Ujian School of Ministry (atau apapun itu)
by Peter Valentino
“Berharap akan mendapatkan sesuatu yang baru dan menyegarkan, ia itu bersedia diajak mengikuti training kepemimpinan sebanyak 5 kali pertemuan. “Gratis sih,” ujar TS, wanita kelahiran Magelang, dengan kocak. Ketika di pertemuan sang pemimpin berkata bahwa akan ada ujian di penghujung periode pelatihan itu, ia agak sedikit ragu, tapi kemudian berhasil membulatkan tekadnya untuk belajar setia. (more…)
Tersandung
by Peter Valentino
Silakan perhatikan film-film India yang sering diputar di TV sekarang ini, selalu saja mengisahkan tentang perseteruan antara para pemimpin (aparat hukum) dan rakyat jelata. Kobaran api, tetesan darah, dan perkelahian-perkelahian yang terlihat sangat berlebihan itu selalu bisa ditemukan dalam jiwa sutradara India manapun. Dan entah mengapa, gereja pun kini sedang berada dalam kondisi yang sama. Mudah-mudahan ini hanya trik untuk menjaring Raam Punjabi kepada Kristus.. (more…)
Rapat Pekerja dan Kebodohannya
by Peter Valentino
Tidak salah lagi, ini adalah sebuah trend masa kini. Kamu dapat menemukan penampakannya dan mencium kebusukannya pada hampir setiap dinding gereja di bangsa ini, dan tak tertutup kemungkinan di seluruh dunia.
Apapun namanya, pertemuan evaluasi atau koordinasi atau internalisasi atau restrukturisasi (daftarnya masih panjang lagi), kesemuanya itu mememiliki unsur kelemahan yang sama.
Tidak cost effective.
Harga yang harus dibayar untuk mengikuti acara tersebut jauh lebih besar daripada hasil yang akan didapat. Bagaimana tidak? Setelah ibadah selesai, para pekerja diwajibkan hadir pada acara seperti itu, padahal seharusnya waktu luang itu dapat dipakai untuk berinteraksi dengan jemaat. Kita sibuk memikirkan program lanjutan, sementara program yang ditangan terbengkalai sama sekali.
Kita menolak terjerumus dalam praktek-praktek agamawi, namun kenyataannya terus-menerus berkumpul dan menipu diri dengan program-program baru.
Alangkah bodohnya!
Tidak ada yang salah dengan rapat itu sendiri. Justru ia merupakan media yang baik untuk mengadakan sebuah perbaikan. Tapi bila rapat itu dijadikan agenda untuk setiap usai ibadah Minggu, maka ia menjadi senjata yang sangat mematikan. Mari kita berhitung sejenak. Jika sebuah pembicaraan ringan selama lima menit dengan seorang jemaat dapat meningkatkan kualitas keintiman ibadah sebanyak 1 poin sementara sebuah program akan bernilai 5 poin, maka sebuah rapat rata-rata (90 menit) akan membuat ibadah kehilangan sebanyak 13 poin. 5 poin dari program itupun masih bersifat spekulatif karena ada kemungkinan ia tidak dapat dijalankan atau terhambat karena suatu hal. Mungkinkah orang berhikmat memilih sesuatu yang jelas-jelas merugikan?
Yesus jarang sekali ber-’internalisasi’ dengan murid-muridNya secara eksklusif. Pengajaran dan ‘program’Nya justru banyak diberikan saat ia sedang bersama-sama dengan orang banyak. Lewat interaksi itulah program-programNya dapat lebih menjawab kebutuhan dan representatif bagi setiap generasi.
Anak tukang kayu itu lebih mengerti prinsip cost effectiveness daripada manusia abad 21 sekarang. Entah kita sudah bersikap terlalu rohani atau pikiran kita tumpul. Apapun jawabannya, kita memerlukan lebih banyak pencerahan mengenai masalah ini.
*******
Peter Valentino adalah seorang skeptik, peselancar spiritual, pengamat budaya, musisi, pembaca pikiran, dan penggemar Quickly Bubbletea. Begitu ekstensif dalam dunia cyber, banyak orang menganggapnya hanya mitos dalam dunia nyata. Ia juga co-founder dari Outcasts Community, rumah bagi ratusan petualang Kristus yang tersebar di berbagai penjuru dunia. Untuk bergabung, kunjungi www.the-outcasts.com.
Apostatic & Problematic Believers
by Peter Valentino
Gereja selalu dibangun dengan dasar Yesus Kristus, namun itu bukanlah suatu jaminan tidak akan ada munculnya pelayanan pemberontakan dan penyulitan (apostatik dan problematik). Hanya saja sampai saat ini sepertinya kita belum menyadari pentingnya kedua pelayanan tersebut. Saya yakin kamu baru pertama kali mendengar istilah apostatik. Dalam bahasa aslinya (Inggris), istilah itu berinduk dari kata apostate yang berarti ‘seseorang yang meninggalkan atau menolak suatu doktrin atau kepercayaan yang telah diakui sebelumnya.’ Jadi apostatik dapat diartikan secara sederhana sebagai sifat atau tindakan yang memberontak. (more…)
Pelayanan: Cara Cepat Jadi Kuper
by Peter Valentino
Berapa banyak dari kamu yang memiliki gen kuper? Mungkin tidak banyak. Atau mungkin kamu tidak setuju jika saya berpendapat kuper disebabkan oleh gen? Ah, itu terserah saja, nanti akan saya jelaskan penggunaan istilah itu. Kamu boleh percaya atau tidak, tapi kita (baca: pekerja gereja) telah sangat dan semakin terisolir dari dunia sekuler. Kita memiliki setumpuk peraturan ‘rohani’ yang tidak melarang kita bersentuhan langsung dengan dunia ‘gelap’ ini, namun mengharuskan kita terlibat sangat aktif dalam pekerjaan gereja. Podo wae, to mas. (more…)
The generation gap problem seems to be endless, and it gets worser each year. I’ve heard and also experienced a lot of clashes between parents and children. Parents want this, kids want that. It’s always the other way around.
You know where the real problem is? It’s not on the contradictive point of views. It’s more on the approach. The older generation have different platform and operating system from the younger generation, so to say. Most of the values our parents have, although they’re worthy, are not contemporarily accurate to be installed in the younger generation’s system. The older generation can always boast about their magnificent wisdom and experiences, but in reality, it’s more like the MS-DOS Prompt shortcut in Windows: only a little piece in the whole current operating system. Parents insisting that they know the best way in doing anything are totally an out-of-place demand. They should cut the pride and realize that now they’re only additional, optional features.
But wait, the younger generation needs to learn something too. Kids have to know that they didn’t come instantly out of nowhere. There can be no Windows if there hadn’t been someone to invent DOS. All of our modern civilization owes much to the ways of life of our fathers and mothers. We need to pay some respect to them. And more than often, respect is the only thing that they ever want from their kids. They won’t go bitching our lives and choices when they got the appropriate reverence from us.
Understand the this, guys: we’re on different platforms, systems, and also connection speeds here, so it’s no use to quarrel on which program is the best to achieve something. Parents, you can just stay silent and show enough love when your kids show certain rebellious acts because they sometimes just need a bucketful of trust to live on their choice. Laying dormant is better than overriding the current system. And kids, just remember that your freedom and total being are something valuable which your parents have given to you, so make use of them wisely. And when someday you found a dead end in your Windows, you can always go back to the DOS and found enough love over there. Peace.
I found this cool site in where you can draw your face almost instantly. Go here. Thanks to udhien for the information.
And you know what, Dark Angel has only 2 seasons, meaning that when the current series on Trans TV are over, then that’s it! Arrrgh! Why, God, why? Damn you, James Cameron.
While here in Indonesia, TV stations are going for the classics these days. Check out some of the titles: The Flash, Time Trax, Return To Eden, Morning Paper, Saint Seiya, etc. Those are old movies, and when I say old, it means really old. Somehow it makes me feel old too… 
The generation gap problem seems to be endless, and it gets worser each year. I’ve heard and also experienced a lot of clashes between parents and children. Parents want this, kids want that. It’s always the other way around.
You know where the real problem is? It’s not on the contradictive point of views. It’s more on the approach. The older generation have different platform and operating system from the younger generation, so to say. Most of the values our parents have, although they’re worthy, are not contemporarily accurate to be installed in the younger generation’s system. The older generation can always boast about their magnificent wisdom and experiences, but in reality, it’s more like the MS-DOS Prompt shortcut in Windows: only a little piece in the whole current operating system. Parents insisting that they know the best way in doing anything are totally an out-of-place demand. They should cut the pride and realize that now they’re only additional, optional features.
But wait, the younger generation needs to learn something too. Kids have to know that they didn’t come instantly out of nowhere. There can be no Windows if there hadn’t been someone to invent DOS. All of our modern civilization owes much to the ways of life of our fathers and mothers. We need to pay some respect to them. And more than often, respect is the only thing that they ever want from their kids. They won’t go bitching our lives and choices when they got the appropriate reverence from us.
Understand the this, guys: we’re on different platforms, systems, and also connection speeds here, so it’s no use to quarrel on which program is the best to achieve something. Parents, you can just stay silent and show enough love when your kids show certain rebellious acts because they sometimes just need a bucketful of trust to live on their choice. Laying dormant is better than overriding the current system. And kids, just remember that your freedom and total being are something valuable which your parents have given to you, so make use of them wisely. And when someday you found a dead end in your Windows, you can always go back to the DOS and found enough love over there. Peace.
Sleepless be thy agony
So dark and lonely thru misery
Thou count the thorns to help thou fade
But found no good, thou wide awake
By frost that dwells deep inside
By mumbling pains to be denied
How long can thou still wing and fly
Before thine soul gives up to die
It’s 02.16 AM now and I’m having trouble to sleep. Something in this head keeps me on alert, so I thought a blog might help to loose the tension. Well, I just write the poem above, crying out my present feelings. It’s hard to for you to relate probably, not to mention the strange title. You may find ‘conundrum’ in an English dictionary, which means ‘mystery’. But ‘in perpetuum’ is of Latin, something I learned in the first year in college. The simple translation of it is ‘forever’. Despite the obscurity of the poem, how I long to read your comments. You may respond to the poem itself, or to my feelings, or anything. Anything. Anything. Your words would be a soothing balm for my care-thirst soul. Too bad I don’t have a comment system installed in this blog, but you could just use the tagboard.
Tired of people looking down me like I am spoiled or something. All that people do is judging and judging again to eternity. When you judge, you don’t have time to love, dude! I keep hearing people saying this and that about me, and you know what, those news are crap! Bullshits! You’re eating rotten garbage. I know some of you guys who spread and eat those pathetic news read this blog, so let me tell you this, ‘Stop poking your filthy hands on me!’ I’m sorry, but you don’t know me. Don’t think just because you’re religious then you know everything. Man, that’s hypocrisy. All I ever need is trust and chance. I’m on a mission here, a heavy one, so it’s better for you to back me up in this road, or just stay silent if you can’t produce anything good. Man, I never want to hurt your heart, so why do you hurt mine now? Let’s just give each other enough trust, love, and chances now, and we’ll meet again one day in the future. It won’t be long. I promise you. It won’t be long. I miss you all too.
Errr…
Look at that negative magnetic field coming out from me above. I’m felling better now, so I like to end with a funny, and a bit eerie, one. Check this out. I’ve just been shocked by a friend that yesterday was Saturday, while it was still Thursday, man! I’m not joking. It really happens. How could I have mistaken so far?! Where have I been in the past two days? Scary. Could it be I was abducted by Alien or so? *dialing 1-800-XFILES* Hahaha! The most likely possibility is that I’d miscounted the days, but the question is, ‘Since when I did that?’ Oh, dear dear. Anyway, I’m sleepy now. I’m going to doze off, okay? Adieu.
