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Dutch pioneer missionary and founder of Open Doors Brother Andrew says he has preached the love of Jesus to Hamas, the Taliban and Muslim clerics in Iran. Recently he was invited to appear on national television in Iran, and has visited Pakistan and Afghanistan, where a Taliban leader told him he's welcome back any time. The 79-year-old missionary says he personally has baptized scores of Muslim radicals, and he challenges other Christians to follow in his footsteps. In his words, "The doors are open, their hearts are open, but are we open?" "We have created an enemy image of Muslims," Brother Andrew says. "We fear fundamentalists who acquire nuclear weapons or emigrate to the West to take over our neighborhoods, imposing Sharia law. But maybe the real reason why we fear Muslims is that we won't tell them 'God loves you'. Do we see members of al-Qaeda or Hamas as potential temples of the Holy Spirit? They won't be if we don't pray for them, and if someone in whom Christ dwells doesn't go to them. I believe God calls Christians to join a new 'jihad' - one of forgiveness, radical love and unyielding prayer." What happens when Muslims Believe in Christ? Brother Andrew just launched a new book: 'Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ', written with Al Janssen. "I wanted to tell the stories of Christian communities in Pakistan such as Shantinagar, destroyed by Muslims, and how we publicly said 'We forgive you Muslims for what you've done to us'. The result: within a year we had a community centre, a literacy centre and a clinic there. Because the Christians were so open and learned to forgive, it was a new start." Many Muslims who came to faith in Christ have faced serious, life-threatening persecution, including being disowned and even hunted by family and community, living under constant surveillance and with terrifying threats, being kidnapped and arrested, interrogated, tortured and even killed. However, "the opportunities that we have to show God's love to Muslims are almost unlimited," Brother Andrew says. "When I tell my stories people say, 'Can you do that in a Muslim country?' My reply is, 'Absolutely!' The biggest meetings of my missionary career of over fifty years are in the Muslim countries. There's no problem getting a lot of people together. Unless we change our mind and become positive, and begin to look at Muslims and learn to pray for them, and then contact them and witness for Jesus, then nothing will change. But I believe we can change!" The most effective way to fight terror "I have problems with the phrase 'war on terror' or 'war on terrorists'. That is the same as 'war on sin'. It refers simply to people who follow the evil desires of their heart, and the method to do something about it is already 2,000 years old - go and preach Christ to them! I've never met Spirit-filled Bible believing Christians who put explosives around their waist. So this is the only effective - very effective - way to fight terror: lead them to Christ. But then you first have to love them. Secondly, you have to go there. They grow bolder because they think we're cowards. They're scared of us and the more we get into a defensive attitude, the fiercer they will attack us. So to change the roles, we have to get on the offensive. Go in there and contact them, which is relatively easy, and simply share Christ with them. You'll see that they're receptive and warm; they're people like us who have wives, family, children, and grandchildren. They want to share their faith and I want to share my faith, so there's no problem here." "I'm convinced that this is the time that we should aggressively love Muslims, pray for Muslims, go to Muslims without any prejudice or fear. Rather, let's fear God, and may that fear drive us into the so called 'Enemy Camp'. Actually, they are not enemies, because Jesus said, 'Pray for your enemies. Love those that persecute you'. If you love your enemies, they're no longer your enemies, they become your friends. But it's our initiative, it's our act of faith. What we do in the name of Jesus will change the balance." Sources: Brother Andrew, Associated Press, Peter Wooding (UCB) |
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