CALLING PART 2: A CALL TO CHANGE

The IEMELIF'’s top leadership through its Bishop and General Superintendent Nathanael P. Lazaro, has been a strong advocate of peace and reconciliation, as seen in the recent successes to end the decades-long differences from Reform Movement and Sole sympathizers. This historical event has once again brought back the Church's credibility to become a herald of Christ’'s redemptive love to mankind. While most, if not all, seem to have failed to live up on this, the IEMELIF through the grace of God had succeeded.

Another milestone in the life of the Church was the amendment she made in the Discipline. Like “bayanihan spirit”, more people have now been involved in carrying out the task of the Lord. This has given the Church a breath of fresh air. Armed with dedicated, talented, and gifted individuals, the work of Evangelism continues to gain momentum as more mission points and daughter churches are being established. The IEMELIF believes that real transformation happens within the inner man and manifests outwardly by loving God's creation. As the number grows, this community of transformed individuals work for social change through community development. Effective ministries must have an impact to society.

The IEMELIF's bishop calls for visible change. "Social Gospel," as defined, had been part of the Church's theological understanding in the past, but there had been very little impact she made to actualize this "natural" approach due to long and sensitive internal "challenges." As if God's hand remakes and repackages His Church, the IEMELIF had to undergo a process called "metamorphosis." At last, coming out of her cocoon, this “"inner wilderness test”" has given her BETTER perspectives to reflect her spiritual dogmas. Bishop Lazaro believes further that to effectively do this "share" in nation building, local churches should initiate ecclesiastical partnership with government organizations (GOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), private organizations (PO), and other civil society groups regionally and globally; such as the United Nations (UN).  As good and wise stewards, the Church must faithfully proclaim the Good News but at the same time address God's creation with sustainable ministries.

Time and again, the General Superintendent calls his constituents to be more spiritually “sensitive by creating committees for "aid and relief" especially when natural disaster strikes a community where extreme poverty incidents are high. The world is God’'s creation and it bears His glory and dignity. Change should not just happen within one’s denominational affiliation by which the IEMELIF was mistakenly being branded either a separatist or passive agent of change. The Lordship of Christ must be realized to all creation and it's by joining hands with those who call to address these social maladies such as corruption, poverty, hunger, unemployment, war, and injustice; that we can truly be called the sons of God.

The believers are joining hands with their leaders because they know that God is pleased when they do. As one body, they pray and support them always. This is in response to Galatians 6:6 that says, “Let him who receives instruction in the Word of God share all good things with his teacher by contributing to his support” On the same thing, the writer of Hebrew in chapter 13 verse 17 said, “Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them continually by recognizing their authority over you, for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will to render an account of their trust. Do your part to let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for it would not be profitable to you either.” – Quick Bible Amplified

“Prepare ye the way” is John the Baptist’s challenge and Jesus’ “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is heaven” is a timeless prayer of hope. Both are familiar clauses of self-retrospection, hope, accountability, and challenge. Understanding this call as obedient and humble children, the IEMELIF Church, through her leaders, pursues that which has been entrusted of her to do knowing that God judges and rewards men according to their "share" in His kingdom. 

CALLING PART 1: A HUMBLE BEGINNING

In the beginning. When I started my ministry in IEMELIF way back 1986, I was first a member of  “Kabataan” in Bayanan IEMELIF Church. Formerly, I and my family were avid Catholic members who often worshipped at  Quiapo and Baclaran churches and completely had no idea about IEMELIF until we moved-in to Muntinlupa in 1970. Life was difficult then because I and my sister Notyluz had to sell balot eggs and siopao to sustain our daily needs. At brother Navarro’s residence along Bayanan’s busy road, we would often put our stall there every night from 6:00 in the evening to 12:00 midnight. This was my routine for several years. I have to help my father who had just retired from government service and my mother, whose sickness had caused her to stay home. As the eldest among three siblings, I have to earn but must at the same time go to school as a high school student at Muntinlupa National High School.

The call. One Sunday morning, I was about to go to San Pedro, Laguna, to buy balot eggs when I noticed a group of young people in the Church who were dressed with red gown. They were singing beautifully in front of a congregation. Such a lovely voices that attracted me to stay for a while. I sat down outside the main door to observe for more. I noticed that the church was packed with attendees and I could undoubtedly feel the reverence they'd shown as they sat on pews. A pastor stood up and prayed sincerely. I can see it in  his face as he commune to "someone" whom as if he knows for a long time. Beside the altar was an organist softly playing a meditative musical-piece. Then I heard of sobbing as others were raising their arms. Voices slowly filled the air as they pray. “I must leave”, I said to myself silently. It was a wonderful moment of experience. This was the first time that I personally witnessed a choir singing on the pulpit and heard of prayer that was so different from mine. There was unity of reverence. Orderliness in worship was noticeable. It was something new to me; thus, for the first time, my mind was full of owe and wonder about spiritual things. This experience came to me during the lowest part of my life where I was hopeless that I could no longer pursue my education in college. 

The mighty hands of God. Not long after, a massive evangelistic campaign was launched by this Church, Bayanan IEMELIF, through the help of Norwegian Missionary Alliance. A pastor with his team came to our humble house and shared the Good News. I could still recall how they tried hard to explain the Bible to my parents. I was in the kitchen. I was so shy to deserve their attention. I don’t have yet the courage, a minimum required self-confidence, to meet them despite the repeated call of my mother to come out and listen to what they say. Few months after my mother became a member of this Church and so were my sister and youngest brother. I was the last. In 1980, I and a friend were baptized during that one Sunday morning-worship. It didn't take long, I became a Bible study leader and a Sunday school teacher. Soon, I was singing in the choir too and later exposed to several activities and local camps. Looking back, it became clear to me that this was the hands of God. He works in many mysterious ways. An amazing grace was slowly unfolding and created in my family the desire to serve Him; although, I still have to sell balot eggs in the evening and life was still hard for me.

Face to face. One day our pastor, Rev. Nestor Pineda, came to our house. At first he was telling me how he was impressed by my dedication especially as a member of the choir, then he slowly equated that ministry of singing to preaching the Gospel. Few days after, I was with him to visit the IEMELIF Bible College at Novaliches in 1986. It was just to visit; unknowingly, he has already the plan to leave me behind. He disappeared without saying goodbye. Unprepared, yet I have to stay hoping he would return in the afternoon but he wouldn’t. Meanwhile, I have to attend the chapel service and there they welcome me as student without them having an idea of what’s going on. Speechless, I have to smile awkwardly to more or less ninety students and pretended as if I’m not surprised. I found out later that I had to undergo a missionary training for six months and then be sent to a place unknown. I also found out that I was a week late already for the program but was accepted anyway. And so, I was trained about theology, church history, apologetics, hermeneutics, and homiletics of course with fasting and prayer. On-the-job training was carried out along the outskirts of Novaliches in order for us to have pre-taste of what it would be like later when we officially receive our respective assignments. I never questioned the system; probably, because I have a high regard to God and to the leadership of the Church. Meanwhile, my family had to continue earning their living without me. My sister and youngest brother were to shoulder the responsibility day and night by earning along the stretch of Bayanan highway in Muntinlupa. Later, my sister stopped pursuing her college degree at Philippine Christian University and decided to go abroad. What a sacrifice she made on her part just to let me continue serving the Lord in IEMELIF.

The sending out. On that same year, I was sent to Guyong IEMELIF Church together with Lemuel Policarpio, Merlyn Maningas, Noel Mendoza, and Dorcas Papa as missionaries to Bulacan. We stayed to that parsonage under the supervision of Reverends Gorgonio Mariano and Benito Eisma. The following day, we started saturating some parts of Sta. Maria, and in the succeeding months we moved to Patag, Norzagaray, and Minuyan Garay, Bulacan. We were hoping to establish contacts and begin a small group of believers. Everyday we set out we coordinate to respective baranggay captains of each town and would ask permission from them to use their plazas for film showing and evangelism. This was in addition to house-to-house campaign. We had so much experience of acceptance and rejection by the people which I didn’t regret experiencing for many times. In 1987, I was re-assigned to Bulacan as KNS to Patag IEMELIF, a daughter church of Guyong.  While in there, I received news from Bayanan IEMELIF that Pastor Angel Guinto intends to enroll at Union Theological Seminary in Cavite for a Bachelor of Ministry program. Together we set our “sail” and took the course. During this time, the IBC course continued to be a missionary training. It was a combination of short-stay seminary modular lessons and long exposure to various places as missionaries. The Lord had been giving me all the educational preparation because I made myself available with all honesty and purity of intention not to mention the sacrifice I made by leaving my dear parents and siblings behind.

The test. On February 28, 1988, Rev. Espino, replaced Rev. Benito Eisma as the senior pastor of Guyong IEMELIF and I had to vacate the parsonage and stayed to Rev. Mariano’s residence for a year. Rev. Espino, as my senior pastor, was a senior student at FEBIAS who convinced me to study there too. So I also enrolled for Basic Bible Course with a plan to pursue the Bachelor of Church Music program which I wasn’t able to finish because of the schism in the church that culminated to the breaking away of Reform Movement  in 1991. It was such a devastating experience for me. The leaders of the Church that I knew through Bayanan IEMELIF could no longer settle out their differences. I thought everything is well but ninety nine percent of my friends sided to IRM. I still believe that it was not their intention to breakaway at first but to insist for some reform. Well, I don’t’ want to deal on that. Time has its own way to judge us. Anyway, history belongs to theology. It’s just my personal belief. It belongs to the past and let the present learn its lesson. The after-effect was so difficult on my part. It was so lonely in Bulacan.  Together with some remnants, I fought and gave my best to go to devastated churches of Bulac, Sapang Palay, Minuyan San Jose, Minuyan Garay, Garay, Balasing, and Tigbe. I was hoping to convince them to stay with the mother church. It was not easy but we succeeded somehow. This was an untold experience to which I don’t regret keeping to myself even if some historians of this Church were not able to include me in their annals, the official records of IEMELIF’s historical accounts. I have my own ways to tell it anyway. So what’s next? Should I stop? Should I feel important? Should I pity myself? Should I say bad words and question their records? The leaders were seemed unappreciative of my contribution. At first, yes I did and I did it strongly and bitterly. Later, I realized that I, too, was adding insult to injury by becoming so self-centered. I wanted the accolade of men and not of God. I am no longer part of the solution and so I became critical for a while.  The “virus” of sin seemed to have affected me and it’s strongly crawling to my faith.

Focus and determination. Amidst this turmoil, The Lord allowed me to finish my Bachelor of Ministry program along with Basic Bible Course with music units in FEBIAS. It was a double degree already. Focus and determination, although were hard to do during this time, yet through His grace I succeeded. Then I pressed for more by completing my Master of Arts in Religious Education to which the Commission on Higher Education allowed me to teach values subjects under the general education being offered by university in Muntinlupa. A rare opportunity which I considered a miracle for obtaining the nod of CHED-NCR under the appoval of Dr. Amelia Biglete of my qualification. Suddenly, all the suppressed bitterness came out. This may have probably been the result of the long years of painstakingly surviving without receiving any commendation from the Church. As if a shooting star flashed over my head. I said, “Now, I can leave this Church and work somewhere else.” I had so much of wasted years in IEMELIF.”  For me to go back is futility. It is vanity like Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes. So, I decided to take part-time church assignments but full-time in teaching. Unmindful of what's going on in the Church for ten straight years I moved to UP Los Banos and PCU for more masters studies. I was backsliding spiritually as I slowly blame my leaders for letting me feel this way. They are a bunch of dogmatists and religious parasites. They should have been my mentors; unfortunately, they don't meet my expectation. I should have not trusted them my valuable time, energy, and talent. All my fingers were pointing at them with bitterness as I boast to my accomplishments in return. I thought I was very sincere for the Lord for doing this but I was sincerely wrong. 

Confronting the past. Thanks to the Lord, I was wrong. Actually, it was the IEMELIF and still is the one giving me all the things that I enjoy today. This Church has been God’s laboratory of faith to me and I suppose to all of us. Had I chosen to drive my life to the course I wanted it to go, I would have not experienced the joy and peace in this life. I could have been into more troubles. What I am today would have not been developed had I ignored the call of God to serve Him. Then I realized that if there’s something to which I am indignant about, it is because I have chosen to let the virus of schisms to ruin me. I forgot that we are what we say and we are what we choose to do. It takes a very objective perspective of the situation to know that I am not part of the solution anymore. At last I said, “It is enough satan! You cannot anymore hurt this Church through me.”

Starting again. The IEMELIF Church is my “home” and God is always in this Church to train willing souls to seek the lost even the critical and biased-minded individuals. He has never left this Church, no, not even once. The IEMELIF must be helped in many ways. God must increase and I must decrease. I should return the favor to Him. If it's not for this Church I wouldn't be able to know my capabilities. God has a bank of blessings for us here because there are plenty of things to do. So I said, “Why not find something to do and stop blaming people.” The book of Romans 15:2 says, "Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good {and} for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually]."

Response 1. I had stopped criticizing my leaders.  The Church appears to have so much of them already. What I hope to see today are people who are more concerned about winning souls. Satan and his army had been so successful already of tearing us apart and we allowed him to do that for decades. I want to be part of the solution and should remain doing this for the Lord. Of course these leaders have shortcoming too but who doesn't have one? Leaders are only effective when people cooperate. The Bible said in Romans 14:13 “Then let us no more criticize on one another, but rather decide {and} endeavor never to put a stumbling block in the way of a brother.

Response 2. I believe the Lord has called me to write articles so I can be a blessing. I know this is my niche. I know you had been blessed with talents to preach, teach, lead, evangelize, manage, encourage, expound the Scriptures, or by simply being friendly and humble. See how we can help the Church accomplish many things for God? Start thinking of good things from above. Start honing your God given talent. Let us join hands and start making sense.Our Church is blessed with so many things. All we need to do is to be humble and serve like our Master in Heaven. Our leaders are God's representatives and it is not for me nor for you to judge them because we're not allowed to do this. I have a gag order from God. I should be on the side only of those who seek for unity and not the other way around. To hurt the Church of Christ is to hurt the Lord who is the Head.  I am joining hands with God's leaders but not as a blind follower. I, too, am ready to rebuke any wrongdoing in a constructive and positive way because they are my brothers and not enemies. The dignity of the Church is  our responsibility to maintain. It brings glory to God if we do. It tells people that I am a practitioners of Christian religion. I strongly believe that if I do this God will bless me in many ways. It takes courage to be humble. Humbleness is a virtue of the strong and not of the weak. Such a person has a clear conscience, that is, he earns peace, harmony, and joy which money can't buy. The Bible says in Acts 24:16 “Therefore I always discipline myself to have a clear conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men.”  Amen.

THE SIGNS OF TIMES

By J. Morillo

Text: Matthew 14: ¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Intro: In one of the public ministries of Jesus, He was confronted by some religious leaders representing the sects of Pharisees and Sadducees with the aim to do harm. Having been exposed, the Lord rebuked and cursed them. Two religious organizations of sharp distinction but united in opposing the Lord Jesus Christ. Actually, this was a continuous harassment of the devil to Him who left Him for a while after the first temptation. During the first temptation, He was to prove “If You are the Christ” (Matthew 4; Mark 1:12; Lk 4:1). Now, the temptation persists using the very people that serve "His temple". They asked Him to prove if He is the Christ by saying “...Give us a sign.”

In this reflection, the ineffectiveness of religious leaders to understand the Lord’s words and accurately interpret the signs of times due to corruption of power and selflessness, is the focus.

A sign from heaven; a sign to do harm v.1. These religious leaders are relentless in their opposition to Jesus. They follow Him anywhere by disguising themselves as genuine believers of His teachings as if ready to get any responsibility from Him to advance His cause. Actually, they are not. In verse 1, we are told of their true color - they “…tested Him by asking Him to show a sign….”

The word “tempt” is a transitive verb. This verb transfers its meaning to the object, “Him”. This verb has another form – it is a “state-of-being” verb. It means that the verb does not carry an outward manifestation of behavior. Instead, it is an act from within. There is something “being processed inside,” “from the inner self,” “from the mind,” the psyche. Their being with Jesus for many days was a deliberate act. Something planned. Something orchestrated. This is to gain His trust so they could entice Him and do harm in return.

Was this because they are afraid to lose their hard earned position in the society? They are afraid that somebody is exposing their true motive because they wrongly impose tradition and laws for purposes of manipulating people and making them blind followers of God? Yes, it's all the reasons behind so they could gain followers out of fear by making people guilty of religious shortcoming. Actually they themselves (religious leaders) are incapable of observing their own self-imposed rules. By demanding to “show us a sign” they actually would like to pressure the Lord to act carelessly and so they can twist the facts and make it appear that He is in connivance with the devil. There is no doubt that the Lord can actually make signs and wonders just like the old days when He would bring manna, quails (Exo.15:13), water in the waterless region, show thunder (Exo.19:16), bring down fire from heaven and make angels to suddenly appear (cf. Matt 3:11). But the Lord Jesus knows what they are “hiding” from that mind. 

In the final analysis this is a continuous harassment of Satan (cf. Lk.4:13) so the Lord could be forced to use His power out of anger and aggrandizement. This would in turn become a violation of the nature of His humble obedience. Thus, it is a contemptuous act. It will deviate from the Father’s plan, a“…Knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden.” (1 Cor.1:30). Power must only be used according to the predetermined purpose of helping the human race break free from sin. The use of power is to please the Father in heaven and not to serve one’s purpose and self-interest. This is what He promised to come here on earth, “…To do the will of my Father in heaven.” (Jn.5:43; John 6:40; John 15:10). We all have to check our motives. Remember that “…The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7)

Weather forecasters; weathered minds v.2, 3. What happened next was a rebuke given to them. How is it that they could predict weather condition and not understood Christ? The sun is 149 million kilometers from earth or 152 million kilometers during the month of July. The nearest stars from the solar system are 16.308 light years away. These people can understand their movements even if they are too far from earth. They are a bunch of “weather forecasters.”

But why can’t they understand the Lord who is using their own language of probably, Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic? He is in front of them talking. They are good in observation but poor in understanding. They are good in attending the Lord's activities but poor in collecting truths. They can hear but could not figure out. They can see but could not notice the form. They can calculate but could not reach the total value of facts. They have selective understanding and poor objective research outcome. Their listening skills are too subjective and the organization they belong is too sensitive to apply self-corrective measures. This reveals who they are. Many if not all know that the hierarchy of four different types of knowledge starts from common sense to science and then to philosophy and theology. The school of philosophy has been in used for 400 years up to the time of this event. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, lived from 450 to 300 BC; while theirs, Jesus’ time, was probably between 27AD to 33AD, a span of 460 years of studying philosophy, letters, and theology to both university (Greeks) and religious (Judaism) curriculum. These people are professionals and trained to the highest standard of academic discipline. But what is going on? They couldn't even figure out “the signs of time.” Even the Lord was wondering why “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (v3)

All underlined words - “know,” “can,” “interpret,” are again state-of-being-verbs which tell that there was tremendous inner activities in these people but had been missing the genuineness of their religious existence. What they’ve been practicing was pure nonsense, senseless, and acts that are deplorable.

It challenges the application of our religious beliefs. Our theology must find subjects and objects. What good would it bring in serving Him if we are irrelevant and ineffective to address the social cry of our present time? What good would it bring in serving Him if we cannot even uplift the souls of our people and strengthen the weak? What good would it bring if we don’t know how to listen to His words and put them into practice? 

In the end, the Lord decided to give them a sign, yes, a sign of "Jonah". There is parallelism here of Jonah and Jesus. They both came from "death" from the "grave" - belly of fish for Jonah and the tomb for Jesus. Both preached judgment and repentance. Jonah preached judgment, and during the Pentecost, the Disciples made their first ever attempt to preach the Good News of salvation using a historical presentation of facts about Jesus of "whom ye crucified."

In verse 3, the Lord challenged these Pharisees and Sadducees to “…interpret the signs of the times.” There is an obligation to study our faith and grow from it. We must become an ever growing believers. Although God provides wisdom, it is given only to those who are earnestly seeking His will “in order to make this world a better place to live in” (Bishop N. Lazaro).

Only those with selfless ambition and godly-intention can honestly address the social maladies brought about by ignorance. Socrates once said, “Ignorance is the root of all evil.” And if the Church ceases to understand the signs of times, she must kneel before God and ask for forgiveness. Being His heralds, let us listen to our Lord and minister to one another with sincerity. Let us make the church relevant and effective agency of truth and change so that “…His will…” could be”…done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Lord, grant us the understanding to know thy words and open our eyes to see the needs of Your people. Help us not to be selfish in using the power you gave us "to open and close the gates of heaven;" but, rather, use it to help the poor and the oppressed; the little ones and the weak. Help us to be responsible of our faith; to study and grow so others may benefit. Help us to interpret the signs of times and use our days productively for Your glory; so Your church could be an effective agent of Your words in achieving peace, justice, unity, and worship. - Amen

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THE IEMELIF ASSESSMENT PROCESS

The Recruitment

          The IEMELIF Church has a well-crafted religious Book of Discipline. For the information of the greater majority of Evangelical Christians in the Philippines, a proposed bill, before it reaches the Annual General Conference, takes its form from a local church conference which is held annually every 1^st week of January. Then it is submitted to District Conference for further hearing. If it passes, it finally reaches the Annual General Conference which is attended by delegates from all over the world. It is here that, again, the merit of the bill is debated then approved, rejected, or referred to a committee for further study. Among the long lists of agenda that need the approval of the General Conference is the report that comes from the Division of Ordained Ministers (Kagawaran ng Ordinadong Manggagawa). It is in this particular Division that this article would like to focus.

             The DOM performs a very delicate position during this time of the year. Let’s look at how a candidate (examinee) is carefully handled. The person is sent by a Local Church Conference to District Conference for assessment, interview, and approval. This interview is handled by able district leaders who determine the authenticity of the person’s “ministerial calling” as well as finding-out whether credentials have met or not the minimum required standard which was pre-set by the Church Discipline. If grounds are sufficient, an applicant is then endorsed, this time, by the District Conference to National Level. Here, a candidate is handled by DOM through its Board of Examiners (BOE) to take exam two weeks prior to the General Conference. In many cases, a review material is made available to all candidates so they could start reviewing the topics which would be the scope and limitation of exams.

            The written exam is in the form of some essay questions and choices in which a candidate is expected to answer substantially by citing correct doctrinal position, accurate church-discipline provision, acceptable ministerial ethics, historical knowledge, and hymnological understanding. In addition, administrative and management skills, hermeneutics and homiletics skills, and other such exam related to the affairs of the IEMELIF Church are given. The written exam lasts for about 4 to 6 hours. On the other hand, the oral exam which is excerpted from the same category is given by requiring examinees to make a defense in front of a panel, as if having a theology review or defending a research or theses. Each candidate is called to a boardroom and faces the Board of Examiners who are composed of more or less nine members. Each of these members will ask question(s) to a candidate and should answer them with full confidence and readiness. It is such an honor to experience this.  Questions are asked to candidates for Deaconess (female worker), PNS (Probationary Pastor), Deacon, and Presbyter (the highest rank among female and male pastors). The questioning (interrogation) may reach from one hour or more. Then, a candidate is requested to leave the room to allow for BOE to reach a decision. It is here that the second stage of the test ends. The Board of Examiners will then vote in favor or not in favor for a candidate. After a while, the examinee is then called back to receive the consensus. If they are in favor, the candidate is congratulated with a warm handshake and everybody in the boardroom rejoices.  If they are not in favor, a candidate gets further advice and encouragement to try having the test again for next year. It was a tedious process that to fail is quite a setback. 

         The result is then submitted to the Chairman of the Division of Ordained Ministers, who is also a member of the Highest Consistory of Elders of the IEMELIF Church. In the list is written those who passed and those who did not pass. Of course, along with it are the corresponding scores and justifications. In most cases the Chairman of the Division of Ordained Ministers is “hands-on” in leading the members of the Board of Examiners.  Through the Chairman, the result will then be reported to the General Conference for final approval. This report is a permanent agendum annually.

           During the General Conference, each candidate is presented in front of the delegates from United States, Canada, Middle East, Asia, and Philippines. There are about 400 to 600 in attendance and everyone has the right to raise questions practically on anything they want to know about the person. You can just imagine the intense pressure and stress where lawyers, teachers, doctors, engineers, professionals, common members, etc., are all there to vote unpredictably. If you are “lucky”, no one will dare ask question and the floor would move for acceptance and approval of the candidate. If it’s seconded and none would go against the motion, the mallet is hit by the Chairman, the Bishop and General Superintendent; sealing the acceptance of the candidate and ending the journey of test. What a relief! The bishop congratulates each successful candidate; the delegates clap their hands; relatives share their tears; each worker comes to share the joy. Some offer a handshake and congratulatory remark. What a wonderful site to see; an unforgettable moment. These candidates receive love and acceptance. Then, an ordination is given and eventually, they are installed to office and received their respective assignments.

            To this, we must commend the effort of DOM and BOE for their skills, time, and effort. But the work is not over yet. Only time could tell, whether the process of recruitment has been successful or not, that is, if these workers perform as expected. The work of HRD should come in which it is entirely a different issue to discuss. The DOM and BOE are the second best qualifiers of the Church and should not stop getting the test-process improved. Therefore, it is hoped that the following suggestions be taken into consideration. The 12-point suggestions are:

1. Each member of the Board of Examiners (BOE) should represent expertise corresponding to the number of proficiencies of the candidate that they assess during the oral exam. This will avoid redundancy of tasks among  members.

2. There must be a combined pure objective (scientific) and subjective exams to be given. It seems that the written and oral exams that are being used today are not balanced; thus, they are not scientific.   The Church  should ensure the use of accurate assessment tools to minimize if not eliminate "hit and missed" attempts. 
3.Questions to essays must be pre-approved together with their model answers to avoid "considerations"; to avoid suspicion; and seeming discretization that may lead to corruption of collected data and numerical value.

4. Test-takers should only receive official test papers with control numbers on it. They should answer the test inside a controlled environment - a room that is well ventilated,  free of distraction,  and behavior is observed.

5. Before the test, examination rules must be read and queries are answered carefully with authority.

6. During the oral exam, the proceedings must be videoed. This will help the BOE address the queries on suspicion of asking “personal” questions, probably irrelevant during the interrogation. Again, questions must be pre-approved together with the model answers. This will disallow the examiner(s) to just raise a question at will.

7. In case a petition is raised of those who would fail or by those who sent them, the request, through a formal letter of Petition for Review (PfR) is sent and reviewed by a Committee for Review and Petition (CRP) - presently not installed. Here, the CRP would know who made the mistake by viewing the video and reading the transcript – Was there really an error in the manner of questioning? Was the questions raised irrelevant? Was the candidate not able or able to answer the questions? Who made the mistake - the examiner or the examinees? It is best that the one who crafted the question should be part of the  committee.

8. The BOE should only act as an invigilator – a facilitator; and not be the one to entirely determine who would pass and who would not pass so as not to dominate the entire proceedings. Thus, there are two assessment bodies - the Invigilators (50%) and the CRP (50%).

9. There must be time for appeal, probably 5 to 10 days before the General Conference. This will give ample time for DOM to revisit the petition.

10. We must remember that the objective (scientific) result must be given more weight than the subjective outcome of the test. If the subjective outcome is too low, then there must be something wrong. Thus, petition for review is acceptable when this happens (cf.no.7). 

11. BOE must have formal training on how to conduct examinations – Assessment Methodology or Training Methodology.

12. Revisit the percentages that are allocated to each area. Only a person who is psychometrician can be the best source of “percentile allocation” and interpretation. If this is not possible, an assessment and training assessor is an alternative.

        The IEMELIF Church is a global religious institution with international affiliation and membership; thus she must all the more struggle to attain excellence in many ways.  Many would look closer to the quality of  her workers and it all starts from the recruitment process. The Lord said, "Be ye perfect, for I am perfect." The Bible tells us to "Examine ourselves and show the proper fruits of it..." (1 Cor. 13:5). In addition Paul said to "...Let every person carefully examine and test his own work." (Gal.6:4). The IEMELIF has proven time and again that she is an able religious organization, if it's not true, she would have not reached this far. +
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THE 2011 GENERAL CONFERENCE AND ANNIVERSARY: A REVIVAL

The Challenge to Unite

         Following the Wesleyan tradition, the IEMELIF General Conference was held on February 24-27, 2011,  at Aniban IEMELIF Church in Cavite; it was attended by more than 600 delegates from America, Middle East, Asia, and the Philippines. It was such an enthused gathering that remarkably shamed the spirit of divisiveness brought by previous debacles that shook the very foundation of this religious organization.

          For many years, the clouds of test had been lingering on the camp of His children in IEMELIF as if looking for those who still have the courage to trust Him while crossing “the valley of the shadow of death.” Painful as it may seem, the IEMELIF had to slow down, if not to stop for a while, to honestly assess her calling; to encourage those who were hurt and doubtful; to define her religious-philosophy, enlarge her vision, accelerate her mission, and clarify the goals as an indigenous Church; and to pray for strength to overcome the test. On the other hand, she continued to nurse the hopeless and took care the wounded so that her people may keep on staying, surviving, and serving Him with perseverance until the end. At last, the IEMELIF made it through His grace!

          Now, renewed with the spirit of reconciliation, acceptance, forgiveness, wisdom, and grace from God; the entire General Conference has seemed to have become God’s “Mt. Sinai” to remind His people of the importance of His laws. Enough! Says the Lord! Go! Make disciples for me. Sound the trumpet of salvation and ready your battle gears. March and proclaim My Name to every nation.  It’s about time that you “…Engage the world.” Thus the fitting theme, “Visible Unity: A Force to Engage the World,” which guided the week-long celebration of IEMELIF.

          It has been observed from the past that the General Conferences could hardly get 350 to 400 delegates despite all efforts from all districts to support the annual general meeting. This could be attributed to the lack of interest of the majority. But everybody was surprised that more than 600 delegates attended the recently concluded  2011 General Conference.  This could mean many things. First, the change of venue from Beulahland IEMELIF Center at Novaliches to Aniban IEMELIF Church in Cavite gave the participants a sense of curiosity of what Aniban IEMELIF Church can offer in terms of accommodation. Second, the issue that ended the decade-long corporate court battle against IEMELIF Sole versus IEMELIF Aggregate called the attention of the members of why the Supreme Court of the Philippines sided to the petition that the IEMELIF Church is a Corporate Aggregate religious organization. Finally, members would like to know how the General Conference will react to the resolution to unite the Church. 

          First time in the history of Methodist Protestant Church in the Philippines, if not in the world that this sensitive internal issue about unity and reconciliation had been successfully addressed.  Even the mother church, Methodists around the globe, failed on this. Of course we owe this to the Lord we serve. What had prevailed during the General Conference was distinctively phenomenal that most protestant churches in the Philippines could hardly believe that such an event was taking place. It has become the headline among Christian pulpits and meetings and couldn't help but have a misty eyes for at last the first Filipino Evangelical Methodist church in the Philippines is back to its feet. They would like to know what transpired in-between so that they may learn from it. For many, this was an isolated case; others say this was due to their able lawyers who handled the case; but I say, this was entirely the mysterious hand of God. Undeniably, it was a miracle in the making which would renew the Church to total transformation. A selfless act. A denial of comfort, power, and material benefits can only be done by those who have truly experienced the love of Christ for His church as the song puts it “not to us Lord, but to thy Name give glory…to thy Name give praise”.

          Today, I’m sure heaven is taunting Satan and making him a laughing stock because he couldn’t; he cannot; and will never be able to continue winning to destroy the church using a “divide and conquer” tactics. The IEMELIF has given the Christian world out there the meaning of “visible unity".  The IEMELIF Church was the first to have become an indigenous Filipino Methodist Church in 1909 and has now the first to have ever unanimously accepted its detractors in the Spirit of love and forgiveness. Because she knows that this is going to be the very message she would be giving to the world to attain social holiness, that is, the message of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. The Church cannot proclaim with credibility the meaning of solidarity, peace, and brotherhood if she is divided and unable to genuinely forgive.

          On the 102^nd founding anniversary of IEMELIF Church which was held at Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on February 27, 2011 - the culmination of the 4-day annual gathering - the hall was unbelievably packed with attendees from all over the world. This has again manifested the vibrant spirit from God which has long been dormant and passive. Many who have come late couldn’t enter the session hall anymore because it was filled with people who were praising God for freeing the IEMELIF Church from hatred and self-centered spirits. The Bishop and General Superintendent, Nathanael P. Lazaro, addressed the saints about the theme: Visible Unity: A Force to Engage the World and made it clear that every local church must become contributor for the attainment of peace to make this world a "better place to live in."  After the message, he announced the church assignment of each pastor, deaconess, layman, and workers, and concluded the session with a benediction.  Between now to April 2011, these workers will rise and go to their respective offices. Others were retained and most were commissioned somewhere else but the spirit of trust and obedience shall continue to be the greatest strength of IEMELIF. For her people, this newly found experience of unity, forgiveness, and hope is enough to regain the credibility of the IEMELIF Church to teach, preach, worship, and evangelize the world.

          The 2011 General Conference and anniversary of IEMELIF has revived the Church, probably unintentional but God meant it for the common good. Unlike the previous conferences and anniversaries, this gathering was full of spirit of unity and forgiveness. What had taken place will continue to challenge the still divided Church of Christ out there. Learn from IEMELIF. Let us not just unite in spirit and in word but in deed. Let us persevere in making the community of believers truly the holy people of God.

          God will not abandon His people. He is the strength and power of His Church. A famous hymn said, "He giveth more grace when the burden so heavy; He sendeth more strength, when the labor's increase; to added affliction He added His mercy; to multiply trials, He multiplies peace. His Love has no limit; His grace has no measure; His love has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite wisdom in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again." In addition, the IEMELIF hymn declares the following: "Ang IEMELIF ay diwa ng buhay at ng pag-ibig. Ang IEMELIF sa Ama umaasa hanggang langit; sa IEMELIF ang kasalana’y pilit nilulupig; O sa IEMELIF, pag-ibig ay naghahari bawat saglit." (The IEMELIF is a spirit of life and love. She trusts no one but the Father above. The IEMELIF shall always try her best to battle and win against sin. Yes, love always prevails in IEMELIF.).

          Attendance doubled; forgiveness was made; detractors were accepted unconditionally; visible unity was attained; and the spirit of reconciliation has come back.  The IEMELIF Church is perfecting her being through an act of  faith and obedience. Truly, she can manage her own religious affairs where no one up to this very day has visibly equaled. Amen + 

METHODISM: THE MOTHER CHURCH OF IEMELIF PART 2

The Doctrine of Methodist and Its Relevance Today
          All religions have their dogmas, the body of beliefs about God such as a country’s constitution. Some believe in the Father, Son and Holy, Spirit (Trinitarian); while others believe in monotheism, a certainty in one God; still, others believe that this “Three Persons” is actually Jesus Christ expressed in many ways, while others say that the “Three Persons” represents the Father. God is interpreted in many ways as Spirit, Power, Force, Idea, Being, First-Cause, and Ultimate-Cause. Still, to many, this God is perfect, holy, and rational; love, just, and in control. Thus, religions have different emphasis, about God.

          Obviously, Methodists are strongly Arminianists, Jacobus Arminius who is a Dutch Reformed theologian. The Methodists believed that a person’s free will can embrace or thwart the offer of grace (salvation) and that the Good News of salvation or grace cannot be earned. This leads to conclusion that man has absolutely no contribution about it; that God’s offer of ransom is conditional, that is, it is dependent only on faith to Jesus Christ. Although the atonement that Jesus Christ made on the cross was for all people, this grace can be resisted because man has the power to follow or not, to obey or disobey, to accept the redemption or to reject it. While for those who are already in the flock who became a serious- offender lose their chance of salvation if they do not repent of their sin before they die. This is why it is always important to repent and ask forgiveness, seriously.

          This was the doctrine that influenced John Wesley where he made all his effort to live-out and be faithful till the end. He urged his people to live carefully lest they fall away from grace. A man so engrossed in serving God that he lived and died for what he stood for, enough to inspire of those who continued his legacy. Hundreds of years have passed and his life still inspires his followers up to this day.  Wesley’s life had been for centuries became part of the curriculum of seminaries where students so closely examined his contribution to Christianity and emulated his example.

          The Methodists believe in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To this, Christology is understood in consubstantial mystery about the union of humanity and divinity of Christ. In most services, especially during Communion, the Apostle Creed is recited, a careful summary of doctrine taken out of the Nicene Creed. This belief summarizes in general the dogma of Methodism; so that there is always a constant effort to inculcate in their consciousness the God that they serve. Disciples must understand the capsulated form of what they believe so as to make strong affirmation before God who graciously gave them His love.
          Wesley understood how it is to serve God. In one of his covenant prayers he wrote: “…Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.”—Covenant Prayer of Wesley

          I'm sure God would be looking for application of belief that helps to unite the Body of Christ and not divide; seek the lost and not ignore them;  be humble in obedience and not brag your money, power, and influence; worship Him in Spirit and in truth and know that He is God.  The Scripture says, "Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe." - Heb 12:28.

          The Methodists affirm, confess, and apply to humanity their God. They understand that they have the responsibility to study their faith and make the most out of it. For it is in faith and obedience that grace is revealed.
          For the meantime all saints must persevere in serving God and be honest in doing so for He sees all actions and motives.

METHODISM: THE MOTHER CHURCH OF IEMELIF PART 1

Important Highlights of the History of Methodism

          If there is one successful and ever growing evangelical protestant church in the world, this is the Methodist church. It’s reported to have reached seventy to eighty million in 2006 globally. It’s hard to imagine that they just started from few zealous young  people almost 300 years ago.

          Its origin is Great Britain and it started as a movement in response to spiritual and moral decay of their time. It broke away from the Established Church, the Anglican Church, to address the seeming hopeless condition of society in 18^th century brought about by obsessive beer drinking, gambling, and crime of all sorts. It is quite interesting that the Anglican Church was unable to address the problem despite enormous influence and power to the dismay of the Wesleyan Methodists. They found out that the Anglican Church had their share to this chaos as they were said to have invested a large amount of capital for gin-making. Drinking of alcoholic beverages was a profitable business and it generated a lot of income for the church. It was observed that one out of four houses was either a gin-maker or seller. The Established Church could have stopped this by introducing reforms first to their ranks, to parishes, and then to their respective localities; but it was hard to stop especially if it involves revenues.  

          The Wesleys responded with a strong call for individual holiness. They went from market to market, to plazas, towns, and to many places where people meet. Where people gathered there the Wesleys would put up a stage or would just utter a voice and preach God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. To make this more effective, they brought church music (hymns) outside the church and sang them to public places to get attention and gather a crowd. To John Wesley this was not difficult to do, because he was a trained and educated theologian, musician, and Anglican clergyman. With the help of his brother, Charles Wesley, the followers grew rapidly and called themselves the “Methodist.” When they are gathered publicly, people would often refer them, "Wesleyan Methodists" because of strong discipline and seeming fanaticism that they have. They concentrated to the study of the Bible and put up small groups from place to place. They would often tell the people about the importance of obedience and living a life that is worthy and acceptable with God.

          Through charismatic campaign and missionary activities, they literally covered the entire British Empire and soon reached the soil of United States. John Wesley taught his followers to abstain from living a luxurious life. His first followers were students and met regularly to fast, to study the Bible, to make testimonies, to encourage, motivate others to follow the Lord, and to observe communion every week. Often, they would visit the sick, the prisoners, and those who are bereaved, and imprisoned.

          Undoubtedly, many of church strategies Christians use today were actually  "Methodist" in form and structure. Theirs, the Methodists, were considered unorthodox, something non-traditional, thought provoking, or should I say unacceptable to norm. Was it? Well, look at how this movement reached this far in faith, in number, and in deed.

         The Methodists learned the value of professionalism, seriously; second, they learned to live-out their faith and stood for what they believed; third, they were very effective with their Bible study, fellowship, communion, worship, and community services to achieve personal community holiness; fourth, they targeted the young people and trained them well; lastly, the Wesleyan Methodist was revolutionary in nature. She conquered enemy territories, won sinners for the Lord, brought back morality in Great Britain, expanded to continents, and made the world its parish.

THE CHALLENGE OF INTEGRATION

Unknown to Many

          Unknown to many Filipinos of today is the IEMELIF Church's contribution to religious nationalism. At its backdrop is the struggle of Filipinos for independence against the oppressive government of Spain with its friars for nearly 400 years. This was followed by the American occupation for more than 50 years.

          Motivated by the lives of heroes like Gomez, Burgos, Zamora, and Jose Rizal; Rev. Nicolas Zamora, the first Filipino who was ordained as Methodist pastor by the Americans, decided together with other nationalistic elders to form the first Filipino protestant church.

          In 1909, the IEMELIF (Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas), also known as The Evangelical Methodist Church in the Philippines, came into being. It spread-out from Tondo, Manila and to Notrthern and Southern Luzon. It tirelessly proclaimed the Good News of salvation and brought many followers to the feet of Jesus. Today, it continues to keep its mandate to evangelize the world about Jesus Christ and reaches out not only in the Philippines but to other parts of the world, in Asia, Canada, America, and Europe.

          Then and now, the IEMELIF Church continues to adhere to its objectives to self-propagate, self-sustain, and self-govern through the unwavering support of its members around the world. There is a continued growth taking place to every local congregation. You can feel the love and solidarity of a truly Filipino in mind, in words, and in action; which is attributed to the Holy Spirit's guidance that made the IEMELIF grew in number and wisdom because the will is attuned to fully cooperate with God. This is grace that enables the ministry to move on. As the Scripture says in 1 Cor 12:11 "All these gifts, achievements, abilities are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same Holy Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually exactly as He chooses." True enough, He never fails to supply the needs of His people in IEMELIF.

          As an Evangelical Protestant Church, the IEMELIF has contributed a lot to Filipino religious nationalism. The Church stood firm with her mandate to follow the Lord amidst global financial crisis that brought down economies around the world. Uniquely, the IEMELIF's music is made out of human composure, a music of personal religious experience and her people have a balanced view of prosperity and austerity; of love and discipline; and of perseverance and assurance of grace. Truly, God is proclaimed within the ideals and aspirations of Filipinos. 

          She will be the focus of our gramar-exercises, paragraph-development, and article-making. I'm glad to to inform you that the unique integration of English in the IEMELIF context is the first to have ever tried in this Church. Let this be known that this is a personal effort. But of course you have the chance to say something either to praise, to correct, and best of all - to contribute.

          Let me close by saying that the challenge of integration is not simple. By signing up to this blog, I shall have endless reasons to continue on writing for the Lord as time and tide wait for no one. Paul said to 2 Tim 1:11 "For the proclaiming of this Gospel I was appointed a herald (preacher) and special messenger and a teacher of the Gentiles." Therefore, let all opportunities be made and done for the glory of the Lord.

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