Still On Vacation

Beth and I just got in from a nice walk in the Lake Forest Park neighborhood. This vacation has been really good except for my youngest daughter, Micah-el, getting a tooth infection. It's been a long one though. Both kids miss Ottawa badly. They've been asking when we will go back home.

I was surprised when I measured my blood sugar level after our walk. It's 4 times higher than it should be. It really is a pain to have Type II Diabetes. I hate it. But the real question is, "Do I hate it enough to do what it takes not only to control it but also deal with it once and for all?" I've heard of people with Type II who were able to basically revert to normal and discard all medication. God, grant me the will to do the thing I know I ought to do!

In spite of that, it sure is nice to get out in nature and breathe clean air. Maybe tapping into that love for nature can help with this blood sugar thing?

Call for Topics

Please send me any topics you might want me to cover here. I need to know what you want to know.
I might not know everything on everything but I do know somethings about a few things. I'm trying to narrow the topics I should write about here (though I will always include updates on me and my family and book recommendations) so I need your help.

Just hit the comment button below and suggest away...

Starbucks c. 1971

While in Seattle, we took an hour long walk through the downtown area and through the historic Pike Place Market. Near the north end of the market we discovered the very first Starbucks that opened in 1971. This gold post certifies for all customers that this is where it all began. Very nostalgic for me as many of you know that I am a big fan of Starbucks for both its coffee and it's business philosophy. Though I did forget my digital camera in the van (!) I was able to snag a pic. I can truly verify that this is what we saw today.

Mt. Rainier, Washington State

Here we are at Mt. Rainier. We didn't get all the way to the top but it was so beautiful up here. It was already the first day of spring but at this height, snow stays cold. You can't see it too well from the angle but the snow caps were blue when we took this shot. The peaks shot through the clouds and reflected the azure sky off the snow. Wow!

Encounter @ Ronald UMC, Seattle 2006.03.18

I conducted an Encounter Weekend at Ronald United Methodist Church in Seattle. The event started on Friday night and ended Saturday night. I taught all 6 sessions. It went very well. Participants from another church (Beacon UMC) want to hold an Encounter for their congregation. Here's what it looked like...

Everyday Spirituality

It's possible to learn to recognize the myriad ways that God touches us outside of that which is openly spiritual and we can share these moments with others. God touches us through painful growth experiences of loss and grief, through moments of creative and athletic excellence, through moments of victory over our problems and through the tenderness of relationships. God's grace falls on the just and unjust alike. All humanity experiences God's hand. These moments when we touch something eternal and noble and good are God's footprints in our lives---His prevenient grace. People need to realize that the God they feel they do not know has, in fact, been at work already in their lives in many ways. -Chris Harding quoted in THE SHAPING OF THINGS TO COME by Frost and Hirsch

Our approach to spirituality has been highjacked by Greek dualism where life is divided into two part: the material or natural part and the spiritual part. Generally, the material part of life is looked down upon and considered something to be conquered not redeemed. The spiritual is looked upon as the better part or the good part that only matters.

This dualism is what makes those of us seeking to live more spiritual lives seem schizophrenic. What we need to understand is that God doesn't look at life in that way. Life is much more complexly and messily integrated. This is the message of the Incarnation. God sees the material as essential to existence. We act and live through our bodies. I used to admire the saying, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience." I realize now that this only promotes the kind of dualism that causes so much consternation in Christian discipleship.

What we need is a spirituality of incarnation. Mike Slaughter once wrote that, "Incarnation is where the sacred and the secular meet." Incarnational spirituality creates a vibrant spirituality. One that can embrace all of life and does not compartmentalize spirit from everything else. This kind of spirituality embraces all of our God-created passions like nobility, love, sex, ambition, dreams, hope, etc.

We feel God when we feel the excitement of the underdog beating the favorite team. We feel God when we are moved to tears by a powerful scene in a movie. We feel God when we come alive when we fall in love. These are all ordinary moments. But these moments are very compelling. Moments when God touches our soul in the ordinary things in life.

People who live in this way make spirituality something real, tangible and attainable. Jesus was just like this. He lived in such a way that he embraced all of life. He saw the Spirit in everything and not just in "spiritual things."

Followers of Christ who embrace life in this way can draw people into God's unfolding story in the following ways:

1. Appreciate everyday moments.

2. Nurture a sense of wonder and awe.

3. Be extraordinarily loving.

4. Connect to God's presence in all creation.

5. Embrace life!

Vive-le! (French)
L'chaim! (Hebrew)
Mabuhay! (Filipino)

Seattle 2006.03.14

Tomorrow, we fly out to Seattle. The home of the Sonics, Bill Gates, Frasier, Mt. Rainier and where I had my close encounter of the God kind. It's been several years since I've been back to Seattle. But the place always stirs up a sense of nostalgia whenever I think about it. I'm really looking forward to bringing Beth and the kids to Mt. Rainier. Beautiful up there!

I've noticed lately that I've been reconnecting to all things nature. Crisp cold air. Bright clear sky. The smell of melting snow. These things are all around us and are easily taken for granted. It's good for my soul to see these things as if for the first time.

Seattle will have me busy. I'll be conducting an Encounter this weekend. I'm speaking at Ronald United Methodist Church on Sunday. Then the next Sunday, I'll be speaking at Beacon UMC. We're in Seattle for a total of 4 weeks. The remaining weekends may have me speak at churches outside Washington State.

ROBERT ALTMAN

Tom Peters posted this on his website. Click the title above to go to the link.

Robert Altman
Mr Altman won the lifetime achievement award at the Oscars last night. I loved this from his acceptance remarks, and I paraphrase: "The role of the Director is to create a space where the actor or actress can become more than they've ever been before." (Or, maybe: "dreamed of being." Better yet. I'll have to find a transcript.)

To me that's the essence of leadership—in any context.

INSPIRATION!

It's a gorgeous Sunday. Right now. Right here. We went to TLC's early church service then had family time at Tim Horton's, picked up some fruits at Food Basics, window shopped at Henry's Electronics, Sport Mart and Dollar Blitz. When we came home, we sat down to watch Nemo with the kids but caught a good portion of Dr. Wayne Dyer on PBS. Wow!

Here is this guy speaking with passion, energy, and life talking about being inspired. He described how living an inspired life awakens dormant senses within you. Living an inspired life elevates your life causing you to live with a greater awareness of connection and spirit.

Family Circle magazine interviewed him. Here was the opening question and Dyer's response:

FC: What is intention?

Dyer: It's the difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation is when you get hold of an idea and don't let go of it until you make it a reality. Inspiration is the reverse - when an idea gets hold of you and you feel compelled to let that impulse or energy carry you along. You get to a point where you realize that you're no longer in charge, that there's a driving force inside you that can't be stopped. Look at the great athletes, musician, artists, and writers. They all tap into a source.

FC: What is that source?

Dyer: Some call that source God or soul or spirit or consciousness.

Now, mind you, Dyer is definitely connected to New Age philosophy. But he was speaking a language that tapped into the inner passion of every human being. He was defintely inspiring.

And I contrasted that with our experience at TLC this morning and most people's experience with the church. I exclaimed to Beth, "Now why couldn't church be that inspiring!?" I thought of our spiritual community's monthly Fuel gathering and said, "Fuel should be this inspiring!"

Much of what Dyer taught aligns with Biblical truth and the teachings of Jesus. This validated what Scripture teaches in Romans 1:19-21 in the New Living Translation:

19For the truth about God is known to them instinctively.[a] God has put this knowledge in their hearts. 20From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. 21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.

Wayne Dyer and motivational teachers like him are defintely tapping into something harmonious with The Divine Character. Though they do not acknowledge God as a personal and holy God, they've touched on something the church has missed. It's time the church start speaking to the longings of people's souls. To tap into those things that inspire us; that call us upward towards a higher level of living.

Inspire and be inspired.

Hidden Jesus

Beth and I just finished 5 days of acupuncture treatments with Dr. Tran at the behest of my mom. I must admit that I was skeptical at first. I didn't know much about acupuncture except that it is alternative medicine and that it is an ancient Chinese practice. The most I had ever seen of acupuncture was an old Steven Segal movie where he healed himself using Chinese needles. But it seems to be working! Everyone says that my face and stomach have gotten smaller. Anything that can do that is worth a good shake! But I didn't want to talk about the validity or merits of acupuncture here. I want to tell you about our experience at Dr. Tran's clinic.

The New Acupuncture clinic is run out of the home of Dr. Tran and his wife. They are from Vietnam. When you walk in, you will usually find the house filled with people. It is not uncommon to wait for at least 30 minutes before 1 of 20 or so beds is free for you to be treated on. Treatment consists of a consultation and then two rounds of needles (front and back). We spend an average of around 2 hours there everyday.

From the very first day, we noticed that many of the patients knew each other. They talked and laughed and shared freely with one another. "They must be long term patients under Dr. Tran's care," we thought. On our second day, we met Eve and Arun. Eve is a pretty, 30-year old, French Canadian whom we instantly bonded with while waiting for our beds to free up. Arun was there to accompany his friend Anne. He is from India and was having some kind of problem with his shoulder. He got a consultation with Dr. Tran, and returned the next day for his own treatment.

Eve said something very significant and it got me thinking. She said that when she first started going to Dr. Tran, she was really shy. Apparently, Eve's right leg had some kind of skin problem that makes it look like her thigh was burned. There was no pain though. At first she was embarrassed to talk about it. But after some time, she realized, "Everyone is here with some kind of problem. You wouldn't even be here if you didn't have a problem." Then Eve proceeded to lift up her right pant leg to show us why she was at Dr. Tran's. She's come a long way.

When Dr. Tran consults with you, he doesn't do it in the privacy of an office. His consultations are right in front of everyone for everyone to hear. He is direct and to the point. He often anticipates what your problem is and begins to advise you immediately to change your diet. He once spoke to a man about his unbalanced testicles in front of everyone! The benefit of this "open" consultation is that you can learn something new everyday.

And I thought...this must've been how it was in Jesus' day when the Healer from Nazareth would go to a home and begin healing and teaching people:

1. Healing happened in a very natural and non-laboratory place.
2. There was a sense of community which revolved around the Healer.
3. Everyone was open about their problems.
4. The Healer spoke to each person publicly and truthfully.
5. Everytime you went to Jesus, you always learned something new.

What would simple churches be like if these charactersitics were evident in them? Imagine a network of people who met in homes not cathedrals. Imagine what it would be like when each of the people present came because of their relationship to Jesus and not because of their religious obligation. Imagine each person expecting to get touched by Jesus every time the group met. What kind of church would this be if the people were very open about their problems because they all admitted that the reason why they need Jesus is because they are damaged? Imagine this kind of church where Jesus spoke through the people in truth and love. And then imagine what it would be like where every time you attended this group, you learned something new that you could use in your life. Wow.

Dr. Tran has a full "clinic" due to word of mouth. He doesn't need advetising for his business. I calculated that he must make about $400,000 per year. And none of that is spent on commercials, posters, flyers or anything. He doesn't need to promote his clinic because each of his patients have become evangelists. Word of mouth fills his house with those seeking healing.

What can the church learn from that? Somewhere in that full house on Wellington Street in Ottawa is a hidden Jesus.

Just Like Heaven

Well here we are in Ottawa...finally. We're still unpacking and jetlagging but we're here. Over some pizza pockets, Micah-el said as only she can, "Canada is just like heaven." How different this new world is. And how different our life is going to be. Even when we were in the airport in Nagoya, I could feel the difference; as if the air seemed lighter. When we were making our final descent into Ottawa from Detroit, I was stunned when I looked out the window to see a snow-covered Ottawa with winter-dead trees and clear and bright cold sky. God, what have you gotten us into?

Two events marked the turning of the page of this new chapter in our lives. After we arrived in Ottawa, PGMA declared a State of Emergency. All classes in all levels were cancelled. The 20th Anniversary Celebration of EDSA 1 (which ousted then President Marcos) was dispersed. All rally gatherings were forbidden. Warantless arrests were made. Gosh! I go away for just one day and the country falls apart! LOL

The second event happened a few hours ago. Over dinner, our house was shaken by an earthquake...in Ottawa! We couldn't believe it. But this must have some kind of significance for us. Unrest followed by an earthquake half a world apart.

Then i remembered Acts 4 where another nation was in a state of emergency and an earthquake jolted them as well. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly (Acts 4:31).

Maybe Mic-mic was right....this is like heaven.

FUEL! (2006.02.19)

This was our first gathering since dissovling the weekly Sunday worship services. We had to hold it at Metropolis Star Mall, Muntinlupa (on the other side of SLEX across from Festival Supermall).

On February 5, 2006, we did something that very few churches have ever tried to do...Instead of meeting as a congregation every week for worship and teaching, we began meeting in simple churches all over Metro Manila. This is what happened on that Sunday:

148 adults...
26 children...
14 new people...met as
10 different simple churches in Laguna, Cavite, Muntinlupa, Paranaque, and Quezon City.

This represented NOT people who sat quietly and passively by as they watched a worship leader and a pastor conduct a “church service.” Rather, this represented a higher than average number of people who were actively engaged in activities which promoted fellowship, participation, learning, and sharing.

I led our congregation down this path because I believe that we must begin to BE the church and not just DO church. A congregation-based church experience does not promote the kind of environment that produces New Testament disciples of Jesus Christ. That’s because New Testament churches are meant to be small, participatory, and connective. These dynamics just don’t exist in a larger worship service.

Our vision is to help disconnected people become fully devoted followers of Christ. We want to see a vast network of simple churches in homes, offices, factories, schools, classrooms, coffee shops, call centers, parking lots, malls and wherever else a small group of people can meet to passionately pursue the mission of Jesus Christ.

This way of being the church is as old as the New Testament. It’s really a return to a more apostolic and ancient way of life. And yet, we must realize that no matter how promising our church structures and way of organizing are, there will never be a substitute for the life found in the passion of loving our Lord Jesus.

We read in Revelation 3:14-20...
 14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
      These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

The church in Laodicea was full of notable deeds. These good things did not escape God’s notice. They were functioning the way a church should by serving society, meeting needs, performing good works. But there was something missing. Jesus says to this well organized and performing church, “I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

What was it that was so repulsive to God? Lukewarmness. This was evident not in their actions but in their attitude. What attitude? It was the thinking that, “ [They] do not need a thing.” When you feel self-sufficient, you don’t need anything...including God. And it was this condition that sent Jesus gagging in spasms. What did the church lack? Passion. In the end, Jesus was pushed outside of the church knocking and waiting to get back inside.

A lack of passion is evidence of the absence of Jesus.

Why is passion so important for us?


Passion energizes. Whether you meet in a cathedral, home, or mall, church can become quite routine. Routine is the archenemy of passion. When we feel that church is routine, it becomes predictable, lifeless, and dull. A passion for Jesus and his mission is our life force.


Passion infects. All it takes is one person in a simple church to share his passion for Jesus and the rest of the group feels the life. If we’re going to make an impact on society, we must become passionately contagious. There are no methods or techniques that can ever compensate for a lack of passion.


Passion attracts. There is something attractive about a woman in love or a man on purpose. They know what they’re about. Their passion makes them transcend the here and now and live on a different level; a level where most people only dream of living.

Without passion, church becomes a lifeless corpse. When the church has lost its passion, it needs artificial life support systems like rules, laws, traditions, and political mechanisms to give it a semblance of life. We become civil but not loving. We may do what’s required of us but we have no joy. In this case, the church may exist but it isn’t alive!

As we move into a new era for our spiritual family, I urge you to keep your passion for Jesus alive. If you find yourself cooling off, here are a few things you can do:

1. Ask God to renew your passion for Him. God wants you to be excited about life. You can turn to Him to get your heart on fire for God again.

2. Search the Bible for fresh revelations that excite your soul. We get excited about things that we discover. Let God speak to you through His Word.

3. Put yourself in an environment of passion. Ignite! Fuel. Aldersgate Conferences. These are all events that create an environment of passion. Don’t miss any of these. Joining these experiences will raise your passion level.

4. Spend time with passionate people. Because passion is contagious, you should spend lots of time hanging around people who are passionate for the Lord. These spiritual friends will make a big impact on you. And who knows, you’ll be surprised that you make a difference in their lives too!

5. Feed on what inspires you. What excites your soul? A certain movie? Song? Show? Art? Book? Whatever it may be, make sure to plug into it regularly. God does not limit His presence to only religious settings. You can find God in that which is noble, beautiful, excellent, and inspiring.

Friends, being passionate is a choice. It is a choice of reckless surrender to Jesus. It is a choice to hunger and thirst and reach out for him. It is a choice to lay aside everything else in pursuit of his presence and his power in the now. It is a choice to realize that you need him more than anything. Choose passion.

Aldersgate 2006:Understanding the Times and Knowing What to Do

Here are some pics from last week's Aldersgate conference where I spoke. It was a powerful 4 days with about 750 people in attendance. Though the numbers aren't confirmed, we had about 250 pastors up in Baguio for this year's spiritual renewal conference. That's the most pastors we've ever had in attendance.

6 Days to Go!

Well, we're very busy trying to get things packed for our trip back to Canada. It's exciting and frightening at the same time! I'm looking forward to walks in the cold, brisk air. Ah....being able to walk outside without fear of an asthma attack. Nice.

Heroic Leadership

I never thought I would be reading a book written by a former Jesuit...and enjoy it! Chris Lowney does a great job surprising me in his inspiring book Heroic Leaderhip: Best Practices from a 450-year-old Company that Changed the World. It gave me a greater appreciation for this Roman Catholic order and the contributions they have made over the centuries. I was surprised by how much I really identified with the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) and their leadership values. Here are a few excperts that stood out for me...

"We're all leaders, and we're leading all the time, well or poorly.
Leadership springs from within. It's about who I am as much as what I do.
Leadership is not an act. It is my life, a way of living.
I never complete the task of becoming a leader. It's an ongoing process."

"Circumstances will present a few people with world-changing, defining-moment opportunities; most will enjoy no such bigtime opportunities in their lifetimes. Still, leadership is defined not by the scale of the opportunity but by the quality of the response."

"A leader's most compelling leadership tool is who he or she is: a person who understands what he or she values and wants, who is anchored by certain principles, and who faces the world with a consistent outlook. Leadership behavior develops naturally once this internal foundation has been laid. If it hasn't been, mere technique can never compensate." (Really think about this one! -Mark)

(4 Guiding Principles of Jesuit Leadership)
Jesuits became leaders by...

1. Understanding their strengths, weaknesses, values, and worldview.
2. Confidently innovating and adapting to embrace a changing world.
3. Engaging others with a positive, loving attitude.
4. Energizing themselves and others through geroic ambitions.

"A...leader is not content to go through the motions or settle for status quo but is restlessly inclined to look for something more, something greater."

The greatest contribution this book offers for me is the practice of Examens as a daily tool to integrate these guiding principles into everyday life. Here's my outline on how to do this.

1. There is an inductive phase where for 30 days a person goes through a time of meditation and self-reflection to establish a foundation of self-awareness. We must discover for ourselves what our strengths, weaknesses, values, a worldview are. What do we care about? What do we value? Who are we? And how do I fit in the world?

2. The above will help us establish key goals for our lives; goals birthed out of self-awareness and discovery. These are innate goals that become guiding stars for our lives.

3. Every morning, upon waking, we meditate and remind ourselves of these key goals for our lives. This is the launching pad for the day.

4. Around noon, we take another 5 minutes to reflect and think upon theprevious few hours in light of our key goals. Have we been living up to who we've discovered ourselves to be? Have we contributed the way we know we must contribute?

5. Later in the evening around supper time, we take another 5 minutes to do what we did at noon.

In this way, we are constantly aligning ourselves to what really matters to us and to our role in the world.

Destroy Your Church!

Well, we took the leap of faith. We destroyed NuComm. Last Sunday was our last weekly celebration service. Starting Sunday Feruary 5, 2006 we will be meeting all over Manila (Paranaque, Las Pinas, Cavite, Laguna, Muntinlupa, Quezon City) in the new network of about 20 simple churches. By this weekend we will have also added another group of about 80 people from Bulacan into the network as well.

My feelings are a mixture of faith in the face of fear. The unknown is before us. Where will this take us? I do not know. But I am confident that the Lord is in this and that we shall prevail. People think I am crazy for doing this. We shall prevail. People think that this is the end of NuComm. We shall prevail. Some have violently reacted against this move. But we shall prevail.

What we have seen so far outweighs these potential dangers. People are actually reading their Bibles and hearing God! The disconnected are being found and connected. Groups are already multiplying. Much excitement is in the hearts of most of our people.

"No one is a leader...and everyone is a leader." - it actually works! The Bible and the ministry are back in the hands of the people. Right where they belong.

Welcome 2006!

Happy New Year to all!

This next year promises a whole new adventure for me and my family...

I'll be conducting my first PEAKS Seminar for HIMEX Medical Equipment. I love what this new technology for personality profiling can do for businesses and ministry. My mentor in this, Dr. Shirley Lim, is respected globally for how she developed and applies the Five Factor Model of personality assessment to leadership profiling, corporate benchmarking, and team development. I'm excited as to where this will take us.

Taking a more global outlook, our family is moving back to Ottawa, Canada where we hope to catalyze a simple-church-planting movement. We are also hopeful to do the same in Toronto and, Lord willing, in Vancouver over the next 3-5 years. However, I'll still be leading NuComm Global with our launching pad in Manila, Philippines.

I'm hoping to be able to extend the work we've started with Research Communication International to Canada and even to parts of the world where we will develop leadership for the marketplace and for the church.

I sense a whole new paradigm emerging over the next several years that will somehow integrate both marketplace leadership and church ministry together to catalyze social transformation in the heart of cities. Perhaps, it will be a fresh paradigm of 21st century discipleship?

Before we make our move, I'll also be meeting with some of my spiritual sons to see if we can start a new network for emerging church leadership based on organic church principles. My first meeting will be this week with a son from Bulacan who has a handful of housechurches under his care.

Obviously, the key word for 2006 is CATALYST; CATALYZE.

2006: A New Adventure with No Maps

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Blessed Christmas to you and your beloved ones. May the New Year show you greater possibilities than you ever imagined! Ephesians 3:20

Here we are in Malaysia

Water demo with William...I'll never drink water the same again!



In front of Edmark Industries...



With the Crown Managers in the lobby of Times Square Hotel...great place!

Malaysia II

Our trip to Malaysia was quite an adventure. Fellow travellers' luggage did not arrive at our airport of deprature. That's about 20 pcs.! Beth pulled off her usual magic and got the flight operations manager to agree to send all the luggage to Kuala Lumpur provded someone stays behind. Way to go Jacob! At least it all caught up to us in KL.

The hotel we were in was nothing short of amazing. Times Square Hotel consists of 2 towers of luxurious hotel suites divided by a huge 7+ story mall. Starbucks had a very convenient free WiFi. (Of course.) Borders was a refreshing book stop with it's own Starbucks too! The only thing I missed at TSH was a free breakfast buffet that I would have expected from a place like that.

Roadways in KL were quite nice. Wide and fairly smooth.

This well developed infrastructure made me wonder about Singapore too. Does progress in Asian nations require strong, almost dictatorial, leadership? I think of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and PM Mahathir of Malaysia and Marcos of RP. Does the Philippines need another Marcos to move forward?