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A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM OLAVE SNELLING, CHAIR, CBC
Dear friend of CBC
2008 was quite a year for us, along with everyone else, as the world was hit by a tsunami of collapsing economies, failing banks, falling financial institutions and credit crunch all round.
Nevertheless, we continued with our usual activities, such as the meeting at the House of Lords which focussed last year on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill and our Annual Conference and Media Awards which took place for the first time at The Sanctuary, Salford Quays, Manchester. Enjoyable and successful time was spent visiting and communicating with Christian ethos Community Radio Stations, our long term project to engage with and encourage those with community licences across the UK broadcasting to local communities with great effect (details on website). Community and local is beautiful!
However, looking forward is very much on our minds now. What a time to be alive! CBC I believe needs to step up to the plate and more than ever do what we feel commissioned by God to do in being a rallying point for prayer and a source of spiritual encouragement to all working in the Media in these desperate times.
The very first prophetic word that I knew was directly for me came at a most unusual moment. It was at the funeral of my beloved Prayer Partner many years ago. Someone spoke out in the middle of a time of worship in that poignant and deeply moving service saying, “I am making you an Overcomer because I am putting you among Overcomers.” Wow! That hit me like a thunder-bolt. It may have been intended for others there as well, but it sure was pertinent to me. It returns powerfully to me now. God has put me among Overcomers. He has put you among Overcomers. He himself is the Overcomer who overcame the dire consequences of failure, sin and death on Calvary and died and rose again and ascended to the Father, his work on earth truly accomplished for all who believe on His precious name. I believe He says to us, “Come on. Rise up and be Overcomers!” “They overcame him (the Evil One) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and loved not their lives even unto death.”
This is a time to rise and be bold. I have been contemplating the phrase, “But God….” We read in Ephesians 2, “And you he made alive who were dead in sin and trespasses in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
What are we doing with that gift of faith? How are we living out that incredible invitation to be raised up with Christ in heavenly places to pray with authority into situations of need. We all knew that there was going to be a great shaking, and many felt it would begin in the economic realm. We could see it coming. I and other intercessors with whom I had been meeting on a regular basis, were praying in the 24/7 prayer room for months about the economic systems of the City and the world and crying out to the Lord to shake everything that could be shaken. And He did! Obviously not just because we were praying. There were thousands upon thousands praying all around the world. Well, we’re in that time of shaking now. Globally economies are being shaken, globally men’s systems seek to grapple with the uncertainty in markets and to find a solution to these mega problems but with man’s thinking. Well, that’s no doubt helpful to a certain extent but ‘man’ can never come up with an adequate solution, besides which God is doing the shaking and His purposes are being carried out until Jesus returns. We’re to rise up and continue to pray with ever greater intensity, that only that which is of God remains in this time of shaking. We are to be compassionate and practical in our living and in our sharing and in the way we help and support one another.
I feel we are being asked of God to stand up and be counted, to be Overcomers, to be Encouragers, to be Intercessors, to ‘up’ the level of prayer for the Media, our particular bit. We would like to convene times of prayer for the Media.
You will hear from us as we join and make alliances with other media organisations about specific dates and places to come together. We would like to ‘up’ the prayer profile on our CBC website so that it can be an effective tool for those who seek prayer for specific matters. We are seeking to ‘up’ the sharing aspect of all of our working lives so that we could link with other media organisations in such a way that those who need something or someone to do a specific piece of work can possibly find what they are looking for and for those who have something practical to offer, like equipment or facilities, can do so. A sort of Media shop, if you will.
Another aspect of what we would pray specifically for is a Christian ‘voice’ or more likely ‘voices’ to be raised up in the nation that could be heard in the clamour of voices we hear around us all the time. At a prayer meeting in the House of Lords after a time of listening to what leaders of a Core group felt the Lord was and is saying at this time, I raised this point (here in note form):
We need a voice. At present we are just a babble. The one who speaks loudest in a secular & humanist society is the one who is heard. Pray for the Christian media in the UK. The Independent Christian media are now established. How do we get a voice? We need a strategy – God has a plan.
I truly believe this. We need to wait on God. We need to pray with greater intensity for all whom we know working in the media on any platform and in whatever context God has placed them.
I hope that you will journey with us through this year as we seek the Lord. It is time for us to do so.
We would like to hear your thoughts on this, and how you think we can succeed in what we believe the Lord is asking us to do. Please do drop me a line or give us a call.
I would love to hear from you.
Chair - Executive
A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM OLAVE SNELLING, CHAIR, CBC
Dear friend of CBC
2008 was quite a year for us, along with everyone else, as the world was hit by a tsunami of collapsing economies, failing banks, falling financial institutions and credit crunch all round.
Nevertheless, we continued with our usual activities, such as the meeting at the House of Lords which focussed last year on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill and our Annual Conference and Media Awards which took place for the first time at The Sanctuary, Salford Quays, Manchester. Enjoyable and successful time was spent visiting and communicating with Christian ethos Community Radio Stations, our long term project to engage with and encourage those with community licences across the UK broadcasting to local communities with great effect (details on website). Community and local is beautiful!
However, looking forward is very much on our minds now. What a time to be alive! CBC I believe needs to step up to the plate and more than ever do what we feel commissioned by God to do in being a rallying point for prayer and a source of spiritual encouragement to all working in the Media in these desperate times.
The very first prophetic word that I knew was directly for me came at a most unusual moment. It was at the funeral of my beloved Prayer Partner many years ago. Someone spoke out in the middle of a time of worship in that poignant and deeply moving service saying, “I am making you an Overcomer because I am putting you among Overcomers.” Wow! That hit me like a thunder-bolt. It may have been intended for others there as well, but it sure was pertinent to me. It returns powerfully to me now. God has put me among Overcomers. He has put you among Overcomers. He himself is the Overcomer who overcame the dire consequences of failure, sin and death on Calvary and died and rose again and ascended to the Father, his work on earth truly accomplished for all who believe on His precious name. I believe He says to us, “Come on. Rise up and be Overcomers!” “They overcame him (the Evil One) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and loved not their lives even unto death.”
This is a time to rise and be bold. I have been contemplating the phrase, “But God….” We read in Ephesians 2, “And you he made alive who were dead in sin and trespasses in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
What are we doing with that gift of faith? How are we living out that incredible invitation to be raised up with Christ in heavenly places to pray with authority into situations of need. We all knew that there was going to be a great shaking, and many felt it would begin in the economic realm. We could see it coming. I and other intercessors with whom I had been meeting on a regular basis, were praying in the 24/7 prayer room for months about the economic systems of the City and the world and crying out to the Lord to shake everything that could be shaken. And He did! Obviously not just because we were praying. There were thousands upon thousands praying all around the world. Well, we’re in that time of shaking now. Globally economies are being shaken, globally men’s systems seek to grapple with the uncertainty in markets and to find a solution to these mega problems but with man’s thinking. Well, that’s no doubt helpful to a certain extent but ‘man’ can never come up with an adequate solution, besides which God is doing the shaking and His purposes are being carried out until Jesus returns. We’re to rise up and continue to pray with ever greater intensity, that only that which is of God remains in this time of shaking. We are to be compassionate and practical in our living and in our sharing and in the way we help and support one another.
I feel we are being asked of God to stand up and be counted, to be Overcomers, to be Encouragers, to be Intercessors, to ‘up’ the level of prayer for the Media, our particular bit. We would like to convene times of prayer for the Media.
You will hear from us as we join and make alliances with other media organisations about specific dates and places to come together. We would like to ‘up’ the prayer profile on our CBC website so that it can be an effective tool for those who seek prayer for specific matters. We are seeking to ‘up’ the sharing aspect of all of our working lives so that we could link with other media organisations in such a way that those who need something or someone to do a specific piece of work can possibly find what they are looking for and for those who have something practical to offer, like equipment or facilities, can do so. A sort of Media shop, if you will.
Another aspect of what we would pray specifically for is a Christian ‘voice’ or more likely ‘voices’ to be raised up in the nation that could be heard in the clamour of voices we hear around us all the time. At a prayer meeting in the House of Lords after a time of listening to what leaders of a Core group felt the Lord was and is saying at this time, I raised this point (here in note form):
We need a voice. At present we are just a babble. The one who speaks loudest in a secular & humanist society is the one who is heard. Pray for the Christian media in the UK. The Independent Christian media are now established. How do we get a voice? We need a strategy – God has a plan.
I truly believe this. We need to wait on God. We need to pray with greater intensity for all whom we know working in the media on any platform and in whatever context God has placed them.
I hope that you will journey with us through this year as we seek the Lord. It is time for us to do so.
We would like to hear your thoughts on this, and how you think we can succeed in what we believe the Lord is asking us to do. Please do drop me a line or give us a call.
I would love to hear from you.
Chair - Executive
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Welcome to the website of the CBC. We do hope that you will find these pages helpful and encouraging, and we sincerely hope that you will join with us in some way, either by becoming a member or by joining our mailing list.
I'm far from the only one to sense the urgency of the times, that time is so short. We are living in such dangerous times nationally and internationally and that is why we have chosen the speakers we have. We cannot and must not ‘faff’ around. How can we when confronted with what is happening in Iraq and other situations? We have to preach the Gospel by every possible means (including media) to reach to the uttermost ends of the earth before Jesus returns, whenever that may be. The whole point of Christian broadcasting and of Christian ministry generally and globally is to bring in the 'lost' to Christ, to build up and encourage the 'found' and, most importantly, to bring literal sustenance and prayer to the suffering.
What does CBC do?
- CBC exists as a friendly forum mainly for the Christian independent media organisations and it aims to build Christian consensus across these same organisations.
- Its message is unashamedly about the Christian Gospel and serves to build up, inspire and encourage those in broadcasting in their Christian walk and vision.
- CBC also seeks to encourage excellence. It applauds relevant, contextual and Christian content in what is produced by its participating organisations and those who submit programmes for CBC Awards.
- CBC has strong links with Parliament and maintains good relationships with Ofcom in its submissions and responses which Ofcom invites.
- It seeks to work, pray and speak relevantly into the issues of the day where possible.
- CBC seeks to form alliances in a strong prayer and empowering relationship. We desire to be a resource for prayer for all involved in media, joining with prayer ministries across the Nation.
To join our mailing list click here
To become a member click here
If you would like to contact us, click here
If there is any way that we can improve what we do, please do feed that back to us – we would love to hear from you.
Kindest regards,
The Christian Broadcasting Council was founded in 1983:
- To stimulate and promote the knowledge of the Christian faith and the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the broadcasting media in the United Kingdom.
- To encourage the highest standards of Christian media communication.
- To support and develop the knowledge and standards of all those involved in broadcasting.
- To bring together in fellowship those working in broadcasting and those who support the vision of CBC, under girding and encouraging them in their spiritual lives.
CBC works with:
- Parliament, negotiating to protect the right to spread the Christian Gospel
- The Office of Communications – Ofcom, commenting on new regulations and assisting in the maintenance of good broadcasting practice
- The Media – broadcasters, writers and producers, in particular encouraging professional broadcasting practice and the production of good UK Christian programme material
- The Churches, generating interest in the media with Christians of all denominations.
- CBC's membership consists of representatives from the growing number of radio and television companies in the Independent Christian Broadcasting (ICB) sector plus individual members and ministries that support the need for quality Christian broadcasting in the UK.
CBC holds an annual conference together with the CBC Media Awards Dinner, offers fellowship and advice to members including a regular email prayer/information newsletter, publishes an e-news newsletter and regular updates via email, meets with the broadcasting regulators and members of both the Lords and Commons to promote Christian media and holds seminars and meetings, often in the Houses of Parliament, where speakers address issues of interest to independent Christian broadcasters and CBC members.
"But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?" Romans 10:14 (The Message)
"Don't forget the power of the media and let us rejoice in the opportunities to broadcast the Gospel" Baroness Cox, Vice-President
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