Articles

A while back, I mused here on the blog on the question: “Should we abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan” That was probably three years ago. Now that we are about to elect our barangay officials and SK officials in October, a lot of people are now asking if we should really abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan. In my blog post, I highlighted the following statement:

Like it or not, the SK is here to stay (at least for another three years if those who want to abolish it have their way)! If you or somebody you know wins in the SK elections, help them! How?

It seems that National Youth Commission Assistant Secretary Percival Cendaña has some answer to that. In an interview in ANC’s Headstart, Cendaña highlighted the following reforms that should be instituted:

Change the age of SK voters from 15-18 years old to 15-21 years old.

SK officials to be elected should be at least 18 years old. This makes sense, since only those who are at least 18 years can officially enter into contracts.

Young leaders should be held liable for the funds they use and how they perform in office. By being held liable, they will be subject to accountability and this may deter them to start early in preventing corruption.

You can watch the Video interview here.

Being on the Road, Fatherhood, and Setting Priorities on the road again. Last week, I was at the YMCA Retreat Center at Estes Park, Colorado, USA for the annual meeting of the Division on Ministries with Young People, the organization I work with.

I had a chance to see the majestic Rocky Mountains of Colorado and even posed for a picture at the Continental Divide of Northern America. Saw some deer, elk, prairie dogs, and wild hare. Too bad, I didn’t see the bear that shook the trash can on our first night there.

Continue reading “Being on the Road, Fatherhood, and Setting Priorities”

A lot of people often post their rants, complaints, and beef against someone, or against the world in general, on their Social Media profiles. For all the world to see. Some of them could easily earn the Drama King or Queen Award on Facebook.

Some of my friends are also fond of ‘Instagramming’, posting photos of their food, whether savory or not; of the heavy traffic, some random cuteness, selfies, pics of their babies or whole families. I know of a friend whose Facebook timeline mainly contains pics of her growing baby.

One particular friend also loves to check into all the places he goes to–the office, Starbucks, a store in the mall, and his apartment, which he refers to as his Castle on Foursquare.

Hyperconnected

In this hyperconnected, always on world, we have become the star of our own Reality TV Show, except that we’re not on TV, but on the Social Networks we inhabit. Oh wait, yeah, there’s YouTube and the scores of silly videos we upload, right?

(By the way, studies in the US found out that Social Media can make us envious of our friends and less satisfied with our own lives.)

At some point, I was also caught up in the craziness of Facebook. I posted about the Pinakbet I’m eating, the places I’m going to, plus the occasional complaints about utilities and other services. But when the novelty wore off, I found myself reverting back to normal and hesitation to post about my personal life set in. Continue reading “Authenticity, Blogging, Social Media & (Christian) Living”

Text: John 21:1-19

Introduction

Have you ever been to a Worship service that’s not United Methodist? Ecumenical? How about one of those CF’s: VCF, CCF, GCF?

Try attending one worship service at CCF in Ortigas or pretty much any VCF in Metro Manila, and I bet that you could see 3 or 5 Methodist young people in attendance.

Or, probably, try watching the Social Media accounts of our young people, and you’ll see them Checking In and talking about the worship services at any of these “new” and very dynamic churches.

I grew up a United Methodist. I was probably singing in the choir already when I was still in my Mother’s Womb. Attended Sunday School, and ditched several episodes of Voltes V. I attended School for Christian Youth Development for three years, and since 1993, I’ve been a regular delegate of Christmas Institutes, except for about 3 years of College, where I grew my hair long, listened to screaming metal music, and tried to make sense of my faith, my life.

Right off the bat I could say that the United Methodist Church has a solid Children’s ministry and an awesome youth ministry which produces leaders in the church and in the society. But after that period of involvement with the UM Youth Fellowship, something happens.

Either there’s a hunger among young professionals/young adults we can’t address or their commitment to church gets buried in an avalanche of new experiences, new experiences, and ‘new’ expressions of faith.

And yes, I confess, I attend Bread of Life Crossroads 77 occasionally, when I feel like it.

What do they have that we don’t? Why are they able to attract more people while we seem to be floundering, declining, even?

Or maybe, those are not the right questions to ask at all? Continue reading “Fish on the Other Side of the Boat: Message at Las Pinas UMC”

The Philippines Central Conference, the highest decision-making body of the United Methodist Church in the country, will meet on December 11-17, 2012 at Bayombong United Methodist Church, Nueva Vizcaya.

For most people, especially those who have become cynical with the “political” process in the church, the Central Conference will be a battlefield with several groups vying for important positions and policy decisions. A lot of young people will attend the Central Conference this time, and if they saw this “political” process, they may grow disillusioned, similar to the reaction of many people to the General Conference last April.

For most hopeful Filipino Methodists, however, it will be a time of discernment and prayer for many things–the election of new bishops, setting ministry directions for another four years, and the healing of conflicts and strife. The UMC in the Philippines went through some harrowing conflict and a split, too, in the past two years or so. Thankfully, the ReviveUMC movement held a Grand Revival Gathering on November 30 to pray for healing and unity in the Philippine United Methodist Church. Continue reading “My Prayers and Hopes for the United Methodist Church in the Philippines”

Youth Culture keeps changing. Those of us who grew up in the 1990s fondly remember the music of Eraserheads, Alamid, Introvoys, Rivermaya, and yes, Parokya ni Edgar. It was the explosion of Filipino alternative bands! But the music of the 90s usually contained socially relevant lyrics. Magasin by Eraserheads criticized the prevailing smut and porn in tabloids. Huling El Bimbo, also by Eraserheads, talked about the loss of innocence and being caught in the “madili na eskinita” of various social issues. Parokya ni Edgar’s Buloy tackled the important issue of suicide. Agaw Agimat in Wanli Teltu criticized the lack of family planning and the population explosion in the country.

In the past two decades, the Internet rose in popularity, and the popularity of radio dwindled. CDs became obsolete and MP3 players became the norm. And so, I could say that alternative music, both in form and content, ceased to impact the vast majority of Filipino young people. Continue reading “Five Media Personalities Influencing the Filipino Youth Today”

HIV & AIDS seems to be a distant problem, which happens in other countries. But surprisingly, HIV and AIDS is a growing problem in the Philippines!

A total of 316 new HIV cases had been recorded last September. That was only for a month! For January to September 2012, the total number of HIV cases is 2,466! This number are only the reported ones! Some cases might be undetected and unreported, too!

According to a news reported by Manila Bulletin online:

2,355 out of the 2,466 [HIV] cases were males and the 20 to 29 year old age group had the most number of cases for 2012.

“For the male age group, the most number of cases were found among the 20-24 years old (15 cases), 25-29 years old, (26 cases), and 30-34 years old (18 cases),” the Philippine HIV/AIDS registry said.

What’s more alarming is the age group of those who have contracted the virus. They are in the 20-29 year old age group!

Young Filipinos who are in their twenties are in the most danger! Why is this? What trends make this danger all the more palpable? Continue reading “HIV / AIDS a Growing Problem in the Philippines”

Ni: Joy Eva Bohol

“Do you have a boyfriend?” If you’re answer is NO, the follow up question is, “Why?” And the thread of questions and advises go on. I have been asked with these questions from the moment I turned 16 years old. And I am still dealing with it!

For several years of redirecting people from asking me those repetitive questions, I finally devised a not-so-perfect but smothering answer—“Bawal ma-in love ang superhero dahil kahinaan niya yun! (Love interest is the greatest weakness of a superhero!)” And the teasing stops (it works!).

Three days ago, I had a Smallville Season 10 marathon. Smallville highlights Superman’s life as Clark Kent. It narrates in details his life as a young boy, growing up in a normal community and raised by normal human parents. It describes his struggles in keeping his loved ones from danger and overcoming his weaknesses to be the superhero he was destined to be (before he was called Superman).

All people close to Clark Kent were put to danger. They became targets of the villains who are trying to defeat him. His friends, family, and love interest were subjects of finding Clark’s weakness. Clark tried to stay away from them, even if it means breaking their hearts for their own safety, yet these people whom he shared his life with, insisted to stay.

Martha Kent, Clark’s human mother, said in one of the episodes, “Clark, when we accepted you in our lives, we also committed to stay with you and protect you even if it means our lives.” Continue reading “Bawal ma-in love ang superhero”

Earlier today, I posted a question on my Facebook wall about young people looking for new ways to express their faith. It kind piqued the interest of some young adult friends. Here’s what I posted:

How many of the young people in the mega-churches / new Christian groups / emerging churches came from mainline denominations?

Just some random reflections: Maybe young people are looking for new ways to experience faith;

or better connection with other young people in the same journey;

or a more relevant approach to / presentation of the gospel;

and they feel limited by the hundreds (or thousands) of years worth of tradition in the mainline denominations.

Maybe it’s the ministry “innovation” part that drives youth to new groups and new expressions of faith.

maybe…

And here’s the reaction from several friends: Continue reading “Why Young People Leave the (Mainline) Church”