Filipino Christian Blogger Ganns Deen

Victory Fort, the church in the Philippines that I attend and for which I work, is launching Training for Victory, a ten-week course designed to equip Christians to make disciples and lead their own small group. It’s an exciting program, honestly, and quite intensive; the previous program, the Every Nation Leadership Institute, took two years to complete, compared to the ten weeks required now.

I will probably attend this, because I’ve recently begun One 2 One, Victory’s foundational Bible program, with some young men, and I know we’ll be starting up a small group soon enough. Best to be equipped with the right tools to ensure the men entrusted to my care grow properly in the faith.

Pope Benedict XVI recently announced that bone fragments found in a newly discovered white sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome, may have belonged to Paul the Apostle, who was the primary mover behind the early Christian church. Carbon dating tests say the bones, found with some incense grains and cloth, date back to the first or second century, which would be consistent with the time that Paul would have lived and died.

I have always been fascinated with archaeology and forensic science, and this news that marries the two just excites me no end. Many people think the Bible is largely a fictional account, and this evidence is an excellent reminder that the Christian life is still very much situated in the real world. Kakatuwa.

I just learned today that Melissa Greene just left Avalon. Melissa is an amazing singer, and after seven years with Avalon, God has prepared her for a different path, for a new direction. We, her fans, wish her the best. Her new album, Next Step, is still available at record stores and online for folks who are looking to listen to some anointed Christian power-pop.

I’m going to miss Melissa’s powerful voice. Man, that just stings. First, Cherie Paliotta, then Michael Passons, then Jody McBrayer, now Melissa. Thankfully, Janna’s still there.

Meanwhile, I’ve added Avalon to my Twitter list.

Here’s the exciting news: Ian Eskelin and Barry Weeks are producing their new album! Reborn is going to be HOT! Ian is responsible for the songs of a lot of great CCMusicians, including Krystal Meyers, Jump5, Joy Whitlock, and Francesca Battistelli; the latter is currently the hottest solo female artist in CCM today, thanks to top 10 hit I’m Letting Go and Free to Be Me, which topped the US AC Christian charts earlier this year. Ian’s also a respected worship leader and artist in his own right, and I am so excited for this project! After Still My God, which returned Avalon back into the good graces of the Christian radio industry, this is a step in the right direction.

God will open doors for Avalon through Ian Eskelin! WOOT!

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll join me in prayer for Jody McBrayer, who I assume is still battling his heart disease. I’ve committed him to daily prayer, and I’m believing He will be healed. It would be good to learn of the results of our prayer intercession. There is absolutely no information online about Jody’s condition. I hope someone in the USA might stumble into this post and let me know how he’s doing.

OMG. Hot. Hot. Hot. What happened to you, Kelly?! Dang, girl, you smokin’!!

Ever since Eliza Dushku dumped me, I thought I’d never love again! Until today! Kelly Rowland, you are HOT!

When love takes over, yeah, you know you can’t deny!

Oooh, this is going to be interesting!

Rap superstar Eminem apparently wrote a song, Bagpipes From Baghdad, that made it to the final cut of his new album, Relapse, which dropped in the USA May 19. Bagpipes From Baghdad basically takes R&B songstress and superstar Mariah Carey to task for ending their (apparently nonexistent) relationship; the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, skewers Carey and her husband, actor/DJ/director Nick Cannon, over an Indian/Middle Eastern-inspired musical hook. This, of course, dates back to a few years ago when Eminem told the world he has a six-month relationship with the star, which she has always flat-out denied.

Well, Carey finally fires back. Musically, anyway.

Her new single, Obsessed, has been served to radio in the United States, landing significant radio airplay ahead of her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel, which drops August 25. Obsessed pulls no punches: the superstar calls Eminem out, saying he’s “obsessed” and “delusional.” She implies he’s lost his mind, hinting that it must be the “weed” and “e(cstasy).” She also reminds Eminem who is a bigger star. She’s a corporation; he’s a mom-and-pop store. She’s the press conference; he’s a conversation. (While I don’t care much for Mariah as a lyricist, I have to admit I personally liked those lines; they’re funny.)

I basically have four comments on this entire turn of events, which, quite frankly, shouldn’t even be an event because this fight is so dated. Nevertheless, the cynic in me just feels the need to comment that:

1. Obsessed is, in itself, historic for Carey. The overwhelming topic of Mariah’s track record of hits has been about love in its various forms. (As is probably 90% of all songs that have played on pop radio.) She’s never released any singles that come this close to being explicitly autobiographical, and for a carrier single, this is arguably the bravest decision she’s made. (The cynical side of me says she may be releasing it to capitalize on the freshness of Bagpipes From Baghdad, but that doesn’t negate the relevance of Obsessed.) However, the point may very well be moot, because…

2. Obsessed isn’t too big a hit. Frankly, I can’t see people singing Obsessed. Production-wise, it meets all the requirements of a current radio hit, complete with vocoder effects and up-to-date production; vocally, it’s Mariah at her most comfortable and laidback. But if you take that melody and pop a different set of lyrics on it, you have a tepid mid-tempo snoozer of a song. I’ve listened to it several times, and I can’t get the melody. I can’t figure out the chorus. I may be old, but Obsessed ain’t no Touch My Body, and that’s saying a lot. Obsessed owes its mileage to the controversy, which tells me that…

3. Eminem and Carey should just take a lie detector test. Talk about making mountains out of molehills. If both celebrities really want to lay this issue to rest, they should just take the test and we’ll see who’s telling the truth. Thing is, they’re not going to, because…

4. Both Eminem and Carey need Obsessed. Obsessed is a calculated hit. The classy thing to do when someone disses you is to be quiet; deep waters stay still and let the shallow water babble on. Mariah may not be deep water, but she probably smelled an opportunity and took it. Just like when she mentioned YouTube in Touch My Body, Carey knows she stands to stay relevant when she employs current trends and uses it in her music. She has been in the music business for almost 20 years; staying relevant is now the most important thing for her. (If Obsessed reaches #1 on the Hot 100, she will collect her 19th #1, placing her firmly as the solo artist with most #1 hits, and putting her one short of the Beatles’ overall record of 20. She will also tie Elvis Presley for most weeks at #1, with 80 weeks; she’s currently at 79.)

Meanwhile, Eminem’s Relapse has been a relative failure, in comparison to his previous studio albums. Bagpipes Over Baghdad offers nothing new for the rapper who has been known to attack several people in his music, including his mother, his wife, and several celebrities, including fellow rappers. The controversy afforded him can result in much-needed media mileage, which he probably will get if Obsessed does manage to become a hit. Thanks to Bagpipes Over Baghdad, he actually and finally got a response out of Mariah that people can react to; it’s a battle of two celebrities trying to remain in the news, with the American public serving as arbiters and judges.

Will the public reward them with commercial success for Obsessed, or will they say - as I’m thinking - so what? At this point, the issue at hand is not whether or not Mariah has “schooled” Eminem; it’s whether or not the public is as equally obessed with them as they are with each other. We’ll see in a few weeks.

As of June 28, 2009, these are my ten favorite songs.

1. When Love Takes Over (1) David Guetta feat Kelly Rowland
2. Give Me the Meltdown (3) Rob Thomas
3. No Surprise (2) Daughtry
4. No Boundaries (5) Kris Allen
5. I Do Not Hook Up (6) Kelly Clarkson
6. Falling For You (7) Colbie Caillat
7. The Lost Get Found (8) Britt Nicole
8. Battlefield (4) Jordin Sparks
9. Never (new) Ayiesha Woods
10. Fight For Love (9) Elliott Yamin

The world loves fast food French fries, and in the Philippines, there are only two contenders: American fast food giant McDonald’s and Philippine upstart Jollibee. While general knowledge accepts that Jollibee is more popular than Mickey D’s on local shores, there was always one area where Ronald McDonald trumped the Jolly Bee: the french fry.

Recently, McDonald’s launched a larger-sized french fry option. Prior to the release of the largest size box of fries, McDonald’s and Jollibee had only two sizes: small (regular) and large. McDonald’s then decided to upsize its upsized fry offerings. In a rather confusing terminology shift, the new size, retailing for PHP55, was now called large, and the previous large was renamed medium. (Regular stayed, well, regular.) To make matters even more unusual, one could add a few pesos to a value meal to “upsize” their fries, but only enough to upsize to a medium, because one may only purchase the (now) large fries a la carte.

Jollibee followed a few weeks later, offering an option larger than large, and calling it, “extra large.” From my perspective, this was a no-brainer, but when compared to McDonald’s rather strange decision to rename its fry sizes, it seems particularly brilliant. The term “extra large” connotes more value than “large,” and offers a subliminal message that we’re getting value, no matter which we choose. (Compare this to McDonald’s terminology, which now expects us to accept that the formerly large fries are now just medium; where is the value in that?)

To top it all off, Jollibee introduces two fry dip options, cheese and salsa, for these large fries! AT PHP10 per serving, it’s a little pricey for its size, but tell that to your drooling five-year-old!

But just when you thought Jollibee had McDonald’s reeling on the ropes, lo and behold! The Ice Age 3 movie-product tie-in ushers in the return of the Golden Arches’ incomparable Twister Fries! Available for PHP55 a la carte (or PHP78 if you want a 16 oz blue-colored Sprite-powered float), Twister Fries are always a surefire bestseller at McDonald’s. If activity on Plurk is any indication, McDonald’s is firmly back in the ball game with the re-release of the Twister Fries. People are microblogging about it and returning to McDonald’s just to order it.

The Fry Wars just got hotter. What will Jollibee do now? Release its vaunted CrissCut Fries? Perhaps come up with something even more different? Will a third burger chain release a French fry that captures the local public’s imagination? Who knows what will happen next in… The Fry Wars!

Image lifted off Jozzua.com, no copyright infringement intended.

With the death of Michael Jackson comes the passing of one of the most exciting show business luminaries of all time, a superstar to whom all superstars can only hope to be compared. I grew up on the music of Michael Jackson, and hearing of his death at age 50 shocked me speechless. The sheer number of people blogging, Plurking, Tweeting, and Facebooking about him is only testament to his phenomenal talent and profound effect on three generations of the world’s population.

Michael’s creative genius and knack for a pop hook made him one of the world’s most sought-after singers, a global phenomenon who bridged borders and transcended race, age, and gender. Today’s stars may be better dancers, better singers, better actors, but there is no doubting that Michael Jackson paved the way. Well before hiphop met rap, there was Michael Jackson. Well before disco became dance became house, there was Michael Jackson. All roads in entertainment, sooner or later, lead to Michael Jackson. There are reasons why Thriller is the best-selling international album of all time; there are reasons why Michael Jackson is arguably more famous than any politician or entertainment figure; there are reasons why Michael Jackson deserves to be remembered for his entire legacy.

Thankfully, I will not remember Michael for Bubbles the Chimp. I will not remember him for the descent of his personal life into scandal after scandal. I will remember Michael Jackson for his music and his effect on entertainment today. That is what he deserves.

What can we learn from Michael Jackson?

1) Treat our kids right. Michael claimed he was abused by his father when he was younger, and many attribute his unusual adult behavior to how he was treated as a child. Michael was robbed of a normal childhood; such was the price of fame. We see it echoed today, from Britney to Lindsay. Children deserve a life too, a life of love, of parental love and attention, and discipline. We, the parents, need to know when to set our feet down and say, “Enough.” On the other hand, one can make an argument that if Michael were treated as I am recommending, he would not have emerged to become the superstar he was. Fair enough. I do think, however, that Michael’s genius was a combination of a lot of factors coming together. (See Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell to better describe how I feel about talent + hard work + luck.

2) A quality legacy will last. I haven’t read any harsh words yet about Michael’s death. Hopefully, when the smoke clears, twenty years from now - when Michael would’ve been 70 - people will remember his talent and not the scandals. The music will live on. Michael’s legacy will live on. This much I know.

3) Surround yourself with people who love you for you. I don’t know much about Michael save for what media has told me, but I do know this: a true friend is someone who is there for you good times and bad, and I don’t know of too many friends Michael could’ve had. At one point, Michael was so vilified by the media that he became a laughingstock. His fans stood by him - heck, I bought copies of every album of his on cassette, and eventually CDs - and so did a few of his friends. I don’t know how he handled fame in his later years, but I imagine Michael would’ve been a lot more solid if he were surrounded by people who genuinely cared enough for him to tell him like it T-I was.

4) We can pray for people we don’t know. Hearing of Michael’s death, my heart went out to his millions of fans. Even now on Amazon, 1/5 of the Top 50 bestsellers in music are his albums. That’s going to skyrocket in the next two days, and the world will be united, once again, by Michael Jackson. We can help those grieving by praying for their peace and comfort in this difficult time. I cried at the passing of Luther Vandross; I know what it’s like to hurt so much when someone you look up to or love so much has passed away.

Rest in peace, Michael.

Just for fun, my Top 10 favorite Michael Jackson songs, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, I had another strange dream. It involved myself crossing a series of orange pipes. (Think Mario Brothers-type pipes.) The initial challenges were obviously quite easy, but one particular orange pipe challenge was submerged a couple of feet underwater in an artificial lake-type environment in which large fish were swimming.

The odd thing about this particular lake was that I’d dreamed about it twice before (on different nights, and months apart). The first time was I had dreamed of myself boating in a wide-open body of water, and I’d somehow ended up in this place. The second time, I dreamed that I was in a large building that was full of several smaller lake-type bodies of water like it.

Before I continue, y’all should know that I can’t swim.

In the first dream, I was merely looking into the clear water, where there were these huge fishes swimming. I could see them; I could’ve reached out and touched them, if I wanted to. I didn’t, though. One particular fish was extremely huge - probably a whale shark or something - that absolutely awed me because of its size. All the fish were swimming lazily about, and I continued to boat ride until I arrived at shore.

In the second dream, I had fallen into the water. I was terrified of drowning, but more importantly, I was extremely horrified by the possibility that I would be attacked by any of the giant fish swimming in this place. However, instead of being eaten alive, some of the fish actually tried to push me back onto dry land. I awoke before I actually managed to make it onto safe ground.

In this most recent dream, I had to cross that orange pipe that was submerged about a foot and a half into the water. The water was still and calm - as it was in all three dreams, and the fish weren’t causing any scenes - but I still did not want to get into the water for fear that I would slip and fall into the deep water. Unlike the two previous dreams, however, the water seemed a lot darker than usual, and I couldn’t see many of the fish. It seemed a more mysterious and frightening place, and I did not want to accept the orange pipe challenge.

I felt I needed to pee, so I excused myself from the competition and headed towards the men’s room. As I entered, it looked more like a locker room than a restroom, and I was surrounded by all these Asiane athletes in various stages of undress, including sports uniforms of basketball and baseball. (None were naked, thankfully.) I couldn’t pee because I was afraid all these men around me would peek in at my junk.

Then I awoke, with a real need to pee. I asked God afterward what it meant and He hasn’t answered yet. Meanwhile, I’m not visiting Ocean Park Manila anytime soon.

Has it ever occurred to you to pray for someone in the middle of your day? Has the image or situation of someone you know ever popped into your head at a strange time? Have you found yourself listening to someone tell you about their day, and as each minute draws on, you feel the growing need to pray for them? You may very well have the spiritual gift of intercession.

While the New Testament does not identify intercession as a spiritual gift, many believe that the examples of the early intercessors, including Paul and Timothy, as well as Old Testament intercessors like Moses, were evidence that those with a prayer ministry play an important role in the growth and spiritual health of the church. (”First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct.” - 1 Tim. 2:1-2)

This article provides very useful advice about tapping your intercessory gift, including how to tell if you have the intercessory gifting, as well as what you can do to use it properly. I, for one, have always believed in the power of prayer. When people tell me about their situations, I promise to pray for them, asking for specifics, which I then include in a little prayer journal that I keep for myself. I then commit these people to prayer daily until the desired breakthrough - or communication from God that it’s not going to happen - comes through. I’m not saying I’m an intercessor, but I do have a prayer burden, and I’ve found - especially in the past two weeks - that there’s a fire within me that’s burning bright for other people. (For instance, I was angered by two persons who parked their cars badly today, but I’ve since sought forgiveness and prayed for myself and for them; in the process, that prayer took me all sorts of places. When you get started, it gets hard to stop.)

There are few things that compare to the joy of knowing that you played some kind of role in helping someone understand or experience the immense power of God. We are talking about the God Who created the universe, yet listens to your voice when you call out to Him. The intercessor stands in the gap and calls upon God for deliverance, mercy, healing, whatever is necessary, and has faith enough that his prayers will be answered. (Not your will, but God’s, which you can encourage or plead to change with a humble heart and a desire to pray.) When God does answer, wow, there’s little else like it!

If you think you have that spiritual gifting and have not tapped its fullest potential but would like to, please send me an email and we’ll cover each other in prayer as you seek God’s will and ask Him for wisdom and discernment. The world needs more intercessors!