Herbert Hoefer
This article, which was presented in an earlier form at the 2006 ISFM conference in Atlanta, was originally meant to be a standalone paper. However, because Gary’s ten questions are addressed directly to advocates of “insider movement Muslim ministry,” we at IJFM asked several such advocates to respond, and five sent in comments. For purposes of comparison, we also asked Herbert Hoefer, whose expertise is in the Hindu sphere, for his comments. Since Gary’s paper focuses specifically on Muslim ministry, however, Hoefer’s comments on the Hindu situation will appear separately on p. 21. We invite you, our readers, to send us your comments and perspectives as well.
. . . A Word about Format
We want IJFM to be more of a conversation, a dialogue (regular readers of IJFM may have noticed that in recent issues we have been including more responses). To avoid needless repetition and make it easier for you to judge the merits of our respondents’ reactions to Gary’s paper, we are embedding their comments within the text itself. We would appreciate your feedback on this experiment. Readers who wish to get the flow of Gary’s paper first (without all the intervening responses) can easily do so by reading just the text between the heading Gary Corwin and the first respondent’s name (e.g., Brother Yusuf), then skipping down to the next Gary Corwin and starting the process over again.
. . . Who Responded?
The biographical information on each respondent is presented below, followed by any introductory comments the respondent may have sent.
□ Brother Yusuf
Brother Yusuf grew up in a respected and religious Muslim family in a traditionally Muslim country. As a young man he developed a desire to read all of God’s books, and this led him to read the Bible and to discuss it with a missionary. After coming to faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he fled his Muslim family and community and assimilated into a traditional Christian community. There he received further training and became a preacher and Bible teacher. This was thirty years ago.
With time Brother Yusuf saw the futility of extractionism, and he developed a vision for incarnational ministry within his community and the planting of biblical fellowships. Sensing God’s calling to this vision, he and others returned to their community and started Bible study groups and house fellowships that retained a Muslim cultural identity and maintained a witness within the community. Since that time he has been one of the spiritual leaders of the insider movements in his country. He and his colleagues have often endured persecution instigated by religious clerics, both Muslim and Christian.
On the 28th of September, Brother Yusuf was interviewed by Rick Brown, who presented him with Gary Corwin’s ten questions. Brother Yusuf’s responses are listed below. They have been edited slightly for clarity, and in some cases they have been abridged or summarized because of space limitations.
□ Rick Brown
Rick is a Bible scholar and mission strategist. He has been involved in outreach to the Muslim world since 1977. Gary Corwin has raised some valid concerns and questions. They are valid because they derive logically from his premises. Unfortunately, some of the information available to him is faulty, and faulty premises lead to unsound conclusions. My responses are addressed to the questions and the information involved rather than personally to Gary himself, for whom I have full respect. Many of my comments have been informed by my interview of Brother Yusuf and from my interactions over the years with Messianic Muslims in various countries.
□ John Travis
John has lived for twenty years in Muslim communities and traveled extensively throughout the Muslim world. He has been heavily involved in two Bible translations for Muslim readers and assisted in a number of others. I am happy to respond to some of Gary’s heartfelt concerns. I have focused on only three of Gary’s points and his closing statement.
□ Kevin Higgins
Kevin is the Executive Director of Global Teams and GT’s acting Director of Pioneer Teams. Kevin developed a work in a majority Muslim country that has resulted in creative evangelism among eight language groups and emerging people movements in four of those.
At the meetings of the International Society of Frontier Mission in Atlanta (September, 2006), Gary Corwin asked those of us who are “pro-Insider Movement” to consider 10 questions he posed in his paper. This is a very brief follow up to that request. My replies will be short, but I hope will address some of his concerns and in so doing, also address the concerns others may share. I do not claim to speak for all of those who advocate the “insider paradigm” as a viable and biblical model (among other viable and biblical models).
□ Rebecca Lewis
Rebecca is assistant professor of History and Islamics at William Carey International University. She has worked with her husband Tim in Muslim ministries for 15 years, eight of which were spent in North Africa.
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