+PsYkO.ns Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 Hi, My wife and I have just started caching and we are looking for a Christian focused group. Is there a Caching4Christ group or some variant of it? If there isn't, I would like to see how much interest there is in forming a body here. Blessings Jason & Beth (PsYkO.ns) Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 Try doing a Google search on Christian Geocaching. Apparently there's some orgs out there. I probably should check into what's near me. Link to comment
AbercrombieHollister Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 Heyy, if there isn;t one...MAKE ONE!!! nothing better than to start a new cool trend.. AbercormbieHollister P.S- caching4christ is really catch.......i might even join!! Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 28, 2007 Author Share Posted May 28, 2007 i like the idea of starting a group like that... to that end I've put together a short writeup. This is the concept of what I think about when I think "GeoCachers for Christ": GEOCACHERS FOR CHRIST (GCFC) Mission Statement We believe that Christ should be evident in our lives at all times, be it at work, at home or at play. As Christian GeoCachers, we will take the opportunity to become a presence for others that will point towards a real and capable God. GCFC will equip Christian men and women to be able to go into the GeoCaching community with a credible offer of the gospel. In doing so we will encourage them to pursue God, and equip them for spiritual service in the GeoCaching community. We will work together to develop mutual relationships of honesty and integrity so that no man or woman stands alone in their service to God. We will commit to praying for and with each other as we work towards showing how God is real in this world. We will gather as often as we can for times of prayer, praise, worship and fellowship as a part of the Body of Christ. We will place, in caches that we find, items that will point people towards Christ. We will create Christ-Centred GeoCaches that will cause people to think about the reality they live in and where Christ can and should play a part. What say you? I am open to comment from all. Link to comment
Keystone Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 Please note that if you create religious-themed geocaches, they will need to be published privately, perhaps on the site you're thinking of making. They can't be published on Geocaching.com due to the "no solicitations" clause in the listing guidelines. Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 28, 2007 Author Share Posted May 28, 2007 Thanks for that update.... I didn't realize that we couldn't make religious GeoCaches... Are there any rules against leaving religious themed items in Geocaches? Link to comment
AbercrombieHollister Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 not thst i recall, but don't tke my word for it!! maybe i missed something. what kinds of items do you plan on leaving in these, "Religious caches"? Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 28, 2007 Author Share Posted May 28, 2007 there is an item floating around called the Million Dollar Bill... its a canadian fake bill and on the backside of it, it has the Million Dollar question and some basic information. Talks about the fall and salvation and Christs sacrifice for us... its a really well done presentation... we also have a bunch of WWJD bracelets and GODstrong rubberbraclets(think LIVEstrong) little new testaments and stuff like that... Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 (edited) I'm detecting at least two trolls. Excuse me, two troll accounts. Edited May 28, 2007 by BlueDeuce Link to comment
Difficult Run Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 I'm detecting at least two trolls. Excuse me, two troll accounts. I believe you're absolutely correct. And thanks as always to Keystone for his timely advice! Link to comment
rokclmb Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 ...Are there any rules against leaving religious themed items in Geocaches? I don't know that there are any hard and fast rules about religious items, but search the forums. People like geocaching to be an escape from things political, religious, or any other topic that is controversial(sp?). Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 28, 2007 Author Share Posted May 28, 2007 I'm detecting at least two trolls. Excuse me, two troll accounts. Pardon me for my ignorance but I am assuming that the term Troll Account is not a favorable title. being new here i'm not sure what is correct or not... can i assume that the term troll accounts refer to me, at least in part? if so... what is a troll account and what did i do incorrectly? if not... could someone explain what a troll account is anyways and who is the offender Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 Thanks for that update.... I didn't realize that we couldn't make religious GeoCaches... Are there any rules against leaving religious themed items in Geocaches? You can create cachees that highlight history including Christian History. That includes historical builings and events. You just can't solicit for membership except indirectly (hey those christian types leave good caches, maybe there is something to that...) As for religios themed trade items. No problem. Tracts are hated by about everone but still valid to leave in a cache. Especially as a signature item. Link to comment
+flask Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 i'm somewhat off-put by the idea of cachers 4 Christ. i'm not exactly sure why, but it just gves me the heebie-jeebies. if i can figure out why, i'll get back to you. Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I don't personally understand how "caching" relates to "Christ" so the name seems very unfavorable to me. Although directives were given, none included "go therefore and find caches". A group of religious people that want to get together and talk about or cache together seems ok. Just that name, to me anyway, implies something different. Link to comment
+The Geocache Hunter Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 (edited) I guess that starting a Christian Caching group is among the freedoms that we have. But for some reason it sounds kind of creepy to me too. I don't like the idea of something that immediately sounds discriminatory against others. I also understand that it is human nature to want to be around other like-minded people but how much should we divide what I believe to already be a great "Geocaching" sub-culture anyways? I don't like the idea of exclusive organized groups that may have agendas. Why not just Geocache in a team of friends like many people do? Edited May 29, 2007 by The Geocache Hunter Link to comment
+flask Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 i don't see how geocaching in specific goes to further Christ's moral, spiritual, or social agendas. if your objective as someone with a Christ-centered life is to do all things prayerfully, you may as well form organizations for all your activities: toast-eaters 4 Jesus, commuters 4 Christ, Christian copier-paper users... i very much doubt that anything you write in a logbook or leave in a cache will honestly move people's hearts; perhaps you might speak to people or be a living witness. your life is your best testimony, not what you put in a tupperware in the woods. it just seems silly to me. Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Like minded people enjoying each others company. No wonder you all get the heebie jeebies. What an alien concept. To the Original Poster. Keep it simple. Have fun together. Start with that. Link to comment
+flask Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 No wonder you all get the heebie jeebies. What an alien concept. what's that supposed to mean, rk? Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 No wonder you all get the heebie jeebies. What an alien concept. what's that supposed to mean, rk? A friendly poke to remind folks about why a group like this would get together. The further discussion on tracts etc. was a side track. Link to comment
+BethMartin Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 A church group or a religious group going geocaching sounds fine to me. However, sectarian caches or religious items meant to proselytize dropped into a cache doesn't seem in the spirit of geocaching. Geocaching is for everybody - it shouldn't matter what faith you have (if any). Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Don't worry, it's okay to be a Christian and a geocacher. If you want to start an online or even just a local club to get together with other Christians, go for it. Geocachers are already using powers from above to play this game. Link to comment
+Romans3:23 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Sounds like an awesome idea to have a "Cachers4Christ" website with a forum where we can get together and talk about Geocaching, have prayer requests and such. I know several Christian geocachers in my area. One of the main reasons I got into geocaching was to spread the Gospel. I have a TB with the Gospel message on it and I leave tracts in most of the caches I find. It's a really fun way to spread the Gospel, meet new people and spend quality time with your kids. My kids LOVE geocacing!! Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 My apologies, I wasn’t looking to cause such a stir, however I can see where people have gotten the wrong idea about my intentions. The first thing I need to state is that the document that I produced was just a quickly written, basic idea of what I thought the group could be. It is not a finished product and is not intended to be judged as such. My error here was that I took an existing ministry guideline that I’d written up and reworded it for GCFC… but after reviewing it I realized that this would not be a ministry but a fellowship, and as such much of the statements in the document would not and really could not be applied. GeoCachers for Christ, in its intent, is not a BibleBanging attack on the GeoCaching world. It’s a forum for likeminded Christians who enjoy GeoCaching to gather together as a body. Like any other Caching group we are identifying something that is unique to us, and building a group based on this unique quality. The intent of having such a group is that we could gather together on occasion and speak with each other about our joy of the sport and develop relationships and friendships. As Christians, we would also take the opportunity to pray for and support each other. And, yes, there would be times and opportunities for us to speak of our beliefs in the broader world of GeoCaching because as Christians we are called to spread the word. Having said that, I don’t believe in shoving my beliefs down someone’s throat… a quote attributed to Thomas of Aquinas sums up my feelings on spreading the gospel. “Preach always. If necessary, use words.” What this means is that MY life should be an example of what I believe and I shouldn’t have to tell people that there’s something different in my life. People should be able to look at me and be able to tell that Christ lives in my life. All this to say, I apologize for causing concern to anyone, I didn’t mean to make people fearful that there is a Biblebanging idiot coming into your presence. I’m just a regular Idiot who didn’t think through my whole though before making a quick post… LOL. Lesson learned: Quick reply is BAD BAD BAD…!! Must take time to review thoughts and ensure intent is clear. Once again, I apologize for this confusion. Jason PsYkO.ns Link to comment
+TwoTruckers Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 (edited) EDIT Bad Day should have bit my tounge. Did not mean to rock the boat so hard. Sometimes it feels like it's always being shoved in your face. I know the vast majority are fine decent folks as we are, it's the Fred Phelps in the world that tend to leave a bad taste. Edited May 30, 2007 by TwoTruckers Link to comment
leswon Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I think it is a wonderful idea. Go ahead and do it please. Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 I regularly have to clean all the junk left behind by charismaniac bible thumpers out of my caches as part of my CITO efforts. It really has no place in the hobby as there are a number of people that find it offensive. Myself included. I pull those bible tracts out just as quickly as I would any NAMBLA or KKK propaganda. Funny neither of those groups other groups have placed any crap in a cache, but the other junk has sure shown up. Yuppers CITO. (Cache In Trash Out). TwoTruckers, I appologize, on behalf of the majority of christians, for you having such a bad experience with christians and christianity in general. I know the frustration of having an overzealous (i like the CharisManiac comment, very suitable in some cases) BibleThumper constantly trying to be in your face. Its unfortunate that people like that, who constitute a very small minority of christian fellowships, make all of us look bad and make people dislike the mere thought of christianity or christians. I, myself work in a military environment where proseletizing is an absolute nono... my entire witness is how I live my life. there have been people who have approached me and asked me questions, but unless i am approached directly regarding my beliefs, i don't speak of them. Not out of shame but out of respect for those who do not wish to hear it. My intent of this thread, was merely to see if there was a fellowship of christians already in existance and if not, if there was interest in doing so. I did not intend to have this start a flamewar and won't allow it to devolve into one. I have seen that there is not a current Fellowship available and will decide in the near future whether i wish to start one or not. I appologize again for any issues that my post may have brought up. MOD's, could we please lock this thread as the purpose of it has been completed. Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 Having thought it through i've decided to give it a shot... For those who have read all this and are interested the website is : http://geocachers4christ.ipbfree.com/index.php?showtopic=2 log in and check it out and see whether this is what you're interested in. Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 The site does require signing up to view. And you might want to retract your 'close this thread' request if you would like to continue the discussion here. Link to comment
+TwoTruckers Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 This is DJ I thought I would apologize in person for my rude comments. I usually keep them to myself. I used to be very deeply religious. I have since grown and given it all up. I had a brother who "found jesus" and pretty much disowned the family because we were all Catholic, and were going to hell because of it. This I think may have been the Copernican moment at which it all started to go by the wayside. It was a very deep hurt. It even hurt my mom who is still very pious. Then you get the Fred Phelps in the world who I am sorry to say are I know a minority, but unfortunately I have let them taint my view of the majority. Yes I was way off base, and please accept my humble apology. Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 And you might want to retract your 'close this thread' request if you would like to continue the discussion here. Im really not too sure about that. I have seen plenty of interesting threads closed for simply going off topic while when i have asked for closed threads, like the OP- it has gone unanswered. No rhyme or reason sometimes. Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 This is DJ I thought I would apologize in person for my rude comments. I usually keep them to myself. I used to be very deeply religious. I have since grown and given it all up. I had a brother who "found jesus" and pretty much disowned the family because we were all Catholic, and were going to hell because of it. This I think may have been the Copernican moment at which it all started to go by the wayside. It was a very deep hurt. It even hurt my mom who is still very pious. Then you get the Fred Phelps in the world who I am sorry to say are I know a minority, but unfortunately I have let them taint my view of the majority. Yes I was way off base, and please accept my humble apology. You dont see that everyday. Link to comment
+PsYkO.ns Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 WOW, I applaud your honesty. I wholeheartedly accept your appology and forgive you unconditionally. It takes a big man to acknowledge your mistakes... Thank you Very Much Link to comment
Keystone Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Closing thread at OP's request. The best way to get a thread closed is to use the "report this post" feature. Otherwise you have to hope that a moderator strolls by to have a look at the topic. Link to comment
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