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St Francis Magazine Vol 8, No 4 | August 2012
[Muslim believers]. My sending group disagrees with the MB title.
On one hand, it is terminology which changes meaning with
each different person who uses it. The question becomes, ‘What
does God see/What does God want’ What is culture and what is
religion It does not look like a Sunday morning worship service
but it is a worship event. So are hajj and wazud. Christians can say
the Lord’s Prayer with deep-felt emotion or without any thought at
all. Muslims can do the same with namaz. Worship is a heart issue
and therefore, is hard to judge on the outside. Many Muslims will
shy away from traditional practices because it brings back memories
of a past belief set; one they have left.
10) Tell me about baptisms--when you baptize new believers, who does the
baptism What sort of confession of faith do they make Who is present
Where and how often do these take place What does baptism mean for
them as best you can discern
Most of the baptisms are done by our main man although some have
been done by the 19 leaders. A few have been done by me. Almost
always, two people are doing the baptism. It is always done with a
group of ten or more. Although the people should already know the
facts, we teach about baptism once again, emphasizing faith. Their
confession is that they are only trusting in Jesus for their salvation.
If anyone is wearing a charm, he or she must take it off. There are
about three baptism events a year; each one is planned and postponed
many times before it actually happens (it’s India).
11) If all the foreign workers had to leave, what do you think would happen
to these Muslim-background congregations (MBC's)
I think they would keep on but have a potential to not grow any
more. We don’t make them grow but we always talk about reaching
out.
12) Is there anything else you feel is important to say that I have not asked
about
We have not seen the need to do security at all. We do speak with
wisdom around Muslims and withhold information that is not relevant
for an aggravated Muslim or a police official to know at the
time. Otherwise, we want people to know where they can come to
learn the truth of God’s Word.
St Francis Magazine is a publication of Interserve and Arab Vision 438