Lebanon conflict draws more than passing interest at Beaverton church

By RICHARD KOE
     BEAVERTON – The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon during July and August drew more than a passing interest at Village Baptist Church on S.W. Murray Blvd., just south of the Sunset Highway (26).
Their 36-member short-term missions team returned from two weeks of ministry in Lebanon on July 9, days before the bombings began. The team had worked with many Lebanese Christians in bringing the gospel in several “closed” areas that were hardest hit by the bombings.
     Team members have been in constant prayer that Lebanon would continue to be a place for freedom to go forth and for believers in Christ to be a light of compassion and hope in the midst of difficult and desperate circumstances.
     They also informed their new-found Lebanese friends that they will tell people in Beaverton to pray for peace in the Middle East and for the true light to shine.
     This was the third summer that Village had sent teams to Lebanon, where the Beaverton church has a working relationship with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, the capital city.
     This year’s Village entourage ministered in three teams — construction, technical, and teacher training. The training center and clinic was located in a five-story building on the edge of a refugee camp, and people from the camp also came to the center for health and hygiene care.
     The construction team finished work on the clinic and installed lighting and fans. The technical team assembled computers and installed software, and the teacher training team met with key partners and held seminars. Another group—the World Trek kids—learned the culture and visited Christian orphanages and local neighborhoods.
     Team members said Lebanon remains a war-torn country, but a remarkable rebuilding had taken place. New roads, bridges, and a remodeled airport were just completed before the latest bombings reduced many of the infrastructure to rubble again.
     Reports from Lebanon since the bombings indicate that hundreds were killed and displaced. People sought shelter at the Beirut Baptist School and others stayed in the Arab Baptist Seminary and the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development.
     Martin Accad, dean at the Arab Baptist Seminary, was teaching at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., when the bombings began and was unable to return home immediately because the bombed Beirut Airport was closed. He used some of his extra time in the U.S. on Aug. 5-6 to visit his friends at Village Baptist and to speak on “Hope in Conflict,” which was covered by KGW-TV, Channel 8. Accad also wrote a piece for Christianity Today about what he said was “evangelical blindness” regarding Lebanon.
     At Village, Accad lamented that Lebanon has almost never been without foreign occupation. But for less than a year, it had a window of opportunity to enjoy peace and rebuild. Then the conflict flared up in July and the situation has been disastrous for the entire nation, he said.
     Meanwhile, Christians in Lebanon have a survival instinct and are praying for peace. They seek to be proactive and to proclaim the gospel in a positive way, according to Accad.
     Accad said statements against Arabs by Christians in the West have not been helpful, and Arab believers have paid the price. The seminary was not allowed to admit new students for three years. For 46 years, the seminary has trained more than 100 students to lead churches in Lebanon.
He believes the Western World needs to know how to react to events, and learn how to identify solutions and not ignore the roots of conflicts. Accad is disturbed by books in Christian stores that he said attack the Arab world.
The injustice and suffering also occurred in Jesus' time, Accad noted in the parable of the Good Samaritan, which urged people to love their neighbors as themselves.
     Accad said religion could be an obstacle preventing people from having feelings of pity and mercy for others. There can also be a lack of communication between religious leaders and followers. To bring healing involves cost and a personal investment, he said.
     He urged Christians not to depict Islam as an enemy, but to engage it and understand it. The Arab seminary has an Institute for Middle East Studies which seeks to be salt and light, to build relationships and dialogues with other faiths, and to break bread, said Accad.
     As for the bombings and the conflict, the seminary is holding two-hour prayer meetings twice daily to intercede for the people of Lebanon and Israel. Accad urged the same for people here in the West.
Village Baptist hopes to send another team to Lebanon next summer if conditions permit.
     In the meantime, John Jordan, world missions pastor at Village, is meeting with mission organizations and churches to explore what future missions and rebuilding efforts will look like in Lebanon.