Q - I'm a fresh seminary/Bible school graduate raring to start a pastoral vocation with a small but rather old church. Please give me some tips on how to best perform my preaching-teaching ministry.

Q - I'm a fresh seminary/Bible school graduate raring to start a pastoral vocation with a small but rather old church. Please give me some tips on how to best perform my preaching-teaching ministry.

A - What we know is little; what what we do not know is immense.
Start with that. Continue in that.
Formal seminary education, like all other educational experiences,
doesn't make you know enough; it actually tells you that you do not and cannot know enough. Unless you went to a brain-washing school that drills into your head that your group knows and understands everything, you should come out of seminary more teachable and humble than when you came in.

Education should not make you proud --- it cannot make you proud; it should make you humble, ever searching, ever teachable.
Because your most inportant realization when you learn is that there is so much you didn't and still do not know.

1. Thus, be tentative.
Do not act like you know it all; do not be dogmatic. Chances are that most of what you now "know" are only "inherited", passed on to you by mentors whose knowledge could also be a hand-me-down relic. This becomes more true if you studied in a seminary run by a congregation whose main mission is to uphold "tradition". Your very education now sets you on a war path against the courses that other congregations take. So, expect "conflict" instead of "harmony".

2. Respect fellow preachers-teachers who, in every sense, could also be like you: products of their own schools, believing they know enough, and believing they, not you, are right.
Maganda kung yung new/young pastors huwag nang manahin at ituloy yung religous wars ng mga naunang generations of Christians. Boring na. In real life naman, no group lives a morally more upright life than others do. Pare-pareho lang na nadadapa at nagkukulang.

3. Keep learning, especially outside of the mold of your small community. There is a vast world or knowledge out there. From the inside, look out. From the outside, look in. Keep expanding your understanding.
On you own, study BIblical Criticism more extensively and more deeply if you like to expand your capacity to understand, interpret and apply Scripture more correctly and meaningfully.
Know more History.

10 MAJOR TEACHINGS AND EVENTS THAT could HAPPEN IN A CHURCH YOU JOIN

10 MAJOR TEACHINGS AND EVENTS THAT could HAPPEN IN A CHURCH YOU JOIN Gaano ito katotoo? Alin sa mga ito ang nararanasan o naranasan nyo, mga kapatid? Konting soul seraching lang pag may time :-) 1. WELCOME! Nangyayari sa first time o sa first few times kang umattend sa isang church. 2. LOVE LOVE LOVE Puro love ang turo sa mga una mong pagdalo sa mga lessons. God loves all. The Church loves all. We all love all! Ang saya-saya! 3. US! US! US! Kasunod na mga turo: Tayo lang ang tama. Tayo lang ang makadiyos. Minsan pa nga: Tayo lang ang ligtas! 4. THEM THEM THEM Papunta nadito ang turo. Iba ang hindi natin members. Mali sila. Mali ang ginagamit nilang Bible. Hindi sila mga ligtas. Hindi sila tunay na anak ng Diyos. (Tayo lang, remember?) 5. JUDGE JUDGE JUDGE Teachings now make you judgemental of outsiders ---and even of fellow insiders. You begin to become critical of others. You become a Church Bully. 5. SEPARATE! Teachings now become more bold. Kasi, kasapi ka na at judgmental ka na: Separate from other so-called believers. Hindi sila totoo. Separate from your unbelieving family and friends. Separate from society. Dito ka lang sa sariling mundo natin. Itakwil ang lahat. 6. PRETEND Forget your true personality. Forget your true face. Magsuot ka ng mask. Be one and uniform with everyone else. Hide your true feelings. Hide your life's realities. You would be punished for being honest or truthful. Hindi nagagalit ang Kristiyano. Ang Kristiyano hindi na nagkakasala, hindi na worldly, wala na dapat earthly desires. Pretend you are holy or you would be condemned. 7. BAWAL! Bawal ang ganitong hairstyle. Bawal magkaron ng GF/BF. Bawal umabsent sa ministry. Bawal magsuot nito at nyan. Bawal ang ganyang tugtog at kanta. Bawal magparty. Bawal ito, iyan,i yun! Basta puro bawal. 8. OBEY! Blind obedience dapat. Basta sumunod ka. Be submissive to authority kahit unreasonable o uninformed ang leader o kahit magdusa ka. (Teka, saan ba talaga galing yung authority nya? Sino ang nagbigay?) 9. DISCIPLINE! Pag lumabag ka sa mga ordinansa, pag nagkasala, lilitisin ka ng isang banal na hukuman ng mga kapwa mo tao, ibubunyag sa lahat ang kasalan mo. Hihingi ka ng tawad sa madla, sa public event. Ipapahiya ka. Tatanggalan ka ng ministry matapos mong maglingkod ng todo. Baka nga itiwalag ka pa. 10. WELCOME! Every week, may welcome na nagaganap sa mga bagong salta. Mga bagong tuturuan. And the whole process repeats all over again. Ang saya saya!

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Masama po ba pumunta sa sementeryo pag araw ng UNDAS pag BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN na?

Q - Masama po ba pumunta sa sementeryo pag araw ng UNDAS pag BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN na?
A -
Eh sa ibang araw, hindi masamang pumunta?
*
Jesus says in Acts 1:8 (NIV)
"... be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Walang lugar na morally ay masamang puntahan, especially kung magiging "witness" ka ni Jesus doon, meaning you will share the love and salvation of Jesus.
"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it" kaya puntahan at angkinin natin ang lahat ng lugar in the name of Jesus.
Wala namang masama kung makipag-reunion, makipag-mabutihan at makisalamuha sa mga kamag-anak at mga kaibigan at kababayan / town mates. Basta hindi ka pa-impluwesya sa gawang masama, at mas mabuti kung ikaw pa ang maka-impluwesya sa kanila. Pero paano ka magiging "salt of the earth" kung magkukulong ka lang sa loob ng bote?

Dumaraan po ang buhay ko ngayon sa sobrang dilim na gabi??!!

Q - Dumaraan po ang buhay ko ngayon sa sobrang dilim na gabi??!!
A -
Just survive the dark night.
Ang kasunod ng gabi ay umaga.
Walang forever, lalu na gabi.
Q- Eh di ang kasunod na naman po ng araw ay gabi ulit??
Babalik din?
A -
Siempre naman! Ganun ang buhay: pabalik-balik, paikut-ikot!
ANG MAGANDA, MAKARAMI KA NG CYCLES!
Magpakatibay! Survive! Enjoy life!

Ecclesiastes 1:4-9 (NIV)
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
...
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

church leaders demonize abbreviations??

Q - Some church leaders demonize abbreviations?? Ayaw po nila ng mnga LOL kasi raw po Lucifer Our Lord ang big sabihin while we mean Laugh Out Loud??? Pati po "GANERN" may masama silang pakahulugan.
At marami pa pong ibang examples.
A -
Eh pano yung KJV, NIV RSV, etc mayron din ba silang masamang pakahulugan? And how about BC AD BCE MD PhD Dr Av St HHWW etc etc.
Or PhP USD PM AM ???
NASA MENTALITY YAN.
If you want and insist to see the devil in your soup, you will.

tell it to the church

Q - Tito pls explain yung teaching na pag may nagkasala ay "tell it to the church" for correction, discipline or expulsion?
A -
In the formative years of Christianity, "church" meant a house fellowship: a small group of believers that gathered in a home.
Naturally the few people in the "church" were family members, close relatives and friends and even servants or employees of the house owner.
So, "telling the church" about a member's sins for correction was effective because they were personally close to and really cared for one another. The genuine goal for telling the church was para magkatulungan sa pag-aayos ng problem. Also, being personally related and close to one another, everyone was a stakeholder in one another's individual conduct kasi madadamay sila sa mga pagkakamalli ng isang member.
And because they were economically and socially interdependent, effective na pang discipline yung expulsion kasi yung matigas ang ulo ay mapipilitang sumunod. Otherwise, expulsion meant na mawawalan sya ng trabaho, tahanan and all other support systems.
YUNG "TELL IT TO THE CHURCH" was originally meant FOR THE HOUSE CHURCH of usually no more than 10 -20 people.
IBANG-IBA naman sa present time na yung church ay more than 50 ang members, minsan hundreds or even thousands pa nga!
Wala na yung everybody's personal connections/ relations, care, or direct involvement in one another's personal conduct. At dahil marami nang hindi personally loving, pag nalaman nila ang "sins" ng iba ay malamang na pag-chismisan pa nila, at i-judge. Negative ang effect. SO WHY TELL THE CHURCH today? WHY mechanically implement that culture-and -time-bound practice in the past--- today?
Hindi na rin effective and expulsion kasi all the expelled member has to do is transfer to another church. Marami syang choices na lilipatan. Hindi tulad noon na yung home church lang nya ang only church in town.
Verses have to be understood in the context of the original recipients and contextualized to the immediate realities of believers at other times and places

Q - Tito ano po ang qualities ng magandang comment sa posts ng iba?

Q - Tito ano po ang qualities ng magandang comment sa posts ng iba?
A - Sa personal tingin ng Tito:
A comment that
1. Furthers / Advances / Promotes the post. Yung helpful. Yung may saysay.
2. Does not contradict the post. (Kung gusto mong mag ventilate ng iba / opposing idea, sa wall mo na lang ilagay, wag sa wall nya.)
3. Does not distress / deviate from the post. Wag yung nagpapagulo sa idea, nagpapasok ng ibang idea na aagaw ng pansin dun sa original post.
4. Does not minimize / decrease the post and increase your stature; huwag mag-magaling at sapawan yung post ng mas
"maganda" mong ideas.
The spirit of a "good" comment:
Hindi mo kinokontra, sinasapawan o iniinis yung nag-post.
That which makes or keeps friends for you. :-)

Q - Bakit po maraming taong masisipag naman pero poor pa rin?

Q - Bakit po maraming taong masisipag naman pero poor pa rin?
A -
1. Yung pinag-uubusan nila ng sipag at lakas ay mahinang pagka-kitaan? 
2. Maraming umaasa at kahati sa kita?

What can you say Tito about the idea that Filipinos could be one of the lost tribes of Israel?

Q- What can you say Tito about the idea that Filipinos could be one of the lost tribes of Israel?
A -
Like the idea that the Philippines could be the land of Ophir mentioned in the Bible, that could be a very Indiana Jones myth / wishful thinking. Eh lost na nga young tribes na yun. Naglaho. Tapos biglang tayo pala? Sobrang fantastic. And that cound not be proven, even imagined, applying disciplined academic methods of historiography.
WHAT MATTERS IS THAT THROUGH JESUS, ALL BELIEVERS ARE COUNTED
AS CHILDREN/ FAMILY OF GOD.
Hindi na kailangang maki-tribe, maki-kamag-anak o maki-sabit sa Israelites para maging anak ng Dios.

John 1:12 (NIV)
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Galatians 3:28-29 (NIV)
28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ed Lapiz advise for exploring Coron Palawan

Q - Tito some tips naman po on exploring Coron?! :-)
A -
Talagang gagawin mong tour operator ang Tito???
Bueno....
1. Stay on the main (is)land for affordable accommodation. 
Stay on the resort islands for "luxurious" arrangements.
On the main ( is)land, the place to stay if you like comfort, amenities, sea views, etc : TWO SEASONS hotel. Basta: Two Seasons na.
2. GO island hopping.
Visit the lakes and lagoons BUT
if you like to spend for ease, privacy, flexibility, speed, etc.,
hire a private boat. Yung iyo/inyo lang. Kayo lang ang sakay.
And for less cost and less busisi, hire a boat from the owner, not through tour agencies. Choose your kind of boat before hiring one.
3. Package tours usually include picnic lunch.
Sa boat niluluto ng bangkero ang lunch / barbecue. YOU MAY WANT TO JUST MAKE BAON YOUR LUNCH, either kayo ang mag-balot o pabalot kayo sa hotel nyo. I think your food would be cleaner and more suited to your taste. Malaki pa sigurong bawas sa total cost yung lunch.
4. Go to the islands as early as possible.
So much time is wasted at the port while your bangkeros make paper work with the Coast Guard, get and load your lunch picnic food, rent kayaks for you, etc etc. The arrangements that could be made the day before, make na para sa next umaga, punta na kayo agad sa islands, ahead of the multitudes!
5. Wear aqua shoes and other protective clothing.
6. Bring first aid kits. You can never can tell, sabi nga nila.
Be careful. The Coron hospital does not seem to be equipped well enough.
7. Never miss the Maquinit Sea-Salt Water HOT springs. But best to dip in the early morning to avoid the throngs.
8. 3 nights 4 days should be a good minimum length of stay.
Second day for island tours, third day/ morning for Maquinit and the rest of the day in the town.
Magandang puntahan ang Concepcion Falls sa Busuanga!
IF YOU would, USE ONLY "NATURAL", BIO DEGRADABLE, non-toxic, non-pollutant, water-based SUNSCREEN. Mahabag sa sea life.

Q - Bakit po binabawalan ng religious leader ang followers nya na makinig sa ibang preachers?

Q - Bakit po binabawalan ng religious leader ang followers nya na makinig sa ibang preachers?
A - 1. Love nya ang followers? To protect them? 
2. Love nya ang sarili. Para solohin at makontrol ang followers?
3. Insecure? Baka masapawan sya ng iba?
4. Walang tiwala sa followers na kaya nilang mag-isip para sa sarili?

Q - Ikakasal po ako sa isang German

Q - Ikakasal po ako sa isang German pero parang di ko naman po kayang magkaron ng employment sa Germany. Ano po ang maipapayo nyo Tito?
A -
Dapat kumita ka ng sarili mong pera para sa sarili mong security at dignity at para sa mga manghihinging kamag-anak. :-)
Mag-aral kang magluto, manahi, etc para pagkakitaan mo.
Basta marunong at magaling kang magluto at manahi, ang dami-dami mong opportunities na 
- magsupply kung kani-kanino ng cooked food,
- mag-cater
- magtinda
- tumanggap ng patahi, pa-repair, pa-cut ng pants, etc etc
- tumahi at magbenta ng mga punda, etc.
MAG-ARAL KA RIN NG CARE GIVING!
Titipak ka sa kita sa dami ng opportunities sa pag-aalaga ng may kapansanan o ng matatanda.
MALAKI ANG PAG-ASANG KUMITA SA MGA GANYAN lalu sa Europe na ang mahal ng bayad sa ganyang skills. 

TAMPO SA DIYOS

TAMPO SA DIYOS
Q - Parang ayaw ko na pong mag-church kasi ang dami-dami kong kabiguan sa buhay. Parang God does not care anyway?
A -
Why feel that way about God? God wants only the best for people, but there are natural laws we have to live by for the good things to happen. When failure happens, dapat hanapin ang cause, which is mostly failure to live by natural law.
For example, kahit simba ka ng simba, pag hindi ka nag ingat ay puede kang mahulog sa hagdan. God should not be expected to suspend the natural law of gravity dahil nagsisimba ka. Mahuhulog, malulunod, masusunog, mai-infect, malulugi, matatalo, etc etc ang isang tao when natural laws are broken ---
kahit sya palasimba. Halimbawa, you don't maintain your car properly, kahit patungo ka sa pagsisimba, puedeng mawalan yan ng preno at mahulog ka sa bangin. Piety / Religiosity does not exempt one from natural law. In fact, the truly spiritual would respect God-ordained natural law, not expect exemption from it.
So why put the blame on God for your disappointments?
Why not identify natural laws that could have been broken that resulted in your disappointments?
Halimbawa, nag exercise ka ba ng due diligence bago namuhunan o bumili ng kung anu man, to minimize possibilities of mistakes? Realization, learning and eventual obedience to natural law ang lulutas sa problema mo, hindi ang paglayo sa Diyos.
At pag hindi ka magsisimba dahil tampo ka sa Diyos --- yung gusto mong lumayo sa Diyos ----bakit hindi ka na rin tumigil mag-inhale ng oxygen na gawa ng at galing sa Diyos kasi tampo ka sa kanya? Wag ka na ring uminom ng tubig, kumain ng gulay, etc. kasi galing sa Diyos lahat yan?
Umalis ka na rin kaya sa Universe na likha ng Diyos para lumayo sa kanya. (Kaya lang, saan ka naman pupunta na wala dun ang Diyos?)
Kahit naman di kayo magsimba, aasa pa rin kayo sa Diyos sa lahat ng bagay. And it is most likely that the guidance, wisdom, blessing, etc that you really, really need ay matanggap nyo through / by the ministrations of the church.
Drama against God will not help. :-)

Ed Lapiz - HOW TO GET RID OF PEOPLE YOU HATE or Dislike Very Strongly