Welcome to the Outer Court
Thomas Friedman famously said “when it comes to discussing the Middle East, people go temporarily insane.” I’ve found this to be mostly true but try anyway to curate sane conversations around the issues and what we can learn specifically from the Middle Eastern church.
My family and I lived in the region for the better part of a decade and we quickly fell in love with Arab hospitality, desert landscapes and falafel. We learned from Arab Christians that have been there a long, long time and made some Muslim friends too. We met Arabs who surprisingly were not terrorists, but people with stories. We met some extremists and learned they are people too. And we became embroiled in a very real conflict in the Holy Land: who has the best hummus.
When it comes to discussing the Middle East, people go temporarily insane.
-Thomas Friedman
I started researching in the region first as part of my work advising foundations and non-profits in the region, and then undertook formal doctoral work with the Extreme Beliefs/Strong Religion research group out of the Vrije Universteit Amsterdam, partially funded by the European Research Council.
When I first got involved in non-profit work and mission efforts 25 years ago I frankly had a US-centric, skewed perspective. I has been taught the Middle East was hopeless and most Palestinians were terrorists. I am still learning from our Arab brothers and sisters. They demonstrate pathways to peace, how to love one’s enemies and the importance of hospitality. They have been salt and light in difficult, hostile environments and demonstrated that beautiful community can be built in diverse and even sectarian societies.
The Middle Eastern Church has much to teach us… like practicing the ways of Jesus might actually work.
So, we’ll discuss here the strange and fascinating intersection of mission, deradicalization, extremism and the church. And occasionally cycling. I once rode my bicycle all the way from Amman down to the Dead Sea. What a rush. I still pedal quite a bit and race and pretend I’m young again.
The Middle Eastern Church has much to teach us about how to confront racism, polarization and extremism, what mission looks like in hostile environments and how practicing the ways of Jesus might actually work. The outer court of the ancient temple is where all the ‘others’ gathered. The outsiders and the ones that weren’t a fit. It was a place of prayer for the nations. Will you come along and learn with me?
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About Scott
Scott Gustafson has extensive experience in the Middle East as a practitioner and consultant with faith-based charities and churches in humanitarian relief and mission work. He earned his PhD in Religion and Theology from the Vrije Universteit and researched the religious conversion phenomenon among former Muslim refugees in the Levant and the de-radicalization of some violent extremists among them. He is a member of the Extreme Beliefs/Strong Religion working group at the VU, funded by the European Research Council and is the Ambassador Warren Clark Fellow at Churches for Middle East Peace. He earned an MA in Intercultural Studies/Middle East Studies from Moody Graduate School, and a BA in Nursing and Biology from Western Michigan University. He studied Arabic at the University of Jordan and holds a certification through the Cultural Intelligence Centre as a CQ Certified Facilitator.
Scott advises large funding agencies as well as indigenous organizations in the Middle East and is an advocate for peace. He speaks to groups about mission, Islam, the Middle East and countering extremism and radicalization. He also helps run a non-profit cycling team. Scott and his wife have 2 children and they live in Grand Rapids, MI.
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