Over 1,200 singles disciples from 23 countries SOARed this weekend in Manila at the 2010 ICOC International Singles Conference.

With classes, speeches, HOPE tours,  worship devotionals, mixers, Bible Talk leader workshops, and lots of opportunities for fellowship, the singles are being inspired to SOAR to great heights, life their spirits, realize their dreams and return to the days of old when the singles ministries rocked!

It all started on Thursday afternoon with a Bible Talk Leader Workshop where Todd Asaad, Dallas, Texas, USA, lead evangelist, challenged us to lead Bible Talks where “men can be men”.  Too often we focus on building relationships, on nurturing; we emphasize safety of risk, stability over change, predictability over adventure.  All good things, but men want action, adventure, tension, intrigue, impossible odds.  To build Bible Talks (and churches) that attract men, requires a focus on adventure and daring.

Thursday night’s Opening Night celebration was exactly that – an amazing celebration.  The Manila church gathered acrobats, singers, dancers, music, songs, and scriptures to inspire and set the mood for the singles to SOAR. 

Singles were called to

Andrew Moreno from the Dubai church in the United Arab Emirates, walked the crowd through Joseph’s life, noting how all along it was God’s dream, God’s timing, and God that was being glorified as Joseph SOARed to greater and greater heights in his life.

Friday morning saw a (very!) early start with the first classes already starting at 8am!  But the singles rose to the occasion and classrooms were full as they heard people from around the world teaching and sharing about Relationships (with God, with your physical family, with other singles), Excellence in your character, SOARing as single parents and being Single & Joyful.

After fellowship break another series of classes were held on Purity, Living a Disciplined Life, special needs for addiction were addressed and the singles were inspired to recommit themselves to the Mission as men and women of conviction.

A long lunch break allowed for extended fellowship as the singles descended on the city of Manila to nourish their stomach and their souls and put lots of evangelizing along the way.

In the afternoon another series of classes inspired the singles to SOAR in their careers, SOAR  in their maturity, singles were reminded of and inspired to once again have Visions & Dreams. Another class shared about HOPE, another addressed Dealing with Past Hurts and an Apologetics class gave faith-building insights on being a Christian worldwide.

If that wasn’t enough –and it wasn’t! – the single sisters then got a chance to meet together and worship God in song and hear Lin Beaty preach about living a passionate life.  The sisters then turned the hall over to the brothers for their own time of worship and preaching from Morris McCormick.

The day concluded with a Worship Devotional where songs and scriptures were interspersed for a time of worship to God.

Saturday morning saw another very early start with a 6am physical fitness session to inspire the disciples to SOAR in their physical lives as well.

Then it was onto the busses to visit and volunteer at the Center of HOPE village in Laguna, Philippines, where HOPE offers short- and long-term holistic care, treatment and placement for children that have been sexually and/or physically abused.  The Center is a safe-harbor for children where they are offered a place to stay in a family setting and trained staff offer a wide range of skills to treat each child’s individual needs.

Saturday night the SOAR 2010 mixer saw over 1,000 singles experience pure, clean fun.  In line with the “Heaven” theme, singles were encouraged to dress in “pristine white” and wear wings. 

What better way to celebrate the lessons learned and the friendships forged than to party in the Spirit!  

Singles danced the night away, reveled in the concert music, and engaged in wholesome conversation with interesting company in a coffee lounge ambience.

Sunday, the singles joined with the entire Metro Manila church for a time of praising God.  Over 6,000 disciples praised God in song, dance, prayer, communion and fellowship.  Brothers prayed in 5 languages.  Good news was shared from Thailand, the Middle East and Manila. Marco Pelizzeri from Los Angeles, challenged  everyone to be Sold Out And Rejoice. 

The words of the theme song, taken from Isaish 40:28-31 and written/arranged by disciples in Manila’s AMS ministry, captured the conference’s desire to reinvigorate the singles ministry and inspired the singles throughout the conference and as they head back home to

Singles acknowledged that

Given by the One above

The singles were reminded that

• You would join a truly collaborative team managing the fundraising and development progress of HOPE worldwide.
• You should bring to this position strong marketing and analytical skills. In this position you would be responsible for coordinating HOPE worldwide’s communications with churches worldwide.
• Your focus would include developing social media and related applications that empower our supporters to become more involved with HOPE worldwide.
• You would manage the department’s donor database, including relations with its software vendor, and assume a leadership role in budgeting and reporting functions in support of the department’s goals and objectives.

• A heart for the poor and needy based on strong biblical convictions and good knowledge of and connections with our church supporters.
• Marketing aptitude, analytical skills and the ability to think strategically.
• The successful candidate should demonstrate proficiency with computers and, in particular, Microsoft Word and Excel. Knowledge of Raisers Edge is a preferred but not an absolute requirement.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, organizational and problem solving skills and demonstrated attention to detail, accuracy and efficiency are vital to success in this position.
• We are looking for a track record as a self starter.
• The successful candidate should also have demonstrated aptitude in analytical and quantitative disciplines such as accounting, finance or engineering.
• Church administration or ministry experience is a plus, as is prior experience with HOPE worldwide programs. The position is flexible in terms of prior employment experience.

If you are interested in applying, please contact David Blenko at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

a.      Q: What does the Bible teach about “church discipline”?

a.      Here Jesus gives the church a framework for dealing with sin.

b.      There are 4 clearly defined steps here:

i.      Vs. 15 - “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.”

1.      Note: The phrase “against you” is not in all of the original Greek manuscripts.  And other passages like Galatians 6:1 make it clear that we are to address sin in each other’s lives, even when it is not directed at us personally.

ii.      Vs. 16 - “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along…”

iii.      Vs. 17a - “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church…”

iv.      Vs. 17b - “…and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

1.      So, this is one process for dealing with sin.

a.      Clarification:

i.      This is not the only procedure for dealing with sin.

ii.      The Bible gives us principles to follow, and some examples to learn from, but ultimately, it appears (even from the verses that follow this passage) that God will bless whatever procedure godly Christians use to accomplish his will.

1.      That we deal with the sin in the camp is more important than how we deal with it.

c.       Now, let’s look at Jesus’ reasoning here…

i.      Notice that the word “listen” is used 4 times in these 3 verses.

1.      In the original Greek: the first two times, it is the word, “ak-oo-o”, which means: “to hear”. The second two times, it is the word, “par-ak-oo-o”, which means: “to pay attention to”.

2.      So, you can see a progression here: when the person is confronted the first two times, he simply “does not hear”, or take to heart, what is being said.  (He is not serious about what’s being said.) 

3.      When he is confronted the second two times he purposefully is “not paying attention to it”, ie. he is hardening his heart to what is being said.  (He has refused to hear it.)

ii.      Notice in verse 17, the English translation is “If he ‘refuses to listen”, in order to capture the sense of the original language here.

1.      Main Point - When someone is finally dis-fellowshipped, it’s not because they’re struggling with sin.  It’s because they have stubbornly hardened their heart, and are absolutely refusing to deal with their sin.

2.      And that must not be tolerated in God’s church, according to Jesus Christ.

d.     Look again at verse 17b (the final step) - “…and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

i.      The flow of the argument and the New Testament parallel in 1 Corinthians 5:1-12 show that Jesus is talking about “dis-fellowshipping” here.

1.      This means that: “the person is to be purposefully excluded from the fellowship of other Christians because of their unrepentant sin.”

ii.      It’s important to know that the word, “you”, in Matthew 17b, (“treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector”), is singular in the Greek, meaning that Jesus expects each individual disciple to abide by the corporate judgment of the church.

1.      This means that: no social fellowship is allowed with other Christians.

a.      1 Corinthians 5:1-12 is going to say it this way:

i.      “put him out of your fellowship” (vs. 2)

ii.      “do not associate with him” (vs. 11)

iii.      “with such a man do not even eat” (vs. 11)

iv.      and “expel the wicked man from among you” (vs. 12)