Philippines Annual Conference East of the United Methodist Church

Delivered by Mr. Emilio I. Cruz
PACE Lay Leader
(Note: Reproduced as is.)
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Beloved Bishop Solito Toquero, District Superintendent DS Ruben Letana, DS Bong Domingo, DS Lito Tangonan, fellow delegates, brothers and sisters.
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This is my fourth and final laity address, final for I am not seeking another term, for there are more qualified and very much willing people who are ready to serve in our conference. I wish to express my gratitude to the members who helped me in my capacity as Conference Lay Leader. Thank you and God be with you always.
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I entitled my address: “The Great Commission, The Great Challenge.” Where does God want us to go? What is our mission in the future?
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I am now raising these questions: What has been the result of Methodism after more than 100 years in our country? Are we a movement or a monument? What was Jesus’ intention when he told, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation.” “Go and make disciples of all nations.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be my witness, there and beyond, to the ends of the earth.”
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I hope that in all parts of the country where Methodism is, I believe we are called to be a movement of the Spirit that goes on and not a movement which is stagnant, motionless unless it is carried that goes nowhere and most of the time it becomes an obstruction. Monuments are to be left behind, but, we Methodist should move forward. It is not how far we have come that matters, but how far more to go.
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If we analyze how Christian movement began, we can find that the Holy Spirit came upon them moving them to have a spirit of togetherness in prayer, in anticipation, in readiness and in obedience. At the upper room they were changed before going out to change the world. Such was an awe-inspiring change resulting from passivity to activity, from cowardice to courage, from sitting back to standing position, from paralysis to power, from fear to faith. The coming of the Holy Spirit transformed the disciples. This should be our vision now, that we, like the disciples, may be filled with the Holy Spirit, imbued with power from on high and transformed inside out so that we may turn our nation upside down.
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Prayer can do anything God can do. The greatest thing we can do in the course of time together is to give ourselves totally to ceaseless prayer for our mission.
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As a Methodist, as a movement, we are challenged by the Holy Spirit in some areas in our life:
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Authenticity – which raises the questions of unity, holiness and universality in form and solidarity in function without compromise.
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Credibility – which speaks on how the church stands before the Lord. Is the church believable and trustworthy? Is it true that Christ is the answer? Is there power in the blood of Jesus Christ?
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Integrity – which points the question on how the church stands before the Lord. Biblical standard of ethics and morality in such areas as justice, sex, honesty and hard work under severe trials.
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Relevance – which asks, are we scratching where the people [are] itching? Are we answering their questions? Are we facing people with focus so they [are] convicted of their sins, repent and be saved.
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Fidelity – which asks, can we, as Methodist, remain loyal, fruitful and true to the word and to our Lord Jesus Christ.
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These challenges are tremendous and many Christians feel that these challenges could never be overcome, let the Lord tell us the following in order to be his movements, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
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As a church, we must not lose our vision of who we are and what we are all about. If we lose sight of our identity, we shall be like the man who went hunting for an elephant with his spear. He followed the footprints closely and his tracks, an antelope suddenly jumped. The man got so excited, he began running after the antelope. He was chasing the antelope when a rabbit cross his path so closely. In his chase he was distracted by a butterfly which he took after, chasing the butterfly with a spear. Oftentimes, we have no focus and our priorities need refinements.
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As we struggle with various issues, let us always be vigilant and keep our eyes on Jesus. The church must guard against those who would change our agenda, even into chasing a butterfly.
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The church is an inclusive community of believers. There is an inclusiveness of the church where we must always take care that we do jot exclude the included. What has troubled me a while is that our church has been static without much growth. There is an urgent need to nurture those who are already in the church into a deeper faith in Christ. The tree whose roots run deep need not fear the storm. We must also steer clear of becoming a maintenance church and move in the direction of winning souls.
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Jesus was able to win many for the Kingdom of God, because He communicated. He spoke in ways that many understood. He communicated using parables, and to others He performed miracles so that they could see and believe and have life.
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We took the principles of communication seriously in order to win more souls for Christ. I was reminded of a story about the elephant and the hare. The elephant laugh at the hare and said, “You are very small and insignificant.” The hare was hurt, but with quick thinking he smiled and said, “Nevertheless Mr. Elephant, it is interesting that I could make louder noise than you.” The elephant burst out laughing but agreed to the challenge to have a contest in a few weeks, where all the animals would vote who could make the loudest noise between them. The hare spent more weeks of preparation, communicating to all the animals that they would say he made the loudest noise in the competition. On the day of the contest, the hare made the first noise. Though he tried to scream as loud as possible, the sound was barely heard a few meters away. Then the elephant made his noise, how loud deafening the noise was. Then the animals were asked, “Who made the loudest noise?” “The hare of course,” they all shouted. “What about the elephant?” “We hardly hear him,” they say. “The elephant made a noise but the hare communicated.”
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As a church, we must communicate, it is possible to spend much time making noise and not communicating. It is impossible to flood people with words, yet, with no message. In winning more souls for Christ, let us be effective communicators and not just noise-makers.
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Christianity calls every person into a more excellent way of life. It calls everyone to live in the presence of the Spirit of God. Where the spirit of God is present, there is always peace, joy, hope and love. Where the Spirit of God is present, there is love, no fear.
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With the kind of lives many are living today, lives full of fear, hopelessness, confusion and conflict, every person must be reached with the Good News of peace, joy, hope and living without fear. There is an urgent cry for the living word of God. People need Jesus to make sense of their lives in a world that is getting smaller and complicated. Many people need to find their place in the gospel. Only then will lives make sense and life meaningfully.
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As the children of God, it is our major concern that many of His children are not evangelized to hear the Good News of the Savior of the world. This is where, I believe, the Methodist Church must be aggressive and persevering.
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Let us start using our wings of faith. Take the uncertain road across the mountains of life and across the valley. Be they ever so broad. Have faith to believe that our God will bring us through. Let us equip ourselves with strong prayer life, so that amidst all of our anxieties, we can get the real assurance from God that all things are possible.
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God has already began performing miracles. A miracle that you and I are in this place as a member of the United Methodist Church, as Christians, as Children of God, in spite of our differences. That is a miracle. God has already begun performing miracles and even the greatest miracle of all. That the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ, God’s living word. May we see Him in each eyes this week. May we care for each other because of Him. May we hear Him in each other and when we part, may this week linger all through out our lives as a source of empowerment in our God’s work in our Church. For after all, ours is a Methodist Church which from the very beginning has been a caring, nurturing and evangelizing church. That is our mandate.
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To God be the glory!