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It would be more productive to address people you think are sarcastic, etc privately. If that goes nowhere, confront them in the open.

Adam, I will greatly miss your posts. Your Christian and charitable approach to topics provided the foundation for excellent discussion.

May God bless your ministry, you and your loved ones. I do hope to see you here again.

MaxPC told me that by adding someone to my Foe list, I can actually block his/her posts from view. That encourages me to consider continuing to be a part of the discussion when I get back because if certain posts were just blocked, it would improve the experience for me. Then I could just focus on the vast majority of those whose contributions are helpful and respectful. Thanks MaxPC for the suggestion! (Although I am not crazy about categorizing someone as 'Foe' even if I don't like their posts.) I know that won't block their posts when they are quoted by someone else, but I think I can deal with that, especially if others make a conscious decision not to quote posts that are sarcastic and disrespectful.

Adam wrote:MaxPC told me that by adding someone to my Foe list, I can actually block his/her posts from view. That encourages me to consider continuing to be a part of the discussion when I get back because if certain posts were just blocked, it would improve the experience for me. Then I could just focus on the vast majority of those whose contributions are helpful and respectful. Thanks MaxPC for the suggestion! (Although I am not crazy about categorizing someone as 'Foe' even if I don't like their posts.) I know that won't block their posts when they are quoted by someone else, but I think I can deal with that, especially if others make a conscious decision not to quote posts that are sarcastic and disrespectful.

But unfortunately that strategy will not help with your other concern, that of the impression given to lurkers & seekers who come to read & learn. Still, I glad that you will consider coming back, at least from time to time.

Lurkers and seekers hopefully will look past the flaws of a few and join for the sake of those who are charitable examples of earnest Christians.

Still, it behooves us all to think twice before posting, to be sure our posts aren't emotional stabs and jabs instead of thoughtful and charitable exchanges and shared experiences. Further if a person chooses not to reply for any reason, that should be respected as we don't know the whole story of anyone's life or concerns.

Perhaps a thread that studies and encourages personal application of the characteristics of Christian speech and writing as inspired by the book of James and other Scripture might be the way to approach this important topic?

We live in a world of words and information overload: it seems to me that Christian speech and communication could be an opportunity for leaven.

New thread on this here.

MaxPC wrote:Lurkers and seekers hopefully will look past the flaws of a few and join for the sake of those who are charitable examples of earnest Christians.

Still, it behooves us all to think twice before posting, to be sure our posts aren't emotional stabs and jabs instead of thoughtful and charitable exchanges and shared experiences. Further if a person chooses not to reply for any reason, that should be respected as we don't know the whole story of anyone's life or concerns.

Perhaps a thread that studies and encourages personal application of the characteristics of Christian speech and writing as inspired by the book of James and other Scripture might be the way to approach this important topic?

We live in a world of words and information overload: it seems to me that Christian speech and communication could be an opportunity for leaven.

New thread on this here.

That sure is high and mighty talk coming from you who's described me as having signs of emotional problems, in need of counselling, and told me I need to seek an in life fellowship etc (when I was indeed an applicant for membership at a Mennonite church).

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Adam wrote:On Monday I will be heading out to Immi village in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea for 3-4 weeks to build our house there with a small construction crew, so I will not be interacting on MennoNet.

I am not sure if I will continue interacting or not upon my return, but I doubt that I will. Overall I am very pleased with the interaction of most people on this forum, but there continue to be negative, sarcastic comments that spoil the experience for me. And I am not talking about those who have stated their disagreements respectfully. I can handle disagreement, but I have trouble with people who insist on (and seem to enjoy) being disagreeable. I honestly expect more out of those who call themselves Anabaptists, and as a NMB seeker it disappoints me greatly (although it is a good reminder to keep focused on Jesus and not on people). Perhaps I am being overly sensitive (it wouldn't be the first time) and misinterpreting the comments. If that is the case, I apologize for my inability to understand the heart of what is trying to be communicated. I recognize that internet communication is imperfect and that the trouble may be with my own perceptions and not the comments that are being made. At the same time, I know I am not the only one who feels this way.

Thank you for all of you who have been so helpful in assisting me to learn more about Anabaptism and Kingdom Christianity. If I have further questions, I will probably continue corresponding privately with those who have been so helpful.

i was just remembering Adam and wondering how he/they are doing! then, i noticed his username (reading.)
will we hear from him soon? i hope so.

I returned from the village yesterday. I was gone for three weeks with a construction crew building our house in Enga. The trip got off to a rocky start as the Hino 700 that was hauling all of our building materials overturned on the side of the ride about three hours into the trip. (There was a large pothole that the driver was trying to avoid, and his tires went off the road and down the embankment.) I was in a different vehicle. Fortunately none of the three men in the Hino 700 suffered any serious injuries. However, as soon as the truck overturned, people were swarming around it to loot it. Fortunately it overturned near the grounds of a Seventh Day Adventist school, and the security for the school came to help us. I then stood up on the side of the truck and shouted out to everyone that I was a missionary and that the materials were for building our home and that if they stole from us it would be like stealing from God (it sounds better in Tok Pisin than it does in English). So a local group stayed around the truck all day and watched it for us. Fortunately, the straps that were holding everything in the truck did not break, and the tarp remained intact. One of the men watching our things even told us, "If your things had spilled out on the ground, we would have taken them, but since they are intact, we will guard them for you." I can't say that I understand his logic, but I was happy that he was guarding our things. After about 5 hours a rescue vehicle came and pulled our truck up back onto the road and towed it to the New Tribes Missions center about 30 minutes away. We were quite shaken up and felt like returning back home and re-evaluating. But after sleeping on it, we felt empowered to move ahead with the project if possible. The next morning we took off the tarp and discovered that there was very little damage to the building materials. So we hired a local trucking company to take everything the rest of the way, spending 12 hours the next day unloading and reloading. That truck made it safely to our destination three days later, where we had already poured the concrete for the post pads. Then we worked very hard and completed construction in two and a half weeks.

Most trucks that overturn on the side of the road in Papua New Guinea are completely looted. So were are very thankful to God that nobody was injured or killed, that our truck wasn't looted, and that our building materials were, for the most part, not damaged. I call it the best case of a worst case scenario. Even the truck suffered only light damage and even started back up when it was pulled upright.

On a different note, after some time away, I look forward to participating again in the discussions here.

Adam:
I returned from the village yesterday.
I was gone for three weeks with a construction crew building our house in Enga.

The trip got off to a rocky start as the Hino 700 that was hauling all of our building materials overturned on the side of the ride about three hours into the trip. (There was a large pothole that the driver was trying to avoid, and his tires went off the road and down the embankment.) I was in a different vehicle. Fortunately none of the three men in the Hino 700 suffered any serious injuries. However, as soon as the truck overturned, people were swarming around it to loot it. Fortunately it overturned near the grounds of a Seventh Day Adventist school, and the security for the school came to help us. I then stood up on the side of the truck and shouted out to everyone that I was a missionary and that the materials were for building our home and that if they stole from us it would be like stealing from God (it sounds better in Tok Pisin than it does in English). So a local group stayed around the truck all day and watched it for us.

Fortunately, the straps that were holding everything in the truck did not break, and the tarp remained intact.

One of the men watching our things even told us, "If your things had spilled out on the ground, we would have taken them, but since they are intact, we will guard them for you." I can't say that I understand his logic, but I was happy that he was guarding our things.

After about 5 hours a rescue vehicle came and pulled our truck up back onto the road and towed it to the New Tribes Missions center about 30 minutes away.

We were quite shaken up and felt like returning back home and re-evaluating. But after sleeping on it, we felt empowered to move ahead with the project if possible.

The next morning we took off the tarp and discovered that there was very little damage to the building materials. So we hired a local trucking company to take everything the rest of the way, spending 12 hours the next day unloading and reloading.

That truck made it safely to our destination three days later, where we had already poured the concrete for the post pads. Then we worked very hard and completed construction in two and a half weeks.

Most trucks that overturn on the side of the road in Papua New Guinea are completely looted.
So were are very thankful to God that nobody was injured or killed, that our truck wasn't looted, and that our building materials were, for the most part, not damaged.

I call it the best case of a worst case scenario.
Even the truck suffered only light damage and even started back up when it was pulled upright.

so glad for your safe return.
what an experience, agreed, you were blessed many times over.
in the process, you touched many more lives than expected! time will tell what may come of all that.

amazing no one was seriously hurt or killed in the process.
there is plenty of looting in the world, overturned trucks or not; construction sites, trucks, have more than their share.

decades ago, we purchased some land in rural Vermont. we learned our closest neighbors were known for theft in the area. one day we were chatting with them (i'm certain not about their reputation) i don't recall details, but, i recall the father piped-up, "o, we never steal from our neighbors!" -
evidently, meaning, they would drive a road away, or so ..
we didn't know how to respond. it was memorably awkward. they caused us no problem.

Adam:
On a different note, after some time away, I look forward to participating again in the discussions here.

looking forward to reading more from you.

Adam, glad to see you again! We praise God that no one was killed or seriously injured.

Sounds as though you have good material for a book