Not my own original thoughts, unfortunately, but those of Carl Medearis, who is one of my missions heros and has influenced and articulated what is in our hearts a lot over the last few years. Carl has been working in the Middle East for many, many years and is refreshingly unorthodox in his methods and thinking.

He recently posted the following question on his blog:

Question #2: Your idea that Muslims can follow Jesus and somehow stay Muslim has always confused me. Can you explain what this means in clear laymen’s terms?

This is a big one. And a cornerstone of what we believed God has called us to be a part of…seeing Arab Muslims love and follow Jesus and stay within their context.

Which he answers in great depth. Please go read the full post.

If you substitute “Catholic” OR “Protestant” for “Muslim” in his article, you actually get a pretty clear picture of Northern Ireland too. That’s one of the reasons that we’re making a huge effort to set up our community in such a way that cultural and social identity is separated from following Jesus (i.e. you can remain part of either community and hang out with us).

So please read the full post at Carl’s site. We’d love to hear your thoughts too on how it relates here or wherever you are.

Peace.

Tags: , , ,