The Philippine blogosphere has long ignored a focal niche market: the Filipino-Christian blog.

I estimate around 5% of Philippine blogs are overtly Christian in nature, and this number is growing. Even as more Filipino-Christians make the foray into social media marketing - fancy talk for blogs, podcasts, and the like - without any real idea of the implications of being an online ambassador for Christ and the Philippines, Christian media leaders are coming together to engage believers, establish them in the faith, equip them with ideas on how to really be effective witnesses for Christ online, and empower them to go forth and Multiply, so to speak.

Redeem The Airwaves: Upload! is a three-day media conference on tapping the effective potential of various types of traditional and digital media for Jesus Christ. Running from April 10 to 12 at the Lighthouse Christian Community Building along Buencamino Street in Alabang, Redeem The Airwaves: Upload! is the ultimate starting block and the ideal stepping stone for Christians and their communities seeking to use social media networking to their best advantage: to honor God and make disciples.The conference features the following topics and speakers:

• Making Sense as a Communicator, Francis J. Kong
• Blogging 101, Joey Bonifacio
• Radio 101 and the Future, Mike Pedero
• Podcasting, Jim Reyes and Arnold Gamboa
• Making Videos for the Internet, John Tan of CBN Asia
• The Role of Christians in Media, Julius Fabregas
• The Long Tail Economy, Dr. Chuck Quinley
• Media Values vs. Christian Values, Kata Inocencio
• Organizing Life-Changing Events, Ardy Roberto
• Song Composition, Jungee Marcelo
• Launching Your Band, Roca Cruz

I, for one, think this event is gonna be bananas! You can visit Redeem The Airwaves online, email love@theedgeradio.net for reservations and inquiries or call 339.0140 or 0918.959.EDGE for more information.

Go, Filipino-Christian bloggers! GO! Super-duper mega EB!

BLOG TITLE: Guitarchic.net
BLOG AUTHOR: Rhiza Sanchez
BLOG URL: http://www.guitarchic.net

Rhiza Sanchez, or Riz, is a 24-year-old Filipina Christian blogger who has flown the female flag of faith since 2002. A search engine marketing genius by profession, Riz’s website, www.guitarchic.net, is immensely popular for its PinkSEO brand, a nod to the girl power vision she has for female search engine marketers.

A graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman (Communications Research, a Mass Comm derivative that deals with qualitative and quantitative data analysis), Riz started out as a web copywriter in 2005 who learned search engine optimization by practice. Now the SEO Project Manager of MBS TEK and a regular contributor of 901am.com, an internet news and new media blog owned by Splashpress Media, Riz supervises and trains an in-house team of thriving web copywriters and SEO specialists.

Why Read GuitarChic.net? Riz is a typical young woman with typical interests, which makes her relationship with Christ even more real to visitors. She lives the life out on a daily basis simply by being an excellent woman doing excellent things for God. She is not preachy; her life is her testimony to her faith in God.

Frequent Topics: Riz makes GuitarChic.net a real emo website, so it’s fun to read about her life and how she dissects it as a girly-girl. As an advocate of women empowerment in a male-dominated industry, her sporadic posts on search engine optimization are extremely useful to Filipino-Christian bloggers seeking to make a difference.

BLOG TITLE: Refine Me
BLOG AUTHOR: Tina Matanguihan
BLOG URL: http://www.refineme.org

Tina Matanguihan is a Filipino-Christian blogger whose blog, RefineMe.org, is a study in Christian chick-lit, a fast-paced and often self-deprecatory look into the life of a Filipina looking for her place and mission in life. The 21-year-old self-confessed Warrior Chick is a graduate of De La Salle University - Manila. Currently a Web Content Developer for IBM Business Services, she is a regular contributor to Catholic publications Didache and Fish, as well as a passionate volunteer of Christian musician concert organizer One Mountain Top Inc.

Tina is the the current municipal liasion and administrator of the official Pinoy National Novel Writing Month (PinoyWrimo) community; she is also deep into her challenge to read 50 books in 2008.

Why read RefineMe.org? RefineMe.org is one of the more established Filipina-Christian blogs online; the blog has been up since 2004 (although her archives’ll take you only as far as 2006). Her youthful take on her faithwalk can be very inspiring to many a young Christian, and her choice of words is very easy to understand.

Frequent Topics: Tina treats RefineMe.org like her personal journal, so you can read about how she tries to deal with adapting to the Filipino workforce (with grace). She’s also a writer and techie, so there is a significant number of posts about literature, writing, gadgets, and geekiness in all its forms.

The Kerygma Conference, 2007’s largest Catholic learning event, is all set for November 23 to 25, 2007, at the PhilSport Stadium (more popularly known by its former name, ULTRA).

Best-selling author and Catholic lay preacher Bo Sanchez oversees this Catholic conference, expected to attract over 2,000 faithful Filipino people.

Among the activities scheduled are eight talks:
Talk #1: Don’t Burnout—Burn Up! (How to Fuel Your Soul for a Purpose-Driven Life)
Talk #2: When God Is Sleeping in the Storm (What Should You Do When Crushing Trials Come?)
Talk #3: You’re More Gifted than You Can Ever Imagine(How to Discover, Develop and Deliver Your Gifting
to the World)
Talk #4: The Key to All Success Is Attitude(How to See Life the Way God Sees It)
Talk #5: Are You Fighting for Your Family’s Future?(How to Sow More Love in Your Relationships—and
Harvest Abundantly)
Talk #6: Increase Your Miracles(How to Conquer Giants and Move Mountains
for God)
Talk #7: Change Your Habits and Change Your Life(How to Replace Destructive with Lifegiving Habits)
Talk #8: Expand the Borders of Your Life(How to Dream the Dreams of God)

Several praise and worship sessions, the Kerygma Songwriting Contest awarding, and celebratory Masses are also scheduled.

The theme for Kerygma Conference 2007 is “You have the Power.” Sub-themes are “Nourished. Empowered. Unleashed,” taking from the prayer of Jabez in 2 Chronicles 4:10, Oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my borders.

More information about the Kerygma Conference here.

I join a number of Filipino bloggers in reverent blog silence on www.GannsDeen.com for the passing of Joseph Michael Racoma, the beautiful one-month-old son of fellow Filipino blogger J. Angelo Racoma. I will also take this time in prayer for the citizens of Burma.

Blogging resumes October 10, 2007.

Psalm 71:20-21
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.

Since I was a little boy, I’d always been fascinated by the mystery of the Shroud of Turin. Several issues of National Geographic, as well as material I’d run into throughout the course of my faith life. Well, now’s the time for me to truly enjoy the many mysteries behind this Christian relic. The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin is now showing in Manila at the SM Mall of Asia until December 9.

The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin exhibition is a 45-minute lights and sounds show that highlights the Shroud’s history, detailing the facts and myths behind the most studied archaeological artifact of all time. A module-by-module tour of the historical pilgrimage of the Shroud detailing the various theories based on art, science, technology, and the Bible that aim to shed light on this historical, scientific and ecclesiastical phenomenon, is another highlight.

Revered for hundreds of years as the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, the Shroud of Turin is locked away in a cathedral in Italy, publicly displayed only three or four times a century. On these rare occasions, pilgrims from all over the world troop to Turin to witness the exposition. Most of the items on display come from the collection of Mr. Barrie Schwortz, the Official Documenting Photographer commissioned by King Umberto II of Savoy, the Shroud’s previous monarch-owner.

Do swing by The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin if you get the chance. You won’t regret it.

ALBUM TITLE: True Beauty
ARTIST: Mandisa
RECORD LABEL: Sparrow/EMI-CMG
OVERALL RATING: Four stars (out of five)
MUST-HAVE DOWNLOADS: God Speaking, Unrestrained, Only The World, Shackles (Praise You), True Beauty, (Never Gonna) Steal My Joy
YOU CAN AFFORD TO MISS: Only You

American Idol finalist and now Sparrow recording artist Mandisa Hundley has much to be thankful for, as do her fans. With the record-breaking release of True Beauty, Mandisa becomes the first female artist in Billboard history to debut at #1 on the Billboard Christian and Gospel Albums charts with her debut album. With a #1 single (Only the World, Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts, 5 weeks) and more than 31,000 albums sold in three weeks, Mandisa proves herself one of American Idol Season Five’s more chartworthy contestants.

Sparrow Records certainly pulls out all the stops for True Beauty. With a list of who’s who producers, including Doubledutch, Christopher Stevens, Shaun Shankel, Drew & Shannon, and multiple Dove Award winner Brown Bannister, Mandisa finds herself in very capable hands, allowing her natural charisma and style to flow effortlessly through this 11-track stunner of an album. Mandisa’s vocal skills are highlighted flawlessly throughout the album, with her stellar pipes ranging from a soft and gentle whisper (channel: Most Holy Lord, You have my attention, from Unrestrained) to a blasting furnace (several sections of her kick-butt retouch of Mary Mary’s Shackles); the various song styles show Mandisa’s ability to adapt to a variety of musical genres, further cementing her skill as a singer and performer.

There is an adequate mix of fast and slow songs on True Beauty, and the fast ones do not disappoint. Album opener Only The World is an obvious first-single choice, and for good reason. The Matthew West-penned toe-tapper has “hit” written all over it, with its catchy guitars and feel-good rhythm. (West also contributes Voice of a Savior, a power ballad that speaks of unity and how people search for something to give meaning to their lives.) The track that follows it, True Beauty, is an ode to self-esteem and girl power, packaged in a head-bopping hiphop beat; Mandisa wrote the lyrics to the album’s title track. After featuring her on Lose My Soul, Christian rap-rock artist TobyMac returns the favor with his group DiverseCity in the dancefloor nugget Love Somebody, a catchy, disco-esque stomper of an album track if ever I’ve heard one.

Mary Mary’s Shackles (Praise You) gets a synth horns-drenched uptempo remix, courtesy of Christopher Stevens, who deserves all the props for the rearrangement of this definitive Christian hit; Mandisa lets herself go all out on this stunning revival that can definitely have you headed straight for the dance floor. The Every Heartbeat-esque (Never Gonna) Steal My Joy is a poppy joyful track, while Oh My Lord, which features the Fisk Jubilee Singers, of which Mandisa was once a member, channels old-school Afro-American church gospel rhythms.

True Beauty isn’t short of ballads, however. The jewels of True Beauty are two worshipful ballads: God Speaking and Unrestrained. God Speaking, written by Ronnie Freeman, is a contemplative ballad that speaks of how God can reach out to us in infinite ways; Unrestrained, on the other hand, is a truly worshipful song that takes its inspiration from the grace and forgiveness extended Mary Magdalene when she washed Jesus’ feet with her hair, tears, and perfume. (Luke 7:36-50) Written by Tony Sutherland and Calvin Nowell, both of whom have their own versions of Unrestrained on their respective websites, Unrestrained is taken to soaring new heights by Mandisa. Both must-have ballads are delivered, naturally, by the Clive Davis of the Christian music industry, Brown Bannister. Other ballads worth noticing include the aforementioned Voice of a Savior and album closer He Will Come. As a matter of fact, the only real hiccup on the album is the rather forced upbeat track Only You, a misstep for Shaun Shankel, who hit a home run with Only The World.

Note: if you purchase True Beauty off Amazon.com, you will receive a special enhanced CD that allows you to enter a special section of Mandisa’s website that gives you free downloads and behind the scenes videos. I got a remix of Only The World that was marginally good.

Click here to listen to Mandisa’s version of God Speaking or here to listen to Mandisa’s Only the World.

[audio:Unrestrained.mp3]
Listen to Mandisa Unrestrained mp3, with Unrestrained lyrics after the jump.

Read more

Kitchie Nadal’s new EP, Drama Queen TV, drops on September 15, 2007, at all record bars nationwide.

Drama Queen TV will contain four new tracks - Buwan, Iniibig Kita, Makulay Na Buhay, and Majika - as well as a new recording of her smash hit Wag Na Wag Mong Sasabihin. It will also contain an instrumental version of Wag Na Wag Mong Sasabihin.

Kitchie wrote all the songs on this EP, which is envisioned as a partial compilation of material she’s recorded for television (specifically GMA-7’s I Luv NY and Majika, for which she won an Awit Award for Best Song Written for Movie/TV/Stage Play). Drama Queen TV is executive produced by Roca Cruz, with arrangements by Cruz and Jack Rufo.

Fans can also purchase Kitchie and Barbie Almalbis’ video collection, now available at all record bars nationwide via 12Stone Records for PHP250. I bought my own copy last week and have enjoyed watching most of the videos, including Greatest Day, the girls’ first collaboration. It’s an absolute essential addition to the collection of any Nadal or Almalbis fan, and I strongly encourage you to pick up your own copy.

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of Give You Glory by Jeremy Camp, off the spectacular Jeremy Camp album Give You Glory. GannsDeen.com does not offer Jeremy Camp mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

Dove Award winner Jeremy Camp is one of the most distinctive voices in Contemporary Christian music today. With over 10 #1 singles and albums in more than four Billboard Christian charts, Jeremy Camp is undoubtedly one of America’s most respected leaders in modern-day praise and worship.

Camp’s latest album, Beyond Measure, is a hotbed for #1 singles across all Christian formats. Carrier single Tonight topped the Christian CHR charts. Second single What It Means rocketed to #1 on Christian AC radio. Third single Give Me Jesus, featured previously on GannsDeen.com, set the Inspo charts ablaze. Fourth single Let It Fade holds at #2 on Christian CHR charts, while the newest single, Give You Glory, is positioned at #6 on Billboard’s Hot Christian charts.

Personally, Give You Glory is readily one of my favorite Jeremy Camp songs of all time. With its uptempo pace, readily sing-able, anthemic chorus, and passionate lyrics that speaks of communal worship of the Lord, Give You Glory breaks Camp’s usual mold to create an instant praise classic. One can listen to Give You Glory and hear it sung from tiny churches to stadiums and arenas worldwide, uniting Christians everywhere in triumphant praise of God. With this fifth single, Jeremy Camp has outdone himself, and positioned Beyond Measure as one of the must-have Contemporary Christian albums of 2007.

[audio:GiveYouGlory.mp3]
Listen to Jeremy Camp Give You Glory mp3
Jeremy Camp Give You Glory lyrics after the jump Read more