Abu Da'ud

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Why choose the uncommon path of discipling Muslim background believers?

Ministering to Muslims is becoming more popular, while reaching out to MBBs is not.  It is an uncommon ministry path.  Even given the low success rate of ministering to Muslims, Christians are willing to reach out to Muslims in evangelism, but have not yet been able to help indigenous MBBs become fruitful in a consistent and widespread manner.  The desire is certainly there, but the materials have not been to this point.  

There is also a sense that outreach will not be successful, so why try.  The Muslim community will simply isolate and ostracize the MBB, so there is really no point unless there was a way to reach them and help them grow while they are isolated and ostracized.  If that way was available, people would more easily be able to reach out to MBBs, and ministry to Muslims and MBBs would be more fruitful.  

My materials provide a way to give isolated MBBs the ability to grow strong in the Lord and to reach out to Muslims and others in their community.  MBBs in isolation can, especially using the e-book format, quickly learn practical, biblical truth from the handbook. They can then grow in the Lord, and live Christian lives in a Muslim context.  MBBs can also use the Bible studies and overviews to effectively minister to their affinity groups as well as start and grow small groups and churches.  That potential makes the uncommon path of ministering to MBBs much more attractive.

The materials are available for sale on my home page, accessible from the menu above.

Keywords: MBB, isolation, discipleship materials , uncommon path

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 Posted on January 31, 2019 by

 Isolation, MBB Materials, Muslim Background Believer Discipleship

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Restoring a sense of wonder

Humans tend to get used to things around them. That can lead to taking good things for granted, including a relationship with God, marriage, friendships and other marvelous blessings. It is possible to restore a sense of wonder, as described in this excerpt from Discipling Muslim Background Believers (you do not have to be an MBB for this to apply to you):

2.29.2.1 When Amazing Becomes Too Familiar, You Should …

When amazing becomes too familiar, tempting you to unbelief, remember and refocus.  I’ll elaborate in a bit, but first a story.  Sometimes I walk in a park that is home to a family of amazing red-tailed hawks.  I always stop and stare at them, completely amazed at how they fly and the way they relate to each other.  My two children and I will often take binoculars to the park to see the hawks a little better.

One day a person walking in the park asked us what we were looking at.  When we told him, he disappointedly said, “Oh, I see those every day.”  He turned and resumed his walk, oblivious to the majestic, breathtaking feats of flying that he had just ignored.  It was all a little too familiar for him.  There was no more amazement.  He had become so used to amazing that it held little or no value for him.

He had lost his focus on the birds’ ways and characteristics, and he could no longer really see them for what they were.  All he would have had to do to see again was to choose to remember what he used to see and value, use that as motivation to look again, refocus on the birds, and he would have been captured again by their majesty, elegance, power and beauty.

How many times do we take things for granted, including God, the Bible, Christianity, our lives, spouses, family friends, jobs and other things?  The tragedy is that the solution is so simple.  We just have to choose to remember and re-focus.  It may in some situations require some repentance (see 1.1.5.6 What Is Repentance?), but then all we have to do is to remember and refocus.

In a way, that is what the Israelites of old did in setting up stones of remembrance.  They purposely choose to remember (see 2.16.6 Making, Marking and Celebrating Memories).  It would not hurt us to do the same – to purposely remember.  Being thankful also helps us not take things for granted. [Parentheticals contain hyperlinks in electronic versions]

Keywords: discipleship, restoring wonder

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 Posted on January 27, 2019 by

 Discipleship, Discipleship Materials, MBB Materials

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I welcome your questions, both now and later

What would you like to ask me or have me share about, whether about my life, discipleship, ministry to MBBs and Muslims, or anything else?

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 Posted on January 26, 2019 by

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Unnecessary devastation comes to an unprepared MBB

            I was an unprepared MBB, and encountered unnecessary devastation.  When I look back on how I told my family, I realize I made a lot of mistakes.  Those mistakes created a lot of disruption.  My lack of a plan and forethought caused me to be undisciplined in who I told.  I told my sister about Jesus, and that I had become a Christian.  She agreed to keep it confidential, but told my family.  I was also careless about how I spoke, and was saying things that I normally had not said when I was a Muslim.  Even if my sister had not told my parents, I probably would have given away my identity as a Christian.

            I was told to leave the house and disinherited when I was two weeks old as a Christian.  I was nineteen.  I was not ready in a lot of ways that I could have been, meaning I had no job, very few possessions, and very little money.  Lack in all three of those areas created significant disruptions in my life.

            Had I been prepared, I think I would’ve been better able to handle pain.  I only had a rudimentary understanding of prayer, and did not understand healing, spiritual warfare or any of the ways that God would use to help me through those early days of pain.  Eventually I went through a significant depression, which God pulled me through.  I learned much through that process, part of which is in my books.

            I am very grateful for God‘s help in getting me through those times. I also know that had I prepared better, much of the disruption would’ve been prevented and I would have been better equipped to handle the disruption that did occur.

            What happened to me is much less than what happens to others, who face beatings, imprisonment, torture and death.  While preparation cannot mitigate all disruption and harm, it can help an MBB better fight spiritual battles, stand stronger in the Lord, and deal better with pain and pressure to turn from Christ.

            This subject is further dealt with in Discipling Muslim Background Believers, available for sale on the home page in the menu above. It is a handbook for ministering to MBBs and Muslims.

Keywords: MBB, discipleship, unprepared, devastation, materials

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 Posted on January 24, 2019 by

 Discipleship Materials, Muslim Background Believer Discipleship

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MBBs face an underappreciated life shift

MBBs need new structures in their lives because of an underappreciated life shift that occurs when they leave Islam. In the Quran and the Hadith, Islam contains over 3,600 commands and traditions that Muslims are to follow. Many commands and traditions govern specific day-to-day activities of Muslims, including how far up their arms they must wash prior to prayer. There is a tremendous shift in their lives when they become Christians.

While the Bible has some specific dos and don’ts, the Law and prophets are summarized in the command to Christians to love God fully and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The New Testament deals much more with principles than with specific actions. MBBs lose specific guidance, and need new structures in their lives, because much of what they used to do automatically is now gone and there is nothing to take its place. The lack of specificity can lead, in some MBBs, to a profound sense of disorientation. Most disciplers do not actively help MBBs develop new structures, partly because many are not aware of just how much the new structures are needed. Some of those that are aware may not know which structures are most useful.

In my MBB discipleship handbook, Discipling Muslim Background Believers (available for sale on the home page), there are descriptions of new structures that are helpful, two of which are spiritual disciplines and the Christian holiday calendar. These two structures give an MBB things to do every day and some meaningful celebrations to plan for, filling to some degree the lack of structure that they might otherwise feel. That sense of structure makes it much easier to deal with the upheaval and suffering that many MBBs face upon their decision to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Keywords: MBB discipleship, structure, spiritual disciplines, Christian holiday calendar

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 Posted on January 22, 2019 by

 Discipleship, Discipleship Materials, MBB Materials

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