Discipleship Materials Archives - Page 2 of 3

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

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

Discipleship standards for MBBs

All Christian disciples need to know at least the following:

Who God is
How much He loves them
What He has done for them and in them
They are in Him and part of His family
What they are called to do (the first being to relate to Him)
How to be fruitful and fulfill their calling
How to conduct spiritual warfare
That they need fellowship

Because of MBBs’ circumstances, the minimum standard for MBB discipleship is higher. Those discipling MBBs should teach the above and at least the following:

How to live as a Christian in a Muslim context
Understanding persecution, suffering, and how to endure them
Preparing MBBs for problems they are likely to encounter
How to remain in their culture and be fruitful
How to grow in isolation, if necessary (the potential of isolation is there for all of them, so it is probably best for them all to know just in case they have to use the information)

My MBB discipleship handbook and its companion books do all of the above and more. Please click on “Home” in the menu above to purchase books. The relevant parts of the description associated with the handbook also apply to the other four books.

Keywords: discipleship, minimums, MBB, increase

My books have been published

My books can help a Muslim background believer (“MBB”) grow strong in faith while remaining in a Muslim context. The MBB can also learn how to reach out along affinity lines and lead people to faith in Christ – allowing them to plant and grow small groups.

The books contain advice from MBBs for MBBs and those that minister in the Muslim world, and can help MBBs grow in the midst of persecution. The salvation stories provide encouragement, and the extensive index in the handbook (Discipling Muslim Background Believers) allows for ease of use. The eBook version of the handbook contains hyperlinks that make effortless transitioning between topics.

The books can be found on Amazon at amazon.com/author/abudaud. God willing, they will soon be available on this site.