Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.

More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.

Over 57 million Americns read blogs.

1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.

89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.

9% of internet users say they have created blogs .

6% of the entire US adult population has created a blog .

Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs .

There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day .

22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs .

120,000 new blogs are created every day .

37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006 .

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Blog readers average 23 hours online each week .

“Michael Guglielmucci has informed us that he does not suffer from cancer, was never diagnosed with cancer, and has never suffered from the disease. This admission has come as a great shock to everyone including his wife and family who had no knowledge of the matter.”

I am concerned because a lot of young people look up to Michael, the pastor, the worship leader, the singer, the composer, the musician. This will be a big test of faith for many. In addition, in Australia, Christianity will be ripped apart by a cynical Australian press and I would feel embarrassed to be a Christian in the hearing of folks conversing about this over beer. As a pastor, I feel sad, bad, frustrated, angry. My job is tough enough as it is - I don’t need more cynicism, disillusionment, scepticism, and disrespect.

Yet why should the church be shocked? Christians, pastors included, are fallen beings. We are people saved by the sheer grace of God and are works in progress. We do fall into temptation and the more public a figure you are, the greater shame the fall causes. Have we all not stretched our statistics and stories, covered up our tracks by witholding information, and told lies intentionally and inadvertently. We hold the stones in our hands, but our own sins keep us from throwing them at Michael Guglielmucci.

Yet discernment, repentance, restitution and discipline is the order of the day for to whom much has been given, much is required. Just this afternoon, someone mentioned to me a verse in Matthew 18 where Jesus warned about not stumbling children for it is better to put a millstone around the neck and throw it into the sea. The same chapter talks about discipline and restoration. We forgive; we pray but we also love through restorative measures.

Sure each man is responsible for his own sin, but I do think the problem is also systemic. The Pentecostal and Charismatic movement have always valued the gifts of the Spirit, especially the spectacular and the glittering. The gifts that astound and the gifts that attract the thousands. We do not celebrate the gifts of mercy and helps but if you have great faith, healing or leadership gifts, or musical-worship talent, you are highly valued and put on a pedestal next to the Godhead. We value gifts over character; the spectacular over substance; and glitter over solid gold. We are so often blinded temporarily by the glitter and shine of great abilities, charisma and anointings that we just simply cannot discern that its just gold plated and what’s inside a man could be just plastic, made in China.

Maybe we are getting what we deserve for we all worship and dance around the Golden Calf of Success. We have baptized Fu Lu Shu and now worship an unholy trinity of Health, Wealth and Success. And it is a success as the world defines it: big budgets, bombastic buildings; great excitement and crowds; stratospheric worship. All this while the Cinderella of holiness, godliness and integrity sits somewhere in the grimy world of day by day living and working and serving, dishevelled and forgotten in a dark attic, waiting for the fairy godmother to restore her centrality in the royal ball. Such a worship inevitably cause leaders to turn a blind eye, rationalized with grace, and partner with highly gifted ministers in huge events, because they can bring the SUCCESS that God’s people crave. Like Aaron of old, we give in to what the people want, even when we know it is not the REAL THING.

Like the people living in Samuel’s time, we plead with God to give us a king when God would rather we bow and look to and depend on the ONLY TRUE KING: LORD JESUS. So we have made our own human kings, put them on pedestals, and when they fall from the giddiness of the heights we have lifted them to, and they fall with a great fall, we fail to see that we had set him up for the fall. We know we have raised another king when instead of saying the Bible says this, or Jesus says this, we say, Pastor so and so says this, or Prophet or Apostle So and so says this……therefore it is true.

Churches must be taking off Michael’s songs off the worship list for Sunday, and will ponder whether to use the other Planetshakers’ songs, at least as a temporary measure. We need to get behind him and pray for him and the thousands of young people whose faith will be tested. Satan is working overtime. We hope he has truly repented, and will go through counselling and restoration. We trust the money raised as a result of his illness will be returned to the givers where possible and those impossible to trace could be donated to charity, which was what the church had announced it would do. But whatever else is done, the church must fix her eyes on JESUS the author and finisher of our faith, and like the cherubim above the ark of the covenant, fix her gaze down towards the atonement cover where she sees nothing but the Blood of Jesus, the crimson love.

More information about this can be read, and his bestselling song Healer heard HERE:

1. Young people are turning up to look for a way to let go of pressure from work.

2. Buddhist centres are conducting programmes in English attracting younger people. Buddhism used to be seen as a religion for the Mandarin- or dialect-speaking.

3. They have gotten organized and have publicity drives, seminars, camps, publications and websites.

4. Fads like yoga and meditation and the focus on calmness, plus having adherents among Hollywood stars, have made it hip to be a Buddhist. Even the Dalai Lama’s charisma is winning followers among the younger ones.

5. Attempts to be more relevant: a lot of meditation classes are held in many temples: 14 of the 20 top temples and centres have meditation classes; and there are even stess and career management courses.

6. Nearly six out of ten Buddhist converts say the religion gives them purpose and meaning, or has seen them through a crisis.

RUNNERS UP: ARSENAL, because they now have more experience and an even deeper hunger than last year.

THIRD PLACE: MANCHESTER UNITED, because their two key people, the Portuguese, are out: one, to coach Portugal; the other, a modern slave, injured in ankle and spirit.

FOURTH PLACE: LIVERPOOL, because they still don’t get it: not enough black players in their team. You can’t win the league without them. Maybe in the good old days, but not any more.

Last year, someone named Jas gave the correct prediction:

My predictions:
1.Man U(depth of squad and quality of players) 2.Chelsea(quality of players and their resilience -yea, all those late min strikes) 3.Arsenal(i still feel they need 1-2 highly experienced and quality players. Current squad have lots of speed and technical skills) 4.Liverpool(Benitez is still pretty much a master tactician in European games. New big signings unproven in EPL)

What’s yours? Have some fun and give us your predictions.

The East Coast Park is a great outdoor place for quiet prayer and reflection. Stay away from the weekends and take leave for a day. A Bible, a journal, water, a nice bench and a full day to spare in leisurely wastefulness just enjoying the breeze, the blue green horizon with its ships, and the company of God. Words are superfluous. Just be present for Him. Let the joining of the charismatic and evangelical be accompanied by the contemplative in a holy dance of three!

“….He dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.” (Mark 6:46).

We used to have mountains, when Malaysia was a part of Singapore . Its too bad the past cannot be reversed. At least we still have seafronts, rivers and reservoirs and ………Pedra Branca .

I wish for Singapore, liberation from the insecurities that were originally brought to these shores by our forefathers who left their homelands in China and India. This same insecurity have been fed by circumstances and state and ingrained into our minds by a thousand voices. Such a freedom from fear and anxiety can be found only in the peace and contentment that Jesus gives.

I wish for schoolchildren more sleep, more sleep, and more sleep, and less stress. That school may become an experience that they can look forward to with anticipation, and not dread with fear. May schools become fear free discovery zones. May school ranking be chucked out, and teachers empowered to inculcate a love of learning in their charges. May a new meritocracy arise, one that looks beyond academics, and tempered with compassion for the have-nots.

I thank God for Singapore’s political leaders and wish for them to be guided by God’s wisdom, compassion and justice.

These are my wishes, O Lord.

“The Bible does not address the matter of appropriate behaviour for those who are, for whatever reason, homosexual by instinct or nature.”

“By the end of the 80s I had definitely come to the conclusion that scripture was not dealing with the predicament of persons whom we should recognise as homosexual by nature.

“I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had the about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness.”

This is serious stuff. A shepherd outwardly, for the sake of organizational order and unity, but a distorter of truth in his personal convictions. I feel disappointed and flabberghasted. What are Anglican priests and members around the world feeling?

Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.(Acts 20: 28-30)

CRM? It’s not customer relationship management, but Church Resource Ministry. This ministry has to do with developing leaders who will in turn strengthen and plant churches. In Singapore, its headed by James Creasman. I signed on for one of their Focusing Leaders Network and now I had not only completed the training but also facilitated one of the networks, together with the experienced hand of Seng Chor (second from left in pic).

This group was unique as it comprised a mix of both senior pastors and marketplace leaders. Two senior pastors were absent for this final meeting where each person shared the fruit of several months of crystallized reflections on one’s personal calling up to that point in time. The materials we used were based on Dr Robert Clinton’s research on leadership in Fuller and the founder of CRM was a mentee of Bobby. It was a rich time together as over the meetings we have gotten to know and respect and trust each other.

We had lunch there. Seng Chor, a baba, cooked us one of his signature dishes: his ‘congee porridge’, which brought us to the entrance of food’s third heaven. Together with this heavenly broth was his mother’s homely panfried bread with topping of mashed luncheon meat, chopped onion, pepper and egg. He said he upgraded his mum’s recipe (like a good Singaporean) with a dash of oregano. We were blessed by his hospitality. He looked a happy man with four women in his home: his wife and three daughters.

Photo: from left, Rev Richard Loh (Snr Pastor of Queenstown Baptist Church); Seng Chor (lead facilitator); Shirley (retired EDB high-flyer); and Jiak Cher (executive at BP); missing from pic: lead pastors Rev Dr Kenny Fam of Woodlands EFC; and Rev Irene from Zion Gospel Mission.

Check out CRM’s website HERE.

They came for the Go Forth Mission Conference 08, about thirty of them. Most were young ones. Some were on staff at Ywam Pittsburg, others were with the programs they had there. They came on a shoestring budget but not when it came to love and boldness. They hit the streets from Aljunied to Esplanade to the Merlion, like a short and intense hurricane, showing skits in the streets, singing in the open air, without police license (they were Americans!), and it attracted small crowds, and after the show and talk(interpreted into Mandarin), they mingled and interacted with whoever was around or wanted to talk. One of their leaders said, “Its like you don’t have to go all over the world; the nations are already here: Thais, Myanmese, Chinese nationals, Sri Lankans, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese….” The two Sundays they were around they brought some Myanmese, Chinese nationals whom they shared the gospel with, as guests to our services.

On Sunday, the Pittsburg group did those classic mimes of Ywam in the main and youth services and the youth pastor was so impressed with their evangelistic fervor and outreach that she organized an ad hoc training for the youths.

Later a big group went to the Philippines for a mission while others stayed on and later went across the Causeway. They left us a names list which we then invited to the Alpha Course about to be run in the church.

How were we hooked up with these Pittsburg folks? Well we support a missionary family based there that has close links with them. This family is a remarkable story in itself, but because their work is sensitive, no talk, lah.

We have been blessed by Spirit wind and fire.