Greetings, members of the Christian Gamers Alliance community. I write today to share my perspective on my involvement in the Christian gaming community, call for help, and explain my vision for the Alliance. This will likely be a long post, so please bookmark this thread if your schedule does not allow you to read it in a single setting.
May 19 will mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of Tribe of Judah and the beginning of my involvement in the Christian gaming community. What started as a simple desire to bring Christian gamers together to enjoy a game of Starcraft has turned into a decade-long volunteer position as President of one of the Internet's oldest Christian gaming organizations. My life then looks very different from my life now. Since 1999, I've attended college, earned my Associates Degree, got engaged, moved from my hometown to another city and state, got married, attended a different college, earned my Bachelors Degree, and entered the workforce. When I was laying the foundations of Tribe of Judah and even later when I accepted the position of President of the Christian Gamers Alliance in 2002, I could afford more time to play games and manage both organizations.
My 29th birthday is the same month as the 10th anniversary of Tribe of Judah's founding. My wife and I have been married a little over four years and would like to have children in the next few years. I'm at a point in my life where I'm listening to my father's advice and examining what I want to do as a life-long career instead of simply trading time for money. I've decided that I want to do something creative, very likely involving writing, and it's scary because I have no path to follow or mentor to guide me. I'm currently unemployed, so I'll likely have to take a part-time or full-time job working in the Information Technology industry and slowly work my way toward full-time creative work.
I share all this to explain why I need members of this community to get involved if the Alliance is going to exit its current "holding pattern" and see real growth. As President, I'm responsible for developing the vision and guidelines for the Alliance's growth. I plan to continue those tasks with enthusiasm for as long as I remain President.
Unfortunately, since the Alliance is understaffed, I also handle tasks that would otherwise be assigned to an Affiliate Recruiter, an Accounts Manager, and a Staff Manager. Until these positions are filled, it falls on me, by default, to handle these administrative tasks. Completing these tasks take time--time that could otherwise be spent on refining the vision and goals of the Alliance, reaching out to and developing relationships with other ministries, and working on creative efforts to establishing and advancing a career in the creative arts.
When I sit down to write a short story or script for a short film or even a blog post, I feel a twinge of guilt for not using that time to search for a job or clear a few tasks off my "to-do" list for the Alliance and Tribe of Judah. I feel as though I'll always be looking over my shoulder, so to speak, any time I sit down to write until I delegate some of my workload in these communities to members.
We already have several staff members who contribute significantly to our community. Without their involvement and assistance, the weight left to me to shoulder would be much greater than it is now. Those staff members should not be expected to pick up additional duties. They have their own careers, families, and hobbies to tend to.
When I started Tribe of Judah, I was 19 years old, out of high school, not attending college, and struggling with depression. I had no professional experience developing web sites, designing graphics, scheduling events, or promoting organizations. I learned to do all these things and more in the first few months after Tribe of Judah was established. My point is that a lack of prior experience in any given role is no excuse not to volunteer and get involved.
As things stand now, I feel as though I can never catch up with my workload for the Christian Gamers Alliance and Tribe of Judah. I invest what time I can afford to maintain the status quo, all the while seeing the wonderful potential in both organizations and unable to push either group toward fulfilling its potential.
In summary, I need members to sign up, get involved, and shoulder some of the load. Until they do, neither the Alliance nor Tribe of Judah will realize their full potential.
Some have commented before that my serving as President of both the Alliance and one its affiliates puts an unnecessary burned on my shoulders and creates a conflict of interest. I have made every effort to keep the lines between the Alliance and Tribe of Judah crystal clear and I feel I've done a good job of it. As President of the Alliance, I offer the same resources and services (e.g. TeamSpeak Server channels, forums hosting, event promotion, etc.) to all affiliates. The decision whether or not to make use of the resources offered is up to the leadership of each individual affiliate.
There will come a day when I resign from my position as President of either the Alliance or Tribe of Judah or both. I'll likely resign from one and stay as President of the other as community involvement and my schedule allows. I've been involved in the Christian gaming community for almost 10 years now and I plan to be involved as long as I'm allowed, but I may not be serving the community in a leadership role (or at least not as President) when another 10 years goes by. The day of my resignation from either group is still not in sight, so there's no point in writing on it further at this time.
When I look at the Alliance and Tribe of Judah, I see so much unrealized potential. I've caught glimpses here and there of what we could accomplish if fully staffed and unified by a single vision, but there's still a long path to walk before we reach that point. The original purpose of the Alliance was to unite the Christian gaming community, pool our resources, and develop the most effective ministries possible to preach the Gospel to non-Christians, teach Scripture to strengthen Christians, and glorify God through gaming.
As always, we are Christians first and gamers second. As gamers, we share a sub-culture with many who are resistant to faith in general and Christianity in particular. As Christians, we are called to reach the lost by preaching and living the Word of God.
Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." I believe the "workers are few" part of that quote will resonate with pastors, missionaries, church volunteers, or anyone involved in any type of ministry. After almost 10 years of leading a Christian gaming group, I think I understand what Jesus was saying there.
Just as a local church requires accountants to manage the finances, janitors to clean the facility, and ushers to guide people to open seats and collect offering plates, so does the Alliance require the involvement of its members to survive and grow. (Please don't misunderstand; I'm not trying to say that the Alliance is equivalent to a local church. It's imperative that community members find a local church in their area, attend services, and get involved as the Lord or their conscience guides them.)
To summarize: If the Alliance and Tribe of Judah are going to meet their full potential, both organizations will need more staff members.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve as staff in the Alliance, please send me a PM or post a reply here.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve as staff in Tribe of Judah, please send me a PM or post a reply here.
May 19 will mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of Tribe of Judah and the beginning of my involvement in the Christian gaming community. What started as a simple desire to bring Christian gamers together to enjoy a game of Starcraft has turned into a decade-long volunteer position as President of one of the Internet's oldest Christian gaming organizations. My life then looks very different from my life now. Since 1999, I've attended college, earned my Associates Degree, got engaged, moved from my hometown to another city and state, got married, attended a different college, earned my Bachelors Degree, and entered the workforce. When I was laying the foundations of Tribe of Judah and even later when I accepted the position of President of the Christian Gamers Alliance in 2002, I could afford more time to play games and manage both organizations.
My 29th birthday is the same month as the 10th anniversary of Tribe of Judah's founding. My wife and I have been married a little over four years and would like to have children in the next few years. I'm at a point in my life where I'm listening to my father's advice and examining what I want to do as a life-long career instead of simply trading time for money. I've decided that I want to do something creative, very likely involving writing, and it's scary because I have no path to follow or mentor to guide me. I'm currently unemployed, so I'll likely have to take a part-time or full-time job working in the Information Technology industry and slowly work my way toward full-time creative work.
I share all this to explain why I need members of this community to get involved if the Alliance is going to exit its current "holding pattern" and see real growth. As President, I'm responsible for developing the vision and guidelines for the Alliance's growth. I plan to continue those tasks with enthusiasm for as long as I remain President.
Unfortunately, since the Alliance is understaffed, I also handle tasks that would otherwise be assigned to an Affiliate Recruiter, an Accounts Manager, and a Staff Manager. Until these positions are filled, it falls on me, by default, to handle these administrative tasks. Completing these tasks take time--time that could otherwise be spent on refining the vision and goals of the Alliance, reaching out to and developing relationships with other ministries, and working on creative efforts to establishing and advancing a career in the creative arts.
When I sit down to write a short story or script for a short film or even a blog post, I feel a twinge of guilt for not using that time to search for a job or clear a few tasks off my "to-do" list for the Alliance and Tribe of Judah. I feel as though I'll always be looking over my shoulder, so to speak, any time I sit down to write until I delegate some of my workload in these communities to members.
We already have several staff members who contribute significantly to our community. Without their involvement and assistance, the weight left to me to shoulder would be much greater than it is now. Those staff members should not be expected to pick up additional duties. They have their own careers, families, and hobbies to tend to.
When I started Tribe of Judah, I was 19 years old, out of high school, not attending college, and struggling with depression. I had no professional experience developing web sites, designing graphics, scheduling events, or promoting organizations. I learned to do all these things and more in the first few months after Tribe of Judah was established. My point is that a lack of prior experience in any given role is no excuse not to volunteer and get involved.
As things stand now, I feel as though I can never catch up with my workload for the Christian Gamers Alliance and Tribe of Judah. I invest what time I can afford to maintain the status quo, all the while seeing the wonderful potential in both organizations and unable to push either group toward fulfilling its potential.
In summary, I need members to sign up, get involved, and shoulder some of the load. Until they do, neither the Alliance nor Tribe of Judah will realize their full potential.
Some have commented before that my serving as President of both the Alliance and one its affiliates puts an unnecessary burned on my shoulders and creates a conflict of interest. I have made every effort to keep the lines between the Alliance and Tribe of Judah crystal clear and I feel I've done a good job of it. As President of the Alliance, I offer the same resources and services (e.g. TeamSpeak Server channels, forums hosting, event promotion, etc.) to all affiliates. The decision whether or not to make use of the resources offered is up to the leadership of each individual affiliate.
There will come a day when I resign from my position as President of either the Alliance or Tribe of Judah or both. I'll likely resign from one and stay as President of the other as community involvement and my schedule allows. I've been involved in the Christian gaming community for almost 10 years now and I plan to be involved as long as I'm allowed, but I may not be serving the community in a leadership role (or at least not as President) when another 10 years goes by. The day of my resignation from either group is still not in sight, so there's no point in writing on it further at this time.
When I look at the Alliance and Tribe of Judah, I see so much unrealized potential. I've caught glimpses here and there of what we could accomplish if fully staffed and unified by a single vision, but there's still a long path to walk before we reach that point. The original purpose of the Alliance was to unite the Christian gaming community, pool our resources, and develop the most effective ministries possible to preach the Gospel to non-Christians, teach Scripture to strengthen Christians, and glorify God through gaming.
As always, we are Christians first and gamers second. As gamers, we share a sub-culture with many who are resistant to faith in general and Christianity in particular. As Christians, we are called to reach the lost by preaching and living the Word of God.
Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." I believe the "workers are few" part of that quote will resonate with pastors, missionaries, church volunteers, or anyone involved in any type of ministry. After almost 10 years of leading a Christian gaming group, I think I understand what Jesus was saying there.
Just as a local church requires accountants to manage the finances, janitors to clean the facility, and ushers to guide people to open seats and collect offering plates, so does the Alliance require the involvement of its members to survive and grow. (Please don't misunderstand; I'm not trying to say that the Alliance is equivalent to a local church. It's imperative that community members find a local church in their area, attend services, and get involved as the Lord or their conscience guides them.)
To summarize: If the Alliance and Tribe of Judah are going to meet their full potential, both organizations will need more staff members.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve as staff in the Alliance, please send me a PM or post a reply here.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve as staff in Tribe of Judah, please send me a PM or post a reply here.
