To whoever is in charge of membership
- Thread starter Wolfeman
- Start date
ursen
Officer SOE/LoE/Where's "here"?
So sorry to hear that Wolf. If it is anything I have said or done my sincerest apologies.
@Wolfeman All forum members are, of course, welcome to come and go as they please; however, there is no precedent for deleting established forum accounts with years of activity and no clear indication what, if any, impact it would have on your existing posts.
But even putting the technical aspect aside, I would ask that you afford me the opportunity to make every reasonable effort to make matters right, even should you choose to leave if and when the matter that prompted your request is settled. You've been a valuable member of our community for years and it would pain me personally to not have at least a fair chance of mending relationships.
I'll continue the conversation through private messages.
And @ursen I don't think you have anything to worry about.
But even putting the technical aspect aside, I would ask that you afford me the opportunity to make every reasonable effort to make matters right, even should you choose to leave if and when the matter that prompted your request is settled. You've been a valuable member of our community for years and it would pain me personally to not have at least a fair chance of mending relationships.
I'll continue the conversation through private messages.
And @ursen I don't think you have anything to worry about.
I'm very sorry if my request to delete my account has come off as me being bitter or angry. I will admit that I am saddened by the changes in this group over the course of my membership but that is not the reason for my request.
I am at a very different point in my life than I was when I first joined. I had time then for games and online communications. Christ was not nearly as important to me then as He is now.
With a 13 year old daughter, a 7 month old son, full time deputation and an overseas ministry to prepare for, my time is very limited. I find video games and things associated with them take an unhealthy amount of time from me. (I would suggest each person look at your own personal schedule and ask yourself if you spend more time with God -praying, reading His word, witnessing, attending church, helping others, etc - or more time on your self.) God has for a while been pushing me towards this decision.
It started in TF2. At 46, I play TF2 with ToJ for fellowship and fun. To many people view it anymore as a competition or a "look at me" time. I have neither the time, reflexes nor the computer hardware necessary to "git gud" and I know several other people who play who feel the same way. Watch any scramble vote and you will quickly see it's more about winning than having fun anymore.
Couple that with the fact that the fourms are basically dead. The few people who do show up for TF2 and wear tags, don't frequent the forums for the most part. What used to be a place of fellowship, learning and fun has become and endless parade of "Verse of the Day" posts. The minecraft chapter seems to be the only exception to that.
Finally, there are a few people in the forums who have a problem with being easily offended. I have a problem with easily offending people. My recent question about respecting the American Flag and the problems it caused is proof of that. But it goes beyond that. My single response in the Gender roles conversation is a perfect example of this. While I went out of my way to make my flag question and subsequent response as neutral and nonoffensive as possible, I made no such effort in the Gender Roles thread. Until I can better filter my mouth and fingers, it is time for me to step back in my communications.
I am in no way bitter or angry. I am saddened to see a ToJ I no longer feel comfortable in. I am saddened that I don't have the time to invest to help change things back to where they were. I am saddened that God is moving me on from here. However, I am very excited about where He is pushing me towards and about the fact that He is speaking to me so clearly even if it's something I don't want to hear, most Christians never really hear His voice.
I pray for and wish only the best to each and every person here. You have all helped me grow in the Lord. I'm sorry for being difficult, prideful, contrary and angry at times. I'm sorry if anyone felt it was directed at them. Change is hard and I've fought God on this for a while.
However, it's time to stand up, brush the dust off my feet and move on. Deleting my account is part of that moving on. I would certainly appreciate it if you could respect my wish in this but understand if you can't or won't. However, I will not be back either way.
God Bless,
Luke 12:48
I am at a very different point in my life than I was when I first joined. I had time then for games and online communications. Christ was not nearly as important to me then as He is now.
With a 13 year old daughter, a 7 month old son, full time deputation and an overseas ministry to prepare for, my time is very limited. I find video games and things associated with them take an unhealthy amount of time from me. (I would suggest each person look at your own personal schedule and ask yourself if you spend more time with God -praying, reading His word, witnessing, attending church, helping others, etc - or more time on your self.) God has for a while been pushing me towards this decision.
It started in TF2. At 46, I play TF2 with ToJ for fellowship and fun. To many people view it anymore as a competition or a "look at me" time. I have neither the time, reflexes nor the computer hardware necessary to "git gud" and I know several other people who play who feel the same way. Watch any scramble vote and you will quickly see it's more about winning than having fun anymore.
Couple that with the fact that the fourms are basically dead. The few people who do show up for TF2 and wear tags, don't frequent the forums for the most part. What used to be a place of fellowship, learning and fun has become and endless parade of "Verse of the Day" posts. The minecraft chapter seems to be the only exception to that.
Finally, there are a few people in the forums who have a problem with being easily offended. I have a problem with easily offending people. My recent question about respecting the American Flag and the problems it caused is proof of that. But it goes beyond that. My single response in the Gender roles conversation is a perfect example of this. While I went out of my way to make my flag question and subsequent response as neutral and nonoffensive as possible, I made no such effort in the Gender Roles thread. Until I can better filter my mouth and fingers, it is time for me to step back in my communications.
I am in no way bitter or angry. I am saddened to see a ToJ I no longer feel comfortable in. I am saddened that I don't have the time to invest to help change things back to where they were. I am saddened that God is moving me on from here. However, I am very excited about where He is pushing me towards and about the fact that He is speaking to me so clearly even if it's something I don't want to hear, most Christians never really hear His voice.
I pray for and wish only the best to each and every person here. You have all helped me grow in the Lord. I'm sorry for being difficult, prideful, contrary and angry at times. I'm sorry if anyone felt it was directed at them. Change is hard and I've fought God on this for a while.
However, it's time to stand up, brush the dust off my feet and move on. Deleting my account is part of that moving on. I would certainly appreciate it if you could respect my wish in this but understand if you can't or won't. However, I will not be back either way.
God Bless,
Luke 12:48
Guessing you won't see this, and I'm sad to see you go (having appreciated your contributions to this place, too). I know what it's like to have one's mind made up, and I know Tek is already aiming to speak with you about this decision, so I won't try further to convince you to stay in effort to respect your wishes. I do hope you choose to come back at some point, but it seems your departure is not just of preference but of conviction. So, if you must go, then vaya con Dios, mi amigo. May the peace of Christ go with you, and may the Spirit strengthen you in your service to the Father and taking care of your family.
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@Wolfeman It's possible that you may not read my reply or the longer reply I hope to write soon, but a public response is fitting for a public farewell and you raise valid concerns that will remain valid regardless whether you stay or go.
I'm currently fighting a sore throat and I'm very tired, so I don't dare write the full-length reply that's currently percolating in my head right now for fear of making very little sense at all; however, I will say that I, like you, am at a very different place in my life than when I founded Tribe of Judah 17 years ago and helped establish the Christian Gamers Alliance a few years after. In 1999, I was unmarried, not yet attending college after graduating high school, I had no children, and I had a considerable amount of free time. Today, I have a wife, two young children, and a full-time job. I've been forthright with the community about being unable to commit as much time to my responsibilities as leader of both ToJ and the CGA as I once did as well as the tension I face regarding priorities.
I often find myself wishing I could dedicate a block of several hours to sit down, do what I feel I need to do as President of both organizations, and help make our community more inviting and of greater use to God's Kingdom and fellow Christians. Then I raise my eyes from my laptop, look around my own house, see all the work that needs to be done, and realize there's only time for one or the other (and sometimes it feels as though there's not time for either).
I need to cut the remainder of my response short, but I wanted to specifically state that my current goals for the CGA and ToJ do not include returning either community to "the good old days." With fewer active members and less available free time, I've instead changed my approach and scaled back my goals, which previously may have been overambitious. Currently, I seek to help provide a place where Christian gamers can connect and encourage and refresh one another. Community members are welcome to volunteer for various roles and responsibilities should they desire to help the community grow, but I also want to make those in similar seasons of life understand that they have a place to come back to, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or once in a great long while. I want community members to know that even participating in simple weekly threads like our "Now playing" (Wednesday) or "Week in review" (Friday/Saturday) threads encourages me personally because it keeps lines of communication open.
I've already written more than I intended and I need to wind down for the night so I can rest, recuperate, and wake early for work in the morning, but believe me when I say that I get the, "It ain't like it used to be" feeling. If you'll forgive a moment of self-indulgence, I suspect no one understands it better than I do, having invested so much of my time and myself over 17 years.
But while activity levels are lower and the community is smaller than it once was, I still feel like there's a very real opportunity to use these forums and other resources (e.g. CGA TeamSpeak server, ToJ Team Fortress 2 and Minecraft servers) to connect with fellow believers in a meaningful way. I tend to see my failures very clearly and I often feel as though the CGA and ToJ deserve better than what I have to offer. But meager as my offerings are, I sincerely hope they can be of value to someone. And while I don't anticipate we'll return to the bustling levels of activity we enjoyed years ago, I'm ready, willing, and working to build and maintain a smaller community of believers who bless one another and spur each other on to good works, including sharing the Good News of Christ's redemptive work with others.
I pray this post makes more sense as I'm very tired and prone to rambling even while well rested.
TL;DR: Yes, the CGA and ToJ aren't what they used to be, but they can still be something great, albeit different in scope and approach. I need help to make it happen, but I do what little I can in hopes of being useful for God's Kingdom.
I'm currently fighting a sore throat and I'm very tired, so I don't dare write the full-length reply that's currently percolating in my head right now for fear of making very little sense at all; however, I will say that I, like you, am at a very different place in my life than when I founded Tribe of Judah 17 years ago and helped establish the Christian Gamers Alliance a few years after. In 1999, I was unmarried, not yet attending college after graduating high school, I had no children, and I had a considerable amount of free time. Today, I have a wife, two young children, and a full-time job. I've been forthright with the community about being unable to commit as much time to my responsibilities as leader of both ToJ and the CGA as I once did as well as the tension I face regarding priorities.
I often find myself wishing I could dedicate a block of several hours to sit down, do what I feel I need to do as President of both organizations, and help make our community more inviting and of greater use to God's Kingdom and fellow Christians. Then I raise my eyes from my laptop, look around my own house, see all the work that needs to be done, and realize there's only time for one or the other (and sometimes it feels as though there's not time for either).
I need to cut the remainder of my response short, but I wanted to specifically state that my current goals for the CGA and ToJ do not include returning either community to "the good old days." With fewer active members and less available free time, I've instead changed my approach and scaled back my goals, which previously may have been overambitious. Currently, I seek to help provide a place where Christian gamers can connect and encourage and refresh one another. Community members are welcome to volunteer for various roles and responsibilities should they desire to help the community grow, but I also want to make those in similar seasons of life understand that they have a place to come back to, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or once in a great long while. I want community members to know that even participating in simple weekly threads like our "Now playing" (Wednesday) or "Week in review" (Friday/Saturday) threads encourages me personally because it keeps lines of communication open.
I've already written more than I intended and I need to wind down for the night so I can rest, recuperate, and wake early for work in the morning, but believe me when I say that I get the, "It ain't like it used to be" feeling. If you'll forgive a moment of self-indulgence, I suspect no one understands it better than I do, having invested so much of my time and myself over 17 years.
But while activity levels are lower and the community is smaller than it once was, I still feel like there's a very real opportunity to use these forums and other resources (e.g. CGA TeamSpeak server, ToJ Team Fortress 2 and Minecraft servers) to connect with fellow believers in a meaningful way. I tend to see my failures very clearly and I often feel as though the CGA and ToJ deserve better than what I have to offer. But meager as my offerings are, I sincerely hope they can be of value to someone. And while I don't anticipate we'll return to the bustling levels of activity we enjoyed years ago, I'm ready, willing, and working to build and maintain a smaller community of believers who bless one another and spur each other on to good works, including sharing the Good News of Christ's redemptive work with others.
I pray this post makes more sense as I'm very tired and prone to rambling even while well rested.
TL;DR: Yes, the CGA and ToJ aren't what they used to be, but they can still be something great, albeit different in scope and approach. I need help to make it happen, but I do what little I can in hopes of being useful for God's Kingdom.
LITSAFALDA
Prayer Angel, Moderator
Honestly any of us who've been here any length of time KNOW that we all have SEASONS of life. I believe that we should DO, myself included, but then as we are LED. We all have many blessings and I honestly believe it is better for us to add when and where we can. I miss tons of things, but that does not mean many of you are not still in my heart. Also many people have gone from communicating more through forums than to other social media areas. Facebook allows "groups" that can be specific, but it's still nice to see "old and new faces" here. We can shine HIS light wherever we choose to shine and regardless if we are here for a lifetime, a season, or somewhere else in between.
Blessings and Hugs,
Blessings and Hugs,