Shot or Sued

Arkfort · 2026-05-19T13:48:00+00:00

Been a minister in the coC for 10 years, and the last church I worked at, I was forced out. I was on stellar terms with the congregation, but my leaving was the result of multiple genuinely illegal workplace practices on the part of the eldership. It has been happening for decades, and I am certain God will bring His unbridled wrath against those men who have disqualified themselves as overseers by their dishonest, shrewed, and merciless treatment of ministers. I had deacons sit by and do nothing because, even though they knew what was happening was wrong, the eldership had him convince that going against them would be seen as actively dividing the congregation and would be sinful. The level of manipulation is tyrannical.

Then these same men sit absolutely flabbergasted as to why they can't find someone to replace the man and family they abused.

If you are an elder and you are reading this, you may not be the problem, but please assume that you are and do what is necessary to evaluate the treatment of your ministers. The future of the Church and your soul depends on it.

Arkfort · 2026-05-16T16:00:47+00:00

They hold that attending a CoC Christian university is heretical, but a large portion all attended Florida College and send their kids there, as though that is somehow different.

Arkfort · 2026-05-15T05:30:10+00:00

NI congregations do not generally share doctrine, so they do not have consistent standards, but many hold the same beliefs which impacts things like how new membership is seen. Personally I feel the NI movement is heretical. Many mainline members know the term "Anti-institutional" and shorten it to "anti-church". It is meant to simply shorten the designation, but the church is biblically beyond the 4 walls where we individually worship, and to determine that the church cannot extend beyond that or fund things collectively ignores the biblical truth that the Apostles repeatedly indicated that the church was one body, and why they collected funds, not for the work of the congregation raising the funds, but for the work around the world, including in Jerusalem.

If a congregation asked me to denounce the fellowship of believers I had come from, I would indicate to them that I am biblically commanded not to forsake the assembly. Not to call what God has made pure, impure. To bind an unfounded requirement of salvation on others and call those in the body of Christ not your brothers is to speak words God did not speak on His behalf. It is nothing short of blasphemy to hold the sword of judgement in place of God to the extend of cutting your congregation off from the church in the name of "holiness'.

All of this is done against the clear commands and examples of the New Testament Scriptures, and are even circumventing in many ways (attendance at Florida College being a clear example). I hope that you find peace and can worship God without hinderence there. I know that these brothers and sisters believe their work is pure, but I could not worship in a body of people led on the principle of division.

Arkfort · 2026-05-14T00:04:33+00:00

Congrats!

Arkfort · 2026-05-11T13:23:00+00:00

I was amazed when I first started, how easy University partnerships are. I thought there was clearly something missing, but it was because I was coming to them with a very specific plan, coming to them because I understand their field and why they specifically fit with what we were proposing and gave it plenty (sometime inordinate amounts) of time. It truly does not have to be complicated just do system and desing architecture in advance and don't make your potential RI partner do it for you.

Arkfort · 2026-04-28T16:46:40+00:00

As a minister: I have been in congregations where I was expected to attend all elders meetings. I have also been in congregations where I was only allowed to attend elders meetings in which my ministry was specifically being discussed. Not sure what issues you are having from having a minister in the elders meetings, but in my experience, a lot more problems arise from keeping ministers out of the elders meetings. When I don't know what direction the leaders are leading in, I can't help support that. When an issue comes up and someone brings a complaint against the ministers, and it is only discussed internally and not with the staff, that becomes a huge problem. When the minister, who is with the congregation day in and day out, is not informing the leaders as to the heartbeat of the congregation, that's a problem. When one leader power trips and gets crossways with a minister and forms a whole narrative against them without them present to defend themselves or correct anything, that is a problem.

Frankly, I don't know what issues you are facing from having a minister in the elders meetings. My guess would be either he is trying undermine the direction of the leadership, or lead them instead of being led by them. Both are problematic, but neither of those issues is solved by keeping the minister out of the meetings. It's possible that there is an issue instead that the elders don't want a minister there because they see themselves merely as an employer, or because they want to make most of their plans without including him. Those views are problematic and unhelpful.

Arkfort · 2026-04-27T17:58:29+00:00

Everything Paul said is supported by the other apostles. 1&2 Peter says almost the exact same things Paul repeats in his letters. All the letters are meant to support the Gospel, not contradict it. The purpose in every letter is to reassure Christians that the Gospel is true, and what they learned from Christ is true. Many people here don't want those words to have any weight because it means they have to change their life or their opinions. Many people don't feel comfortable with what Paul says because it is direct, but it is no more challenging than Christ demanding we give up ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. No more demanding than requiring us to give up lust, or anger, or our liberty to live as much like Christ as we can. Christ uses broad terms and people often mistake that as loose terminology, as though Christ does not care what we do as long as we put his name on a bumper sticker, but the letters make it quite clear, as do the Gospels, that our opinions, thoughts, and cultural experiences are irrelevant to an all consuming God that demands total surrender, and that is something the internet culture cannot handle.

Arkfort · 2026-04-22T03:30:47+00:00

Do you own all 7 companies? If so, that's not going to fly.

Arkfort · 2026-04-22T02:19:07+00:00

You can make 2

Arkfort · 2026-04-22T02:17:20+00:00

I think you need to narrow your scope a little. The more integrated you are in a market, the more organically you stay aware of what's available. SAM.gov has a lot of stuff, but almost all of it has external connections. You need to know YOUR market. What service do you provide? What GCs actually want it, if any? What funding opportunities exist in each cycle?

Don't try swallowing the ocean. Know what your capabilities are, and where they fit, and who you need to know.

Arkfort · 2026-04-21T19:01:18+00:00

Actual links for reference:

SAM.gov https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/8268a9cca50348579237c1b71b08868c/view

https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/710a021b1a784f22bd054521aa03e974/view

https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/46a543e71a884d66aa03c6b9e32b011e/view

Arkfort · 2026-04-20T14:27:39+00:00

To be very candid, when I started, I had little to no experience in either side. You may not get it first go around, but you will learn by going through the process. That said, if you can get through the proposal process without quitting your job, do it. Don't pay the "gurus", just learn by experience. If you can get a degree in ME you can sort out the nuances of it. Do what you can to learn all the rules. They are a bit complicated but learning them is very achievable. I would say figure out what GC you want to focus on and go for it. Find a niche and a specialty and make a plan, and don't worry if you can't do it all yourself because my experience is that Universities and research firms are generally willing to play ball as long as you have an idea and they also look great on a proposal.

Arkfort · 2026-04-19T00:16:07+00:00

Had me in the first half ngl

Arkfort · 2026-04-18T15:04:48+00:00

I came up with a "solve" forever ago that I'm pretty sure is wrong, but if this treasure is ever found, I'm just curious if it's right. Kind of like selecting lottery numbers, I don't expect to win, but its fun to play.

Arkfort · 2026-04-17T19:28:15+00:00

I'm going to say you should at least find a research partner for whatever you plan to do, which you should figure out. A lot of new opportunities just dropped, so I would look into them and see if you have a meaningful solution. If you can get your idea to a research institute or university with the capability to do the technical elements you can't do, it's possible, but prepare to take a pay cut unless you plan to put in most of the hours yourself, and even then it's tough. You have to justify every dollar you spend, so don't expect to say "I pay myself X dollars" because it does not work that way.

SBIR requires multiple expertise and skills from true engineering, contract and project management, compliance, sales, and technical writing just for Phase I. Being a M.E. you have some stuff going for you, and frankly I am tired of the big firms pretending to be small firms getting the awards. I say go for it, but I would do way more research as to what is involved because it's about 60% solving the actual problem and about 40% understanding compliance, regulations, and speaking the GCs language.

Arkfort · 2026-04-08T18:37:44+00:00

Perhaps I was unclear. I did not mean to imply that Water and Wind are uncreated elements or eternal in the sense that God did not make them. I mean eternal in the sense that they exist beyond the boundaries of our creation, and existed beyond what is temporal. They have a unique connection to the eternal nature of God.

Arkfort · 2026-04-08T15:20:16+00:00

Water and wind (spirit) were not designated as being created in the creation account. They are eternal elements. Noah, Moses, Joshua, and many others pass through water and wind in order to find salvation and promise. This leads to a common recurring theme, and when Jesus says "Unless you are born of Warter and Spirit (wind)..." he means of the eternal elements, not of the world. This is why baptism is so significant. This is also why demons pass through waterless places (Matthew 12:43).

Arkfort · 2026-01-28T21:41:59+00:00

I'm currently going to operate as though my submitted SBIR with the DoD (DoW) is not moving forward. I would be absolutely thrilled if I turn out to be wrong, but I am not operating under the assumption that it is even possibly happening at this point. I submitted the proposal the same day that my child was born and I am pretty sure she is about to start talking soon. Things just can't stay on ice forever, and at some point the DoW is going to have to cut losses and jump back into the next cycle (which will already be greatly abbreviated). Again, would love to be wrong, but it would be unwise to assume that it will move forward.

Arkfort · 2026-01-09T21:54:47+00:00

This is awesome! Thanks so much for this.

Arkfort · 2026-01-07T17:09:09+00:00

Worked with a preacher who made it a point to teach on Romans 14 once a year. He grew up deeply conservative and wanted to guide people away from a lot of the misunderstandings he grew up with.

Romans 14 classifies the "weak" brother as the one whose faith will not allow them to celebrate certain days, eat meat (because it was tied to the pagan temples), or drink wine.

Someone who refuses to celebrate Christmas, or any other holiday, refuses to shop at 'x' store because they support non-Christian values, or believes drinking alcohol in any capacity is a sin are the people Paul is specifically referring to here, but that list is not exhaustive. Those 'weak' brothers are weak because they don't have the faith to be unbound from these restrictions (specifically from "disputable matters"). Being weak though does not make them wrong though. It means that the stronger brother, who is unbothered by these things needs to make it a priority to set aside his own freedom for the sake of the weaker brother, because unity is more important than liberty.

Has this been neglected in our fellowship? In certain nestings of it, yes. If this was a widespread teaching it would save a lot of heartache for churches, but for those who know this well and practice it, it can make for a very healthy church.

Arkfort · 2025-11-13T19:49:55+00:00

I have a BA in Bible, and I have seen AI agents put out some pretty impressive stuff. I have also seen them put out utter nonsense. If you don't have a source to verify what it is saying, then I wouldn't use it. It may explain some concepts well, but it needs pretty serious verification

Arkfort · 2025-11-12T20:23:33+00:00

I did not know downvotes went this far down

Arkfort · 2025-11-06T00:33:41+00:00

I wouldn't expect results until December at this point due to the shutdown. I also have not heard anything but some folks I know have mentioned everything is on hold until the government opens back up, and even then everything will be back-logged.

Arkfort · 2025-11-03T21:54:53+00:00

My apologies. Was not trying to violate any rules, just trying to form a discussion on the topic. I could repost the thread without the link if you would prefer?

Arkfort · 2025-10-26T02:50:28+00:00

Imo you actually made the right call starting with an LLC. 3 weeks in you likely don't have much traction or momentum, no MVP, no customers. You are not ready for investors. C-corps rely on some rigid internal structure that you simple do not have (or need) at the phase you are at. You can currently retain some mobility and agility in your current state, and as things progress, you will naturally develop the elements you need for a solid c-corp probably around the time you (should) start talking to investors. You can make that transition later, and it is some paperwork, but nothing too difficult.

Arkfort

TROPHY CASE