01:29 In this episode, pag-uusapan natin kung ano nga ba ang itsura ng church community natin ngayon?

01:52

JV: Ano ba yung sobrang nami-miss mo sa pre-pandemic church life?

Dean: Marami akong nami-miss sa pre-pandemic church life natin. One of it ay yung kahit saan ka lumingon, may kakilala ka. Nami-miss ko yung short talks with other people. Nakaka-miss yung feeling na kahit saan ka lumingon, may makakausap ka…

JV: Ako naman sa setting natin sa Pasig…meron kaming tinatawag na poste…na the point of destination kasi marami na ngang ba-bye pero doon sa poste na yun doon huhusgahan saan nga ba tayo kakain, saan ba tayo tatambay after the youth service… For sure lahat tayo, may mga bagay tayong nami-miss sa ating church life before the pandemic…

04:57

Dean: When it comes to the church community, how does it look to you now? Ano yung frustrating para sa ‘yo?

JV: Yung after mong ipag-pray yung mga nili-lead mo… di kayo makapag-hug…Di ako touchy na tao pero ramdam ko lately na kailangan nito ng hug eh pero maibibigay mo lang virtual hug… 

Dean: Ang nakaka-frustrate yung paglingon mo, wala kang makita… Feeling ko talaga ang layo-layo ng mga tao during this time.

06:18

JV: At hindi lang malayo, feeling natin mag-isa tayo… sobrang mag-isa tayo sa walk natin kay Lord.

06:45

Dean: Wala na  mang may gusto sa ‘tin nito, but still, how can we persevere together as a church community?…What does it look like to be part of a healthy church community even in an online setup?

07:59

Dean: I am pretty much sure that a church community which helps us not only with our interests, but most especially with our faith would be of great help… Kaya sana wag nating kalimutan na may church community tayo na handang tumulong sa bawat isa, lalong-lalo na sa panahong ‘to.

08:21

JV: It seems like our church community is very different than before, but our calling and our value of being part of a church community is very important… Our mission and our values as believers is to be together. In Hebrews 10:25:

…not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

09:42

JV: Ano yung sobrang naa-appreciate mo lately being in a church community?

Dean: Madami. Pero siguro yung isang masasabi ko, I know I can turn to someone. Meron at meron akong mapupuntahan… Di ko ma-imagine yung buhay kung walang ibang tao who believes with me and teaches me to ask God, to trust God, and to come to God. Yung aspect palang na yun sobrang nakatulong sa kin…

JV: Ako na-appreciate ko yung mga low maintenance friends ko… Di mo kailangan mag warm-up para lang mag-share pero alam na nila, gets na nila kung ano yung pinagdadaanan mo… At this point, the very important thing is that there are people who are going to be with you.

Dean: What the church community offers to us, like what we discussed from the previous episode (insert Episode 39 link)… Binigay ni God yung ibang tao sa buhay mo para makasama mo even in a great crisis like this… Not giving up meeting together means you don’t give up on others because you don’t want to give up as well… I hope that we would have courage to talk to other people, not only yung paglalabas ng problema or sama ng loob, but also share the joy with others… The value of one-on-one talks these times, sobrang importante nyan.

15:17

JV: The landscape of how we meet together may change, but we need to continue to preserve and persevere in meeting together… Ito yung bagay na intentional tayo na gawin kasi as we preserve and persevere in meeting together, then we will gather to scatter in preaching the gospel… We need to persevere to preserve the mission that God has given us — to be in fellowship with God, to be in fellowship with one another, and to be in fellowship to do the mission... 

Dean: Even though online, nagbago man ang itsura pero yung puso hindi. Di nagbago yung puso that we want to follow Jesus together, we want to fish for people together… At the same time hindi nagbago that Jesus calls us to fellowship with other believers kahit anong means pa yan… When we gather, we find hope in Jesus together… We live our lives para maging witness to others para kay Jesus…

The ENC Leadership Podcast is hosted by Dean Pasaba and JV Puno.

Processing Questions:

1. What are the things that you love doing with the church before the pandemic? What are the things that you appreciate the most with the church community during this online setup?
2. How can you persevere to preserve the call of God for us to meet together and do the mission of God together even in our current setup?