Vision of GlobalFil Alliance Inc.:
A global network of Filipinos committed to international cooperation, cultural revitalization, and national transformation.
Purposes of GlobalFil Alliance Inc.:
To provide educational programs and strategies catering to the unique holistic developmental needs and purposes of Filipino individuals, families, and different communities emanating from different sectors of society, diverse cultural contexts and occurring both locally and globally.
To set up allied centers that would train individuals, families and diverse Global Filipino communities in the context of the adopted countries by advocating cultural dynamism, critical assimilation, citizenship reacquisition and/or contribution to strengthening the Philippines through volunteerism, business ventures, cultural trips, philanthropic activities, sponsorships and partnerships.
To publish helpful information through newsletters, magazines, and a website that promote the Philippines, its language, culture, values, current development, aspirations and its people both local and global.
To forge alliances with similar organizations and institutions and promote linkages with governments, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, and other sectors of society both here and abroad in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives. see links>>>
Partner with us. You may contact us here:
Phone: 655 1390 any time of the day or 631 5454 ofc hrs look for Kaye Macalinao
Mobile: 0927 493 6086 or 0916 316 4243
Email: pinoytotheworld@yahoo.com
BENCHMARKING EFFECTIVE PASTORAL LEADERSHIP
(A published article, The Evangelicals Today May 2004, by Dr. Romerlito C. Macalinao)
Everything rises or falls on leadership. Large churches like Day by Day Ministries, Christ’s Commission Fellowship, Bread of Life, Greenhills Christian Fellowship, Alabang New Life Christian Center, Word of Hope Church, Jesus Christ Saves Global Outreach, and a few others rose in prominence because of leadership. How did these pastors lead their churches to mega-church proportions? A glimpse into their personal lives, using interviews based on the principles of appreciative inquiry, summarizes for us the attributes of effective pastoral leaders. I have organized these qualities using the word LEADERSHIP as an acrostic. I pray that these leadership attributes may become a personal benchmark for every pastor.
Lives for a vision of ministry given by the Almighty God who made him and called him for this purpose. “You did not choose me but I chose you…” (Jn.15:16). First and foremost I see in these pastors, that regardless of age, social status, educational attainment, and physical capability, that when God calls, He imparts His Spirit. What these pastors do is not merely an employment of men but God uses them to deploy men for the service of mankind and for His glory. It is for this purpose that they live their lives. God uses any one who is willing, teachable, and humble. God imparts His missionary presence that cannot be shaken off. When God chooses, we cannot ignore it, deny it, run away from it, hide from it, or find any other conceivable way to escape it, because we have a God who is inescapable and inevitable. To surrender to the call of the Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe is to respond to the highest and noblest purpose of life on earth.
Encourages others to join the work through his example of faith and practice. The unquenchable passion that these pastors exude in their lives, despite insurmountable difficulties, has led people to follow their faith-adventure trail. How can anyone ignore a person whose life is not merely religious, but a genuine showcase of faith in God? Underneath the surface of seeming earthly success and prosperity, these pastors have a genuine desire for something beyond the material. They have spiritual substance that can only come from the Holy and Almighty God. Transparency, integrity, accountability, authenticity, and humility characterize these pastors. There is no illusion of their being a superman, but in all their humanity, they serve as instruments of God for noble purposes. Their people get this because these pastors live this.
Acquires the necessary educational experience and equipping to accomplish the work. Usually educational accomplishment is equated with work accomplishment. In the case of these pastors education is acknowledged, but is not a factor for success. Their success results from a clear word and direction from God. Each of these leaders took whatever education was useful for their ministry, and they have an objective appreciation of its place in the development of leaders. However, they acknowledge that education and the combined elements of spiritual and ministerial goals are what equips effective pastoral leaders.
Depends on God for physical necessities and power for the ministry. Stories of miraculous provisions, healing, seemingly impossible projects, overcoming physical handicaps, deprivations and sacrifices, resuscitations from the dead, feats of physical energy, and more, all point to God's endless and timely answers to His servants who have relied on Him for everything. Their faith was real and they could see the invisible. Doubt was remote in their minds; constant alone was faith no matter the cost. Today, the benchmark for spiritually strong pastors who achieve great things is their dependence on God's power and provision. They never depend on outside comparison. The miracles in their ministry are mentioned only to inspire and demonstrate that with the counsel of God to accomplish His purposes, His great power flows freely in His divinely appointed time and place.
Exhibits a standard of excellence that influences his generation, community and the world. These effective pastoral leaders pave the way for excellence through their lives and their ministry. A person who is radically transformed from within exudes a life of excellence that permeates his world. He becomes an agent of change for his generation. An effective pastoral leader’s life not only facilitates, but also demonstrates a life of genuine transformation and excellence. When lives are changed, when the rich share with the needy and the poor are redeemed from the stigma of poverty, and when people's dignity is restored in Christ—that is excellence. Such a testimony is outstanding and the world tags it as an authentic proof of a change that can only be divine. When Christians are actively involved in the multi-faceted nature of life and significantly set the pace in improving society and governance—that is excellence.
Reflects on the ongoing work of God with humility and gratitude. Generally, up-close, without knowing who they are and what they stand for, there is really nothing special about these pastors. In this urban jungle, they are but regular inhabitants that you see daily. Like Paul the Apostle, they all had a passion for what they did, even before God called them to His work. And now that their passion has been redirected they burn from within and without for the Lord. However, in the midst of it all there is a quiet meekness that frees them up to glory only in the work of God through them. They see the enormous task yet to be done, and recognize that only by the grace of God will they thrive as pastoral leaders fit for His use.
Stimulates others to be sensitive to the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit. These pastors equip and encourage everyone to tap into the source of unlimited power—the Spirit of God. The Filipino culture is attuned to the spirit-world. To reorient the Filipino psyche to the highest and supreme Spirit is not an easy task. For how can anyone recognize the Spirit who anointed the man from Nazareth, to preach and teach the multitudes with great power, heal the sick, and deliver people from the power of the devil, unless this same Spirit opens the eyes of the heart to see? The Holy Spirit of the Triune God is the source of power. These pastors know that, and through the work of the Spirit in their lives and ministry they guide others to grasp and experience this truth.
Helps people by affirming their calling through discipleship, mentoring, equipping, and serving. This matter of calling is absolutely personal. No one, except the man who claims to be called, knows about his call. However, there is no pulling of punches here for these pastors in terms of providing the necessary context to help their members ascertain their calling. These pastors lead their people through the arduous, sometimes painful, process of Christian growth, ministry exposure and experiences. They provide a time for their people to be observed, tried, tested, evaluated, and affirmed to determine whether one's calling is genuinely from God or not. A variety of means to this end have been put in place to usher someone into the ministry upon proving themselves as indeed belonging to the company of the called.
Introduces strategies and structures that are contemporary and culture-sensitive. Looking at their churches I discovered that they have developed a culture of their own. Their staff size, worship styles, organizational structures, ministry philosophy, mission strategies, and even methods of compensations are diverse but effective. They defy almost any type of stereotyping. The personal and organizational culture of their churches continues to evolve and provide inspiration and life to whoever wants to draw from it, and adopt it.
Prepares the people for the next level of ministry as in bequeathing the leadership and ministry to an intentionally prepared next generation. The recognition of one's mortality is a creative genius to the circumspect who would channel their remaining strength of mind, body, and spirit to the perpetuation of the great work of God. These pastors do it through the nurture and development of young men and women who are passionate and able to accomplish great exploits for God in their generation. In other words, these pastors have leadership succession plans. They are intentional in preparing people to take their place. There is no self-perpetuation. As they serve their generation, they also prepare the next generation of leaders.
The Challenge
These churches have thousands attending their Sunday services and the pastors have stayed in these churches for more than ten years. The challenge to all pastors and churches desiring to have these leadership attributes is twofold.
First, commit yourself to pastor a church for the longest time possible. This is the only way you can be a key participant in the developmental stages of your church. Many well-meaning pastors easily resign from a pastorate because of a relational problem. It is already a given that there will always be problems in the church (look at the seven churches in Revelation). Unless a church is a pastor-killing church, and churches like this do exist, pastors should really pray and evaluate the cost of leaving a church. My former pastorate gave me a book that has been very helpful in this regard and it is worth looking up: The Power of Loving Your Church: Leading through Acceptance and Grace by David Hansen (Bethany, 1998).
To inspire you to stay in your church for the long haul, it is wise to sit at the feet of pastors who have endured and enjoyed long pastorates in one church. What you will learn from these pastors is incomparable to any seminary degree by any standard. Start searching for these long-tenured and fruitful pastors. Pray that you will find one who is willing to mentor you.
Second, commit yourself to intentionally learn. Graciously adapt and apply your learning as you grow with the people God has entrusted to you. The church is a learning community and the pastor will have to inculcate with his leadership a culture of learning. To set in motion the wheels of change in a church is one of the hardest things a pastor can do. The pastor is in a precarious position when he attempts to lead a church through change. He could be kicked out because most people do not like change. In a leadership conference I attended Bill Hybels said, “The pastor will have to model change.”
It should be no surprise that change propelling the church to fully accomplish God’s purpose is not something that would be immediately embraced by any church. Churches have an ocean of learning gaps. To crossover to the other side, the pastor must model change, develop a learning culture within his church, and remain committed over a long period of time. Only then can he muster and master change.
May we be able to say together with the apostle Paul, “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven...I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (Acts 26.19; 2 Tim. 4: 7-8).
Resources:
A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders by Reggie McNeal (JosseyBass, 2000).
Leading Change by John Kotter (HBS Press, 1996). Kotter is the Konosuke Matsushita professor of Leadership at Harvard University Business School.
Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey by Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr (JosseyBass, 2000). I find this a church version of Kotter’s work.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was published in The Evangelicals Today, May 2004)
Everything rises or falls on leadership. Large churches like Day by Day Ministries, Christ’s Commission Fellowship, Bread of Life, Greenhills Christian Fellowship, Alabang New Life Christian Center, Word of Hope Church, Jesus Christ Saves Global Outreach, and a few others rose in prominence because of leadership. How did these pastors lead their churches to mega-church proportions? A glimpse into their personal lives, using interviews based on the principles of appreciative inquiry, summarizes for us the attributes of effective pastoral leaders. I have organized these qualities using the word LEADERSHIP as an acrostic. I pray that these leadership attributes may become a personal benchmark for every pastor.
Lives for a vision of ministry given by the Almighty God who made him and called him for this purpose. “You did not choose me but I chose you…” (Jn.15:16). First and foremost I see in these pastors, that regardless of age, social status, educational attainment, and physical capability, that when God calls, He imparts His Spirit. What these pastors do is not merely an employment of men but God uses them to deploy men for the service of mankind and for His glory. It is for this purpose that they live their lives. God uses any one who is willing, teachable, and humble. God imparts His missionary presence that cannot be shaken off. When God chooses, we cannot ignore it, deny it, run away from it, hide from it, or find any other conceivable way to escape it, because we have a God who is inescapable and inevitable. To surrender to the call of the Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe is to respond to the highest and noblest purpose of life on earth.
Encourages others to join the work through his example of faith and practice. The unquenchable passion that these pastors exude in their lives, despite insurmountable difficulties, has led people to follow their faith-adventure trail. How can anyone ignore a person whose life is not merely religious, but a genuine showcase of faith in God? Underneath the surface of seeming earthly success and prosperity, these pastors have a genuine desire for something beyond the material. They have spiritual substance that can only come from the Holy and Almighty God. Transparency, integrity, accountability, authenticity, and humility characterize these pastors. There is no illusion of their being a superman, but in all their humanity, they serve as instruments of God for noble purposes. Their people get this because these pastors live this.
Acquires the necessary educational experience and equipping to accomplish the work. Usually educational accomplishment is equated with work accomplishment. In the case of these pastors education is acknowledged, but is not a factor for success. Their success results from a clear word and direction from God. Each of these leaders took whatever education was useful for their ministry, and they have an objective appreciation of its place in the development of leaders. However, they acknowledge that education and the combined elements of spiritual and ministerial goals are what equips effective pastoral leaders.
Depends on God for physical necessities and power for the ministry. Stories of miraculous provisions, healing, seemingly impossible projects, overcoming physical handicaps, deprivations and sacrifices, resuscitations from the dead, feats of physical energy, and more, all point to God's endless and timely answers to His servants who have relied on Him for everything. Their faith was real and they could see the invisible. Doubt was remote in their minds; constant alone was faith no matter the cost. Today, the benchmark for spiritually strong pastors who achieve great things is their dependence on God's power and provision. They never depend on outside comparison. The miracles in their ministry are mentioned only to inspire and demonstrate that with the counsel of God to accomplish His purposes, His great power flows freely in His divinely appointed time and place.
Exhibits a standard of excellence that influences his generation, community and the world. These effective pastoral leaders pave the way for excellence through their lives and their ministry. A person who is radically transformed from within exudes a life of excellence that permeates his world. He becomes an agent of change for his generation. An effective pastoral leader’s life not only facilitates, but also demonstrates a life of genuine transformation and excellence. When lives are changed, when the rich share with the needy and the poor are redeemed from the stigma of poverty, and when people's dignity is restored in Christ—that is excellence. Such a testimony is outstanding and the world tags it as an authentic proof of a change that can only be divine. When Christians are actively involved in the multi-faceted nature of life and significantly set the pace in improving society and governance—that is excellence.
Reflects on the ongoing work of God with humility and gratitude. Generally, up-close, without knowing who they are and what they stand for, there is really nothing special about these pastors. In this urban jungle, they are but regular inhabitants that you see daily. Like Paul the Apostle, they all had a passion for what they did, even before God called them to His work. And now that their passion has been redirected they burn from within and without for the Lord. However, in the midst of it all there is a quiet meekness that frees them up to glory only in the work of God through them. They see the enormous task yet to be done, and recognize that only by the grace of God will they thrive as pastoral leaders fit for His use.
Stimulates others to be sensitive to the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit. These pastors equip and encourage everyone to tap into the source of unlimited power—the Spirit of God. The Filipino culture is attuned to the spirit-world. To reorient the Filipino psyche to the highest and supreme Spirit is not an easy task. For how can anyone recognize the Spirit who anointed the man from Nazareth, to preach and teach the multitudes with great power, heal the sick, and deliver people from the power of the devil, unless this same Spirit opens the eyes of the heart to see? The Holy Spirit of the Triune God is the source of power. These pastors know that, and through the work of the Spirit in their lives and ministry they guide others to grasp and experience this truth.
Helps people by affirming their calling through discipleship, mentoring, equipping, and serving. This matter of calling is absolutely personal. No one, except the man who claims to be called, knows about his call. However, there is no pulling of punches here for these pastors in terms of providing the necessary context to help their members ascertain their calling. These pastors lead their people through the arduous, sometimes painful, process of Christian growth, ministry exposure and experiences. They provide a time for their people to be observed, tried, tested, evaluated, and affirmed to determine whether one's calling is genuinely from God or not. A variety of means to this end have been put in place to usher someone into the ministry upon proving themselves as indeed belonging to the company of the called.
Introduces strategies and structures that are contemporary and culture-sensitive. Looking at their churches I discovered that they have developed a culture of their own. Their staff size, worship styles, organizational structures, ministry philosophy, mission strategies, and even methods of compensations are diverse but effective. They defy almost any type of stereotyping. The personal and organizational culture of their churches continues to evolve and provide inspiration and life to whoever wants to draw from it, and adopt it.
Prepares the people for the next level of ministry as in bequeathing the leadership and ministry to an intentionally prepared next generation. The recognition of one's mortality is a creative genius to the circumspect who would channel their remaining strength of mind, body, and spirit to the perpetuation of the great work of God. These pastors do it through the nurture and development of young men and women who are passionate and able to accomplish great exploits for God in their generation. In other words, these pastors have leadership succession plans. They are intentional in preparing people to take their place. There is no self-perpetuation. As they serve their generation, they also prepare the next generation of leaders.
The Challenge
These churches have thousands attending their Sunday services and the pastors have stayed in these churches for more than ten years. The challenge to all pastors and churches desiring to have these leadership attributes is twofold.
First, commit yourself to pastor a church for the longest time possible. This is the only way you can be a key participant in the developmental stages of your church. Many well-meaning pastors easily resign from a pastorate because of a relational problem. It is already a given that there will always be problems in the church (look at the seven churches in Revelation). Unless a church is a pastor-killing church, and churches like this do exist, pastors should really pray and evaluate the cost of leaving a church. My former pastorate gave me a book that has been very helpful in this regard and it is worth looking up: The Power of Loving Your Church: Leading through Acceptance and Grace by David Hansen (Bethany, 1998).
To inspire you to stay in your church for the long haul, it is wise to sit at the feet of pastors who have endured and enjoyed long pastorates in one church. What you will learn from these pastors is incomparable to any seminary degree by any standard. Start searching for these long-tenured and fruitful pastors. Pray that you will find one who is willing to mentor you.
Second, commit yourself to intentionally learn. Graciously adapt and apply your learning as you grow with the people God has entrusted to you. The church is a learning community and the pastor will have to inculcate with his leadership a culture of learning. To set in motion the wheels of change in a church is one of the hardest things a pastor can do. The pastor is in a precarious position when he attempts to lead a church through change. He could be kicked out because most people do not like change. In a leadership conference I attended Bill Hybels said, “The pastor will have to model change.”
It should be no surprise that change propelling the church to fully accomplish God’s purpose is not something that would be immediately embraced by any church. Churches have an ocean of learning gaps. To crossover to the other side, the pastor must model change, develop a learning culture within his church, and remain committed over a long period of time. Only then can he muster and master change.
May we be able to say together with the apostle Paul, “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven...I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (Acts 26.19; 2 Tim. 4: 7-8).
Resources:
A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders by Reggie McNeal (JosseyBass, 2000).
Leading Change by John Kotter (HBS Press, 1996). Kotter is the Konosuke Matsushita professor of Leadership at Harvard University Business School.
Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey by Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr (JosseyBass, 2000). I find this a church version of Kotter’s work.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was published in The Evangelicals Today, May 2004)
Voices In The Wilderness - A MissionsConference Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Asian Center for Missions
Ten years ago Gordon Robertson, son of 700 Club founder and president Pat Robertson, heard his personal voices from the wilderness, first in India and then the Philippines. He was a practicing lawyer, but he quit from his lucrative career and responded to the call of God. In India he saw the need for the salvation. When he came to the Philippines he saw a vision of boatloads of Filipinos sailing to different parts of the world. This vision led to the formation of the Asian Center for Missions. Since then, ACM has commissioned Filipino missionaries to different parts of the world, some even in restricted places.
I am personally amazed by the stories of Filipino missionaries that came for the occassion. Stories from the Killing Fields of Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and even in the Sub-Saharan Africa, were all awe-inspiring and challenging. As a result, numbers of people responded with the call to missions. Imagine to be the first missionary to share the message of the salvation to one of the biggest nomadic tribe in Africa - the Fulani tribe? I was really moved by the presentation of our kababayan missionary. I can only wish you were there at the conference. You'd feel proud that the Lord is using Filipinos to reach the unreached. The identities of the missionaries are classified since most of them are working in restricted areas.
GlobalFil Alliance Inc. is working towards a partnership with ACM and other similar organizations. We believe, as Gordon Robertson does, that Filipinos are strategically located in different parts of the world. This is not without reason. Where Filipinos are, the message of Jesus Christ can be heralded. How this is to be accomplished? It will have to be creative, innovative, and non-directive. By providing educational services that showcase cultural revitalization, international cooperation, and national transformation, we can win the nations through the Filipino nation. Join us.
To our beloved Filipino missionaries all over the world, let us pray that the presence and power of God will guide, protect, and provide as they fulfill God's purpose to the nations.
I am personally amazed by the stories of Filipino missionaries that came for the occassion. Stories from the Killing Fields of Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and even in the Sub-Saharan Africa, were all awe-inspiring and challenging. As a result, numbers of people responded with the call to missions. Imagine to be the first missionary to share the message of the salvation to one of the biggest nomadic tribe in Africa - the Fulani tribe? I was really moved by the presentation of our kababayan missionary. I can only wish you were there at the conference. You'd feel proud that the Lord is using Filipinos to reach the unreached. The identities of the missionaries are classified since most of them are working in restricted areas.
GlobalFil Alliance Inc. is working towards a partnership with ACM and other similar organizations. We believe, as Gordon Robertson does, that Filipinos are strategically located in different parts of the world. This is not without reason. Where Filipinos are, the message of Jesus Christ can be heralded. How this is to be accomplished? It will have to be creative, innovative, and non-directive. By providing educational services that showcase cultural revitalization, international cooperation, and national transformation, we can win the nations through the Filipino nation. Join us.
To our beloved Filipino missionaries all over the world, let us pray that the presence and power of God will guide, protect, and provide as they fulfill God's purpose to the nations.
A Seminar-Workshop on Teaching Strategies, Learning Styles, & Multiple Intelligences
A Church of God congregation, located within the margins of the former Clark Air Base, invited Dr. Romerlito C. Macalinao to conduct a seminar-workshop on Teaching Strategies, Learning Styles, and Multiple Intelligences among its teachers. Being well attended, participants ranged from very young to adult teachers. Understanding Filipino space, the event was moved from the sanctuary to a regular classroom for kindergarten kids. This allowed for closer communication, meaningful interaction, and better absorption of the teaching. The room was packed with about 50 people. Praise the Lord for such wonderful feedback.
Volunteer workers, teachers, assistants, and parents attended the whole day seminar-workshop
Volunteer workers, teachers, assistants, and parents attended the whole day seminar-workshop
The Appreciative Church
Prof. Romerlito C. Macalinao, M.A., Ed.D.
A church of more than a decade has been experiencing a decline in congregational size. The leadership of the church finds no difficulty to pin the problem to the pastor. The pastor of the church feels the pinch. He has led this church for all those years. He knows the vibrancy of the early years of the church and the contrasting lethargy of these later years. He longs to bring back those glory years, but how? It was easy for the leadership of the church to want a new pastor. For the membership, they simply left the church. Tension fills the church. If you were the pastor, church leader, or member of this church what would you do?
A Filipino church in Seattle is using the facilities of a EuroAmerican church. The Filipino church is steadily growing as opposed to a shrinking size of the EuroAmerican church. The pastor of the Filipino church is nearly half the age of the pastor of the EuroAmerican church. This age-difference seems to extend among the congregants of both churches. You have a vibrant Filipino congregation with young Filipino pastor with a membership of predominantly young families and a lethargic EuroAmerican congregation with an old EuroAmerican pastor with a membership of predominantly old congregants. Both churches belong to the same denomination. They knew they could do ministry together. What would you do in this situation?
A large denomination desires to recapture a corporate vision. It seeks to encourage common ministries among its multi-ethnic churches all over the US while advancing the Great Commission. A global humanitarian organization is aiming at a fresh articulation of its vision and mission in the 21st century. Beginning in 1950, this organization has continued to touch the lives many children all over the world. A nationwide retail chain of sporting goods in the country is attempting to improve the customer care of their sales people. A global institution that is responsible for maintaining global peace and progress is calling its member countries to a renewed compact for global change. What would these organizations do?
These organizations know the challenges of the present. They know that the preferred image of the future is to be accomplished if the right thing is done in the present. However, trapped in-between present realities and future aspirations is a creative tension. One way of handling creative tension is the problem-solving approach. On the contrary, these organizations addressed creative tension using the process of Appreciative Inquiry. So, what is Appreciative Inquiry? How is this done? What can this do to my church?
David Cooperrider - son of a Lutheran pastor and an active layman with the United Church of Christ in the USA - Suresh Srivastra and other colleagues at Case Western Reserve University pioneered in 1987 the organizational development tool called Appreciative Inquiry. The chart below shows the radical difference between Appreciative Inquiry and the traditional problem-solving approach (You may check this site for additional information. http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu).
PROBLEM SOLVING (PS)
APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY (AI)
PS: What to fix? What is the problem? Participated by a few
AI: What to grow? What are the life-giving forces? Participated by many
PS: Underlying grammar of problems, symptoms, causes, solutions, action plan, intervention, weakness, deductive
AI: New grammar of best experiences, true, good, better, possible, real stories to learn from, strength, inductive
PS: Analyzes things into pieces and specialties, guaranteeing fragmented responses
AI: Narrates best experiences and gathers common elements reflective of the ideal
PS: Slow. Takes a lot of effort to generate positive emotion for change from a negative process
AI: Fast! Rides on the inspiration generated by exemplary experiences for more positive change in the future
PS: Assumes organizations are constellations of problems to be overcome
AI: Assumes organizations are sources of infinite capacity and imagination
The problem-solving approach is widely practiced, even in churches. It seems easier to identify the problems of churches. It seems equally easy to propose some solutions to these problems. It seems that not many believers, pastors, leaders, and workers successfully get away from this problem-solving approach. What can be done to rectify this situation when it seems that this is just the way it is. Change? To shift from the familiar problem-solving approach to an appreciative inquiry process is like moving a mountain. It is difficult at first, but it is doable. While churches respond from a problem-solving approach, there must now be intentional efforts towards the affirmative process. So churches proceed with any or all of these three kinds of changes. There will be a program change, a policy change, and or a people change. Instantaneously churches are once again trapped into the problem-solving approach. A review will be conducted to look into possible problems on programs, policies, and people. With a starting point to look for problems, churches successfully find problems. You can easily predict what follows after this. So churches adapt new programs, revise existing policies, or even get a new pastor. But most often than not, after a while, problems ugly head begin to show up once more. Churches get really confounded at this point. This picture is for real.
I believe these three kinds of changes; however, add to these an overarching Appreciative Inquiry process of change. So what needs to be affirmed in churches? Is it not that every true believer holds in his/her consciousness an image of the New Testament Church? Is it not that such images are translated into contemporary experiences of the best in church life? Then what are these best experiences in church life? From this positive, affirmative, and appreciative starting point, the whole community begins to share their best experiences. This is Discovery, the first phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. Stories of best experiences in church will be heard. Everyone reaches a collective consciousness of best experiences in church. Morale is high. Once this common ground is established, the next step is to reach higher ground. This is Dream, the second phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. Strike while the iron is hot. Best experiences lead to best practices. Believers begin to collaborate from this positive core. What they focus on becomes their reality. Changes can now be addressed from the succeeding phase of the Appreciative Inquiry. This covers the last two phases, the Design and Destiny phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. While the 4-D process of Appreciative Inquiry look simple, facilitating an Appreciative Inquiry summit may last for a day to as long as several days depending on the nature of the inquiry. One thing I know, I have never seen any true believer, who heartily participated in an Appreciative Inquiry process, come out disillusioned and depressed of church.
The potential application of Appreciative Inquiry is limitless. It has also been described as innovation in the speed of imagination. It has been used in developing mission and vision statement, strategic planning, interfaith initiatives, process and service enhancements, organizational and system redesign, civic and community development, and group culture change, to name a few. The process of Appreciative Inquiry begins with an affirmative topic choice. By asking the right questions, everyone desiring positive change stands on the doorstep of a compelling future.
A Chinese proverb says that with great questions come great answers. True believers, pastors, workers, and leaders need to ask the right questions. What is the problem? What are the issues? What needs to be solved? What are the concerns? These are questions that come from a deficit mentality. Scriptures abound on cultivating the appreciative. What happened to setting your mind on things that are at the right hand of the Father? What happened to transforming our minds instead of conforming to the problem-solving approach of the world? While it is true that Christians are sinners (negative) saved by grace; Christians are saved called to be saints (positive). Which of the two preferably builds up? While it is also true that problems in church cannot be eliminated, only minimized, said a dear friend of mine many years back, you can choose not to dwell on problems. Christians need to practice asking appreciative questions. Asks for the things that affirm, edify, and inspire. When we do, we will not be asking why churches are not growing? Why members lack commitment? Why the funds are low? Why there is a lack of vision? Instead we will be asking, when was the time when churches were growing, members were committed, funds abound, and a sense of vision? Just imagine the stories that would emerge from this question. Excitement is generated by the question. Enthusiasm is to be seen in the faces of congregants. Common understanding gives birth to team spirit. Commitment to action is cemented. Everyone moves on the same direction. The glory days of the past, from individual to corporate consciousness, is brought to the present and propelled at a higher level into the future.
Despite all the personal hardships the apostle Paul experienced in the work of the Lord, he has been encouraging Christians to be thinking only of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent, and praiseworthy. Being appreciative is one of the many things that kept the apostle going. We need the same in our churches today. Imagine an appreciative church. Dynamite!
Dr. Romerlito C. Macalinao is Founder and CEO of GlobalFil Alliance Inc., an educational consultancy service with a vision of “A global network of Filipinos committed to international partnership, cultural revitalization, and national transformation.” Web addresses: http://www.geocities.com/drmacalinao and http://www.drmacalinao.blogspot.com/ GlobalFil Alliance Inc. provides AI-based seminar-workshops, curriculum development, training and design, leadership development, and short-term assessments to long-term transformation processes. Dr. Macalinao is an adjunct faculty at the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries, JIL International Bible College and a workplace minister in the 9 to 5 window.
A church of more than a decade has been experiencing a decline in congregational size. The leadership of the church finds no difficulty to pin the problem to the pastor. The pastor of the church feels the pinch. He has led this church for all those years. He knows the vibrancy of the early years of the church and the contrasting lethargy of these later years. He longs to bring back those glory years, but how? It was easy for the leadership of the church to want a new pastor. For the membership, they simply left the church. Tension fills the church. If you were the pastor, church leader, or member of this church what would you do?
A Filipino church in Seattle is using the facilities of a EuroAmerican church. The Filipino church is steadily growing as opposed to a shrinking size of the EuroAmerican church. The pastor of the Filipino church is nearly half the age of the pastor of the EuroAmerican church. This age-difference seems to extend among the congregants of both churches. You have a vibrant Filipino congregation with young Filipino pastor with a membership of predominantly young families and a lethargic EuroAmerican congregation with an old EuroAmerican pastor with a membership of predominantly old congregants. Both churches belong to the same denomination. They knew they could do ministry together. What would you do in this situation?
A large denomination desires to recapture a corporate vision. It seeks to encourage common ministries among its multi-ethnic churches all over the US while advancing the Great Commission. A global humanitarian organization is aiming at a fresh articulation of its vision and mission in the 21st century. Beginning in 1950, this organization has continued to touch the lives many children all over the world. A nationwide retail chain of sporting goods in the country is attempting to improve the customer care of their sales people. A global institution that is responsible for maintaining global peace and progress is calling its member countries to a renewed compact for global change. What would these organizations do?
These organizations know the challenges of the present. They know that the preferred image of the future is to be accomplished if the right thing is done in the present. However, trapped in-between present realities and future aspirations is a creative tension. One way of handling creative tension is the problem-solving approach. On the contrary, these organizations addressed creative tension using the process of Appreciative Inquiry. So, what is Appreciative Inquiry? How is this done? What can this do to my church?
David Cooperrider - son of a Lutheran pastor and an active layman with the United Church of Christ in the USA - Suresh Srivastra and other colleagues at Case Western Reserve University pioneered in 1987 the organizational development tool called Appreciative Inquiry. The chart below shows the radical difference between Appreciative Inquiry and the traditional problem-solving approach (You may check this site for additional information. http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu).
PROBLEM SOLVING (PS)
APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY (AI)
PS: What to fix? What is the problem? Participated by a few
AI: What to grow? What are the life-giving forces? Participated by many
PS: Underlying grammar of problems, symptoms, causes, solutions, action plan, intervention, weakness, deductive
AI: New grammar of best experiences, true, good, better, possible, real stories to learn from, strength, inductive
PS: Analyzes things into pieces and specialties, guaranteeing fragmented responses
AI: Narrates best experiences and gathers common elements reflective of the ideal
PS: Slow. Takes a lot of effort to generate positive emotion for change from a negative process
AI: Fast! Rides on the inspiration generated by exemplary experiences for more positive change in the future
PS: Assumes organizations are constellations of problems to be overcome
AI: Assumes organizations are sources of infinite capacity and imagination
The problem-solving approach is widely practiced, even in churches. It seems easier to identify the problems of churches. It seems equally easy to propose some solutions to these problems. It seems that not many believers, pastors, leaders, and workers successfully get away from this problem-solving approach. What can be done to rectify this situation when it seems that this is just the way it is. Change? To shift from the familiar problem-solving approach to an appreciative inquiry process is like moving a mountain. It is difficult at first, but it is doable. While churches respond from a problem-solving approach, there must now be intentional efforts towards the affirmative process. So churches proceed with any or all of these three kinds of changes. There will be a program change, a policy change, and or a people change. Instantaneously churches are once again trapped into the problem-solving approach. A review will be conducted to look into possible problems on programs, policies, and people. With a starting point to look for problems, churches successfully find problems. You can easily predict what follows after this. So churches adapt new programs, revise existing policies, or even get a new pastor. But most often than not, after a while, problems ugly head begin to show up once more. Churches get really confounded at this point. This picture is for real.
I believe these three kinds of changes; however, add to these an overarching Appreciative Inquiry process of change. So what needs to be affirmed in churches? Is it not that every true believer holds in his/her consciousness an image of the New Testament Church? Is it not that such images are translated into contemporary experiences of the best in church life? Then what are these best experiences in church life? From this positive, affirmative, and appreciative starting point, the whole community begins to share their best experiences. This is Discovery, the first phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. Stories of best experiences in church will be heard. Everyone reaches a collective consciousness of best experiences in church. Morale is high. Once this common ground is established, the next step is to reach higher ground. This is Dream, the second phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. Strike while the iron is hot. Best experiences lead to best practices. Believers begin to collaborate from this positive core. What they focus on becomes their reality. Changes can now be addressed from the succeeding phase of the Appreciative Inquiry. This covers the last two phases, the Design and Destiny phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. While the 4-D process of Appreciative Inquiry look simple, facilitating an Appreciative Inquiry summit may last for a day to as long as several days depending on the nature of the inquiry. One thing I know, I have never seen any true believer, who heartily participated in an Appreciative Inquiry process, come out disillusioned and depressed of church.
The potential application of Appreciative Inquiry is limitless. It has also been described as innovation in the speed of imagination. It has been used in developing mission and vision statement, strategic planning, interfaith initiatives, process and service enhancements, organizational and system redesign, civic and community development, and group culture change, to name a few. The process of Appreciative Inquiry begins with an affirmative topic choice. By asking the right questions, everyone desiring positive change stands on the doorstep of a compelling future.
A Chinese proverb says that with great questions come great answers. True believers, pastors, workers, and leaders need to ask the right questions. What is the problem? What are the issues? What needs to be solved? What are the concerns? These are questions that come from a deficit mentality. Scriptures abound on cultivating the appreciative. What happened to setting your mind on things that are at the right hand of the Father? What happened to transforming our minds instead of conforming to the problem-solving approach of the world? While it is true that Christians are sinners (negative) saved by grace; Christians are saved called to be saints (positive). Which of the two preferably builds up? While it is also true that problems in church cannot be eliminated, only minimized, said a dear friend of mine many years back, you can choose not to dwell on problems. Christians need to practice asking appreciative questions. Asks for the things that affirm, edify, and inspire. When we do, we will not be asking why churches are not growing? Why members lack commitment? Why the funds are low? Why there is a lack of vision? Instead we will be asking, when was the time when churches were growing, members were committed, funds abound, and a sense of vision? Just imagine the stories that would emerge from this question. Excitement is generated by the question. Enthusiasm is to be seen in the faces of congregants. Common understanding gives birth to team spirit. Commitment to action is cemented. Everyone moves on the same direction. The glory days of the past, from individual to corporate consciousness, is brought to the present and propelled at a higher level into the future.
Despite all the personal hardships the apostle Paul experienced in the work of the Lord, he has been encouraging Christians to be thinking only of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent, and praiseworthy. Being appreciative is one of the many things that kept the apostle going. We need the same in our churches today. Imagine an appreciative church. Dynamite!
Dr. Romerlito C. Macalinao is Founder and CEO of GlobalFil Alliance Inc., an educational consultancy service with a vision of “A global network of Filipinos committed to international partnership, cultural revitalization, and national transformation.” Web addresses: http://www.geocities.com/drmacalinao and http://www.drmacalinao.blogspot.com/ GlobalFil Alliance Inc. provides AI-based seminar-workshops, curriculum development, training and design, leadership development, and short-term assessments to long-term transformation processes. Dr. Macalinao is an adjunct faculty at the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries, JIL International Bible College and a workplace minister in the 9 to 5 window.
Ed.D. Graduation '05 Photos
The graduation for my Doctorate in Education, with a cognate in Adult Education, has finally come. The graduation was held at the beautiful and modern facilities of Victory Christian Fellowship located at the affluent The Fort last April 8, 2005, Friday 5 pm. With me was my supportive wife - Kaye. Our three lovely kids, who would not be in the best of elements to attend a purely adult function, were better left at home. However, Ashiel, Keryx, & KrisMea got from us their icecream as we arrive home.
Dr. Rodrigo Tano, the Dean of the Asia Graduate School of Theology congratulates Dr. Romer C. Macalinao upon receiving diploma. The two expats in white barong tagalog are members of the board and their right side is Dr. Isabelo Magalit, the outgoing president of Asian Theological Seminar. Dr. Lydia Mapile, the associate program director and standing on the extreme left, assists Dr. Tano.
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