Trolls
church gargoyles
"So, what about internet trolls, Mr. Smartypants,those that want to waste our lives and destract us?"
Thank you for asking.
This would be a great side-topic for a pastoral convention, perhaps developing 'best practices'
for handling people who are slow to present themselves, like Zacchaeus.
For hardcore trolls, I would have my ways, that some might find ...severe,
including blocking.
But, if I were a pastor with a church, I would give a person making an email contact,
a statement saying that my ultimate goal is to connect with them in-person,
and that my task list is too great for endless rabbit-trail email exchanges
without the transparency and the pleasure of in-person meetings.
(I would word it differently)
If they were not local, I would at some point require their city and state info, to transfer their inquiries to someone that can meet them in person. If they refused, communication would cease.
If they are local, I would give them reading assignments and the next communication would depend on them first completing the reading assignment.
At some point I would require a personal meeting, or the emails would need to end.
Blocking would be the last resort.