Baptist Churches in the Philippines

900,000 visitors and counting for “Better English for everyone” website

2012-01-23T04:06:00.011+08:00

According to my Sitemeter.com tracker, my website “Better English for everyone” reached over 900,000 visitors late last night. Soli Deo gloria!

The website became online September 27, 2007. It has been averaging 1,700 plus visitors daily since last week (see the graphic below). It reached 3,000 visitors (first time ever) on November 29, 2011.

Google Analytics, my other website tracker, reports that visitors have come from 195 countries or territories. The top ten countries in number of visitors are the USA, Philippines, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Thailand, Spain, Mexico, Canada, and Australia.

“Better English for everyone” contains numerous links to Gospel websites and my website trackers report that these have been clicked, even by visitors from Restricted Access Nations. Thanks to everyone who have browsed this site.

Note: Please read “How you can help this website” or “How I became involved in Internet ministries”.

The Sitemeter graphic above shows the number of visitors (yellow bars) and page views (red bars) from December 24, 2011 to early morning January 23, 2012.

Are church clerks, ACE teachers, drivers, janitors, etc. considered “employees” under the Labor Code of the Philippines?

2012-01-12T10:44:00.017+08:00

Summary: The US Supreme Court, voting 9-0 in the landmark case of “Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church And School vs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Et Al” recognized the “ministerial exception” to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Under this exception, churches cannot be charged with employment discrimination by its ministers. The Court said, “It is impermissible for the government to contradict a church’s determination of who can act as its ministers.”

(Jump to “US Supreme Court ruling in the Hosanna-Tabor case: A victory for religious freedom” or “Are church staff considered ‘employees’ under the Labor Code of the Philippines?”)

Who has the right to call himself a pastor, a minister, or a missionary? As Baptists, we believe in the Biblical distinctive of the autonomy of the local church. If a local church calls a man to be its pastor, that man is its pastor, despite his lack of ordination or even Bible school training. Likewise, if a local church commissions a man as its missionary to a local or foreign field, the decision stands and cannot be questioned by other churches. (I recall hearing on DZAS this remark by a black American pastor: “Were you sent or did you just went”?)

(Churches are divided on the issue of single females serving as missionaries. Some pastors actively send out or support single female missionaries. On the other hand, some pastors refuse to support them. One American missionary based in Metro Manila whom I counseled on a legal matter a couple of years ago says that only men can be missionaries because women cannot establish churches. The Asian Baptist Clearinghouse accredits single females as missionaries on the condition that they serve under the leadership of a male pastor. I don’t remember if it’s John Piper who said that single female missionaries may fall under “sunergoi” in 1 Corinthians 3:9.)

Overview of the case:

Cheryl Perich was a “commissioned minister” of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church in Redford, Michigan. Perich taught a religion class, led her students in daily prayer and devotional exercises, and took her students to a weekly school-wide chapel service. She led the chapel service herself about twice a year.

Besides these duties, Perich also taught math, language arts, social studies, science, gym, art, and music in Hosanna-Tabor’s elementary school.

After Perich got sick, Hosanna-Tabor did not allow her to teach again. When she threatened to file a case of employment discrimination, Hosanna-Tabor rescinded her calling as a minister and then fired her.

“Perich filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that her employment had been terminated in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC brought suit against Hosanna-Tabor, alleging that Perich had been fired in retaliation for threatening to file an ADA lawsuit. Perich intervened in the litigation. Invoking what is known as the ‘ministerial exception,’ Hosanna-Tabor argued that the suit was barred by the First Amendment because the claims concerned the employment relationship between a religious institution and one of its ministers.” (From syllabus of the Supreme Court ruling).

The District Court ruled in Hosanna-Tabor’s favor but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision. Based on extensive decisions of the various courts of appeals, the Sixth Circuit recognized the existence of a ministerial exception for pastors, priests, and rabbis based on the First Amendment. But it concluded that Perich did not qualify as a “minister” under the exception. It noted that in her seven hour workday, she spent about six hours and fifteen minutes teaching these secular subjects and only 45 minutes for her religious duties.

Hosanna-Tabor appealed to the Supreme Court. It asked the Court to rule on the question of “whether the ministerial exception applies to a teacher at a religious elementary school who teaches the full secular curriculum, but also teaches daily religion classes, is a commissioned minister, and regularly leads students in prayer and worship”.

In its groundbreaking decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court recognized for the first time the “ministerial exception” to anti-discrimination laws. The Supreme Court ruled that Perich was a minister even if she was performing secular duties and thus, the government cannot intervene in the dispute between her and Hosanna-Tabor.

US Supreme Court ruling in “Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church And School versus Equal Employment Opportunity Commission” (No. 10-553, decided January 11, 2012)

Facts of the Hosanna-Tabor case; Difference between “called teachers” and “lay teachers”

[1] Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. The Synod classifies its school teachers into two categories: “called” and “lay.” “Called” teachers are regarded as having been called to their vocation by God. To be eligible to be considered “called,” a teacher must complete certain academic requirements, including a course of theological study. Once called, a teacher receives the formal title “Minister of Religion, Commissioned.”

“Lay” teachers, by contrast, are not required to be trained by the Synod or even to be Lutheran. Although lay and called teachers at Hosanna-Tabor generally performed the same duties, lay teachers were hired only when called teachers were unavailable.

Cheryl Perich was a commissioned minister but performed secular duties

[2] After Cheryl Perich completed the required training, Hosanna-Tabor asked her to become a called teacher. Perich accepted the call and was designated a commissioned minister. In addition to teaching secular subjects, Perich taught a religion class, led her students in daily prayer and devotional exercises, and took her students to a weekly school-wide chapel service. Perich led the chapel service herself about twice a year.

Perich’s sickness and eventual firing

[3] Perich developed narcolepsy and began the 2004–2005 school year on disability leave. In January 2005, she notified the school principal that she would be able to report to work in February. The principal responded that the school had already contracted with a lay teacher to fill Perich’s position for the remainder of the school year. The principal also expressed concern that Perich was not yet ready to return to the classroom. The congregation subsequently offered to pay a portion of Perich’s health insurance premiums in exchange for her resignation as a called teacher. Perich refused to resign.

In February, Perich presented herself at the school and refused to leave until she received written documentation that she had reported to work. The principal later called Perich and told her that she would likely be fired. Perich responded that she had spoken with an attorney and intended to assert her legal rights.

In a subsequent letter, the chairman of the school board advised Perich that the congregation would consider whether to rescind her call at its next meeting. As grounds for termination, the letter cited Perich’s “insubordination and disruptive behavior,” as well as the damage she had done to her “working relationship” with the school by “threatening to take legal action.” The congregation voted to rescind Perich’s call, and Hosanna-Tabor sent her a letter of termination.

Perich files case for discrimination; Hosanna-Tabor’s defense of “ministerial exception”

[4] Perich filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that her employment had been terminated in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC brought suit against Hosanna-Tabor, alleging that Perich had been fired in retaliation for threatening to file an ADA lawsuit. Perich intervened in the litigation.

Invoking what is known as the “ministerial exception,” Hosanna-Tabor argued that the suit was barred by the First Amendment because the claims concerned the employment relationship between a religious institution and one of its ministers. The District Court agreed and granted summary judgment in Hosanna-Tabor’s favor.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized the existence of a ministerial exception rooted in the First Amendment, but concluded that Perich did not qualify as a “minister” under the exception. The Court of Appeals noted that she “spent approximately six hours and fifteen minutes of her seven hour day teaching secular subjects, using secular textbooks, without incorporating religion into the secular material.”

Highlights of the ruling:

“It is impermissible for the government to contradict a church’s determination of who can act as its ministers.”

“Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs.”

“The purpose of the (ministerial) exception is not to safeguard a church’s decision to fire a minister only when it is made for a religious reason. The exception instead ensures that the authority to select and control who will minister to the faithful—a matter “strictly ecclesiastical,” — is the church’s alone.”

“The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important. But so too is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith, and carry out their mission. When a minister who has been fired sues her church alleging that her termination was discriminatory, the First Amendment has struck the balance for us. The church must be free to choose those who will guide it on its way.”

US Supreme Court ruling: A victory for religious freedom

[1] “The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment bar suits brought on behalf of ministers against their churches, claiming termination in violation of employment discrimination laws.”

[2] “Since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other employment discrimination laws, the Courts of Appeals have uniformly recognized the existence of a “ministerial exception,” grounded in the First Amendment, that precludes application of such legislation to claims concerning the employment relationship between a religious institution and its ministers. The Court agrees that there is such a ministerial exception. Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs. By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes the Free Exercise Clause, which protects a religious group’s right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments. According the state the power to determine which individuals will minister to the faithful also violates the Establishment Clause, which prohibits government involvement in such ecclesiastical decisions.”

[3] “This Court first considered the issue of government interference with a church’s ability to select its own ministers in the context of disputes over church property. This Court’s decisions in that area confirm that it is impermissible for the government to contradict a church’s determination of who can act as its ministers.”

[4] “Because Perich was a minister within the meaning of the ministerial exception, the First Amendment requires dismissal of this employment discrimination suit against her religious employer.”

[5] “The ministerial exception is not limited to the head of a religious congregation. The Court, however, does not adopt a rigid formula for deciding when an employee qualifies as a minister. Here, it is enough to conclude that the exception covers Perich, given all the circumstances of her employment. Hosanna-Tabor held her out as a minister, with a role distinct from that of most of its members. That title represented a significant degree of religious training followed by a formal process of commissioning. Perich also held herself out as a minister by, for example, accepting the formal call to religious service. And her job duties reflected a role in conveying the Church’s message and carrying out its mission: As a source of religious instruction, Perich played an important part in transmitting the Lutheran faith.”

[6] “The case before us is an employment discrimination suit brought on behalf of a minister, challenging her church’s decision to fire her. Today we hold only that the ministerial exception bars such a suit. We express no view on whether the exception bars other types of suits, including actions by employees alleging breach of contract or tortious conduct by their religious employers. There will be time enough to address the applicability of the exception to other circumstances if and when they arise.”

If Perich had merely been a lay teacher, then she could have not been fired under the law.

But as the US Supreme Court ruled, Perich was a commissioned minister and therefore, the government cannot intervene in the dispute between her and the church.

Implications of the Hosanna-Tabor case: Are church staff “employees” protected by the Labor Code of the Philippines?

(Note: The freedom of religion clause in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is patterned after that of the US Constitution. The Philippine Supreme Court has repeatedly cited rulings of the US Supreme Court on freedom of religion. Please read my discussion of the Estrada versus Escritor case, the landmark decision on freedom of religion in the Philippines.)

Baptist churches in the Philippines have people serving as ACE teachers, secretaries, drivers, messengers, janitors, etc. Most churches do not pay them salaries but instead give them financial “love gifts” on a regular basis. Some churches additionally provide them with SSS and Philhealth coverage. These churches tell them that they are not employees and that their work is a ministry.

The question is, can church staff claim that they are employees protected by and entitled to benefits under the Labor Code of the Philippines like regularization, security of tenure, 13th month pay, overtime pay, etc?

Many years ago, one of my law school classmates (a GCF member) handled a case involving a janitor in a Baptist church in Metro Manila. When the pastor saw that the janitor failed to clean up a spot on the church floor, he fired the janitor right there and then. My classmate helped the janitor file with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) a case of illegal termination against the church. As far as I know, the janitor and the pastor settled the case amicably. The labor arbiter did not have the opportunity therefore to rule on whether someone working as a janitor in a church is an employee protected under the Labor Code.

Four-fold test to determine if there is employer-employee relationship:

Right to hire or to the selection and engagement of the employee;

Payment of wages and salaries for services;

Power of dismissal or the power to impose disciplinary actions; and

Power to control the employee with respect to the means and methods by which the work is to be accomplished.

Right of control test: There is an employer-employee relationship when the person for whom the services are performed reserves the right to control not only the end achieved but also the manner and means used to achieve that end.

Another lawyer (in preparation for a seminar we gave together way back in 2003 for the alumni of Bethany Makati’s Bible college) asked a labor arbiter if church staff could be considered as employees. The arbiter’s answer was yes because:

(1) they perform work necessary and desirable for the church, as defined in Article 280 of the Labor Code, and

(2) they are under the control of the church with respect to the means and methods by which their work is to be done.

It did not matter, the arbiter said, whether these people are paid only with “love gifts” and not salaries.

Because the NLRC or our Supreme Court has not had the occasion to rule on this issue, the question remains unanswered. Based on the Hosanna-Tabor ruling, however, we can draw some preliminary conclusions or pose some additional questions:

[1] If a church fires its pastor or associate pastor, the courts cannot intervene as long as the church follows its own rules or established procedures. As the US Supreme Court ruled, “It is impermissible for the government to contradict a church’s determination of who can act as its ministers.”

[2] Church staff who are not commissioned or ordained ministers and are performing secular duties (like a driver for the pastor and his family, or a janitor) may possibly qualify as employees with rights and privileges under the Labor Code. ACE teachers who are not commissioned or ordained ministers may also conceivably qualify as employees.

What about so-called “church workers”? Churches oftentimes get Bible school students or graduates to help in soulwinning, visitation, Sunday School, etc. If they are not commissioned or ordained, then they may conceivably qualify as employees under the Labor Code.

[3] What if the church, in learning from the Hosanna-Tabor ruling, commissions as religious ministers everyone in the church staff? Will this prevent anyone in the church staff from claiming protection under the Labor Code? As I stated above, churches tell these people at the outset that they are not employees but are engaged in ministry.

During the oral arguments before the US Supreme Court, Douglas Laycock, a University of Virginia law professor who represented Hosanna-Tabor, said that “a church can’t simply declare all of its participants as ministers as a pretext to avoiding government intrusion”. He explained: “The fact that you’re expected to witness to the faith when the occasion arises doesn’t make you a minister. We think there should be deference to good faith understandings. But we are not arguing for a rule that would enable an organization to fraudulently declare that everyone is a minister when it’s not true.”

[4] If a church provides SSS and Philhealth coverage for its staff, this can possibly be taken as proof that they are employees of the church.

[5] The Labor Code provides for “project employment” where a person works only for a specific period of time. Can a church resort to putting its church staff on “project employment”? I once counseled an American missionary who established a nationally-known ministry (not a church). Besides mismanagement, the numerous labor cases filed by its employees doomed the ministry. The missionary told me that he could have avoided all the problems if only he had known about “project employment”.

(Note: Please don’t misunderstand me on no. 4 above. I am not saying that churches should not provide these benefits for the church staff. I am just pointing out a potential legal issue. Many years ago, the president of a large Christian school asked me to implement a forced resignation or early retirement plan for its teachers. The school, as a cost-cutting measure, wanted to contractualize its teachers. I refused to accept the case.)

Relevant articles:

[1] US Supreme Court Judges cannot get involved in church dispute (Associated press)

[2] Church Wins Firing Case at Supreme Court (Christianity Today)

[3] Due process and two-notice rule in termination of employment; five calendar days to answer the charges and hearing required

[4] Transcripts of the oral arguments before the US Supreme Court

Are you single and in ministry?

2011-12-10T13:51:00.012+08:00

If you are single, don’t despair. As someone said, “It’s better to be alone and single, rather than married and miserable.”

But if you are single and in ministry, then you should read “Missionary Single Issues” from Missionary Care (Resources for Missions and Mental Health). You can download this resource as a PDF file (267 kb) or as a Word file (261 kb). Topics include:

This free PDF was written by Ronald L. Koteskey, Member Care Consultant for GO InterNational (an interdenominational world-wide Christian mission organization involved in organizing short-term missions, among other projects). While Ron wrote this material specifically for unmarried missionaries, his insights, comments, and suggestions are valuable for singles in a cross-cultural environment. Ron and his wife (former teachers with 35 years experience in Bible colleges, public and Christian schools) maintain two websites www.missionarycare.com and www.crossculturalworkers.com which provide free resources like brochures and e-books for two culture-kids, marriage issues, and reentry for missionaries.

Ron’s terms of use for this e-book: “Permission is granted to copy and distribute this book in its entirety without charge. Send it to anyone you believe may benefit from reading it. Please do NOT post this book anywhere else on the Internet.”

Notes: [1] Related post: Free PDF on marriage issues for missionaries (also for pastors and other persons in ministry); [2] This ministry does not necessarily endorse the opinions or beliefs of the resources cited here.

800,000 visitors and counting for “Better English for everyone” website

2011-11-27T22:00:00.004+08:00

According to my Sitemeter.com tracker, my website “Better English for everyone” reached over 800,000 visitors last Tuesday afternoon. The website became online September 27, 2007. It has been averaging 2,000 plus visitors daily since last week. Google Analytics, my other website tracker, reports that visitors have come from 195 countries or territories. The top ten countries in number of visitors are the USA, Philippines, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Thailand, Spain, Mexico, Canada, and Australia.

“Better English for everyone” contains numerous links to Gospel websites and my website trackers report that these have been clicked, even by visitors from Restricted Access Nations. Thanks to everyone who have browsed this site. Soli Deo gloria!

Note: Please read 700,000 visitors and counting for “Better English for everyone” website; jump to “How you can help this website” or “How I became involved in Internet ministries”.

The Sitemeter graphic above shows the number of visitors (yellow bars) and page views (red bars) from October 28 to early November 27.

Note: The website reached 3,000 visitors (first time ever) as of Tuesday, November 29, 2011.

The Gospel According to Twilight; Twilight’s Mormon connection

2011-11-15T07:23:00.018+08:00

The Darkness of Twilight, by Sue Bohlin (Probe Ministries)

The Twilight saga is a publishing and movie phenomenon that sweeps tween and teen girls (and a whole lot of other people) off their feet with an obsessive kind of following. Millions of Christian girls are huge fans of this series about love between a teenage girl and her vampire boyfriend-then-husband. But it’s not just a love story made exciting by the danger of vampires’ blood-lust. I believe the Twilight saga, all four books and their corresponding movies, is spiritually dangerous. I believe there is a demonic origin to the series, and the occult themes that permeate the books are a dangerous open door to Satan and his hordes of unholy angels.

Twilight is also spiritually dangerous in the way it presents salvation. When Daddy Vampire Carlisle turns Edward into a vampire, it is described as saving him. He ended a 17-year-old boy’s physical life and turned him into an undead, stone cold superbeing, which Edward describes as a “new birth.” Vampire Alice describes the process as the venom spreading through the body, healing it, changing it, until the heart stops and the conversion is finished. Poison heals, and changes, and converts to lifelessness? Healing poison? This is spiritually dangerous thinking. Isaiah warns us (5:20), “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

This upside-down, inside-out way of thinking is rooted in Stephenie Meyer’s strong Mormon beliefs. Twilight’s cover photo of a woman’s hands offering an apple is an intentional reference to the way Mormonism reinvents the Genesis story of the Fall. LDS (Latter Day Saints) doctrine makes the Fall a necessary step, called a “fall up.” At the beginning of the book you will find, alone on a page, Genesis 2: 17—”But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Read the complete article)

The Trouble with Twilight, Christianity Today interview by Laura Leonard of Beth Felker Jones, Wheaton College theology professor and author of “Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Saga” (Random House, 2009)

John Granger wrote in Touchstone magazine that the Twilight novels are “an allegory of one gentile seeker’s coming to the fullness of Latter-day Saint faith and life.” Are there any particularly Mormon themes in the books that might be at odds with a Christian worldview?

I read a quotation the other day from a Mormon woman suggesting the books could be used as a Mormon evangelism tool, saying, “Perhaps we could say to people, ‘We can promise you will be together forever and no one will even have to bite you.’” I can see this theme of eternal family as the place where salvation happens as an “in” to Mormon evangelism, as it is very much part of Mormon thought. As is the way goodness is approached in the books: the vampires in the books are struggling against their darkest desires [to drink human blood] and they talk quite a bit about their souls—whether they have souls, and whether God might reward them for their attempts to be good. What’s missing is the Christian gospel, the idea that we can’t overcome our darkness on our own, that no matter how hard we work to be good, we're going to fail, and we’re going to need Jesus. The picture of goodness in the books is a salvation by works. “I’ll try hard enough and perhaps God will be pleased.” (Read the complete interview)

Twilight, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz and the Wiccan Revival, from Good Fight Ministries, by Joe Schimmel, pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel, an evangelical non-denominational fellowship in Simi Valley, California

Very few people are aware of the shocking truth that both Stephenie Meyer, who authored the Twilight saga, and J. K. Rowling, who authored the Harry Potter series, appear to have channeled their novels as evil spirits directed them. Like Rowling, Meyer has set her sights on our vulnerable youth; the Wall Street Journal reported, “Twilight has targeted the collective soul of teenage America, and will surely have its way.”

Meyer claims that she was compelled to write Twilight after the story was first communicated to her through a dream in June of 2003. Meyer admitted:

“I woke up (on that June 2nd) from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately… I typed out as much as I could remember, calling the characters ‘he’ and ‘she.’” (Source: www.stepheniemeyer.com)

This dream was so significant to the Twilight saga, that Meyer produced a transcript of her dream in Chapter 13 of her book, Twilight, entitled "Confessions." Meyer claims that sometime after she “received” the revelatory dream she heard incessant voices in her head that wouldn’t stop until she would type, "Bella and Edward [the vampire] were, quite literally, voices in my head. They simply wouldn't shut up. I'd stay up as late as I could stand trying to get all the stuff in my mind typed out, and then crawl, exhausted, into bed … only to have another conversation start in my head.” (Read the complete article)

The Gospel According to Twilight, by Elaine A. Heath, from Youthworker.com

Elements of the relationship between Edward and Bella make the hair stand up on feminist Christian necks, especially when adding in the bit where Bella scarcely survives the violence of her wedding night. Though broken and bruised the next morning, she begs for more. This part of the story is terrible news for girls and women—unless you read it through another lens, such as Stephenie Meyer’s.
The Eve story has an entirely different meaning in LDS theology, with Eve as a moral heroine who sacrifices her life so others can live. What is going on here? Is Bella a Christ figure, offering her body and blood for others’ salvation? Or is she a sex-hungry temptress who’s willing to go to hell if she can just have her guy? Is Bella fallen, redemptive or both? (Read the complete article)

22nd Fundamental Bible Conference in Metro Manila

2011-10-06T07:41:00.000+08:00

Dates: October 25-28, 2011, 6 to 9:30 PM

Venue: Integrated Bar of the Philippines Julia Vargas, #15 Julia Vargas Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Theme: Loving The Living New Testament Church

Theme Verse: “... know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth, ” 1 Tim 3:15.

Conference Committee Chairman: Roberto-Jose M. Livioco, D.D., D.Min (candidate)

One-Time Registration Fee: P160

For inquiries, contact 636-5535, 801-6789, 829-4474 or fbc_ministries@yahoo.com

Seminar Topics:

“The Church and Authentic Worship” by Dr. Phil Kamibayashiyama, Bob Jones Memorial Bible College, Quezon City
“The Church and Her Fellowship” by Dr. Roberto-Jose Livioco, Foundation Baptist Church, Pasig City
“The Church and Trials: God’s Sovereignty in Suffering” by Pastor Gary Jones, Light House Bible-Believers Church, Paranaque City
“The Church’s Need for Prevailing Prayer” by Pastor Leo Lorenzana, Promised Land Baptist Church, Malabon City
“The Church and Her Finances” by Pastor Jun Gonzales, Las Pinas Baptist Church, Las Pinas City
“Male Spiritual Leadership in the Home and the Church” by.Pastor Cornelio Sacramento, Christian Baptist Church, Bulacan, Bulacan
“The Role of Women in the Home and the Church” by Mrs. Denise Peterson, First Baptist Church, Land O’Lakes, Florida
“The Church and the Devil’s Strategies” by Pastor Carl Gormley, Calvary Baptist Church, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan

Service Messages by Dr. David Peterson, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Land O’Lakes, Florida:

“The Primacy of the Local Church”
“The Purity of the Local Church”
“A Passion for the Local Church”
“The Purpose of the Local Church Amid a Lost World”

Preachers and Workers Fellowship, Friday, October 28, 3 to 5 PM. Topic: “The Pastor’s Responsibility to His Flock”

700,000 visitors and counting for “Better English for everyone” website

2011-09-26T09:28:00.006+08:00

According to my Sitemeter.com tracker, my website “Better English for everyone” reached over 700,000 visitors several days ago. The website became online September 27, 2007. It has been averaging 1,500+ visitors daily this week. Google Analytics, my other website tracker, reports that visitors have come from 195 countries or territories. The top ten countries in number of visitors are the USA, Philippines, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Thailand, Spain, Mexico, Canada, and Australia. (Jump to “How you can help this website” or “How I became involved in Internet ministries”.)

“Better English for everyone” contains numerous links to Gospel websites and my website trackers report that these have been clicked, even by visitors from Restricted Access Nations. Thanks to everyone who have browsed this site. Soli Deo gloria!

The numbers are gratifying for anyone involved in Internet ministries but they do not really represent the number of people who have actually or beneficially used this website. We have to consider factors such as bounce rates, time spent on site, number of pages viewed, etc. Due to the differences in the way these trackers work, Google Analytics reports a higher number of visitors but a lower average time spent (1:05 minutes). Oppositely, Sitemeter reports a lower number of visitors but a higher average time spent (2:55 minutes).

The Sitemeter graphic above shows the number of visitors (yellow bars) and page views (red bars) from August 27 to early September 26.

As you can see, the number of visitors peaks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Saturdays have the lowest number of visitors. But from my analysis of the detailed statistics (not shown in the graphic above), visitors during Saturdays and Sundays usually views more pages and spends more time on the website than visitors during Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Based on the keywords they used in searching Google (“lesson plan”, “worksheet”, “printable”, etc.), the visitors are typically ESL or EFL teachers.

Google Analytics report on top ten countries from August 24 to September 24, 2011 (click the graphic to see the clear, enlarged view)

30% of users spend 60 seconds or more per visit

This time factor (derived from Sitemeter reports) is significant based on Jakob Nielsen’s article “How Long Do Users Stay on Web Pages?”. Nielsen, citing a massive study by Microsoft Research, says:

The first 10 seconds of the page visit are critical for users’ decision to stay or leave. The probability of leaving is very high during these first few seconds because users are extremely skeptical, having suffered countless poorly designed Web pages in the past. People know that most Web pages are useless, and they behave accordingly to avoid wasting more time than absolutely necessary on bad pages.

If the Web page survives this first — extremely harsh — 10-second judgment, users will look around a bit. However, they’re still highly likely to leave during the subsequent 20 seconds of their visit. Only after people have stayed on a page for about 30 seconds does the curve become relatively flat. People continue to leave every second, but at a much slower rate than during the first 30 seconds.

So, if you can convince users to stay on your page for half a minute, there’s a fair chance that they’ll stay much longer — often 2 minutes or more, which is an eternity on the Web.

The average time spent by visitors to “Better English for everyone” is 1:05 minutes (Google Analytics) or 2:55 minutes (Sitemeter). In his article, Nielsen says that “the average is not the most fruitful way of analyzing user behaviors”. Based on my analysis of Sitemeter reports, 30% of users spend 60 seconds or more per visit. This pattern has been consistent since early last year.

How you can help “Better English for everyone”

[1] If your church or ministry would like to sponsor the web hosting fees for “Better English for everyone”, please email me at gtgalacio@yahoo.com for more information. My current web hosting plan with dot.PH Domains is US $66 per quarter with a monthly bandwidth limit of 15 GB. The bandwidth limit for September will be reached early next week. Once the limit is reached, the website will be offline (until it refreshes for the next month within the quarter). The quarter ends on October 8, 2011.

Because of the increasing number of visitors, I need to upgrade to the next higher plan of US $155.40 quarterly billing (US $41.80 monthly) with a bandwidth limit of 30 GB per month. With annual billing, the cost is lower at US $38 monthly or a total of US $458.00.

[2] More than 90% of visitors reached “Better English for everyone” through search engines like Google and Yahoo. You can help increase traffic to this website by posting links to it from your websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.

Internet ministries

My Internet ministries consist of two websites www.familymatters.org.ph and www.betterenglish.org.ph, and several blogs, namely, “Salt and Light” (articles on relationships, marriage, family), “Baptist Churches in the Philippines” (directory of churches); “Legal Updates”, “Campus Connection”(youth-oriented articles including photography), “A picture is worth a thousand words”, and “Baptist Distinctives, free online Bible Institute for Asia, Africa and Latin America”. I also have free PDF newsletters available for download on legal issues affecting the Filipino family.

If you want to know more about web ministries, please surf to the Internet Evangelism Day website.

How I became involved in Internet ministries

I have always been interested in reading and writing. During my grade school days in the 1960’s, I woke up early everyday to go to the guardhouse and read all the English newspapers delivered to a Chinese business tycoon who owned the compound I grew up in. Afternoons after my classes, I would again go to the guardhouse to read the Evening Post (if I remember the newspaper’s title correctly).

That Chinese business tycoon had in his garage a room filled, from floor to ceiling, with hundreds of Reader’s Digest, Life Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, and other magazines. During school breaks, I would spend hours there reading. Whenever I missed lunch, my mother would begin looking for me and she would always find me in that room.

During my high school years (Rizal High School, 1969-1973), I continued my habit of reading newspapers; I spent part of my lunch breaks in the library. In my junior year, I became a sports reporter for our schoolpaper “The Rizalian”. The adviser, Miss Consolacion Constantino, patiently edited my articles, but none of my articles was ever published.

After I lost my NSDB mining engineering scholarship in UP Diliman, I followed the UP guidance counselor’s advice that I should go into writing as a college course and career. I graduated in 1979 with an AB English degree from Philippine Christian University.

I became an English grammar teacher (Dona Aurora High School in San Mateo, 1981-1983), and then a journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser (Quezon City Science High School, 1983-84, and Rizal High School, 1984-1995). In 1985, I enrolled in a BASIC programming course in my alma mater PCU. In my work, I learned desktop publishing (Pagemaker 4), word processing (MS Word 2), and graphics (Coreldraw 3), using our school’s 486 computer, Brother laser printer, and flatbed scanner. (My first computers were a Texas Instrument 99/4A with 16k of memory and a Commodore 64, both gifts from my nephew Ken.)

I was admitted into the Philippine bar in 1995 and practiced law until 2005 when I stopped accepting cases.

In 2003, as I was surveying the ministries still open to me considering my age and circumstances, I learned that online writing was a viable ministry. I canvassed several schools and institutions where I could possibly learn website design. One company in Shaw Boulevard (opposite Jovan Condominium) charged Php 60,000 for its website design course. Too expensive. Genetics Computer Institute had a website design program costing Php 16,000 while Informatics offered its program at Php 20,000. Their curriculum was not what I really needed. Meralco Foundation offered an HTML course at only Php 4,000 but by that time, I had already learned how tedious and error-prone hand coding was.

I began buying books on website design; the books were very expensive, with prices ranging from Php 500 to Php 1,700 (Vincent Flanders’ Son of web pages that suck). I read through the books even though I could not really understand what I was reading. I then bought from a computer bookstore in SM Megamall and SM Centerpoint several tutorial CDs on Dreamweaver and Microsoft Frontpage.

In 2005, I designed and printed out using Pagemaker 5 a sample page of what I wanted my website to look like. To inspire and challenge myself, I brought the printout wherever I went and looked at it from time to time; I also showed it to friends, telling them that I was designing a website. Applying what I learned from designing yearbooks in my work as a schoolpaper adviser, I did a detailed storyboard for each page of my website. Starting that January, I spent my mornings reading my Dreamweaver book and studying the tutorial CD. I thought that I did not have to understand or learn everything about website design. I only had to learn whatever I needed for the website as I conceptualized it. All this time, I also began learning what blogs were.

By late October 2005, I already had created my first blog (“Legal Updates”). I finished designing my website www.familymatters.org.ph by late November. Although I had registered the domain name and paid the web hosting fees by early December, I did not know how to upload the files from my computer to the server. I did not know what FTP (file transfer protocol) was.

Falling away: “Explaining Deconversion from Christianity” from Journal of Religion & Society

2011-06-16T12:20:00.007+08:00

(Note: The Journal of Religion & Society is a cross-disciplinary, electronic journal published by the Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Creighton University.)

“Explaining Deconversion from Christianity: A Study of Online Narratives”, by Bradley R. E. Wright, Dina Giovanelli, Emily G. Dolan (University of Connecticut), and Mark Evan Edwards (Oregon State University)

“Why do people leave religion? An estimated one-third or more Americans drop out of religious participation or affiliation at some time during their life.”

Based on their study of 50 autobiographical narratives written in 2005 by former Christians (most of them between 20 and 50 years old, and predominately middle- and upper-class), these authors identified four reasons for deconversion:

(1) Intellectual and Theological Concerns;
(2) God’s shortcomings;
(3) Interactions with Christians; and
(4) Interactions with non-Christians.

Intellectual and Theological Concerns

“Some writers contrasted Christianity negatively with other conceptualizations of knowledge, such as science, education, and everyday common sense.”

“The writers sometimes experienced tension and anguish as they sought to reconcile their religious beliefs with other forms of knowledge – wanting to believe in one but unable to explain away the other. Ultimately they felt logically compelled, almost against their wishes, to reject Christianity.”

“More specifically to Christianity, numerous writers expressed concerns about the doctrine of hell and the existence of human suffering. Eternal punishment did not fit with some writers’ belief in a loving God, and so they viewed the existence of hell as evidence against the existence of a God worthy of devotion.”

“The problem with hell was not its existence, per se, but its implied injustice. The writers did not understand, for example, why God would condemn people who had no access to Christian teaching.”

“Similar to objections about hell – suffering in the afterlife – some writers rejected God’s allowance of suffering in the current life.”

“Many writers condemned the Bible as inaccurate, offensive, and generally not believable.”

God’s Failures

“Some writers believed that God existed, but they rejected him because he did not help them, especially in times of trouble.”

Interactions with Christians

“The most frequently mentioned role of Christians in deconversion was in amplifying existing doubt. The writers told of sharing their burgeoning doubts with a Christian friend or family member only to receive trite, unhelpful answers. These answers, in turn, moved them further away from Christianity.”

“Ex-Christians were not only critical of fellow parishioners, but also of clergy’s and church lay-leadership’s failure to address the doubter’s questions.”

“Christian hypocrisy was also mentioned occasionally. Some writers told of harm done to them by Christians. For example, a former Pentecostal Christian, and now self-described Hellenic pagan, spoke of her “mistake” in dating a Fundamentalist Christian and how she felt abused by him.”

“Other writers commented on general, amoral behavior among Christians. One wrote that extra-marital sex was rampant in the church that he attended.”

Interactions with Non-Christians

“The narrative writers rarely described individuals outside of the church as helping bring about their deconversion. Rather, they described new relationships with non-Christians (exemplified by their participation in an online community for deconverts) as the consequence, not cause, of changes in their beliefs.”

Read the complete article.

Caution for pastors in solemnizing an “ecclesiastical marriage” or “marriage in the eyes of God and the church”

2011-05-23T10:48:00.038+08:00

I will discuss in this post the following topics:

Over the years, pastors have asked me about the situation of couples who are new believers, enthusiastic about becoming church members and being involved in ministry, but are in a legal mess. Based on the admission of the couples themselves or an investigation by the pastor, these couples are just living in because the man or the woman, or both are legally married to other parties.

(Pastors are divided on the issue of divorce and remarriage. Please read my post “Biblical grounds for divorce and remarriage” where I discussed the views of Chuck Swindoll, Radio Bible Class, and Probe Ministries on this issue.)

I have always counseled pastors to tell the couples in this kind of situation to:

1. file a petition in court to have the subsisting marriage declared void; and

2. refrain from sexual relations while the case is ongoing.

The problem arises however when these couples tell their pastor that they cannot afford the costs of filing a petition for declaration of nullity. In Metro Manila, the costs range from 150 to 200 thousand pesos. The costs are lower in the provinces.

(Please read the Frequently Asked Questions section of my Family Matters website for discussions on declaration of nullity, annulment of voidable marriage, psychological incapacity, etc.)

What an “ecclesiastical marriage” is as practiced by some Baptist pastors

To deal with this problem, some pastors have reportedly resorted to solemnizing what they call “ecclesiastical marriage” or “marriage in the eyes of God and the church”. These pastors conduct a ceremony where they pronounce the man and woman as “husband and wife in the eyes of God and the church”. (Since there is no marriage license or marriage certificate, these pastors do not report the “ecclesiastical marriage” to the Local Civil Registrar or the National Statistics Office.) Despite the man and woman being legally married to other parties, these pastors then allow them to have sexual relations, become members of the church and be involved in ministry.

For a marriage to be Biblical, it must comply with the legal requirements (unless the requirements are clearly un-Biblical)

Some Baptist pastors and missionaries are against State-sanctioned marriages. Citing how Rebekah just went with Abraham’s servant and became Isaac’s wife, they say that the Biblical example of marriage shows that the only ones involved in the contract were the couple themselves or their immediate family members. However, for several reasons, I believe that Baptist pastors and missionaries in the Philippines should not teach their members that if they want to get married, they can just follow this so-called “Biblical example of marriage” of proclaiming by themselves (or by appearing before their families) that they are now married.

First, we must distinguish between what is cultural and what is Biblical, between what was applicable to Jewish culture in Biblical times and what is applicable to our culture now. This so-called “Biblical example on marriage” in Isaac and Rebekah’s story only shows what Jewish culture was like in Biblical times and thus cannot be used to argue that it is the way people should get married today. (The New Testament narrative of Joseph and Mary shows that there was a “betrothal” period between a prospective husband and wife; should we also have this today? For that matter, should our country be a monarchy instead of a democracy since Israel was a monarchy from Saul onwards?)

Second, you can just imagine the social chaos that will follow if a man and woman can get “Biblically married” without complying with the legal requirements. A man and woman (for example, two infatuated teenagers in your church youth group, or a 50-year old guy and a 16-year old girl) can by themselves proclaim that they are now married. What if the man or woman falls in love with another person and abandons the other? What will be the status of their children? What about inheritance rights? The institutions of marriage and the family will break down.

Third, based on the Apostle Paul’s admonition in Romans 13 for Christians to submit to the State, a marriage must follow the legal requirements for it to be valid before the eyes of God. The exception, of course, is when any requirement is clearly contrary to Biblical principles. I don’t know of any provision on marriage of the Family Code of the Philippines which is contrary to the Bible. In fact, the Family Code’s definition and description of marriage (Article 1) is completely Biblical:

“Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code.”

Solemnizing an “ecclesiastical marriage” is illegal and punishable under the Revised Penal Code

If a pastor applies for a license to solemnize marriages, he recognizes and voluntarily submits to the authority of the State. He cannot therefore simply set aside the essential and formal requisites on marriage (Articles 2 and 3) of the Family Code of the Philippines. By solemnizing an “ecclesiastical marriage”, the pastor violates Article 352 of the Revised Penal Code which states:

Art. 352. Performance of an illegal marriage ceremony. – Priests or ministers of any religious denomination or sect, or civil authorities who shall perform or authorize any illegal marriage ceremony shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Marriage Law.

Under Section 39 of Act No. 3613, the penalty for violating Art. 352 is imprisonment of two months (minimum) up to two years (maximum).

Supreme Court ruling in “Estrada vs. Escritor” cannot be used as basis for an “ecclesiastical marriage”

Please read my post “The Estrada vs. Escritor case: Did the Supreme Court legitimize live-in relationships in the name of freedom of religion?” The Escritor case is the Philippines’ landmark case on freedom of religion. Briefly, the facts of the case are:

[1] Soledad Escritor is a court stenographer in Las Pinas. She started living in with Luciano Quilapio, Jr. twenty seven years ago when her husband was still alive but living with another woman. Quilapio himself is married to another woman. When Escritor entered the judiciary in 1999, she was already a widow, her husband having died in 1998. They have a son. Both Escritor and Quilapio are members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

[2] Escritor was charged administratively in July 2000 before the Supreme Court for immorality.

[3] In her defense, Escritor claimed the 1987 Constitution provision on freedom of religion. She claimed that her relationship with Quilapio had the blessings of her denomination. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a long-standing, worldwide practice based on their doctrines where a man and woman, unable to get legally married, are recognized as husband and wife through the signing of a document called “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness”. The Supreme Court in its ruling describes what this Declaration is all about:

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Declaration allows members of the congregation who have been abandoned by their spouses to enter into marital relations. The Declaration thus makes the resulting union moral and binding within the congregation all over the world except in countries where divorce is allowed. As laid out by the tenets of their faith, the Jehovah’s congregation requires that at the time the declarations are executed, the couple cannot secure the civil authorities’ approval of the marital relationship because of legal impediments. Only couples who have been baptized and in good standing may execute the Declaration, which requires the approval of the elders of the congregation. As a matter of practice, the marital status of the declarants and their respective spouses’ commission of adultery are investigated before the declarations are executed. Escritor and Quilapio’s declarations were executed in the usual and approved form prescribed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, approved by elders of the congregation where the declarations were executed, and recorded in the Watch Tower Central Office.

Moreover, the Jehovah’s congregation believes that once all legal impediments for the couple are lifted, the validity of the declarations ceases, and the couple should legalize their union. In Escritor’s case, although she was widowed in 1998, thereby lifting the legal impediment to marry on her part, her mate was still not capacitated to remarry. Thus, their declarations remained valid. In sum, therefore, insofar as the congregation is concerned, there is nothing immoral about the conjugal arrangement between Escritor and Quilapio and they remain members in good standing in the congregation.

[4] Upon investigation of Escritor’s claims, the Supreme Court found that:

Respondent appears to be sincere in her religious belief and practice and is not merely using the “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness” to avoid punishment for immorality. She did not secure the Declaration only after entering the judiciary where the moral standards are strict and defined, much less only after an administrative case for immorality was filed against her. The Declaration was issued to her by her congregation after ten years of living together with her partner, Quilapio, and ten years before she entered the judiciary. Ministers from her congregation testified on the authenticity of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practice of securing a Declaration and their doctrinal or scriptural basis for such a practice.

[5] The Supreme Court dismissed the administrative complaint against Escritor.

The Supreme Court ruling in Estrada vs. Escritor cannot be used as a legal basis by Baptist pastors in solemnizing an “ecclesiastical marriage” for several reasons:

[1] The Supreme Court clearly stated that its ruling is pro hac vice (“for this one particular occasion”). The Escritor ruling did not establish a general rule but an exception to the general rule on the basis of a valid exercise of the Constitutional freedom of religion. As the Supreme Court clarified, “It does not mean that the Court would grant exemptions every time a free exercise of religion comes before it. Thus, we find that in this particular case and under these distinct circumstances, respondent Escritor’s conjugal arrangement cannot be penalized as she has made out a case for exemption from the law based on her fundamental right to freedom of religion.”

[2] While the Jehovah’s Witnesses base their long-standing, worldwide practice of “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness” on their doctrines, Baptist pastors and churches do not have any Biblical basis (whether in the Old Testament, the Gospels, Acts or the Epistles) for an “ecclesiastical marriage”. There is “no record in the Bible that any prophet, priest, rabbi, apostle or deacon ever presided over a marriage ceremony or had the authority to do so”. From where then does a pastor get his authority to solemnize an “ecclesiastical marriage”?

As I stated above, the only reason why some Baptist pastors have resorted to solemnizing an “ecclesiastical marriage” is because the man or the woman cannot afford the costs of having the subsisting marriage declared void. Human reasoning and pragmatism, not any Biblical principle, are their only bases. Please take note that the “Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness” of the Jehovah's Witnesses applies only when the couple cannot secure the civil authorities’ approval of the marital relationship because of legal impediments, not the lack of financial means. Once all legal impediments for the couple are lifted, the validity of the declarations ceases, and the couple should legalize their union.

Resorting to “ecclesiastical marriage” manifests a lack of faith in an omnipotent and sovereign God

Moreover, these pastors and couples manifest their lack of faith in an omnipotent, sovereign God who can:

[1] provide the finances needed to obtain a court decree on the nullity of the subsisting marriage; or

[2] change the man and woman’s personal circumstances; or

[3] provide the grace that will enable the man and woman to live separately if He chooses sovereignly not to change their circumstances or to provide the finances in obtaining a court decree.

A man and woman having sexual relations outside of marriage are committing sin. The greater sin however lies with the pastor who misleads the man and woman into thinking that an “ecclesiastical marriage” bestows God’s approval and blessings on their relationship.

“Ecclesiastical marriage” further complicates matters legally

Property relations between the man and woman in an “ecclesiastical marriage” will fall under Article 148 of the Family Code. Since the subsisting marriage has not been declared void by the courts, the legal spouse remains the man or woman’s heir.

What do you do with the children born to the man and woman? Will they be reported as legitimate or illegitimate? What surname will they use? What will be the rights of these children in terms of inheritance?

Benefits such as paternity leave are available only to legally married persons.

Please read these relevant links:

“Counterfeit Gospels” by Trevin Wax

2011-05-06T12:26:00.005+08:00

Trevin Wax is an editor at LifeWay Christian Resources. He received a Masters of Divinity at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and spent several years serving the First Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee as Associate Pastor. He has been blogging regularly at Kingdom People since October 2006.

Trevin enumerates the counterfeit gospels as:

[1] Therapeutic Gospel: Sin robs us of our sense of fullness. Christ’s death proves our worth as humans and gives us power to reach our potential. The church helps us find happiness.

[2] Moralist Gospel: Our big problem is sins (plural) and not sin (nature). The purpose for Christ’s death is to give us a second chance and make us better people. Redemption comes through the exercise of willpower with God’s help.

[3] Judgmentless Gospel: God’s forgiveness does not need to come through the sacrifice of His Son. Judgment is more about God’s goodness, not the need for human rebellion to be punished. Evangelism is not urgent.

[4] Activist Gospel: The kingdom is advanced through our efforts to build a just society. The gospel’s power is demonstrated through cultural transformation, and the church is united around political causes and social projects.

[5] Churchless Gospel: The focus of salvation is primarily on the individual, in a way that makes the community of faith peripheral to God’s purposes. The church is viewed as an option to personal spirituality, or even an obstacle to Christlikeness.

[6] Quietist Gospel: Salvation is about spiritual things, not secular matters. Christianity is only about individual life change and is not concerned with society and politics.

Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake: Free PDF download “Where is God when Things Go Wrong?” by John Blanchard

2011-03-14T07:32:00.001+08:00

“Where is God When Things Go Wrong?” by evangelist and apologist John Blanchard is a free PDF booklet to download from David Legge's www.preachtheword.com and by kind permission of www.evangelicalpress.org (Note: This download is for personal use only and should not be printed or copied. The book can be ordered singly or in bulk from Evangelical Press.)

Excerpts:

Why should issues of good and evil, or human suffering, cause any problems? If the British philosopher Bertrand Russell was right to dismiss man as ‘a curious accident in a backwater’, why should it matter in the least whether lives are ended slowly or suddenly, peacefully or painfully, one by one or en masse? If the Oxford professor Peter Atkins, another dogmatic atheist, is right to call mankind ‘just a bit of slime on a planet’, why should we be remotely concerned at the systematic slaughter of six million Jews or half a million Rwandans? Are we traumatized when we see slime trodden on or shoveled down a drain? The whole world wept over the destruction and death brought about by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, but why not have the same anguish over the fate of beetles or bacteria, rats or reptiles? If human beings are simply the result of countless chemical and biological accidents, how can they have any personal value, and why should we turn a hair if dictatorial regimes or natural disasters dispose of them by the million? The same applies to violence or bloodshed on a personal or limited basis. If we are nothing more than biological flukes, with no meaningful origin or destiny, why should the way we treat each other matter more than the way other creatures behave?

How can we jump from atoms to ethics and from molecules to morality? If we are merely genetically programmed machines, how can we condemn anything as being ‘evil’, or commend anything as being ‘good’? Why should we be concerned over issues of justice or fairness, or feel any obligation to treat other ‘machines’ with dignity or respect? When people respond to tragedy by asking, ‘How can there be a just God?’ their question is logically flawed, as without him words like ‘just’ and ‘unjust’ are purely matters of personal opinion.

Free 500-page PDF on missionary kids for parents, teachers and caregivers

2011-02-23T07:49:00.008+08:00

Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and Joyce Bowers have graciously given permission to post this book online for people to download free of charge because the book is out of print. This 500-page book contains the collected wisdom of 38 authors who wrote the 56 chapters. It was the collaborative effort of ACSI, Interaction, Inc., and Mission Training International (MTI) and provides resources for people who have responsibility for MKs and other TCKs. (From www.missionarycare.com)

Chapters include: Preparing Children for Missionary Life; Preparing Our MKs for College; Making Career Choices; Bruising: When Things Go Wrong; Family Dynamics That Affect the MK; The Importance of Fathers in MK Development

Download as a pdf file (1.68 mb)

Download as a Word .doc file (1.53 mb)

Download as a .zip archive (469 kb)

Download as a .mobi for the Kindle (5.8 mb)

Other available resources from www.missionarycare.com and www.crossculturalworkers.com:

Why do so few people take the Gospel to the unevangelized?

2011-02-14T00:10:00.000+08:00

“The Great Omission, A Biblical Basis for World Evangelism”, by J. Robertson McQuilkin (read from Google Books or download PDF)

McQuilkin is the President Emeritus of Columbia International University and spent 12 years as a missionary in Japan. He resigned as president to care for his wife, Muriel when she reached the stage of Alzheimer’s disease in which she needed full-time care (listen to his moving resignation speech.)

During one lecture before several hundred college students, McQuilkin was asked, “How is it, with so many unreached peoples, there are so few Christians going?” In this book, he provides five major answers:

We don’t care that much.

We don’t see very well.

We think there must be some other way.

Our prayer is peripheral.

Someone isn’t listening.

BBFI Global Fellowship Meeting, Cebu, Philippines, February 21-24, 2011

2011-01-11T08:32:00.002+08:00

Baptist Bible Fellowship International will hold its Global Fellowship Meeting on February 21-24, 2011 at the Bible Baptist Church, no. 55 Katipunan St. Cebu City, Philippines. For more information about this global conference, accommodations, etc., please visit the BBC Cebu website, the event website www.cebu2011.com (all-Flash), or download the PDF brochure (2 MB).

Schedule of activities

Monday 6:00 PM – Opening service
Speakers:

Shoji Yoshida (Japanese missionary in Asia)
Dr. Armie Jesalva (Pastor of host church – Philippines)

Tuesday 9:00 AM – Remember the past
Speakers:

Mike Valdez (Filipino missionary in Cambodia)
Elmer Deal (BBFI Missionary in Congo)
Nuth Pich (Pastor in Cambodia)
Alfonso Alvizo (Evangelist in Mexico)
George Housney (Evangelist for Middle East)

Lunch

Afternoon: Seminar on reaching the Muslims with the Gospel, 2:00 PM

Tuesday 6:00 PM
Speakers:

Tsunehiro Michishita (Pastor in Japan)
Edivaldo Cano (Pastor in Brazil)

Wednesday 9:00 AM – Rejoice in our present opportunities
Speakers:

Jeevan Sharma (Pastor in Nepal)
Dr. Jae Kee Lee (Pastor in Korea)
Larry Nelson (BBFI missionary in Australia)
Gerardo Nable (Pastor in Philippines)

Lunch; Special luncheon for Asian Baptist Clearinghouse, 12:30 PM

Wednesday 6:00 PM
Speakers:

Cherlsoon Yim (Korean missionary in Ghana)
John Chow (Pastor in Taiwan)

Thursday 9:00 AM – Renew our vision for the future
Speakers:

Paul Byars (BBFI missionary with ABC – Philippines)
Mukendi Cikala Jean (Pastor in Congo)
Malid Khaled (Pastor in Middle East)
Leonard James (Pastor in United Kingdom)
Jun Lumagbas (Pastor in Philippines)

Lunch

Afternoon: Seminar of outreach program by Bible Baptist Church, Cebu, 2:00 PM

Thursday 6:00 PM
Speakers:

Linzy Slayden (BBFI President – USA)
Dr. Daniel Kim (Pastor in Korea)

Seven billion people by end of 2011

2011-01-04T14:17:00.002+08:00

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (animated)

2010-12-10T00:01:00.002+08:00

(Note: This review/summary is from Wikipedia)

Plot (First Part)

Christian, an everyman character, is the protagonist of the allegory, which centres itself in his journey from his hometown, the “City of Destruction” (“this world”), to the "Celestial City" (“that which is to come”: Heaven) atop Mt. Zion. Christian finds himself weighed down by a great burden, the knowledge of his sin, which he believed came from his reading “the book in his hand,” (the Bible). This burden, which would cause him to sink into Tophet (hell), is Christian’s acute, immediate concern that impels him to the crisis of what to do for deliverance. Evangelist meets Christian as he is walking out in the fields and directs him to the “Wicket Gate” for deliverance. Since Christian cannot see the “Wicket Gate” in the distance, Evangelist directs him to go to a “shining light,” which Christian thinks he sees. Christian leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself when his attempt to persuade them to go with him fails. Two men of Destruction City, Obstinate and Pliable, follow Christian to persuade him to return and are unsuccessful. Pliable then decides to accompany Christian on the path, until the two land in the Slough Of Despond—whereupon Pliable extricates himself and goes back to the City; Christian is rescued from the slough by Help, who throws him a rope.

On his way to the Wicket Gate, Christian is diverted by Mr. Worldly Wiseman into seeking deliverance from his burden through the Law, supposedly with the help of a Mr. Legality and his son Civility in the village of Morality, rather than through Christ, allegorically by way of the Wicket Gate. Evangelist meets the wayward Christian where he has stopped before a life-threatening mountain, Mount Sinai, on the way to Legality’s home. Evangelist shows Christian that he had sinned by turning out of his way, but he assures him that he will be welcomed at the Wicket Gate if he should turn around and go there, which Christian does.

At the Wicket Gate begins the “straight and narrow” King’s Highway, and Christian is directed onto it by the gatekeeper Good Will. In the Second Part, Good-will is shown to be Jesus himself. To Christian's query about relief from his burden, Good Will directs him forward to “the place of deliverance.”

Christian makes his way from there to the House of the Interpreter, where he is shown pictures and tableaux that portray or dramatize aspects of the Christian faith and life. Roger Sharrock denotes them “emblems.”

From the House of the Interpreter, Christian finally reaches the “place of deliverance” (allegorically, the cross of Calvary and the open sepulchre of Christ), where the “straps” that bound Christian’s burden to him break, and it rolls away into the open sepulchre. This event happens relatively early in the narrative: the immediate need of Christian at the beginning of the story being quickly remedied. After Christian is relieved of his burden, he is greeted by three shining ones, who give him the greeting of peace, new garments, and a scroll as a passport into the Celestial City — these are allegorical figures indicative of Christian Baptism.

Atop the Hill of Difficulty, Christian makes his first stop for the night at the House Beautiful, which is an allegory of the local Christian congregation. Christian spends three days here, and leaves clothed with armour (Eph. 6:11-18), which stands him in good stead in his battle against Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. This battle lasts “over half a day” until Christian manages to wound Apollyon with his two-edged sword (a reference to the Bible, Heb. 4:12). “And with that Apollyon spread his dragon wings and sped away.”

As night falls Christian enters the Valley of the Shadow of Death. When he is in the middle of the valley amidst the gloom and terror he hears the words of the Twenty-third Psalm, spoken possibly by his friend Faithful:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalms 23:4.)

As he leaves this valley the sun rises on a new day.

Just outside the Valley of the Shadow of Death he meets Faithful, also a former resident of the City of Destruction, who accompanies him to Vanity Fair, where both are arrested and detained because of their disdain for the wares and business of the fair. Faithful is put on trial, and executed as a martyr. Hopeful, a resident of Vanity, takes Faithful’s place to be Christian’s companion for the rest of the way.

Along a rough stretch of road, Christian and Hopeful leave the highway to travel on the easier By-Path Meadow, where a rainstorm forces them to spend the night. In the morning they are captured by Giant Despair, who takes them to his Doubting Castle, where they are imprisoned, beaten and starved. The giant wants them to commit suicide, but they endure the ordeal until Christian realizes that a key he has, called Promise, will open all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle. Using the key, they escape.

The Delectable Mountains form the next stage of Christian and Hopeful’s journey, where the shepherds show them some of the wonders of the place also known as “Immanuel’s Land”.
On the way, Christian and Hopeful meet a lad named Ignorance, who has the vain hope of entering the Celestial City even though he believes in work’s righteousness. A ferryman named Vain Hope ferries Ignorance across the River of Death, only for Ignorance to be turned away from the gates of Celestial City and cast into hell.

Christian and Hopeful make it through the dangerous Enchanted Ground into the Land of Beulah, where they ready themselves to cross the River of Death on foot to Mount Zion and the Celestial City. Christian has a rough time of it, but Hopeful helps him over; and they are welcomed into the Celestial City.

Characters (First Part)

Note: Names of main characters are in capital letters.

• CHRISTIAN, whose name was Graceless at some time before, the protagonist in the First Part, whose journey to the Celestial City is the plot of the story.

• EVANGELIST, the religious man who puts Christian on the path to the Celestial City. He also shows Christian a book, which readers assume to be the Bible.

• Obstinate, one of the two residents of the City of Destruction, who run after Christian when he first sets out, in order to bring him back.

• Pliable, the other of the two, who goes with Christian until both of them fall into the Slough of Despond. Pliable escapes from the slough and returns home.

• Help, Christian’s rescuer from the Slough of Despond.

• MR. WORLDLY WISEMAN, a resident of a place called Carnal Policy, who persuades Christian go out of his way to be helped by a Mr. Legality and then move to the City of Morality.

• GOODWILL, the keeper of the Wicket Gate through which one enters the “straight and narrow way” (also referred to as “the King's Highway”) to the Celestial City. In the Second Part we find that this character is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.

• Beelzebub, literally “Lord of the Flies”, is one of the devil’s companion archdevils who has erected a fort near the Wicket Gate from which he and his companions can shoot arrows at those who are about to enter the Wicket Gate. He is also the Lord of Vanity Fair. Christian calls him “captain” of the fiend Apollyon.

• THE INTERPRETER, the one who has his House along the way as a rest stop for travellers to check in to see pictures and dioramas to teach them the right way to live the Christian life. He has been identified as the Holy Spirit. He also appears in the Second Part.

• Shining Ones, the messengers and servants of “the Lord of the Hill”, God. They are obviously the holy angels.

• Formalist, one of two travellers on the King’s Highway, who do not come in by the Wicket Gate, but climb over the wall that encloses it, at least from the hill and sepulcre up to the Hill Difficulty. He and his companion Hypocrisy come from the land of Vainglory. He takes one of the two bypaths that avoid the Hill Difficulty, but is lost.

• Hypocrisy, the companion of Formalist. He takes the other of the two bypaths and is also lost.

• Timorous, one of two who try to persuade Christian to go back for fear of the chained lions near the House Beautiful. He is a relative of Mrs. Timorous of the Second Part. His companion is

• Mistrust.

• Watchful, the porter of the House Beautiful. He also appears in the Second Part and receives “a gold angel” coin from Christiana for his kindness and service to her and her companions. “Watchful” is also the name of one of the Delectable Mountains’ shepherds.

• Discretion, one of the maids of the House Beautiful, who decides to allow Christian to stay there.

• Prudence, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the Second Part.

• Piety, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the Second Part.

• Charity, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the Second Part.

• APOLLYON, literally “Destroyer”; the lord of the City of Destruction and one of the devil’s companion archdevils, who tries to force Christian to return to his domain and service. His battle with Christian takes place in the Valley of Humiliation, just below the House Beautiful. He appears as a dragon-like creature with scales and bats’ wings. He takes darts from his body to throw at his opponents.

• Giants “Pope” and “Pagan”, allegories of Roman Catholicism and paganism as persecutors of Protestant Christians. “Pagan” is dead, indicating the end of pagan persecution with Antiquity, and “Pope” is alive but decrepit, indicating the then diminished power and influence of the Roman Catholic pope.

• FAITHFUL, Christian’s friend from the City of Destruction, who is also going on pilgrimage. Christian meets him just after getting through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

• Wanton, a temptress who tries to get Faithful to leave his journey to the Celestial City. She may be the popular resident of the City of Destruction, Madam Wanton, who hosted a house party for friends of Mrs. Timorous.

• Adam the First, “the old man” (representing carnality) who tries to persuade Faithful to leave his journey and come live with his 3 daughters: the Lust of the flesh, the Lust of the eyes, and the Pride of life.

• Moses, the severe, violent avenger (representing the Law, which knows no mercy) who tries to kill Faithful for his momentary weakness in wanting to go with Adam the First out of the way.

• Talkative, a hypocrite known to Christian from the City of Destruction, who lived on Prating Row. He talks fervently of religion, but has no evident works as a result of true salvation.

• Lord Hate-good, the judge who tries Faithful in Vanity Fair.

• Envy, the first witness against Faithful.

• Superstition, the second witness against Faithful.

• Pick-Thank, the third witness against Faithful.

• HOPEFUL, the resident of Vanity Fair, who takes Faithful’s place as Christian’s fellow traveller. The character HOPEFUL poses an inconsistency in that there is a necessity imposed on the pilgrims that they enter the “King’s Highway” by the Wicket Gate. HOPEFUL did not; however, of him we read: “... one died to bear testimony to the truth, and another rises out of his ashes to be a companion with Christian in his pilgrimage”. HOPEFUL assumes FAITHFUL’S place by God’s design. Theologically and allegorically it would follow in that “faith” is trust in God as far as things present are concerned, and “hope”, biblically the same as “faith”, is trust in God as far as things of the future are concerned. HOPEFUL would follow FAITHFUL. The other factor is Vanity Fair's location right on the straight and narrow way. IGNORANCE, in contrast to HOPEFUL, came from the Country of Conceit, that connected to the “King's Highway” by means of a crooked lane. IGNORANCE was told by CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL that he should have entered the highway through the Wicket Gate.

• Mr. By-Ends, a hypocritical pilgrim who perishes in the Hill Lucre silver mine with three of his friends. A “by-end” is a pursuit that is achieved indirectly. In the case of By-Ends and his companions, it is pursuing financial gain through religion.

• Demas, a deceiver, who beckons to pilgrims at the Hill Lucre to come and join in the supposed silver mining going on in it.

• GIANT DESPAIR, the owner of Doubting Castle, where Christians are imprisoned and murdered. He is slain by GREAT-HEART in the Second Part.

• Giantess Diffidence, Despair's wife. She is slain by OLD HONEST in the Second Part.

• Knowledge, one of the shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.

• Experience, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.

• Watchful, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.

• Sincere, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.

• IGNORANCE, “a brisk young lad”, who joins the “King's Highway” by way of the “crooked lane” that comes from his native country, called “Conceit.” He follows Christian and Hopeful and on two occasions talks with them. He believes that he will be received into the Celestial City because of his doing good works in accordance with God's will. Jesus Christ is for him only an example not a Savior. Christian and Hopeful try to set him right, but they fail. He gets a ferryman, Vain-Hope, to ferry him across the River of Death rather than cross it on foot as one is supposed to do. When he gets to the gates of the Celestial City, he is asked for a “certificate” needed for entry, which he does not have. The King, then, orders that he be bound and cast into hell.

• The Flatterer, a deceiver who leads Christian and Hopeful out of their way, when they fail to look at the roadmap given them by the Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.

• Atheist, a mocker of CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL, who goes the opposite way on the “King’s Highway” because he boasts that he knows that God and the Celestial City do not exist.

Heartlight: free resources like pictures, e-cards, Powerpoint templates and backgrounds, etc.

2010-12-09T07:01:00.000+08:00

Heartlight Magazine offers numerous free resources for churches and ministries:

[1] Heart Gallery (thousands of scriptural artwork images available for viewing; select from the most recent, past favorites, or search to find exactly what you're looking for)

[2] HeartCards (a free electronic Christian greeting card service for friends and loved ones world wide with topics such as Salvation, Friendship, Love, Thanks, Comfort, Encouragement, Praise, Inspiration; you can customize the e-card as to style, sound and date.)

[3] PowerPoint resources (collection of templates, images, and slide show presentations to help assist you in your particular ministry; Templates - with various themes; Backgrounds - images for presentations; Seminars - presentations done by Heartlight staff

From Heartlight’s Rules of Use

We are truly pleased to provide these resources for you to use in your ministry. Our mission is to provide resources for victorious Christian living in today’s world.

You are free to use and share this copyrighted material for personal, church, and ministry use for both public and private presentations as long as this notice, the materials themselves, and any of the associated images are not changed and it is not distributed, bundled, or reproduced in any form and sold, or requires shipping or handling charges. These materials are intended for free distribution for Christians to be used to the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Unless otherwise indicated, all PowerPoint resources are Copyright HEARTLIGHT®, Inc., 2001. http://www.heartlight.org.

Free MP3 and PDF materials in Homiletics

2010-10-30T22:42:00.007+08:00

Note: Please read also The Power and Authority of Preaching.

[1] Homiletics: The Art of Preaching and Teaching, by Ptr. Vincent Sawyer, Faith Baptist Church, New York

Lesson 1 - The Aim Of Preaching (download mp3)

Lesson 2 - Study Before You Preach (download mp3)

Lesson 3 - Basic Rules Of Hermeneutics (Bible Interpretation) (download mp3)

Lesson 4 - Pulling Principles Out Of The Text (download mp3)

Lesson 5 - Determining The Main Principle (download mp3)

Lesson 6 - Forming Your Proposition (download mp3)

Lesson 7 - The Main Points Of Your Outline (download mp3)

Lesson 8 - The Minor Points Of Your Outline (download mp3)

Lesson 9 - Adding ‘Meat’ to Your Message (download mp3)

Lesson 10 - Preparing Your Introduction, Conclusion, & Title (download mp3)

Lesson 11 - Outlining A Passage. Expository Textual & Topical Types (download mp3)

Lesson 12 - Tips For Effective Message Delivery (download mp3)

Ptr. Sawyer’s original materials in text format are still available from a different website:

(1) What is a Preacher? (2) What is so important about preaching? (3) What is the key to being a successful and effective Preacher? (4) What is Biblical Preaching? (5) What is the aim of preaching? (6) How do I prepare a message? (7) What format should I follow to outline? (8) What are the different types of sermons? (9) What are some tips for effective delivery of a message?

[2] Expository preaching from “Preparing to Preach” workshops led by Rev. John D. Brand, Harper Memorial Baptist Church, Glasgow

Session 1 Expository Preaching: What? (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 2 Expository Preaching: Why? (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 3 Expository Preaching: How? (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 4 Feeling the Flesh (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 5 Them Bones (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 6 Every Text has a Heart (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 7 The Brain and Heart of the Sermon (mp3, pdf, ppt)

Session 8 Setting the Bones (mp3, pdf)
Rev. Dominic Smart: God uses preaching like nothing else (mp3, pdf); Acts 8vv26-40 (mp3, pdf)

Rev. Edward Lobb: Sharpening up your preaching (mp3); Titus 2 (mp3)

Rev. Dr Sandy Roger: Paul’s Preaching Experience and Technique (mp3, pdf); Preaching that gets through to people (mp3, pdf)

Rev. Dr Geoffrey Grogan: Expository Preaching: Some important principles (mp3, pdf); Ephesians 1vv3-14 (mp3)

Rev. Peter Grainger: Preaching on Luke 20vv20-40 (mp3, pdf ); Luke 20vv20-40 (mp3); Preparing to preach (mp3)

Rev. Derek Prime: Preaching the cross (mp3); Handling the text (mp3); Handling the text (pdf)

Rev. Willie Philip: Genesis 19vv1-29 (mp3); Preaching ‘nasty narrative’ (mp3, pdf)

Rev. Dr Geoffrey Grogan: Preaching from the Psalms mp3, pdf); Psalm 77( mp3); Errors in handling Scripture 1 (pdf); Errors in handling Scripture 2 (pdf)

Rev. Dr Colin Dow: Preaching from Old Testament Narrative (mp3, ppt); Genesis 44 (mp3)

Rev. Colin Adams: Preaching from the Prophets (mp3); Jeremiah 44 (mp3)

[3] “Preaching Christ” series by Dr. David P. Murray, Stornoway Free Church of Scotland

Preparing to preach (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to select a text (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to examine a text (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to vary your sermons (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to introduce a sermon (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to organise a sermon 1 (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to organise a sermon 2 (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to apply a sermon 1 (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to apply a sermon 2 (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

How to deliver a sermon (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

[4] Preaching Clinic for Elders, by Dr. Dennis Prutow, Biblical Preaching Institute (Reformed Presbyterian)

#1 - A Definition of Preaching (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

#2 - The Point of the Text (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

#3 - The Point of the Sermon (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

#4 Developing Your Outline (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

#5 Dealing With the Details (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

#6 Conclusions & Introductions (mp3 play or download; pdf view or download)

[5] Christ-Centered Preaching: Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, by Dr. Bryan Chapell. Notes: (1) Dr. Chappel is a Reformed Presbyterian and covenant theologian; his materials on homiletics however can benefit dispensational Baptists; (2) Registration (free) is required before you can download Dr. Chapell’s PDF and MP3 files.

Lesson 1 Word and Witness; Lesson 2 What’s the Big Idea; Lesson 3 Text Selection and Interpretation; Lesson 4 The Road From Text to Sermon; Lesson 5 Outlining and Arrangement; Lesson 6 Propositions and Main Points; Lesson 7 Introductions; Lesson 8 Exposition; Lesson 9 Sermon Divisions and Development; Lesson 10 Conclusions; Lesson 11 Classification of Messages; Lesson 12 Explanation; Lesson 13 Why to Illustrate; Lesson 14 How to Illustrate Part 1 and 2; Lesson 15A Application Part 1 and 2; Lesson 16 Transitions and Dialogical Method; Lesson 17 Methods of Sermon Presentation; Lesson 18 Voice and Gesture; Lesson 19 Dress and Style; Lesson 20 Old Friends in New Clothes; Lesson 21 Word and Spirit; Lesson 22 A Redemptive Approach to Preaching; Lesson 23 Developing Redemptive Messages; Lesson 24 Preaching Christ-Centered Application Sanctification; Lesson 25 Hearing the Application of Redemptive Principles

The 21st Fundamental Bible Conference, October 26-29, 2010

2010-10-26T07:11:00.000+08:00

Dr. Jose-Roberto Livioco, conference organizer; Dr. David Shoaf (Independent Baptist Church, Bolingbrook, Illinois, USA), keynote speaker

Time: 6 to 9:30 PM; Venue: Integrated Bar of the Philippines auditorium, No. 15 Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

One time registration fee 160 pesos

Contact numbers: 636-5535, 829-4474, 425-6249, 514-8340, 0922-898-2565

Free world missions Powerpoints from Joshua Project

2010-10-23T07:00:00.002+08:00

[1] Let the Nations be Glad (download Powerpoint, 16.2 MB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

A challenging PowerPoint about the unfinished task of the Great Commission from people and language perspectives. Gives an overview of some of the things God is doing around the world as well as some of the challenges remaining to finishing the task.

[2] Signs of the Times (download Powerpoint, 21.6 MB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

This PowerPoint looks at some of the Biblical signs that will characterize the end times. In addition, this PowerPoint provides an overview of some of the major positive and negative trends in global missions.

[3] Status of World Evangelization (download Powerpoint 7.1 MB; download handout in Word or PDF; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

This PowerPoint provides a snapshot of the overall status of world evangelization with a particular focus on the unfinished task of the Great Commission. A visionary tool for small groups, churches, mission conferences, denominations and mission agencies.

[4] Least Reached of Southeast Asia (download Powerpoint, 3.1 MB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

A PowerPoint detailing the status of the Great Commission and least-reached peoples in eleven countries of Southeast Asia.

[5] Thirty Unreached Peoples (download Powerpoint, 8.2 MB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

Thirty of the most unreached people groups in the world. Great for introducing a prayer gathering, Great Commission sermon or mission conference and creating vision for unreached peoples.

[6] “Where Are We” by Stan Parks (download Powerpoint, 554.2 KB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

A PowerPoint created by Stan Parks and presented at the Ethne '06 Conference. Where Are We looks at our changing world and church and how those changes impact unreached people group ministry.

[7] State of the Gospel from Operation World (download Powerpoint, 10.7 MB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

This PowerPoint was created by Jason Mandryk using Operation World information. It provides an excellent overview of missions and global evangelization.

[8] Joshua Project Overview (download Powerpoint, 1.8 MB; view the Powerpoint in your browser: click on the slide, not the arrows to advance.)

An overview of Joshua Project outlining the vision, activities and audience of this initiative.

Free PDF on marriage issues for missionaries (also for pastors and other persons in ministry)

2010-10-18T09:42:00.039+08:00

This free PDF entitled “Missionary Marriage Issues” was written by Ronald L. Koteskey, Member Care Consultant for GO InterNational (an interdenominational world-wide Christian mission organization involved in organizing short-term missions, among other projects). While Ron wrote this material specifically for missionaries, his insights, comments, and suggestions are valuable for pastors and their wives, persons involved in ministry, and for any married couple. Ron and his wife (former teachers with 35 years experience in Bible colleges, public and Christian schools) maintain two websites www.missionarycare.com and www.crossculturalworkers.com which provide free resources like brochures and e-books for two culture-kids, marriage issues, and reentry for missionaries.

Ron’s terms of use for his e-book: “Permission is granted to copy and distribute this book in its entirety without charge. Send it to anyone you believe may benefit from reading it. Please do NOT post this book anywhere else on the Internet.”

Topics discussed

“Missionary Marriage Issues” (62 pages, 338 k) is divided into nineteen chapters: (1) What about Dorothy? (2) I Don’t Want to Go! (3) Not Called, but Willing (4) I’m Marrying a National! (5) This Is No Honeymoon (6) I’m Just a Trailing Spouse (7) Relationship Time (8) Ministry Separation (9) Marriage or Ministry (10) Sexual Stress (11) Computer Sex or me? (12) Maintaining Sexual Purity (13) Digital Distractions (14) You Spent It on WHAT? (15) FUNd Raising Isn’t FUN! (16) Wounds, Scabs, and Scars (17) How Will We Discipline Them? (18) I Wish Your Parents Would Leave Us Alone! (19) What about Charlotte?

Missionaries, pastors and people in ministry are not exempt from deep marital troubles and are more susceptible to sexual sin

In the preface, Ron states the reason why he wrote this e-book:

Why write a book about issues in missionary marriages when so many books about marriage are available? The reason is because married couples living in cultures other than their passport one face some issues that make marriage more difficult than it is for people remaining at “home.”

During one year two divorces occurred in missionary families our church supported. The next year another divorce occurred. All three divorces involved people 40-60 years of age, one with empty-nesters and two in families with three children at home in each. A single-mom in her thirties with two children registered for one of Ron’s courses, and it turned out that while in language school her husband had left her for a national woman. We received a call to help a couple in their twenties because the wife was considering divorce to marry a national man. As you read this book, you will see that these issues go clear back to the beginning of the modern protestant missionary movement in the eighteenth century.

“If you think you are invulnerable to sexual sin, you are actually the most vulnerable.”

In Chapter 8, Ron warns missionaries, pastors and others in ministry about sexual or emotional attraction for someone other than their spouse. He says: “If you feel vulnerable in this area, you are. If you do not feel vulnerable, you may be even more vulnerable than those who do feel it. Such attraction must not be tolerated in any way.”

In Chapter 9, Ron cautions missionaries that they are “more susceptible to sexual sin than someone back home. You may be because of some of the facts of missionary life.” Ron enumerates these factors as high stress, lack of privacy, cultural taboos, more separation, pornography through the Internet, and need for affection and touch. He warns: “If you think you are invulnerable to sexual sin, you are actually the most vulnerable.”

A personal note

In my ministry with www.familymatters.org.ph (free legal information on matters affecting the Filipino family), I have counseled via e-mail more than six thousand people, mostly women, since the website became online in December 2005. Among those I have counseled are:

(1) a Protestant minister whose wife abandoned him and their children for an adulterous relationship with an Asian national she met while working abroad, and

(2) a wife whose pastor-husband has been sexually abusing her and videotaping their lovemaking; she has endured years of abuse thinking that it was part of her submission and to avoid embarrassment for herself, her children and the congregation.

I counseled the minister to at least file a petition for legal separation, termination of the wife’s parental authority and for award of full custody of the children to him. With the pastor’s wife, I counseled her to confide in a few trusted friends and her church leaders, temporarily separate from her husband and to consider filing civil and criminal cases for violation of RA 9262 “Ant-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004”.

As a precaution, I generally do not agree when the troubled persons who e-mail me for legal information want to talk to me in person. On several occasions, I have agreed to meet them but only in church, after the worship service and when there are a lot of people around. I have told church members to see me together with their pastor. I also never reply to missed calls on my mobile phone if I don't know the person who called.

(I once counseled a young pastor, one of my students in Bible school, who was having problems in his marriage. His wife had been crying and saying that he didn’t love her anymore. I told this young pastor to turn off his mobile phone and disconnect his land line whenever he was having breakfast, lunch or dinner with his wife and daughter. I assured him that with the proper explanation, his congregation will understand his need to spend some uninterrupted precious time with his family. For more articles on relationships, marriage and the family, please read the articles from my Salt and Light blog.)

William Carey (father of modern missions) and his failed marriage

Throughout the book, Ron cites the virtually unknown story of pioneer missionary William Carey’s tragic marriage with his emotionally troubled wife Dorothy (she was later confined for mental illness). In page 6 of Chapter 1, Ron described William and Dorothy in their early married life as “two Christian young people who grew up in Christian families, attended the same church, married, and set out to serve Christ in business in their village.” In pages 9 and 10 of Chapter 1, Ron summarizes the travails of William and Dorothy’s life together:

During their years in India the family moved from one site to another. They had little or no contact with other Europeans during that time. They had no Indian converts in the first seven years, though some expatriates from other countries were converted. They were often in danger from flooding rivers, tigers, jackals and other things. They repeatedly had many diseases including dysentery, malaria, and other parasites. Several times they actually thought they were going to die.

On December 12, 1807, William wrote a colleague that “…it pleased God to remove my wife by death. She had been in a state of the most distressing derangement for these last twelve years…” Dorothy, the woman who had expected the life of a wife of a shoemaker in England, died at the age of 51 after 14 miserable years in India.

Dorothy was the wife of William Carey, widely acclaimed to be the “father of modern missions.” No one can question the commitment, dedication, effectiveness, and discipline of William Carey—but what about Dorothy? What about their marriage relationship? How did this marriage of the “father of modern missions” influence those of missionaries that followed? Did William learn anything from this sad ending? Did mission agencies learn anything from it?

In pages 11 and 12 of Chapter 2, Ron cites an example of the troubled relationship between William and Dorothy:

Another missionary couple was present during some of their disagreements, and the visiting husband wrote, “She has uttered the most blasphemous and bitter imprecations against him,…seizing him by the hair of his head, and one time at the breakfast table held up a knife and said, ‘Curse you. I could cut your throat…you rascal…God almighty damn you.’” Before she was confined, she followed William through the streets raving and railing against him.

Excerpts from the book

I have posted below some excerpts from this very valuable book. As I said, the book and its insights, comments and suggestions apply not only to missionaries but to pastors, people in ministry and married couples:

Chapter 3. Not Called, but Willing

Why is the “call” a marriage issue?

It is not an issue if no one is called or if everyone is called because everyone is the same. However, if or when one spouse feels called to leave the passport country to spread the Good News and the other sees no reason to leave home, this becomes an issue. If they stay at home, the first spouse is frustrated because he or she may feel guilty for not obeying God. If they go to another culture, the second spouse may resent it when he or she gets beyond “vacation mode” to the time when culture shock and the stress of living in another culture set in.

Chapter 5. This Is No Honeymoon

During the early days or months of living in another culture, while still in “vacation mode,” a person experiences interest, fascination, joy, and enthusiasm living in another culture. This may last for days, weeks, or even months.

However, when the inevitable difficulties with language, people, housing, and food arise, people may become critical, frustrated, resentful, and angry. Simple tasks become daunting challenges, and disillusionment sets in. This post-honeymoon time is very hard on marriage relationships, resulting in lower satisfaction in marriages.

If a couple marries and leaves very soon to serve in another culture, the early days may be wonderful. Then if the two “honeymoons” end simultaneously, the following days may be dreadful. The couple may confuse cultural adjustments and marriage adjustments. The resulting disillusionment may cause them to leave the field, perhaps even the marriage. Even if they do not leave the marriage, their marriage may be damaged.

Chapter 8. Ministry Separation

I can’t believe I’m attracted to ____.

Although being attracted to someone other than your spouse takes many people by surprise the first time it happens, it is very common. This attraction may be either sexual or emotional. As one song put it, “When I’m not near the girl (guy) I love, I love the girl (guy) I’m near.” Typically we come to like the people we interact with most, which is usually our spouse. If you feel vulnerable in this area, you are. If you do not feel vulnerable, you may be even more vulnerable than those who do feel it. Such attraction must not be tolerated in any way.

Chapter 9. Marriage or Ministry

Could you, a missionary, get pulled into immorality or adultery? Of course you could, and the “slide” into it usually begins in harmless, innocent ways. For example, you are field director, so it is your responsibility to show the attractive new single missionary around. Or, you feel sorry for the new missionaries who have no place to stay, and you invite them to live with you temporarily. Or, while talking with a long-term missionary friend, Chris, you find out that Chris feels neglected at home, so you try to give Chris some extra attention. Before you realize it, the two of you are sharing deep things, and this intimacy leads to increasing time together, and finally adultery.

It happens not only with other missionaries, but with nationals as well. It happens to both men and women. It happens with young and old. If you think you are invulnerable to sexual sin, you are actually the most vulnerable.

Homosexual activity?

Could two missionaries begin a homosexual relationship? Yes, they can, and it can happen with either men or women, married or single, young or old. As a result of isolation and loneliness, people living together with same-sex partners may form emotionally dependent relationships. These rather exclusive relationships may become possessive and lead to physical activity with sexual elements. An embrace may become more than just comforting.

This may progress into homosexual activity, so that the people involved have progressed into a sinful relationship. But even if it is stopped before reaching this level, confusion, guilt feelings, and the relationship itself need to be carefully examined.

Chapter 13. Digital Distractions

Lose real contact. A person enmeshed with digital distractions may not recognize problems with family and spouse, not know that anything is wrong until too late.

Drain on time. When one spends hours keeping up with “friends” on Facebook, viewing DVDs, or playing electronic games, it may mean less time for the physically present spouse.

A February 2009 article in Newsweek is titled, “Will the Blackberry sink the Presidency?” Stopping to spend 15 minutes with your Blackberry may not sink your marriage, but it may cause your spouse to question your relationship to him or her.

Chapter 14. You Spent It on WHAT?

Husband and wife should agree on a limit as to how much money each can spend without discussing it with the other. This is to prevent problems, such as, “You spent it on WHAT?” If both of them have similar views of money, setting a limit may be easy.

Conflicts about money are often over other issues, and it helps to uncover these deeper issues. Here are some examples.

“Spender vs saver:” “Let’s do… vs. No, that costs too much”
“Now vs later” “We need a new…vs. Why, our old one is OK for a while”
Control
Independence
Security

Note: You might be interested in my Salt and Light blog articles on relationships, marriage and the family.
Notes: [1] Related post: Are you single and in ministry?; [2] This blog does not necessarily endorse the opinions or beliefs of the resources cited here.

2010-10-02T17:08:00.018+08:00

Separation of church and State: Should Baptists be involved in politics, civil disobedience, the debate on Reproductive Health bill, or avail of benefits from the PCSO?

Several Baptist pastors and preachers, in recent elections, have run for political office (some have won, some have lost). One pastor I’ve known since childhood asked me to come along with him and other pastors in their meeting with a candidate for the May 2010 presidential elections. When I asked what the meeting was for, he refused to say why. My childhood church in the 1960’s used to invite candidates for local elections to speak to the congregation after the morning or evening service. A group of Baptist pastors goes on regular courtesy calls with Congressional leaders. Some pastors have registered with and carry around IDs issued by the Corruption Prevention Unit of the Office of the Ombudsman.

In recent days, newspaper and television reports have highlighted the conflicts between the Roman Catholic Church and the national government on the issues of the Reproductive Health bill and the legalization of jueteng. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has threatened to resort to civil disobedience if the RH bill is passed. In contrast, Baptist churches in general have not spoken up on the RH bill issue.

One question of practical value is this: Should members of Baptist churches avail of government benefits like free medicines which come from the PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) or from the PAGCOR (the office which regulates casinos)?

The relevant provision of our 1987 Constitution is Article III, Section 5 which states: “No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.”

Our Supreme Court has fully discussed the issue of freedom of religion in the landmark case of Estrada vs. Escritor involving a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I discussed the issues of this decision in my Legal Updates blog post “The Estrada vs. Escritor case: Did the Supreme Court legitimize live-in relationships?” Baptist pastors, preachers, church officers and Bible students should take time to read this 100 plus pages decision.

Romans chapter 13, verses 1 to 7 are the controlling Scriptures in this issue of the church’s relationship with the State. Posted below are resources that can help Baptist pastors and churches decide how to act and what to say on these contentious issues:

[1] Messages on Romans 13:1-7 by John Piper, Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Subjection to God and Subjection to the State, Part 1 (Audio: Listen, Download; Video: Watch, Download; Print sermon)

Now we all know that there are some very difficult questions to be answered here. When it says again in verse 1 that “there is no authority except from God,” does it include evil rulers? When it says in verse 1 that we should submit to civil authority, does it mean always and no matter what? When it says in verse 3 that the civil authorities are “not a terror to good conduct, but to bad,” is that always true, or do some governments terrorize good conduct? What are we to make of Paul's seemingly absolute statements?

Subjection to God and Subjection to the State, Part 2 (Audio: Listen, Download, Video: Watch, Download; Print sermon)

There are at least four reasons given for submission.

1) So the first reason for this submission is that all authority is instituted by the God who governs all things, and so the civil authorities are God’s servants and ministers.

2) The second reason for submission to civil authority is that they are there for our good. It is good for us that there is government rather than anarchy.

3) The third reason for the submission is that the civil authorities bear the sword (or the gun and Billy club), and if you don’t submit, they will punish you, even with capital punishment (implied in the sword, Romans 8:35-36).

4) The fourth reason for submission is that beneath and above the civil authority is a greater reality, namely, the moral law of God expressed in the words “right” and “wrong.”

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Subjection to God and Subjection to the State, Part 3 (Audio: Listen, Download; Print sermon)

1) What is the evidence from the Bible that God sometimes approves of his people not submitting to the very authority he had put in place? That is, what is the evidence for God-approved civil disobedience?

And 2) when is such civil disobedience right, and what should it look like?

Subjection to God and Subjection to the State, Part 4 (Audio: Listen, Download; Video: Watch, Download; Print sermon)

We are first citizens of heaven with a mandate to magnify King Jesus on the earth. And part of his mission for us is to enter all the spheres of society and culture with the light and taste and aroma and truth of Christ, including government.

[2] Articles from “In the Nick of Time” by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, Central Baptist Theological Seminary

[3] The Indigenous Pilgrim Principle: A Theological Consideration of the Christian, the Church, and Politics, by Jeffrey Volkmer (Assistant Professor of Biblical & Theological Studies, Biola University)

Indigenous Principle (Adaptation to the World)
The Gospel must incarnate, or be made manifest, in every culture and people of the world (the Great Commission).
The Gospel and Christians ought to be a complementary part of culture and society.
The Pilgrim Principle (Confrontation and Separation) Christians pull away and out of culture.
Christians live in a manner contrary to culture.
We are aliens and exiles in our own cultures, societies, and families.

May I suggest some guidelines that may help us to know when to act upon each influence.

1. How do we know when to be Pilgrims (i.e., separate ourselves)?

a. Is there a sin issue involved?

i. There is never a good time to do something wrong. We are always Christians and that Christianity must work itself into every nook and cranny of our lives.

b. Does our separation or coming out make God look good or further the Gospel?

i. We ought to stand for Biblical Truth.

ii. Does the act of separation create opportunities to share the Gospel?

c. Is the Holy Spirit convicting our spirit?

i. Do you feel God’s leading about a certain situation or feel uncomfortable about something?

2. How do we know when to be Indigenous (i.e., be complementary w/culture)?

a. When it furthers the Gospel (1 Cor 9:22).

b. We must ‘win’ the right to another conversation (1 Cor 8:9, 2 Cor 6:3).

i. This was a favorite saying of a missions professor of mine at Dallas Seminary. We must always be cognizant of how we ‘come off’ and must be sure that our actions do not close off opportunities for us to love our neighbor and have meaningful relationships.

c. Know your ‘cultural scripts’ (1 Cor 10:23-30).

i. Linguists and anthropologists have developed this phrase to describe the social and cultural significance lying behind various cultural forms. Cultural scripts are those unspoken assumptions that are attached to many, many things. (Read the complete article)

[3] “Separation of Church and State” and blog by Jerald Finney, a Baptist and a lawyer. Finney’s blog contains a lot more articles of interest for pastors considering whether or not to incorporate their churches or ministries. Biblical Law Center, a ministry of the Indianapolis Baptist Temple under Dr. Greg Dixon, also provides a lot of articles on the issue of non-registration of churches.

[4] “Why Last Saturday’s Political Conclave of Evangelical Leaders Was Dangerous” by David Neff

I believe that Christians have an urgent duty to engage the social, economic, and moral threats to a healthy society. That requires a wide variety of political action. However, one thing it doesn’t call for is playing kingmaker and powerbroker.

Free KJV Bibles from Andre and Barbara

2010-09-18T10:25:00.010+08:00

Andre and Barbara from the USA sent 33 brand new KJV Bibles (Gift and Award red letter edition published by Barbour) through this ministry. The Bibles were distributed to the following pastors and missionaries:

1. Felix Armah, missionary to Ghana, on deputation (6 Bibles received personally); sending church: Baptist Bible Church, Sta. Mesa, Manila. You can see Felix’s deputation video below (also available in YouTube).

2. Rev. Peter Ayon, missionary to Indonesia (5 Bibles received by his daughter Liberty, a student of Asia Baptist Bible College); contact address: 6BII ‘Alkitab’ Semarang, Indonesia; JL. Taman Ketapang Timur I-125, Semarang Barat, JATENG, Indonesia; For the profile of Rev. Ayon please visit Asian Baptist Clearinghouse and Missionary Updates. Rev. Ayon will be going back to Indonesia next week.

3. Ptr. Gerardo C. Mateo (7 Bibles received personally); Cornerstone Bible Baptist Church, Kanto, Cay Pombo, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

4. Ptr. Ramen D. Caliwag (4 Bibles received by his brother Renald, a student of Asia Baptist Bible College); Bible Baptist Mission of San Simon, #325 Sn. Pedro Libutad, San Simon 2015, Pampanga.

5. Rev. Rolando “Doy” Ilo (2 Bibles received personally); Baptist Bible Church, 3970 Sociego St. Sta. Mesa, Manila.

6. Ptr. Robert Reyes (4 Bibles received by Azre Villarico, a student of Asia Baptist Bible College); Bible Baptist Mission, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija (sending church The Bible Baptist Church of Caloocan led by Dr. Jericho Samson)

7. Ptr. Arnel C. Supan (5 Bibles received personally); Beulah Land Bible Baptist Church, CAHAFI Subdivision, P. Sayo St, Paltao, Pulilan, Bulacan.

Free world missions PDF bulletin inserts and posters from Joshua Project

2010-09-09T09:10:00.007+08:00

Joshua Project now offers free PDF materials on world missions which can be used as posters in bulletin boards or as inserts for church bulletins. The religion PDFs are Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim.

Also available are PDFs for world missions on twelve regions of the world, namely:

South Pacific Region 1

Southeast Asia Region 2

Northeast Asia Region 3

South Asia Region 4

Central Asia Region 5

Middle East / N. Africa Region 6

East / South Africa Region 7

West / Central Africa Region 8

East Europe / Eurasia Region 9

Western Europe Region 10

Central / S. America Region 11

N. America / Caribbean Region 12

Is Sen. Loren Legarda’s proposed bill on anti-religious and racial profiling the start of religious persecution in the Philippines?

2010-08-03T07:29:00.003+08:00

Several days ago, media outlets reported that Sen. Legarda has filed Senate Bill No. 2594 which penalizes persons guilty of religious and/or racial profiling. As reported in these news stories, paragraph 4 of Sen. Legarda’s bill prohibits “employing religious characterization as words of religious import in print and broadcast media when geographic, political, socio-economic or other distinction might be more accurate.” Based on this paragraph, some pastors are now saying that Sen. Legarda’s bill is the start of religious persecution or prohibition of strong Biblical preaching in the Philippines.

At this point in time, I beg to disagree with these pastors. Let me give some background information on this matter first.

[1] Anti-religious and racial profiling bill not included in Sen. Legarda’s announced agenda for the 15th Congress

The complete title of Sen. Legarda’s bill is “Prohibiting Religious Or Racial Profiling Against Indigenous Cultural Communities”. (Its designation in various media reports as Senate Bill No. 1342 is wrong; SBN 1342 is Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago’s Family Building Act of 2007).

Sen. Legarda filed the bill in 2008 during the 14th Congress, and it was referred to the Senate committee on cultural communities. Since the Senate did not approve SB No. 2549, it has to re-filed for the 15th Congress, if Sen. Legarda so desires. In her press release last July 29, 2010, Sen. Legarda announced the first ten bills in her legislative agenda. Her anti-religious and racial profiling bill, however, is not included in her agenda. (She can, if she wants to, re-file this bill later on.)

[2] In her explanatory note for the anti-religious and racial profiling bill, Sen. Legarda stated:

“The Constitution clearly provides for the freedom of every Filipino to religion and racial identity. No Filipino is excluded. Even tribes and indigent people of ethnic background, as citizens of our country, should be accorded with such rights.

“The Philippines being a group of islands houses a variety of religious and ethnic groups, the diversity has given way to a number of incidences on racial and religious discrimination. There exists profiling, a police and criminology term that follows the basic sociological science method of understanding the complexities of human society by breaking down members of a population into groups that share common characteristics.

“Certain crimes, such as terrorism, murder and kidnapping, are sometimes deliberately attributed to a religious affiliation.

“Profiling has resulted to stereotyping, causing minority groups to be treated unjustly in restaurants, department stores or shopping malls and even in employment. An obvious prejudice against these groups has sprouted, running counter to our country’s policy in promoting equality and justice.

“Through this proposed measure, we should be able to reduce the discrimination that causes a different kind of terrorism – the kind that fuels hatred, thereby instigating deeper disunity among the people in our country.”

[3] Legarda’s bill enumerates the following acts that shall be deemed punishable:

1. Subjecting a person to unnecessary, unjustified, illegal and degrading search because of his manner of clothing, religion, color, creed or ethnic identity;

2. Discriminating a person who is applying for a job because of his name, religion or ethnic background;

3. Disallowing the entry of a person to establishment such as restaurants, shopping malls, hotels and similar nature because of his manner of clothing, religion, color, creed or ethnic identity;

4. Employing religious characterization as words of religious import in print and broadcast media when geographic, political, socio-economic or other distinction might be more accurate; and

5. To mimic or imitate a person’s way of speaking particularly his peculiar accent and diction in an insulting and degrading manner.

Legarda’s bill prescribes the penalty of arresto mayor minimum to prison correctional minimum or a fine of ten thousand (10,000) to thirty thousand (30,000) pesos, or both upon any person who shall commit any of the acts which constitute religious and racial profiling.

Is Sen. Legarda’s Senate Bill No. 2594 a precursor to religious persecution or prohibition of strong Biblical preaching?

As I discussed above, the concern that some pastors have is with paragraph 4 which penalizes “employing religious characterization as words of religious import in print and broadcast media when geographic, political, socio-economic or other distinction might be more accurate”. They say that this is the start of religious persecution in the Philippines.

I beg to disagree with these pastors for several reasons:

[1] Sen. Legarda’s bill is concerned with “profiling” or discriminating on the basis of race or religion. Wikipedia defines "racial profiling as the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement (e.g. make a traffic stop or arrest). The practice is controversial and widely considered inappropriate and illegal." In Section 3 of her bill, Legarda defines the term “profiling” as:

“The practice of relying to any degree, on race, ethnicity, and religious affiliations in selecting individuals to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities, except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, that links persons of a particular race, ethnicity, religion or national origin to an identified criminal incident or scheme and such other prohibited acts as enumerated in this Act.”

[2] What Legarda’s bill proposes to prohibit is using for example the statement “He is a Muslim rebel” when the statement could possibly be “He is an MILF rebel”.

[3] The freedoms of speech and of religion are enshrined in the Bill of Rights of our 1987 Constitution. The said provisions state:

Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.

In view of these Constitutional provisions in our Bill of Rights, Sen. Legarda’s bill cannot mean that preachers will no longer be allowed to preach against the errors of other religions in print and broadcast media.It seems to me that the prohibition in Sen. Legarda’s bill applies, not to pastors or preachers, but to professional media practitioners like reporters and anchors in newspapers and television stations.

[4] What is more disturbing to me is the provision on “discriminating a person who is applying for a job because of his name, religion or ethnic background”. For example, if your church has a Christian school and it needs a Social Studies teacher. Does Sen. Legarda’s bill mean that you are prohibited from not hiring someone who meets the qualifications but who is, let’s say, a Jehovah’s Witness?

Anyway, if ever Sen. Legarda re-files for the 15th Congress her anti-religious and racial profiling bill, it will undergo public hearings. In these hearings, Baptist pastors and other church leaders can and should actively participate to clarify what her bill’s intentions and coverage are.

“Ten Bad Reasons for Leaving Your Church” by Dr. Chuck Betters

2010-07-28T10:36:00.008+08:00

Dr. Betters has been the Senior Pastor of Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bear, Delaware since 1986. He has a daily radio program, airing since 1994, In His Grip, which can be accessed online at www.MARKINC.org. In his article, Dr. Betters enumerates the “potentially invalid reasons for leaving a Bible believing evangelical church". These are:

The Church is a Volunteer Organization. I can take it or leave it.
The preacher just doesn’t cut it. He is boring and drones on and on.
The church is not meeting my needs.
I don’t like the way the church is spending our money.
I disagree with the direction of the church.
We don’t need more buildings. We must focus on missions and outreach.
The church is too focused on numbers.
The church has wounded me.
The church is trying to be too much like the world.
I do not like the music. I want the old hymns.

Related articles:

[1] “Your Pastor’s Pain: Whose Fault Is It?” by Dr. Chuck Betters

[2] “A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional Listener” by Thabiti Anyabwile (Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Cayman Islands; he blogs regularly at Pure Church)

[3] How to prevent church splits

[4] Forming a theology of music; should Baptist churches sing “Majesty”?

[5] Supreme Court ruling on termination or expulsion of church members

[6] The Marian Guinn Case [2]: right of church discipline ends upon withdrawal of membership

[7] The Marian Guinn Case: Improper use of church discipline

Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

2010-06-22T09:05:00.002+08:00

The Danvers Statement is an official statement of the complementarian Christian view of gender roles. It is not the product of any particular Christian denomination, but has been endorsed or cited by many Christian groups. It was first published by the The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) in Wheaton, Illinois in November 1988. Work on the statement began with “several evangelical leaders” at a CBMW meeting in Danvers, Massachusetts in December of 1987. In 1989, a paid advertisement center-spread appeared in the January 13 issue of Christianity Today accompanied with the Danvers Statement. (From Wikipedia)

Rationale

We have been moved in our purpose by the following contemporary developments which we observe with deep concern:

The widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and femininity;
the tragic effects of this confusion in unraveling the fabric of marriage woven by God out of the beautiful and diverse strands of manhood and womanhood;
the increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarianism with accompanying distortions or neglect of the glad harmony portrayed in Scripture between the loving, humble leadership of redeemed husbands and the intelligent, willing support of that leadership by redeemed wives;
the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational homemaking, and the many ministries historically performed by women;
the growing claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships which have Biblically and historically been considered illicit or perverse, and the increase in pornographic portrayal of human sexuality;
the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family;
the emergence of roles for men and women in church leadership that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in the crippling of Biblically faithful witness;
the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts;
the consequent threat to Biblical authority as the clarity of Scripture is jeopardized and the accessibility of its meaning to ordinary people is withdrawn into the restricted realm of technical ingenuity;
and behind all this the apparent accommodation of some within the church to the spirit of the age at the expense of winsome, radical Biblical authenticity which in the power of the Holy Spirit may reform rather than reflect our ailing culture.

Affirmations

Based on our understanding of Biblical teachings, we affirm the following:

Both Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood (Genesis 1:26, 2:18).
Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart (Genesis 2:18, 21–24; 1 Corinthians 11:7–9; 1 Timothy 2:12.
Adam’s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin (Genesis 2:16–18, 21–24, 3:1–13; 1 Corinthians 11:7–9).
The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women (Genesis 3:1–7, 12, 16).

In the home, the husband’s loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination or passivity; the wife's intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation or servility.
In the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries.

The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women (Genesis 1:26–27, 2:18; Galatians 3:28). Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community (Genesis 2:18; Ephesians 5:21–33; Colossians 3:18–19; 1 Timothy 2:11–15).
Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse.

In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands' authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands' leadership (Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3:18–19; Titus 2:3–5; 1 Peter 3:1–7).
In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 1 Timothy 2:11–15).

In all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission—domestic, religious, or civil—ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin (Daniel 3:10–18; Acts 4:19–20, 5:27–29; 1 Peter 3:1–2).
In both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries (1 Timothy 2:11–15, 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9). Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God’s will.
With half the world’s population outside the reach of indigenous evangelism; with countless other lost people in those societies that have heard the gospel; with the stresses and miseries of sickness, malnutrition, homelessness, illiteracy, ignorance, aging, addiction, crime, incarceration, neuroses, and loneliness, no man or woman who feels a passion from God to make His grace known in word and deed need ever live without a fulfilling ministry for the glory of Christ and the good of this fallen world (1 Corinthians 12:7–21).

We are convinced that a denial or neglect of these principles will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in our families, our churches, and the culture at large.

Note: The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood offers free resources like articles, journal articles, sermons, book reviews, conference audio, online books, questions and answers, evangelical feminism and Biblical truth; with multi-lingual resources in Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Story of the King James Version of the Bible

2010-05-29T11:23:00.002+08:00

Alexander Scourby | MySpace Video | Video URL

Free PDFs on legal procedures for pastors, Bible students, church workers and members

2010-05-13T12:42:00.026+08:00

There are times when a church member or a pastor becomes involved in a civil or criminal case. Such times cause great worry and fear especially if the person involved does not know anything about the law. I will therefore be posting PDFs on various legal procedures in my Family Matters website and my Legal updates blog to clarify what the procedures are in our judicial system.

You can freely download these PDF materials and use them for your own reference, or print and distribute them to your church members, friends or colleagues. You cannot however edit these materials or use them commercially or for profit.

The following posts from my Legal updates blog have graphic links to PDFs which you can freely download and use for your own reference. Please take note that I designed these PDFs in 2003 and have not been able to make major revisions. Please check the Supreme Court website for any change in the legal procedures.

The use of graphics or cartoons to illustrate these PDF materials is in keeping with the theory of Jerry Lucas, renowned memory expert and one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time. He said that people tend to remember words, things or ideas better and faster when they are associated with funny, fantastic or outlandish images. Lucas wrote a book on how to memorize the Bible. The use of these graphics also lessens the intimidation felt by people (non-lawyers and non-law students) when studying legal topics.

Most of the PDFs are printed one topic per letter-sized paper. You can cut the PDFs along the dashed lines and then compile them into a hard bound or ring bound album. Or you can place related pages side by side on 8.5 by 13 sized paper (landscape orientation) and then compile them into an album.

Family Sunday legal seminar at Caloocan Baptist Bible Church

2010-05-02T07:16:00.003+08:00

The Caloocan Baptist Bible Church (led by its pastor Dr. Jericho Samson) will hold Family Sunday activities on May 2, 2010. Speakers will be Dr. Boyd Lyons of BBC Sta. Mesa (morning worship service) , Atty. Gerry T. Galacio (legal seminar, 4 PM) and Dr. Ed Laurena (evening worship service).

“Choosing a career” seminar by Grace Baptist Youth Organization, Grace Baptist Church, GMA, Cavite

2010-04-10T07:22:00.001+08:00

The GBYO, youth arm of the Association of Grace Baptist Churches in Cavite, will hold a whole day seminar on “Choosing a career” today at Grace Baptist Church, GMA, Cavite. Speakers will be Atty. Gerry T. Galacio (morning session) and local DepEd officials (afternoon session). GBYO director is Ptr. Fermin Espino.

How to prevent church splits

2010-04-02T12:03:00.023+08:00

(Note: Jump to “Biblical, relational and practical ways to prevent church splits”)

Baptist churches in the Philippines, just like in other parts of the world, have suffered splits. Over the years, I have counseled several pastors whose churches have been split. For examples, a pastor from a city east of Metro Manila had his church taken away from him by his best friend, the associate pastor, who spread lies and rumors against him. A young pastor from a province south of Metro Manila asked me for advice for over a year as to the brewing problems in his church. The Sunday after he expelled the rebellious officers and members of his church, the members loyal to him and the expelled members nearly had a violent conflict. I was told that, besides their Bibles, both sides in the conflict carried wooden clubs (“pamalo” in the vernacular).

My childhood church was split in 1981 and that event has been a defining moment in my life.

Church splits take place for a variety of reasons: a clash of personalities, theological or doctrinal grounds, financial mismanagement, immorality, etc. Some church splits have taken place over very trivial things like a piano bench that split the Holy Creek Baptist Church in 1999.

Church splits are “intra-corporate disputes” under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court; exceptions

Please take note that with Baptist churches in the Philippines registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), church splits are considered as “intra-corporate disputes” under the Securities Regulation Code. These disputes fall under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court designated as a commercial court. You can read more about this and related issues in my posts:

(If your church or Bible school wants to have a free lecture-seminar on these topics, please e-mail me at gtgalacio@yahoo.com.)

However, if a church has been split over issues involving (1) theological or doctrinal matters; (2) membership; or (3) property disputes, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that secular courts do not have any jurisdiction. Please take note of the following decisions:

Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679 (1872) - Court ruled that church membership disputes are beyond the bounds of civil courts.
United States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78 (1944) - Court ruled that religious teachings cannot be prosecuted for fraud. The beliefs of one person may seem preposterous to another, but religious liberty demands the “widest toleration of conflicting views.” Ruling protects against trials for heresy.
Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church, 393 U.S. 440 (1969) - Court ruled that property disputes that turn on questions of church doctrine are outside the bounds of civil courts.
Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595 (1979) - Court ruled that questions of church property disputes are outside the bounds of civil courts.

The decisions of the US Supreme Court cited above are applicable here in the Philippines because the freedom of religion clause of the US Constitution is the basis of the same clause in our 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions. For example, the landmark decision of the Philippine Supreme Court on freedom of religion in the case of “Estrada vs. Escritor” is replete with citations from decisions of the US Supreme Court.

Autonomy of local Baptist churches: a problem in resolving church conflicts

One interesting case decided by the Philippine Supreme Court is “Fonacier vs. Court of Appeals 96 Phil 417” which involved the 1955 dispute between the top two officials of the Aglipayan Church. Even though the dispute involved properties of the church and who the official leader was, the Supreme Court, citing the case of Watson vs. Jones, ruled that the courts had jurisdiction since the contending parties did not have a higher body within the said church which could resolve the issue.

The US Supreme Court in the cases I enumerated above has ruled that church conflicts involving doctrines, membership or property disputes anchored on doctrinal issues are beyond the jurisdiction of secular courts and should be resolved within the church itself. This is not a problem with hierarchical churches since they have a layer of officers or bodies that can resolve or mediate the conflicts in lower levels of the hierarchy. But what about Baptist churches which are independent of each other? One Biblical distinctive of Baptists is the autonomy of the local church.

When the conflict involves a mission work, then the mother church can of course assert its authority. But when the conflict involves for example, two opposing groups within the church, they do not have a higher body to which they can ask for help to mediate or settle the problem. The remedy then for the contending parties regrettably becomes filing a petition with the Regional Trial Court to resolve an intra-corporate dispute.

I will write later on a post about how, with the consent of all the contending parties, a group of pastors or deacons chosen randomly like in the system used by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) can act as a body that will mediate, conciliate or arbitrate the conflict. This can possibly prevent the violation of the Biblical admonition about church members taking each other to court.

Biblical, relational and practical ways of preventing church splits

Thabiti Anyabwile is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman in the Grand Cayman Islands and a Council member with The Gospel Coalition. He has written an excellent five-part series on how to prevent church splits. Posted below are the links to his series (Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V) and the highlights:

How to prevent a church split, Part I

Early warning signs of a church split:

Growing numbers of cliques and factions
Low concern for the church
Self-interests dominate group interests
Isolated and absent members
Lack of humility
Mixed allegiance to the pastor(s)/elders
Low emphasis on the Word of God

How to prevent a church split, Part II

“To prevent church splits, we must regain the centrality of the local church in our preaching and practice. We must lay heavy biblical emphasis on the centrality of the people of God throughout redemptive history and in contemporary Christian life. We must preach and emphasize the fact that the church is central to God’s affections, self-identification, and eternal plan. It must, therefore, be central to ours.”

The Church: The Center of God’s Affections
The Church: Central to Jesus’ Self-Identity
The Church: Central to God’s Plan of Redemption

How to prevent a church split, Part III

“Every church split, by definition, involves people who are alienated in their affections toward one another. The splits occur when this alienation is hardened and seemingly intractable. But the roots of the split extend back to that time when everyone seemed to be getting along (meaning there were no obvious conflicts) but really didn’t know one another. That period is the calm before the storm. Introduce an offense, teach something that crosses someone’s pet sin or tender spot, and what appeared to be placid water begins to foam and roil until a major storm approaches the shores of the church.

“As pastors I think it’s our duty to act while things are calm, to take a preventative step before these conditions for a split are aggravated. And, so far, I think one of the best antidotes to a split are wide, healthy, and spiritually encouraging relationships in the body.”

Hospitality
Discipleship
Modeling
Sentinels and Watchmen

How to prevent a church split, Part IV

A “daily dereliction” of the Word of God leads to the unraveling of the church. When, where and how does this “daily dereliction” occur?

Preaching
Counseling
Decision-making
Pastor’s Personal Life

How to prevent a church split, Part V

“If we are to prevent church splits one thing we must do is make sure that the natural affections and authority that accrue to the teaching office is dispersed among the leadership of the church. We must find obvious, subtle, and effective ways to attach the allegiance of the people to the church and the leadership as a whole. Four things come to mind.”

Teaching
Comments
Submission
Leading

Ptr. Thabiti concludes his series with these wise and challenging words: “Pastors must lead. There is a danger of being overly passive in the face of situations and decisions that require clear thinking and charting a course. In those cases we must lead.” Later on he says that “pastors must not be afraid to lead the church toward a split in order to prevent a split”. This sounds wholly contrary to what his whole series is all about. But you have to read his concluding article in its entirety to understand what he means.

To Ptr. Thabiti’s wise words, I can add my own caveat about church splits: “Do not ever be lulled into that complacent and overly-confident attitude that your church can never be split.”

Free PDF book: Facebook as ministry tool for pastors, missionaries and churches

2010-03-20T12:42:00.012+08:00

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004, initially as an exclusive network for Harvard students. (Learn more)

Facebook reached an important milestone for the week ending March 13, 2010 by surpassing Google in the US to become the most visited website for the week. Fifty percent of users log on in any given day. People spend more than 700 billion minutes on the social network each month. About 70 percent of Facebook users are outside the United States.

Chris Forbes of Ministry Marketing Coach has put together this free easy-to-read e-book for great tips on how pastors and other ministry leaders can use Facebook to multiply ministry. Topics covered in this free e-book include:

How to make the most of your profile information
Tips for Networking with People in Facebook
All about groups, messages, poking, etc
Meet prospects for your church
Learn more about the members in your church
Testimonies from pastors who use FaceBook

Related article: How Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas, USA is using the Internet

Trinity’s presence on the Internet includes live streaming feeds of the Sunday morning worship service, as well as Monday night college worship service, weekly video devotionals featuring Hollon in different locations titled “My Prayer for You,” a Facebook fan page and Twitter feeds.

Also, members of the congregation can post prayer requests and make financial gifts online. It also allows mission teams to communicate their victories and prayer needs in real time, rather than waiting to return home to share their stories.

Trinity sees boundless opportunities for ministry through the Internet, Smith said.

“Evangelism can really be expanded,” he pointed out. “You can reach across the globe, reaching new people, new cultures, and the gospel message can go to the ends of the earth through the Internet.”

Smith, a seminary student enrolled in video classes over the Internet, said the church eventually plans to present discipleship opportunities online. Through his class, he has seen the potential for interaction and connectedness, even when the participants are hundreds of miles apart.

Trinity has experienced a greater level of connection among its members through its online presence, he noted. Many members have become better acquainted through Facebook, he said. While they may sit on the same pew for an hour a week at church, the opportunities for interaction on Sundays are limited.

Although the format may be new, Hollon said, the use of the Internet offers just one more platform for Trinity to be a caring, ministering body. (Read the complete article)