Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Thoughts on Catechism

They say that insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results. I’ve lose track of the number of times someone has pointed out the fact that out of the thousands youths who get confirmed each year, only an handful continue to serve and contribute actively to the church. Yet year after year we continue to see the same agonizing results

If the Holy Trinity is one of the greatest mysteries of the church, why our catechesis seem to bearing so little lasting fruit probably comes as a close second.

The emphasis I find in today’s catechism, (having also been through the system) is to present the reasonableness of the faith. Somehow, Catholicism has been reduced to a system of propositional truths.

In my opinion, it seems like orthodoxy is the chief end of catechism. So at the end of the whole system, you have an entire generation of young people who know the right things but don’t care a thing about them. If they did, we will see many more young people
directing their time, energy and creativity into building the church. But the fact is – many don’t. Its merely a result of reaping what we sow. Don’t expect apples trees if you planted durian seeds.

I would know. I went through the same system myself. I stood on my
confirmation day like proud graduates, waiting for it to finish so I could have my Saturdays back to do the things I cared for – like shopping, clubbing and hanging out with friends. So here I was, with the ability to recite the 7 sacraments, the ten commandments, the corporal works of mercy and the names of the 12 apostles and all I could think about was visiting the latest club in town. Did I know the faith? Sure. Did I care?

Nope.

I was a believer alright. The same way I believed that hydrogen exist because someone taught me that it exist and that’s part of how we get water and air. But whether it has any real implication on my life and how I lived it – nothing.

Simply put. I didn’t care. Most of our young people are bored with Catholicism.


Sometimes it is more important to change what people care about than what they believe. We have many young people who believe all the right things but don’t care a thing about it. But you can’t care for something without believing in it.


The question I think that needs to be asked at the core of catechisis is this:

“Is God a belief to be remembered or
a Person to be experienced?”

The answer given to this question I believe will profoundly impact the paradigm on which the entire catechsis of our young people is build upon.

One’s faith, one’s concern and expression of it is directly proportional to the position Jesus takes in one’s life. Let me state it every clearly: There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

Much of my experience in going for catechism is like the experience of the poet E.T Elliot who one day walks past a bakery and sees a sign hanging outside that says “Fresh hot loafs for $1.00” He excitedly walks in hoping to be greeted with the aroma and warmth of freshly baked bread only to find the entire shop selling shelves and shelves of the exact copies of the sign outside that says “fresh hot loafs for $1.00’.

Sadly, my own experience of catechism and church resemble that bakery too much. We hang our signs outside of church saying that God can be found yet most of the time young people leave unfulfilled. Something is not altogether right or we are missing something.

Why are we so reluctant to grow young souls takes deep breaths of God’s goodness or to let people savor the person of Christ? Why do we hold God away at arms length when Jesus himself said, “suffer the children come to me?” Why are afraid to allow people to intimately experience Him?

While it is important that truths (orthodoxy) be communicated, we have to remember that the Holy Spirit who reveals himself as Fire is both light (Truth) and warmth (Affections). Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full of indifferent Christians. Emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates flaky people who reject the discipline of rigorous thought. True Religion comes from people who are deeply emotional about God and who love deep and sound doctrine. I feel this should be the aim of religious formation.

Truth is not an idea. It is a Person.
These are just my random thoughts, what do you think?

Leo


P.s : I would like to thank all my Catechism Teachers especially Joseph Tan and Jerry Kasiler (from OLPS) who more than taught me the faith, incarnated it for me. You planted the seeds and laid the conduits for the Holy Spirit to touch me in a very deep way some years later. Thank you for putting up the noisy and rebellious student I was. Thank you for not giving up.




Monday, March 17, 2008

The Amplify Culture & Core Values


Culture is the most important social reality in our community. Though invisible to the untrained eye, its power is undeniable. Culture gives colour and flavour to everything we our community is and does. Like a powerful current running through, it can move us inland or take us further out into sea. Have a unhealthy culture and it can prevent our community from ever realizing our mission, or be used by the spirit. If we build a healthy culture, it can draw others in and reproduce healthy spiritual life along the way. Culture matters and the primal essence of leadership is to create and shape it.

An important tool is shaping culture in Amplify is our 8 Core Values. These Core values inform our culture, decisions and aspirations of our community for the last 4-5 years.

Here they again, in a shorten-to-the point form with key questions: G.R.A.C.E.S.I.S



God-treasuring Life
Cultivating a life that pursues God and places Him as the chief purpose and highest good of our lives

Is your relationship with God growing?
Are your priorities consistent with the Word of God?




Relevant Environments
Every environment should be designed to effectively connect with its target audience.

Are our environments appealing, engaging, and helpful?



Authentic Community
Creating a culture of acceptance, accountability, care and honesty. We believe spiritual growth happen best with relationally-connected believers.

Are you investing in friendships within the community?




Character Transformation
Becoming like Jesus in our thoughts, word, deed and attitudes to live the kind of life Jesus lived.

Are you producing the fruits of the Spirit in your private and public life?




Excellence in Ministry
We believe that excellence honors God and inspires people.

Are you giving God and people your very best in ministry?




Supernatural
Fostering a faith that believes in the supernatural manifestations of God

Are you operating in the Charismatic Gifts of the Holy Spirit to meet the needs of others?




Strategic Service
Serving either in an area of need or an area of gifting in support of the Mission and Strategy of Amplify with the understanding that needs must always take precedence.

Where are you serving?




Intentional Apprenticing

We are responsible to pass along to others the knowledge, skills, and opportunities that have been entrusted to us.

Who are you apprenticing?

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Pursuit of Happyness


It is observed that the people who always want to be happy and pursue it above all else are some of the most miserable people in the world
.


The reason is that happiness is a result. It is sometimes the result of having good things happen. But usually, it is the result of our being in a good place inside ourselves and our having done the character work we need to do so that we are contented and joyful in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

Happiness is a fruit of a lot of hard work in relationships, career, spiritual growth and a host of other arenas of life, like in a marriage.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Leaders' For Christ Convention


Recently I read a report on the Leaders' for Christ Convention organised by Saccreyouth of which I was privileged to also be a part of. It was very encouraging and I would like to share some personal thots on it.

I think we should do this convention more often. I think it really helps youth leaders in a very practical and encouraging way. I've been personally following up with a couple of the youth leaders who came for the sessions. Listening and talking thru some challenges they are facing. It has been good.

Really, any ministry can pull off a Big Event (Rally), with enough money, talent, prayer, trust in God and organizational ability. easily do-able, Heck, even Ad hoc committees can pull them off and have been doing so for as long as I know. (see last years' 070707)

But...how to build a youth ministry that last. How to affect incremental, consistent and lasting change in young people one-life-at-a-time? that takes wisdom, knowledge and understanding.


"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength;
for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers."
Proverbs 24:3-6

If I were to try to point out what I think is the greatest quality the groups in Saccreyouth, individually and collectively have, it will be this:

Resilience.

The ability to last the distance and still continue to bear fruit. Even if it's in ebb and flows, there is a strong sense of mission and purpose. This produces resilience. With that - experience, wisdom and knowledge that comes from simply the refusal to give up, learn from mistakes and grow on!

In conferences like LFC, we get to share our real life experiences, lessons from mistakes and offer real help if not encouragement to youth leaders in parishes who are really struggling. This is something very few youth organizations can do.

You read the feed backcomments from the leader-participants, of the last LFC, you know - they are hungry for guidance! They don't need just another big ra ra event to give a temporary jolt - they need some people to come around them and advise them what they can do next week! How to handle that difficult youth. How to deal with the discouragement of low attendance. And how to conduct a core team meeting! Set goals for the year? How to start an intercessory team?

Give a boy a fish, feed him for a day, teach them to fish, feed him for a lifetime.

Conferences like LFC is an efficient and effective way to impact youth ministries at a grassroot level. But we must do it often enough to see visible results. So it gives youth ministries in Singapore something unique and useful to look forward to on a consistent basis. This may give Saccreyouth, the unique positioning in the Archdiocese that no other organizations can.

Any youth ministry can pull off big events. And we have lots of it through the year.

But it takes lasting ministries to raise lasting ministries.


Leo