The Future of Racism

Fascinating perspective on the future of race, at least in America, from Ross Douthat:

This future is unlikely to be as ugly as the past, because the case for formal segregation and overt racial discrimination isn’t going to come back. Nor, as I’ve said before, do I think that race is going to be the controlling cleavage of 21st century America: Already, I think religion, political ideology and social class can trump the color line as a source of polarization and division, and I expect that pattern to continue.

But I can think of a half-dozen reasons why public expressions of race-based hostility (of all sorts, not just against African Americans) might become more common, not less, as the America of the Boomers gives way to the America of the millennials. These reasons include

• the Internet’s tendency to make the taboo not-so-taboo anymore,
• our growing chronological distance from the institutional injustices whose successful overthrow made racism taboo in the first place,
• our culture’s obsession with genetic theories of just about everything,
• the fracturing of the Christian common ground that undergirded at least some of the belief in human equality,
• the way that diversity seems to increase social mistrust,
• the social gulf that increasingly yawns between upper-class whites who are invested in a multiracial society and lower-class whites who feel like losers in it,
• the potential growth of a grievance-based white identity politics as America becomes majority-minority, and
• the fact that white guilt over slavery and segregation — the foundation of the anti-racist consensus at the moment — will necessarily be a weaker cultural force in a country that’s more Hispanic, more Asian, and more non-white in general.

Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions

Ligon Duncan said that it was the best sermon on missions he has ever heard. John Piper tweeted, “This may have been the most powerful missions message I’ve ever heard. I needed to be quiet with God.” I have to say it was one of the best I have heard. How I wish other Christians would begin to grasp the implications of the gospel.

Listen or watch here:

Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions : Together for the Gospel

The Mormon Challenge

During the turn of the millennium the LDS Church had approximately 60,000 missionaries on the field engaged in full-time proselytizing, with an additional 6,000 more engaged in various service assignments (e.g. healthcare workers, craftsmen, and educators). These numbers make the LDS Church the single largest missionary-sending organization in the world. These missionaries convert well over 310,000 people annually. If the size of the LDS missionary force continues to increase proportionate to the growth of the LDS Chruch, in fifteen years there will be 110,000 full time LDS missionaries on the field. (The New Mormon Challenge: Responding to the Latest Defenses of a Fast-Growing Movement. [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002] 68.) These missionaries will be converting more than 672,000 persons annually.

Approximately 85,000 full-time Protestant missionaries serve worldwide (and many are not evangelical). Of these an estimated 20 percent are on furlough at any given time. Many others are not involved in evangelizing but function as staff in enabling humanitarian agencies. In contrast, all of the regular 60,000 LDS missionaries proselytize eight to ten hours a day, six to seven days a week, fifty-two weeks per year. The average LDS missionary baptizes between six and seven converts per year. (Ibid 2002: 414). For more on LDS missions, see Gary and Gordon Shepherd, “Mormon Growth and Mormon Missions in the Modern World,” in Shepherd and Shepherd, Mormon Passage: A Missionary Chronicle (Urbaba and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998), 1-18.

Paul Carden Observes that “few Christians in the field of missions seem to recognize the multi-faceted threat of the cults around the globe, consistently underestimating their resources, their determination, and the long-term impact they make on evangelism and church-planting.”(Paul Carden, “The Threat of the Cults on the Mission Fields of the World,” International Journal of Fontier Missions 15/3 (1998): 147.) With respect to Mormonism specifically, it must be pointed out that neither the Book of Mormon nor the message of LDS missionaries can make much sense to someone who lacks at least some basic knowledge of the Bible or Christian belief. Mormonism’s spread into new cultures is literally dependent on the success of Bible translation organizations like SIL/Wycliffe Bible Translators. Neither does Mormonism’s primary message of the restoration of the “fullness of the gospel” make much sense unless there are Christian churches already established that lack this “fullness.”

Dr. Stephen Mutuku Sesi, gone to be with the Lord.

We sadly record the passing of Dr. Stephen Sesi who died on Thursday, November 3rd in Houston, Texas, USA, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Stephen was born in a non-Christian home, but through the witness of his mother, who became a Christian in 1966, he eventually gave his life to Jesus Christ. He grew up in Coast Province, Kenya, where he had many Muslim neighbors. From those days grew his concern to make the church a better witness to its Muslim neighbors, and this became the later focus of his research, writing, and teaching. Dr David Kasali, then the Vice-Chancellor of Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, commended Stephen to JSM (FACT) for further training in the field of intercultural and theological studies. On his scholarship application form Stephen set out his vision as being “to train evangelists, missionaries and church leaders to reach Muslims in Africa effectively.” This vision he was able to fulfill in his later ministry. He undertook a PhD program at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, between 1997 and 2003, and received a doctorate in Islamic Studies. The topic of his dissertation was prayer among the Digo Muslims of Kenya and its implications for Christian witness. This was later published as African Worldview Change: the Case of the Digo of Kenya, (VDM Verlag, 2009). After graduation he became a professor of Islam at NEGST, now Africa International University. Stephen also recently contributed two chapters on ethnic conflicts and ethnic realities to a seminal book, African Missiology: Contributions of Contemporary Thought (Uzima, Kenya, 2009), co-authored with other staff at NEGST, including his wife Josephine.

Meritt Sawyer, formerly International Programme Director of the Langham Scholarship Programme, recalls Stephen’s time as a PhD scholar at Fuller –

‘I remember Stephen as a man who was passionate about the inbreaking of the Kingdom and he demonstrated this with his entire being. Every conversation between us over his five years in the U.S. (and there were many) was laced with his passion to train pastors for fruitful, contextual outreach to the Muslim community he knew so well. Coupled with his winsome smile and frequent jokes, his heartfelt conviction was imprinted on us as he and Josephine helped us to understand African realities.’

Stephen’s compassion was demonstrated when with his wife Josephine he founded a ministry among vulnerable and abandoned children in his home province. Makombe Children’s Home now cares for 55 children. Stephen was a member and ordained minister of the Africa Inland Church, one of the largest denominations in Kenya. He was a strong leader within the church, particularly in his home province.

Stephen was married to Dr. Josephine Katile Mutuku of Africa International University, and was father to James (Daystar University), Judah and Jesse of US International University in Kenya. A family man first and foremost, Stephen Sesi loved dearly his wife and sons, encouraging them to nurture the gifts that God had given them. He encouraged his wife to also pursue her doctoral studies so that they could become true partners in ministry. He had a keen sense of humor and his warm smile and larger-than-life charisma welcomed everybody into his presence. He will be deeply missed by his friends, colleagues, his family, and especially by his sons and wife.

MUSLIM COCOONS

There is a lot of talk in religious circles about the growth and expansion of Islam. Islam is arguably the fastest growing religion in the world. This is largely because the average Muslim family has 6.2 children while the average Christian family has 2.1. However, if you want to talk about shire evangelism effort which has turned into conversions I believe Mormons top the charts.

Still, what is even more unheard of, Muslims are changing their religious affiliation from Islam to Christianity. This goes largely unnoticed because of apostasy laws in Islam and family religious pride, which is virtually found in all families that adhere to a particular faith. In this context one must ask "Is it possible for Christians to share their faith with Muslims?" As this former Muslim makes clear, it is not only possible but a reality which is taking place.

Muslim Evangelism 101

Islam, like Christianity, is a missionary religion. Muslims want all people to submit to Allah. In the Muslim mind there is the house of Islam (Dar al-Islam) and house of war (Dar al-harb). Dar al-Islam means that the majority of people in a state are Muslims and they can implement Islamic governance.

Despite what some people think, Muslims do not primarily proselytize through violence or force. The majority of Muslims will admit they are to first and foremost rationally communicate the truth and revelation of Allah. The recording below was taken by permission of an elderly Muslim man in East Africa. The man had studied Islam in Saudi Arabia; however, he was born and raised on the coast of Kenya. The old man sincerely wanted me to be a Muslim.

The Confusion of Culture!

Culture is complex. The study of culture is weary to the mind (mainly because the one studying belongs to a specific culture). Culture within itself is not wrong or right, but amoral. The mistake of homo sapiens is to say that this or that is wrong sole on the basis that it is different than their own culture. I would go as far as to say the majority of religious convictions held by people are actually cultural preferences. This is sad to think people will supposedly "die" for their culture over their religion. So what's the key to understanding the confusion of culture? I don't know fully, but I am convicted, from my own experience, that one has to dive into the complexities of culture to begin to see the charms and harms of their own. So when I saw this article on tooth imperfection I started reminiscing how i spent thousands of $ on making my teeth straight. I thought it would be a worthy share:

Meanwhile, in Japan, a new fashion has women paying to have their straight teeth purposefully disarranged.

A result of tooth-crowding commonly derided in the United States as “snaggleteeth” or “fangs,” the look is called “yaeba” in Japanese or “double tooth.” Japanese men are said to find this attractive: blogs are devoted to yaeba, celebrities display it proudly, and now some women are paying dentists to create it artificially by affixing plastic fronts to their real teeth. CLICK HERE to read the entire article.

The Face of Harvest

I am excited to announce i have joined an non-profit organization (NGO) called Face of Harvest. I met the director of Face of Harvest, Isaac Moonzwe, in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009. Isaac and two other colleagues were networking with a medical clinic that reaches Somalis in Nairobi. Their vision of reaching the unreached in Africa and the Middle East matched mine. Their mission consist of biblical holism:

FOH was founded with a mission to advance “the wholeness of persons, families, and communities...” The concept of wholeness is derived from the Hebrew world “Shalom”, which is often translated into English as “Peace”. However, the fullness of the word conveys being ‘complete’, or ‘whole’. The concept of advancing ‘wholeness’ conveys the need for us to promote both physical and spiritual well-being without neglect of one or the other (John 14:26). FACE OF HARVEST embraces its mission to advance shalom/wholeness through out Africa and the Middle East.

To read more about this movement that i am flowing with CLICK HERE.

Changing seasons!

If you notice, my blog has a new name, Crazy Beautiful. You might ask, "Why the change?" The reason is simple, my life has changed. I am no longer at Negst; therefore, I can say sayonara to Aaron at NEGST. I not only graduated from Negst, but I also got married the same month. Some called me crazy, but i thought it was beautiful.

So why Crazy Beautiful? I feel this expression explains where God has my wife and I at this time in our life. Crazy in the sense that I don't know what God is up to. Experience has shown me that this is God's ways. I have observed He is not too fond of narcissism and pride. So in December I will pack my two suitcases with my wife and we will safari down to Mombasa, Kenya. Besides sweating profusely, we will be apart of Injili ya Tumaini or Gospel of Hope. Injili ya Tumaini's mission is to share the holistic gospel message to those who have never been given a chance to hear. We echo the words of Oswald J. Smith, "No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once."

So what's next? I could give you a fifteen page strategic plan (and I do have one), but something tells me I should not. I think this is God's crazy ways, we simply don't know everything, but we do know enough. My wife and I are excited for what God has for us because we know his plans no matter how crazy they seem are always beautiful. We are ready for this crazy beautiful life God has in store for us.

1+1=1