The events of last week and the last 2 worship service lessons has made me really think about this question: Are we really that united?

Before we get into this, one of the main verses we often hear regarding unity is Psalm 133:1 wherein it says:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

It is a good thing to have unity. But should the Church leaders proclaim that we are truly UNITED when the unity is not there? Let’s understand unity first before anything else then. The dictionary has multiple definitions, some of which are:

The state of being one

Oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.

So if the Iglesia Ni Cristo members are indeed united, then we should be in that state of oneness, in one mind and in agreement with every doctrine. So let’s think about this for a moment…

Why then does the Beloved Executive Minister, the Church Council and all the Ministers spend every week campaigning and pushing for brethren to attend worship service?

Why is there the constant preaching about giving offerings? Why the continuous warning not to step down from your duties or leaving the Church?

If we are truly united, shouldn’t all the brethren already be following?

Let me put it this way; if the parents told their child to clean their room, and the child does it every week, would the parents have to keep badgering the child? Of course not! They are already in agreement.

So what is the reason the Church leaders keep mentioning attending worship services, giving offerings, staying in the duty and in Church? Because not everyone is obviously in agreement.

Makes you wonder, what is the number of attendance every week? Do you notice how the Ministers often mention how many countries the church is in? That there are many who are joining the Ministry? Considering that the Administration LOVES statistics, why is it that the ATTENDANCE NUMBERS are never mentioned? Could it be that it is VERY LOW? (Especially during playbacks?) Would this not be an indicator that the unity is not there?

You cannot say that we are united if there is not 100% participation in activities or attendance. If the leaders will disagree, then how do you measure unity? 90%? 50%? Is that still unity? There is either unity or there isn’t. You cannot say that we are partly united or some are united.

Let me take another example. The bearing of fruit or conversion of non-members to the Church. This is often touted as “one of the successes of the Beloved leader” and a sign that “God is guiding him”. Let’s take the recent event; The “Guinness world record breaking” Baptism of 18,272 people. It may have been an impressive event. It was even a record breaking event. But consider this. Is the baptism of 18272 people a sign of unity of the church?

If the church members around the globe really united themselves in the missionary works, (especially there was such a strong push to bear fruit in time for the 10 anniversary of the Beloved EVM’s Administration over the Church that they even FLEW IN Non Filipino candidates for Baptism for the event), you’d figure the baptism would be in the millions.

(2 side notes: 1. It is NOT a coincidence that the Guinness Baptism was done on the 10th Anniversary of the Beloved One and 2. It is NOT a coincidence that there are Non Filipinos in a lot of the shots – The leadership is still trying to shake off the image that this is a Filipino Church)

Anyway, back to the issue of Unity. Since the church LOVES numbers, let’s calculate: Let us say that there are about 3 million members worldwide. What is the percentage of the record breaking baptism to the Church’s serial number? The answer: 0.61% That is 0.61% of church members worldwide were able to bear fruit. Are you telling me that despite the vigourous campaign of Ministers, that only 0.61% of the 3 million church members were able to bear fruit?

United? I will let you answer that.

I am not saying we should not be united. What I am trying to get at is DO NOT FLAUNT that this is another “SUCCESS” that we are all UNITED when the real numbers show otherwise.

The truth of the matter is, attendance is at an all time low. Most activities are attended by mostly officers and church offerings are constantly pushed because not everyone gives. This is the reality. I wish the Church Leadership would stop pretending. Time to face the truth. There is a growing problem under this current Administration and no amount of fancy video editing and tight shots will solve the real issues.

Unity can only come when brethren are convinced that there is no corruption, no abuse of power, no deception, no money laundering, no diversion of funds, no election tampering, no changes in doctrine.

Unity is easy – when God and Jesus is with us. No amount of record breaking stunts can equal that.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. John 17 20-23

