Where is everyone?

[The Mighty Gerbil]

I must admit that I rarely visit the forums, not that I forget my Brethren here at toj or the CGA but rather due to a general lack of interest in Gaming and the Internet altogether. I look not toward a Game that is a must have for everyone but rather a game that everyone will enjoy playing together, TF 2, UT2K4, UT3, Quake & BF2 are a few Titles that we all enjoyed, some more than others but it was a Blast. There are many Games out today to play but few hold the interest or that Gripping must play feeling, I enjoy BF 4 almost daily for at least 1 game but it holds but a mere shadow of BF 3 and none to BF 2, Loadout...well its a cheap made TF 2 with Gore, alas nothing can replace our Unreal Days...maybe in the future . I would game more often Gerbil with you Tek and the guys during TF 2 night but it is too late at night for me sadly and I miss those days of being Pwned by Captain Tea, MG, ColdSteel in Unreal 2K4 and UT 3 (still say it was my ISP speed lol), I hope that we can again can enjoy our Battles as we once did

BB, BB, BB! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I've tried to say hello to you on Steam but only succeeded in spooking your daughter XD . Hopefully my hello got relayed to you . I think it was you sending was it twitter? Facebook? invites but I don't use them, well at least not for anything consistent, sorry.

Yeah I can't think of any game nowadays for everyone to play. I wanted to mention Planetside 2 to just you though. BB it has tanks (actually APCs too but they are kind of anemic), is free to play, has European servers, huge open world battles, and did I mention tanks? (BB likes the Armored Personnel Carriers ). Unfortunately I get the feeling it's P2W up to about level 25-30ish (which is a month of play). If you spend your certifications extremely wisely up to then it should become fair. It's also hampered by spawn camping issues at times though you can redeploy to another area. Regardless you should try it with your preferences for games. It can't hurt since it's F2P. Just a suggestion .

Hope you are doing better. I'll try you again sometime on Steam .

 

[Captain_Tea]

Wow, I haven't checked back for a while. This thread has become a bit of a group therapy session .

In the interest of therapy, here is why I haven't been gaming much... I have been divorced for over twelve years. My ex left me for another man and took my four daughters with her. I have been fighting like mad in and out of court for several years to see them and have a meaningful relationship with them. My ex has slowly alienated them from me one at a time. About the time I stopped gaming regularly, two years ago or so, I ran out of money to fight her in court and consequently my kids stopped coming to see me. Now my relationship with my girls, two of which are grown now, is almost nonexistent. After that I lost the will to do just about everything. I've struggled much. Two of my daughters have betrayed and deeply hurt me. I won't get into detail. I've been trying to reconcile how the little girls who loved me could grow up and turn away from me like that. I am still learning to let go and move on. Without the Lord and my new wife I wouldn't have made it through.

I have to say that this has been a safe place for me, a port in the storm. I appreciate all your work over the years Tek and everyone else who has made Toj & CGA possible. When you are a very private person like me, my local church doesn't provide as much support and love as you guys and gals do here . Thanks to everyone.

Tek, this is a very important place for many of us. There are fewer and fewer places in this very perverse and dark world for the brethren to let their guard down and be around caring and supportive people.

 

[ColdSteel]

I too miss our game times..... Mostly Harmless isn't so harmless . I really do miss spending time in UT with my fellow Bro's and Bro. My Mrs. has had a rough couple of years but she is still hanging in there. Breast Cancer survivor for 6 years , Praise God!! My oldest daughter has been diagnosed with Muscular dystrophy and struggles with that currently. My son just had a mechanical heart valve put in and doing awesome.. Praise God. I play COD Ghosts with him on xbox one so that's where I've been since my UT days. I am now on a 5 day work week so UT might be back on the menu boys!!! At least I'll try to stop in more often. We (Mrs. and I) usually have our 3 grandkids on the weekend so that kinda hampers things too.
Tek has done well in keeping TOJ up and running even with minimal participation from me. It's always good to be able to stop in and see some of my bud's still here. I remember years ago getting UT back on it's feet ,gaming that is. Is Taco still out and about?
I'm looking forward to the new UT and hope I don't get disappointed.
Seems like life has us all bogged down sometimes. One thing for sure God is still God- yesterday and today and forever!!!!
I use a mouse and keyboard on my xbox one so I am still up to par for some UT Monday's . I'll try to make it tomorrow for a little while. still 9pm I presume.

 

[Tek7]

I must admit that I did not expect what Epic announced for the future of UT recently. My hope is that the "open" development process Epic has chosen will result in an arena shooter revival. I understand it will be a long, long time coming, but I'm so pleased to be able to legitimately look forward to what comes next for UT.

On a more serious note: I often abstain from sharing my doubts and frustrations regarding Tribe of Judah because I feel it's not the "Christian" thing to do and it may weaken the community. I've long had plans and goals for ToJ that still have yet to materialize after years of daydreaming, so I consider myself more a failure than a success as a leader.

But then I see replies from community members and realize that it's not my goals that matter, ultimately. What matters is that God uses this community--this framework for helping people gather and interact in a healthy way--to help heal, teach, and instruct fellow believers. The forums aren't as organized as I'd like, the hierarchy and structure isn't nearly as clear as I'd like (as evidenced by how often I need to explain that ToJ and CGA are, in fact, separate entities and that ToJ is one of several member-groups of the CGA), we have trouble filling staff positions and maintaining staff activity, and ToJ isn't where I want it to be according to my very narrow view.

And while that disappointment ensures that I continue to work toward improving the "structure" of our community, it can also lead, at times, to despair. So when I finally admit that I'm having a tough time of it, it's wonderfully encouraging to read how ToJ has encouraged and blessed others. I recognize that ToJ has succeeded despite my involvement, not because of my involvement, and I believe I understand Paul's statements regarding Christ being glorified in my weakness a little better each day I serve in a leadership role.

I have all these notes for how I plan to make ToJ better, bigger, and more organized, but I feel an increasingly heavy burden to put all that aside for a season and instead call all members to pray. I can plant and another can water, but it's God who gives growth--growth in terms of increased usefulness for God's purposes, not necessarily an increase in numbers or "happiness."

I'll constantly wrestle with whether I'm providing a safe place for Christians to step away from the world long enough to catch their breath and start to heal or simply enabling those who shun involvement in a local church because it's uncomfortable. The line between the two scenarios is often blurred and it often takes the prompting of the Holy Spirit to tell the difference. But I want to continue to be part of a group that welcomes people who are going through terrible times and rest in the knowledge that there's a virtual "home" where they can relax, unwind, and share the trials of life with other believers.

Would I love for everything to be organized? Certainly.

Would I like for communication to be clearer? Most definitely.

Do I want to get out there and recruit scores of new members? Better believe it.

And maybe I will, in time. Those things aren't bad, by any means. But they're not the most important thing.

Before I ask anyone to help with something specific, like running a server or building a web site, I'm asking everyone to commit to praying for ToJ. Pray that God would reveal His purpose for ToJ in the coming months and years, that He would empower me and our staff members to realize that vision, and that He would prepare a way for us among those He would have us reach.

I've said it before and it bears repeating: I feel completely unqualified to lead ToJ. I really think other people who are more disciplined, possess better social skills, and are less prone to distraction would be a better fit to lead, but here I am, awkwardly fumbling my way through and proving that God will indeed use anyone.