Write Thing at the Write Time

Have you ever tried cooking? Did know what you were doing the whole time or just going with the flow? I guess not. Almost everyone follows a recipe- whether it is written or just something long passed to you and memorized. It makes the cooking easier right? When you are following it, you efficiently use the time for preparation and cooking than just throwing it all in the pot. But what if there was no recipe? The end result might be a disaster or not as good as you expected it to be. Last semester, one of my papers for my Masters degree was about Social Networking sites or Social media in the workplace ( Like or Unlike: The Effects of Social Networking Sites in the Workplace ). Their has been a current influx of the utilization of the internet not just in the workplace but even in the churches. Social media has served as a great platform for any church or company to promote what they could offer and the message of Salvation. However, like in my mini thesis, social media wit...

There's a quote that is a favorite in church leadership and also in business: 'failing to plan is planning to fail'. That speaks truth when it comes with all aspects of our lives- ministry, business, family and even at a personal level. Whether  small or big scale , having a strategic plan is needed. It serves as the church/ self or company’s game plan if it desires to compete successfully in the world. Strategic planning is  synonymous  with strategic management.  The latter is often used in the academia while the former is often used in the business world.  Becoming a pastor of a thriving church have taught lessons of always creating a 'game plan' in order to reach the church's goals, purpose, vision and mission. In the world o ne of the focuses of having a strategic plan is marketing. Convert it to spiritual matters it might be called in different terms; winning the lost, evangelism and so forth.  Am I saying that we must 'market...

Have you tried buying something defective or low class and then someone offers you to exchange that for something much better than the junk you just bought? Example, you have your old worn out jeans- faded, stained and full of holes. Then somebody offers you to exchange it for a brand new pair of pants and just by looking at it you know that it's really expensive and high quality. Would you accept it? What if it's for Free?  Yeah...I know I would definitely not pass that offer! But here's another catch- what if the person who made you that offer was the person you where annoyed with at work or at school? or the one you have hurt in the past? What would you feel? Do you deserve the offer now?  The situation is kinda like the Grace God is offering through Jesus. The Great Exchange. But I never fully understood what it truly meant; that substitution on the Cross- Him dying to take my place. I mean theologically maybe I understood but it was different when God finally show...

It was exactly 3 a.m last Tuesday, I was awaken by a beep from my cell phone from one of my disciples who is currently studying in Davao City, 3 hours away from our hometown. She was saying sorry that she wasn't able to reply on my texts earlier that day because she fell asleep. As we continued our texts about another family problem that arose last Sunday- her brother got arrested and now in jail, I started to reflect again about this generation, my heart grew heavier that early morn (I was also the hospital watcher for one of my disciple who was admitted for dengue). I started to hum this song in my head- 'Set me ablaze'- byPlanetshakers. We already sung this at church during our Worship services and first heard it last June on our G12 Regional Conference. There was this line that stuck and it's always that line that I love to stay on every time we sing it at church. The line goes like this: 'For my generation Lord I am crying out for more Come and fill m...

Twas Sunday again and as the head pastor of the church I have to get many things ready: My Preaching and other details like the place and the getting ready my people for another Harvest Event. One of the main things I prepare and also my team is the Sunday Song Set list for the Praise and Worship. Worship is always a big deal to me since it's one of the things that sets the spiritual atmosphere of the Sunday Service program. So I take all the necessary things like preparing my team; checking the purity of each of my members and reminding them to read their daily devotionals and most especially rehearsals. I also double check the equipment like microphones, guitars and the sound system. I'm not just the head pastor I'm also the worship director of the church. I also play the guitars (both bass and acoustic)and at first I used to lead also. Actually, when the church was still starting, I used to be the one who plays the guitar, leads the worship service, leads in pray...

Preaching this Sunday will be about Building on the Sure Foundation- Christ as the Cornerstone ( 1 Corinthians 3:10-18 ). cor ner stone   [ kawr -ner-stohn]  1.  a   stone   uniting   two   masonry   walls   at   an   intersection. 2.  a   stone   representing   the   nominal   starting   place   in   the   construction   of  a   monumental   building,   usually   carved   with   the   date   and   laid   with  appropriate   ceremonies. 3.  something   that   is   essential,   indispensable,   or   basic: The   cornerstone   of   democratic   government   is   a   free   press. 4. the   chief   foundation   on   which   something   is   constructed   or   developed: Th...

Have you ever tried holding your breath? Did you last longer than a minute holding it? Which is easier, to hold your breath or not? “ To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. ” Martin Luther             Prayer is easier to do than not to do for a true follower of Christ. Maybe that’s the reason why Paul urged to ‘Pray without ceasing’ ( 1 Thess. 5:17 ) like breathing. (P.S. We Sin without ceasing so maybe it’s another reason why we really NEED to pray always). Yet, what if prayer is more than a responsibility we think or as a chore or a habit that’s hard to keep? Let’s admit it that from time to time- even most of the time, we can’t keep our prayer times. What if it’s something very special; a key to a greater place or event in our relationship with God? In Jeremiah 33:3 , God spoke to Jeremiah about ‘ great and mighty things’ which he did not know about that God w...