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Vol9,No3|June 2013 

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St Francis Magazine Vol 9, No 3 | June 2013 

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 

I was recently chatting with a colleague of mine who lives in the city 

of Nazareth. Not the one in Pennsylvania, the original one over in 

the Galilee. He mentioned that in the very center of the city, on public 

land, the Islamic movement has just put up a sign (without anyone's 

permission) witnessing to any and all that there is no deity but 

Allah, and that Muhammad is his apostle. Now Nazareth was a 

Christian-majority city until recently, and it still is about 30% Christian, 

the rest being Muslim. His question was, what should he do He 

is a foreign worker over there, and does not want to tell the Christians 

what to do, but on the other hand he knows that the local 

Christians (including evangelicals) will remain silent and take it 

(which is what they said when he asked them). This quietism did not 

seem right to him. 

My colleague wondered about bringing the world’s attention to 

this. He wondered about getting local Christian leaders to sign a petition 

asking for it to be removed, or for a Christian sign of the same 

size to be placed there as well, and so on. Underlying this question is 

the issue of advocacy—literally calling out, and calling to. Calling 

attention to this unjust situation. Calling out to the city government 

(which is run by Muslims who will not do anything), calling to the 

national government (which is Jewish, and will not interfere with 

Arab affairs like this), calling out to God to make the wrong into the 

right, and that his Kingdom would come and his will be done in Nazareth 

as it is in heaven. 

Advocacy is the theme of this issue of St Francis, and our articles 

approach the topic from multiple angles by Bryson Arthur, Mark 

Sparrow and Edith Lee. 

We also are happy to share with you the fruit of a long career in 

mission—34 theses of Greg Livingstone, who founded Frontiers back 

in the day. He is asking why we have seen so little fruit in our witness 

to Muslims over the years. 

I do not think I know of a single mature, experienced worker in 

the Arab world who has not been influenced by Bishop Kenneth 

Cragg, who passed away on 13 November 2012. Former CMS missionary 

Malcolm White has supplied us with a remembrance of his 

St Francis Magazine is published by Arab Vision and Interserve 1


work and ministry. 

Finally, if you are up for reviewing books for SFM, please do contact 

us at editor@stfrancismagazine.info. 

Al salam ‘aleykum, bi ‘ism al ab, wal ibn, war ruuh al qudus! 

Abu Daoud 

Contributing Editor 



The Mission of Advocacy 

A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION 1 

The Rev Dr J Bryson Arthur 2 

The Question: 

Do we, Mission partners, who work in the Middle East Arab world 

have a role in advocating for the Church and God's people in the 

pressure and challenges they face with increasingly Islamised governments 

3 

Our first thought is to understand the essence of this question of advocacy. 

Are we concerned with justice If so our advocacy is essentially 

righteous anger; “be angry but do not sin”. 4 However, in terms 

of our own person, we might argue that we are visitors in a foreign 

land. We are not citizens of this land and so we have no legal right 

to be angry. Further, those who are not citizens have no issue of justice 

when expelled. We have no ground for a polemic against the 

government. Indeed, in the foreign land we must also obey the civil 

authorities who are over us. 5 

That said, our issue is that of “advocating for the Church”. The 

members of the indigenous Church are citizens of the nation. They 

have civil rights, however defined. It would appear that for the 

Church it is a matter of Justice. The Church ought to be angry at 

injustice against its members and itself as an assembly of its members. 

Our question, however, concerns Mission Partners working 

1 This article is a theological meditation only and not a technical paper involving 

research. It may serve as a prolegomena for the subject. 

2 The author works in theological education in the Middle East 

3 The question was posed by Dr. Cathy Hine. 

4 Eph 4:26 

5 Rom 13:1f 



within and for the Church. Do we have a role in advocating for the 

persecuted Church If to advocate is to “speak, plead, or argue in 

favour of,” then ought mission partners to speak, plead and argue in 

favour of the indigenous Church 

1. We are not Foreigners in the Church but Citizens 

We can argue that whilst we are foreigners in our country of service 

we are not foreigners in the universal Church. Indeed, we are citizens 

of the Kingdom of God whatever country we minister in. We 

find ourselves then in a dualistic situation. Insofar as we are in a foreign 

country we have no right of advocacy. Insofar as we are members 

of a local church, part of the universal Church, we do have the 

right of advocacy. The questions then are: to whom does this advocacy 

of Church members apply and how does it apply I think the 

answers are: it applies within the parameters and membership of the 

Church as well as through it. 

The indigenous Church - the local churches which together make 

up the indigenous or national Church - has both the right to speak up 

against injustice and to plead the case of the victim in their own 

country. More than that, it is their Christian duty to do so. The 

Church must be the salt and the light. Being the light it must have a 

prophetic voice to the nation. 

As mission partners in cross cultural mission, serving the national 

Church may well be the prophetic voice. But they speak under the 

authority and with the approval of the local church they serve. In 

turn, as members of the local church they are entitled to the solidarity 

and the protection of the church insofar as the church has valid 

civil rights. This much appears to be clear but the concept and reality 

of advocacy reaches further. 

2. The Advocacy of Jesus 

1 John 2:1&2 

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not 

sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 

Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, 

and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 

John is writing to Christians, but we read in this text that Jesus 

died as a universal atonement for the sins of all men and women. In 



theology this is a much debated point 6 but we must take these words 

“not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” with great 

gravity. If Jesus is the advocate with the Father for Christians who 

are regenerate, yet He died for the sins of the whole world, then there 

is a real connection between those who have been reborn in Christ 

and those who don’t accept Christ but, potentially at least, have their 

sins atoned for. The connection must be the truth which is the light. 

And the truth requires that those who are in the light must speak out 

to those who are not. This is the prophetic voice. Now a prophet has 

no honour in his own country and so the case for a prophetic voice 

from foreign shores is, I believe, well made. Jesus came from heaven 

to the far country. 7 He came to do the Trinitarian will stated by Jesus 

as the will of His Father. His business was His Father’s business 

and not the business of the king of the Jews. He performed miracles 

– mostly of healing. He taught, He atoned through His passion and 

death, and He revealed God. 

Jesus’ last words from the Cross were, “It is finished.” 8 My question 

is: what is finished for Jesus I think the answer is: His passion 

up to and including His death on the Cross. The atoning work was 

finished, but the work of advocacy began, and to this work there is no 

end. The work of advocacy is to eternally present the passion and the 

atonement to the Trinity. Our text states that Jesus is our advocate 

with the Father. This advocacy is the embodiment of God’s saving 

act for mankind. Not only is redeemed human nature taken up into 

the Trinity in a human body, but there is now the act of infinite advocacy 

taking place. 

In this infinite activity, the dynamic of being infinitely begotten 

takes on the character of infinite advocacy. This is the great cost of 

the incarnation and it is the revelation of infinite grace. We can say 

now that advocacy is a dynamic which takes place within the Trinity. 

It takes place in the Being of God Himself. And so it sums up our 

identity as new creatures born of the Spirit and finally raised physi- 

6 The doctrine of universal atonement vs particular or limited atonement 

7 Echoing Karl Barth 

8 Jn 19:30 



cally from the dead. Advocacy is the new ontological quality of the 

redeemed. It is the character of our being. If we are asked in heaven, 

“Who are you” we cannot say with God, “I am that I am,” but our 

first answer is, “We are those of the Spirit who have an advocate with 

the Father.” We are the people of the advocacy of the Son. This is 

God’s answer to the prayer of the publican, who is every man and 

woman, “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.” 9 

Advocacy is the infinite and eternal meaning of soteriology. The 

eternal presentation of the atonement is a Trinitarian dynamic. That 

which happened in time becomes eternal in advocacy. They are the 

holes in hands and feet which we ourselves will behold. These symbols 

of advocacy, more than bread and wine, will themselves signal 

the depths of our new eternal being. We have in advocacy the continuing 

revelation of the love of God and so of the essence of Grace. 

Properly speaking we live in this advocacy as born of the Spirit 

and citizens of heaven. We are those who both enter and see the 

kingdom of God. 10 This advocacy is our power to be. It is the greatest 

depth and height of the expression of the gospel. It is the eternal 

and infinite product from an apparently finite heilsgeschichte - history 

of salvation- concluding with the atonement. 

3. The Advocacy of Abraham 

The forefather, we might say, of Judaism, Christianity and Islam was 

Abraham. Abraham, called by God, left his own country of citizenship 

and took on the role of a foreigner in a foreign land. God covenants 

with Abraham, known in theology as the Old Covenant, and so 

Abraham is specially chosen. We might say he is an early type of 

Christ. In Gen 18:20-33 we see the advocacy of Abraham with God 

in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Abraham was acceptable as an advocate with God because he was 

chosen by God to teach his children to do right (Old covenant). 

Abraham was the prophet of the promise. He would become a great 

nation which will bless all nations on earth. 

9 Lk 18:13 

10 Jn 3 


Gen 18: 17-19 


17 Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to 

do 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all 

nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, 

so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the 

way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will 

bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” 

Abraham had special status. He believed against belief and it was 

counted to him as righteousness. And so he had access to God and 

was able to plead for the deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah which 

God was about to destroy. The peoples of Sodom and Gomorrah 

have become synonymous with corruption, perversion, almost total 

sin and evil. Sodom and Gomorrah had become the embodiment of 

sin. This advocacy failed but it is a revelation to us of the advocacy 

which did not fail. Similarly, there is the obedience of Abraham to 

God’s command to sacrifice Isaac. The sacrifice was not required 

beyond the test of faith, but it was a revelation of the sacrifice which 

was to come and which was required. 

Abraham is taken to be the Father of the monotheistic religions, 

Judaism, Islam and Christianity. All three religions believe that there 

is One God and the One God is the maker of heaven and the earth. 

This One God is the Lord who has absolute and universal authority 

over all nations. 11 Then, in the name of God, all believers in Him in 

some sense have universal rights; certainly the right of Prophecy, the 

right of love, the right of justice and the right of life. They also, I 

contend, have the right of advocacy: advocacy with God and advocacy 

with the kings and governments of nations. Abraham plead for 

the salvation of sinful cities, who worshiped false gods 

We are reminded with Abraham that our essential advocacy as 

Christian mission partners is with God. And we have posed that the 

dynamic of ultimate advocacy takes place within the Trinity. As 

Abraham had done for Sodom and Gomorrah the Son does for the 

world. As God Himself pleads the case of sinners in the world with 

Himself, we also should plead the case within the loving Christian 

community. Yet the missio dei is to communicate the gospel to the 

11 Cp. Ps 2 



world and so we are the world’s advocates. Our advocacy is in the 

world, with the Trinity for the world, and apologetically with the 

world itself. Advocacy with Islam or with Islamic authorities who 

control governments through an apologetic is a powerful way to 

reach out to the people of Islam. Such is or could be a key approach 

and means of mission. 

4. Another Advocate 

It should not seem a curious thing, although it is mysterious, that 

Jesus appears to pass His advocacy on to the Holy Spirit. On His 

ascension Jesus enters into full advocacy with the Father Yet He 

sends the “Advocate” (Gk Paracleteos) to be manifest with and 

among us that we would not suffer as orphans. The use of the term 

advocate appears four times in the gospel of John – 14:16, 14:26, 

15:26, 16:7 

Jn 14:16 

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to 

help you and be with you forever—“ 

The words “another advocate” mean that advocacy is not Christ’s 

alone. With the concept of the paracletos we have the sense of help 

and comfort. This Trinitarian advocacy, as our new right to be, is 

our great comfort and help. This helper and comforter of eternal advocacy 

is our mission joy. It is the message of our mission and itself 

our raison d’etre and our power to be. This power is upheld for us in 

the wonderful Person of God the Holy Spirit. 

John 14:26 

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my 

name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have 

said to you.” 

John 15:26 

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the 

Spirit of truth 

who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.” 

This other Advocate will lead us, teach us, and remind us of eve- 



rything which Jesus has said. This remembrance is anamnesis 12 which 

is to recall and relive in our own being everything which Jesus said. 

Everything which Jesus said is truth and light – which sets sinners 

free. The Holy Spirit through and in believers, and especially mission 

partners, is the one testifying about Jesus: His absolute veracity, 

integrity, adequacy and profound compassion. 

I have to say again now, true mission is advocacy. True mission 

connects the testimony of the Holy Spirit with all unbelievers in 

Christ as God. 

5. Advocacy as Grace 

In both the advocacy of Jesus and the advocacy of Abraham we see 

grace. In Abraham’s pleading with God for the deliverance of great 

sinners from the judgment and condemnation of God, and the infinitely 

higher passion and death of Jesus which is the font of all advocacy 

with God, we see the revelation of grace, infinite and eternal, for 

all of mankind. We are proposing then that advocacy is itself grace. 

That is its nature. We want to say here that the missio dei can 

wholistically be stated as the dispensing of grace. The gospel is the 

communication of the grace of God in the means and plan of redemption 

for mankind. Insofar as we consider the eternal aspect we are 

concerned with advocacy. I want to define advocacy more fully as 

the eternal presence of the atonement in the Trinitarian Council. It 

is what counts for us eternally. This presence is in the human embodiment, 

the eternal corporeality of Christ. 

Thus, because God first loved us and forgave us our sins unconditionally, 

we must love and forgive others unconditionally. Similarly 

He is Himself, in Christ, our advocate and so we must be the unconditional 

advocate of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are “the 

Church”. This must include advocacy with God, with ourselves and 

with the worldly authorities. Going further, our God given right of 

advocacy as a universal priesthood must extend to the poor in spirit, 

to the marginalized and helpless, to those who are hungry and 

12 Greek for remembrance but remembrance in the Platonic sense of recalling 

into our own being that which we already know. This is also the 

function of the Lord’s supper. 



thirsty, to those who need clothes to wear and a place to lay their 

head: in short, to our neighbours, those with whom we share life 

space; those we come upon in our daily lives. 13 

I am saying then, explicitly, that mission, in its most mature form, 

is advocacy: advocacy with worldly authorities, governments and 

kings, on behalf of the brethren arising from our advocacy with God, 

on the ground of Christ’s eternal advocacy. Advocacy is love in action 

and its costs may include physical death. 14 

6. Association with Christ; the crime we commit against 

Islam 

The problem with the Church in non Christian nations is that its association 

with Christ attacks the myth of other religions. It points, in 

the name of Christ as God, to the corruption of religious authorities 

and to the corruption of governments influenced by them. Those 

who are associated with Christ are the living antithesis of other religions 

and ideologies. Those who shout “God has no Son” fly in the 

face of this antithesis. In other words, Christianity, truly lived and 

proclaimed by Christians renders religious authorities of other religions 

invalid and inauthentic. We are now at the root of the persecution 

of Christians. 

Quoting at length from my Paper on Persecution concerning “Association 

with Christ” 

“Jesus predicted that the disciples would suffer persecution. And in this 

period, the least association with Jesus brought persecution. Persecution 

was a direct result of association. Peter and John were speaking in the 

Temple very definitely in the name of Jesus (Acts 3). To speak and teach 

in Jesus’ name had the effect of not only undermining the policy and 

teaching of the religious authorities but rendering them impotent (and of 

course corrupt). As they spoke they were approached by the priests and 

captain of the temple and the Sadducees (Acts 4). This teaching was 

causing annoyance and so they were arrested. The teaching was preceded 

by the healing of a lame man and possibly because of the healing 

about 5000 persons believed the teaching. Further, they gave their as- 

13 Cp the Parable of the Good Samaritan. 

14 It has for countless mission workers in the past. 



sent to the Apostles which the authorities were aware of. This occasion 

brought together the high priest Annas, Caiaphas, John and Alexander 

and all of the high priestly family. 

Peter and John were questioned by this court and the question in Acts 

4:7 “By what power or by what name did you do this” is very salient. 

The answer of course was “Jesus Christ of Nazareth” and the addition 

“whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 9:10ff). 

This confession of Christ, which was made in the power of the Holy 

Spirit was clearly an attack on the high Priestly family and it was extremely 

courageous. It was a strong proclamation of the truth made in 

the lion’s den as it were. However, the results of the miracle and the 

teaching about Jesus were too great for the high priest to act against 

them and they were released with the key command not to speak or 

teach at all in the name of Jesus. If they ceased speaking and teaching in 

the name of Jesus, therefore, no persecution would follow. The implication 

is clear; deny Christ and you will be safe. These are the simple parameters 

of the persecution of the Apostles and early disciples. Associate 

with Christ and you will be fiercely persecuted. Deny Christ and you will 

not.” 15 

To the Jews, Christ is a total anathema, but to the Muslims he is a 

prophet. Indeed, to be associated with the Jesus of Islam is a virtue 

but to be associated with Jesus as the Son of God, Himself God, and 

the second Person of the Trinity is blasphemy. To Muslims Mohammed 

is not God and neither is Jesus. The problem is that the 

Church proclaims Jesus as God. The Church is associated with and 

teaches that Jesus is God. This is not the problem for the Church 

however, before God, as this association in all of its fullness and veracity 

is the very integrity of the Church. Persecution is normal for a 

living Church and particularly persecution from its antithetical adversary. 

If Christianity is true then Islam is false. This is of course, 

as we have already alluded, a life or death reality. 

15 My article which was one of three articles written for an Interserve conference in 

Australia, entitled “Out on a Limb,” was also delivered in an IS Scottish conference. 

Published in Mary’s Well occasional papers - Nazareth Evangelical Theological 

Seminary. 



7. The Case of Overseas Mission Partners 

Let us return now to the question with which we began. We have 

argued that mission partners coming from other countries and cultures, 

even as foreigners, have the right before God and even the reasonable 

duty to be advocates for the Christian body whom they serve 

and with whom they are partnered. The issue now is that of being as 

wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 16 The major fear is that of 

being expelled from the country. To be an advocate may mean to lose 

one’s visa. 

I have already posed that to engage in an apologetic defence of the 

Christian faith and the Church is entirely appropriate. Such an apologetic, 

in terms of Islam, would lay the way open for discussion and 

even peace between the Church and the Mosque. The reality of the 

continuing existence of the Church cannot be denied nor can it be 

stopped. It has to live alongside the Mosque so to speak, and so it 

makes sense to seek a way of peace between us. There is no such 

thing as a pure ethnicity, neither national nor religious. Moves to 

ethnic purity just don’t work. Hitler tried to purify the mythical superior 

ethnicity of the master Arian race with disastrous consequences 

for Germany and the world. It should be apparent to Islamic 

countries that they cannot have a pure theocracy. Also like it or not 

they have to deal with the West. Western technology and mass media 

are increasingly a reality. The part Facebook had to play in the 

Arab Spring is a poignant example of this force. Every nation, of any 

magnitude, is again, like it or not, a member of the global village. 

My question is now, what can we give back to Islam which we 

now hold This is a shocking question for evangelicals. But strangely 

enough, it is Biblical. Consider the parable of the shrewd manager: 

Mat 16:1-9 

‘Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused 

of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, 

‘What is this I hear about you Give an account of your management, 

because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3 “The manager said to himself, 

‘What shall I do now My master is taking away my job. I’m not 

strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so 

16 Mat 10: 16 



that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ 

5 So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, 

‘How much do you owe my master’6 ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ 

he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and 

make it four hundred and fifty.’7 Then he asked the second, ‘And how 

much do you owe’ ‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied. He told 

him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’8 The master commended 

the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people 

of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are 

the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends 

for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal 

dwellings. 

This parable is about being as wise as a serpent. We see here a 

tale of shrewdness.’ The failing manager gave back a high percent to 

the debtors, and he was commended. Indeed it is at least implicit that 

this manager retained his position. He also rose up in standing with 

his master’s debtors. My question remains – what can missionaries 

give back to Islam 

8. What can we give back to Islam 

Association with Christ must be explicit and we must not keep the 

Holy Spirit of God hidden. How dare we, for diplomatic expediency, 

seek to hide God. We see from the above that Peter and John were 

explicit in the lion’s den. They even condemned the religious leaders 

of the Jews. They did this shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus and 

so they were in mortal danger. But they did not seek to restrain the 

Spirit of truth. We are not talking of compromise here. We are talking 

about the love of our neighbour! 

David fought Goliath and later wrote the words “… though I 

walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil” 17 

Mission partners are not called to slay Goliath but to reason with 

him and win him for Christ. We can agree where the teaching of Islam 

(our modern Goliath) does not offend the gospel. The question 

for us is where is Islam teaching truth What part or aspect of their 

teaching could we assent to as true It will not help us to demonise 

them as if they have no truth and their motives are absolutely evil all 

17 Ps 23:4a 



of the time. We can ask them for the terms of a discussion between 

us. Where can we reduce our force of opposition against them 

The real question is, how can we connect the Spirit of truth to 

them, in order that they can chose to accept or reject There were 

two thieves on a cross, one on each side of Jesus, both alien, yet one 

accepted Christ as the Son of God and one rejected him. Not all 

thieves reject Christ. The beginnings of a new apologetic to Islam 

with respect to its relationship with, and view of the Church, sounds 

a tall order for missionaries who are perhaps minimally trained in 

theology. But this must be an apologetic of the Spirit. The Spirit 

will lead us in all truth. 

9. Finally 

True Christians 18 are those who now live in the advocacy of Christ 

and His Spirit. The incarnation and the cross were both historical 

occasions which have happened. The birth of Jesus, His life on earth, 

His death, resurrection and ascension were the joining of heilsgeschichte 

with world history. These historical events changed the 

world. But the events of incarnation to ascension happened in the 

history of the world once and for all. They happened in Time; even 

time with a capital “T” and, as with all time, this time too has passed. 

Our task now, which we do at the Lords table, is to remember that 

history. 

The effect of this history, however, is eternal in the Being of God 

Himself. In the Trinitarian presence there is no remembrance; rather 

there is advocacy. Advocacy is the means of God’s remembrance as 

the Lord’s Supper is the means of the remembrance (anamnesis) of 

the Church. Our peace arising from our eternal security, bought by 

the shed blood and broken body of Christ in history, is sure and certain 

in and through his eternal advocacy with the Father. The Holy 

Spirit of God is the heavenly access for, and the applier of, this advocacy 

for the citizens of heaven who are still on earth. 

18 Those born of the Spirit of God, who have entry to the kingdom of god and who 

can see it. 



THEOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL THOUGHTS ON AD- 

VOCACY 

By Mark L. Sparrow 1 

When the crack-down on Christian activities and businesses in our 

country started some months ago, the worker community was not 

much prepared for it. Many thought that this might be only a short 

wave of security activity which would calm down if the Christians 

were to keep a low profile response. But as the time went on, more 

and more workers were expelled and the behaviour of the security 

service 2 (SeS) became more and more ruthless. Whilst in the beginning 

some electronic devices were returned when people were expelled, 

the greed of the SeS became obvious with time: cars, cameras, 

printers, kindles, books, whole hand luggage bags of travellers and 

even a wooden keepsake were confiscated. 

Usually expatriates from western nations have had to suffer physically 

only to a small extent, the exception being detentions of up to 

almost two months, with those detained having neither access to a 

lawyer nor an embassy contact. However, locals and expatriates 

from non-western nations, or those perceived to be from non-western 

nations, have sometimes had to suffer physical abuse, torture, fake 

executions and the like. 

The Christian community (churches, church groups and individuals 

inside and outside the country) have not had and still do not have 

a unified response to these challenges. This is even more astonishing 

as in my opinion there has been an extraordinary degree of cooperation 

between the different Christian groups in the country. One reason 

for this might be theological convictions. We Christians are like 

1 The Author works in the Middle East 

2 Neitherterm is a very fitting euphemism for an organisation spreading fear 

and violence instead of security and service. 



sheep among wolves and we are called to suffer with Christ. Therefore, 

I want to discuss the biblical background of advocacy in the first 

part of this article. In the second part I will look at different practical 

issues that prevent or can help advocacy. 

1. Biblical Background 

The main cases of advocacy in the OT are prophets standing up 

against kings and rulers on behalf of the weak. Famous examples are 

Nathan confronting David for murder and adultery (2.Sam 12) uand 

Elijah prophesying judgement over Ahab and Jezebel because of Naboth's 

vineyard (1.Kg 21). In these cases the prophets spoke out after 

the crime was committed and held the perpetrators accountable for it. 

In many other cases (Jes, Jer, Hes, Am, Mi, Zech) the prophets confronted 

the rulers and judges in a general way because of the unjust 

treatment of the oppressed and needy, often bearing a considerable 

risk of persecution and ill-treatment for it. 

Proverbs 31: 8,9 calls all the readers to speak out for “those unable 

to speak [out for themselves]” and to “plead the cause of the poor 

and needy.” 

Everyone has an obligation not only toward the fellow citizen 3 

but also to any fellow human being, which we can see in the many 

regulations prohibiting the oppression of foreigners such as in Ex. 

22:21. In this way Zechariah can describe the call to right treatment 

of the oppressed as a summary of the message of the former prophets 

(Zech.7:7-10) 4 

Advocacy does not seem to be a predominant subject in the NT 

scriptures. This is not surprising as the Christian community usually 

had no legal protection once they were seen as distinct from their 

Jewish roots. There was no Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

incorporated into the constitution of the Roman state. They had no 

embassy or strong representation of a state entity that would have 

been obliged to take their cause and advocate for them. They were a 

3 It is interesting that Isaiah announces judgement over Babel for how their 

leaders treated their own people (Isa. 14:20) 

4 Jesus summarized the law and the prophets in the Great Commandment 

(Matt.22:37ff) 



small minority that could not produce public pressure. So there was 

nearly no basis for advocacy in NT times. 

In regard to Jesus the basis of advocacy is even smaller. Jesus 

came to suffer and die (Mark 10:45); he did not try to escape the divine 

“must” that he had accepted for his life (Mark 8:31; Luke 22:42). 

So we shouldn't expect Jesus to use advocacy to get a fair trial. 

Therefore, it is more surprising that he did not turn the other cheek 

(cf. Matt 5: 39) when he was struck in the face, but defended himself 

saying: "If I have said something wrong, confirm what is wrong. But 

if I spoke correctly, why strike me" (Jo.18:23) 

Jesus spoke truth during his trial, thus taking away the semblance 

of legitimacy. He, as the light of the world, uncovered the lie that he 

“would suffer because of hidden bad deeds”. He has lived in the light 

and did not operate in the dark, so the high priest could ask everyone 

about what Jesus had said publicly. His later silence during the trial 

could not be misunderstood as confession of guilt. In a similar way 

Paul reacted to being beaten, saying that those who sit in judgement 

on him are breaking the very law they base themselves upon (Acts 

23:3). This adds meaning to suffering, because it then cannot be misunderstood 

- it is clearly suffering for good deeds and not for bad 

ones (1. Pet 2:20). 

With Paul we have the exceptional case that a Christian had Roman 

citizenship since birth, as opposed to the high commander (chiliarch) 

of the army in Jerusalem who had to acquire it with a large sum 

of money (Acts 22:28). Paul used his citizenship several times to get 

protection from state institutions. He was not satisfied with simply 

being free after his unlawful detention in Philippi, but demanded an 

open acknowledgement of his and his companion's innocence from 

the magistrates by asking to be escorted out of the city by them (Acts 

16: 37). In doing so he made an impact on the public image of the 

small Christian community. 

Paul did not concede to be judged by the corrupt governor Festus, 

but used the right he had as a citizen to appeal to Caesar. This had 

the result that he couldn't be used as a political sacrifice in Festus' 

policy to gain support from the Jewish leaders. 

In a more general way, the love for one's neighbour demands us to 

act on behalf of those who need help. Jesus, the good shepherd, was 

guarding his sheep from the grip of the authorities (“if you are look- 



ing for me, let these men go.” Jo 18:8; cf. Jo 10:11ff) and he commanded 

his disciples to love one another in the same way as he has 

loved them (Jo 13:34). Taking every opportunity to do good to all 

people, especially to those who belong to the family of faith (Gal 

6:10), includes visiting the prisoners (Mat 25:36; Heb 13:3). In the 

case of someone being imprisoned for religious reasons a visit itself is 

a confession to belonging together and is not without risk. 

To sum up the main conclusions: 

1. Advocacy is part of the prophetic ministry to remind the authorities 

of their God given duties. 

2. Advocacy flows out of love for those who have no voice 

3. Advocacy speaks truth into situations that are blurred by lies, 

thereby adding meaning to the suffering of the believers. 

4. Advocacy is not only a personal question but has impact on the 

community; it is part of the pastoral care for the flock. 

2. Practical Issues 

a) Fear of Repercussions 

The SeS tries to spread fear among the people. If one knows the 

ruthlessness and brutal practices they use against their own people 5 , 

it is fully understandable and necessary that we ask: what consequences 

will follow our advocacy Westerners usually don't face the 

threat to life and physical conditions, whereas locals and non-western 

expats have to fear much harder treatment. Our decisions and actions 

have to take this into account. 

There is probably no overall answer to the question of which advocacy 

actions will harm and which actions will help our local friends 

and the Christian community as a whole. 6 On the other hand, it is 

obvious that if the SeS can operate in total freedom without being 

held accountable for their actions, it will make them more confident 

5 It is a proof of their malice that the SeS holds the friends of the expats, 

their own people, hostage to put pressure on the expats. They threaten the expats to 

put their friends into prison if they do not comply to their demands. 

6 Therefore it is even more necessary to be open to the advice of experts in 

advocacy. 



and add to their perception of them being above everyone else 7 . This 

is the reason why many locals would want a strong advocacy in a 

general way although they, at times, shy away when it comes to the 

question of whether their own case should also be specifically mentioned. 

This is of course understandable, but there are also methods 

of advocacy that are more general and leave out personal details 

whilst at the same time signalling to the authorities that their actions 

are taken note of. In the case of imprisonment of locals and their 

possible torture 8 , I would tend to more aggressively advocate for 

them, even involving the details of the detainee as the threat of maltreatment 

is already there, and not advocating leaves the detainee 

alone in this highly dangerous situation. 

b) The Relief Of Being Out and the Wish To Return 

The argument of threat is no longer valid once an expat has left the 

country. Nevertheless, there is considerable reservation among those 

who have left to do advocacy for their own cases. Often valuable 

items were seized by the authorities - money, cars, land, electronics 

confiscated and companies with their assets closed down without the 

outcry that one would expect. Even to give information to the Christian 

advocacy group, Middle East Concern (MEC), was for most of 

the affected people a step too big to take, despite letters of encouragement 

having been written from both inside and outside of the 

country. One of these letters was written by a well-respected member 

of the Christian community who had been imprisoned for 30 days 

prior to his expulsion. 

The main two factors for this might be the relief to be out and the 

wish to return. For many, the last days and hours were traumatic - 

having the house searched, being told to leave in a few days, being 

called in every day often till late in the night or the early morning for 

7 A security officer answered when he was told that his actions were not 

legal: “I am the law“. 

8 Imprisonment of locals always means possible torture, because torture is 

common practice towards detainees and no one, not even the Red Cross, has access 

to them. Until now no western expats have been tortured while imprisoned, but this 

cannot be taken as granted. 



questioning, having no legal rights and not even the possibility of a 

proper farewell. This all often resulted in a tiredness that did not 

leave enough energy to push embassies or to start legal procedures in 

a far-away country, or even to write down what happened and to 

send it to MEC. Additionally, people had to re-organize their lives, 

look for future work opportunities etc. It is understandable that advocacy 

is adjourned when people are burnt out. 

Many times there was no material incentive to start advocacy: 

laptops would be donated by friends or churches back home after 

they heard about the loss, and cars were often company cars. 

Others refrain from advocacy because they are determined to return 

if only possible. Although the chances of being able to return 

after deportation are slim, some people feel that they want to try it. 

Although all things are possible with God, they should recognize 

that they will return to a very different status quo from that which 

was in place when they came the first time. Now they have already 

been kicked out once and are known to the SeS. When they were 

expelled the first time, SeS faced no resistance and they gained cars, 

iPhones, laptops and other materials. Why would they not do so a 

second time 

c) Working with Embassies 

Not only were the churches and Christian workers taken by surprise 

when the wave of deportations started, the same can be said for many 

embassies. The responses of the different embassies varied greatly. 

Some seemed to be on the side of the government and were not willing 

to engage at all (Brazil). The Egyptian workers did not even 

dare to go to their embassy for fear of repercussions in their home 

country. Other embassies had an overly phlegmatic attitude and 

even said that if the international pastor were put into prison there 

would be basically nothing they could do. Some became more active 

with time, especially after political support for the case was raised in 

the home countries. Some Embassies were especially supportive, 

even visiting the International church service several times when 

there was the threat of the compound being seized by the SeS. 

Having said this, I also have to admit that the cooperation with 

the embassies from the side of the expat workers was inadequate. 

The respective embassies were often not informed when their citi- 



zens' houses were searched or even when they were expelled. This 

can put an embassy in an awkward position when another embassy 

has heard rumours of what is going on but the embassy in charge has 

been completely left out. 

Embassies naturally wish to maintain good relationships with 

their host country while providing consular support to their citizens. 

If the first outweighs the second, support groups in the home countries 

need to become active through different channels to involve 

their respective Ministry of Foreign Affairs which can then influence 

the embassy. 

d) Working with the Local Churches 

When the SeS started their actions, they usually claimed that they 

would respect the churches but have to operate against organizations 

outside of the churches that receive foreign funds to evangelize Muslims. 

These actions starting at the edges of the church probably made 

some church leaders feel that they were still safe. The independence 

of some groups from the churches sometimes created anger, with envy 

then adding to the feelings of some church members. This led to 

sentiments that took the direction of “those foreigners driving in big 

cars deserve it.” Soon after this, groups with mainly local staff were 

targeted, still leaving the church leadership in peace. This salami 

tactic, cutting off slice by slice starting from the edges, ensured with 

corrupt church leadership especially that they would not protest. 

The wide-spread corruption in church leadership positions prevented 

a strong reaction from their side, while the vulnerable normal Christians 

suffered most from the expulsion of foreigners and their programs. 

Many ordinary church people were shocked and crying when 

they heard of more and more expats being expelled. 

Corruption on one side and poor church relationships on the other 

contributed to the lack of advocacy from the church leadership. Outstanding 

are the examples where pastors or leaders stood up to protect 

their flock and were able to stop the action from the side of the 

authorities. I have to note that church leaders, in spite of being locals, 

are much less exposed to oppression than normal church members 

due to their official role and public image inside and outside of 

the country. 



e) Working with Middle East Concern 

Middle East Concern is an advocacy and prayer initiative that assists 

Christians when they face discrimination, marginalization or persecution. 

They have many years of experience and are connected to networks 

of politicians, lawyers and journalists, but they are not so well 

known at the grass-roots level, at least in our country. The fact that 

they are not able to do advocacy without the consent of the people 

involved (or their close relatives or leaders) showed itself to be a major 

slowdown for advocacy. Some of those affected were highly suspicious 

of involving an advocacy group they did not know, especially 

when several times the SeS explicitly warned against telling embassies 

or others what was happening. This does not explain the hesitance 

with which even field leaders acted towards giving information 

on to them though - they should know better, especially since some 

of these agencies are members of MEC. The lack of prominence is 

even more understandable among locals who in most cases haven't 

even heard the name of the organization. 9 

Another obstacle to cooperation between MEC and people (still) 

in the country is the difficulty of communicating securely. Even expats 

sometimes have poor knowledge and practice in the field of Internet 

security and encryption while locals nearly always lack this. 

Nevertheless the work of MEC proved to be very helpful in the 

cases where they obtained authorization for advocacy, and contributed 

to the release of one expat and one local believer who were held 

prisoner. 

To facilitate better cooperation with MEC, workers should be introduced 

to the work of the MEC prior to commencing their mission 

10 . Member agencies should have this as a vital part of their basic 

orientation programmes. 

Additionally, regional church leaders' conferences should start off 

9 Still I do not propagate the principle that advocacy should be done without 

the consent of the people concerned. But one might think of introducing a system 

where consent is given prior to the need, an analogy to organ donor cards. 

10 The need of a thorough knowledge of how to keep one's computer secure is 

self-evident but unfortunately is often still lacking, causing considerable danger to 

fellow workers and locals alike. 



direct relationships between the churches and MEC. 

f) Advocacy as Duty 

Advocacy is often seen as the individual's discretionary decision. If 

there are costs involved and the gains are uncertain, many (especially 

after leaving the country) will tend to do without it. But advocacy 

impacts what happens to local people and future workers from outside. 

Although, as stated above, the actual outcome cannot be predicted 

with certainty, experience shows that advocacy is impacting 

the situation on the ground positively. The authorities' fear of advocacy 

is a strong indication of this. Once expulsion and harassment 

becomes a fixed and easy-to-use pattern for the SeS, it not only 

changes the perspective for future workers but also reduces the safety 

of the local church because the witnesses of human rights abuse are 

taken out. 

Therefore we should see advocacy as part of the commandment to 

love instead of a value-free decision of the primarily concerned. 

If the whole church would take up this responsibility to speak up 

for those who have no voice, and this could be coordinated with the 

experienced help of MEC and others, we could probably see good 

fruit of the love “toward those of the household of faith.” Gal.6:10 

Tiny beginnings have been made through the local council of 

churches, where a committee was formed to monitor all incidents and 

discuss them with the Minister of Religious Affairs, but there is no 

coordination with the effort done by embassies. Fear to speak out and 

to go public still prevails. 

3. To sum up the main conclusions: 

1. In spite of the fear that people on the ground would suffer because 

of advocacy, it is an important way of breaking the circle of 

ruthlessness from the side of the authorities. Typically, wise advocacy 

improves the situation of those advocated for. 

2. For many, not the fear but exhaustion and the wish to returnare 

the reasons for not doing advocacy. At least their leaders should 

know better and step in. 

3. Expats should keep contact with embassies and inform them 

about maltreatment from the authorities. If embassies are not willing 

to support them specifically and address human rights abuses gener- 



ally, friends and churches in the home countries should convince 

their governments of the need to intervene. 

4. A strong relationship between local church and expat workers 

would help to prevent harmful infighting and to stand strong with a 

unified response. But unfortunately corruption and tribalism make 

the churches prone to the intrigues of the SeS. 

5. MEC is an experienced advocacy group that should be publicisedamong 

workers and local church leaders. This would involve 

discussion with mission candidates, church and mission leaders, of 

theological reservations in respect to advocacy.. 

6. Advocacy should not be seen as a discretionary decision but as a 

Christian responsibility. The very small chance of being able to return 

should not prevent the expelled workers from at least contributing 

in a general way to the work of advocacy groups like MEC. 



PRAYER ADVOCACY 

by Edith Lee 1 

One of the great benefits of the worldwide missions’ movement is 

that much prayer has been engendered for countries and people 

groups, and people who were never thought of before. One of the 

major ways this continues is through the person on the ground informing 

prayer partners back in their sending countries that the people 

they are ministering to need concerted prayer. This type of prayer 

advocacy has borne much fruit. 

What happens, though, when the loop of communication is broken 

What happens when our worker is too busy to keep people informed 

Do our prayers become dry and dwindle And what happens 

when the worker leaves for one reason or another Their departure 

may be planned or unplanned; it may be at a time of completion, 

or they may have been forced out by traumatic events - either 

personal or to the country and/or Christians corporately. What 

happens to the prayer for these people in country X then Do we 

really believe that God continues to be at work even when the connection 

that we had with them is ended Or by our lack of prayer do 

we show that we actually believe that since it’s “the worker’s job” to 

preach, if they are not around then it is rather useless to pray 

Over the last couple of years, workers have had to leave a number 

of countries throughout the Arab world. The believers and churches 

who have been left are often struggling deeply. Who prays for them 

when we no longer are connected Is God still at work 

Do we really believe in the harvest – that the Lord has seasons in 

the lives of people/people groups and countries that we minister to 

Are we watching to see what God is doing in our world Is God 

leading our prayer or are circumstances directing us 

I moved into a new country six months ago that, unlike my previous 

country, has four seasons. For the first time in my adult life God 

has blessed me with a beautiful garden. When I first arrived in December 

it was bitterly cold and there was little evidence of things 

1 Edith Lee has worked in the Middle East for many years and was in one of the 

countries that experienced a revolution 



growing. As spring came I saw buds and flowers and now as we enter 

summer the fruit trees are heavily laden with fruit. Every day I 

go out and am amazed at how things grow. 

The disciples wondered what they must do to do God’s work. Jesus 

replied, “This is the work of God, to believe on Him who was 

sent.” (John 6:29) Lately I have pondered on how hard I find that 

statement. For me, doing “good” activities, whether discipling, sharing 

the good news, developing relationships, mentoring or teaching, 

has often been what I have envisioned as doing God’s work. This is 

what has been praised often in the churches I’ve attended. When I 

return to my home country this is what I tell people I do. But God is 

asking me to believe that He is on mission and He will accomplish 

His work – not only when I can see Him working but also when I 

can’t. The months where I can see the fruit are fewer than the 

months that I can’t. Do we believe that God is at work even after the 

communication flow has stopped 

In 2012 I was forced to return to my passport country for medical 

reasons. At the same time major political difficulties were being experienced 

in my adopted country. I was richly blessed and healed 

the Lord working through the prayers of friends. But I got the distinct 

feeling that very few continued to pray for my many friends in 

my adopted country who were struggling as well. Yet it is at times 

like this that prayer may be the most vital link. 

Most of us will acknowledge that God has been at work in these 

people prior to the Christian worker ever arriving. We certainly believe 

that God is at work while they are there. Do we believe that 

God will continue to be at work after they have gone Do we act 

that way Do we continue to keep these people/churches/inquirers 

on our prayer lists I think this is the hard work – to believe that 

Jesus who has been sent to them is still at work in them. Does our 

prayer life exemplify that In what ways can we help each other to 

keep believing when the communication stops 

In my personal life I have found that it is during the silent times 

that God seems to do His greatest work. How are we upholding the 

often nascent church during these “silent times” and deep times of 

trial 

In the 1950s when all the Christian workers had to leave China 

people wondered if all hope for the Chinese had gone. But God 



worked in those years of silence to develop the church. Some diligent 

people prayed and God answered, but could that have been increased 

Similarly some countries in the Arab World are systematically 

getting rid of intentional Christians who have come to their 

lands. In our global generation of instantaneous results – from fast 

food to jet travel to the internet – will we use this global consciousness 

to keep us aware, or will we give up because it doesn’t seem that 

God is at work 

I have often wondered about all the silent times for people of God 

in Scripture and throughout history. Are we willing to be diligent to 

pray for those people groups/new believers/churches that are going 

to go through silent times in the months and years to come Who 

will uphold these churches and people as persecution comes Will 

you Will I This is hard work – to believe that the Lord Jesus 

Christ is still drawing all people to Himself. 



WHY HAVE SUCH A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE 1.6 

BILLION MUSLIMS BECOME CHRISTIANS 

“34 THESES” 

by Greg Livingstone 1 

Thesis One: Only God Himself can “open eyes” and convince a 

Muslim to ‘bow the knee’ to Isa Al Masih as Saviour and Master. 

Matt.16:17; John 6:44. Historically, however, God has chosen to do 

that when and where His messengers are in residence spreading the 

teachings of Jesus in a language easily understood. 

Thesis Two: Opposition and close-mindedness to the claims of Jesus 

Christ are rooted more in historical events than in theology. 

Thesis Three: Unless both the messenger and the recipients have 

succeeded in clearing away the barrier of historical offenses, it has 

been very difficult for a Muslim to seriously listen and internalize 

what the messenger of Christ was presenting. 

Thesis Four: The most basic reason that Muslims have not responded 

to the claims of Christ, if offence was forgiven, is that those Muslims 

were still not acquainted with respected persons in their own 

society who had put themselves under the living Messiah’s authority. 

Thesis Five: It is the Koran-believing Muslim’s duty to oppose any 

teaching that gives preference to or contradicts Mohammed’s teaching, 

or a person who gives more authority to any revelation (e.g. The 

Bible) above the authority of the Koran. 

1 Dr Greg Livingstone has spent forty years working in India, the Arab World, Europe 

and Malaysia. He served as the Director of Arab World Ministries-North 

America, and assists the Muslim work of the Evangelical Presbyterian church’s 

World Outreach. The partnership of the sending churches of Dr Livingston and his 

wife has led to the placement and coaching of over 1000 long term missionaries in 40 

Muslim countries with these and other agencies. 



Thesis Six: Better taught, obedient, more articulate Muslims are 

aware that they are commanded to convert Christians, as opposed to 

being open to listen to Christian teaching. 

Thesis Seven: Muslims adhere to, and emulate those most respected 

in their extended family or community. Since Muslims have no personal 

acquaintance with (or too few) examples of a ‘significant other’ 

in their lives who put reliance on Christ’s act of atonement, and make 

the resurrected living Christ his utmost authority, they have not 

been able to conceive of any radical departure from their tradition. 

Thesis Eight: Unless what it means to be an obedient follower of 

Christ is understandably distinguished from the behaviour of the socalled 

“Christian masses” (especially Westerners), Muslims perceive 

very little ‘good news’ in our message. Muslims have been unceasingly 

told by their leaders, “Look at the West; Christianity doesn’t 

work”. 

Thesis Nine: “Christian mission” from the time of Constantine, 300 

A.D., until the Protestant Reformation was most often simply pressuring 

non-Christians to be baptized and to switch their allegiance 

from their local Imam to a particular ecclesiastical Bishop, Pope or 

Patriarch (plus practicing some minimal confessions and practices 

deemed most important by those rulers). 

Thesis Ten: Until the late 1700s, the conviction that all men everywhere 

must admit, repent, and consciously confess their reliance on 

what Jesus of Nazareth did on the Cross [sacrificing Himself to atone 

for their rebellion, evil motives and behavior) and on his resurrection 

from the dead, surrendering to Him as their daily Master, i.e. justification 

by faith alone, was a premise of mission that was barely understood 

by Christians, thus few were capable of spreading a biblical 

message to Muslims. 

Thesis Eleven: Even among those who recognized what Evangelicals 

today understand as “the Great Commission,” very few saw it as 

pertinent for their day or community of believers until the evangelical 

revivals of the late 1700-1900s in Europe and North America. 



Thesis Twelve: Among the small percentage of Protestants determined 

to “preach the Gospel to all people(s)” very few considered it 

realistic for themselves or their fellow church members to take up 

residence among Muslims with the purpose of making disciples. 

Thesis Thirteen: The quantitative problem: Missionaries living 

among Muslims have been typically only one and two at a time in a 

specific location, with momentum lost due to significant gaps of time 

between them and the next ones taking up the task in that place or 

among that people (ethne). 

Thesis Fourteen: The missionaries most gifted as evangelists avoided 

Muslims, preferring to go to Latin America, sub-Sahara Africa, 

China, Japan, Korea, Philippines etc. where the resistance was less 

and audience more open. The few taking up residence among Muslims, 

historically, have tended to be gifted more as scholar-teachers 

or medical personnel, not evangelists. 

Thesis Fifteen: Because “missionary visas” were created by colonial 

powers, Muslim countries gaining independence ceased to issue such 

visas, especially for direct evangelism/church planting. From 1945 

to 1975, countries not issuing missionary visas were considered 

“closed” and therefore not an option offered for missionary endeavour 

by church and agency leaders. 

Thesis Sixteen: In both the Roman Catholic efforts and the 

Protestant era between 1790-1900 - what Latourette calls “the Great 

Century” - missionaries sailed PAST the Arab world – Turkey and 

Persia. In Russia, China, India, and Southeast Asia they avoided the 

Muslims to concentrate on tribals, low-caste Hindus, Chinese or the 

Eastern-non-evangelical Christians. 

Thesis Seventeen: Historically, even where there has been some 

witness to Muslims, there is little precedent for attempting to establish 

churches wherein the Muslim background believers were the 

majority in the church. Yet, unless seekers can experience a new 

‘family’ of their own people, committed to seeing their needs for a 

spouse, house, work, education and protection provided, it has been 

considered unsustainable to identify and integrate believers from Islamic 

families with the Christians from non-Muslim background. 



Thesis Eighteen: Until quite recently, the vast majority of existing 

churches in Muslim majority countries have not welcomed Muslim 

seekers, assuming their motives to be sinister and/or that allowing 

them into the fellowship would bring violent retaliation from other 

Muslims. 

Thesis Nineteen: Historically, due to poor communication methodology, 

even where some daringly proclaimed the “Good news”, it was 

not heard as ‘good’ news, but rather as bad news, e.g. “do not honour 

your father and mother” or “reject your community’s traditions.” 

Thesis Twenty: Because Muslims have tended to react violently or 

at least with violent threats, Muslim-background believers historically 

have been ‘sent away’ to a safe place, i.e. extracted from their 

community, usually never to return to their own clan. This was intended 

to be loving, shepherding practice, but resulted in not only 

missionaries getting a reputation as ‘kidnappers’ or cult-leaders, i.e. 

evil people who destroy family solidarity, but in removing a witness 

from his community. 

Thesis Twenty One: Missionaries have tended to invest in the first 

available seekers who usually were persons already marginal in their 

society and much less able to influence others. 

Thesis Twenty Two: Unless there was a sufficiently large group of 

Muslim background believers, fear both among the handful of converts 

and the messengers has prevented the believers from meeting 

openly enough to attract other Muslims. Hence reproduction or 

church growth has typically been thwarted. 

Thesis Twenty Three: The doctrine of the “priesthood of the believer,” 

mixed with Western culture, unintentionally produced individualistic, 

unaccountable missionaries who, if s/he won a Muslim, 

tended to disciple him also as one with little accountability, with little 

self-denying commitment to other believers. However, only community 

can reproduce community. 

Thesis Twenty Four: A corollary of individualism has been the 

Protestant insistence on individual confession and baptism. Muslim 

societies, being eastern, however, tend to make corporate decisions. 

Choosing a religious alliance is not often an individual decision. It is 



considered neither noble nor wise to ‘stand up against’ the family or 

community authority or tradition. 

Thesis Twenty Five: Since the 1970s, church growth theory has 

encouraged workers to ‘go to the responsive.’ This notion automatically 

excludes most Muslims peoples from the opportunity to have 

long term church planting teams in their midst. 

Thesis Twenty Six: Historically, coaching has been minimal. Missionaries 

intrepid enough to venture out to the Muslims most often 

had very few models to emulate or learn from, and therefore little 

idea how to proceed, fruitfully making disciples among Muslims. 

Thesis Twenty Seven: The specific goal of establishing separate 

“Muslim Background Believer” (MBB) churches with their own leadership 

in the same areas where churches of non-Muslim believers 

exist, has been endorsed by agency leadership only since the 1980s. 

Earlier, and among not a few agencies today, to avoid bringing the 

MBBs into the non-Muslim background churches was considered by 

Western missionaries to be violation of the unity of the Church. 

Thesis Twenty Eight: Missionaries historically were unwilling to 

take embedded animistic practices seriously, e.g. that jinn (demons) 

are part of a Muslim’s everyday life. Therefore, their message was 

felt to be minimally relevant to folk-Muslims. Protection from demonic 

powers is paramount. 

Thesis Twenty Nine: The western tradition of emphasising sin and 

forgiveness has not touched the Muslims felt need or concern because 

Islam sees bad practices as “mistakes” not repugnant to the 

Creator. Avoidance of shame, not forgiveness, is the dominant feltneed. 

Thesis Thirty: Too few messengers have sustained residence among 

Muslims because of a weak theology of suffering. If one has the goal 

of avoiding suffering, s/he will avoid proclamation to Muslims where 

they are the dominant population, especially if the area has Muslims 

killing Christians or other Muslims. 

Thesis Thirty One: An overemphasis on security (not getting discovered 

as having intent to convert Muslims) along with the fear of 

expulsion (or loss of resident visa) has reduced the level of proclama- 



tion of Christ’s claims. Even full-time missionaries tend to wait until 

asked before presenting the need and how to obtain Eternal Life. 

Thesis Thirty Two: Evangelical Christians who are a minority in 

Muslim dominated societies are most often unwilling to witness to 

Muslims because of the ill treatment they have suffered, and/or from 

fear of persecution. 

Thesis Thirty Three: The emphasis on “Business as Mission”, on 

one hand, has enabled witness to exist where missionary visas are not 

granted. However, it has also commonly ‘entangled’ the would-be 

church planter into doing business to the extent that few leave fellowships 

of Christ-following Muslims behind when they leave the 

country. 

Thesis Thirty Four: Some good news: The 1970-90s birthed a fresh 

concern among Evangelicals for the peoples of the world without 

access to churches that operate in their heart language and culture. 

Since the oil embargo of 1975, and especially after the end of the cold 

war with Communism, evangelicals have become aware of the hundreds 

of Muslim peoples in the world as never before in history. 

Awareness has bred concern which has led to much greater involvement. 

Therefore, the number of would-be disciple makers focused on 

Muslim peoples has increased four-fold. 



BOOK REVIEW: 

MESSIANIC JUDAISM: A MODERN MOVEMENT WITH 

AN ANCIENT PAST 

BY DAVID H. STERN 

Stern has presented us with a vigorous and readable defense of Messianic 

Jewish thought. His differentiation between Israeli and American 

branches are appreciated. His sensitivity to the historical progression 

of Hebrew Christianity (which was instrumental to the 

foundation ofthe Diocese of Jerusalem, of which I am a member) is 

also laudable. 

The book has a number of typos and misspellings, which is odd 

since it is itself an edited and expanded version of an earlier book. 

The main drawback of this book is his handling of biblical material. 

He spends a good amount of time countering replacement theology, 

which claims that the Church replaced ethnic Israel as the covenant 

people of God after the advent of Messiah.. In this, he fails to 

deal with the more nuanced and (I think) compelling scholarship 

which proposes a fulfillment theology. He also rejects the interpretation 

that Jesus having fulfilled the Torah, means it is no longer in 

effect. But that is to ignore another interpretation, which understands 

Jesus’ words as meaning that his ministry and his privileging 

of the prerogatives of the Kingdom of God over the Law of God (ie, 

healing on Shabbat) is what fulfills the Torah; the most profound reality 

of Torah is only brought out, completed and made full within 

the ethical and eschatological contours of the Kingdom life which 

Jesus taught. Such an interpretation would then see the Torah in the 

light of the Kingdom kerygma coming to fruition and pointing beyond 

itself – and beyond ethnic Israel to a reality open to ethnic Israel 

but larger than it. Whatever ethnic Israel was and is, it was and is 

only insofar as that earlier Israel inheres with the one, true Israel – 

Yeshua/Jesus. Matthew understood this well when he radically reappropriated 

Hosea’s historical recollection, “Out of Egypt I have 

called my son.” 



Nor does he give an account of why he feels justified in connecting 

the secular State of Israel, proclaimed in 1948, with the Davidic 

Kingdom of Judah. He proposes that non-Jews should have rights ‘in 

the Land’ but not ‘to the Land’. But what if they owned the land for 

centuries and have the legal documents to prove it The ethical issues 

related to occupation are very demanding, and the author barely 

touches on them. Nor does he specify what exactly the borders of 

‘the Land’ are. These are pressing issues since Yeshua/Jesus had a 

great deal to say about justice and nothing to say about Jews politically 

controlling Palestine. 

The author’s appeal to Arab Christians and Messianic Jews to listen 

to each other and learn from each other is laudable and appreciated. 

But his simultaneous zeal for Messianic Jews making Aliya (migration 

to Israel) is a bit difficult to square with that. What if, upon 

listening to Arab brothers and sisters, they come to realize that they 

don’t believe the Land really belongs to Jews, and the ‘right of return’ 

is unethical 

There is a battle going on right now for the hearts and minds of 

American and European evangelicals, without whom the continued 

existence of the State of Israel would be considerably more difficult. 

This book is a credible attempt to win them over. He also speaks to 

Messianic Jews about their own issues and problems, and suggests 

constructive ways forward for them, while also trying to convince 

non-Messianic Jews that Messianic Jews really are Jews. Regarding 

the first goal, I do not think most of his arguments succeed. Regarding 

the latter two, as someone who is a mere Messianic Gentile, it is 

not for me to say. 

D A Miller 

Nazareth Seminary 

Nazareth, Israel 



A TRIBUTE TO BISHOP KENNETH CRAGG (1913 – 

2012) 

GIVEN AT THE ANNUAL REUNION THE FRIENDS OF ST. GE- 

ORGE’S COLLEGE JERUSALEM 

May 2 nd 2013 

I am very much aware that there are many better qualified to speak 

here today and give a word of thanksgiving for the life of Bishop 

Kenneth Cragg, who died last November at the age of 99. So, I am 

particularly grateful to be given this opportunity to own up publicly 

to the debt I owe this remarkable man. Gentle and unassuming, beloved 

of his wife Melita, at home in all things Arabic, passionate 

about language and mission, convinced, as he put it, that Christians 

must find in their relationship with Islam, “….a poetry that might replace 

the prose of old controversy.” 

As an example of this, we may take these words from an early article 

by Kenneth on Christian –Muslim dialogue, written in 1955. 

Always a great lover of Shakespeare, he used the prologue to Act IV 

of Henry the Fifth to describe the situation as he saw it between these 

two faith communities. He used Shakespeare’s imagery of the 

warring armies of France and England encamped within listening 

range of each other on the night before the Battle of Agincourt, 

“…when creeping murmur and the pouring dark 

Fills the wide vessel of the universe. 

From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night, 

the hum of either army stilly sounds, 

that the fix’d sentinels almost receive 

the secret whispers of each other’s watch; 

fire answers fire; and through their paly flames 

each army sees the other’s umber’d face:” 

I came to know of Kenneth Cragg in the 1980’s, but first met him 



around 1992 when he had already retired from a long and distinguished 

career. This career began and ended in Oxford and in between, 

included academic posts in Beirut, Sussex, and Ibadan, as well 

as time as Warden of St. Augustine’s College of the Anglican Communion 

in Canterbury, and lecturer at Hartford Theological Seminary 

in Connecticut, USA. But one suspects that his heart, even in 

these places, lay in the Muslim world and with the Arab Christians 

who had lived so long within it, and where he spent so many fruitful 

years of his life. This began in 1939 as a chaplain in Beirut, and was 

to span a period of 35 years until his formal departure from Jerusalem 

in 1974. His literary output was prolific – over 40 books, and innumerable 

articles – but it felt as if they all had one aim in mind: that 

could be summed up in words that he wrote in 1957, in his role as 

Study Secretary of the Near East Council of Churches based in Jerusalem. 

Here, the year after he published his seminal work, “The Call 

of the Minaret,” he had become a residential Canon at St. George’s. 

He wrote, 

“…the desire is that Christ be fully and truly known in all His significance, 

both for man and God: that Islam should have available a Christianity 

disencumbered of the prejudgements by which it is hitherto confused; 

that the love of God in Christ should be known and experienced 

by the Muslim and that the Church, as the fellowship of that love and 

experience, should be open to the Muslim heart…these are not concerns 

for the cultural prestige of Christendom but for the Muslim discovery of 

Christ…. They are not the prerogative of one section of the Church but 

an obligation of all.” 

That year was to see a new pattern of summer school being established 

at St. George’s, Jerusalem, with Kenneth Cragg as a lecturer, 

in a form that I suspect was the immediate forerunner of the modern 

College that we celebrate here today. Kenneth’s lasting involvement 

with the dynamic of Jerusalem, with its multiple and conflicting identities 

and the need for a new Anglican structure which would more 

clearly express its Arab character and destiny, led to his appointment 

as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese in 1970. Thus, he saw through 

the changes that would culminate in the appointment in 1974 of the 

first Arab Bishop of the Diocese, the Rt. Revd. Faiq Haddad. Under 

his successors, Bishop Riah abu elAssal and Bishop Suheil Dawani, I 

was also to serve in more recent years whilst licensed to the Church 



of the Redeemer in Amman, Jordan. 

When I returned from Amman, I continued to visit Bishop Kenneth 

in his apartment in Oxford, and then also, latterly, at the College 

of St. Barnabas near Lingfield in Surrey, where he spent his last 

days. Even there, his sense of unfulfilled passion carried him on, always 

writing, always able to converse with lightness of touch and 

deep Lancastrian humour. My last meeting with him was in August 

2011 at an extraordinary event for the community at St. Barnabas. 

They had decided that they themselves would host Kenneth’s latest 

book launch, a volume entitled “Bent to Literary Event” (the first 

time such an occasion had been held there, I am told). The passion 

was still there in the script made public that evening, and it was there 

in the words that he always offered in these kinds of moments – 

wide-ranging, spontaneous, gracious, always surprisingly modest and 

yet awesomely profound. 

An authentic and faithful Christian, he stands for me as a guide to 

a mountain range that remains still largely unexplored in our own 

time –Muslim encounter that brings understanding and transformation 

to both umma and church. Time will tell if a new generation 

will take up that task of exploration or not. However, it will 

surely remain as one of the more important challenges that face us - a 

task that is summed up in this quote from Kenneth Cragg’s fine chapter 

on how the Middle East continues to affect us, published in 2000 

for the bicentenary of the founding of the Church Mission Society. 

“The degree to which Muslims might be suspicious of, or receptive to, 

such Christian rapport with their own searchings, must turn on the degree 

they perceive it to be genuine and disinterested. Dialogue is still 

suspect in many quarters as being no more than disguise for ulterior designs 

or former postures more cunningly contrived. Such misgivings 

may best be allayed and authentic good faith exchanged if interfaith negotiation, 

using the term advisedly, avoids the old formulae that ensnared 

and clogged Muslim-Christian discourse down the centuries from 

John of Damascus to CG Pfander. Christian custody of the inner meanings 

of divine Trinity, the Sonship of Christ, the incarnation, and the 

cross has too long been trapped into credal or verbal minutiae that have 

‘darkened counsel’ and ill-served the meanings they handled in the Graeco-Roman, 

Latin, context far from the rigorous Semitism of quranic 

norms. 



We need a search for mutual discourse that can faithfully take its departure 

from where Muslims are by dint of how their Qur’an has given them 

to be. This does not involve any final Christian compromise, seeing 

that a common, if also disparate, theism belongs with us all in our convergences 

and contrasts. Faith is fulfilled rather than compromised in 

caring, like good handwriting, for its legibility. Interpretation is where 

truth keeps faith.” 1 

1 The Church Mission Society and World Christianity, 1799 -1999 p. 140ff.

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