How Did Jim Yohe Do It???
 

I have to be honest in saying that I am growing more and more bored towards the forum. I am finding less and less substance, and more and more bickering taking place. It is slowly becoming a "I know you are but what am I" type place.


At the beginning it was not so. Anyone that was at the original Faithchild Forum will tell you that there was a dynamic that was there like I have not seen since. There was heated discussions, and debates on subjects that still interest us today. There was still the views of those ranging from Conservative to Liberal there. But there was a respect for each other that caused most folks there not to become cynical, sarcastic, and attacking in their posts. So as I have pondered all this, I see that maybe it is that respect has come up missing. I really don't know.


Maybe some of you that where there can help us out?? How did Jim do it?? How did he make a forum where folks could discuss things the way we did then, and yet still be respectful?? And in your opinion, what can we do to duplicate it??

I wasn't even around FCF when Jim Yohe was alive-- so I couldn't say anything about how that forum was except at the very end before it closed.

I do see on this forum that people seem to have little respect for each other. (Not everyone-- so don't think I'm grouping everyone in when I say that... but that is one of the main problems that I see here. )

Another thing that I've noticed is that there are certain posters on both sides that tend to gang up on each other when there is a discussion going on. Instead of focusing on the ISSUE-- they seem to be more interested in how many put-downs or insults they can sling toward the "other side".

This kind of posting prevents a LOT of people from even wanting to participate in discussions at all, because of what most threads end up turning into. JMO

Here's what I see:
Some libs need to show the cons, more of the Grace they claim to be living in.
Some cons need to show the libs more of the Love of Christ (the source of Holiness) they claim to be living in.

JMHO! :tiphat

Amen and throw in a dose of RESPECT!!!!

Matt...........

In my opinion part of the problem is that we've gone over and over and over again so many of the "issues". There's just not the same dynamics. For one thing neither nFCF nor AFF was started by the man who had the heart, soul and vision. And a reminder here too that FCF was still relatively small when Jim passed on. It grew to be the awesome forum it was after his death.

Some of the "new guys" bring up great topics but everyone is kind of tired of going over and over the same things, IMO. A lot of the calibre posters are no longer engaged. That makes a difference too.

Just a few thots.........

I believe that respect should be earned......perhaps by showing grace and love!

Jesus taught that we are to treat others as we want to be treated, that's proactive. Treating others as they treat us...that's reactive.........

Then someone start a thread with a thread of interesting thinking..

Not did you know, Dotti Rambo will be singing at a UPC church....

Who cares.

Thanks for responding. I was hoping you would.
I agree with you, and have thought the same myself. We have had some of these topics so many times that it has gotten old. But is there a way to revitalize, and bring in some new discussions that generate some good discussions? Have we moved into a "new dispensation" , and the old has passed away, so to speak??

I am serious folks, when I say that I have seen more hateful and vicious posts made in the last 6 months or so than I have seen in the probably 7 or so years I have been online. If what I am seeing here is what we are destined to become, please stop the train and let me off.

I think there have been some good discussions here. I WISH that some of the other posters who have been involved in the past were still here. It would make a difference I believe.

I don't think mellowing everything down to buttery softness and sugary sweetness is the answer either. :nah

Are you thinking, perhaps, that Admin needs to clamp down more?? Just curious.

I just read thru the titles of some of the threads on here. One thing I noticed is that there are an awful lot of threads challenging Apostolic beliefs and/or standards. You all know that I do not believe in the standards (I do believe in Oneness-Baptism, etc. Just not standards). But I would never come on an APOSTOLIC forum and challenge their beliefs 'in their face' like that. If someone who believes standards started a thread, I might pipe in and share my thoughts on the other side of the fence. But I have too much respect for those who do believe for me to start something nasty. That just doesn't make sense to me.

We don't have to agree on everything. No one is saying that. But there's no reason to attack one another either. People need to realize that no matter how valid your 'point' is, if you get off-track and begin attacking others, your 'point' gets lost and no one hears you anyway.

Instead of telling newbies youve discussed that issue over and over that they have a question on why not let the old timers :grampa sit back and allow the newbies to carry on that specific topic because they wont be burned out about talking about it. And let the old timers :grampa who are tired and already a formed opinion just sit back and listen to the newbies:

Wait..Did I just say that twice LOL

Good point Fonix...both of em'

Stmatt- One of the best things about the forum was that Bro. Yohe was using it more or less like a think tank.

He invited people with substance behind their opinions to write articles that were in fact "peer reviewed" on the board. This does not happen anywhere else in our Apostolic circles so far as I know.

The Pentecostal Herald avoids any real debate or thought-provoking articles, contininuing to only allow what speaks the party line. Pentecostal Publishing House only prints books that line up with the manual.

Bro. Yohe was interested in ideas of whatever stripe so long as they were articulated well and had substance to them. Opinions off the top of one's head and and/or unexamined traditional rhetoric wouldn't make a good article for the forum and Jim Yohe knew that.

His vision made for interesting reading and lively debate as we dug into the topic; and drew in quality posters.

It would be good to have articles again. Peer review is something that is sorely lacking in most circles that think we must all speak with the same voice. :cool:

Margie- Perhaps standards are more troubling to those who believe the Apostolic message than those who go to other churches.

After all, if one doesn't believe the Apostolic message, it really makes no difference that the Apostolic church is perceived by some as putting obstacles in one's path (cause they can just go to the church down the road).

However, attacking someone is generally counterproductive to the art of persuasion. :cool:

Oh my goodness Matt. I think there have been far worse in the past - particularly on FCF. There was some severe bloodletting there and nFCF had its share too but FCF was kind of like the Old West when it came to flaming, etc.

I love it when folks wax nostalgic ... it's amazing what we "remember" about the good 'ol days. I encourage the old-timers to press forward and build this thing up ... encourage the newbies by being examples of tolerance and mutual respect

....it may never replicate what it "used to be" but you have good thing going here ... and the admin and moderator team is on top of things ... I should know.

As a lurker of the last 5 months at NFCF ... it was pretty vicious over there ... I don't see some of that here. IMHO.

My post wasn't directed to the newbies. It was a matter of explanation to Matt re his post. I don't care if the same issues are brought up, but it's true that some of us who have been around since the start have said the same things and made the same points over and over and over again. It's a valid point in regard to Matt's concern.

I agree with you in regard to the bolded part. NFCF had its share of bloodletting but ask the old timers and they'll tell you it was pretty wild and woolly at times on FCF. I well remember. :)

There seems some are a lot more defensive in their posting than I remember before.

A good argument from both sides is always good, but when it's hit right from the beginning with whining and defensiveness instead of substance, then it gets old fast.

I see a significant difference in arguing and attacking. Most of the defensiveness I have seen has resulted from the biased attacks more than legitimate argument being presented! The attacks get old faster than the whining and i don't care much for whining!:tiphat

How could someone with almost 3000 posts on here within a few months time lurk over at the other forum for 5 months without feeling the need to register? Were you afraid that WWOD would have made mince meat out of your posts or what?

Pop corn sales would have sky rocketed. ;)

*cough* *cough* This could be construed as WHINING!!!!!!!!!!! :neener

How well do I remember...I posted a thread about witchcraft in the Church, speaking of a controlling spirit, and it wasn't even directed to ministers, but I was nailed to the wall over it.

One poster in particular had me in tears for days...oh it was a wild time...but I sure miss it!!:(

Even I would have bought a ticket to see that fight!!:winkgrin

no .... at first ... I would read ... because of interest in solidifying my PCI view ... when I tried in October/November to register .... it was closed ... to new registrations ...

Newman ... you know I never back down from a gunfight. :grampa

Astoundingly astute, Her. Alicea!:tiphat

Could it be that some of it ... just gets old to some ...??? It was new and fresh to some back then .....

How long do you think it will be before Ronzo gets here to echo your setniments?:slaphappy

He'll be less forgiving.

There was just a difference...I can't explain it, and I'm not even the group you could call 'oldtimer'. I came to FCF after Bro. Yohe passed...

Please don't attack, but do you think some of the difference now is that there is some unrest with the UPC ministers with the TV issue. Some are feeling their oats to move forward, some are feeling more oats to stay the same and that causes the attacks and defensiveness?

This is absolutely a factor ... the lines have been drawn prior to GC '06 ... the stakes are being viewed as higher ...

Forgiving of what? Which of the handful of sins have ai committed against him or you for that matter?

BTW... was his absence during your ban a show of solidarity?:slaphappy :slaphappy

Cute ... but no cigar ... he had stopped posting about a week prior to my banning .... what are you going to do now that the UC's are running for higher ground, i.e. Mount CAF???? :toofunny

BTW, are you hiding any sins ... that need to be forgiven by us???? :aaa

Oh... That is too bad because if anyone could have given you a run for the money it would have been WWOD. (And by that I mean have the intelligence, tenacity and passion to match you point for point). :igotit

Popcorn sales would have been a record high!

Not right now... but I am working on some (sins needing forgiving)!

As to the CAF and the UCs... what causes you to think that I am dependent on them for my fellowship. I am in fellowship with men from both ends of the spectrum. I trust that you are not so insecure that if the UL left you would feel uncomfortable among UCs.

I have no idea what you think you know about where I stand on anything other than my personal consecrations and the salvation message but it would probably be eye opening if you ever took the time to put your prejudice aside and get to know me.:tiphat

I was talking on the phone with another member from this forum yesterday and this was one of the topics we discussed. There have been so many things written against other people that if a "lurker" happened to read some of things that member have written about each other it may create a stumbling block to them if they were Apostolic or of another faith.

This dear saint of God stated that out of the mouth the heart speaketh and maybe people need to stop attacking one another and examine their heart. I have been disappointed but I won't just walk away from this forum because someone may have hurt my feelings. In may own particular case it was a good thing that I was attacked, but for the majority I couldn't make such a a statement.

This forum has ministered to a lot people and God uses threads just like this one to make us pause to think maybe we should treat other members here with the respect that we would show them if we were face to face.

GNC has a thread for standard topics and maybe that would be something that the administrators should consider here on AFF. That way the "newbies" could go at each other and the rest of us wouldn't be subjected everyday to the same arguments that they bring to this forum. Of course, it's not just the "newbies" that seem to want to bring this topic up over and over again.

Just a thought...

Well send out an APB for him .... cause I'm game!!!!!!!