October 28, 2021

Middle East Consultation 2021 Recap Series: Disciple Multiplication Movements

By Warrick Farah On September 30 – October 2 ABTS hosted the Middle East Consultation 2021 entitled “Towards a Dynamic Church: Making Disciples, Developing Leaders, and Engaging Society in Lebanon and Beyond.” The three-day online event invited local, regional, and global voices to consider urgent matters of faith and witness […]
October 21, 2021

Christians Listening to Secular Music: What is the Impact?

By Abed El Kareem Zien El Dien A Christian friend of mine challenged me lately to stop listening to (what he calls) secular music-any non-worship music that does not glorify Christ or pinpoint listeners to the gospel-for the upcoming three months. Instead, I am only permitted to listen to Christian […]
October 14, 2021

The Maddening Guide for Christian Organizations to Send Much Needed Aid to Syria

By Wissam Al Saliby Imagine that a Christian or a church in the U.S. or in Europe is eager to partner with Syrians in Syria for church ministry and to serve the poor. They get in touch with a small group of faithful believers who are actively ministering in their […]
October 7, 2021

On Romanticizing Staying or Leaving Difficult Places: A Reflection about Christians and the Middle East Today

By Caleb Hutcherson The views and conclusions in this post represent the author’s opinion and do not represent the views of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. I wonder if this is the year that we can finally stop glorifying staying in Lebanon and idealizing leaving it. In my family’s 13 […]
September 30, 2021

The Re-Modeling of the 21st Century Church into a Business-Like Enterprise: An Unsettling Trend of Ecclesiology

by Walid Zailaa Two years ago, I was privileged to be invited to serve as a pastor of a local church. In my relatively new capacity, I am always faced with the question of connections, networks, and partnerships (especially with the West) to such a degree that I thought for […]
September 23, 2021

Repost- Death in the Shadows of Displacement: Forced Migration, Deathliness, and the Hope for Life

By Brent Hamoud This is a revised version of a post first published in 2018 How do we share a world with over 82 million victims of displacement? This is a defining question of the 21st century as unprecedented numbers of individuals have been uprooted from their homes and thrust into precarious […]
September 16, 2021

Middle East Consultation 2021: Thinking Ecclesiology from Lebanon to the Middle East and the World

Change is daunting. Rethinking ideas, questioning practices, and scrutinizing convictions can likely lead to unknown consequences. Our desire for a sense of normalcy can often make even minor tweaks feel monumentally upending. The adage that “the only constant in life is change” extends to all of life, but it is […]
September 9, 2021

Getting Real in Prayer

by Kees  van der Knijff Too often these days, I find I am unable to pray more than a few words: “Lord, have mercy.” Overwhelmed by all that is happening in Lebanon and all around the world, everything else seems shallow, superfluous. Other mornings, I hear myself pray for justice, […]