THIS BULLETIN BOARD: A BLESSING OR NOT???

[al Hartman]

Dear Posters, Readers, Lurkers, etc.,
(EXCEPTIONS LISTED BELOW):

     Back in March there was a short-lived thread entitled
"Can Anything Good Come Out of the BB?"

     In this new thread, i hope to delve a little deeper, as i am presently in receipt of personal correspondence suggesting that (1) The BB has never been an instrument of God's design or using, and (2) that the BB has been a vessel of deliverance & healing.

     Polls are meaningless because they are anonymous and subject to manipulation, so i'm requesting the following:
Please post on this thread your opinion of this BB and WHY you feel as you do:  Has it blessed you, betrayed you, disappointed you, encouraged you??? How has it done so?  Be as wordy as suits you...

EXCEPTIONS:  Because you probably have already read my opinions on this topic, i'll refrain from stating them here (if you don't know where i stand or why, please email me).
i am also asking the following FREQUENT POSTERS to abstain from posting on this thread:
     Brent T.,
     Verne C.,
     Mark C.,
     Matt P.,
     Arthur,
     MGov

     Let's hear from those we seldom or never hear from: your BB triumphs or horror stories.  Tell it as you see it...

Thank you,
al Hartman

[sfortescue]

I like it.  Through it, I've made contact with several people that I haven't heard from in years.  There is opportunity to get to know some of the more recent assembly people that I've never met.  I get to practice writing, which is helpful, since I am not very good at verbal expression.

It has helped me remember things that I hadn't recognized about my assembly experience, which was more than 20 years ago.  There is even a little bit of benefit from the more heated discussions, since they provide opportunity to learn social skills; this is another thing that I'm not very good at.

[Joe Sperling]

I think the Bulletin board has been a great blessing. I've gotten to talk to people(like you Al) who I haven't spoken to in years. Even some of the heated arguments have worked out to be blessings.

The only drawback I've seen on the board is when "personal" attacks are made against people--this
is definitely not productive. But I think a lot of very meaningful things have happened, and a lot of deep wounds have been healed here. If not healed, then put on the road to healing.

I believe this board has helped me to turn more strongly to the Lord. I think the Lord has accomplished what he set out
to do through the Geftakys Assembly website and this Bulletin Board, and is coninuing to do even more.

--Joe

[BeckyW]

Gentle Readers,
I don't have much time now to elaborate, but I have to say it is a blessing, a help and resource. (And it was especially so when we first left the assembly.) It's a connection with people who understand, for the most part, what we've experienced because they've been there.
Sure, sometimes it's a little like a food fight, but in the assembly system, open, honest commmunication about problems, struggles, etc. is stifled.  
The board has also helped me after a few surreal encounters with those still "in" that have left me wondering, "Am I losing my mind, or did that really just happen?"
The posts by Mark C. have been esp. helpful to us because he was once in leadership, is now out, and has had years to reflect on just what it was all about.
Kim T.'s also, I know just what she means, although we've never met and live on opposite sides of the country.  I think we can learn much from those willing to share their stories, those who see things so differently now.
The Code of Silence is gone, thanks to a forum like this one.  Maybe that last line just summed up why today I feel this board has been a blessing.
Becky

[Eulaha L. Long]

Here's my two cents:

I used to enjoy joining in on the BB, because I was able to re-connect with old friends and thank God for delivering them from the Assembly.  But now...it seems like people in here are biting and devouring each other. I have a few names in mind. Now, I have nothing against them, but it just seems like these brethren are clinging onto the Assembly ways.

On the same note, I think it's cool that ex-Assembly members (and former ones too, as well as those of us who wish the world was run according to the Assembly) can disagree and still be walking with the Lord.  Lord knows how many times I have disagreed with people in here, without feeling the need to "repent"or apologize.  I will not repent for having human emotions and feelings.  Anyway, that's what I think...

[MGov]

Dear Posters, Readers, Lurkers, etc.,
(EXCEPTIONS LISTED BELOW):
....

EXCEPTIONS: ...i am also asking the following FREQUENT POSTERS to abstain from posting on this thread:
     Brent T.,
     Verne C.,
     Mark C.,
     Matt P.,
     Arthur,
     MGov
   ...

Thank you,
al Hartman

Al excluded me from posting on this thread, but I just couldn't resist.  I think he's discriminating against something.  

This is not really a post, so it doesn't count.  

Will the person giving me those -ve points please 'fess up.

PG

[al Hartman]

Quote from: MGov:

Al excluded me from posting on this thread, but I just couldn't resist.  I think he's discriminating against something.  

     In this case, i am only discriminating against the undisciplined (which category now obviously includes me).  Watch this now devolve into another humor thread.

     C'mon Folks, prove me wrong!!!

al

[Peacefulg]

I personally am along the lines of it being a blessing at times and a bane (more blessing than bane).

The first 16 weeks it was a blessing shedding the light where it needed to be, letting the Lord use it to set people free (and it still is).  But for awhile it became the biggest gripe BB I have ever been involved with.  God weighed the Assemly and found it lacking, but man did people get out their stones and continue to chuck them at it.  Having left a few years before this all blew up trust me it takes time to get over this place (In some small things still getting over it!), but at some point you have always got to remember Philips 4:8-8, and when the bad horrible Freddy Kruger (errr GG), comes to mind as he will from time remember Philips 4 again, and again.

Lately it has been a blessing again, because know the discussion are turning to how to grow in the Grace and Knowledege or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we are finding out that there is much to rejoice in.

Cheers,
G

"What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day.  For each of us the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God."
A.W Tozer