This past week we went to a Conference on the Future Present Youth in Lebanon. The implication being that the youth is shaping the future already in the present. It was at a Seminary so it clearly had a religious context. It looked at the role of mosques and churches in the youth of Lebanon. It’s safe to say that I am completely confused at Lebanese politics and the seven main parties which split up religions and sects and is the cause of much of the volatility here in the past 30 years torn by civil wars and strife with Israel. I heard it said that if you can understand politics and culture in Lebanon, then you will understand the Middle East- as Lebanon is the melting pot for many beliefs and views.
The conference highlighted youth work among Muslims and Christian youth in Lebanon by sharing statistics and best practices, but the richest time for me was learning the history of the country and the cultural and sociopolitical undertones present. Many of the presenters were from all over the Middle East so it was so encouraging to hear what God was doing in places like Egypt, Iraq, England, Lebanon, and France. One of the richest times was actually the breaks and meals where you could just talk to people from all over the world. It was especially difficult to hear from people from Iraq, Kenya, and the Sudan. Each of these groups of people was leaving a place where there was extreme violence. The Iraqi people, for a week did not have to worry about a bomb going off in their cars, or walking next to someone who was strapped with explosives. The Sudanese man was asking for prayer as there country is about to vote, a thing that has always brought on civil war in the past in addition to the normal terrorist activity. The Kenyan group was working with Somalian refugees in Kenyan who are being killed by historically Christian tribes and are escaping one of the most volatile places on earth in Somalia.
While at the conference, we had a couple of relaxing times and watched a couple amazing movies. “Persepolis” is about a Iranian girl growing up in the Islamic revolution. It is hilarious, touching, informative, and oddly enough- a cartoon. The movie is an autobiography of a writer who lives in the US and I highly recommend it. The other is called Paradise Now. This is a incredibly controversial film is about two young Palestinian men who are essentially trapped in the Palestinian refugee camps in Israel. They feel they have nothing to live for as there is no work inside the camps and decide to become suicide bombers if there is an assignment that they can go together. It tracks their very ‘human’ thoughts and emotions as they battle to find if there is another way to make a statement in this war torn area or follow the line of other martyrs that were not able to change the situation. It is a movie that leaves you speechless at the end. Highly recommeneded
In the end, it really solidified what we are aiming to do- bring the Kingdom to Muslims in a contextual way by honoring their families, their religious background, and their desire to have their lives count for something. I mean context in that using forms and having conversations that honor and speak to them. For instance, if I know that you love UGA football, it would behoove me to learn a bit about the culture of Athens, who are the big players, the coach, and what issues the dawgs have (one of those being Florida- go Gators!). If I want to influence you or tell you there is something even better than college football (Jesus and His Kingdom), I should learn about what you value most in life. That’s what we aim to do in a Muslim context. And yet, I know it is still entirely possible to be an incredible follower of Jesus and a UGA fan at the same time!
*Please do not hear me say your love for Georgia football is anti-Jesus. Mark Richt is a great man and I mean his bulldawgs no disrespect. I was going to use the a team from the World Cup- but that would not have been ‘contextual’ enough for audience of this blog. Thank you…
