Online Chat Rooms and Boards

[kittylover0991]

Hey Everyone,

Well, I jsut came back from a week long preaching conference and boy was it good... but there was something I spent a little bit (not too much) of time on, and that was dealing with online boards, and chat rooms. In fact, it even feels weird saying it on here, not forgetting the fact that it is a board itself which hosts a chat room I've loved for so many years already (four years, going on five soon).

Well, I spent some time asking around people's opinions on it and I've gotten a few different ones. One of them from my own youth pastor who was serious for one of the very few times I've ever seen him and that said that they are dangerous and that he could just see his little girls talking online to someone they don't even know. He said that you can never really know who you are talking to. I was thinking the entire time, "Yeah, you do'nt know, but you do'nt actually see the people and if you do'nt give out info, it's safe for the most part. Besides, even if they aren't who they say they are, big deal!'

He passed me off to someoen else, but he scared me and that guy passed me off to someone who is a good friend of my church and very dear tot heir hearts, and my own. When I asked his opinion, he didn't even go into how dangerous it is, he just said, "It's a waste of time". I was thinking about how we witness to folks on here and I love these boards, but how much time we all really spend on here? From there, I inquired more, and then he asked what was good about it, and he said, "It's not like you can witness to folks". of course, I sprung on that and had to say, "Well, can't you present the gospel online???" He answered basically that "Yeah, but.... ".. basically, that isn't worth the time for whatever reason...

THe conclusion seems to be that they are dangerous, that you can't know who you are talking to (which is certain true at times, though I sometimes disagree)... and that there is so much time spent on them that can be used for something else....

Are chat rooms and online forums really that great?? Are they really worth the time spent on them?? Why not talk to someone you can see face to face??

Just some thoughts and questions from this week.

In Christ,

Crystal

[OneLight]

I guess it all depends where you go. I do know of sites that I wish were not available to anyone, but they are. THose are extremely dangerous!

If you were talking about boards like this one, then I guess it all depends why you are here and what you do while here. I guess it could also depend on how much time you devote to the board or chat. For me, this is the only place I can talk about God. Can't do it with my family and all the friends I use to have will no longer hang with me. Gave up partying. Until I find Christian friends, you are my family.

Your Brother In Christ,

OneLight

[AndrewA]

Some of those comments are exactly they same things my ex

[Iryssa]

I think they can be dangerous, but with certain precutions you should be OK:

1. NEVER use your real name.

2. Never give anyone your address or other personal info that could lead them to your exact whereabouts.

3. If you have been going someplace like this for a long time and decide to meet someone you've known here for a long time, take a friend with you...preferredly a large, muscular male friend

4. NEVER go to meet someone you met online under any circumstances other than the ones described above.

[RebekahDavid]

well kitty i agree that precautions do need to be taken. that said i can say i have experienced the joy of watching the Lord bring people to Him here and that my dear sister makes it worth every second spent here.

I would also like to add that we know Worthy alone can not totally disciple people so usually people who are called here are given some good solid Bible teaching churches in their areas to seek out as well.

Yes there are phonies and identity scam artists and wolves and even predators but the Lord will bring those to light sooner or later meanwhile we do advise people not to yahoo or e-mail or give out personal info until they have known the other person for a long time and even then to do so with caution . as far as children we do have many young ones that also come here and tho we try to ensure chat is safe and wholesome it is not possible to do so 100% of the time so we recomend that parents are near by or online themselves when they can.

just my take on this particular online ministry. hope it helps.

love your sister in Christ,

Rebekah David

oh forgot to add that i know most( at least admin mods watchmen and several solid Christian members) do also witness etc face to face

[kittylover0991]

No offense, I know I've asked this before, but shouldn't our church be our "family"??

Don't get me wrong, and I'm probably tryign to be too PC for the simple fact that I dton' want to offend anyone, though I probably will, but we should be in an area where we have a good church to go to... if you're younger than a certain age that you can't find a church, that's one thing and I won't say anyhting, but we should all be members of a local church as according to the Bible!

Also, unfortunately, not giving out certain info isn't always too little... as Andrew said, there things that people say in their profile that become too much and I remember seeing enough of it in my health class, just a video of these pedifiler's how they went through the internet to get a person's name.. becuase they got the person's first name, they took everythign else, use certain sites, etc, and found out all this information about the person. It's dangerous either way!

I also wouldn't ever advise meeting someone anyawys.. what if THEY also brought couple muscular men (thought I LOVED the idea lol )?? You never know, right?

Don't get me wrong, I've come here, again, for about four-five years and there are many on here who I trust to be who they say they are, have prayed for them and others, have witnessed to many folks, but this has been a small question in the back of my mind and I've alwasy tried to ignore it. Any thoughts?

[kittylover0991]

well kitty i agree that precautions do need to be taken. that said i can say i have experienced the joy of watching the Lord bring people to Him here and that my dear sister makes it worth every second spent here.

I would also like to add that we know Worthy alone can not totally disciple people so usually people who are called here are given some good solid Bible teaching churches in their areas to seek out as well.

Yes there are phonies and identity scam artists and wolves and even predators but the Lord will bring those to light sooner or later meanwhile we do advise people not to yahoo or e-mail or give out personal info until they have known the other person for a long time and even then to do so with caution . as far as children we do have many young ones that also come here and tho we try to ensure chat is safe and wholesome it is not possible to do so 100% of the time so we recomend that parents are near by or online themselves when they can.

just my take on this particular online ministry. hope it helps.

love your sister in Christ,

Rebekah David

Hey sis,

It's been a while Looks like we were typing at the same time, but I have to wonder even if it's safe for those littles on to be on here.. I think I remember meeting a 8 or 9 year old on here once????? Course, I can't say much becuase I started goign to chat rooms when I 13 and got myself into some serious trouble and a bit of possible danger too... I can see so many of the benefits here, especialy over the past several years and worthy grows... with people coming and going, etc... I can see all that the Lord has done.. but I have to wonder sometimes if there should be chat rooms, etc.... is it realy a good idea?

[RebekahDavid]

well kitty toto_lil_punk accepted the Lord here i think that alone would answer your question. and he was just one of many "younger" believers whom the Lord called at worthy.

love your sister in Christ,

Rebekah David

and btw he was in a Christian family and also attending a good Bible church at the time but here is what the Lord used

[OneLight]

No offense, I know I've asked this before, but shouldn't our church be our "family"??

We are all Brothers and Sisters in Christ; therefore, "family". If you are referring to my post, I take no offense. You do not know me and most likely have not even read my testimony. I do not have any particular church I attend, but I do have some I favor over others. In my neck of the woods, there are not too many I would feel comfortable in.

Hmmmm ... I see my signature is something you also hold true!

Your Brother In Christ,

OneLight

[nebula]

Hey Kitty!

I think of the expression "Different strokes for different folks."

Sure to some it is a waste of time. For example, when I talk to my dad about some of the debates, often he'll say, "Just ignore them," or advise to give a flip-off answer. Of course, I know that doing either would defeat the purpose of the Message Board.

Of course, my dad is not a very interactive person. However, I am the intellectual type and get stimulated by theological discussions, talking about the news, and other whatnots we get into on the Board (despite the times it gets frustrating).

The Board does take up a lot of my time, but I would not consider it wasted time at all. I have made friends on the Board, a handful of whom I have actually met. I have learned from the discussions. I have grown as I have learned to interact, debate, deal with frustrations, look through the Scriptures to answer questions, and everything else.

But message boarding isn't for everyone - social people need face-to-face contact, and that is fine.

But someone like me doesn't have a whole lot of face-to-face people to interact with. I especially don't have anyone to get into deep discussions with about anything. I'd probably go intellectual stir-crazy without the discussions here.

Should the message board "replace" church? No, if you have a good church that you are attending. But can additional interaction do any harm? I don't think so; I would argue that it does the opposite.

Consider, have you been blessed by your time here? Have you learned? Have you been encouraged?

I know you have a trust of your leaders and what they say. But remember, they are human, too, with their own biases. Message boards probably are a waste to them. But they probably enjoy several different activities than you do as well. I think window shopping with no intention of buying anything is a waste of time! But I know several people (i.e. my mother) who have fun window shopping. I think Monday Night Football is a waste of time, too. (Want to see what will happen if I post that in the sports forum? )

Yes, be cautious (that's why I don't post my real name for all to see). But please don't run away from us, OK? We like having you here!