BY Carolyn Curtis 

As the twin towers of the World Trade Center tumbled to a smoldering heap on September 11, 2001, dust and debris seeped into apartments ringing the site that became known as Ground Zero. The whitish gray dust settled on every surfacesometimes an inch thickleaving an industrial-strength mess that professional cleaning companies charged enormous prices to fix.

Into the fray came Southern Baptists volunteering to clean it up at no cost. New Yorkers were wary at first. Wasnt there a catch, a hidden fee? Perhaps they would be asked to donate money or, at minimum, endure some well meaning but uninvited Bible thumping.

No, they learned, these volunteers were performing a ministry with no strings attached. All they wanted was a chance to serve.

But the volunteers did receive something in returninsights into the city that never sleeps and its sometimes-jaded apartment dwellers that were hurt in a personal and profound way by the tragedy of 9/11. As they picked through peoples cabinets and bookshelves and drawersand ultimately their heartsthey learned about New Yorkers bravery but also their fears and needs. They prayed with them. They listened. They even gave advice, when asked. And they went home much wiser.

Three who serve at the North American Mission Board and participated in the Dust Out spoke to On Mission about the experience: Susan McDaniel, manager, Editorial and Design; Sam Price, intern, Adult Volunteer Mobilization; and Melissa Moore, secretary, Adult Volunteer Mobilization.

Carolyn Curtis is editor of On Mission magazine.

On Mission: Tell us about the Dust Out and your role as a volunteer.

Sam: We cleaned apartments in the Gateway building a block from Ground Zero. They were in the dust cloud formed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. The dust was so fine that it found its way under doors. When we entered the apartments, they were all gray from the dust. Just a drab gray. Even the colored upholstery looked gray. It was in the kitchen cabinets and all the drawers. Everything down to the smallest knick-knack had to be wiped down.

Melissa: Every morning we stopped by the supply truck to pick up our equipment, a specialized vacuum for each team and a 30-gallon Rubbermaid container filled with dust wipes, Pledge, Mr. Clean, mops, brushes, face masks for us.

Sam: The vacs reminded us of R2D2 and had air quality filters able to remove a high percentage of micro-organismsdust particles.

Susan: When we arrived at each apartment, we would start at the location farthest from the door and clean out toward the hallway. We cleaned the window first, because it was usually coated with dust. We would vacuum the wall, vacuum the ceiling, wash down the wall, vacuum the floor and then start on everything in the room. Usually we would have to go back and wipe things down again, because we had stirred up so much dust in the process.

On Mission: So what was it like being at Ground Zero?

Melissa: There are no words to describe the realization that so many lives were lost. When we were cleaning the apartments, it was like looking down into a graveyard.

Sam: I remember the smell. Its like sulfur. When we were there, it was still smoldering. Water trucks were constantly dousing the fire.

Melissa: The whole city smelled. Even from the Empire State Building about 40 blocks away, you could smell it.

Sam: I think what struck me is the immensity. When I saw it on TV before I went, the pictures didnt do justice in terms of showing how big the area is.

Susan: Everything became quiet when they would find a body. The cranes and trucks would stop, and all the people came out onto the street. I remember one day when they found the body of a firefighter. They brought the body out in a coffin, draped it with a flag and put it on the back of a fire truck. And then they observed a moment of silence.

On Mission: What was the reception like from the people whose apartments you cleaned and from New Yorkers in general?

Susan: By November Disaster Relief workers had been there for two months, and people were accustomed to seeing the yellow hats and jackets and the familiar logo. Everywhere we went people were constantly coming up to thank us for being there.

Sam: They were very appreciative of the continued response by Southern Baptists. When they realized we werent there to take advantage of them, they were willing to let us help. Some cleaning companies charged thousands of dollars. It made an impact that we were there to do the work for free. They were impressed that volunteers from all over the country were taking their vacation time to travel there and help.

Susan: It was special for NAMB staffers, because we have both the privilege and the requirement to spend a week every year actively being on mission. Its left up to the individual as to how to spend that week. Volunteering to go to New York to clean apartments was a great opportunity to share Christ with others.

On Mission: Where did you stay?

Susan: The Brooklyn Navy Shipyard in what used to be the brig. We slept on one-inch thick mattresses.

Sam: Everything was pop-riveted to the floor. The facility was locked and had a New York City police officer at the door, which was nice. It was safe.

Melissa: The flights were donated by Delta. A Disaster Relief feeding tent was set up at the brig for meals, so we ate for free. Anything else we did, we paid for on our own.

On Mission: Tell us what you learned about evangelism.

Sam: Just how important it is to listen.

Susan and Melissa: Yes!

Sam: Being there to help builds a bridge and gives you the opportunity to share more if youre willing to listen and let people offer details of what theyve been through. We laid a foundation by being there to clean and listen. Now others can come in and do the evangelism.

Susan: A church-planting missionary recently rented an apartment in the Gateway building. I feel certain that, after the work we and hundreds of volunteers did there, doors will open, and hell be able to really make a difference in their lives.

On Mission: Any advice for readers who might be interested in doing something like this?

Sam: Just sign up. Every year Southern Baptists respond to disasters like hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. The training takes only a day and is offered by state Baptist conventions and local associations of Baptists all year long.

Susan: There are many ways you can share a cup of cold water in Christs name, but I dont think theres a better time than when someone is in the midst of a personal tragedy. Thats when they need someone to come alongside them and offer hope.

For information about Southern Baptists response to 9/11 and continuing efforts visit www.namb.net/911. You can also order NAMBs E-ssentials for the On Mission Church video, volume 2, number 5, by calling 800-634-2462. For information about Disaster Relief call 800-462-8657. 

BY LIEN NGUYEN

Terror gripped 13-year-old Khalil as he approached the customs desk at Baghdad International Airport. Under orders of Saddam Hussein anyone found carrying more than $500 would be hung in the public square, and his family and neighbors shot. Khalil was $34,500 over his limit.

Drops of sweat beaded down his back as he waited in the strip-search line. They checked his passport. It was one of the last to be stamped after the edict went out forbidding any more clearances. The customs agent waived him on without a search.  His fathers bribe of $60,000 to a security official had paid off. He looked back wondering if he would ever see his family again. Finally, he boarded the plane. With his older brother already attending college in New York, at least two of his fathers 10 child-ren would live to see freedom.

But Khalil was refused passage to the United States because the two countries held no formal diplomatic relations. Instead he arrived in London, alone. Speaking only Arabic he contacted a friend of a friend, and after obtaining a student visa, attended high school and then college in Birmingham, England. It was there that Saddams men found him, and beat him. They threatened not only his life, but also his friends lives. He was ordered to go back home to Iraq. Again, Khalil applied for asylum in America; miraculously the embassy said yes. Now in the U.S. he was back where he started alone. He cried out to God the only way he knew how, the Muslim way. But Allah was silent.

Then a still small voice carried him back to fond memories with a certain group of childhood friends who treated him and each other with kindness. They were called Christians and followed a prophet born of the Virgin Mary. Perhaps he should find out more about this man named Jesus.

It wasnt too long after attending Southwood Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that Khalil found what his soul longed for. But like most Muslims raised with false doctrine, he had several theological hurdles to jump.

This year, Khalil will graduate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Masters Degree in Divinity with Biblical Languages. He also served as assistant director for Good News for the Crescent World, www.gnfcw.org, a ministry that educates missionaries and laypeople on how to help Muslims understand the gospel. Khalil sat down with On Mission and shared a few of the most difficult concepts Muslims struggle with, plus recommended responses from on mission Christians to help bring their Muslim friends closer to the Good News.

Man has a sinful nature
In Islam I was taught that all humans are born innocent, says Khalil. Sin is seen only as a deed. They deny that it exists as mans basic nature. So when I went to a Christian church and the pastor said I was a sinner and that all have sinned, I thought, how dare he!

But according to the Quran there is only One who is sinless. The angel appears to Mary and tells her, I am only a messenger of thy Lord that I may bestow on thee a faultless son (Surah Maryam 19:19). The word faultless in Arabic, zakkiyya, means that he is totally without sin. The Quran also states that even Muhammad has sinned, But (ye Muhammad) seek the forgiveness of Allah; for Allah is oft forgiving, most Merciful (Surah Nisa 4:106).

On mission message: Ask your Muslim friend, Where then does sin come from? Honest Muslims will admit that evil and unprovoked thoughts come into his or her mind. Where does that originate? If you look at any culture in the world, sin exists. It has to come from somewhere.

Allah is not God
After becoming a Christian I realized that Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God, says Khalil. The term Abdullah in Arabic expresses that all humans are slaves of Allah. Master-to-slave is the kind of relationship Allah has with his creation. This differs from the paternal relationship expressed in the Bible that reads, As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him (Psalm 103:13).

Also, Allah hates sinners. He only loves those who believe and worship him, adds Khalil. This conflicts with the biblical version of a loving Creator. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Lastly, Allah is not a triune God. Muslims reject the truth of the Trinity and also the divinity of Christ.

On mission message: To the Muslim our claim that Jesus is God implies to them that we believe in multiple gods. However, in the Quran there is a Chapter of the Ants where Moses has an encounter with the burning bush. This means that God, the creator of heaven and earth, came down in the form of a flame to communicate with Moses. Ask your Muslim friend if it is possible that God could come down in the form of flesh to do the same? Are we, the creation, allowed to limit God-The-Creators methods?

Difficulty embracing the Trinity
To say to a Muslim that God is one, but then talk about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit boggles his mind, says Khalil. But because God spoke the world into existence His Word is a creative word. Therefore God exists as Himself and His Word [Jesus], but also as Spirit. Without a Spirit Hes a dead God. Without His Word Hes a God who cannot speak. So we worship a God who exists as Himself, His Word and His Spirityet one God.

On mission message: In Arabic when a poet composes a poem they say this poem is from the daughters of a poet; that is, it is the poets self-expression of all that he entertains in his heart and mind: feelings, thoughts, dreams and visions. We can explain that as the Word, Jesus emanated or was manifesting Gods thought and heart. Jesus emphasized this truth in the Gospel of Matthew: No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Matthew 11: 27).

There is no love and forgiveness for the Muslim
Growing up in the Islam faith Khalil was never taught that Allah is  love. Muslims will brag that Allah has 99 names or attributes. If you search those 99 names none of them is God the Father, nor God is love.

According to Islam, no Muslim can be sure of the forgiveness of his sins until the Judgment Day. The Muslim thinks that the good deeds will drive away the evil deeds (Hood 11:114; Angels 35:29-30).

Their law does not offer a substitute sacrifice, nor does it present free salvation to them. Every Muslim will receive his exact wages on Judgment Day, when all his iniquities and complete failure are then uncovered, says Khalil. The Law shall finally condemn its followers. No Law can justify the sinner, nor can it set the guilty free. The Law was given to judge the transgressor and destroy him. Because of the Law, the destination of everyone is hell. The Law is the just judge. No human is able to satisfy it.

Khalil finally learned the truth about God. We know that our God is love, he says. But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). This love guarantees eternal security: if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved.

On mission message: Boy do we have good news for them! God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). And our hope of escaping judgment is secure for the believer, that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting mens sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Pastor Khalil is available to raise awareness of Islam and equip churches for Muslim outreach. He may be contacted by email at amointl@hotmail.com. For more information on this subject contact NAMBs Interfaith Evangelism team at 770-410-6331 or order the Cross or the Crescent Resource Kit or the Interfaith Evangelism Belief Bulletin on Islam by calling 800-448-8032.

Lien Nguyen is a writer living in Modesto, California.

BY STEVE HAGERMAN

PHOTO BY JOHN SWAIN

Sharing the gospel with Muslims is no easy matter. Their concept of God is a distortion of what is revealed in the Bible. Although the followers of Muhammad accept Jesus as a virgin-born prophet, they reject His crucifixion and resurrection. Therefore they reject Him as the Redeemer and Son of God.

More than 30 years ago while stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Muslim Turkey, I asked the Lord to give me an illustration that would help my Turkish friends understand why the atonement of Christ is necessary for mans salvation. What follows is what came to me as I was reading the Matthew 25 account of Christ judging the nations.

Using this simple illustration, including wording and hand motions, Ive had the joy of personally leading many Muslims to faith in Jesus. I hope it will be useful to On Missions readers in sharing the gospel.

In the Bible, two sides of the Almightys character are shown to us. He is perfect and unchanging in both. These are presented symbolically as the two hands of God.

The left hand of the Most High is pictured as a fist. It represents His justice and anger.

(While speaking of this, I hold up my left hand as a fist.)

Because God is perfect and holy, He must judge and punish evileven wrong things done in ignorance.

The Holy Word tells us that Adam, the first man and the father of all mankind, disobeyed God. In doing so, he brought the curse of death upon himself, his descendants and all creation. By Gods decree, this curse has passed from father to child ever since.

The scriptures say that, like our father Adam, all of us have done wrong and fallen short of Gods glory. It is sad but true that none of our own deeds can erase the evils we have done. God tells us our own efforts to earn His forgiveness and acceptance are like filthy rags.

Death and separation from Gods mercy are the just penalty for our corrupt ways according to the writings of the prophets. The fist is a picture of the terror, shame and rejection belonging to all of us who have earned Gods anger.

The right hand of God is very different.

(As I speak of this, I hold out my open right hand.)

It is open and inviting, the hand of His mercy and forgiveness. It represents the Almightys love, acceptance and protection. This is the hand of favor and eternal life.

God is perfect in mercy, just as He is in justice. He yearns to show us His kindness. The New Testament tells us God is full of love for mankind.

This poses a dilemma. If all of us have done wrong and offended our Creator, how can He shower us with mercy and still be perfect in justice?

His unchanging character requires that all our misdeeds be judged and punished. And He has already revealed that the punishment is disgrace, torment and death.

The wonderful thing is that Gods mercy made provision for another person to take our punishment for us. But, to take our place this person must be one of us. To bear our curse, he himself must be free from that curse. He must also be pure and holy, totally sinless.

How can this be? To be one of us, our sin-bearer must be a descendant of Adam. Because God commanded that the curse of death pass from father to child, this seems impossible. How can any person fulfill these requirements?

There is only one way. In the Book of Genesis, God reveals the coming of a man called the seed of woman (Genesis 3:15).

(With Muslims I avoid speaking of Jesus as the Son of God until His role as Savior is understood).

In the writings of the prophets, we learn that this unique person must be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). Since the curse of death passes from father to child, only a virgin-born man can be a descendant of Adam without Adams curse. Only such a person can bear the judgment of God for us.

Is there such a man? And, if so, is He sinless? Is it possible He would be willing to die for us?

The amazing answer to all of these questions is yes.

Consider Jesus Christ. Unlike other prophets, He alone was born of a virgin. The New Testament records His sinless life and calls Him the Lamb of God. God sent Him into the world to be a holy sacrifice in place of all who put their trust in Him. He has already taken the fist of Gods judgment for us.

(I emphasize this with a brief hammering motion of the clenched fist.)

Two thousand years ago, He suffered disgrace, torment and death at the hands of evildoers. King David foretold this 10 centuries before.

Satan and corrupt religious and political leaders thought the death of Jesus was entirely their doing. But, it was the Almighty Who allowed it. He chose the time and place of Jesus death. The New Testament tells us Jesus gave His life willingly, knowing He could have called thousands of angels to intervene.

The Word of God says that three days following His great sacrifice for us God raised Jesus from the dead. His early followers met with Him and witnessed this fact. He was then received into Heaven, where He lives today. This sets Him apart from all other prophets.

Although He is a prophet, He is much more. At Gods appointed time, He will return to judge and rule the world.

Jesus has become the Bridge between the two hands of God.

(As I say this, I draw a bridge from the clenched fist with a motion of my right hand, which I then turn upward as an open palm.)

No one else has the right to say,I am the Way. Because of His death in our place, Gods justice has been fulfilled. The shame of our wrong doings can be removed, and the gift of forgiveness and eternal life can be ours.

Such mercy can never be purchased through our own efforts. To think our own deeds can make us worthy is an insult to God and His Holy Sacrifice.

How, then, do we receive this wonderful gift from God?

The Bridge from death to life is of no benefit to us unless we choose to pass from one side to the other. For this living Savior to be our own, we must place our trust in Him and what He has done for us. We are then to confess our faith in Jesus and ask God to forgive our sins because of Jesus death in our place.

When we do this with our whole heart, God begins to change us from within. We are then able to accept His help in turning from any immorality or wrongdoing in our lives. After we come to God in this way, Jesus tells us to complete our commitment by being baptized.

(At this point I ask questions that help me see if the listener understands, and if he or she wants to be led into a personal relationship with the Lord.)

Steve Hagerman, founder and U.S. director of Turkish World Outreach, lives in Grand Junction, Colorado.