War and Peace in the Middle East: Reflections

My writeup of the interview with James…

Mohammed was a bad Muslim from a region controlled by rival clans engaged in crime. A drug dealer for thirty years, he’d done ten years in prison for murder. In prison, he’d cried out to God to make himself known. Now released and at home, God woke him up one morning and told him to go and wait outside for his messenger.

Meanwhile a German missionary near the end of his time in the country was driving through the region, his rental car company was tracking his movements and became concerned that the car had been stolen. They knew how dangerous the region is. They remotely disabled the car and it rolled to a stop outside Mohammed’s house. Through a translator, the German shared the gospel, and Mohammed believed and was baptized.

Six months later, God connected Mohammed with James and Hope, two Americans serving in the Middle East. They met Mohammed and they met his two wives and sixteen children. One of his wives explained, “I wish you’d come earlier. Since meeting Jesus he no longer gets drunk, he no longer beats us and he’s given up cocaine.”

James went with Mohammed to share with his sister’s household. When his jihadi nephew came home and discovered his parents wanted to follow Jesus, he took a rock and threw it at his father narrowly missing him but hitting Mohammed and putting him in hospital. Mohammed became known in the village as, “Our very first infidel.” He responded to the attack with love but didn’t stop talking about Jesus. The story has spread to other villages and now he is known as a man of forgiveness.

James and Hope trained him to make disciples and immediately he began to share the gospel. Within two weeks Mohammed had two relatives to baptize, but didn’t know how.

They met at James’ place and while the bathtub filled with water, he took them through the study on baptism. James baptized the first one showing Mohammed how to baptize his cousin. Mohammed refused, James insisted. Mohammed came out of the bathroom staring at his hand saying, “What did I just do!” Something came over him and he realized he was made for this.

This was the beginning of a movement among Muslim background Arabs somewhere in the Middle East.

James took Mohammed on what he calls a “modeling journey.” Mohammed is from a large clan and has relatives everywhere. They visit a home, share the gospel and the story of Zacchaeus with another Muhammad and he believes. They get in the car and drive with Muhammad to one of his relatives. James announces, we’ve come to share an amazing story with you and Muhammad is going to tell it (with a little help from James).

Family after family want to follow Jesus.

It’s no longer safe for James, a Westerner, to travel with Mohammed but that’s ok, Mohammed has led Mahson to Christ and trained him. They travel throughout their region going from place to place. Mahson emerges as “Paul” to Mohammed’s “Barnabas.”

In Mohammed’s village, twelve families have become disciples and there are baptized disciples in 35 villages in the region. Mohammed and Mahson are out most days sharing the gospel and making disciples. They’ve set a goal to have at least one church in every village in their region.

When a household believes they work through a series of studies called the Commands of Christ in a three thirds pattern. Then commissioned to reach their community.

Mahson and Mohammed return to the villages and pick up a local leader to go with them to open up a new village. “Paul and Barnabas” are building teams with their own Silas, Luke, Priscilla and Aquila.

Now Mahson and Mohammed focus on this next layer of leaders learning to do what they do. They have twenty leaders who go into unreached communities, share the gospel, baptize new disciples, teach them to obey Christ’s commands and gather as church.

As the movement develops, James says his role is always changing but his relationship with Mohammed and Mahson stays the same.

“We talk on the phone every day. We treat one another like family, even though Mohammed is twice my age. I treat him like he’s my father. His health’s not great, so I’ll drive him to the doctor. Hope will call him to make sure he’s alright and is taking his medication.”

In the early days James’ role was more directive. Now he’s pushing them to find solutions in the Scriptures. They do their own problem-solving and keep him in the loop.

One of Mohammed’s disciples died of cancer. His background was Shia Muslim. When a Shia dies there are all kinds of rituals and prayers from the Quran that must be prayed. Shias if they do these prayers the right way and follow the ritual, it'll help the deceased when they face judgment.

Yet this man had died a follower of Christ, set free and forgiven.

Should they let the prayers go ahead?

James pointed Mohammed and Mahson to the Scriptures for the answer. They read the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and concluded that Muslim prayers can’t harm this disciple, he’s with God. But there will be 300 Shia Muslims at the funeral who need to hear about Jesus. They need a chance to repent, before it’s too late.

So they allowed the Muslim prayers over the body, and then 300 Shia Muslims heard the gospel.

James says his role changes as the movement spreads. Mohammed and Mahson are now more experienced in leading a movement than he is. James relates to them as peers and points them to the Scriptures as their authority.

War in the region has forced James and Hope to play a background role supporting the emerging leaders. This is an Arab movement, at a time of great turmoil in which people are looking for answers. They’re turning to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Recently a militiaman arrived at the home of one of the disciples, Moses. He threatened Moses and his family for turning to Christ and left.

The leaders of the movement gathered around Moses to support him and decide how they should respond.

Moses was a leader in a large and powerful clan. Many of his people had recently become disciples of Jesus. Some of the younger men took matters into their own hands.

They forced their way into the militiaman’s house and told him, “You don’t come to our leader’s house! You don’t threaten him and his family!”

Then they broke his arm.

Meanwhile Moses and the leaders were deciding not to respond to the threats of violence with violence, but with forgiveness. That was Jesus’ way.

When they heard about the attack on the militiaman, Mohammed, Mahson and Moses drove the young disciples to the hospital to apologize and to pay his medical bills. They drove to the man’s home and apologized to his family.

On the way home they told them, “What you did does not represent Jesus’ teaching. If you do it again we’ll treat you like you’re not followers of Jesus.”

Moses is from a powerful and feared clan. It’s the first time in history that anyone from Moses’ clan has asked the forgiveness of someone from the militiaman’s clan. It happened because of the gospel.

Like Peter in the garden waving his sword, the young disciples were ready to fight, ready to go to jail, ready to defend the gospel — but in the wrong way. They learned an important lesson that night and the news of what happened spread throughout all the whole region. These followers of Jesus are a people of peace who forgive.

If they can reach their district it will open the door to reaching every district in their country. Even now the gospel is traveling through their disciples into other Arab lands.