1 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction General Setting of the Study The setting for this study is among a group of approximately seventy-five Filipino pastors belonging to two separate but closely-related groups of churches. The first is the Philippine Bible Methodist Church (PBMC) and the second is the Bible Methodist Gospel Light Church (BMGLC). Originally, these two groups were one under the former name, but in 2010 the latter group chose to incorporate as a separate, sister denomination. Both groups maintain a close relationship with the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches (BMCC) in the U.S.A., and both have a working partnership with Bible Methodist Missions, which is the global mission arm of the BMCC. The writer has conducted a study of the preaching patterns of these pastors in the light of their personal sense of ethnic, social, religious, and family/kinship group identity and their interactions with members of other religious groups. Background These pastors come from lower and middle class backgrounds. Some of the congregations which these pastors lead now include members who are middle class professionals such as attorneys, school teachers, and even local politicians such as barangay captains and barangay councilors. 1 However, most of the pastors in this study have not obtained more than a Bible school degree. A few have studied in secular colleges, and even achieved master’s degrees. These, however, are the exception. Many 1 The author has learned this through personal conversations with various pastors, and has also personally met some of these professionals and officials while attending local Bible Methodist Churches in the Philippines.