muslims and realized that I had painted them as a monolithic group - and I was wrong. 

As an evangelical, being close to communist and Muslims is a very dangerous thing - yet Jesus would have no problem with it I am sure.  So, how do we engage and work together despite our differences?

1.  Recognition that we are in a connected world.  All religions are all places and as a result we are no longer isolated from one another.  This is not a bad thing - it’s a good thing.  It forces us to make our message clear so that not only our constituents understand it, but people of other faiths as well.  Christianity is flourishing in traditional Islamic lands, and Islam is flourishing in traditional Christian lands.  I know many Christians who get upset about that.  I recently got an email from a lady calling the church to prayer to stop the “Islamization of America.”  I felt bad for that lady.  First of all God is sovereign and in charge - nothing can happen without his will or permission - so I don’t have to fear.  Second, as an evangelical I believe in the Trinity, one part being the Holy Spirit - and he is active and moving in the world in men’s hearts today to allow us to be witnesses.  Third, we have been talking about your Dawa and our, as Christians Great Commission.  This is a wonderful thing for as Christians - you are coming to us!!!!  We don’t have go out and find you, we can become friends with you as our neighbors and tell you about our good news!  Because we are connected through business, travel, and internet we have to realize we have a different way to communicate.  One way that means is to realize no conversations are private anymore.  I once read a web-site about Christians trying to reach the “demonic” Muslims - I thought that’s both sad and stupid - don’t they realize this is public?  I then Googled Muslim outreach to Christians - you guys aren’t much smarter than us! 

2.  Creation of a new platform is critical.  The real conflict in the world today is between fundamentalist Christians and Muslims - not moderate or liberals.  Interfaith for us means saying, “all roads lead to heaven” and ignoring our sacred Scriptures - I can’t do that - you can’t do that.  BUT, if there is a new platform - multi-faith - that says we have differences but the best of our tradition brings us together to build a society or city together - then I can and must do that - I do it everyday with people of all religions and philosophical views of life.  We had a multi-faith weekend with Temple Shalom, Islamic Center of Irving, and our church - and it was incredible.  We are hosting November 11-14 a Global Faith Forum in which the byline is “from a conversation with one another about others - to a conversation with others about us.”  The speakers will be from the Middle-East, the US, Vietnam, India, other parts of the world with different religions, occupations with some of the top leaders of the world. 

3.  Begin with the hand, then heart, then head.  Let’s be clear, we read books, we have conversations about theology, we look at philosophy and geo-political issues as leaders in government, academia, and religion.  The real issue is not us talking – it’s the people in your mosques, temples, synagogues, and churches.  For that to work - if it’s about starting with the head and intellectual agreement and understanding - it’s never going to happen. But what if we can agree on something that needs as we say in Texas “fixin” and we come around that.  As we sweat together, we begin to like each other and visit.  As we trust each other, we can ask questions and then deal with the head.  I loved what Ahmed Younis said yesterday about evangelism - a Muslim - “we don’t need people forcing religion on others - that best happens when I’m in Chris’s backyard eating a burger and say, Hey Chris - I don’t get this Trinity thing - what is that?”  Ahmed this is how the early church grew and how it grows today - relationally.

4.  Focus on the followers, not the clerics, academics and geopolitical leaders.  John Voll was right on when he said yesterday the greatest interfaith conversations happen at Starbucks.  Since our multi-faith weekend we have had men of the 3 faiths restoring 3 houses and ladies teaching each other to cook.  While I was in Doha my wife was hosting Muslim, Jewish, and Christian women in our home cooking - all I hear about are this lady this and this lady that - and it’s incredible.  Some of the ladies are running around together now and becoming friends.  When relationships happen - authenticity drives the conversation.  Not long ago I was in another country with a good friend of mine who’s a Muslim leader and businessmen.  He is an older, kind man - he pulled me off to the side and asked, “Bob have you read the Koran?”  I told him I had but didn’t understand it very well but was trying.  He told me, “Keep reading it.”  He began to tear up and he said, “You know, I care about you, and I want you to think deeply about the prophet and what he taught - I want you in heaven with me Bob.”  That man paid me the highest compliment he could have ever paid me - he loved me enough to tell me what he understood the truth to be and wants me with him.  Only friendship and love will allow people to talk like that.  It’s true; some of my best friends really are Muslims!

5.  Make it personal.  My wife and I love hanging out with the rabbi and the imam.  Rabbi Jeremy asked me to go to a Bries ceremony for his son.  I thought it was like a baby dedication - well it is - but they circumcise that little rascal right there.  I survived - I mean the baby survived!!!  We went to their home for a Shabbat meal with our families.  He is speaking at ISNA July 4th, and while I was returning from a staff retreat he called me, and together I helped him write part of his speech.  We were disagreeing on the phone with a couple of points - he later shot me an email saying “thank you for being open and vulnerable to tell me what you really believe.” 

6.  Pray.  I believe God hears all our prayers.  I love the way Muslims pray.  I love the Psalms in the Jewish Scriptures or what I call the Old Testament.  In the Old Testament when they build the temple there was the court of the Gentiles that all peoples could come and pray and seek God’s face.  As a Christian, we can do that all the more today because his temple is not a physical location but within the hearts of those who follow him.  He hears all our prayers and is moved by them.  He cannot stop up his ears.  The only people whose prayers He says in the Old Testament He does not hear are those who call themselves His, but act otherwise.  We must pray- we must seek God.  The Great Commission to me is important not just because it is a tenant of our faith that Jesus gives - but I love all of you and want you with me - and I know you feel the same way with the Dawa.  With such a conflict in views - the only way we can live with peace, harmony, and great joy is to do what the Koran admonishes “show who God is by our works.”  Here is my hand, you have my heart - Let the love begin.