“Whether you’re in Lebanon or the US, I think as Kingdom people we need to rise above that worldly empire thinking,” he says. 

We should continually be asking the question, “What is the Gospel message and the Kingdom way of thinking and doing in this atmosphere?” 

If we give in to narratives of ethnic groups or religious sectarianism, we become vulnerable to deceit by worldly narratives, and we risk losing the Kingdom. 

“For example, the opportunity to reach Muslims could be jeopardized from either being afraid of Muslims or being angry with Muslims instead of showing the love of Christ to them,” Houssney says.

One way to avoid deception is to keep primary things first and secondary things second. Whether political, religious, or social, the issues need to be kept in their proper place. 

“We need to look at the hierarchy of these things and act accordingly,” he says. “We need to keep the Biblical priorities as the top priorities, and then we try to work out the difficult questions of how we deal with the social issues – the places where it gets really messy.” 

Houssney points out that in Jesus’s model of dialogue with and in front of the Pharisees, some conversations seemed aimed at the people being addressed, and some seemed aimed at the surrounding listeners.

Image courtesy of Sincerely Media via Unsplash.

“So I think for us as believers, we do need to have dialogue with believers in order to try to win them, but also to win the people we’re dialoguing in front of,” Houssney says.

No matter what type of dialogue believers engage in, it must always value the other speaker. 

“The issues are important,” Houssney says. “This doesn’t mean we should just lose arguments and compromise on the truth in order to make people like us. It’s not a popularity contest.”

But Jesus was uncompromising in His love toward the people even through his calls for their repentance. Houssney exhorts believers to act likewise, always testing our hearts and conscience as we engage with people who are not like us.

“If any news headlines bring up hatred and anger and bad fruit within us, then we know we are going in a path that is not godly,” he says. 

But if headlines motivate our love and strengthen our desire to fulfill the Great Commision, this is a good indicator we are on the right path. 

Please pray that believers would raise the banner of the Gospel in dialogue with others. 

Pray that the Lord would continue to send harvesters to the field, where so many people are waiting to hear His good news. 

Pray also that believers would cling to the truth of the Gospel and not give sway to worldly power narratives. As Houssney points out: 

“We as kingdom people should not be bought or sold.”

Featured image courtesy of Alexas Fotos via Pixabay

Low Engagement Signals Low Priority

Three years ago Barna Research’s State of the Bible findings sparked a passion at Wycliffe to increase discussions about the Bible in the United States. The numbers of people who owned a Bible or engaged regularly one were shockingly low. Even among those claiming to be Christians, research showed that regular engagement with the Bible was a low priority.

New Scripture Translation (Courtesy of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA)

Matt Petersen, Director of Marketing at Wycliffe shares, “And of course as a Bible translation organization that was a concern, because first of all, we value the Bible and want other people to engage with it because it transforms lives. But also, it’s difficult for us to get people in the US interested in helping other people get the Bible if they’re not seeing it as valuable in their own lives.”

Opening Dialogue with #WhyBible

The #WhyBible campaign was a way to start the discussion with Christians to talk about how they value the Bible practically.

This year Petersen is hoping that the campaign really sparks engagement between Christian individuals and organizations. The campaign needs to be more than a catchy slogan. The Bible offers Jesus’ Words of Life and discussing it is more than a side issue.

Petersen says the campaign is designed to do more than just catch attention. “But to really get people to think about how much do I value the Bible and if I say that I value it, what does that mean practically? Am I actually engaging with it in a regular and deep way that is actually going to change my life or am I just saying that I value it?”

Six Sweet Ways to Study Scripture

To help Christians struggling to find Bible engagement resources, Wycliffe is offering an e-book with six ways to study Scripture. It delves into different methods for Bible study that help readers view the Bible as more than the vegetables they’d rather not eat. Instead this collection of resources is designed to help people see Scripture like a decadent dessert that is just waiting for them to dig in.

“I think it’s important though not just to have the Scripture, but to use it. And that’s the experience that we have here in the US. Where most of us, even if English is not our first language, most people in the US have the Bible in the language they understand best.

“But there’s more to being transformed by Scripture than just having Scripture. You actually have to engage with it. You have to really take it seriously and dig into it in order for God to use it to transform you. And oftentimes we just have the Bible there as a symbolic thing, but we aren’t really letting it change us. And that’s what we want to see happen.”

Petersen hopes that this campaign will spark discussion and reignite the passion in some to study God’s Word. And that this in turn will cause Christians to become passionate about Bible translation around the world.

Jump in and Savor Scripture

Petersen challenges Christians to take a look at their Bible study habits. Is the Bible playing the role it should in your life?

On September 30^th Wycliffe will be celebrating Bible Translation Day. Christians around the US and the world have the opportunity to join in the celebration through praying for translation projects, partnering with organizations like Wycliffe to support translation financially, and raising awareness through posting on social media with the hashtag #WhyBible.

This year join the conversation. Also make sure to get your copy of the Six Sweet Ways to Study Scripture e-book today. Take a deeper look at Scripture and learn more about #WhyBible at Wycliffe.org/WhyBible today.

(Photo courtesy WFMEH)

MENA (SAT-7/MNN) — The teachings of Islam, as explained in the Qur’an and Hadith, degrade women and keep them in the shadows.

But SAT-7, a Christian satellite television provider to the Middle East and North Africa, is bringing women into the light.

What Islam says about women

The Oxford Dictionary of Islam describes a “positive” portrayal of women by the Islamic faith – “In Islam, men and women are moral equals in God’s sight” – but a little research uncovers what is actually taught, and often followed.

(Photo credit Mohammad Moniruzzaman via Flickr)

“Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please.” (Qur’an 2:223, Dawood)

“Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them.” (Qur’an 4:34)

“[Muhammad] said, ‘Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?’ They replied in the affirmative. He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her intelligence.'” (Bukhari 6:301, from the Hadith)

These are examples of the dialogue between Muslim women throughout the MENA region and their husbands. SAT-7 is also speaking to women’s’ minds and hearts, but with Truth.

What the Bible says about women

In a recent Women for Middle East HOPE update, SAT-7 Senior VP Debbie Brink describes how Dialogue, one of their TV shows, is impacting women.

(Photo courtesy WFMEH)

“Saloumeh from Iran wrote, ‘Greeting to you all [in SAT-7 PARS] that work real hard day and nights to serve and bless us. I would like to use this opportunity to show my appreciation for all your hard work and efforts. There are many people here that are viewers of your Channel.

‘Two days ago while I was at my friend’s house, we were watching one of your shows hosted by Sister Mojgan accompanied by Sister Nahid about the role of women in the advancement of Christianity. This was an incredible show, and we benefited from the teachings and discussions of Sister Nahid in particular as she related all the points discussed to the Word of God. I am very appreciative of all your outstanding shows and pray for many blessings and health for you all.’

The program Saloumeh writes about is Dialogue, and we included a general overview of it in our E-news more than a year ago. I am pleased to see that the program is still on the air, and I want to share a common thread—the role of women—that is woven through several episodes in the program’s second season.

While the role of women in Biblical times and even now in the Middle East is a delicate and controversial issue, Dialogue points out that God has placed women in many different roles–deliberately and strategically–throughout the history of the Church.

First, the Gospel of Matthew includes four imperfect women in the genealogy of Jesus (in addition to His mother): Tamar (who seduced her father-in-law), Rahab (a known prostitute), Bathsheba (the woman with whom David committed adultery), and Ruth (an outsider and a wanderer who was later redeemed).

(Photo courtesy SAT-7 via Facebook)

The inclusion of these women in Matthew’s historical account demonstrates that even the unholy, the non-Jewish and the known sinners are subject to the God of Changes, and He has a role for everyone.

Several episodes are devoted to the role of women in the family, the important calling to nurture and teach children and to set a godly example in their spiritual life and in their relationships and work life, as well.

• The woman in Proverbs 31 rises before the sun, bolsters her husband, cares for her family, runs a business, and gives to the poor.
• Lydia in the book of Acts practices hospitality and lends support to the ministry of Paul and his friends by providing lodging for them in her home.
• In the Old Testament book of Judges, Deborah faithfully fulfilled a role that was most unique for a woman: a military commander. Deborah led an army of 10,000 Israelites to total victory in a battle against the Canaanites. In the poetic version of the story (Judges 5), the Bible says that the stars strayed from their courses and the river washed the Canaanite general and his armies away in a massive flood.

Of course, women don’t have to lead armies into battle to engage and influence viewers. Their role as presenters on SAT-7 PARS impressed one viewer, who wrote, ‘My greetings and regards to you all from the (Dialogue) Show that effortlessly produce special programs that are related to women.

(Photo courtesy WFMEH)

‘I have always followed your shows, and I am a great fan of your programs. I have always questioned whether female characters could be effective in terms of teaching and preaching in particular. I had heard many biased and prejudiced replies from all sorts of people from both Christian TV programs and churches. Nonetheless, in today’s (Dialogue) program they provided great explanations…which really [inspired] me.’

Just $1 brings SAT-7 and shows like Dialogue to a woman for one year. A gift of $50 reaches 50 women for a year. You can help SAT-7 keep their shows on the air and empower women here.

(Photo courtesy SAT-7)

Egypt (SAT-7) — On March 8th, filmmakers celebrated an awards ceremony for a short film competition in Eygpt, Dialogue without Walls (in Arabic, Hewar bila Aswar). SAT-7 and Egyptian national television stations aired the ceremony live from the Nile Hall in downtown Cairo, Egypt.

Through the short film competition, SAT-7 aims to encourage conversation and build bridges between people of different political and religious backgrounds. It also gives young filmmakers a platform to express their opinions independently of commercial pressures.

A committee of independent judges, comprised of filmmakers, chose three award winners from 52 film submissions.

First prize was awarded to “The Shot,” produced by Tamer Arnest, a young Egyptian filmmaker living in Kuwait. Tamer is a member of the media group at Kuwait Evangelical Church, which trained with SAT-7 two years ago.

(Photo courtesy SAT-7)

Out of four SAT-7 productions submitted to the competition, two were awarded second and third prizes. The second award went to “A Harmonic Film,” directed by Shokry Zikry (pictured right) and with screen play by Amir Nessim. “A Harmonic Film” centers on a young filmmaker trying to make a film that wins an award. His mentor advises him to compromise his values to impress the audience. At first he agrees, but then at the last moment, he sticks to his convictions and does not compromise.

And third prize went to “Braids,” produced by Farid Garas. “Braids” is a film about a young woman fighting within herself for freedom from misconceptions about women in the conservative Middle Eastern community. Her father tries to liberate her, but throughout the course of events, he dies. She is left to suffer but she does not surrender her cause. Both SAT- 7 films were produced in December, 2013 in partnership with the Family Life Network.

SAT-7 organized Dialogue without Walls for the first time this year, in collaboration with Catholic Cinema Center and the Synod of the Nile: Dialogue Council. The Catholic Cinema Center is highly respected for its values, as it is the only institute that can nominate Egyptian films for the Oscars and Cannes festivals. Mainstream industry professionals followed the awards ceremony with positive remarks.

Farid Garas, Executive Director of SAT-7 Egypt, points out the importance of encouraging high quality production in Christian film-making. He says, “I believe we have the best redemptive stories to tell, but sometimes we miss telling them in the best way, or tell them only to our audience. We have to speak to the world in a language they understand. The art of film-making is certainly one of the best ways to do that, and young people are the best ones to do that.”