Union Baptist Association posted a review of my books
I am grateful to “Guest” for posting a review of my books on the UBA website at https://www.ubahouston.org/blog/2019/3/26/discipling-muslim-background-believers-by-abu-daud .
In part, the review stated:
Reaching out to Muslims who may be seeking Christ and discipling Muslim-background believers can be a unique challenge for those who are unfamiliar with it. One resource we have found particularly helpful [are] Abu Da’ud’s 5-book[s] … on Discipling Muslim background believers. From his own experience coming to faith in Christ and reaching out to other Muslims, Da’ud discusses common misconceptions about Christians, answers questions Muslims often have, provides a structure for discipling new believers, and creates specific study resources for those who are helping Muslim-background believers grow in their faith…. Discipling Muslim Background Believers is an excellent resource for discipleship.
Keywords: MBB, discipleship, Discipling Muslim Background Believers, evangelism
Your God-given value makes comparison and competition unnecessary
People often compare themselves to others or compete with others in order to find or to re-affirm their value. In a previous post,https://abudaud.com/2019/03/09/a-loving-god-gives-value-to-each-person/ , I wrote that an individual’s value comes from God, and is infinite. We do not have to do anything to find, prove or affirm it.
The following verse indicates that those that try to find their value relative to others do not understand God’s way of ascribing our value to us — He made and loves us.
12 For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding. 2 Corinthians 10:12 WEB
Understanding God’s value system makes comparison unnecessary because His love for you makes your worth infinite. The following verse, which uses “provoke” in the sense of “challenge”, indicates that we should not even challenge each other — we don’t have to. I’m not suggesting not playing sports. Instead, I am saying that we find our value in God’s love for us rather than trying to find value by overcoming another in a real or imagined contest.
26 Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another. Galatians 5:26 WEB
Philippians 2:3-4 contains a similar prohibition against rivalry:
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
Philippians 2:3-4 WEB
Having infinite value, and knowing that others share that same value, makes it possible to count others better than yourselves. You are God’s completely loved masterpiece, so you do not need to create a system of comparisons and competitions to find out or prove how much you are worth. God gave you value when He created you, and proved that love by paying the ultimate price for each individual through Jesus’ death on the cross.
A future post (“The hallmark of a Christian…”) will cover how Christians, knowing their infinite value, should direct their energies.
Keywords: God loves you, relationship, value, competition, simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ
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
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
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