insaneinthebrain
31st May 2007, 07:25 PM
So, I've been going over my involvement with CF for a while now in my head, and I've reached a conclusion.
I joined this forum in March 2003, spent roughly 3 years of that time on staff, but now realize the only good to come from my involvement here is my email connection with koilias and my friendship with Pray4Isrel. (nothing personal against anyone here, but she's the only person from CF I consider more than an online acquaintance)
What made me realize this? Petitions! CF has always claimed to be a ministry, rejoiced when a member came to follow Messiah, found a way to blame the individual when it looked as though this forum played a part in rejection of Messiah, and acted as though God was on the side of staff in all conflicts. Well, recently a former staff member put together a petition basically stating Exec was doing a bad job and Erwin (the forum owner, for those that seldom venture out of MJ) needed to return to running this place. You'll find my name "signed" to that petition, though I now wish I'd waited a few days, as my views have changed. My current opinion can be summed up by a comment I made in the blog of a current CF admin:
...these petitions are a waste of time. True, I did sign one, but now regret it. The key to any ministry is to keep ministering to those who need you. One of the biggest road blocks on that path: politics. Like it or not, these petitions are nothing more than a battle for political supremacy.
One side seems to feel that God is backing them and they are being tested by the Adversary.
The other side feels their view more representative of God, as they feel a loving God wouldn't draw as many lines as CF does.
My opinion: God isn't on either side. We serve a God that allows free choice. In some cases, "choice" can be defined as "enough rope to hang ourselves." Right now, the gallows look to be full.
As far as I can tell, what we have is far too many people far too concerned with their cliques, with maintaining the dominant opinion, and with allowing a bunch of control issues to run rampant on a discussion forum. I see that one of the MJ staffers directed a bunch of you to the "support our staff" petition, which I have no beef with per se, but I find it really disappointing that people claiming to lead a ministry bothered to get involved with that political garbage to begin with.
To sum up: the backstage politics have delivered a mortal wound to the ministry of CF.
The reason I've opted for a public farewell is that I expect you all to hold me to this. Four years of CF has it pretty ingrained into my daily routine, so I expect to hear from at least one of you if I'm even lurking. I'd rather not play the hypocrite. ;)
I fully expect this thread to vanish, so read it while you can! However, you do have my word that I haven't the slightest interest in debating this issue. I think I've already made my point. :D
My name is Justin, I love my God, and I have no time for distractions.
insaneinthebrain signing off...
I joined this forum in March 2003, spent roughly 3 years of that time on staff, but now realize the only good to come from my involvement here is my email connection with koilias and my friendship with Pray4Isrel. (nothing personal against anyone here, but she's the only person from CF I consider more than an online acquaintance)
What made me realize this? Petitions! CF has always claimed to be a ministry, rejoiced when a member came to follow Messiah, found a way to blame the individual when it looked as though this forum played a part in rejection of Messiah, and acted as though God was on the side of staff in all conflicts. Well, recently a former staff member put together a petition basically stating Exec was doing a bad job and Erwin (the forum owner, for those that seldom venture out of MJ) needed to return to running this place. You'll find my name "signed" to that petition, though I now wish I'd waited a few days, as my views have changed. My current opinion can be summed up by a comment I made in the blog of a current CF admin:
...these petitions are a waste of time. True, I did sign one, but now regret it. The key to any ministry is to keep ministering to those who need you. One of the biggest road blocks on that path: politics. Like it or not, these petitions are nothing more than a battle for political supremacy.
One side seems to feel that God is backing them and they are being tested by the Adversary.
The other side feels their view more representative of God, as they feel a loving God wouldn't draw as many lines as CF does.
My opinion: God isn't on either side. We serve a God that allows free choice. In some cases, "choice" can be defined as "enough rope to hang ourselves." Right now, the gallows look to be full.
As far as I can tell, what we have is far too many people far too concerned with their cliques, with maintaining the dominant opinion, and with allowing a bunch of control issues to run rampant on a discussion forum. I see that one of the MJ staffers directed a bunch of you to the "support our staff" petition, which I have no beef with per se, but I find it really disappointing that people claiming to lead a ministry bothered to get involved with that political garbage to begin with.
To sum up: the backstage politics have delivered a mortal wound to the ministry of CF.
The reason I've opted for a public farewell is that I expect you all to hold me to this. Four years of CF has it pretty ingrained into my daily routine, so I expect to hear from at least one of you if I'm even lurking. I'd rather not play the hypocrite. ;)
I fully expect this thread to vanish, so read it while you can! However, you do have my word that I haven't the slightest interest in debating this issue. I think I've already made my point. :D
My name is Justin, I love my God, and I have no time for distractions.
insaneinthebrain signing off...