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Křesťané v celé Americe dostávají svou denní dávku Božího slova přes své mobilní telefony. Každý den okolo 11.hod. dopoledne je vybraný biblický text zaslán službou, která se nazývá Mfaith, na tisíce adres uživatelů mobilních telefonů. Po téměř roční praxi si tato služba získala své příznivce. Garry Brooks z Mfaith Publisher vybírá každý biblický verš, který je pak zaslán předplatitelům. „Snažíme se vybírat různá témata, aby byla vhodná pro naše předplatitele,“ říká. „Je jedno, kdo jste, každý v těch textech, které posíláme, může najít něco pro sebe. Je úžasné, jakou sílu tato služba má – bez reklamních akcí se tato služba šíří po celé severní Americe, a to ústní cestou.“ Mfaith řídí SMS Media Group, společnost sídlící v Aliso Viejo v Kalifornii. Tato služba je přístupná přes všechny operátory mobilních sítí v severní Americe. Je možno se přihlásit na mfaith.com. (Religious Media Agency)
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CHINESE SECURITY FORCES ARREST PASTOR AFTER RAIDING HOUSE CHURCH
The pastor of a rapidly growing Chinese house church has been arrested just
weeks after hundreds of security forces raided and heavily damaged a
century-old building where his congregation gathered, reported Voice of the
Martyrs. Liu Fuen, 50, pastor of the 300-member church in Dong Gang Xi
village in the Beilun district of Ningbo City, Zhejiang province, had been
hiding since the March destruction when six Public Security Bureau (PSB)
officers discovered him at the home of his youngest son, Liu Yongshen, last
week. Shortly after his arrest, local PSB officers stormed the pastor's
house church (which had been operating for two decades) during a service on
Easter Sunday, April 11, where they also detained his oldest son, Liu
Mingliang. The family has been given "criminal detention" paperwork for both
men. If convicted, they could each face long prison terms. "While
administrative detention signifies 15 days of incarceration, a "criminal
detention" could last indefinitely. The Easter arrests came as another
setback for the congregation as members tried to rebuild the pastor's house
(where the services were held) that had suffered severe damage in two police
attacks in March. Christians at the church were able to repair some of the
damage to the house after "300 PSB officers, paramilitary police and
government workers converged on the building, badly damaging it during a
half-hour rampage" on March 11. (Assist News Service)
CHRISTIAN REPORTEDLY ARRESTED, TORTURED IN SAUDI ARABIA
Brian O'Connor, a Christian national of India, was reportedly arrested by
the Muttawa (religious police) on the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said
the Washington, D.C.-based human rights group, International Christian
Concern. A "highly reputable source" said the Muttawa abducted, imprisoned
and tortured O'Connor in a mosque, but he is now being held at the Olaya
police station in Riyadh. O'Connor told the source that during his ordeal
his legs were chained, he was hung upside-down and "they played football
with me. The Muttawa came in groups of four and took turns kicking me in the
chest and rib area." He also said he was whipped with electrical wires on
his back and the soles of his feet, and is in much pain as he walks. One of
his ribs may also be broken. Police at the Olaya station say O'Connor is
being held for preaching, drug-related charges and selling liquor. They
added that these charges were brought up by the Muttawa even though they
have no direct proof that the claims are true. (Assist News Service)
JAILED INDONESIAN CHURCH LEADER FACES SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS
Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, 44, the leading Protestant church leader in Central
Sulawesi, Indonesia, is seriously ill at a hospital in Palu. He was admitted
to the hospital last week with apparent kidney problems. Indonesian
Christians are urging prayer for Daminik whom they say was imprisoned on
trumped-up charges of illegal possession of weapons 11/2 years ago. They
accuse local authorities of framing Daminik for criticizing their "gross
mishandling" of the Muslim-Christian conflict in Central Sulawesi. In August
2002 Damanik and his team were evacuating Christians from a village that had
recently been attacked when their vehicles were stopped by an angry Muslim
mob. When police arrived, they began searching the cars. The next day police
said the search had netted illegal weapons. At Damanik's trial, the court in
Sulawesi acknowledged that procedural violations had occurred during the
search and seizure as it was conducted without a warrant. Contrary to police
procedure, Damanik was not informed of the results of the search at the time
that weapons were allegedly discovered. Police signatures on the indictment
against him could not be confirmed. A key prosecution witness in the Damanik
trial said that he had been beaten by the police and that his written
statement implicating him was a product of police brutality. However, the
court rejected his testimony. Damanik was convicted, and all of his appeals
have been denied. His lawyers are planning more legal applications in an
effort to secure his release. More than 10,000 people have been killed in
fighting between Christians and Muslims in the region since 1999. (Jubilee
Campaign)
* HCJB World Radio worked with local Indonesian partners to establish a
local Christian station in Sumba Island. Plans are also being made to
establish stations on Roti Island and at Kupang in West Timor. Equipment was
sent from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind.
MISSION ORGANIZATIONS INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE TO 'CYBER ATTACKS'
Computers are becoming an increasingly important part of mission agencies,
but with computers come viruses, hackers and other types of cyber attacks
which can jeopardize their work. Neil Glotfelty, director of information
systems with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE), says
stopping viruses and hackers must be a top priority for mission agencies.
"Viruses not only can come in and shut down operations," he says. "But the
e-mail viruses have tendency of robbing your identity and stealing your
address books. Security is a huge concern for an international mission
agency like ours. Oftentimes in areas where our missionaries serve, we have
to be careful." Trans World Radio Chief Technical Officer John Baines
agrees, adding that smaller mission groups are particularly susceptible, and
failing to do anything could be devastating. "A Muslim hacker in the
Philippines can access their computer," Baines said. "If they haven't kept
the patches up to date and put the protections on there, they can take over
the whole thing and either destroy the contents of the computer or, worse
still, find out all the names and addresses of missionaries within their
area, and target those people." (Mission Network News)
UPRISING IN NEPAL BECOMES 'MIXED BLESSING' FOR CHRISTIANS
Fighting between Maoist and government troops in Nepal is becoming a mixed
blessing for Christians in the world's only Hindu kingdom. Gospel For Asia
(GFA) President K.P. Yohannan says the fighting has had an impact on the
ministry. "We have at least 38 missionaries who had to be relocated simply
because they were caught in the cross-fire." The government has prevented
GFA missionaries from freely sharing the gospel. However, Yohannan says
that's changing, especially in rural rebel-held areas. "The Maoists are
telling our missionaries, 'You are starting schools and helping our people.
No problem, you continue to do your work.'" Before the fighting started, the
government police constantly harassed Christian workers in the country. "But
since the Maoist problems began, they're no more going after the Christian
workers because they're concentrating now on the Maoists," Yohannan says.
"It's amazing how God uses all this to get the gospel out." Meanwhile, the
gospel continues to spread in Nepal. "Thousands of people have come to know
the Lord," he says. "And by the grace of God we have around 200 churches
planted there." So many people are coming to Christ that there is a shortage
of Bibles for the new believers, Yohannan adds. (Mission Network News)
TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE SPREADS GOD'S WORD VIA CELL PHONES
Christians across America are getting their daily dose of God's Word via
their cell phones. Each day at about 11 a.m. (Pacific time) a selected Bible
verse is sent to thousands of mobile users from a text messaging service
called Mfaith. Now almost a year old, the service has developed a loyal
audience. Mfaith Publisher Gary Brooks selects each Bible verse to be
delivered to subscribers. "We try to give variety and what would appeal to
most of our subscribers," he says. "It doesn't matter who you are, everyone
can relate to the Scriptures we send. The power of the service is amazing --
with virtually no advertising the service is spreading across North America
via word of mouth." Mfaith is published by SMS Media Group, a mobile
messaging company headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif. The service is
accessible on all wireless carriers in North America. To subscribe, visit
mfaith.com. (Religious Media Agency)
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Zprávy HCJB 19.4.2004
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