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Discussion Forum : General Topics : Let's Get Refocussed

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 Re:

Quote:
Wow. I have seldom seen such restraint on these forums. A true example. It’s hard, at times to let certain comments go by without remark, but if Krispy can do this…well…anything is possible.



Yes... it was one of my more profound utterences on this forum, wouldnt you say?

LOL...

Krispy

 2007/7/27 7:20
crsschk
Member



Joined: 2003/6/11
Posts: 9192
Santa Clara, CA

 Re: Let's Get Refocussed

Quote:
Lets have a day of repentence.

Let's start with me.

Lord, I repent for being upset at some of my brethren, and I repent for allowing myself to get caught up in debates and divisions that I should have ignored. Help me to be more focussed on edifying and encouraging my brethren, as well as being open to what others have to say. Help me to learn from my friends here at SI. Lead all of us into the truth.

Amen.



Thank you brother.

Quote:
So what if someone hates George Bush, or hates Al Gore...? Find a forum that discusses politics and fight like Hannity & Colms all you want. Thats not why we're here. The internet is not lacking for political debate... dont bring it in here.



Precisely.
Quote:
This forum used to be a sanctuary. A place where we could come and have healthy discussions. Every once in awhile we do lose focus and need to be brought back in and reminded of why we are here.



Indeed, that is what makes this all so grievous. There has always been these seasons where hostilities rise up and the reasons are just as various anything from newer members not truly knowing the manner and spirit back of these things to even the older longer tenured saints slipping, being caught up in things even when they think they are fixing them. To that part I must confess my own culpability and ask forgiveness.

The rarest thing, strangely enough is the lack of confession in these parts, I cannot help but wonder that no answer or no forthcoming of shortcomings is not one of the greatest problems extant. To move on and leave things trailing behind us ... At the same time independent conviction cannot be forced. From a moderator standpoint the large question or plea is just [i]think[/i] ... [i]pray[/i].

Somewhere I believe Krispy mentioned "That's human nature". And therein lies our problem, no?
We, filled with the Holy Spirit ... Jesus, before us, with us, in us. How might we see things differently if this was always before our conscious minds while we write and more importantly before we push that little button.
It is redundant to say, but used to strike me ironic and when given more heed to it, even profoundly; That little "Submit" button, to take notice of the response that comes back:

"Thanks for your submission!"

[i]Submission[/i]

Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Just to break down this one verse;

Let nothing
be done
through strife or vainglory
but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem (the) other
better
than themselves

I am responding off the original post here from our brother Krispy and pray all these things might be taken to heart, well spoken my friend.

We are back quite a bit to some of the simpler matters noted in the "disclaimer", those that even a moderator needs care to recall. Asking questions and for clarifications rather than leveling charges or assuming accusations. Keep in mind not only that accountability to [i]every word spoken[/i] before the Lord Himself ... (Is this not enough all on it's own?) But to each other and never to forget those eyes peering into these things, how many might have turned away due to our hostilities?

One last plea here. Please, please [u]search[/u] this site, it's forum, the articles ... Remember S e r m o n Index, sermons and messages, the depth and untold riches lying dormant, hidden ... shoved off the main page. With that, something that has been a musing of late;

"Front page-itis"

It could be somewhat paradoxical but what I am appealing to is the momentum that seems to gather primarily around the continual controversial topics, it gives an 'appearance' that otherwise is only partial. It is an old suggestion but one of the great ways of discovery is to search back pages or postings that have 0 (zero) replies or maybe one or two. There are some possibly life altering things that get swallowed up because of that responsive nature ("human" again) in that rush to opinion. Things edifying and convicting, deep, penetrating spiritual truths, wonderful things, profound things and ...

Things that take time to process. Patience. We, of the book reading sort can become impatient with "longer" posts, some little trick of the brain that discards before assimilation. "[i]Ah, this is too long ... next, 'click' [/i]". But we can read whole chapters of a good book without a blink. Pace, the worlds pace, it is catching us up in it's whirlpool saints.

Holding our peace ...
Moving on ...
Allowing ourselves to be misunderstood [i]and[/i] ...
Not retaliating or holding some foreign suspicion about each other.

Please, I plead, can we just put a complete stop to climbing into each others heads, telling each other what is really going on when we are still altogether so faulty all on our own?

The [i]play the ball, not the man[/i] 'rule' is explicit for just these very reasons. No, we are not puppets nor robots nor playthings, but the level of offendeness, of being personally assumed or abused or some quasi combination of both is not becoming of cross carrying saints, ready to forgive before the asking, [i]"walking as He walked[/i]", suffering misunderstandings, patiently 'taking things' even if they are not deserved. What of it? When it comes right down to it. The great problem it seems is that we can add to the trouble more than we know, giving offense just by way of so much defending, justifying ... and drawing things off [i]away[/i] from the words written, the subject matter at hand, [i]not the person[/i], not in 'totality', not by injecting suspicions of each other ...

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Every high thing
Every thought
To the obedience
Of Christ

"[i]Thanks for your submission[/i]!"

The Lord is watching, the world might be just as well.


_________________
Mike Balog

 2007/7/27 9:43Profile
Koheleth
Member



Joined: 2005/11/10
Posts: 530
NC

 Re:

Quote:
"Front page-itis"

It could be somewhat paradoxical but what I am appealing to is the momentum that seems to gather primarily around the continual controversial topics, it gives an 'appearance' that otherwise is only partial. It is an old suggestion but one of the great ways of discovery is to search back pages or postings that have 0 (zero) replies or maybe one or two. There are some possibly life altering things that get swallowed up because of that responsive nature ("human" again) in that rush to opinion. Things edifying and convicting, deep, penetrating spiritual truths, wonderful things, profound things and ...



Personally, I believe SermonIndex could do more to promote the Christ-focused rather than topics-focused nature of this site by removing the front page list of recently posted-to threads. Why not have people go to the forum section that they choose? Why highlight the "recent" ("hot"?) threads. Why? I would humbly request a review of this policy to ask if it has Christ as its primary focus. Online forums, as we all generally know, are so rarely conducive to true Christianity. If the sermons, articles, and videos are where the real blessing of this site are, then de-emphasize the forums, but still have them as fully available through the forum section as they are now. Encourage people to refer to sermons and articles (site content) more than just debates and views. God bless all your work for Christ.

 2007/7/27 10:17Profile









 Re:

I like the front page because if I'm involved in a fast moving thread I like being able to jump back in quick and easily... I dont want to have to fish around for it.

I know thats very practical, but I couldnt find a spiritual way to word that. :-)

Krispy

 2007/7/27 10:41









 Re: Let's Get Refocussed

yes and amen.

 2007/7/27 12:51









 Re:

There are some Forums out there that are more like a side-show. The largest Christian Forum out there is like that.
But SI doesn't do what they do, they purposely put the "hot topics" up on the homepage for just the reason we'd want to avoid at all costs, but the reason some of us have to use the Homepage to get caught up with the brothers & sisters is because of a time factor.

I don't think we're trusting GOD enough to be in things.

Who knows what young person may have benefitted by something they saw on the homepage. I know God has His Hand here, but we're just looking at each other right now. He's a big GOD and loves all and wants to touch all lives, not just ours.

Oh well, just my opinion, but because it's hard enough for me to get around here and I find that forum section on the homepage makes SI look "approachable" and not looking as if we're not human or here for other humans. Like a Church should be open to everyone and there should be something about that Church that makes it look open to humans.

Bless ya's.
Thank you!

 2007/7/27 13:22









 Re:

Does disagreement mean we do not have unity in the same purpose? Remember Paul had disputes but they had the same purpose.
Acts 15:2-3
2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
KJV


Acts 15:37-39
37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
KJV

Also Paul and Peter had exchanges.
Gal 2:9-18
9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

17 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!

These discussions are some of same discussions that occur on SI. Even Peter and Paul had discussions.
Paul and Mark, they were all used by God.

So disagreements alone does not indicate we are not in unity.



 2007/7/27 15:31
crsschk
Member



Joined: 2003/6/11
Posts: 9192
Santa Clara, CA

 Re: To Clarify

Just to clarify a couple of things. The way the home page works is by 'design' and by that I do not mean intention, it came with the package so to speak.

It is part of the programming module that simply moves one post in at a time sequentially. This reply will be 'first' once I hit the submit button and goes on the top, thereby forcing everything else down one notch. There are only 15 available 'slots' in the main (home page) showing the forum section, so they just move sequentially through as others respond. So there is no real hierarchy or anything, it is just a mathematical calculation.

Quote:
I would humbly request a review of this policy to ask if it has Christ as its primary focus. Online forums, as we all generally know, are so rarely conducive to true Christianity. If the sermons, articles, and videos are where the real blessing of this site are, then de-emphasize the forums, but still have them as fully available through the forum section as they are now. Encourage people to refer to sermons and articles (site content) more than just debates and views. God bless all your work for Christ.



Think part of this earlier expression (from Krispy) was to draw back to this Koheleth, "[i]Online forums, as we all generally know, are so rarely conducive to true Christianity.[/i]" We have tried very hard to keep that otherwise distinction and it is often a very difficult work, to have some patience and yet try to keep things geared somehow to first inceptions all the while having freedom to discuss a range of related questions, what have you.

To be honest I do not think what is needed is to deemphasize the forums, this has been a great source of putting ourselves to some real challenges ... We can be often much more freer in our expressions than we might face to face, which is also our present danger just as well. Our words do spell us, tell us, expose us ... How do we respond, will we make corrections ... are we teachable .. can we relent, re-think, repent ...?
be silent ...

Appreciate this and sure Greg more so, this is his site and really it is also in this small way open sourced to all of us ... we all make up the content of the forum and therefore are responsible, accountable to each other after the Lord.

There have been some tremendous things that have come through here, through the years, another reason to go back and do some digging. It really is up to us all and sometimes it is to do just this, pause and reflect, recalibrate ourselves ... Is what we bring up worth what might become of it? Is it moving us forward, along with the Lord ...
Quote:
Encourage people to refer to sermons and articles (site content) more than just debates and views.


Indeed, that is what this whole forum was originally founded on, revival and learning all the aspects related and as byproduct of that.


_________________
Mike Balog

 2007/7/27 17:01Profile
BrokenOne
Member



Joined: 2007/6/7
Posts: 429
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 Re:

Quote:
crsschk said:

There have been some tremendous things that have come through here, through the years, another reason to go back and do some digging.



I just wanted to say amen to this. At times when I have trouble sleeping I have gone back to look at things that were posted years ago and found some real treasures.


_________________
Danielle

 2007/7/27 17:18Profile
Rahman
Member



Joined: 2004/3/24
Posts: 1374


 Bro Krisp: The Real You or the Old You? ...



Bro Krisp you wrote,
"But if I have done or said anything to encourage anyone here, let God get the glory... cuz I know the real me."


Sorry this took a while, and i hope you won't think it picky, or overboard, but i think it's an important detail ... i think what you really meant was you know the "old you" , that guy according to Rom. 6 who's now crucified with Christ (tho if he's anything like my old me he keeps on trying to get back down every once in a while :-( ) ...

The "real you" (me, and every other saint) according to 2Cor.5: 17 is now the "new creature/man" in Christ" - "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Just wanted to share this in light of the fact that your statement set me on a contemplation of just what it really means for me to have the "holy spirit", meaning my actually, and consistently, manifesting the attributes of Holy Spirit in my everyday "real me" life in Christ - (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance) ... All that the "old me/us" ain't!

Blessings in Christ bro! ... :-D

 2007/8/1 16:11Profile





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