Baptist Churches in the Philippines

Reaching the world for Christ through Internet evangelism and cybermissions

2009-11-06T21:45:00.002+08:00

Updated information as of February 2009:

[A] China had 298 million Internet users by the end of 2008, more than any country in the world, and among which 270 million surf the Web via broadband access. It had a 41.9 percent growth in Internet usage compared to the previous year.

[B] Google is backing a project called 03B which aims to give three billion people from Asia, Africa and the Middle East broadband Internet access by 2010. Together with Liberty Global and HSBC, Google is investing $750 million in 16 low-earth orbit satellites that will link with ground stations such as cell towers or WiMax stations and provide high-speed networking cable connection.

[C] The number of global broadband households will near 440 million by 2010 and top 1.2 billion by 2030. With such infrastructure in place, the opportunity for broadband-enabled services - especially video - will grow dramatically.

[D] Six in ten people around the world now have cell phone subscriptions, for an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally, compared with about 1 billion in 2002. Thirty nine percent of Chinese Internet users adopt cell phones to surf the Web. Students are the main strength of mobile Internet users: 43.5 percent of them use their cell phones to read online news, download music, check email and perform a variety of other tasks.

[E] As of May 2008, according to Technorati (a popular blog search engine) there are more than 112.8 million blogs.

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We live in an increasingly wired world. More than a billion people now use the Internet on a daily basis for education, home and business purposes. Consider the following statistics and facts:

[1] In a recent study, Yahoo! and consumer information group Nielsen revealed that there are now 20 million Filipino users of the Internet. The majority of Filipino Internet users range in ages from 10 to 29. For more information, please surf to my post How the Internet is impacting Filipino society.

[2] China had 298 million Internet users by the end of 2008, more than any country in the world.

[3] According to Internet World Stats, as of September 2007, Asia has 459 million Internet users out of a total population of 3.7 billion. Africa, on the other hand, with a total population of 933 million, has some 44 million Internet users.

Internet World Stats provides the following figures of Internet users in the following Asian countries: Afghanistan - 535,000; Armenia - 172,800; Azerbaijan - 829,100; Bangladesh - 450,000; Bhutan- 30,000; Brunei Darussalam - 165,600; Cambodia - 44,000; East Timor - 1,000; Georgia - 332,000; Hong Kong - 4,878,713; India - 60,000,000; Indonesia - 20,000,000; Japan - 87,540,000; Kazakhstan - 1,247,000; South Korea - 34,120,000; Kyrgyzstan - 298,100; Laos - 25,000; Macau - 201,000; Malaysia - 14,904,000; Maldives - 20,100; Mongolia - 268,300; Myanmar - 300,000; Nepal - 249,400; Pakistan - 12,000,000; Singapore - 2,421,800; Sri Lanka - 428,000; Taiwan - 14,500,000; Tajikistan - 19,500; Thailand - 8,465,800; Turkmenistan - 64,800; Uzbekistan - 1,745,000; Vietnam -17,220,812

Internet World Stats provides the following figures of Internet users in the following African countries: Algeria - 2,460,000; Angola - 172,000; Benin - 700,000; Botswana - 60,000; Burkina Faso - 80,600; Burundi - 60,000; Cameroon - 370,000; Cape Verde - 29,000; Central African Rep. - 13,000; Chad - 60,000; Comoros - 21,000; Congo - 70,000; Congo, Dem. Rep. - 180,000; Cote d'Ivoire - 300,000; Djibouti - 11,000; Egypt - 6,000,000; Equatorial Guinea - 8,000; Eritrea - 100,000; Ethiopia - 164,000; Gabon - 81,000; Gambia - 58,000; Ghana - 609,800; Guinea - 50,000; Guinea-Bissau - 37,000; Kenya - 2,770,300; Lesotho - 51,500; Liberia - 1,000; Libya - 232,000; Madagascar - 110,000; Malawi - 59,700; Mali - 70,000; Mauritania - 100,000; Mauritius - 300,000; Morocco - 6,100,000; Mozambique - 178,000; Namibia - 80,600; Niger - 40,000; Nigeria - 8,000,000; Reunion (FR) - 220,000; Rwanda - 65,000; Saint Helena (UK) - 1,000; Sao Tome & Principe - 23,000; Senegal - 650,000; Seychelles - 29,000; Sierra Leone - 10,000; Somalia - 94,000; South Africa - 5,100,000; Sudan - 3,500,000; Swaziland - 41,600 Tanzania - 384,300; Togo - 320,000; Tunisia - 1,294,900; Uganda - 750,000; Zambia - 500,000; Zimbabwe - 1,220,000.

[4] Africa Online, a company based in Nairobi, Kenya is putting up Internet cafes all across that continent.

[5] South Korea, with an Internet user population of 34 million, now has 80% of homes with broadband connection.

[6] According to Andrew Careaga, pioneer e-vangelist, it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users. Television hit the 50 million mark in 13 years while computers reached that many users in 16 years. But the Internet reached 50 million users in just 4 years.

[7] The first batch (some 250,000 units) of the $100 XO laptop is expected to be delivered to children in developing countries in October 2007. Various governments have ordered this Linux-powered laptop which has been designed to withstand high temperatures and moisture like in Libya, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay and Nigeria, can be recharged by foot-pump, pull-cord, or solar power, has built-in wireless Internet, and is equipped with a sunlight readable display. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organization committed to providing educational opportunity, in the form of low cost laptops, to children worldwide.

[8] YouTube, the immensely popular publish your own video Internet service, reached more than ten million members in Japan in just 14 months. Of the total 70 million blogs in the world today, the largest language grouping is Japanese, with 37%. English is in second place, with Chinese third. (From Web Evangelism Bulletin, August 2007) Japan, with its highly-wired, tech-loving 127 million population has been described as one of the “major modern mission misses.” Please read "Japan and web evangelism: A missed mission opportunity."

According to John Edmiston's website www.cybermissions.org, “religion seekers” are a major Internet phenomenon with 40% of Internet users regularly searching for religious information online. That is 400 million people seeking religious information.

What is cybermissions?

Cybermissions, as Edmiston defines it in his website, is the “intentional front-line use of computers and the Internet as tools for fulfilling the Great Commission, cross-cultural evangelism, discipleship, church-planting and training.” It includes websites, blogs, Flash movies, chat rooms, podcasts, Internet radio, e-mail, etc. Edmiston presents eye-opening statistics on the 43 nations where cybermissions could be the main missions strategy. His website has a Powerpoint presentation on the concept, opportunities and strategic use of cybermissions.

Videos and Powerpoint on Internet evangelism and cybermissions

In 2005, Liberty University (founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell) in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA hosted the “Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century” conference. The seminars by various Internet evangelism practitioners are available for viewing at http://ie-21stcentury.com/ as Google videos. The presentations can also be downloaded as an e-book (PDF format, 6 MB file size). Some of the topics tackled during the conference were: How is Evangelism Changing in the 21st Century? Communicating Christ Effectively to Secular Audiences; A Complete Internet Evangelism Strategy; Evangelistic Sites and Follow-up Systems; Internet Evangelism and the Third World; Podcasting and Internet Evangelism; New Media Technology and Trends for the Future; and Reaching the Connected Generation with Blogging.

Some of the web evangelism seminars from the Web Ministry conference held last September are now available to watch online (video and Powerpoint; best viewed in Internet Explorer). The seminar topics are:

Evangelism and Mentoring: Building Relationships That Change Lives, by Karen Schenk, Truth Media
The Power of Personal Testimony, by John Sorensen, Evangelism Explosion
Reaching Your Community Through A Church Website, by Brent Purves and Cam Hall
The Edges Of Cyberspace by John Edmiston, Antioch Internet Bible International
Rethinking Internet Evangelism And Online Ministry by Robby Richardson, Gospel Communications, International
Evangelism In SecondLife, by Debra Brown, Brown Governance

Understanding the nature of the Web as a communication medium (from Internet Evangelism Day)

It is vital to understand the nature of the Web as a communication medium, otherwise we can’t use it effectively:

[1] The web is not a ‘linear medium’, offering a sequential block of information or entertainment in the way that novels, videos or tracts do. It is ‘non-linear’, containing multiple blocks of material not linked together in a fixed order.

[2] Neither is the Web a ‘push medium’. Radio, TV, literature distribution or billboard advertising are largely ‘push mediums’ – that is, they send out a single indiscriminate broadcast message to anyone within range. The Web however is a ‘pull medium’. People only visit a web page if it draws them in because of something that interests them. The user is in complete control. A website therefore has no automatic audience. There is no magical ‘trickle-down’ effect whereby Christian websites will somehow be seen by non-Christians who have no wish to visit them.

[3] ‘Broadcast media’ (radio, TV, newspapers) are not really interactive, except perhaps for phone-ins or letters to the editor. The Web offers instant feedback, interaction and relationship-building. More than any other medium, it enables conversation, networking and relationships. Because the gospel flows most effectively through non-confrontational accepting relationships, two-way conversation and non-preachy open discussion, the Web fits very closely with evangelism.

[4] Do not think of the Web as ‘tracts on a screen’, or a static brochure. For many years, Christian radio suffered because it was often ‘church services on the radio’ – hymns, prayers and sermons. By trying to transfer one form of proclamation (a face-to-face Christian meeting) to the very different medium of radio, effectiveness and potential audience were reduced.

[5] It is also very important to understand the process by which people come to faith, online or offline (Gray Matrix).

If you want to know more about online evangelism, please surf over to Internet Evangelism Day for its well-written and valuable guide to web outreach. An introduction to the nature of the World Wide Web as a medium can be found in the portion entitled “Push or Pull.” The crux of the guide is “Web strategy to reach millions” while the article “Chat room, Instant Messaging, e-mail witness” discusses ways by which these technology can be used for online evangelism. You can also download a PDF handout on digital evangelism. Please read also Rusty Wright’s article “Could God use you in Internet Evangelism?”

The use of bridge strategies

Both Internet Evangelism Day and John Edmiston emphasize the use of bridge strategies, that is, identified needs around which website ministries can be created. My Family Matters website uses free legal information on the Family Code of the Philippines as its bridge strategy.

How effective are online evangelism and cybermissions?

The North American Mission Board, recognizing the impact of the Internet, appointed Siam Rogers in May 2000 as its first ever missionary to the Intenet. His website is http://www.accessjesus.org/.

Edmiston in his Powerpoint presentation cites the impact and success of the Internet ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ – Canada. He says,

TruthMedia (a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ - Canada) evangelistic websites receive 750,000 visitors each month. It is a ministry that's dedicated to help people come to know God in a personal way through the medium of the Internet and then helping them grow in their faith through discipleship sites. Its goal is to impact people around the world by using the medium and tools of the Internet. Truth Media has 450 volunteers doing the writing, evangelism and discipleship outreach.

In an average month the website has about 750,000 people who visit the related sites, of those approximately 1,400 people will indicate that they received Christ or have made some kind of significant spiritual decision like rededicating their lives to Christ.

TruthMedia's Women Today Magazine also has a Chinese language version with the millions of Chinese women as its target audience. An Arabic version of the website, meant for women in the Middle East, is also in the works.

Edmiston clarifies that cybermissions are not meant to replace or compete with traditional missions but to work hand in hand, synergistically with each other.

Mobile phone evangelism

Six in ten people around the world now have cell phone subscriptions, for an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally, compared with about 1 billion in 2002.80% of the world's population live in an area where they can use mobile phones. One billion new camera phones were shipped in 2008.

Thirty nine percent of Chinese Internet users adopt cell phones to surf the Web. Students are the main strength of mobile Internet users: 43.5 percent of them use their cell phones to read online news, download music, check email and perform a variety of other tasks.

In Japan and several other countries, more people access the Web through mobile devices than fixed personal computers, whose usage and sales are declining. In recent years the cellphone industry has seen surging growth in outskirts of China and India, helped by constantly falling phone and call prices, with cellphone vendors already eyeing inroads into Africa's countryside to keep up the growth. (From Web Evangelism Bulletin quoting from Reuters / Helsinki)

There are many innovative ways to use mobiles, as a Nonprofit Technology Network article explains. Some of these could have specific potential for evangelism, including the use of Bluetooth. There is huge evangelistic potential for these devices, including video clips, Short Code text response numbers, and the mobile web (from Web Evangelism Newsletter, August 2007). Portable electronic book readers such as Amazon’s ‘Kindle’ are enabling people to store a library of books to read anywhere. This creates the opportunity to distribute free Christian books, Bibles or interactive presentations.

Flash movies

These are created either in the Macromedia Flash program or in Swish Max, and can be effectively used for Internet evangelism, Bible teaching and cybermissions. We are very familiar with the printed Gospel tracts distributed during visitation or saturation drives. Through Flash, we now have the Internet versions of these tracts known as "digitracts" or "e-tracts" (see for example the very familiar Roman Road). You can view the digitracts online, e-mail them to other people, download them to your computer or embed them in your own web pages to share with visitors.

Other good examples of Flash movies used in evangelism are: [1] The Kristo by the North American Mission Board; and [2] Father's Love Letter, an eight minute preview of the 25-minute video created by Barry Adams and which has been viewed by millions of people.

E-mail evangelism with Taiwanese students

ASSIST Ministries, founded by Dan Gooding and based in Garden Grove, California, has been running various pen pal programs for 13 years with people all over the former Soviet Union and China, and now is focusing on Taiwan. The e-mail program is called “Bridge of Friendship Taiwan”.

Wooding calls the aim of this e-mail project as 'Love Tucked Inside An E-Mail message.' He explains that the idea is “to establish a friendship with people (primarily students) from Taiwan who read and speak English and, as part of that relationship, be able to share their faith with them and also learn about their life and beliefs.” Wooding adds, “This is a wonderful opportunity for American Christians from all ethnic backgrounds, to become missionaries to Asia without leaving home.”

Blog: simplified form of a website

Internet Evangelism Day also talks about the possibilities of blogs. A blog is an easy to use form of a website, capable of posting pictures and text. As of May 2008, according to Technorati (a popular blog search engine) there are more than 112.8 million blogs. If you know how to use MS Word, you can create a blog in minutes. You can use a blog for posting pictures and articles of your church events, announcements, etc. Through a blog, you can keep your sending church and supporting groups and individuals informed about what’s happening to your ministry.

My blogs are "Legal Updates" at http://www.famli.blogspot.com/ (discussion of current issues affecting the Filipino family); "Salt and Light" at http://www.-salt-and-light-.blogspot.com/ (articles on marriage, family and relationships); "Campus Connection" at http://www.campusconnection.blogspot.com/ (youth-oriented articles, including articles on photography); and "Families of Faith" at http://www.families-of-faith.blogspot.com/. I created these blogs through Blogger.com, Google's free blog-creation tool. Just type "blogger.com" at the Internet address box and you will be guided through three easy steps, and in minutes, you can have your own blog (see the YouTube video below).

How serious can blogging be? According to a Christianity Today article by Ted Olsen, Mark D. Roberts, one of the most prominent "pastor bloggers," announced that he was leaving his pulpit at Irvine, California, Presbyterian Church to become senior director at the Laity Lodge retreat in Texas and concentrate on his blogging. "My blog now becomes a part of my primary work," Roberts told his congregation.

To learn more about how to create a blog for your church or ministry, please view the YouTube video below.
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Help the victims of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in the Philippines

2009-10-06T11:50:00.009+08:00

(The 2:54 mark of this YouTube video shows the damage done to UERM, a medical school very near BBC Sta. Mesa, and the dramatic rescue of a female doctor being swept away by the flood.)

You can help the victims of last week’s Typhoon Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng (still devastating northern Philippines) through the Philippine National Red Cross.

Sermons on suffering, calamity, pain, revival and God’s gracious and merciful sovereignty (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

Habakkuk 3:2-19

O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?

Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.

The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.

Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

[1] The Arrows of the Almighty, by Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F.R.G.S. (also available in Indonesian)

[2] Living in Light of God's Providence, by Philip G Layton, Gold Country Baptist Church

[3] When All Hell Breaks Loose, by Michael Stark, New Beginnings Baptist Church

[4] Job-Suffering and Sovereignty Part 1, by Keith Crosby

[5] Job: Pain & Faith, by Noel Sterne

[6] Sermons by David Harp

[7] Evidence of Revival, Jonah 3:4-10, by Jim McCullen

[8] A Revival of the Word, 2 Chronicles 34:22-32, by Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church

Thanks to everyone! 200,000 visitors and counting for “Better English for everyone” website

2009-09-24T05:22:00.005+08:00

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.

According to my website tracker (Sitemeter.com), “Better English for everyone” will reach over 200,000 visitors from more than 150 countries either late tonight or early morning tomorrow. The website became online September 27, 2007 and in recent weeks has been averaging more than 500 visitors daily. It reached the highest number of visitors at 885 last March 11, 2009. “Better English for everyone” contains numerous links to Gospel websites and my website tracker reports that these have been outclicked, even by visitors from Restricted Access Nations. Thanks to everyone who have browsed this site. Soli Deo gloria!

I started my “Legal Updates” blog October 30, 2005 and yesterday, according to my website tracker, some 74,000+ visitors from 76 countries have now browsed this site, with an average of 170+ visitors a day. My Family Matters website which became online December 2005 has also recently picked up speed and is now averaging 200+ visitors daily, with a total of 74,000+ visitors as of yesterday.

The numbers are gratifying for any person involved in Internet ministries but they do not really represent the number of people who have actually or beneficially used the websites or blogs. Factors such as bounce rates, time spent on site, number of pages viewed and bandwidth consumed have to be considered.

The service I provide in “Legal Updates” and in my Family Matters website is free legal information and Biblical counseling. As I told one person who e-mailed me, what is legal is not always Biblical, and what is Biblical is not always legal. In my website and blogs however, what is Biblical will always take precedence.

Despite these milestones for “Legal Updates” and “Family Matters”,two things sadden me:

One, the most visited pages of “Legal Updates” are those dealing with (a) annulment or declaration of nullity of marriage; (b) the article I wrote about entertainer Amy Perez’s petition to have her marriage to Brix Ferraris declared null and void; (c) custody battles over children; and (d) the article dealing with adultery, concubinage, and psychological violence.

Two, there are more people who visit “Legal Updates” rather than my Salt and Light blog on how to build strong relationships, marriages and families. Compared to “Legal Updates”, my SL blog is limping along with only 20,000+ visitors since December 2005. It seems that there are more people who want to know about how to end their marriage than people concerned about building stronger marriages.

I remember Valentine’s Day three years ago. I received an e-mail from a woman, competent and highly successful in her profession. The problem was, her professional success had led to the breakdown of her marriage because her husband had become totally insecure. The question she desperately asked me was, “Is there hope for my marriage?” I spent the whole afternoon of that Valentine’s Day answering the e-mail, assuring her that yes, there was still hope for her marriage.

My hope is that more people will browse my Salt and Light blog and learn how to reclaim their marriage and rebuild their family. Some of my favorite articles are Lessons in love and life from Miriam Quiambao, Emotional word pictures as a communication tool for increasing intimacy between husbands and wives, and Men are terrible mind readers ...

I also hope that that those of you going through various marital difficulties will try to get hold and watch Kirk Cameron’s movie on relationships; you can watch the YouTube trailer above. (Read more About FIREPROOF; surf to the FIREPROOF blog).

Join our group

For Baptist church members involved in IT, website design, blogs, chat rooms, social networking, and other forms of Internet ministries, please consider joining our group. For more information, please contact Arman Serrana (Moriah Baptist Bible Church, Marikina) at armanps@yahoo.com.

Incidentally, you might want to read how the Internet is impacting the African country of Rwanda in the article “How to Cross the Digital Divide, Rwanda-Style”.

20th Fundamental Bible Conference and 1st International Partnership Ministries Far East Regional Conference

2009-09-19T08:58:00.008+08:00

Dates and venue: October 27-30, 6 to 9:30 PM; Integrated Bar of the Philippines Bldg, no. 15 Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City

Keynote speakers, Dr. Kevin Callahan (IPM President) and Dr. Tom Wolfe (IPM Director of Education)

Conference Chairman: Ptr. Roberto-Jose Livioco, DD, Foundation Baptist Church (Pasig City)

One time registration fee of 150 pesos; Christian literature and CDs for all registered delegates.

For more information, please contact 514-8340 and 829-4474.

Child spanking soon outlawed in RP? Is spanking a Biblically-endorsed way of discipline?

2009-09-07T13:09:00.010+08:00

(Note: Jump to the sections “Is spanking a Biblically-endorsed way of discipline?” and “Practical considerations: spanking in church-based schools”)

Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 “The Child and Youth Welfare Code” states that parents have the right to discipline the child as may be necessary for the formation of his good character, and may therefore require from him obedience to just and reasonable rules, suggestions and admonitions.” This right to discipline includes corporal punishment which is moderate in degree.

However, House Bill 6699 “The Anti-Corporal Punishment Act of 2009”, principally authored by Tarlac Rep. Monica Prieto-Teodoro (wife of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro) intends to prohibit the use of physical force to reprimand children, and deems as illegal verbal assaults and placing children in degrading or humiliating situation to correct their behavior.

HB 6699 also covers corporal punishments in schools, institutions, youth detention centers, and the workplace. Penalties range from one month to six months imprisonment, or suspension of parental authority over the children. The bill is co-authored by 56 other representatives and is expected to be approved by Congress before the year ends.

HB 6699 identifies forms of corporal punishments as:

Use of physical force (hitting any part of the body, pinching, twisting joints, pulling of ears or hair, shaving of hair, dragging or throwing a child, or cutting or piercing the skin)
Forcing a child to perform physically painful or damaging act (holding weights with arms stretched, kneeling on stones, salt, or pebbles or squatting)
Deliberate neglect of a child’s physical needs (starving a child if he doesn’t want to eat vegetables)
Use of external substance to punish a child (putting hot pepper in the mouth when he curses, placing him in a container of water, or exposing him to smoke)
Use of hazardous tasks and punishments (sweeping in the rain or under the heat of the sun)
Confinement (being shut in a confined space, tied-up, or forced to remain in one place for an extended period of time)
Verbal assaults, threats, or intimidation

Rationale for the law

Rep. Prieto-Teodoro explained that although laws trying to protect children from violence are already in place, some of their provisions are unclear: “The present laws lack the explicit prohibition on the use of corporal punishment, especially in the home and family setting, except for children in conflict with the law and children in detention who are now adequately given protection and more humane treatment under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act”.

Statistics on child abuse

[1] Many of the children who experience verbal abuse show anxiety, lack of concentration, thoughts of rejection, and low self-esteem among others, according to a 2006 study, “Parental Verbal Abuse: Culture-Specific Coping Behavior of College Students in the Philippines.”

[2] A 2005 study by Save the Children showed that 85 percent of the children interviewed in cities of Caloocan and Cebu were being punished in the home, with spanking as the most common. Eighty-two percent said they were hit on different parts of the body.

[3] A recent data of Plan Philippines showed that 500 to 800 child abuses each year are committed by teachers.

[4] For more facts and statistics on child abuse, please surf to “Child Protection in the Philippines, Philippine Resource Network”. Though unofficial, this is the first website that features organizations in the Philippines, both state-run and non-governmental, that work on the issue of child protection. This is a project supported by the Arci Cultura E Sviluppo, Save the Children (UK) Philippines, and UNICEF Manila with the participation of 8 more organizations. This undertaking aims to present to the world the situation of abused children and the roles of these organizations in addressing the issues through the World Wide Web.

Proposed penalties under HB 6699

With the proposed Anti-Corporal Punishment Act, children or concerned individuals may directly file complaints with their barangays, police stations, or local offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Authorities are expected to file a case in the regional trial court, or if not conduct an investigation within 8 hours from the time they receive the complaint.

Violators may face a month of imprisonment or suspension of their parental authority over the children, depending on the penalties provided by existing laws to protect children. If the penalty is just a month of imprisonment, the court prosecutor may just order the offender to attend seminars on children’s rights, positive and non-violent discipline, and anger management. Six months of imprisonment await those who will be found guilty of offenses under HB 6699 that are not covered by laws like the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (Republic Act 7610) and Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (RA 9262).

Positive discipline: a proposed alternative to spanking

Child rights advocates say that, instead of spanking, parents and other individuals responsible with a child should practice positive discipline. Wilma Banaga of Plan Philippines said “positive discipline” involves:

Identifying the values and life skills that they want the child to adopt.
Expressing affection and support (a hug, a pat on the back, or appreciating their accomplishments), but at the same time giving clear guidelines for their behavior.
Understanding how children think and feel.
Discussing the problem with the child and identify effective approaches to solve it.
Listening carefully and helping children learn the use of words to express their feelings.
Giving children quality time.
Becoming a good example on how to react when faced by undesirable situations.

The Child Rights Information Network provides a 2.1 MB, 356 pages long PDF download from Dr. Joan E. Durant on what positive discipline is all about. CRN also provides “A to Z of child rights” available in English, Arabic, Spanish, French and Russian.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child. (from Wikipedia)

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defined corporal (from the root word corpus, referring to body) as any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. However, other forms of punishment may also be considered corporal punishment even if they re not physical in nature. They are word and actions that belittle, humiliate, denigrate, threaten, scare or ridicule the child.

The UNICEF website provides photo essay on the “Rights of the Child” (Part I and Part 2). It also provides a helpful article “Definition of key terms” and a PDF download of children’s rights.

Is spanking a Biblically-endorsed way of discipline?

The following points must be clearly established and emphasized:

[1] I am strongly opposed to violence or abuse against children. Fundamentalist and evangelical Christian parents who do believe in spanking would also affirm that they are opposed to violence or abuse against children.

[2] “Spanking” understood and implemented correctly is a form of loving discipline that the Bible endorses.

Dr. James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” has ably and eloquently articulated the bases for spanking as a form of loving discipline in his books “The New Dare to Discipline” (read a sample chapter) and “The New Strong-Willed Child” (read a sample chapter).

Dobson’s three concepts on Biblical discipline are:

(1) The authority of parents is endorsed;

(2) Discipline is in the best interest of children;

(3) Discipline must not be harsh and destructive to the child’s spirit.

In his printable article titled “Approaches to Discipline”, Dobson discusses issues such as Does Spanking Work for All Kids?; To Spank or Not to Spank; When Kids Run You Over; Handling Disrespect; and Behavior and Consequences.

Related issues which Dobson discusses in his website are:

Practical considerations; spanking in church-based schools

[1] What should our stand be towards HB 6699? While we believe in spanking as a Biblical form of discipline, fundamentalist and evangelical Christians must also take a strong stand opposing violence and abuse against children.

Instead of a complete repeal, Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 “The Child and Youth Welfare Code” allowing corporal punishments as long as these are “just and reasonable” and “moderate in degree” must be clarified or fine tuned instead.

[2] Churches, numbering perhaps in the hundreds, have established schools based on the School of Tomorrow program. As I have been told by several school administrators, part of the SOT’s requirements is that parents must sign a document allowing teachers to spank misbehaving children. On the contrary, someone who claimed to be an SOT consultant told me that such is not a requirement of the SOT and that it is up to the schools to ask parents to allow the spanking of their children by the teachers.

(As you can read, my information on this matter is second hand. I would appreciate any correction from the SOT, school administrators and the parents.)

In the legal seminars I have given for churches and groups of pastors, people have always raised the issue of this alleged SOT requirement. I have always replied by pointing out Article 233 of the Family Code (take note especially of the second paragraph) which states:

The person exercising substitute parental authority shall have the same authority over the person of the child as the parents.

In no case shall the school administrator, teacher or individual engaged in child care exercising special parental authority inflict corporal punishment upon the child.

(emphasis by boldfacing supplied)

The phrase “in no case” means that even with the SOT document signed by the parents, teachers are not allowed to spank the students. I have always said that if the students needed to be spanked, the school administrators should call the parents who will do the spanking themselves.

[3] Have the provisions of the Family Code on parental authority, specifically Articles 209 to 233, already repealed Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 “The Child and Youth Welfare Code”? These articles do not mention anything about the right of parents to discipline their children as PD 603 provides. Large portions of PD 603 have been repealed or modified by the Family Code of the Philippines and numerous other laws. In our legal system, however, implied repeals are frowned upon and therefore, it can be argued that Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 is still good law.

Free PDF download “Where is God when Things Go Wrong?” by John Blanchard

2009-09-06T06:32:00.005+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.

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

2009-09-02T07:12:00.027+08:00

Music - contemporary versus traditional, praise and worship versus hymns and Gospel songs - has become a very divisive issue. Two significant things we should not forget though:

[1] There isn’t a single reference to music in Luke’s account of what happened during Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.

[2] Colossians 3:16 emphasizes the teaching or didactic function of music: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Pastors must retake responsibility for doctrinal content of music

Seldom do we find pastors who are good in music (singing, conducting or playing any instrument). Thus, pastors often leave the choice of music to the choir director or the song leader. As the 1996 Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals observed, “Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music.” Leonard Payton in “How Shall We Sing to God?” mentioned below says that “pastors must retake ecclesiastical authority over the music and over every word sung in corporate worship and in small groups.”

Some resources that can help you in developing your church’s theology of music are the following:

[1] Building a Christian Philosophy of Music, from Free Sunday School Lessons (Baptist/Reformed), with a critique of “many serious weaknesses” of Contemporary Christian Music:

Some guiding principles that should shape congregational singing and hymnody:

1. Theo-centricity (God-centered): songs that focus on the character of God, such as “Immortal, Invisible” or “Holy, Holy, Holy”

2. Gospel-centricity: songs that focus on the person and work of Jesus, such as “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners!” or “Oh the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”

3. Theologically accurate: songs that convey the truths of the Scripture accurately and clearly, such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” or “And Can it Be?”

4. Simplicity (ease of singing): songs that are easy to understand and memorize, such as “Amazing Grace” or “The Old Rugged Cross”

5. Beauty: songs that use imaginative and compelling poetry, such as the lyrics from Isaac Watts, “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” – “Must I be carried to the skies, on flow’ry beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize, and sailed through bloody seas?”

6. Musical excellence: substantial tunes of majesty and nobility, such as “Austrian Hymn” (Glorious Things) by Haydn, “Ode to Joy” by Beethoven, “Aurelia” (“The Church’s One Foundation”) by Samuel Wesley

[2] “How Shall We Sing to God? Recovering the authority of Scripture in worship music” by Leonard Payton, from The Coming Evangelical Crisis by John H. Armstrong (Moody press, 1996):

The lyrics in many of the praise choruses often contradict Scripture. Consider the chorus “Highest Place” directly associated with Philippians 2:9: “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” (NIV)

We place you on the highest place,
For You are the great High Priest;
We place You high above all else,
And we come to You and worship
At your feet.”

The trouble is that these lyrics indicate it is Christians – not God – who exalt Jesus to the highest place, directly contradicting the Scripture on which the song is based.

[3] “Enjoy Your Worship” (free PDF download), from the book “O Worship The King” by John Macarthur, Joni Eareckson Tada, Robert and Bobbi Wolgemuth, (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2000):

Praise choruses are meant to be sung as simple personal expressions of worship, whereas hymns are usually corporate expressions of worship with an emphasis on some doctrinal truth. A hymn usually has several stanzas, each of which builds on or expands the theme introduced in the first stanza. By contrast, a praise chorus is usually much shorter, with one or two verses, and most of these choruses make liberal use of repetition in order to prolong the focus on a single idea or expression of praise.

Few modern praise choruses teach or admonish. Instead, most are written to stir the feelings only. They are too often sung like a mystical mantra—with the deliberate purpose of putting the intellect into a passive state while the worshiper musters as much emotion as possible.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the simple, straightforward personal praise that characterizes the best of today’s praise choruses. Neither is there anything wrong with the evangelistic and testimonial thrust of yesterday’s gospel songs. But it is a profound tragedy that in some circles, only contemporary choruses are sung. Other congregations limit their repertoire to hundred-year-old gospel songs. Meanwhile, a large and rich body of classic Christian hymnody is in danger of being utterly lost out of sheer neglect.

Obviously, then, neither the antiquity nor the popularity of a gospel song is a good measure of its worthiness. And the fact that a gospel song is “old fashioned” is quite clearly no guarantee that it is suited for edifying the church. When it comes to church music, older is not necessarily better.

In fact, these same “old fashioned” gospel songs that are so often extolled by critics of modern church music are actually what paved the way for the very tendencies those critics sometimes rightly decry. In particular, the lack of substance in so much of today’s music is the predictable fruit of the wholesale shift away from hymns to gospel songs, which began sometime in the late nineteenth century.

[4] “The Music of Worship, Pleasing God or Pleasing Ourselves?” by Becky Maceda, FaithWalk Vol. 3 No. 1:

To evaluate worship biblically is to be willing to step back from our own preferences and experiences and ask, “What pleases God in worship?” We know that not all worship and music please Him (see Ex. 32:4-6). We therefore need to examine three aspects of worship music if we are to bring it in line with Scripture: 1) the words that we sing. 2) the melodies of the words we sing, and 3) the instruments we use to accompany the singing.

True worship is faithful to the doctrine of God as revealed in Scripture. Even the most well-intentioned believer may unwittingly end up in idolatry--worshiping a god he has fashioned in his own image.

Kim Riddlebarger argues: “This is not to say that worship is not to be emotional or that one is not to experience God during worship, but worship must be based on a correct knowledge of God, not an ecstatic experience of God. Worship has a doctrinal, and not experiential, context. This intellectual priority in worship is also seen in the prohibitions against idolatry.”

We need to be careful then of such lyrics as these:

I just want to be where You are
Dwelling daily in your presence
Take me to the place where you are
I just want to be with You.

Is God omnipresent? It is not clear from the words of this song, specifically the third line, even when the entire song is considered.

[5] “Music and the Worship of the Living God” by Dan G. MacCartney, Adjunct Professor of New Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary (discussion of the principles of correspondence, holiness, regulative, holistic and excellence):

The worship of God, and thus, also the music of worship, should correspond to God’s character. How we worship should reflect the kind of God He is.

[6] “Reformation in Doctrine, Worship, and Life” by James Montgomery Boice (Reformed theologian and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death; former chairman of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy for over ten years; founding member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals):

Whereas the old hymns expressed the theology of the church in profound and perceptive ways with winsome, memorable language, today’s songs reflect a shallow or non-existent theology … songs that merely repeat a trite idea, word or phrase over and over again. Songs like these are not worship, though they may give the churchgoer a religious feeling. They are mantras which belong more in a gathering of New Agers than among the worshiping people of God.

Should Baptist churches sing “Majesty”?

Question: What do the term “kingdom authority” and the expression “Kingdom authority flows from His throne” mean? The answer determines whether Baptist churches should consider singing “Majesty” or not.

Jack Hayford (prominent pastor of Church-on-the-Way Foursquare Church, founded by Aimee Semple McPherson, and with prominent members such as Pat Boone, TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch) wrote this song in 1977 after he and his wife visited England.

In Kenneth W. Osbeck’s book “Amazing Grace 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, Hayford explains what his song is all about:

“Majesty” describes the kingly, lordly, gloriously regal nature of our Savior – but not simply as an objective statement in worship of which He is fully worthy. “Majesty” is also a statement of the fact that our worship, when begotten in spirit and truth, can align us with His throne in such a way that His Kingdom authority flows to us – to overflow us, to free us and channel through us. We are rescued from death, restored to the inheritance of sons and daughters, qualified for victory in battle against the adversary, and destined for the Throne forever in His presence.

“Majesty” teaches Pentecostal kingdom doctrine

Ptr. David Cloud in his book “Contemporary Christian Music Under the Spotlight” (1998) argues that “Majesty” teaches Pentecostal kingdom doctrine. Ptr. Cloud is an oftentimes controversial figure and we should not take his view as the final word in this matter. However, considering Hayford’s Pentecostal theology, how else can we explain what the line “kingdom authority flows from His throne” means?

The “Apologetics Index” in its article “An Examination of Kingdom-, Dominion-, and Latter Rain Theology” describes what Pentecostal “Kingdom Theology” is all about:

The basic premise of Kingdom Theology is that man lost dominion over the earth when Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation in the Garden of Eden.

God “lost control” of the earth to Satan at that time, and has since been looking for a "covenant people" who will be His “extension,” or “expression,” in the earth and take dominion back from Satan. This is to be accomplished through certain “overcomers” who, by yielding themselves to the authority of God’s apostles and prophets for the Kingdom Age, will take control of the kingdoms of this world.

These kingdoms are defined as all social institutions, such as the “kingdom” of education, the “kingdom” of science, the “kingdom” of the arts, and so on. Most especially there is the “kingdom” of politics or government.

This naturally implies the concentration of military and police power in the hands of those in control during the Kingdom Age. They are referred to as the “many-membered man child,” whom Kingdom Theology adherents believe will be the fulfillment of Revelation 12:1-5: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars....And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.”

Those who hold to Kingdom Theology assume that the Church (some believe only a small group within the Church, called “overcomers”), under submission to the latter day apostles and prophets, is that man child, and that it has the responsibility to put down all rebellion and establish righteousness. This necessitates the utilization of supernatural power and the full implementation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This theory is based upon the idea that all authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Jesus. Since believers are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit that indwelt Jesus, we have all authority in heaven and on the earth; we have the power to believe for and speak into existence things that are not, and thus we can bring about the Kingdom Age.

The many-membered man child must take control of the earth before Jesus can return. Necessary to the Kingdom Age is “the Restoration of the Tabernacle of David,” defined as the completion of perfection of the Bride of Christ - a Church without spot or wrinkle.

During the Kingdom Age (or after all else is subdued during that time) Satan and all enemies of God will be put under the feet of the many-membered man child. This will be the fulfillment of I Corinthians 15:25-26: “For he (Christ) must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

Note: I do not wish to nor can impose on anyone my view about “Majesty”. I do believe in the Biblical distinctives of Baptists, specifically, autonomy of the local church (download PDF) and individual soul liberty (download PDF).

The seeker-sensitive movement: A Shocking “Confession” from Willow Creek Community Church

2009-08-31T06:32:00.009+08:00

Note: You can read the complete text of this October 2007 article written by Bob Burney at crosswalk.com. Burney is Salem Communications’ award-winning host of Bob Burney Live, heard weekday afternoons on WRFD-AM 880 in Columbus, Ohio. Contact Bob at bob@wrfd.com. For the sake of fairness, you can watch a video synopsis of the research with Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, and reactions of Bill Hybels recorded at Leadership Summit.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

For most of a generation evangelicals have been romanced by the “seeker sensitive” movement spawned by Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. The guru of this movement is Bill Hybels. He and others have been telling us for decades to throw out everything we have previously thought and been taught about church growth and replace it with a new paradigm, a new way to do ministry.

Perhaps inadvertently, with this “new wave” of ministry came a de-emphasis on taking personal responsibility for Bible study combined with an emphasis on felt-needs based “programs” and slick marketing.

The size of the crowd rather than the depth of the heart determined success. If the crowd was large then surely God was blessing the ministry. Churches were built by demographic studies, professional strategists, marketing research, meeting “felt needs” and sermons consistent with these techniques. We were told that preaching was out, relevance was in. Doctrine didn’t matter nearly as much as innovation. If it wasn’t “cutting edge” and consumer friendly it was doomed. The mention of sin, salvation and sanctification were taboo and replaced by Starbucks, strategy and sensitivity.

Thousands of pastors hung on every word that emanated from the lips of the church growth experts. Satellite seminars were packed with hungry church leaders learning the latest way to “do church.” The promise was clear: thousands of people and millions of dollars couldn’t be wrong. Forget what people need, give them what they want. How can you argue with the numbers? If you dared to challenge the “experts” you were immediately labeled as a “traditionalist,” a throwback to the 50s, a stubborn dinosaur unwilling to change with the times.

All that changed recently.

Willow Creek has released the results of a multi-year study on the effectiveness of their programs and philosophy of ministry. The study’s findings are in a new book titled Reveal: Where Are You?, co-authored by Cally Parkinson and Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. Hybels himself called the findings “earth shaking,” “ground breaking” and “mind blowing.” And no wonder: it seems that the “experts” were wrong.

The report reveals that most of what they have been doing for these many years and what they have taught millions of others to do is not producing solid disciples of Jesus Christ. Numbers yes, but not disciples. It gets worse. Hybels laments:

Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for.

If you simply want a crowd, the “seeker sensitive” model produces results. If you want solid, sincere, mature followers of Christ, it’s a bust. In a shocking confession, Hybels states:

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

Incredibly, the guru of church growth now tells us that people need to be reading their bibles and taking responsibility for their spiritual growth.

(Read the complete article)

Guidelines and precautions in buying church property

2009-08-25T10:40:00.013+08:00

Consider the following situations and problems that some pastors have met in purchasing property for their churches:

[1] A veteran pastor-missionary paid half a million pesos for a property which his church started using at once. Later on, when he asked me for advice, it turned out that he paid the money without a Deed of Sale, whether absolute or conditional, or any kind of writing as proof of the payment. The whole piece of land was titled but the portion sold to the church did not have its own title. The pastor suffered months of worry and tension waiting for the landowner to have the whole area surveyed and the release of the subdivided title.

[2] A pastor from a province south of Metro Manila entered into a contract for the purchase of a land worth one million pesos. The church made a down payment of one hundred fifty thousand pesos. There was no deed of sale or any kind of document for that contract or the down payment. When the pastor asked me for advice and I asked him for a copy of the land title, he said that he did not have even a xerox copy. He said that the landowners promised to give him a xerox copy only when the complete payment had been made.

[3] A Baptist church in Metro Manila wanted to construct a new building for its church and ministries. The church secured a loan from a bank by putting up the title to its land as collateral. The church defaulted in its payments, the bank foreclosed the property, and the land is now owned by the Mormons.

[4] A faithful, unmarried old woman allowed this church in a province just outside Metro Manila to construct its buildings for the church and school on her property. Years later, the old woman was already in the States, the property had been fully developed, and the relatives of the old woman had become very interested in the valuable property. When I asked the pastor for the documents, he said that there was only a “verbal donation” made by the old woman.

[5] A pastor made a down payment of fifty thousand pesos for two condominium units which he wanted to turn into a church. The titles turned out to be fake.

[6] A church in Metro Manila entered into a lease contract for a land. The lease expired but the church continued using and developing the property. The church is now being evicted.

[7] A pastor entered into a contract for the purchase of a land in the heart of Metro Manila not with the owner but with the agent of an agent. The pastor went on deputation in the US to raise the money for the purchase of the land and the construction of the church. It turned out that the basis of the ownership of the land was a questionable court decision which claims almost the whole Philippines. The church is now being evicted by the sheriff’s office of that city.

[8] When this church in a northern province bought its property, it had not yet been registered with the SEC. The members agreed that the land be titled in the name of the pastor. When the pastor died, his children demanded that the church vacate the property since it was now their inheritance.

[9] The church bought the property and had the title transferred to its name after complying with the requirements of the Register of Deeds. Years later, the church received a notice of assessment from the Assessor's Office for failure to pay real estate taxes. It turned out that while the record of ownership of the land had been updated with the RD, the records in the Assessor's Office have not been transferred from the previous owner to the church.

[10] Numerous churches have built their structures within private subdivisions. The homeowners associations of these subdivisions are questioning the existence of a church within a residential area.

[11] A pastor wanted to buy the property the church was using. The land did not have a title with the owner merely having “rights” to the land. There were, however, other lands in that northern province which already had titles.

Posted below are some guidelines and precautions that pastors and churches must follow in purchasing land for their churches:

1. Get a certified true xerox copy of the land title. Do not depend on the copy provided by the landowner, even if it is certified. According to one media report, there are more than 100,000 fake land titles circulating in the Philippines.

If possible, check also if the person saying that he is the landowner is really the person mentioned as the registered owner. Meaning, the person saying that he is the landowner may just be posing as the real landowner. Ask for a valid ID.

If the title says that the registered owners are the parents of the person saying he is the landowner, that is a problem. There might be other heirs to that property. If there are several heirs claiming ownership of the land, and some heirs want to sell while others do not, that is a problem. The majority of the heirs cannot simply outvote those who do not want to sell. The heirs who want to sell must file a petition in court under Rule 69 of the 1997 Rules of Civil procedure.

If the landowner is married, then marital conformity is needed for the sale of the land.

If the person selling the land to you is merely an agent and not the registered owner, that is a problem. Ask to meet and deal with the real owner.

If the landowner is a member of the church, you must insist that you do things in a legal manner, for the protection of all parties concerned. The church is protected and the pastor cannot be accused later on that he took advantage of that member.

2. Check the back portion of the title to see if there are annotations for liens or encumbrances like adverse claim, notice of lis pendens, mortgage,etc. If there are liens or encumbrances on the title, then do not buy the property.

3. If the copy of the title on file with the Register of Deeds is clean of any lien or encumbrance, then bring the certified copy of the title to the Land Registration Authority (LRA) in Quezon City, opposite the Land Transportation Office. Ask the LRA Task Force on Spurious Land Titles to verify if the title is genuine or fake.

4. If the LRA says that the title is genuine, then check with the Assessor’s Office if the “amilyar” or real estate taxes are paid up (no arrears or back taxes). If there are arrears, then talk to the landowner. You can propose for example to pay for the arrears but this should be part of the purchase price already. You need a written notarized document for this agreement on the payment of back taxes.

5. Ask the landowner permission to have the land surveyed. The purpose of the survey is to determine the actual land area. If the title says that the land area is 2,000 square meters but the survey only shows that the area is 1,500 then you can ask for a proportional reduction in the price.

6. Do an ocular inspection of the land for potential problems (for examples, if the area is prone to floods, if the property has access roads or right of way, etc).

7. Clarify with the landowner as to who will shoulder the payment of the taxes (transfer, capital gains, etc). If it is the landowner who will pay for all the taxes, then he might ask you to sign two deeds of sale. One deed of sale will be for the actual amount you agreed upon, while the second deed will state a price much lower than the agreed amount. The landowner will submit to the BIR the deed with the lower price so that he will be paying lower taxes. Will you as a pastor or as a church agree to this illegal and immoral way of doing things?

You have to clarify also with the landowner as to who will pay the notarial fee for the deed of sale. The notary public usually charges one percent of whatever the price mentioned in the deed is. For example, if the price mentioned in the deed of sale is two million pesos, the notary public will charge Php 20,000.00 as notarial fee.

8. In the actual payment, paying in cash is not recommended. You must have a paper trail of your payment. You can ask your bank to issue a manager’s check or cashier’s check. Before signing the deed of sale, the landowner can verify from the bank if the check is genuine or is funded, etc.

“Dapat kaliwaan”, as we say in the vernacular. When you present the check for payment, the landowner must at the same time give you the title. After you receive the title, “dapat malinis na”. Meaning, all you have to do after payment and receiving the title, is to work on the transfer of the title to your name.

9. In transferring the title to the church’s name, you will have to submit all the documents to the Register of Deeds (RD). Beforehand, you need to get the confirmation receipts from the BIR and the Assessor’s office. If the documents are complete and the BIR and Assessor’s office issue the proper documents saying that the taxes have been paid, then the RD will now transfer the title to the church’s name. The RD will require that you submit the church’s SEC registration papers, board resolutions, Deed of sale, etc.

10. There is no really such thing as “verbal donation” when it comes to lands. The New Civil Code of the Philippines requires donations worth more than five thousand pesos and the acceptance of such donation to be made in a notarized document. In a donation, the donor’s tax (20% of the value of the property) must be paid within 30 days form the time the deed of donation is executed.

11. If the church has already bought a property but the landowner for one reason or another refuses to hand over the title, you should file immediately an “affidavit of adverse claim” with the Register of Deeds. Within 3o days after the adverse claim was annotated on the back of the title on file with the RD, you should file in court either a case for specific performance (for the landowner to comply with the terms and condition of the contract) or for rescission (cancellation) of the contract, both with damages.

12. In a contract of sale by installments, there is usually a part of the contract which provides for an “acceleration clause.” This means that failure to pay one or more installments will make the whole amount due and demandable. For example, your church is bound to pay two million pesos in 24 monthly installments for the land. Your church paid its January and February installments, failed to pay the March installment, and then continued paying again. If there is an acceleration clause in the contract, then that failure to pay the March installment, for example, gives the landowner the right to demand that your church pay the WHOLE amount at once.

You might ask, why would the church agree to have an acceleration clause in the contract? Well, the church might not be aware of such a clause in the contract, if it was the landowner who prepared the deed of sale, or if the church (if it was the one which prepared the contract) merely copied a deed of sale or downloaded it from the Internet. The point is, the church should consult a lawyer before buying any property.

Related articles:

If your Bible school, church or group of pastors wants to know more about these guidelines and precautions, please email me at gtgalacio@yahoo.com for a free half-day seminar. My other contact information is in the sidebar.

Free e-book download “Why It Pays to be a Christian”

2009-08-20T10:29:00.011+08:00

Why It Pays to be a Christian by Norbert Lieth (93 pages PDF, 1 MB total file size; from Midnight Call Ministries)

Excerpts:

The Encyclopedia Britannica uses 20,000 words to describe Jesus. This description takes up more space than the encyclopedia devotes to Aristotle, Cicero, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and Napoleon.

The following statements are from well-known people concerning Jesus:

French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said: “It would have been a greater miracle to invent such a life as that of Christ than His actual existence is.”

At the end of his life, Napoleon Bonaparte, who engaged half of Europe in war, wrote these words in his diary: “With all my armies and generals, I have not been able to make one single continent subject to me in a quarter of a century. But this Jesus has conquered nations and cultures without the use of arms for centuries.”

Well-known historian H.G. Wells was asked what person had the greatest influence on history. He answered that if one were to judge the greatness of a man according to historical aspects, Jesus would be at the top of the list.

Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette said, “The more time that passes, the more apparent it becomes that Jesus, measured by His influence on history, led the most momentous life that was ever lived on this planet. And His influence seems to increase.”

Ernest Renan made the following observation, “Jesus is the most genial figure that ever lived in the historical field. His brilliance is eternal and His government will never cease. He is unique in every way and comparable with nothing and nobody. Without Christ history cannot be understood.”

Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer who suffered for us in order to attain and guarantee our entrance into heaven. Only those who believe in Jesus and surrender their lives to Him and lay their guilt and sins at His feet will gain entrance into the kingdom of God.

“What it means to accept Christ” by A. W. Tozer (1963)

A few things, fortunately only a few, are matters of life and death, such as a compass for a sea voyage or a guide for a journey across the desert. To ignore these vital things is not to gamble or take a chance; it is to commit suicide. Here it is either be right or be dead.

Our relation to Christ is such a matter of life or death, and on a much higher plane. The Bible instructed man knows that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and that men are saved by Christ alone altogether apart from any works of merit.

That much is true and known, but obviously, the death and resurrection of Christ do not automatically save everyone. How does the individual man come into saving relation to Christ? That some do we know, but that others do not is evident. How is the gulf bridged between redemption objectively provided and salvation subjectively received? How does that which Christ did for me become operative within me? To the question “What must I do to be saved?” we must learn the correct answer. To fail here is not to gamble with our souls: it is to guarantee eternal banishment from the face of God. Here we must be right or be finally lost.

To this anxious question evangelical Christians provide three answers, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” “Receive Christ as your personal saviour,” and “Accept Christ.” Two of the answers are drawn verbatim from the Scriptures (Acts 16:31, John 1:12), while the third is a kind of paraphrase meant to sum up the other two. They are therefore not three but one.

Being spiritually lazy we naturally tend to gravitate toward the easiest way of settling our religious questions for ourselves and others hence the formula “Accept Christ” has become a panacea of universal application, and I believe it has been fatal to many. Though undoubtedly an occasional serious-minded penitent may find in it all the instruction he needs to bring him into living contact with Christ, I fear that too many seekers use it as a short cut to the Promised Land, only to find that it has led them instead to “a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.”

The trouble is that the whole “Accept Christ” attitude is likely to be wrong. It shows Christ applying to us rather than us to Him. It makes Him stand hat-in-hand awaiting our verdict on Him, instead of our kneeling with troubled hearts awaiting His verdict on us. It may even permit us to accept Christ by an impulse of mind or emotions, painlessly, at no loss to our ego and no inconvenience to our usual way of life.

For this ineffectual manner of dealing with a vital matter we might imagine some parallels; as if, for instance, Israel in Egypt had “accepted” the blood of the Passover but continued to live in bondage, or the prodigal son had “accepted” his father’s forgiveness and stayed among the swine in the far country. Is it not plain that if accepting Christ is to mean anything there must be moral action that accords with it?

Allowing the expression “Accept Christ” to stand as an honest effort to say in short what could not be so well said any other way, let us see what we mean or should mean when we use it.

To accept Christ is to form an attachment to the Person of our Lord Jesus altogether unique in human experience. The attachment is intellectual, volitional and emotional. The believer is intellectually convinced that Jesus is both Lord and Christ; he has set his will to follow Him at any cost and soon his heart is enjoying the exquisite sweetness of His fellowship.

This attachment is all-inclusive in that it joyfully accepts Christ for all that He is. There is no craven division of offices whereby we may acknowledge His Saviourhood today and withhold decision on His Lordship till tomorrow. The true believer owns Christ as his All in All without reservation. He also includes all of himself, leaving no part of his being unaffected by the revolutionary transaction.

Further, his attachment to Christ is all-exclusive. The Lord becomes to him not one of several rival interests, but the one exclusive attraction forever. He orbits around Christ as the earth around the sun, held in thrall by the magnetism of His love, drawing all his life and light and warmth from Him. In this happy state he is given other interests, it is true, but these are all determined by his relation to his Lord.

That we accept Christ in this all-inclusive, all-exclusive way is a divine imperative. Here faith makes its leap into God through the Person and work of Christ, but it never divides the work from the Person. It never tries to believe on the blood apart from Christ Himself, or the cross or the “finished work.” It believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole Christ without modification or reservation, and thus it receives and enjoys all that He did in His work of redemption, all that He is now doing in heaven for all His own and all that He does in and through them.

To accept Christ is to know the meaning of the words “as he is, so are we in this world” (I John 4:17). We accept His friends as our friends, His enemies as our enemies, His ways as our ways, His rejection as our rejection, His cross as our cross, His life as our life and His future as our future.

If this is what we mean when we advise others to accept Christ we had better explain it to him. He may get into deep spiritual trouble unless we do.

Through the distance ...

2009-08-10T19:45:00.001+08:00

“And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.” (Gen 31:49)

“Is the Lord going to use in a great way? Quite probably. Is He going to prepare you as you expect? Probably not. And if you’re not careful, you will look at the trials, the tests, the sudden interruptions, the disappointments, the sadness, the lost jobs, the failed opportunities, the broken moments, and you will think, He’s through with me, He’s finished with me, when in fact, He is equipping you.” (The Mystery of God’s Will, by Chuck Swindoll)

Prayers of A.W. Tozer (YouTube video)

2009-08-05T09:20:00.015+08:00

A. W. Tozer (sometimes called the “prophet of evangelicalism”) is my favorite writer. The first time I read his work was in the late 1970’s when I got hold of “Gems from Tozer” in the nursery room of Mandaluyong Bible Baptist Church (my childhood church in Nueve de Febrero St. founded by the late BBF missionaries Fred and Lorene Null). I was simply blown away by his insights and writing style. In 1983-84 while teaching at Quezon City Science High School, I bought his books “That Incredible Christian” and “The Root of the Righteous” at twenty pesos each. Years later, my mother gave me a two-volume set of Tozer’s sermons.

This low-res video is from a new 45-minute DVD by Ken Boa and Bill Ibsen with contemplative music by Stanton Lanier. Of the over 40 books written by Tozer (1897-1963), two of his works are regarded as Christian classics: “The Pursuit of God” and “The knowledge of the Holy”. Both books help the reader to cultivate a deeper relationship with the living God, and to view Him in His true majesty and supreme greatness. Tozer’s beautiful yet practical prayers recorded in these two books are presented in this DVD as yet another way to help viewers pray along as they pursue and grow in their personal knowledge of the Holy One.

Tozer was a Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor and so some of his teachings do not coincide with the Biblical distinctives of Baptists. Keeping this in mind, you will profit from reading Tozer’s “Knowledge of the Holy” in PDF format or listening to his more than four hundred mp3 sermons. You can also read articles and excerpts from Tozer’s sermons:

What Happened To The Fire On Carmel?

The Dictatorship Of The Routine

Some Things Are Not Negotiable

To All Who Received Him

Better Christians

The Gift Of Prophetic Insight

The Old Cross And The New

How Christ is Revealed

The Divine Conquest

What’s Wrong With The Gospel?

The Knowledge of The Holy

Prayer of a Minor Prophet

Instant Christianity

Free resources (pictures, e-cards, Powerpoint templates and backgrounds, etc) from Heartlight

2009-07-20T11:35:00.007+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.

Legal seminar, Christ Baptist Church, Muntinlupa, July 10

2009-07-08T16:09:00.002+08:00

CBC under the leadership of Ptr. Joey Conui will host a whole-day meeting and fellowship for pastors and church workers from Region 4 and 5 on July 10, 2009. As part of the activities, I will give a legal lecture from 2 to 4 PM on issues relevant to pastors and churches (SEC registration, NSO guidelines for solemnizing officers, land titles, donations, essential provisions of the Family Code, etc).

Invitation: Baptist church members involved in IT, website design, blogs, chat rooms, social networking, and other forms of Internet ministries

2009-07-02T16:21:00.005+08:00

Greetings in the name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

The Internet technology has contributed a big aspect not only in each individual life but in the ministry as well. It greatly improvised the way we communicate, the scope of sharing the gospel, the way we do business, and many others.

In this regard, I would like to invite all Baptist web developers, designers, and even ITs to be a part of this ministry.

Please inform others you know who are also in this field. We will be discussing particulars of this proposed organization. Basically, the purpose is to provide internet and IT technology to churches and organizations of like precious faith.

Tentative date of meeting is on July 10, 2009 around 5pm at Starbucks Gateway, Cubao. You may propose date/time/venue so we could have a consensus of everyone's availability.

Looking forward for a great ministry with you. I believe we can be a blessing through this talent and opportunity the Lord has given us.

In Christ,

Bro. Arman Serrana
Moriah Baptist Bible Church
Marikina

Note: You can post your views, suggestions, etc regarding this proposed ministry by clicking "comments" below. (Atty. GTG)

Suggested curriculum in Internet evangelism for Bible schools

2009-07-01T11:19:00.004+08:00

From Internet Evangelism Day

The digital media are changing the world and the way we communicate. We therefore encourage colleges to consider offering modules or full courses about digital evangelism:

• Open Letter to Colleges

We see huge potential for modules or longer courses, at varying depths. At a minimum, we suggest that all ministry students, whether for pastoral or missionary work, need to understand the nature of digital media, and how the world is moving from a ‘print communication culture’ through a ‘broadcast communication culture’ to a ‘digital communication culture’, where most of the ground-rules are different.

The topic suggestions listed below aim to encompass these inter-related subjects. Although it is possible to present a very brief introductory overview to many of them within a single seminar (as our free PowerPoint presentation does), it would of course take many hours to investigate even one topic area at any depth. (We hope that this site and its hundreds of outside links, and our book recommendations, would be helpful in any digital ministry course.)

Coverage of the whole subject could easily expand into a one-year subsidiary module, a college major, full MA, or a postgraduate course with research dissertation. (There is a big need for research into many areas of this new medium.)

Distance learning option

There is also great potential in offering these subjects by distance learning. Because digital evangelism is so new, and training opportunities currently so limited, a distance learning course allows teaching to be available to a far wider range of students, unrestricted by geography.

Visiting faculty

We offer a range of speakers who can contribute to college courses as lecturers, or by Skype or telephone conferencing.

Suggested curriculum areas

The web as a medium
- Demographics of web & mobile phone use
- Previous communication cultures: print & broadcast
- Characteristics of digital communication culture, including the move from abstract thinking & propositional truth towards story, visual & relational communication
- Comparison with oral communication cultures
- Understanding postmodernism, worldviews & relationship to digital culture
- Strengths & weaknesses of digital communication
- Avoiding perception & use of Web as ‘brochureware’
- Linear v. non-linear & pull v. push mediums
- Increasing significance of story in communication
- Online dis-inhibition effect
- Web 2.0 concept
- Opportunities to minister online without technical knowledge
- Personal safety & integrity online
Communication online
- Attractional v. incarnational witness; implications & equivalents in online evangelism
- Importance of dialogue and relationship building, rather than one-way preaching
- Understanding web usage by non-Christians
- How to reach non-seekers - starting the process
- Targeting affinity groups
- The Bridge Strategy - being what people search for; view examples
- Engaging with needs & life problems
- Effective testimonies that engage with not-yet-Christians
- Creative evangelism approaches
- The Long Tail & implications for ministry
- Avoiding Christian jargon & idiom, or presumption of previous Christian knowledge
Popular culture
- The significance of story
- Strategic value of movies, books, music as a starting point
- Embedded redemptive parallels in the media
- Need for contextualization even in the West
Spiritual journeys
- How people become Christians: Engel Scale & Gray Matrix
- Appropriate approaches for people at different levels on these scales
- Role of relationships in conversion
- Needs-based evangelism
- Overcoming perceived hostility to evangelicals & the church
- E-mentoring, relationships
- Role of volunteer mentors for web outreach
Churches and web ministry
- Church websites: how to be outsider friendly
- Using social networking to relate to the community as well as the fellowship
- Integrating face-to-face and digital media in church ministry
- Church-based digital evangelism teams
Social networking
- Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, chat rooms
- Bulletin boards and contributory sites such as YahooAnswers/YouTube comment options
- How to share faith on each to not-yet-Christians
Blogging
- How to start a blog
- Platforms available
- Creating blogs that interest non-Christians
Mobile devices
- Demographics and use
- Downloadable books, bibles, video clips, MP3s, mini-presentations
- Bluetooth & short-range broadcasting
- Shortcodes and Mobile Tags to connect directly to websites
- Mobile-friendly websites
- Other technical innovations which can be used for ministry or outreach
Video and podcasts
- Use in evangelism & discipleship
- Video clips on website and YouTube
- Producing and editing short video clips
- Potential of short animations
- Audio podcasts
Games
- Gaming as a means of relationship-building
- Second Life and other multi-user virtual environments
- Games with an internal message
The non-west majority world
- Needs and opportunities in non-English languages and non-western countries and 10-40 Window
- Importance of easy English for second-language speakers
- Teaching English online
- Value of informal networks of web evangelists, missions, radio ministry, literature and local churches in specific countries and regions
- Comics, cartoons, Manga storytelling
- Contextualization
- Starting points based on indigenous culture
- Understanding & communicating with other religious worldviews, shame cultures, & oral communication cultures
- Mission agencies and web ministry
- Distributing CDs & DVDs of books, bibles, audio & visual content
- Designing sites for low bandwidth
- Secure communications, followup, integration with mobiles or VOIP
- Opportunities to teach IT
- Creating community-based Internet cafes
- Distance-learning options for discipleship & mentoring
Writing skills
- Understanding how people skim webpages and sites
- Writing for the Web - journalism not preaching
- Catchy headlines, subheads, white space; drawing the eye down the page
- Revising & editing
- Concept of website credibility
Website design
- CMS options
- Site usability & navigational architecture
- Site testing for usability & non-Christian perception
- CSS
Web promotion
- Search engine optimization
- Understand page titles & meta descriptions, link popularity etc
- Other web promotion methods
Research
- Research methodologies
- Online research
- Dissertation writing
- Identifying achievable research topics

Gospel broadcasts via radio and Internet for Cabuyao, Laguna residents

2009-06-18T16:58:00.009+08:00

Katapatan Baptist Church, located at Banay-banay, Cabuyao, Laguna and led by Rev. Eddie S. Borja, is broadcasting the Gospel via radio (RS 91.9 FM) and the Internet at http://www.livesurge.com/kbccabuyao/. The broadcasts are meant to reach the 250,000 residents of Cabuyao. The schedules are:

RS 91.9 FM regular broadcast (every M, T, W, Th, F, Sat at 5:00 AM - 10:00 PM)
Household of Faith with Sis. Belen Borja (every T, Th at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
KBC Live Sermons (every M, T, W, Th, F, Sat at 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM)
KBC Live Sermons (every M, T, W, Th, F, Sat at 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM)
KBC Live Sermons (every M, T, W, Th, F, Sat at 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM)

The church website is www.kbccabuyao.com and features among others a sermons archive of messages for the last two years. For more information, please contact Bro. Stephen Buslon, head of the Internet Broadcast Team.

Legal seminar, Word of Faith Baptist Church, Trece Martires, Cavite, June 7

2009-06-02T06:55:00.000+08:00

As part of Word of Faith Baptist Church’s regular monthly fellowship, I will give a lecture-seminar on the Family Code of the Philippines and other laws relevant to the family. The church is led by Ptr. Edward Salazar.

Fireproof (DVD, Bible study, curriculum and other resources)

2009-05-25T10:52:00.020+08:00

About FIREPROOF, the movie

At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being "good enough" for her husband.

Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.

As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father's sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his parents' newfound faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.

While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?"

When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And so with God's help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.

But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart. (Read more About FIREPROOF; surf to the FIREPROOF blog)

Fireproof Your Life

Like the movie itself, this new book from Michael Catt, senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church and executive producer of FIREPROOF, tackles real-life issues. With practical insights and wisdom, Fireproof Your Life encourages readers to fireproof key areas of their lives, including their marriages, finances, and faith.

Learn how you can build a faith that survives flames in Pastor Catt’s latest book. Fireproof Your Life is published by CLC Publications and is available at Christian bookstores and online. (Learn more at the Fireproof Your Life website)

The Love Dare

In FIREPROOF, Caleb Holt tells his father that he is about to get a divorce. Caleb's dad asks him to wait 40 days before moving forward. Dad's challenge: work a day-at-a-time through a handwritten book he calls The Love Dare.

Central to the movie's plot, The Love Dare is now available from B&H Publishing Group. Written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, The Love Dare is hands-on study that both men and women can integrate into their marriages.

A deluxe "Legacy Edition" of the book will be available in early 2009. Look for The Love Dare at your favorite Christian store, online, or wherever you buy great books. (Visit LoveDareBook.com)

The Love Dare Bible Study

This eight-week study is designed to help you lead your church or small group through the Love Dare challenge. It starts by showing the FIREPROOF movie to the group using the included DVD. Then each session reinforces the week's Love Dare teachings with added biblical insight, commentary, and provocative questions that spark lively and helpful group discussions. Session themes cover issues such as honoring your spouse, forgiveness, building marriage on prayer and God's word, unconditional love, and more.

The Leader Kit comes with a variety of resources to help make your group study a success:

FIREPROOF movie on DVD
The Love Dare journal
Member Book with leader notes
Teaching clips DVD
Fireproof Your Life by Michael Catt
CD-Rom containing sermon outlines and helps for church planning and promotion

Fireproof Your Marriage Curriculum

After seeing FIREPROOF, couples will contemplate the state of their relationship. The FIREPROOF Curriculum from Outreach provides the opportunity for couples to work through these important relational issues.

Featuring clips from the movie, this curriculum is ideal for small groups, Sunday school classes, premarital classes, or for couples to do on their own at home. The six-part study challenges couples to look at love as a lifetime commitment.

Study topics include:
Forgiveness
Marriage as a covenant
God-designed differences
Unconditional love

The Fireproof Your Marriage Curriculum is available at your favorite Christian store. (Find out more from Outreach)

Host A FIREPROOF Movie Event!

FIREPROOF touched the hearts and impacted the marriages of millions of moviegoers. Churches across the country purchased entire show times to help strengthen marriages in their congregations and to reach out to their communities. And those churches reported increased attendance in response!

That makes a FIREPROOF Movie Event a natural ministry tool to inspire and challenge the people of your church...and beyond.

Provident Films has partnered with Outreach to provide the official Site License DVD for FIREPROOF Movie Events at churches. (DVDs are not licensed for public group showings.) Outreach can also provide all of the Movie Event resources and materials you need to build interest and make a long-lasting impact!

Note: For articles on relationships. marriage and the family, please visit my Salt and Light blog.

Marital infidelity: causes, consequences and conclusions; Mediation not allowed in domestic violence cases (with apologies to Pia Guanio); Why marriages fail: He said, She said; Transformers: Why do persistent suitors become passive husbands? How to save your marriage alone; All about women; Why do men think the things they think, say the things they say, and do the things they do? Surviving marital infidelity; Marriage: The Ultimate Fighting Championship; Legal lessons from Willie Revillame and Liz Amoro; Boundaries in marriage; and other articles

Evangelism: understanding and using the Engel Scale and Gray Matrix

2009-05-06T10:21:00.029+08:00

+5 Stewardship
+4 Communion with God
+3 Conceptual and behavioural growth
+2 Incorporation into Body
+1 Post-decision evaluation
New birth
-1 Repentance and faith in Christ
-2 Decision to act
-3 Personal problem recognition
-4 Positive attitude towards Gospel
-5 Grasp implications of Gospel
-6 Awareness of fundamentals of Gospel
-7 Initial awareness of Gospel
-8 Awareness of supreme being, no knowledge of Gospel

What is the Engel Scale? by Pastor Jason Harper

James Engel wrote a book in 1975 which profoundly changed many people’s idea of evangelism, entitled “What’s Gone Wrong With The Harvest? A Communication Strategy for the Church and World Evangelism” (published by Zondervan).

The Engel Scale has been used to introduce many Christians to a new understanding of evangelism. In the past, people have often seen evangelism only in terms of people being converted.

Understood this way, most of our evangelism must be counted as pure failure. Few people can live with that level of failure, and few survive as evangelists, or even as effective witnesses, for long.

The Engel Scale completely changes this picture. If you understand something of the journey a person must take in order to discover God, then you know that helping someone take one more step towards God is successful evangelism just as much as helping them over the final line. The Engel Scale helps people to understand this journey.

Evangelists have long known the truth of this, but it has not often been taught and understood. Almost everyone who makes a commitment to Jesus has a story to tell of people and events in their lives bringing them closer and closer to the point of total surrender. Some figures indicate that the average length of the journey, from the time people start looking for God to the time they find Him, is four years. However reliable that figure, and whatever it means, it is clear that for most people the journey to God is a long one.

Understanding the Gray Matrix, from Internet Evangelism Day

Engel promoted a revolution. Not Engels the Marxist thinker, but James Engel the missiologist. He first outlined what has become known as the ‘Engel Scale of Spiritual Decision’. This describes the way in which an individual, or by extension a whole group, progress in their understanding of the Gospel, as God’s sovereign grace begins to illuminate their hearts. By understanding the way God communicates, we can become better co-communicators.

+5 Stewardship
+4 Communion with God
+3 Conceptual and behavioural growth
+2 Incorporation into Body
+1 Post-decision evaluation
New birth
-1 Repentance and faith in Christ
-2 Decision to act
-3 Personal problem recognition
-4 Positive attitude towards Gospel
-5 Grasp implications of Gospel
-6 Awareness of fundamentals of Gospel
-7 Initial awareness of Gospel
-8 Awareness of supreme being, no knowledge of Gospel

Don’t be put off because it looks mathematical! For instance, when someone has come to realise they have a spiritual problem, they are at -3 on the scale. If we understand roughly where a person (or a whole target group of people) stand spiritually on this scale, we can adjust the way that we present the Gospel to them. [Detailed graphic of Engel Scale]

Others have suggested different refinements of the Engel Scale. Frank Gray of FEBC Radio, has proposed a horizontal axis of antagonism/enthusiasm to create the Gray Matrix. It is a remarkably simple but enlightening concept because it helps us to visualise important evangelistic concepts. Christian evangelistic communication has often failed to touch people who are low down the scale, because it has been presented in Christian language and thought-forms and has not engaged with those it was intended for. The tragedy is that so often, evangelism is only touching the ’once-churched‚ (those with some Christian background) rather than the ’never-churched‚ (those who know nothing of the Gospel at all). The lower-left oval shape represents a person or group of people who are fairly resistant and lack knowledge. The challenge to us is always to use approaches which reach down as far as possible into the bottom left-hand corner!

The lower-left purple oval shape represents a group of people who are fairly resistant and lack knowledge. Our challenge is always to use approaches which reach down as far as we can into the bottom left-hand corner!

Lessons from the Gray Matrix

Effective evangelism not only requires people to obtain more knowledge – they must also move from a position of antagonism/indifference to a more positive viewpoint. They are unlikely to wish to find out more until they view Christianity more positively.

Anything which moves people from left to right across the scale is ’evangelistic’. This might include acts of service and friendship, mum and baby clubs, medical and development work – many things which are not apparently 'preaching' but which minister to felt needs. Yet in fact, the word Jesus used when he told us to ’preach the Gospel‚ has a much wider meaning than speech – it refers to communication. (There is a Christian debt-counselling service in UK, where 80% of those helped are eventually converted.) For some people groups, apologies offered for the past historical actions of groups perceived to be ’Christian‚ are also healing hurts and reducing antagonism to the Gospel.
Relationships are a key to helping people up the scale. Modes of evangelism which do not at some point connect not-yet-Christians in ongoing relationship with Christians, are unlikely to be fruitful. Research has shown that in lasting adult conversions, they reported a spiritual journey taking on average three years to commitment, and the most important factor in that period was a relationship with a praying Christian, who modelled faith to them: more.
If we can understand roughly where a single person or target group of people is situated on the scale, we can choose an appropriate approach to reach them – and we will need to understand their culture – how they really feel, think, and react.
If people are near the bottom of the scale, we must not use Christian language and ideas which will mean nothing to them. In fact we must assume they have zero knowledge. We must assess our message through their eyes, not ours. It may also be inappropriate to give a heavy ’preach for a decision‚ at this point. People need time to progress and understand. Instant conversions are rare. A style of presentation which bases everything around 'praying the prayer' without true understanding or preparation is counter-productive. We must also be aware of ways of presenting Christian content which is intensely annoying. Instead, an enticing style of permission evangelism may well be the most effective.
The Matrix illuminates the importance of using Bridge Strategy web-pages.
It also allows us to define the positioning of any Christian website, on the X-Spectrum.
It also validates the use of ’Chronological Bible Storying‚ [Ref 1] [Ref 2] used in many situations where the target group have zero knowledge of the Bible. It also highlights the need to contextualize the message to make it easier to understand for those with no biblical knowledge.
It is equally relevant in a cross-cultural or local church situation. An Australian church member writes:
“I love the Gray Matrix. I was wanting our small group to talk about reaching out to the community, and I found the Matrix. Our Senior Pastor took it home and loved it, and used it as a basis for sermons on vision and mission. ’Moving people to the top right‚ has now become the catch-word for a visioning and strategic planning phase the church is going through. Our mission statement has become ’Working together with God, to help people grow from where they are now into fully devoted followers of Christ‚.”
Pressures of society and culture, and the strategies of the Enemy, will tend to pull people down towards the bottom left-hand of the scale. God's purpose is to draw people to the top right-hand side by His Spirit, through the witness of his people.

These vital issues of how to communicate the Gospel to people at different levels of understanding, in a local church situation, are covered in several of our book recommendations.

It is also very important to understand the ways that people actually learn anything because these closely parallel the way people gain (or fail to gain) spiritual understanding. These principles have important implications for every sort of outreach including Web evangelism. An apologetic approach can be part of effective communication.

Midnight Call Magazine (The International Voice of Prophecy) available for PDF download

2009-04-25T16:57:00.008+08:00

Midnight Call magazines available in PDF for online reading

Dutch evangelist Dr. Wim Malgo [1922-1992] founded Midnight Call in 1955 with a four-fold purpose in mind: (1) To call people to Christ; (2) To proclaim the Second Coming of Christ; (3) To prepare the Church for His coming; and (4) To uphold the faith and warn of false doctrines.

“Midnight Call” Statement of Faith

We believe in the divine inspiration of the whole Bible and therewith the infallibility of the Holy Scripture, which is God’s Word, and in the eternal Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We believe Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and shed His blood to save mankind. He died and arose bodily the third day and later ascended into heaven.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died in the place of each individual sinner and that all who believe in Him as their personal Savior are justified through His shed blood and have become children of God.

We believe that Israel is God’s chosen people, and that the restoration of the Jews to their own land is the fulfillment of the Word of God.

We believe in the pre–tribulational appearance of Jesus Christ for the Rapture of His Church (all born again believers).

We believe in the immortality of our souls and the resurrection of our bodies, and in the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting punishment of the lost.

Note: “Baptist Churches in the Philippines” blog does not necessarily endorse all the views expressed in “Midnight Call.” Be like the Bereans! (Acts 17:11)

Pilgrim BBC (Kasibulan) directory of churches and ministries

2009-04-17T10:25:00.006+08:00

The website of Pilgrim Bible Baptist Church – Kasibulan, Cainta, Rizal (led by Ptr. Bong Alcala) is compiling a directory of churches and ministries. If you are interested, please register at pilgrimbbc.com and in the User Menu, you may submit the link to your church or ministry website. For more information, please contact Raffy Linsangan at tech77@gmail.com.

How the Internet is impacting Filipino society; fulfilling the Great Commission through the Internet; chat rooms and marital infidelity

2009-04-04T12:11:00.021+08:00

In a recent study, Yahoo! and consumer information group Nielsen revealed that:

1. There are now 20 million Filipino users of the Internet.

2. The majority of Filipino Internet users range in ages from 10 to 29.

3. Twenty eight percent of Filipinos in National Urban Philippines have accessed the Internet in the past month. Five percent access the Internet every day.

4. Internet usage is particularly higher among the younger segment. Fifty percent of those below 20 years old have accessed the Internet in the past month, with the following breakdown: 10-19 years old (50%); 20-29 years old (41%); 30-39 years old (19%); 40-49 years old (12%); and 50+ years (3%).

5. Internet use is not restricted to the big cities like Metro Manila. Other cities are experiencing Internet growth. For example, 35% of Filipinos in Cagayan de Oro have accessed the Internet in the past month.

6. Filipino Internet users are more likely to be opinion leaders and early adopters compared to traditional media consumers. They are likely to be individualistic, trend conscious, willing to pay for quality products and tech-enthusiasts. They also look for advice online before buying new things.

7. Internet cafes are an important access point. Seventy one percent have accessed the Internet from Internet cafes in the past three months. Forty seven percent of all Internet time are spent in Internet cafes.

8. More Filipinos, especially the younger population, are favoring the Internet more than television and print. TV viewership declined from 98 percent in 2007 to 92 percent in 2008, out of 1,200 people sampled. Readership of newspapers also showed a decline from 19 to 15 percent between 2007 and 2008. Magazine readership also went down from 16 percent in 2007 to just seven percent in 2008.

9. The most common online activities for Filipino Internet users are e-mail (63%), Instant Messaging (63%) and Search (58%), followed by searches (58%), playing games online (53%), social network site (51%), download/upload of digital photos (42%), Internet radio (28%), down-/upload music files (25%), read news online (24%), Internet SMS (23%), online banking (3%), purchased products online (3%).

10. One in three Filipino Internet users have a blog.

11. Social networking is a key online activity with 51% of the survey respondents claiming to have visited a social networking site in the past month.

Helping fulfill the Great Commission through the Internet

Please read my posts “An Open Letter from Internet Evangelism Day about Web Ministry Training” and “Reaching the world for Christ through Internet evangelism and cybermissions.”

Some of the web evangelism seminars from the Web Ministry conference are now available to watch online by video and Powerpoint. (These videos are best viewed using Internet Explorer. Some users have experienced problems loading the videos when using Firefox.) The seminar topics are:

Evangelism and Mentoring: Building Relationships That Change Lives, by Karen Schenk, Truth Media
The Power of Personal Testimony, by John Sorensen, Evangelism Explosion
Reaching Your Community Through A Church Website, by Brent Purves and Cam Hall
The Edges Of Cyberspace, by John Edmiston, Antioch Internet Bible International
Rethinking Internet Evangelism And Online Ministry, by Robby Richardson, Gospel Communications, International
Evangelism In SecondLife, by Debra Brown, Brown Governance

Psychological impact of the Internet on society

If you want to learn more about how the Internet is impacting society from the point of view of a secular psychologist, please read “The Psychology of Cyberspace” by John Suler, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Science and Technology Center, Rider University. Among Suler’s interesting articles are:

The Online Disinhibition Effect: While online some people open up to reveal all sorts of personal feelings and thoughts. Others act out inappropriately in ways they never would in-person. This article explains six factors that contribute to this "disinhibition" effect: dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimizing authority, as well as how online disinhibition and suspicion are related to the altering of self-boundary. This revision includes a section about whether the "true self" appears online as a result of disinhibition.
The Basic Psychological Features of Cyberspace: These features can make online encounters very different than those in the "real" world: reduced sensations, texting, identity flexibility, altered perceptions, equalized status, transcended space, temporal flexibility, social multiplicity, recordability, media disruption . This revision mentions current communication technologies and emphasizes these psychological features as elements of a conceptual model for a psychology of cyberspace.
The Final Showdown Between In-Person and Cyberspace Relationships: We develop relationships by hearing, seeing, feeling, intuiting, even smelling and tasting (!) each other. Cyberspace and in-person encounters can be quite different on these dimensions of relating. Those differences have a dramatic effect on friendships and romances. This revision includes minor modifications throughout the article, as well as a new section on defending text and the body.
Do Boys Just Wanna Have Fun?: Gender-Switching in Cyberspace: Why do people switch their gender in cyberspace? Is it possible to detect someone who is faking his gender?
Mom, Dad, Computer: Transference Reactions to Computers: People may not even realize it, but they may be reacting to their computer as if it is their mother, father, or sibling. This article explores the various twists and turns in people's transference reactions to computers and cyberspace.
The Black Hole of Cyberspace: The internet is supposed to respond to us. But sometimes it doesn't. When we receive no reply (especially to an e-mail message), that black hole can draw out of us all sorts of anxieties and insecurities.

The Internet, chat rooms and marital infidelity

Probably the most read and most commented post in my Legal Updates blog is “Adultery, concubinage, psychological violence and marital infidelity.” Considering that marriage and the family are Biblical institutions, it is very tragic that extra-marital affairs are rampant. Please read my Salt and Light blog posts which discuss the statistics, causes and consequences of extra-marital affairs:

Bored, lonely housewives and the temptations of online affairs

While the Internet does provide a lot of benefits for students, professionals, government, business and the local church, there are dangers that can entangle any person. Several people have e-mailed me about their marriages having been rocked or completely broken up because the husband or the wife had an extra-marital affair with someone he or she met in a chat room.

Probe Ministries, in an article by Kerby Anderson, points out a danger that lonely and bored housewives are falling into, that is, online affairs or the allure of cyber-relationships. I have provided emphasis by boldfacing and sub-headings to Anderson's article:

Peggy Vaughn is the author of “The Monogamy Myth” and also serves as an expert for America Online on problems caused by infidelity. She predicts that one “role of the Internet in the future will be as a source of affairs.” She is writing a second book on the subject of adultery and says she could base half of it just on the letters she receives from people who started an affair online.

What is an online affair?

An online affair (or cyberaffair) is an intimate or sexually explicit communication between a married person and someone other than their spouse that takes place on the Internet. Usually this communication takes place through an online service such as America Online or CompuServe. Participants usually visit a chat room to begin a group conversation and then often move into a one-to-one mode of communication. Chat room categories range from “single and liking it” to “married and flirting” to “naked on the keyboard.”

How women get caught up in online affairs

Women in a chat room are often surprised at what develops in a fairly short period of time. At first the conversation is stimulating, though flirtatious. Quickly, however, women are often confronted with increasingly sexual questions and comments. Even if the comments don’t turn personal, women find themselves quickly sharing intimate information about themselves and their relationships that they would never share with someone in person. Peggy Vaughn says, “Stay-at-home moms in chat rooms are sharing all this personal stuff they are hiding from their partners.” She finds that the intensity of women’s online relationships can “quickly escalate into thinking they have found a soulmate.”

Online affairs differ from physical world affairs in some ways, but are similar in others. Cyberaffairs are based upon written communication where a person may feel more free to express herself anonymously than in person. Frequently the communication becomes sexually graphic and kinky in ways that probably would not occur if a real person were hearing these comments and could act on them. Participants in an online affair will often tell their life stories and their innermost secrets. They will also create a new persona, become sexually adventurous, and pretend to be different than they really are.

Avoiding the pitfalls of chat rooms and adulterous affairs

Please take time to read my Salt and Light blog post titled “And the bride wore white.” In that post, I discussed among others “Pursuing the Pearl” (a book by Dannah Gresh). In this book, Dannah discusses what she calls “The Enemy’s Fake Pearls” which are [1] status and stuff; [2] social acceptance; [3] giving up and starting over; [4] pride and dreams.

Dannah warns her readers: “Sexual impurity is a zero tolerance arena. You are on shaky ground if there are emotional bonds being created between you and another man (or your husband and another woman).” Dannah explains that these bonds begin with little things like:

Innocently having lunch alone with a man

Seeking advice from a man about personal issues, especially marital issues

Seeking or accepting frequent praise or affirmation from the same man

Being or becoming comfortable with being alone in an office or a home together

Intentionally seeking out time to be with this man

Manipulating your schedule to see him

Spending time fantasizing about him

What’s my point here? If you are a pastor, church leader, Sunday School teacher or a ministry leader, do not be afraid of using the Internet and its benefits. At the same time, you have to teach the married couples in your church that if they value their marriage, they should stay away from chat rooms.

Free Hope ESL CD

2009-03-20T12:12:00.007+08:00

The new version of the Hope ESL curriculum from Roofbreakers.org has been released. This free-to-copy English language CD ROM is being used and distributed around the world by a whole range of people. The vision is to see a copy of this material provided to key people in every country.

Currently Roofbreakers.org has a specific focus on utilizing the massive global English Language opportunity to develop and distribute resources which teach and inspire students. The Hope ESL software curriculum is Roofbreakers.org’s main project.

This software project had its origins in Vietnam where an Australian English teacher developed the educational concept. Later, in partnership with mars-hill productions, roofbreakers was able to produce the Hope ESL software curriculum as a free-to-copy CD ROM including the full Hope film.

Besides the CD, also available for download are (1) The Hope ESL Software Curriculum Guide in PDF; and (2) A few Simple ideas for New Language Learners and Old Ones Needing Some New Life.

The Hope ESL Mandarin support version has been completed and is awaiting approval to be printed in Beijing. The Indonesian support version of the Hope ESL is in the last stage of development.

Free download

2009-03-12T10:21:00.002+08:00

Bible Explorer 4.0 (free Bible study software download of over 200 free Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, and more)