DURING the heyday of my attendance in the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) pagsamba (worship Wednesdays and Saturdays weekly), one distinct aral (lesson) oft-repeated by the ministro (pastor) that stuck in my consciousness was this criterion in the selection of the heads of the basic units of members called jaconos: "Napamamahalaan nang mabuti ang kanyang pamilya." No exception to the rule whatsoever is allowed.
If any member of your family is remiss in the observance of INC discipline, then you don't qualify as a jacono. For this reason, I took it quite seriously when the controversy broke out in the family of INC Executive Minister Ka Eduardo V. Manalo in which he went to the extent of violently expelling his mother and brother from the highly powerful congregation. How the populace was shocked when mother and son pleaded to the public to help them escape from the wrath of EVM. Definitely, social media helped much in preventing what could have been a most tragic outcome of the family feud.
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