Sunday, January 08, 2006

A TOTAL WORLD PERSPECTIVE

A
TOTAL WORLD PERSPECTIVE
FOR THE UNIDA CHURCH
IN THE FACE OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM
AND THE 21ST CENTURY
By Rev. Gamaliel B. Filio


PROLOGUE
VISION is a burden to the leadership. But to a Church, it is the sign that it is ALIVE.

The problem with vision is that it is, often times, so hard to understand and to accept in the present time. For it speaks of a future that cannot be immediately perceived, much less be completely understood.
Because people can only feel a sense of urgency about something that presently stares at them face to face, and it is mostly on this that they are forced to act or react. When one thing happens, they react to it. When an innovation is introduced, they either imitate or denounce it. It is something that they consider urgent because it is staring at them on the up-front.
But acting or reacting on things that some visionaries say are bound to happen, and therefore cannot be seen nor felt at the present time, just do not command such urgent attention. This is human nature. But there are times when we have to veer away from the way things are usually conceptualized, done, executed or implemented. The Church must have vision. Simply because it is spiritual and not physical as a whole.
And to enable it to do this, the Church must have a total perspective of the world around it. A world that is constantly changing (progressing?) and is always trying to shake the Church away from its moorings. But the Church must not be moved.

PERSPECTIVE
The world that Jesus Christ referred to when He said, “Go ye therefore into the world…” is now a totally different world. The Great Commission that Christ gave has never changed and will never change, but the world which is the target of the message of the Saving Grace of the Lord has turned over several thousand times.
Are we saying that Christian perspective must change? No. But it has to be widened, considerably expanded, to the extent that the Church’s work can cover the total world perspective. WE MUST EXPAND THE BORDERS OF THE WORK OF THE CHURCH.

UNIDA TARGET
We should therefore be:
· A Church that answers the needs and stands up to the challenge of a Technology & Communication-Driven World.
· A Church that always emerges victorious in the marketplace of ideas and faith.
· A Church that can identify the current “battleground” for the souls of men and become relevant in it
· A Church that can withstand the onslaught of the winds of change.

THE CHANGING VIEW OF THE WORLD
The Old World. When Christ said “Go ye into the world…”, he was referring to the WHOLE round WORLD and the universe around it. But the limited knowledge of the people He was talking to prevented them from understanding the total width and breadth of that world. Because to them the world was a FLAT area consisting of only the places they have seen or heard of and traveling beyond the flat area is unimaginable because they will fall into limbo. This is the limit of the their perspective of the world at the time.

The New World. Copernicus came, followed by Galileo and they found out through scientific studies that the earth is round. People soon traveled by ocean-going ships beyond the flat area and did not fall into limbo and they proved that the world is bigger than they thought; and it is round. They also found countries and people beyond the horizon and they called these places the New World. They found out how big the world was. Columbus soon discovered America, Marco Polo went to China, and Magellan discovered that there are people in the islands later called Filipinas after King Felipe of Spain. During these times people traveled by horseback and in groups by horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches.

The Present World. If the world became bigger in the New World. It began to become smaller, to shrink by means of advances in science and inventions. Henry Ford invented the horseless carriage, the automobile or Car, and later the Wright brothers invented the airplane and the world was on its way. Soon, air travel became ordinary and the whole world became accessible and reachable. Radio, telegraph, television, satellite signals, cable TV, the Internet converted the whole world into a global village, making every nook and corner of the world within reach.

The Virtual World. The previous three worlds discussed are physical. The fourth is not. It is in the world but it has no geographical location. Advances made by man in science and most especially in Information & Communication Technology has created a virtual world not apart from the physical one but very much distinct from it. It has its own language and is capable of fast communication that can reach every nook of the earth in volume and speed beyond our imagination. The FUTURE is indeed here already. Take note of the world millennium celebration that was broadcast and telecast simultaneously in every country around the world. And this makes one wonder: what about a simultaneous broadcast and telecast of the message of the Saving Grace of the Lord?

A MAJOR CONCERN:
TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNICATION

BUT are our pastors and workers ready to face a Technology & Communication-Driven World, or do we all really understand our TOTAL WORLD, which is both physical and virtual and its relationship with our SPIRITUAL WORLD?
The answer is a big fat NO. Is this an indictment of the Unida Church? No, not Unida alone but the whole fellowship of believers in the Philippines. We are all not ready.
The Christian Churches are now in radio and television communicating the gospel to the people. Through this the Christian Presence is established in the visibly most effective means of bringing and selling a message or information to the people. But with the coming of the future, the present is revised. For the present and the future is forged together in the Virtual World created by Information & Communication Technology. And here there is no clear Filipino Christian Presence yet.
I definitely cannot think for the whole Christian fellowship of believers, but being one of the Generales, I can think for the Unida Church.
The Unida Church must pioneer the establishment of the Christian Presence in NETRADIO and NETTV and must fully use the communication & information venues of the INTERNET.

OUR NEXT CONCERN:
THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS AND FAITH
We are sure about our faith. We are sure about the God that we serve. We are sure about our salvation.
Let us put ourselves to the test by being in the marketplace of IDEAS and FAITH through the present Information & Communication Technology. The faith of our forefathers, our original “mga pangulong tagapaglingkod ng iglesia Unida”, withstood the test of time and new ideas and ideologies. We believe that we, too, can fight the good fight in our physical and virtual world so that the Kingdom of God will prevail.
But we must prepare ourselves.

OUR THIRD CONCERN:
THE CURRENT BATTLEGROUND

The new battleground is the virtual world created by the Information & Communication Technology.
Some are saying that computers are satanic and therefore we should not use it, much less touch it. They are partly correct because the minions of satan are using it to purvey false teachings and satan worship. But it is precisely because of this that we should be there to counter them by answering with the Word of God. If we don’t we will lose by default and we will answer to God.

OUR FOURTH CONCERN:
THE WINDS OF CHANGE

The winds of change is upon us. I have discussed this in another article and so I will not elaborate on this here. Let it suffice that I quote the words of a non-christian whose teaching of non-violence is so Christian, Mahatma Ghandi:
“Let us open our windows so that the winds of beliefs and faith of other cultures can freely flow in and out of our house, but never permit these strong winds to blow our house down.”

OUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITY:
AN UNBLEMISHED CHURCH

“…..even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27

WE HAVE presented a total world perspective that challenges the wisdom, strength, preparedness, and faith of Christians today. The first inclination is for us to retreat into our Christian shell and let this world pass by. But if we do this a lot of souls will be left unsaved and this the Lord does not want. Because when He comes for the second time, we must present to Him a glorious Church that is without blemish. Christians must not run away from their responsibility. But the time to do it is now. LET US DO IT!