Greg Sinclair

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate this forum for discussion. Thanks also to Pat for suggesting a further question on revelation. Perhaps we will have ten hard questions in the future. To start that conversation, I googled Maurice Bucaille and discovered that he is a Catholic with a great respect for the Quran. I respect his "respect" but cannot agree with the indisputable authenticiy of the Quran. Bucaille applies higher criticism to the Bible which in his view makes the Bible less authentic. The Quran has never been subject to higher criticism. So it seems like an unfair playing field. The reality is that the Quran makes many statements that are contradictory to core Christian doctrines, so if it is authentic that is a problem for Christians. But maybe a better focus is on the manuscript tradtions of the Bible and the accuracy of transmission as evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls (OT). The core message of the Bible has been a consistent one for thousands of years and the focus remains on Jesus as God's Son and our Savior.

Thank you for all of your responses to this post. It is good to discuss these issues. I want to respond specifically to Elizabeth because this is a question that I often receive in seminars. Can you tell me which specific verse (Sura, ayat) you are referring to in the Quran? It would help me in formulating an answer. Thanks.

Thanks Daniel for the testimony of your grandfather and for pointing out that relationships are key for engaging with people of other faiths and witnessing to our faith.

Hey JP I don't know where your comments went, perhaps they were flagged for moderation - considered too sarcastic. At any rate it is only through honest discussion that we will find common ground in our approach to Islam. This debate has been going on at least since the 19th century evangelical missionary movement. We have different approaches but the Spirit of God leads us and Lord willing Jesus will be glorified. Whether you take a more contextual or historic approach, that is our end goal. I advocate a respectful stance towards Islam as an important part of that process.

This is interesting in that it shows the continuum of disability. When I lived in Quebec my ability to speak French was a disability. However, I could (and did) move back to English Canada where I could function more easily. Dan doesn't have that option. I think his point about other people judging his "accent' ir right on. How often do we judge other people (especially immigrants) by their accent. We are trained to judge people quickly (first impressions) and that is the problem. Better to be trained to reserve judgment, listen and love as a spiritual discipline.

Thanks for this post.

I am glad Ruth that you are having talks with your two Muslim friends. It sounds like you have a good relationship with them. Both the incarnation and the Trinity are major stumbling blocks for Muslims. But keep at it. There is no magic solution. If you are honest about your faith and are interested in their faith, and care about them, doors will open. These things take time. Sometimes God intervenes in miraculous ways and provides dreams and visions. But generally it is all about being good friends and modeling what life as a follower of Jesus is all about.

Webinars are archived and can be accessed after their viewing date - so you will still be able to listen to the webinar.

Webinars can be found at www. crcna.org/webinars under the "archived" tab.

Thanks for these thoughts Chris. How can we encourage the growth of the missional church in the CRC and with the church order? I think pastors have a role to play in the missional church but we are always working against expectations that they will do the ministry. Clergy will have some of the gifts (5 equipping gifts from Ephesians 4) but not all. This gives other leaders an opportunity to come around and use their gifts in a fuller way. The other complicating factor is the cost of paid staff in a small missional church that is seeking to replicate itself quickly. A stripped down mission oriented church (low budget, no or minimal paid staff and rented facility) seems to go against church order. How can we foster a Reformed missional movement without going the Brethren route?

Hans, re Woodward, good to think about. I think the gifts would be spread across both offices. So you would have elders and deacons with a variety of gifts - apostle, prophet, teacher, pastor and evangelists. However one would expect that elders would have more pastors, teachers, some apostles (which are generally rarer). Deacons would have more prophets and pastors. Some would be evangelists (again a rarer gift I think). The gifts are biblical and the offices are biblical so the matter may be more our job to identify them clearly and use them more fully.