PADAYON KATIPAN: A call to revival

This is the title  of  my new blog that  focuses on the Convention Baptist Ministers Association and Convention of  Philippine Baptist Churches. Two religious organizations that have been instrumental in the development of my spirituality.  My engagement in the leadership of  these organizations could had  been very productive, were it not interrupted by  chronic heart ailment that constrained my active life of service, some years ago.  Most of my time was spent at home due to limited mobility, making me vulnerable to discouragement and depression.

But such  critical condition  turned out to be a blessing in disguise for many reasons. One is my baptism  to  the wonders of  blogging world, courtesy of a pastor friend.  Starting as  therapy, blogging became a ministry.   I poured out my thoughts and emotion into the blogs and found relief. Even my suppressed commitment to the service of the people both in churches and communities were ventilated .

I succeeded to create 5  personal blogs and  3 official web sites of the organizations my wife and I helped put up.  However, my hectic schedule, especially when I resumed my work at Central Philippine University constrained me to update all my blogs. It was  good that the recent  Christmas break  gave  me time to visit my blogs, review and evaluate them.

Born on  Christmas eve of 2012,   this blog will recall successful activities in the past, analyze and make commentaries on the trends and issues in both organizations. In this way, we can refresh ourselves, remind the current officers and guide the future leaders of our organizations of the struggles we have and the covenant to keep. The alarming trend in both religious organizations has inspired me to create this  blog. May other readers learn from our experiences and find inspiration to guide them in their respective struggles.

The two Ilonggo words PADAYON (keep up/to continue)  KATIPAN (covenant) became a slogan during  my six years of service as president of the Convention Baptist Ministers Association (CBMA). The best years I have ever given to a particular cause in my lifetime. Years that witnessed the commitment and dedication surpassing my other endeavors, paid or likewise voluntary in nature. Padayon Katipan may mean keeping the covenant.

The author acknowledges the CBMA officers and board of trustees
during  his  last State of the Association Address culminating
his six years of service as president in January 2010.

PADAYON was first used on January 2009 during the closure of our annual national assembly. Inspired by the overwhelming responses of pastors to the CBMA leadership and governance, as well as the advocacies on changes in the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches politics, systems and governance, I was looking for a punch line/ clincher to sustain the momentum in delivering the concluding remarks.

Then came the message from my Ihado (wedding godson), when the worship leader innovatively asked the participants to write on piece of paper a message to particular person of choice. All of the notes I received have common message of encouragement to “keep up the good work.” My ihado gave me a note with one word which captured all other messages. Subsequently, I used it to officially close the National Convention of CBMA: PADAYON

KATIPAN, on the other hand, became the campaign slogan in the construction of a Session Hall at Camp Higher Ground to accommodate the participants for the CBMA National Assembly on January 2006. It was the name given to the hall, when completed after some years of struggle. It bespeaks of the realization of collective faith and action (Katumanan sang Tingob nga Pagtoo kag binuhatan).

Katipan sums up our victory in reclaiming the spiritual heritage of the Camp Higher Ground as icon of serenity, spirituality and renewal. Later, Katipan has become a symbol of unity and success.It has even galvanized our relationship bringing our association to the door step of the leadership and politics in Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches.

When used in 2010 during my swan song to culminate my 6 years service, PADAYON KATIPAN has twofold purpose. It was both a recognition of our collective success and a reminder to stay true to our covenant. I thought that was the last time I would be using the two words, cognizant of the end of my term and my very critical health condition at that time.

But God has been kind and gracious. He extended my life. A year after, the magic words served as the title of my open letter for Baptist Pastors published on Pahayag, official publication of the Convention Baptist Ministers Association, January- March 2011 edition. It was sort of a reminder. Excerpt of which states: “The collective faith and action must be uphold in order to sustain the unprecedented success, the changes, the development in our association. The moment we cease to keep  the covenant, we will be condemned to repeat the past.”

True Service

Last Friday, I had the privilege of being the speaker of the First Commencement Exercise of the Negros Theology Seminary (NETS). Despite my health condition, the administrators requested for a recorded video message. Most of the administrators and faculty were former students in the Master of Socio Pastoral Ministries.

Let me share the main points to the readers. The scriptural basis for the message, as requested, was Luke 5: 1-11. Using the acronym of the seminary -NETS, I have organized my points in the context of the story, as follows:

Needs

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.

The first two verses present the needs of people and Jesus, as well as that of the fishermen. Jesus needs a pulpit to satisfy the cravings of the people for God’s words. In finding a boat, Jesus ably meet the needs both of the people and the owner of the resources. For Jesus also knows the needs of Simon and company. He understands that Peter and his coworkers are capable of bringing in a huge catch. But the problem is that they are absolutely convinced nothing is there to catch, having spent the whole night.There’s a need to overcome their pride.

Encounter

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

Such is the encounter of Jesus with the veteran fishermen. After the paradigm shift of using the boat as pulpit, Jesus moves on to the next level of change. In the guise of gratitude for the favor, he encouraged Simon to resume fishing for a compensated catch. With reservation grounded on experience and expertise, Simon dared to risk another attempt. Surprisingly, the cycle has been broken by such paradigm shift. An overwhelming catch rocked their boats.

Transformation

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

Humbled by the encounter, the veteran fisherman bowed to the carpenter’s son. It is safe to presume that Simon might have under estimated Jesus. A transformation takes place in Simon’s heart. But it was just a prelude of the real transformation in the lives of the fishermen. Thereafter they become fishers of men.

Service
11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

This seals off the transformation process. Instead of savoring the gains of their catch, they forsake all and follow Jesus. Rather than advancing their needs and interests, they serve the interests of Christ – advancing the Kingdom of God.

True service is a by- product of transformation, resulting from a personal encounter with the One who knows our needs.

Lord’s Prayer: Prayer for Development

The breaker in the previous blog was a prelude to the transfer of related posts from my other sites. Integrating my pastoral studies with learnings from social work, I discovered that the model prayer taught by Jesus the Christ is essentially a prayer for development. That is, when we analyze the Lord’s Prayer according to the three core values of development.

Michael Todaro identifies the trilogy as life sustenance, self esteem and freedom from servitude. Life Sustenance connotes the ability to provide basic necessities. A basic function of all economic activity, therefore, is to provide as many people as possible with the means of overcoming the helplessness and misery arising from lack of food, shelter, health, and protection.

Self Esteem implies being a person with a sense of self-worth and self-respect, of not being used by others for their own needs. All people and societies seek some basic form of self-esteem. Call it by other name, authenticity, identity, dignity, respect, honor or recognition, the essence is still the same. Its nature and form may vary from society, and from one culture to another.

Freedom from Servitude, on the other hand, means the ability to choose. This refers to the fundamental sense of freedom or emancipation from alienating conditions of life. It covers freedom from the societal servitude of men to nature, ignorance, other men, misery, institutions, and dogmatic beliefs. Freedom also involves the expanded range of choices and their members together with the minimization of external constraint in the pursuit of some of social goals, which we call ‘development’.

Let us now relate these values to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:7-13, as referred to traditionally. Although, in the biblical context, the real Lord’s Prayer is found in John 17. The prayer in the gospel of Matthew is a standard prayer, a model prayer. It has two parts which summarize the commandments and reflect the model of relationship. In a way, it speaks of the spirituality which Jesus taught – personal and social, collective or communal spirituality.

The First Part pertains to our Relationship with God: "Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven". Take note of the use of plural words in the prayer: our, we, us. It reveals the inclusiveness of Jesus as against the exclusivist attitude which he abhors. He wants us to be generous, not selfish.

The second part is model of relationship with humanity which comprises the three core values of development. "Give us this day our daily bread". Bread represents basic necessities in life akin to life sustenance.

"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". Students of the bible interpret this as literal debt or sin. Either way, the implication is self-esteem. Sin or debt decreases a person’s sense of worth. Asking forgiveness or forgiving others restore one’s self-esteem.

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil". Deliverance connotes freedom. Yielding to temptation is a prelude to enslavement to any form of evil. This evil manifests in both personal manner and societal structures.

Why can’t I move mountains?

My sickness has given me sufficient time to rest, pray, meditate, read the bible, reflect and, of course, blog. All the wonderful experiences my previous hectic schedule deprived me. I find inspiration from these, which subsequently strengthen my faith. Inner renewal takes place in my life, almost every day.

During the critical period, when bed ridden, the bible became my constant companion. It continues to be, giving new insights and inspiration, no matter how many times I go over books, chapters and verses. Literally or symbolically, the scripture provides me relief, guidance, assurance, and strength.

I cannot count the frequency of revisiting the Gospel. So much so, at times, I found myself on the actual scene of the encounters of Jesus with harsh realities of life. It was not difficult for me to realize his frustration with established, exclusivist religious structure and leadership and the skirmishes that follow. Likewise, the consequent effect of stirring the hornet of exploitative system which takes its toll on his life and ministry. I understand the jubilation of his followers and the tensions created by the triumphant entry leading to his crucifixion. The inevitable price of standing for the way, the truth and the life. I can easily identify with his concern for the poor, the deprived, the oppressed. My social work experience and involvement in the people’s struggle during the dark years of dictatorial rule in our country made me sensitive to the situation.

I tried to literally follow his teachings on forgiveness, loving one’s enemies. Though difficult at first, I enjoyed its soothing effect to my soul. Even his teaching on refraining from worries about the cares of the world including the daily needs is feasible. Although not all the expected provision came, I continued to follow his teachings literally. Whereas before, skipping daily maintenance due to lack of resources made me panic. Now, I take it as part of my healing process. Of course, at times my heart complains when deprived for weeks of the medicine. But I have to assure it that all things will work together for good until I can find means to purchase the tablet.

Yes, I can attest that the teachings of Jesus are relevant, feasible and worthwhile. But I stumbled on some things. Foremost, is his teachings on faith on Mark 11:22-24: "Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Many times I tried but failed. I could not even move my health condition into another level, no matter how I applied suggestions on the power of faith or mind or a combination of both. Still I know the promise stands true. Meanwhile, I find refuge on the belief that the fullness of time will soon come. The delay is part of God’s preparation for future ministry.

KATIPAN Hall: Monument of Gains in Networking

Early this morning I received blogging tips from Pastor Jonan Castillon. He is the pastor-friend I mentioned earlier who advised and taught me to open a blog. Enjoying now the benefits of on-line writing, he is willing to share his talent to pastors for free. Tentatively, we have scheduled a hands-on training for pastors on April 27, 2011.

Learning Institute for the Fullness of life and Empowerment (LIFE) will coordinate this activity. LIFE is a voluntary organization of pastors, social workers, educators and other professionals which was organized after my term in CBMA. Purposely, it will continue the commitment to serve the pastors beyond our term in the association. Interested pastors in Iloilo may contact this blog. You can also visit Pastor Jonan’s site.

Following an expert advice, starting today, this blog comes out every Thursday, Sunday, and Tuesday to avoid information overload. A journal of faith journey, it attempts to inspire readers to continue the commitment in service in respective fields no matter what. This is a forerunner of my dream book, PADAYON: Our life journey.

Padayon is an Ilonggo term which means continue. In deeper sense, it connotes moving/going on (or never give up) despite adversaries or adversities.PADAYON serves as framework or acrostic of my life’s experiences and the lessons learned from life. This blog deals each area or sub topic accordingly. The series of posts on Gains and Pains in Serving the Pastors is a representation of the second letter in PADAYON, i.e., Antipodes. After three more posts, discussion will focus on the third topic – Doing God’s Will is dangerous to your health.

Previous blogs mentioned the role of KATIPAN Hall in reclaiming the spiritual heritage of the Camp Higher Ground as icon of serenity, spirituality and renewal. Katipan is an Ilonggo term for Covenant. In the CBMA context it means Katuman sang Tingob nga Pagsalig kag Binuhatan (realization of something through collective faith and action.

Never did it occur in our wildest dream that our association would engage in an infrastructure project. More so, under my term as president. My social work orientation and past organizing experience taught me to be people-centered in approach to development. However, circumstances led us to this new challenge.

It started from an invitation of the Pastors’ Kids (PK) Association to hold our National Assembly at Camp Higher Ground in 2006 for free. At that time, they were starting to develop the Camp after the mandate to manage this neglected treasure of our Convention. Few months later, the Convention leadership retracted, forcing the PK to cancel its goodwill.

Having set our preparation on the venue, our Association decided to take matters in our hands. With the projected cost within our reach, we undertook the project. Only to found out later, there was an overly underestimation of the cost. Upon expert advice, we opted to improve the design with permanent materials due to susceptibility of the area to termites. Exhausting our own resources, we engaged in various fund campaign and use our network, both personal and organizational. Concerts, dinner for a cause, solicitation, loans were but a few of the strategies we undertook.

Soon, we got the support of auxiliary organizations in our Convention, as well as related institutions and Kasapulanans. Our NGO network was also tapped, as well as linkages with the government officials the city and province of Iloilo. Later, independent foundation and network of our pastors abroad assisted us. The rest is history. After fours year, the collective faith and action was realized. The Katipan Hall was finished- a monument of gains in networking.

EDSA Revolution: A shift in my direction

I have never shared this experience in public to keep the mystery of my past involvement in pre EDSA struggles in the local scene. Likewise, to protect the bond we had established especially during those trying moments after the EDSA euphoria and political enmity resumed once more in the Cory government.

As part of my commitment to the “learn- from- life” ministry, I am doing my share in the learning process. Hope the younger generation including my children will value the contribution of church people in solidarity with the struggling masses. Three decades are more than enough to hoard the riches of experiences and valuable lessons of the past.

Yes, Protestant Christians, or should I say Baptists, were participants in the struggle, too. Some of our youth and pastors who dared to brave the “darkest nights” were gone without seeing the dawn. Their contribution was never documented, neither appreciated by the Baptist community. Others continue to live with the stigma of the haunting past.

Unlike others, we were not there in EDSA to experience the birth pangs of restored democracy and jubilation in winning the battle. But we were with the group of peasants, workers, student activists holed in Sta. Teresita Church, Iloilo City for some days. At that time, there was a stalemate in constant clashes between rallyists and government troops. Cornered, the former found refuge in the church and started to appeal for help from middle forces. I was among those who responded, representing the church sector. Bringing blankets, food contributed by seminarians, pastors, church members, and some CPU students and faculty, I was not able to leave the place due to security risks brought about by heightened tension. There, we served as negotiators, peace keepers, counselors, planners for the ecumenical services and prayers, advocates to get more support to sustain the needs.

My political conversion took place some years earlier while doing pastoral ministry to political detainees in Camp Delgado. Raised up in seemingly apolitical environment, my primary motivation was to witness for Christ. I remembered even entertaining a wild dream at that time to serve as chaplain of the NPA, if that was the will of God. Ironically, I found myself converted to their commitment, dedication, courage and strong resolve in the service of people. I felt humbled to think that these people who were not so much concerned about their faith in God or the lack of it have this kind of love to the least of Christ’s brothers and sisters. Unlike us we who confessed and professed to be followers of Christ but failed to put such faith into practice.

Thereafter, I became interested in studying Philippine realities, attending symposium, forum on human rights, joining prayer rallies, organizing seminarians and pastors. At times, I enrolled part-time in the seminary to have more time doing volunteer work in church-related organizations. In 1984, with only one semester left before graduation, I decided to work full time doing solidarity work during the intensification of the people’s struggle.

After the historic EDSA '86, I decided to go back to the seminary to resume my studies. It was then that I realized the price I had to pay. For technical reason my return to the seminary was disallowed. Upon our dean’s advise, I shifted to social work and return to the seminary upon compliance of the requirements. My first year was sort of a test on how to survive the isolation from Christian community because of past experiences and the trauma attached to my involvement. With the help of my family and my beloved and the support of significant people, I finished my BSSW degree and employed in the University. As such, I was able to complete my B.Th degree. Gradually, I recovered from the isolation and was given more opportunities including masteral study at UP Diliman. It was also within those period that a major split and bloody rift among former comrades began to intensify. Having no group to choose, I tried to find other means to continue my commitment to serve the people. Hence, the shift in my direction.