Just Me!

Starting tomorrow I will be out of reach and will be going on my annual summer vacation. 

Will be back online in  a week.  Ciao'.

I just returned from a trip from one of our mission churches.  The picture on the left is  of the book I was reading while I was in the airport waiting to catch my flight.

New York Times  best selling author Patrick Lencioni captures the 5 typical problems teams have.  I highly recommend this book to every senior pastor or  leader in any field.

Fact is we live in very challenging times and the only way to get things done with utmost excellence is through a team.


While I am at it I might as well do a quick review of the books I read in the last 2 months. 

As I have mentioned in my previous book review instead of reviewing the best books I have read for the year I will just do a brief review of the books I have read in the last 2 months for leaders.

Here they are:

1.  When Charity Destroys Dignity by Glenn Schwartz.  The book deals with the most foundational issue besetting missions organizations today.  Schwartz who is a veteran missionary explains the pitfalls of unhealthy dependency in Christian movements.  This book is a must read for leaders.  Thank you Michael Paderes for giving me this book.

2.  :07 Seconds Or Less by Jack McCallum.  Veteran Sports Illustrated writer spends a season sitting on the bench of NBA's Phoenix Suns and gives a blow by blow account of the teams unique playing style.  Lots of lessons on teamwork and on not giving up.  My big take away there's a lot that can happen in 7 seconds or less when you have a great team.  Book was lent to me by my son Joshua who is in UP taking up Sports Science from the college of human kenetics.

3.  Summoned to Lead by Leonard Sweet.  Leadership is a call to respond to, not a position to fill  or a role to train for.  The author challenges the stereotypical ideas of leadership that says leaders are born or made. Pretty insightful.  Book was recommended by Manny Carlos.

4.  Fresh Encounters by Daniel Henderson.  Probably one of the most significant books I have read this year.  I have read, reread and referred to this book so many times you can see the creases on the books spine in the picture above.  Prayer is still a Christians most powerful weapon.  This book will take away the boredom and rekindle your passion to pray.  The book has so moved me I bought a copy for all of the church's staff.  Thanks Taylor Stuart for giving me this book.

5. The Apple Way by Jeffrey Cruikshank.  The books sub-title is 12 Management Lessons from the World's Most Innovative Company.  As I have explained in my last book review one of the secrets to doing something great in your organization is to find something a successful another organization is doing, then take it and apply it to your industry.  What is ordinary in one industry is revolutuionary in yours.  Here's one of those books that has several of those ideas.

6.  Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur.  Fantastic read about Christs 12 disicples.  They weren't saints, scholars or sages but ordinary men.  Loads of revelation and insight as the author shows the life and times of these ordinary men who lived extraordinary lives.

7.  The Shack by William Young.  The book that was shipped to me by Kevin Mixan.  A Christian novel that will touch you to the core.  Funny that this book has helped me appreciate the Trinity better.  Thanks Kevin loved the book and have passed it on to one of my sons.

8. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team  by Patrick Lencioni.  I just wished I read this book sooner.  This is the book I recommend a leader reads this year together with his staff or team.  I have decided to go through this book with our team at Victory Fort.  Lencioni hit a winner with this one.  Given by Steve Murrell.

9.  The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Al and Laura Rise.  I had this book for a while but have never had the urge to read it.  Thought I'd bring it with me while I was on the trip.  I have read several of Ries' books in the past.  Currently finishing this one.  Summary - been there, read that but am just enjoying the many stories and stats on marketing.  I guess you can call it my marketing fix.

Just watched a video on Oprah's true beliefs about Jesus Christ.  Looks like she's gone on the deep end.

To all you Oprah fans out there, here are 2 of several other links about Ophrah's beliefs on Jesus and her thoughts about theology.

The Church of Oprah

Recruitment Video

Watch and judge for yourself.  Thanks Marily for the original link.

After sitting as a panelist to Hu U, early Sunday morning our son David together with Wallace Panlillo (husband of Sheryl, the other Hu U panelist)  and Victory Ortigas member  Camille Ocampo took a 10 hour bus ride to  Legaspi in Bicol.  From there they took another hour drive to one of Habitat for Humanity's project.

Picture left shows David and Camille in boots and raincoats.  Bicol can be rainy even in summer.




They were there along with a thousand other volunteers to help build homes for the people of the town.

This is the way I view discipleship.  All too often people are looking for church to do the work of ministry.  The Bible's idea is completely different. 

(bottom left picture: Camille and Wallace)


It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service....

David, Wallace and Camille are not full time ministers.  Neither were they sent by the church to do what they did.  They did it because they are disciples.  The job of the church is to prepare people to have the heart of a disciple it is then the job of the people to do works of service. One reason why so little is accomplished is because people are waiting for churches to move.  What people forget is that the church is not an institution but is them.

Common sense dictates that the best home builders are people who have the experience and know how in making them.  This is Habitat's expertise.  To think that a church will be able to build houses better than Habitat is ludicrous at best.

Churches are called to preach the Gospel.  To turn people's hearts from self-centered living to a life of devotion to God and service of others.  The better they are at this the more people can be empowered to build homes, schools, businesses, hospitals and other works of charity. 


The picture on the left is of the recently insatlled board of Habitat Philippines.  In this board are 2 members of Victory Fort and one who regularly attends our services.  Standing third from left is Butch Bautista, a retired CEO who is now Habitat Philippines' Chairman.   David standing extreme right and seated second from right is Margie Moran Floriendo.  Service is not about age or gender but simply a matter of the heart.


This last picture is back at the site in Bicol.  Here's David with local leaders including the town's Mayor (in orange).

Isn't it amazing how many people the church can engage if it did acts of service?

But as the Bible says it all starts with the church's job of preaparing God's people for works of service.  Churches need to be about their Father's business - "Go and Make disciples!"

Saturday April 26 - back to back with Victory Fort's Marriage Seminar Moving From Me To We - was Hu U?  The youth and young adults Seminar on how to relate with the opposite sex.

The event started at 2 PM and ran all the way to 5:30.  Interestingly time flew by and hardly anyone noticed.  Time flies when you're having fun.




Approximately 500 young adults packed the Victory Fort sanctuary.  Hu U? was not your everyday fare seminar but was designed to be interactive. 

This picture shows people getting to know each other and mingling.  The room was buzzing with laughter and lots of talk.





Then there were the different participatory exercises - you could sense there was energy in the room.  I guess another reason is because these guys were young.

Picture at left also shows Pastor Robert Gonzalez who is responsible for many of the youth activities of Victory Fort having a good laugh.




Pastor Carlos Antonio delivering a classic message about the physiological, emotional, mental differences between men and women.  More importantly he explains how these differences can affect our spirits and attitudes toward one another.

Personally I thought his message was a classic.  I sat in my chair thinking: there' s hope for our country if the next generation of leaders are like this guy.



The biggest hit of all though was the panel interview and Q&A.  The panel consisted of four young adults - a young man, three ladies plus a Pastor.

After a quick intro of the panelists it was time to answer the questions of the participants.  It was not only hilarious but these
young adults learned that there are no easy answers when it comes to relationships.




Pastor Robert Hern introducing panelists, from left to right:  David Bonifacio (businessman), Sheryl Panlilio (Educator), Jenn Feliciano (HR Practitioner), Janelle Antonio (Events/Operations) and Pastor Paolo Punzalan.

The other MC was Lynn Nawata, Real Life Foundation's Executive Director - not in picture.




The two men in the panel have a good laugh about the differences between men and women.


Originally the plan was to separate the men and the women into 2 groups - after much discussion we decided to keep them in the same room.

The result was buckets of fun, non-stop laughter and loads of learning from each other.






Here's a sample of the non-stop laughter I mentioned earlier.  It's fun to hear real life questions and get real life answers. 

Learning the differences like why women go to the restroom together, something men will never do - and if they did they would be weird- is not only funny but helps one to understand the opposite sex.





Lynn Nawata listens to Janelle Antonio explain male and female differences from the point of view of the youth.  She also shares ideas on how to date without compromising one's values, priorities and standards. 

Hu U proved that Youth and Young Adults can mix and have a great time together.






Jenn Feliciano as seen on the big screen explaining the importance of valuing one's self-image.  This young lady was full of wisdom when answering the questions about how to find Mr. Right?  How long does one wait?  Can women make the first move?




Finally it was time to pray.
Prayer is the most underestaimated weapon of the Christian.  Corporate prayer enhances this weapon a hundred times over.  There's something about praying in agreement - Jesus did say: “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. Pictures below show:  Pastors Robert, Paolo and my wife Marie praying for the gathering of young adults.

Saturday, April 26 - from 9 AM to 12:30 noon Moving From Me to We - Victory Fort's Marriage Seminar was a lot of fun and a very rewarding event.

The seminar is Victory Fort's  way of equipping families as well as serving the community. 




The seminar's theme was a car trip into future.  How to get to where our marriage should be going.   Designed for marriages that need a check-up, tune-up,  filler-up or even an overhaul.

Topics that were discussed included Vision - Unity - Communication - Intimacy, simply put - you can't get to where you're going if you don't even know where you're going.




Pastor Robert Hern  interviewing participants during the seminar's interactive moments. 

With him as MC the couples were treated to non-stop laughter.  Robert has the uncanny ability to make you laugh and then tell you what's wrong with your life.  More importantly he  shows you how God can fix it.




Here's one of the stations along the way.  That's me and my sweetie having our pictures taken after the sessions. 

The theme and design was  spearheaded by Pastor Bernard Marquez complimented by the team of pastors Jun Aguilar and Dennis Isleta who executed the event flawlessly.  Thanks guys you did a great job.  It always takes a team to pull off an excellent event.


Here's Pastor Paolo Punzalan with wife Jenn making a point.  These two did an awesome job explaining the value and importance of Unity and Communication in 2 separate sessions.  

Paolo is our church's Kid's Pastor and the Lead Pastor for our evening services at 5 and 7 PM.

Thanks Paolo and Jenn you guys were fantastic.



It's been a while since Marie and I have done a marriage thingee.  Over the years I have enjoyed sharing candidly our experiences of the last 25 years.  It's also a good time to remember and review.

Marriage is something you simply can't take for granted.  As a pastor, seminars like these force me to have a check up first before everyone else gets one.  I'm just so grateful to God for what I do.

Pictures
They were young and not so young.  Many were married, some about to get married, thinking of getting married or just wanting to know what marriage is all about.  They listened, talked, discussed, wrote, worked, laughed and cried. 

Kudos to everyone who came.  There's a lot you can do on a Saturday morning but the decision to take time out to better a marriage is an indicator of a desire to get to the next level.  For that I congratulate all the paricipants and thank all the leaders who invited and made the whole event a success.

With the news inundated with headlines exposing corruption and unfair play it is so easy to lose hope on honor and dignity.  Does it even exist?  Being in government is almost synonymous to unfair play and the abuse of position for personal gain.

Tonight my hope and faith in honor was not only rekindled but was inspired and strengthened.  All because of a birthday party held for a 75 year old Army General who is a member of Victory Fort.  That man is retired General Honesto Isleta.  Picture on the left is with his wife Pat, an equally amazing woman of strength, dignity and honor.

Genreal Isleta turned 75 years old today.  I watched a parade of men and women who not only spoke highly and affectionately about the general but testified to a life of service, humility, sacrifice, honor and dignity.  Picture on the left is with one of his grandsons (Joshua) admiring one of the gifts given to him.

There were too many pictures shown, too many citations, promotions and accolades to mention here.  But what stuck to me were the stories that many of his well wishers told about him.  From a younger brother who followed his footsteps and became a general himself, to in-laws, children, friends and colleagues.



If the General's name sounds familiar that's because he was one of the unsung heroes of the EDSA Revolution.  The one who convinced the surrounded leaders at Camp Crame to read and pray Psalm 91.  Heaven alone knows what could have happened to our country if this man had not insisted on prayer.



The most unforgettable  story  told this evening was told by former Armed Forces Chief Renato de Villa.  It happened in the 1968 when a strong earthquake rocked Manila and a building (the Ruby Tower) collapsed killing over 200 people. 

He shared how a bus load of young officers and soldiers were sent to help in the rescue mission.  Among them was young officer named Honesto Isleta.


In the course of the operation it was discovered that some of the walls of the building were inbedded with gold bars.  Come to think of it the weight of the bars may have had something to do with the building collapsing.  The young officer insisted on securing the recovered bars and made sure that every single one was surrendered to the proper authorities.  Hearing that  among the many stories of servanthood and everyday heroism was inspiring.  It pays to name your child Honesto. 


Add to that the fact that the good general is a great husband and father made the evening something worth blogging about.

For my part I can only testify to the humility exemplified by General Isleta.  He has served our church as an usher and disciple maker.  Unmindful of recognition, he sports a smile, exuding the coutesy of a gentleman and always had a warm greeting.  Most impressive are his 2 sons Chad (who is an officer the Philippine Military Academy) and Dennis (who is a colonel turned pastor).  Needless to say these fine men came from a good source.

When asked to say something about the General, this was my short story:  In 1984 (I was 26) I was invited to attend a class on spiritual living.  At the class in the Intercon Hotel in Makati I sat right behind my clasmate then Colonel Isleta.  I could tell that the  Colonel was not very happy at the start of the seminar.  Looking back I can't remember the reason why that was my impression. 

Towards the end of the seminar, an inivitation was given for the attendees to receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior.  I, in  my own arrogance and self-centeredness was oblivious to the offer being presented to me.  At the time I was remotely interested.

The next thing I saw was the fidgidity military man in front of me along with another man found themselves in front of the room humbly acknowledging their need for God and receiving Him  as their Lord and Savior.  I, on the other hand was not ready to do such a  thing.  While I did not recieve the Lord that day, I will always remember how the Colonel humbly offered his life to God.  It was a glaring testimony of simple humility and acknowldeging "I can't make life work, I need God".  A few weeks later I too would give my life to the Lord 24 years ago.

Happy Birthday General Isleta - You're a REAL HERO!!!
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.  Proverbs 22:1

About 2 months ago Steve Murrell was recounting his trip to Australia.  He told us about the leaders of COC (Christian Outreach Center) Australia.  COC is one of the largest church movements in Australia and has over a thousand churches worldwide.





Through a mutual friend of ours and COC's Pastor Sean Morris (on my right) Steve has connected with COC's leaders.  On my left is Pastor Mark Ramsey, Senior Pastor of COC's church in Brisbane, actually the city's largest church with 5,000 members.  Pastor Mark is also a member of the leadership team that oversees COC in Australia.

I have spent a whole day yesterday, this afternoon and evening with these 2 men and had more talks with them comparing startegies and learning from each other about church growth, missions, values and just a variety church matters relating to leadership, structures and many others.  More importantly the 2 subjects that are closest to my heart discipleship and prayer.

It was interesting to have met Pastor Mark.  One of my first questions to him was if he had any children and how old was his oldest.  His response was his oldest was 25, to which I responded "mine too".  Then I asked him how old he was and he said 50.  My response "born in 1957 - same year I was".  With 2 of those coincidences I finally asked "you wouldn't happen to have been born on May the 27th?"  His response "May 24". 

With so much in common (he also has 3 sons) and both pastoring growing churches we hit it off in a matter of minutes.  God always has surprises and this man happens to be one of them.  He is light, joyful and seemingly a man whom I will term "what you see is what you get" - another similarity. 

He does remind me of actor Edward Norton (right).  Mark (left) is kinda' like an older version of the actor.  That's how I will introdcue him tomorrow.  Filipinos just love it when guests look like their favorite Holywood actors.  It's like Steve Murrell who is known in this part of the world as Bruce Willis.


He preaches tomorrow at Victory Fort's 9 AM and 11 AM services.  Pastor Sean preaches at 5 PM and 7 PM.

Welcome to Manila Mark and Sean.  Sure enjoyed the last 2 days with you guys.  looking forward to your preaching tomorrow.

It's less than 10 days, 9 to be exact for Victory Fort's first batch of Leadership Group Events for 2008.  On April 26, Saturday two events will take place at the Every Nation building in Fort Bonifacio.

In the morning from 9 to 12 will be a newly fomatted marriage seminar entitled "Moving from Me to We".  This short series of 4 sessions is designed to give a fresh perspective on married life.

There are limited seats left.  Designed to help small group leaders find a venue to invite family and friends to a church event that will allow them to have a glimpse of God's Word and how it applies to practical daily life.

The other event takes place in the afternoon of the same day - the seminar is entitled:  "Hu U?" This unique event is designed for young adults who want to find purpose and destiny in life.  What makes the seminar unique is that it consists of a single session with joint men and women followed by break up groups = one of all men and the other of all women. 

Break out sessions will feature other young adults in an interview panel.  The panels will be composed of men and women in each break away session.  Can't wait to see how much fun this is going to be.  Unfortunately both events have limited seats only.  Please connect to the Fort's Multiply site if you want more info.

David our second son just celebrated his 24th birthday yesterday - April 11. 

Two weeks ago our youngest Joshua celebrated his 22nd brithday.  Days before his birthday Josh knew exactly how he would celebrate it.  He not only had a guest list  but had not just one but a succession of parties. 

David on the other hand when asked by his mother if he wanted to do anything for his birthday responded by saying - "I just want to sleep."
"Thank you Sonny and Joy de leon for the fantastic chocolate cake - we're still eating it - Sonny your room mate sure can bake."



But his mother would not have any of it.  She invited his friends to a surprise party - and since he wanted to sleep everybody had to come in their sleep wear complete with pillows and blankets. 

SURPRISE!!!  Here's the picture of the first batch of well wishers who snuck in the house to catch David unaware.  The rest trickled in.  Funny that Sonny and Dave had matching sleep outfits down to the slippers.  David was taken by surprise and was wearing his usual sleep stuff.

David is the family's businessman.  As far back as I can remember David as a boy would visit me at my office and had a keen interest on how the business worked.  He enjoyed walking around the factory and the warehouse and asked a lot of questions - this accounts for
why he just wants to sleep.



Here are a few of my favorite  David pictures:





















Top 3 little boy pictures:  (left) David riding small boat, he was probably 4 at the time, (center) his favorite smile pose (eyes closed) at 2, (extreme right) the kid who loved hanging out in his father's big bed, he always liked big stuff - big pillows, blankets and beds - come to think of it, this guy does love sleeping.


              D a v i d' s    A r t
































David is also one of the family's artist/painter(s) along with his mother.  See Exhibit of  David and Marie



He is also our resident pianist.  I love waking up in the morning listening to him enjoying quiet times playing classical pieces.
I think for a while he thought he was Beethoven - hence the hair.

The 4 paintings here are my personal favorites:

The greenfields at top was from his very early days as a young painter.

The second painting is entitled "Baseco:  A Patch of Grass" which was sold during the exhibit.
 
Next is "Flowers by the Ruins", which is currently hanging in our living room.  The last one I believe is his attempt at a self portrait. 

David also has a collection of pen and ink sketches which are quite fascinating.

Last picture of David posing as a Summo Wrestler at the church's fun day.


Happy Birthday Dave, love you much! 
(aren't you glad Mom didn't make you just sleep?)

A would be chef, a college graduate, a military colonel and an athlete - it's.........
a rare mix.

One of the roles of a pastoral team is to find, train, raise and empower other  pastors and leaders.  This is the key to expanding  the  ministry.

But unlike other vocations finding pastors is not quite as simple.  Here's why:  Pastoring is a calling (that's not to say that other  careers are not  one).  However, pastoring is not always as obvious as when one is called to be a teacher, doctor, businessman or even a full time parent.

Jesus went up on a mountainside called to him those he wanted and they came to him.  Mark 3:13

The tricky thing is not everyone He calls come, usually for a variety of reasons.

Pastoring is hard work (see What Exactly Does A Pastor Do....?) it is not a glamorous job (though very fulfilling) and does not hold a promise of great monetary gains.  It is easy to be misunderstood as someone who has nothing better to do with one's life and ministry is the only option.  This is obviously a very short sighted view common to the uninformed.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak weak things of the world to shame the strong.  1 Corinthians 1:27

Then there's the essential matter of character and having a healthy marriage not to mention the right attitude of servanthood, humility and discipline.  This is a rare mix that's hard to find.  In the past year our church Victory Fort has been blessed with 4 men who have been called into ministry and have responded.

It takes a rare mix of gifts, calling, character and attitude and these men have it.

The picture above shows from L to R:  Pat Lee, Gabby Vargas, me, Dennis Isleta and Rob Johnson.


Patrick (Pat for short) has been a long time member of the church.  He has been trained in culinary arts but was really more a businessman.  Pat and wife Yelly have always sensed a call to full time ministry.  While doing  business Patrick and was part of the team that planted our church in General Santos in Mindanao.  Pat has served the church as a disciple maker even in his days as businessman.  He is an excellent Bible teacher.  His heart is for the down trodden and the poor. 




I have known Gaby since he was a student.  Gabby is the epitome of servant leadership with every act done with a smile.  A hard worker who makes it all look like fun.  His ability to connect with the youth and engage them makes him a unique minister.  I was so proud to have the privilege of donning him his special medal from  School of World Missions.


The third man in the picture is Dennis Isleta.  A former Colonel of the Philippine Army, Dennis is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, has a Masters Degree in Mass Communications from the University of the Philippines, specialized training and degrees from the National Defense University in Washington DC and Fort Bragg on Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs.  A father of 2, a weapons expert and a marksman.  Dennis bagged most of the awards including the most prestigous ones during the graduation ceremonies.


Finally, we have Rob Johnson.  Rob is a FilAm, short for Filipino American.  He has a degree in Sports Management from Bellevue University.  In 2003 Rob came to Manila to play basketball for the PBA and played for Ginebra, Purefoods and  Alaska.  While in Manila Rob met his wife Sam and in time  sensed a call to full time minsitry and as they say the rest is history.  Rob is our resident teddy bear - he just loves people and people love him.  Amazingly comfortable in Forbes Park as he is equally at home in Smokey Mountain. 


Well there you have it - an even rarer mix is having this rare mix of men in one church.  These four men just garduated from the Every Nation Leadership Insitute's School of World Missio