SAF Newsletter December 2017

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South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter

Issue 29: December 2017

The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, it was set up to provide a place for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church. With the support of both individual members and church members totalling more than 20,000 people, SAF is steadily growing. Visit saf.eauk.org to get involved in supporting this wonderful ministry

S outh As i a n F orum of the

Evangelical Alliance

connecting, uniting, representing

by becoming a member of SAF. Once you become a member, you will receive idea, the Alliance’s bi-monthly magazine, as well as regular newsletters from SAF detailing our progress. If you are already a member of the Evangelical Alliance you can add SAF to your Alliance membership at no extra cost. In this instance please send an email to saf@eauk.org

Remembering the treasure By Clive Thorne

I love Christmas, don’t you? True, it can be stressful, trying to find the right presents for everyone, and hectic, preparing the annual family gathering. But Christmas also celebrates the wonderful news that God loves us enough to humble Himself and be born as a helpless baby in our world to save us from our sins.

It is good to give each other gifts and rekindle relationships once a year to remember this, the greatest gift of love and grace. Of course, it is not the actual day when Jesus was born but, as with so much else, it’s the thought – the remembering – that counts. And it is worth taking a moment to consider just what it is we are remembering at Christmas. Jesus, God, the only person who could choose where to be born, chose to be born in a stable to identify with the poor and homeless of the world. He came not with an awesome display of power but with weakness and in obscurity – only a few shepherds were told that night. He emptied himself, taking our form so that we could understand him better. And what do we see? A quiet humility that would live a carpenter’s life for more than 30 years; a grace that would say to someone his power had just healed, “Your faith has made you well”; a gentleness, kindness and mercy that would not break a bent reed nor snuff out a smouldering wick. A man who would sit with the despised and rejected, tax collectors and prostitutes, and become despised and rejected himself for their sake. One who preached only forgiveness and love for enemies and who would not raise the rebellion against Roman rule that the people wanted because he came to conquer death, not men and women. Yet he was falsely accused, beaten and tortured to death on a Roman cross to fulfil God’s judgement on sin, a judgement we deserved. The wise men brought their treasures – gold, frankincense and myrrh – but the real treasure was lying in the manger. Love incarnate, more precious than gold, indeed better than life itself. Do you see that this Christmas? That the gift of Jesus is worth more than anything else we could ever set our heart on. Christmas is such a great time to share this good news with others because almost everyone is more open to at least thinking about Jesus at this time. At Lighthouse International Church, Southampton, we try to make the most of the opportunities by having a

whole range of Christmas parties to which we can invite those who haven’t yet discovered him. There is one for the over 65s, one for primary school children, one for the Iranian members of the congregation with their friends and families, and another for students of our English classes, which include people from countries where it would be very difficult to tell people about Jesus, like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan. As a predominately South Asian church, where about half the congregation are Christians who have come to faith from Hindu, Sikh and Muslim backgrounds, our main carol service is followed by a shared meal – of curry! No mulled wine or sausage rolls here, to avoid offending our Muslim guests. Over the Christmas period, by God’s grace, we can have more than 100 nonChristians, mostly Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, coming into the church. For me, this is what Christmas is really all about – remembering the God who came and sharing him with others.

So yes, I love Christmas! I love it because I love Jesus, the greatest gift of all. Why do we so often allow ourselves to be so distracted by all the other things that we forget him? He must be the only person who is so often forgotten at his own birthday party! Don’t let us do that this year – rather let us pray him to open the eyes of our hearts anew to seeing the value of the treasure the shepherds saw. Clive Thorne is the author of Hidden in Plain Sight (Instant Apostle, 978-1909728-64-6, RRP £6.99), available from bookshops and online.


SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org

Top tips for sharing Jesus with other faiths By Mark Greenwood

I wonder how you view people from another faith or a cult? I think as Christians we can often see them in an unhelpful way, while also being a bit ignorant of their beliefs and practices. We can view them as “the enemy”, and yet in truth the vast majority are people with a genuine desire to connect with God. I totally believe Jesus is the only way to God but it’s my experience that people in other faiths and belief systems do feel some sense of spiritual fulfilment. We may think they are simply living up to rules and regulations, but they see it as a way of life that often affects their culture and the decisions they make. Know and live out your own faith well

In talking with people of other faiths, many Christians will be put to shame as we realise how committed we are, or aren’t, to our own faith. When we engage in conversation we’re often found with a serious lack of knowledge about what we believe and where in the Bible that verse is. It’s not enough for us to know that it’s roughly two thirds of the way through and highlighted in pink! (By the way, a quick note on that, don’t use your journaled Bible when sharing with Muslims and don’t put it on the floor - this shows a disrespect for your holy book.) Let me encourage you to know your own faith, what you believe and why you believe it. Know your Bible, read it cover to cover and memorise the scripture. I remember chatting to some Muslims and at that time I was in an extended time of prayer and fasting. They were seriously impressed and their level of respect for me increased as they saw I was serious about my own faith. Be as intent to live out your own faith as you are to share with other faiths. Think carefully about the types of questions that you are going to be asked by people from other faiths. This isn’t so that you can gain “one-up-manship” but rather so that you can give thoughtful answers to the questions you are asked. I’m very fond of 1 Peter 3:15 which encourages us to ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone…’ - but it also encourages us to do this with ‘gentleness and respect’. Let’s be as determined to be gentle and respectful as we are to always give an answer. Why not find out what you can agree on before you get to what you disagree on? Maybe then the strength of our relationship will be a better platform to share from. Testimonies are powerful, so make sure you share your own personal story. Talk about what your life was like before you became a Christian, how you became a Christian and why you did so. Talk about your journey with God since that time. The important thing to emphasise is relationship with God through Jesus and what He did. It’s not about how good we are but more about God’s grace.

Offer to pray for them

This isn’t always possible but sometimes there is an appropriate opportunity and it can be appreciated. And if you do pray for them, be sensitive - I’ve heard people praying like the person is not in the room! And as much as you are used to laying on hands in church when praying for people, it’s not best practice when praying for people in a one-on-one context. I would tend to pray to God thanking Him that He wants everyone to know Him - on the basis that this is actually a verse from the Bible; it’s a great prayer. I would ask God to reveal himself to the person as they seek Him. Share the gospel over time

As with any conversion, it’s a process, so when you share your faith, see it as a journey. When a person from another belief system becomes a Christian it is a massive commitment and they will likely feel very vulnerable, not least facing the possibility they may be even ostracised from their own family. It’s crucial therefore to introduce them to lots of Christians who will encourage them in their faith, as well as you meeting with them. We are asking them to doubt what they have believed in for many years, and even change their identity! Let’s not underestimate the choice they face.

I love John 14:6 where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me” - in particular the statement “I am the way”. This is what a Jewish person in Bible times would say when they were asked for directions. Instead of telling you how to get somewhere when you asked them, they would grab hold of your hand and wouldn’t let go until you got there. Jesus didn’t come to give a set of directions - he came to hold our hand and lead us personally to God the Father.


South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance

Waiting and listening By Sandra Haynes

Christmas is a feast of delicious food, seasonal TV specials and – all too often – awkward family dynamics! So many topics that are out of bounds and so much tension caused by careless words, all because we have lost the ability to truly listen to one another through the year. Robin Daniels, an empathetic and intuitive psychologist, knew the profound and healing benefits of wholehearted, attentive listening. Real listening requires a denial of ourself and our own ego, a willingness to freely give our time and space to another, that we may humbly enter the speaker’s world, as Christ did ours in the manger. What does this kind of listening look like?

Listening requires us to be still before God ‘Our hearts are restless Lord, until they rest in thee.’ St Augustine To listen to others we first need listen to God – our spiritual welfare and growth need this divine encounter. Spending time in silence before Him allows us to grow a heartto-heart connection with our maker. When our heart is aligned with his and at peace, then we become a worthy conduit of his love and are able to support others. Listening to God requires diligence on our part. When a couple meet for the first time, they spend each waking moment getting to know the other person. We are unable to know who God truly is and what He is asking of us if we do not spend time with Him to know Him personally as our father. Spending time alone to deepen our walk with Him is essential to listening to others when in company. Listening well ‘By honouring the other person, you may help him to honour himself.’ St Benedict challenges us to, “Listen with the ear of your heart.” We have two ears and only one mouth, therefore we are to listen twice as much as we speak and only open our mouth when it is truly necessary. Listening to the truth, however unpleasant that might be, requires us to listen with our heart and not our head – to treat the other’s true self as being worthy of being heard. When we listen with our heart, we allow the speaker the space they need to process not only their situation but also their emotions. ‘To everything there is a season … a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.’ Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7 Listening is a gift. Some people have that natural ability to not only listen, but listen well. They know when to remain silent and when to speak. In the silence they are not formulating their own thoughts and questions. Rather they are allowing the words of the speaker to take root in their being, waiting for and choosing the best moment to speak. They feed back what they have heard and with caution share what they perceive to be helpful.

Become a member - saf.eauk.org

Deep listening involves the whole person and so regular self-development is not only worthwhile but also necessary if we are not to be compelled to speak or judge by our own prejudices and unheard passions. To be well rounded we must guard our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Regularly and honestly reviewing our life will enable us to highlight imbalances and deal with them appropriately. This takes humility! Five gifts ‘Skills and techniques can be learned and can help to improve the quality and depth of our listening. But ultimately, being a good listener is like being a good artist. What you do stems from who you are and how you are.’ The five main gifts highlighted by Daniels in Listening: Hearing the Heart are: stillness, gentleness, selfknowledge, self-awareness and humility. And the greatest of these gifts is humility. Humility is loving and accepting myself for who I am and encouraging others to be comfortable in their ‘own skin’. Being humble means we are willing to learn new things, let go of old ideas and embrace the unknown. This is particularly important when accompanying others along a difficult path because, by being secure in not knowing all the answers ourselves, we can free the speaker to discover their own within. The benefits of being listened to ‘The core and essence of good listening is to support and accompany the speaker, while he reconnects with his own unique wisdom and self-belief.’ Reflecting on problems as another listens allows us time and space to bring our inner wisdom to bear. We all have the ability to find answers to most of our problems within ourselves, and talking to someone who knows that the answer we need is deep within us is liberating and empowering. We are encouraged to break free from the ties that bind and become the person God fully intends us to be. In conclusion ‘Love mobilises hope. This is the secret of good listening.’ Sandra Haynes, blog-writer at www.mindfulnessforchristians.com Listening: Hearing the Heart was published in October 2017 by Instant Apostle (ISBN 978-1-909728-74-5, RRP £8.99). It is available from Christian bookshops, from the website https://www.mindfulnessforchristians. com/shop/ and other online sellers.


SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org


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