For those who don’t know, speaking in tongue is a phenomena where a person utter words that no one can understand.  In the context of the Bible “tongue” means language.  For an ordinary person, speaking in tongue simply means speaking in a different language.  To understand the concept of speaking in tongue, one must read  Act 2 : 1 – 12

When it happened ? Verse 1.  On the day of Pentecost.  What happened ? Verse 2. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of violent wind came from heaven  Verse 2 tells us that, there was a divine intervention.  A sound like blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then, there were tongues like fire and so on.  The crowd were perplexed.  According to verse 5, there were people from all over the world speaking different tongue (language).  Verse 6 is very tricky, “one heard them speaking in his own language” meaning the speaker who is a Galilean (verse 7) speaks a language which a listener who may be an Asian could understand.  The speaker did not know or understood what he spoke.  After the incident, the speaker of that different tongue(language) will not have any knowledge of what he spoke. Verse twelve says amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”  At the end of the day, no one even the speaker knew what happened.  Then, as you read further, Peter stood up and explained what happened.

How many languages are there in the world?  Stephen R. Anderson of the Linguistic Society of America,cites the Ethnologue organization. According to Ethnologue, there are currently 6,912 living languages, defined as languages that people speak today.

It is interesting to note that speaking in tongue is a gift from God.   Speaking in tongue would have been the best evangelical tool of all time.  How can the people during the time of Jesus ignore such a magnificent gift?   The Bible have no records of Jesus or his disciples speaking in tongue when they go from one town to another.  Jesus and his disciples knew that speaking in tongues can be self-induced and they don’t want to lie about it.

The “Big Lie” was simple –tell the biggest, most outrageous lie; tell it often enough; tell it loudly enough –and eventually people will believe it – Joseph Paul Goebbels

Knowing this, the Apostle Paul has got this to say in 1 Corinthians 14 (New International Version) – Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.[b] 3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,[c] but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues,[d] unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

According to the Bible, anyone who speaks in tongue, speaks to God.  As such, I belief speaking in tongue do exist and I would like to conclude with verse 18 & 19 of 1 Corinthians 14 “thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.Language,

Most of the time, church programs are carried because they are in the yearly plan. Little do the church authority check or question the leaders on the effectiveness of a yearly plan.

The recent excursion that was cancelled is a classic example.  The morale of the story is :-

1. Most of the church members are not interested in the programme. The handful of those who participate are the same people namely from committees and sub committees.
2. Members are in financial crisis. They prefer to spend their cash wisely and effectively every month.
3. The church has successfully brought about “subsidy mentality.” Looks like church programmes are only effective if they are subsidized by the tithe’s money.

Are we going to “subsidize” the so-called “Christmas Rally” to ensure that it is a “success” ? If the aim of the programme is to reach non believers, why should the congregation keep the date free? The congregation know what Christmas is about. Planning to fail?

Frankly speaking, the “Christmas Rally” (which is not Biblical) is a success only if it is fully financed by donations and sponsorship.

The word “Laity” was created by the Church to separate the Clergy from the ordinary members. According to 1 Peter 2 : 9  all of us are chosen people, a “Royal Priest.”  The purpose of the separation is to enable the Church to classify the Clergy in the family of Levi. If the Clergy are the Levites, the ordinary members are the other eleven tribes of Israel. By doing so, the Clergy think that they can justify the tithe that they collect. The Laity Sunday is held to remind the ordinary members of this separation.

On the other hand, Laity Sunday is also held to give the Pastors a day off  from the pulpit. There were days once upon a time when  Pastors are considered as the most hard working professionals. They walk and ride horses for days doing their “job”. They work diligently to meet all the many needs of the congregation.

Do Pastors today really deserve a day “off” from the pulpit? Modern Pastors have more leaves then you and me. Some even have the luxury of having a year of leave known as sabbatical leave. Beside that, they have a fixed day off every week.  They may even go to the extend of claiming off day for every Saturday.

If you look around you, there are many happenings. We are yet to get out of the global recession. Thousands lost their job including our church members. Many families are struggling to meet their daily needs.

To make the matter worse, the recent earthquake, tsunami and flood in many part of the world left numerous people homeless. Many lost their loved one and properties. In the midst of all these happening, I think it is a complete ignorance of the word of God if the church still want to continue with the Christmas Concert. It is a waste of resource, time and tithes.

Oh yes, after including the plights of these unfortunate people in the prayer list, the next thing is that the Council will approve a relief fund of RM500 or the most RM1,000.00 to wash their hands as Pilate.

The Christmas we celebrate today is an indicator that today’s Christianity is willing to accept any worldly customs and traditions. Christmas has got nothing to do with the Bible.  To make it short, many Christmas traditions and practices predated the birth of Christ himself. These practices are related to pagan Roman gods and goddess.

Today, thank God we do not have pagan Roman gods and goddess in the Church. Instead, we have music, modern dances, traditional dances, various kind of “Christian” songs, and drama for Christmas. By putting up this costly stage show, how are you going to show the love of Christ to the people? When and where did Christ ask you to do all these?

To make a mockery out of it, some even claim that they are going to proclaim the gospel by having the Christmas Concert. Christ has been mocked and crucified once. Please do not mock and crucify Him again in the name of Christmas.

Living in a multi racial country, we can see in TV that even pagan god believers are spending their cash wisely on the widows, aliens and the fatherless.

If the “storehouse” has too much cash, how about helping those who are affected by the recent earthquake, tsunami and flood. By doing so, you can really show the love of Christ to the whole world. Oops! it is not in the Music and Worship Committee yearly plan. Never mind, its not too late to revise the plan.

The word “subsidy” is a governmental or a parliamentary word. The parliament authorize the government to collect tax. The fund derived from the tax is then used to subsidize various government projects.

The Webster Dictionary defines the word subsidy as :-

n. 1. Support; aid; coöperation; esp., extraordinary aid in money rendered to the sovereign or to a friendly power.

They advised the king to send speedy aids, and with much alacrity granted a great rate of subsidy.

- Bacon.

2. Specifically: A sum of money paid by one sovereign or nation to another to purchase the coöperation or the neutrality of such sovereign or nation in war.

3. A grant from the government, from a municipal corporation, or the like, to a private person or company to assist the establishment or support of an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public; a subvention; as, a subsidy to the owners of a line of ocean steamships.

A church that collect 10% mandatory Levitical tithe (which is not Biblical) has no right to use the word subsidy. The Bible has clearly defined how the tithe should be used. As per the definition above, a subsidy is to aid  a private person or company, to assist the establishment or support of an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public. In what way the subsidy given to various committees out of  the tithe can be an advantages the church members?

It is understood that the church has to somehow help the committees in the unproductive and useless excursions, retreats, seminars and conventions. For the benefit of faithful tithers, please do not publish in the weekly announcements how the church waste tither’s hard earned money. Do not attempt to justify your wrong spendings by being “transparent.” Members can think for themselves.

God will make something out of nothing. When Jesus choose His first batch of disciples, the twelve disciples were ordinary men. God used them in an extraordinary manner. The twelve consist of fishermen, a tax collector, and a revolutionist. The Gospels record the constant failings, struggles, and doubts of these twelve men who followed Jesus Christ. The leaders that Jesus himself nominated to be his “council members” were ordinary sinners. How do the church appoint its’ council members today? The church have their own set of criteria or rules to “judge” the nominated council members. Sadly, they did not follow the scripture.

The first criteria the nomination committee should bear in mind is written in Matthew 7 : 1 – 2  ”Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Literally, it means the nomination committee cannot judge an eligible candidate based on his or her personal life. They should only be interested in the leadership qualities.

The second criteria is in Roman 3 : 10 – 12 As it is written : “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Basically it mean that none of us is worthy to do His job.

The third criteria which is most important is found in Roman 3 : 23  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In the eye of God, all of us are equal. We (including the nomination committee) are trash and rubbish in His sight. However, all of us are saved and entitled to serve Him by His grace.

AFTER selecting the candidate by considering the three criteria above, the only advice that the church entitle to give to the candidate is in Titus 1 : 7 – 9 “Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

Titus 1 : 7 – 9 is a personal matter between the candidate and God. The church can only monitor the candidate by his or her performance. The church cannot play God by using Titus 1 : 7 – 9 as a selection criteria.

Every day we are living in the grace of God. If we are alive today, it is a miracle. God is doing miracles in our life everyday. If you say that miracles are testimonies, each one of us have plenty of testimonies to be shared. Things like good food, a decent shelter, clothings and a good job are the basics. Our God of mercy  provide these to everybody including unbelievers.

Is getting straight A’s in your exams or getting a good job, a testimony? Definitely not. Even a disabled person can get a good job and straight A’s. How about getting a place in a university? Anyone with a good results deserve it. Lost and found item stories cannot be testimonies. Getting discharged from a hospital after multiple surgery is not a testimony. If you choose the right person to get married with, he or she will be a good spouse. Why ? Because marriages are arranged by God in heaven. Genesis 2:18 ”The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” It is not a miracle to be shared as a testimony in a wedding or an anniversary prayer meeting. “

Our success story of buying a new house, new car, having a baby, starting a business, getting your housing loan approved, surviving from any kind of accidents, mishaps or misfortunes and the list can go on and on. These are part of our countless blessing for being the children of God. By all means, you can share this with your family and friends and not to the church congregation. Praise and thank God in your private or family prayers. Telling about your self and your achievement in a church service or prayer meetings are not testimonies. It is known as first class boasting! John 5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.” As simple as that!

What is a testimony then? Matthew 24:14 says “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” In a plain language, a testimony is about sharing the gospel of kingdom of God to others. It is about proclaiming the gospel everyday to your friends, colleagues and everyone you meet.  It is about how you live your life daily as a child of God. You don’t need a pulpit or a podium to share your testimonies.

One day I receive a form to give my comments on marriages and funeral. Two days later, I receive a book of rules and regulation for marriages issued by the General Conference.

The rules in the book contradict the form. Why ? Can Ainouno the Church have a separate set of rules for its members only? Are the people running Ainouno the Church smarter than the Bishop himself ?

We read in Acts 13 that a Local Church at Antioch send Barnabas and Saul (Paul) abroad on a missionary works. The church even supported them financially. Today, Ainouno the Church is talking big that they are doing missionary work abroad. Utter rubbish. They have out sourced the Greatest Commission to a third party. What a shame! Biblically speaking, it is the local church—not agencies—should be calling, training, and sending missionaries.