Fears of civil war grow in Lebanon

Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon’s identity crisis may be coming to a head as clashes between anti-government forces and the government intensified last week. SAT-7’s David Harder confirms that the fighting trapped some of their staff and could disrupt SAT-7 KIDS channel broadcasts. “Everyone is worried that the fighting could escalate, literally, becoming much more street-to-street fighting than what we’ve seen already. And that is the fear, that more groups would be drawn in, that the fighting will become more intense, involve more people and really become a civil war.” The instability threatens to disrupt some SAT-7 broadcasts because of distribution complications. Harder asks prayer for the team: “They’re going to continue to try to make programs and, like they have in the past, they’re able to bring in pastors who can speak about what life is like, relying on Christ, in the middle of a crisis. They’re not just speaking about it in theory, they’re living it. Viewers know when it’s real, and people respond.”

• Pray that the tension will not escalate into civil war.
• Pray that the hope of Christ will continue to be broadcast through SAT-7 programs, without interruption.
• Pray for protection and for creative inspiration for the program producers and writers.

source: Mission Network News

The possibilities at Annapolis bring hope to the Middle East

Middle East (MNN) — Syria’s presence at the Annapolis Summit this week could help ease tensions in Lebanon. The country is divided by a leadership vacuum and political standoff. SAT-7’s David Harder says on the one hand, their team in Lebanon doesn’t have high expectations for the talks. On the other hand, “Having a conference where the Syrians are sitting down at the same table with the Israelis and Americans is a good thing, and hopefully the talks can lead to some real positive steps in the future. I know that will be a wonderful possibility for our staff, particularly in Lebanon, who are very concerned about the future.” The network’s broadcasts are bringing messages of peace across the region, but the tenuous situation is challenging to their team. “If people could pray that in Lebanon, a peaceful situation would be worked out politically, that would be wonderful, because having peace enables churches to do the kind of ministries that they want to do and enables us, as a Christian broadcaster, to produce the types of shows that we want to produce.”

Full story: http://www.MNNonline.org/article/10625

Rumors of war grow in Middle East while ministry marks 5 years

Middle East (MNN) — Saber-rattling in the Middle East is making headlines again. Iran is threatening Israel, militants are bombing Lebanese Christians, and Israel declares Gaza an “enemy.”

 

In spite of war and rumors of war, SAT-7’s Debbbie Brink says SAT-7 Pars marks five years of ministry this year. “Since that channel has launched, our audience has grown tremendously. We’re hearing fantastic stories of people coming to Christ in those Farsi-speaking countries. We’re hearing a lot of reports on people watching this channel more than almost any other channel in Iran.”

 

Brinks says SAT-7 Pars deliberately chooses not to tackle political issues. Instead, their programming focuses on hope and peace. “I think we attract viewers in these times because they’re looking for an alternative message. They’re tired of all the conflict and the war, and they do see opportunities for learning more about God’s love, His forgiveness, reconciliation and peace.”

 

Full story: http://www.MNNonline.org/article/10374

Lebanon’s future hangs as rivals fight; believers share peace

Lebanon (MNN) — The United Nations Security Council is condemning two targeted public attacks in northeast Beirut Tuesday. SAT-7’s Naji Daoud says the situation has taken a dramatic turn for the worst and morale is plummeting. “The different parties are back to threatening each other. They’re back to taking sides against the other party or accusing each other, et cetera, et cetera. So, unfortunately, yesterday’s (Monday’s) bombings did take us a lot of steps backwards.” Lebanon’s future peace hangs precariously in the balance. Daoud says this makes their staff even more determined to encourage their viewers. “Even in our life programs, we’re still proclaiming the message of Christ. It’s really a more effective when it’s coming from a disturbed place like Lebanon. We’re telling the Christians in the Middle East, that in spite of our situation in Lebanon, we Christians still have a voice. We want the Christians in the Middle East to ‘hang in there’. We want to support them.”

Full story: http://www.MNNonline.org/article/9599

NoorPod Ready to download

New Podcast available, direct from Lebanon.

Noor means Light in Arabic, thus the name NoorPod=LightPod

Bringing you reports, news, updates and interviews from and about the Middle East. You can click on the left under NoorPod, if you wish to listen on line.

If you want to subscribe in Itunes follow these steps:

1. From Itunes go to the top left menu and select “Advance”,
2. Then select “Subscribe to Podcast…” and enter:
3. http://mideastoutreach.com/noorpod/noorpod.xml

After that all you have to do is right click on NoorPod, and select Update Podcast.

Just exactly what is a PodCast?

Think of a podcast as a radio show. Each show consists of a series of individual episodes that you can listen to how you want on your PC, using your MP3 player, or with just a web browser.

You can listen to these episodes one at a time (say using your web browser) or you can ’subscribe’ to the entire podcast series using software on your PC like Itunes. When you subscribe to a podcast, all new shows will be automatically downloaded to your computer as they are published. And if you have an MP3 player like Ipod, the next time you sync your device, your podcasts will be downloaded for listening on the go.

Arabs work toward resolving Lebanon crisis; Christian radio broadcasts hope

Lebanon (MNN)–Anti-government demonstrations in Beirut enter their fourth week, with a concerted effort toward resolving the crisis.

Boiled down, Lebanon’s complex political crisis began after Prime Minister Fuad Saniora rejected a demand for a national unity government. Hezbollah wants Cabinet veto power for itself and its allies.

In response to the denial, six Hezbollah supporters/ministers resigned from the Cabinet sparking demonstrations in downtown Beirut since Dec. 1 to try to pressure the prime minister into quitting.

The people are wading through the Advent season with a growing sense of impending civil war. Words of Hope’s Lee DeYoung says they’re countering with the message of hope. “There continues to be operation of Words of Hope’s Arabic ministry inside of Lebanon. Thus far, there has been no direct impact from recent events, including the assassination, and now the demonstrations.”

DeYoung says despite the unrest and bombings, their staff has been unharmed. Overall, the Christian community stepped forward and reached out to the Muslims during the crisis. “We can hope that those seeds planted will bear fruit in the future. Meanwhile, broadcast operations and ministry continue inside of Lebanon even amidst the current pressures and activities, which certainly do raise some concerns about what may take place in the future.”

Words of Hope broadcasts Christian radio in Arabic and Farsi throughout the Middle East. DeYoung sums his vision up this way: “We think that the interest in radio programs and other forms of outreach, although these are times of great pressure, there is great risk, but also there is a growing hunger.”

Looming civil war in Lebanon forces ministry to call for urgent prayer support

Lebanon (MNN)–The shadow of a possible civil war looms over Lebanon today. Escalating violence and political instability between pro-Syrian and pro-Hezbollah supporters has forced the city to its knees.

As of late Thursday, sit-in protesters were still in place in Beirut. Martyrs Square is full of people who are resolved to topple the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Fouad Sinoria.

The atmosphere is tense Christian Satellite Network SAT-7 has also felt the impact, so says David Harder. “They had an entire day’s shoot scheduled on our women’s program that had to be canceled. We had one celebration that was planned, being hosted by the Bible Society of Lebanon, which is a celebration for our ‘Year of the Family’. It has been a special campaign going all throughout the year, where we’ve had many programs on the air. This celebration had to be canceled because the event organizer just felt they couldn’t invite people to come.”

Though SAT-7 is taking a neutral stance and not participating in the political tug-of-war, the staff is concerned about the future. So far, none of SAT-7’s 22 full time staff members have been directly affected by the political unrest.

Harder urges prayer for the local ministries like SAT-7 that are being affected both psychologically and logistically. In the meantime, the team continues to bring the hope of the Gospel to people through their broadcasts.

What’s more, they’re responding. “Once a week, we have this live show and they deal with difficult issues. They had a show, not long ago, on death, which you wouldn’t think would be a very uplifting thing, but it’s something that people have to deal with on a daily basis. So they talked about the hope Christians have, life after death, and peace that we can have in spite of situations that happen.”

Through locally-produced Arabic children’s programming, talk shows, teaching programs, music, serial dramas, and documentaries, SAT-7 provides large audiences with a unique opportunity to hear an accurate presentation of Christian truths in their own language through programming created by their own people.

Organizations featured in this article:

SAT-7 P.O. Box 2770 Easton MD 21601

Phone: 410-770-9804 FAX: 410-770-9807 Email: usa@sat7.org URL: http://www.sat7.org

Lebanon upheaval creates new paths to outreach.

Lebanon (MNN)–Diplomatic efforts intensified in Lebanon this week as a standoff turned deadly. The tensions are palpable.

Hezbollah-dominated protesters filled downtown Beirut demanding change. Lebanon’s army responded giving rise to fears of sectarian violence.

This brings to life the specter of the country’s 1975-90 civil war, with shifting alliances among Lebanese political parties.

The mood is surly, and the ones caught in the middle are the refugees. In the midst of this threatening crisis, an HCJB World Radio medical missions team just returned from work in south Lebanon.

‘Sheila’ says their time ended just before the streets erupted in rioting. The work they accomplished in the region, she explains, was timely. “Clinics and local health centers were closed. Healthcare professionals had left the area.”

A brief cessation of hostilities meant refugees were returning home to see what was left. However, the medical community was largely gone. Shiela says, “The role that we fulfilled during the time that we were there was really just walk-in clinic basis and really taking care of people’s chronic health needs. What we actually found was that a lot of people who came to our clinics really just wanted to talk.”

Informal debriefing sessions went a long way toward opening ministry doors for the team. Sheila notes the outcome of the conflict in Lebanon may result in an even more evangelical church. “This has really been a wake-up call for them to reach out to their neighbors. Many of them had been evacuated to Beirut. Many of them had rubbed shoulders with some of their Muslim neighbors that normally they would not have contact with. They realized that as they were all in it together, that they were just the same as everybody else.”

Area churches have taken ownership of the relationships HCJB began and are building on them. Teams will be doing follow-up in the days ahead. Please pray for their safety as peace remains a tentative issue in Lebanon.

Organizations featured in this article:

HCJB World Radio P O Box 39800 Colorado Springs CO 80949

Phone: (719) 590-9800 FAX: (719) 590-9801 Email: info@hcjb.org URL: http://www.hcjb.org

One Fifth of the Population…

Number of Lebanese refugees caused by war: at least 700,000
Lebanon’s population: 3,500,000
So that’s a fifth of the population that was made into refugees

Statistics taken from the Arabist.net

Prayer for Peace is needed in the Lebanon / Gaza, Israeli Conflict

We must continue to pray for Peace and not slow down. I think that we as Christian must not allow ourselves to develop a hatred towards Arabs & Muslims. It is our mandate to preach the Gospel to all the peoples of the world. Jesus said that if they hate me they will also hate you. I think that if we are not careful we will get caught up in taking sides, and can easily become anti-Arab.

I don’t agree nor do I condone any terrorist attack. I agree that all terrorist acts should be prosecuted by any country in which a terrorist attack would take place.

However, us as Christians must continue to proclaim the gospel to all people. It is our responsibility to reach out, to press forward, and to advance the Message of Jesus Christ. I believe that true change will only come about through the Truth of Jesus Christ. It is also our responsibility to continue to pray for Israel, and to see all Israeli’s come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the true way of Faith.

God bless,
Robert Jimenez