Muslim Contextualization I

The first article sets today’s C5 Messianic Muslim movement against the   backdrop of several rather surprising blessings and assignments from God throughout biblical history. Yet another spectrum is introduced, helping us see that not all Muslims are the same, especially in their attitude toward Islam, and that God is therefore using a variety of approaches all along the C1–C6 Spectrum to draw Muslims to Christ. The implications of accepting or rejecting God’s diversity is discussed, along with the call to unite in cooperation and mutual support amidst varied philosophies of ministry, in order to complete the task of reaching all Muslim peoples with the Gospel. Parshall is also concerned about C5 believers who sometimes only identify themselves as “Muslims” without immediately articulating their faith in Jesus. In response to this, Bernard Dutch has written a seminal article on the highly complex issue of self-identity among Muslim background believers (MBBs). Dutch’s phenomenal insight into the mind of MBBs comes from many years of experience in one of the world’s largest Muslim countries, where an incredible number of Muslims already poured into the Kingdom. Stuart Caldwell lays an exegetical foundation for C5 Messianic Muslim communities in his superb exposition of how Jesus modeled contextualized church planting in Samaria. Caldwell further challenges us to seriously rethink how the time-honored metaphor of “church planting” may very well be sending us in the wrong direction. He offers fresh biblical and missiological insights for a powerful alternative. Jameson and Scalevich show the remarkable biblical similarities between today’s Messianic Muslims and first-century Jewish followers of the Way. The first-hand case studies illustrating each point provide precious insight into how God’s approach to raising up of C5 Messianic Muslim communities is not as new as it may appear. Rick Brown uncovers the critical biblical texts to help us not only explain Jesus’ ‘Son of God’ and ‘Son of Man’ titles to Muslims effectively, but also to understand it more fully ourselves. His poignant analysis with linguistic implications for contextualized translations will enrich both the missionary in training and the veteran mission practitioner. John Travis, author of the C1–C6 Spectrum, and Andrew Workman give us an upclose look at C5 through several amazing case studies from where they minister. They also directly address several of Parshall’s concerns, articulating what C5 is, and what it is not. Finally, Jonathan Culver completes our Special Edition with a fascinating treatment of the remote origins of Islam through the Ishmael promises. Culver then explores the contextual implications of God’s promise to Abraham for the worldwide Muslim community, both now and in the eschatological age to come.