GAY MARRIAGE.

Obama caused a really good stir. It is being talked about by the media, the left wingers, the right wingers, the wrong wingers, the no wingers, the moderates, Republicans and Democrats; in the hallowed halls of universities and high school classrooms; in sanctuaries and homes; in coffee shops and barber shops, and more recently in my case, at the park.

Right off the bat let me say, I have always- always stood for love as understood in the Christian Gospel – you can ask my small group members. I have always said, whenever asked, that the Christian community should be known for how we love and not what we loathe (John 13:35)! One of the marks of a community that seeks to really follow God is seen by how welcoming and loving it is. In fact, the Apostle James considered favoritism a sin, in his context, the rich over the poor.

Well, I live in Canada. This country is the fourth in the world to have legalized it- on July 20, 2005.  Up until very recently, I have never once engaged in a conversation about the issue with anyone. I remember asking about it from the Board of First Baptist Church when the members were interviewing me for the position I now hold. It was more of me wanting to hear an assurance that I was on the same page as they were in terms of beliefs. This was precipitated by an article I read about a Baptist pastor in Canada being sued for his refusal to marry a couple of the same gender. With that in mind, I needed to know from them if I am protected from such if I were to face something similar. In writing that I have just told you my stand on this matter. As an evangelical, I stand alongside Dr. Jim Denison who recently wrote in his opinion column on the Associated Baptist Press site,

“First, I understand the Bible does not condone homosexual activity and more so gay marriage. This seems to me the clear teaching of Scripture, and has been the traditional view across Jewish and Christian history. The Bible intends marriage to be a covenant between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24)...That being said, All sex outside of marriage is unbiblical (1 Cor. 6:9)…Third, homosexuals just as all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect…God loves the “world” (John 3:16), whatever our failings may be.

I am a sinner (in the present tense), and I have a sneaky feeling so are you, my reader. At the church where I now serve, everyone is welcome. No exceptions. It is a church of imperfect people who have discovered and are discovering the perfect love of God in Christ. If you want to discover that for yourself, you are welcome too. But here’s what’s most important about God- He loves and accepts us the way we are, but He loves us so much that He is not willing that we stay the way we are. In short, God’s out to change people’s lives for the better- abundant life on His terms, not ours. Christ died on the cross not because he just felt it could be made into a great movie someday. He died so we may be changed by His actions, conformed into His image.  That could mean giving up a vice, a friend, or even a lifestyle. Sometimes I think that the worst advice we can give someone we love is, “Stay as you are and don’t ever change.” Every disciplinary action I received from my parents weren’t meant to hurt me as it did to change me. God wants to change us, “If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). So anyone- as in anyone, can take advantage of that offer; the thief, the prostitute, the politician, the school teacher, the mechanic, the pastor, the homosexual, the old lady, the teenager, etc.- as the old song goes, Jesus calls us over the tumult. Of our life’s wild, restless, sea.

Going back to the issue at hand, I do not agree with what Obama believes and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t agree with my stand either. But here’s what I learned about living in Canada, which is, in the words of my Canadian friend, “a land of bazillion contradictions,” even though Same-Sex Marriage is considered legitimate, it does not and should not affect an individual’s or a community’s intentional desire to follow Christ nor the witness of the church. Our youth pastor shed some light on my view regarding this when he said that it really does not make a difference in our witness, it even makes it stronger.

We are living in a post-Christian North American society where the institutional church no longer controls the rudder like most preachers have gotten used to. The Bible even foretells that things will worsen. The only way we can impact society is by making disciples who will breathe and bleed love.

Of why I am not the Protesting Type (Over Lady Gaga’s Manila Concert).

So Lady Gaga stages a major concert in Manila for 40,000 people each paying US$350 for a ticket, and according to a news article, the artist “rocked Manila,” defying every living critic and censor the city could muster! One more concert is slated for Tuesday night! Part of having served as a pastor in Metro Manila for a decade (I started when I was 12!!) is having a broad spectrum of friends and acquaintances from all walks of Christendom and evangelicalism. I know people who went and watched, while some friends are boycotting and protesting against the event.

Before the fact, as a “religious leader,” a fairly good number of people sent me Facebook messages asking where I stood/stand on this controversial concert and protest.  It fascinates me how leaders of Christendom are never found united over controversies. That’s not to say we don’t find ourselves united in certain things (i.e. the most basic tenets of Christianity, salvation by grace through faith, etc.); it’s just that sometimes issues get overemphasized and over-advocated.  I guess that’s due to the fact that some people embrace Dominion Theology, a belief related to Amillenialism that seeks to influence or control over secular civil government through political action, with the goal of either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation governed by conservative Christian laws (which can be a good topic for another blog entry).
I have never been the protesting type– something I have in common with my late senior pastor, Luis Pantoja, Jr. and my own father who also happen to be a pastor.

There had been times in Dr. Pantoja’s ministry when he was criticized by evangelical and Catholic leaders for his “silence” on issues, mostly political. Dr. Pantoja, a learned man, a highly-respected theologian, and a pastor at heart, his role, he said, is to keep the main thing the main thing– matheteusate (to make disciples [Matt. 28:19-20]).  When he was invited to be the keynote speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2008 where I was also invited lead worship, he went to preach the Word! In my master’s degree class with him, he encouraged his students (to this effect, not verbatim): “Never ever be quick to judge. Never grow a penchant for advocacies but preach grace. You must understand, one can never preach grace without preaching about sin, forgiveness, Christ, and love.” At the height of the popularity of the Harry Potter series and the controversial novel, The DaVinci Code, his only reaction was: “If our people are taught well and discipled right they can read whatever they wish and will not be convinced to believe anything so easily.”  My dad, even though for decades belonged to the movement that is at the forefront of this Lady Gaga protest, never rallied out on the streets but concentrated on his role as a minister/teacher who with almost the same tone would say: “The only way teach people how to discern a lie is to make them well aware of the truth.”

Lady Gaga arrives in Manila for a two-night concert.

People in protest in Manila

However, I do not discount the reality that there are issues I may find myself getting vocal against (not necessarily hitting up the streets) or fight for causes worth advocating (not necessarily sign waving): dealing with injustices, defending the weak amongst us, upholding religious freedom, among others. The Lord Jesus, in his defense of and care for the proletariat, the disenfranchised, the battered and the bruised, hardly spoke about doing it. He just went and did it. The two records in the Bible I find worth relating to in regard to him speaking up: when he defended and forgave the woman caught in adultery; and when he cleansed the temple courts. Not too long ago, I found myself moved by a video about Kony and found it to be a legitimate concern; and got involved as I saw fit to somehow make more people aware of the cause which all the video asked us to do.

There are more causes to defend and battles to win. Boycotting Lady Gaga’s concert in Manila just isn’t one of them.

FALLS CHURCH ANGLICAN SAYS GOODBYE TO HER 300 YEAR-OLD LOCATION

It’s been long expected, and is now here. The historic and strongly evangelical Falls Church Anglican worships at her location of 300 years for the final time. They shall be meeting in rented school auditoriums and sanctuaries of neighboring churches until the Lord provides for them a more permanent ministry and corporate worship venue, which I believe won’t take too long for God to give this faithful Anglican congregation.

On May 13, the Falls Church Anglican worships together at her historic location for the last time after losing the property to the Episcopal Church USA from which the congregation separated due to theological disagreements. (Photo from TFCA’s Facebook Page)

In 2007, the Falls Church Episcopal (its former name) voted to separate itself from the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and thus adopted its current name so that it can properly identify itself better with the rest of the theologically orthodox Anglican Communion. That separation too was long coming but very much expected, the cause of which can be traced back in 2003 following the Episcopal Church USA’s unapologetic consecration of the Rev’d. Gene Robinson to be the Bishop of Rhode Island. Bishop Robinson’s consecration stirred controversy because he is a non-celibate practicing homosexual, a lifestyle which to global Anglicanism and Christianity as a whole is incompatible with Christian teaching. The Falls Church then split- 97% of the congregation wanted to withdraw from the ECUSA, while 3% voted to remain. The winning group chose to change the name to The Falls Church Anglican (TFCA) while losing group then started meeting on their own, renting space at the nearby Presbyterian Church and retained the name “Falls Church Episcopal.” What’s interesting is that TFCA is just of one of the many parishes that withdrew from the ECUSA for doctrinal issues, among which, the Truro Church, where George Washington served in the vestry (the equivalent to the board of elders).

Not too long ago, the congregation of the parish of St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver was evicted from it’s home a couple of years after it has decided to leave the Anglican Church of Canada which was going a similar drift as the ECUSA in terms of theology. Anglican theologian and scholar, Dr. J.I. Packer said that the leniency on the issue of sexuality is but a symptom of the ECUSA and Anglican Church of Canada’s stance on Biblical Authority. The Bible is no longer viewed as the Word of God in those groups (or provinces) but just a collection of tales and irrelevant sayings. So TFCA, Truro and St John Vancouver are local churches that sought to be under the jurisdiction of theologically orthodox bishops that believe in the supremacy of Scriptures rather than be subject to the authority of geographical bishops that believe otherwise. However, the properties the congregations acquired over the years belong to the geographic dioceses! Hence, the loss of property. In this case, I am happy with the Baptist/Congregational government where properties belong to the “parishes” or local churches.

The Anglican Communion to which the ECUSA belongs finds its root in the Church of England. Historically, prior to the American Revolution (before the USA existed), the Anglican churches in the new North American colonies belonged to the Church of England. When the USA was formed, the Church of England in the new American nation took on a less colonial name, “Episcopal Church” (reflecting its system of government-”epikopos” means “bishop/overseer”; hence, to be episcopal means to be led by bishops). But the new Church remained to be one of the strongest cultural ties the USA had with England. The EC then became a “Provincial” church of the Church of England.

This is how it works. The Anglican Communion is a family of churches divided geographically. From biggest to smallest, the divisions are called: provinces (usually an entire country like Canada, the Philippines or the USA or even sub-continents, archipelagos and regions, are led by primates or Prime Bishops), dioceses (led by bishops) and parishes (by rectors/parish priests). According to the Canons of Anglicanism, one geographical section or a parish cannot function on its own and by itself. There is no such thing as an independent parish or diocese. Every parish is accountable to the bishop, every bishop to an archbishop. The Archbishop of Canterbury (Rowan Williams) is recognized by the entire communion as the “spiritual head” while the monarch of the UK is the titular “Supreme Governor.”

The worship leader of TFCA is a fellow blogger and has grown to become a good mentor in cyberspace! He writes on Worthily Magnify,

…in my (almost) eight years I’ve never experienced this level of freedom and joy in our corporate worship, so if moving out of our campus is what it takes for that to happen, then sign me up.

So, my apologies for, yet again, letting things go very quiet around here.

And also, if you think about it, please pray for The Falls Church (Anglican) as we move out next week, and for The Falls Church (Episcopal) that they would faithfully preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this place.

 

The “Untied” Methodist Church

Today is supposedly the last day of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church happening now in Tampa, Florida. But the conference is still chest-deep in resolutions and items yet to be tabled. What fascinates me is that the Conference has been going on for the last TEN days! I have been following their Conference web stream intermittently over the last ten days. The issue at hand is called “Plan UMC.” It seeks to restructure the governance of the denomination that abandons the idea of a single board for all program agencies, but creates a strong 45-member General Council for Strategy and Oversight with a focus on supporting vital congregations. They have spent energy, knowledge and time over the last several days discussing the “Plan.” The “Plan”, however, has been declared by the their own Judicial Council as “unconstitutional.” Now, the Conference delegates have been motioning and voting, and dealing with something unconstitutional that should not have reached the highest legislative body.

The General Conference is the highest legislative body governing the Wesleyan denomination. Everything solidified in and by the General Conference becomes a part of the polity and discipline of the United Methodist Church.

Among other issues that ate much of the Conference time was their discussion on “inclusiveness” agenda. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered movement within the United Methodist Church has been pushing for acceptance of their lifestyle as normative and acceptable in the church; countering and seeking to change the current official stance of the UMC on the issue. The Book of Discipline, Paragraph 161F states: “The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.”

An issue that hits close to “home” for me was on the issue of schism in the Philippine Conference of the United Methodist Church. A Bishop (Lito Tangonan) has led a group of laity and pastors to withdraw from the UMC.  It is official however, that the Philippines now has a new Methodist body, “Ang Iglesia Metodista sa Pilipinas.” What that means to the churches that withdrew from the denomination in terms of real properties, we have yet to see.

Conference UMC, LGBT protest happening withing the Conference. Photo by The UMC GC 2012.

KONY 2012

KONY 2012

A FUNNY VALENTINE MEMORY

“Love, love, love. Yada, yada, yada.” That’s how a guy at Tim Hortons’ with a cup of coffee in his hand summarized his view this morning of what the day does NOT have to offer. He asked,”What’s your most memorable Valentine’s day?” One Valentine’s Day stands out so well.

It may be hard to believe, but for the most part of my university life I was a student leader with a major degree of popularity (;-). Editing the university paper, two Christian campus ministries, glee club, student government, an international exchange program, sports and all other things cool. In short, I was one geek of a jock! LOL

To raise funds for a particular cause, one of my organizations ventured into selling beautiful flowers and candy for Valentine’s Day. Some rich dude supplied the flowers and chocolates and all we needed to do was to set up a table, play some CDs aloud and wait for lovestruck customers. It was a recipe for success. A true money maker! The catch though is, delivery boys should be able to sing. We needed to deliver stuff and sing customer-requested songs. It was a lot of work that took a lot of guts! And man, did I ever enjoy that job! In addition to all of 1999′s top 20, I had to sing, Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” 8 times, N’Sync’s “Crazy” 15 times, Savage Garden’s “I knew I loved You Before I met You” 21 times. I even had to sing “Mmmbop” which totally ruined my reputation as a respectable member of the Glee Club for singing a whimsical song with an unintelligible refrain, “Mmmbop badoobadap pappa doo ap badoobadap pappa doo ap badoobadap adoo, yeah, yeah!” (To this day I think that was all planned out by one of the glee club members who knew I hated that song)

Love was in the air and there was a school-wide sugar HIGH with all the candy! It was fun seeing university students getting hyper and giddy like crazy 13 year-olds. At the end of the day, after having sold 1800 roses (I made the highest sale, by the way), as we were closing shop and packing up I looked through the glass window of the library and saw the librarian working. We were out of chocolates but there were two roses left in the pail. I grabbed one and went to the library thinking maybe I can share some love. She was a short ornery lady in her mid-50s who never married having “devoted her life to cataloging books” (to quote her). She never liked me because my friends and I were always boisterous in the library and I used study carrels for my mid-afternoon naps! I knocked on her door and said, “Hi ma’am. A flower and a song for you.” She smiled and sat. I sang Nat King Cole’s “When I Fall in Love.” When I had finished I saw a little teardrop roll down her left cheek. She stood up and walked away for a bit and said, “Thank you. But you’re way too young for me!” “Shut the door on your way out” she ordered. I had a pretty good laugh.

OF CLERGY LIFE

(Somehow writing feels therapeutic when you’re in a trip like this one. I’m out on this retreat for pastors and their wives).

There was a time when I thought my kindergarten teachers were smart because of the chalk dust on their pants/skirts and shirts/blouses (sort of like pixie dust of smartness). There was a time when I used to believe cab and jeepney (mini-buses in the Philippines) drivers are the most well paid workers on earth.  I used to think the President of the Philippines lived inside our television set! But one thing I always knew, pastors (regardless of how congregations view them) are imperfect people. Whether we accept it or not, people have an almost deified view of ministers, especially in the culture from which I came. The sense of priestly “mediatorship” still is the people’s prevailing view of the clergy. There is a sense of a great divide between clergy and laity. Scriptures do speak of a special call on certain individuals to oversee the church, to serve, feed and lead the the flock. These people are spoken of in the Bible as worthy of being given “double honor.”  To become one therefore, some qualifications need to be met. Hence, it is a tough pill to swallow when ministers make mistakes, misbehave and show other signs of human imperfection. Scandalous (from Greek scandalon, a stumbling block) is the word of choice to express the feeling.

But apart from a special calling from God, a pastor is by nature a man/woman, father/mother, husband/wife, a learner, a friend, a sojourner, a seeker, even a sinner, who nevertheless yearns to grow up, who also discovered God’s love and responded, twice born as God would have it. An addition is the responsibility of caring for and about other people’s spiritual lives, discipleship, physical well-being, and social justice in this world, not to mention the taxing and mundane task of office work! So tonight in the first session of this weekend retreat, we were told to take our “clergy hats and collars” off and come figuratively bare naked before God and bask in the fresh waters where the Good Shepherd leads us. Frankly, that’s how we all appear before God. We all have nothing in our hands to bring other than what God graciously clothes us with: the righteousness (perfect standing) of Jesus Christ.

And so we line ourselves “clergy” and “laity” along with other imperfect people like Peter, James, John, Matthew, Paul, among others, who stand behind the perfection of Jesus.

I DREAM WITH DR. KING

When I arrived at the park and picked a spot where I could read my book, a young mother who was watching her kids at the playground came up to me and said, “I see that you’re a fan of CS Lewis. So am I. Are you a Christian? What do you do?” I politely replied to her. Learning that I am a minister at the Baptist church she asked, “So how are you adjusting to life here? How do you find the people? Do you feel well-received? You know, this is place is….(reluctant)…you know….red neck country.

Very interestingly, on my way to the park earlier, a group of men (maybe in their 20s) in a red pick-up truck blew up an air horn to my face that nearly surprised the life out of me causing me to drop my book. Altogether they hollered, “Hey! You! Asian! Go home!” Did I get scared when they hollered? Yes. I actually prayed they would not pull over, hop off their vehicle, drag me to their truck and take me somewhere and get beat up. I have read of starlight tours before coming here. Good thing they didn’t. But I thought to myself, “What did I ever do to be loathed that way?” Is it because of my tan skin every other non-tan skinned person wishes their skin to look? Or a person’s inadequate ability to communicate in a particular language. If it is, then that is just plain s.t.u.p.i.d. But in that moment, all I knew I should do was to respond to their hatred with a smile. I remembered what Mother Teresa said, “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of peace, and love.”

At any rate, I figured that as a minority, I will always encounter people who lack wisdom and understanding about other races and cultures. There will always be times when I will find myself encountering ignorance-based hatred. But I shall respond with a smile hoping that a sincere smile might spur their process of education. But I must also say, my experience is not the norm. The majority of this country’s populace is peace-loving, welcoming and embracing. The love I feel everyday coming from the members and attenders of the Church in which I serve far outweighs the scoffing I received that summer afternoon. This country in which I have chosen to live is still one of the most welcoming, open and free countries in the world, for which I am very much thankful. But I must also say, my experience is not the norm. The majority of this country’s populace is peace-loving, welcoming and embracing. The love I feel everyday coming from the members and attenders of the Church in which I serve far outweighs the scoffing I received that summer afternoon. This country in which I have chosen to live is still one of the most welcoming, open and free countries in the world, for which I am very much thankful.

Jesus came to set this world straight. That was his deepest passion and his life’s purpose. He lived with a fundamental conviction that the world that he and his contemporaries inherited, and were building upon, had lost its soul, it’s essence, and he came to initiate man’s struggle for its rediscovery. He was a spiritual revolutionary, and if we fail to understand that we fail to understand him. He refused to accept the societal and personal compartmentalization that had become the norm of his day. He sought to restore a holistic understanding to human life, one in which all of our identities-economic, political, spiritual, ethnic and national (to name a few) were intimately related, and could not be considered apart from one another since, after all, they co-existed within the realm of God. He sought to restore the world with love and grace. He was and still is God’s “smile” at this seemingly hopeless world.

On this Martin Luther King Day, I dream with the Reverend King, that someday, “…we will be able to speed up that when day when all of God’s children…will be able to join hands and sing….’free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.’”

CAN YOU WORSHIP SINGING “THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY”?

In between services, I was in the middle of editing words in the slides when a man came up to me.

He: “I am gravely disappointed! I feel that this morning’s service was an insult to God.”
Me: “What, may I ask do you think was an insult to God?”
He: “Well, Little Drummer Boy! It’s secular! Why would you allow such a song to be sung on a Sunday morning?”
Me: “Is there anything sacrilegious with that song sung as a special music? ‘Come, they told me…a newborn king to see…The finest gifts we bring to lay before the king….so to honor Him when we come.’”
He: “It’s Christmas! We should sing more carols! All we sang was ‘Silent Night’! We even sang something about Christ death! That is so out of place. That was an insult to God and the occasion.”
Me: (I smiled) “With all due respect, sir. You are not in the position to tell me how God feels about this morning’s service. By saying that today’s earlier service was an insult to God is basically casting aspersions on the rest of the congregation who came to worship Him. Only God knows people’s hearts. We sang other songs: ‘The Heart of Worship,’ ‘Your Love is Extravagant,’ ‘In Christ Alone (My Hope is Found),’ ‘Give us Clean Hands.’ If in their heart of hearts they sang sincerely, obeyed the Spirit of Christ, lifted His name, acknowledged His greatness, praised His excellencies, and surrendered their lives, then I have no reason to believe that God was insulted like you say, as much as He was magnified. And, the message of Christ’s death and resurrection is never out of place, and never an insult.
He: “Well, we pay you to lead us in music. You should be on stage more often. We feel more engaged when you lead. You have the gift as well as the maturity.”
Me: “I lead as often as I can each month. But December is a busy time for any worship pastor with productions, special services and all, I can only thank God for the volunteers we have who can lead worship thru music.”

The conversation went a little bit longer, but my point is: unless people understand that as long as preference is lord over principle, and pattern is above and beyond the Person, they will never be satisfied with “worship.” They will come in and out of a “worship” event without having had the experience and engagement with God in spirit and in truth.

The Bible remains to be our guide of faith and practice. Culture is never above the Word. But also, I am a strong proponent of taking, redeeming and using what’s good in culture as a way to express praise and declare the excellencies of God.

But here’s something that I do know for certain: you and I are now the ones who have been chosen to declare God’s Word, incubate God’s purpose, to give birth to God’s purpose, to deliver and announce God’s purpose, to live God’s purpose. We are, in fact, that valuable to God, we are that beloved and He receives the worship of a person captured by God’s grace and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Good friends, may God, indeed, bless you this Christmas.

15 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS…

Fifteen days to Christmas. It never ceases to fascinate me when I think that in Manila, it’s fourteen days to Christmas. I always tell my friends back in Manila that I am living in the past and they’re living in the future. The time difference makes my present their past and their present is my future. It gives me goosebumps to think that the future has already taken place! We all fear the unknown and the unknown includes the future.

But isn’t that what we all hear the angel Gabriel announced to Mary in the days ahead: “Fear not, Mary; the future belongs to God! Embrace your present circumstance!” The story will tell us that an angel also visits Joseph who sincerely doubted the decision he had made about Mary. The angel proclaims: “Fear not, Joseph! The future belongs to God!” And so, together, hand in hand, accepting their situation as it is Mary and Joseph walk into their future together which, in the near term, will take them to the town of Bethlehem where there will be no room for them at the inn.

Trusting God with our future has the direct opposite effect of escape from the present. Radical trust allows us to thrust ourselves into the moment, living it as though it were our last, freeing us to do what must be done, to see the truth and to act accordingly. This trust is the mother of profound hope and drives every worthwhile human cause.

In Advent we’re invited to consider what life might be like if we actually trusted God’s future for our lives. There’s no prediction in this that life will be particularly easy or free from suffering. But it does predict that any present circumstance can be embraced with confidence because the future remains secure…it belongs to God. That’s the vision that grabbed hold of Isaiah, Mary, Joseph, John, and even Jesus, passed on for generations. The future has been set, God has gone ahead of us! It’s all good!