Mateen elass biography of donald
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About
What are the odds that a son born to a Muslim father, raised for more than a decade in Saudi Arabia, schooled in western philosophy and psychology, and then trained in eastern mysticism, should become a resolute Christian and ambassador of the gospel? Small odds indeed, when counted by human probability. But Dr. Mateen Elass sees this prelude to his ministry as witness to the amazing power of God to find and call His children to service-regardless of the odds.
Mateen was the second of four children born to a Syrian Muslim who had married an American while studying at the University of Wisconsin. Some years after Mateen’s birth, the family moved to Saudi Arabia where his father worked as an oil company executive. During his early teens Mateen began a search for God, largely through reading. For six years he focused on eastern mysticism and meditation including a stay at an ashram in India. Yet his nagging questions, Who is God? How can I know him? remained unanswered.
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Many people have asked me whether inom have ever written up the story of my spiritual journey in book form &#; the answer is no. But earlier this year, in anticipation of a book planerat arbete collecting the stories of twenty former Muslim converts I was contacted bygd the editor and asked to tell my story in beneath words. Knowing the editor personally, inom was lycklig to agree. Unfortunately, he passed away in an untimely mode and the project was abandoned. I&#;ve decided to post the material here for any who might like to know something of the grace of God grabbing hold of one particular human being&#;.
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My patrilineal roots reach deep into the ancient soil of Syria, with förfäder tracing our heritage back to ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, companion of the Arabian prophet and commanding general of the Arab Muslim armies that swept across north Africa. Whether that is true or not, my father was born and raised in a small by called Jabata Zayt on the shoulders of Mt
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Edmond minister to step down from pastorate to cultivate Muslim 'mission field'
EDMOND — The Rev. Mateen Elass looks back on his extraordinary faith journey with the firm conviction that the Lord has been preparing him his whole life for “such a time as this.”
Raised in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in a Muslim home, Elass converted to Christianity in his early 20s while attending college in America.
Now the minister is preparing to return to his childhood roots, in a sense.
Elass, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, is leaving the pastorate to devote his time to preaching the Christian Gospel to Muslims. He also wants to help equip the Christian Church to effectively do the same.
Sunday, Elass will preach his final sermon as leader of his church.
He said he loves his congregation but he must fulfill what he considers the calling of a lifetime.
“It was as if God said to me, ‘I’ve been preparing you for this all your lifeI positioned you so that you have a platfor