After more thinking since my email reply to Hwa Yung, I skimmed through some this book by Prof. Lamin Sanneh whom I heard last year and was more impressed by his interaction with the questions than his presentation. You can get a taste of what I mean here.
Allow me to just post some stuff that caught my attention so far from my quick glancing:
Responding to whether the growth and renewal in World Christianity (with specific reference to Africa for example) have been all gain and no loss …
“… on the gain side the churches have grown: membership has increased, in many cases exponentially; and communities of hope have come into being in areas of strife and despair . But on the loss side, false prophets have appeared, schisms have spread, the simple and ignorant have been taken advantage of, ethical standards have slipped with political corruption. …” (p. 32)
On a succint & precise definition of “conversion” …
“Conversion is the turning of ourselves to God, and that means all of ourselves without leaving anything behind or outside. But that also means not replacing what is there with something else. Conversion is a refocusing of the mental life and its cultural/social underpinning and of our feelings, affections, and instincts, in the light of what God has done in Jesus.” (p.44)
Very much enjoyed his interview, although it really pains to read about his struggle to be embraced by the Christian community. How cool the dude must be!! God’s strength would have seen him through.
I am also not bogged down by ‘converting’ people; rather just want to open dialogue too.
This gave me insight as to some preconceptions Muslims have of us and it is helpful to realise this. The knowledge should encourage us to grow-