As I write this question I wonder if there is anyone to even read it;-) O.k you guys did everyone win the lottery, clearing house sweepstakes and run off to tahiti? I for one love this board so much and all of you have helped tremendously with the ministry of my new church. I hope everyone is alright. Please know that God loves you and the children of Richard Allen are wonderful. Joy in Christ!!

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2002

Answers

Don't know where everyone's at except to say it's summertime. I was sick for a while but am fine now. I've been spending a lot of time on other Christian BB's, transcribing some of the postings I've done here. Other's might be surfing other boards as well.

One comment, and I don't mean this in a negative way. AME Today is the board of a single denomination, and that means some of the subjects discussed here might not be of interest to the Body of Christ at large. If you go back through the posts there are a lot that deal with African-American issues and AME goings on. That's great, and there should be a place for those things to be discussed. However those who cruise the web looking for Christians to interact with will lose interest in such "special interest" topics.

With you Sister Denise as a notable exception, few people on this board tell jokes or stories about themselves, their childhood, or their families. On one board I frequent we'll post part of a fictional, humorous story and leave it unfinished. Someone else will pick up the story and tell another piece, then leave off for someone else to pick up the story line. Sometimes they get long and crazy. They're a hoot!

Others are big into spiritual discussions that are real blessings. Some of that goes on here, but not to the extent of some boards I visit.

Then there's debates. Some boards are very big into debating. They can get quite nasty, which causes me to avoid them, but some people love that type of thing. They may enjoy the challenge of answering someone's point, or they may just be troublemakers, but they'll jump enthusiastically into any controversial issue. Things have gotten rather unpleasant on this board at times, and no one seems to like it. As a result everyone seems to shy away from anything controversial on AME Today.

AME Today is always the board I visit first, but lately I've been posting my prayer requests for Muslims, checking to see if anything's happening, and quickly leaving. I'll begin posting a few more spiritual edification posts in a while, but what I've done of those haven't generated much reply. That's fine, but I've found that on other boards they start long conversations. All of these things make a BB more dynamic.

Perhaps it's time for some AME Today readers to try something new?

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2002

My dear brother,

Your observation regarding the content on this board is most enlightening and true. We do spend a lot of time on denominational issues, and we never get into any real depth on issues that plague the general citizenry.

Although I've not been a part of this board for very long, I've watched with interest your in depth posts to see what, if any response there would be and up until now, I've seen none. That in itself puzzles me.

Is it because we just don't won't to upset the apple cart? It's interesting that you should use the word "troublemaker" for surely I must be in that category, and if so, I believe in my heart that I'm in good company. My interests go beyond the surface and as long as we stick to the AME point of view, we will never get to Jesus.

I've often said that eventhough I'm a part of this denomination, my first and foremost authority is Jesus and His Way. Someone posted a question months ago about what the AME church's stand was on certain issues like homosexuality, or malfeasance and we were told that we had to get copies of the general conference notes to see how the general church dealt with the issue. So, if you don't attend those meetings, you have no clear mandate on what the denomination's stand is on how they will handle such matters.

Most will say that the discipline answers those questions, but the discipline, at best, is ambivalent. Like you, dear brother, I have no problem with the content of the board, but would like to see us get into some pertinent discussions regarding issues that reflect a cross section of people who have questions that go beyond denomination.

I remain, "a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb."

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2002