Good morning everybody.
As you know by now, the original "Christians Here for Support" thread was closed, as were several other large threads.
David graciously moved the original thread out from the "other" heading and gave it a heading of it's own. I've tried hard to properly discern his wishes regarding how we organize our posts so that we can comply with his intent.
David made the last post in the previous thread as quoted below in red:
This thread has been made in to its own forum.
Post and create threads here: https://www.alsforums.com/forum/christians-here-support/
** off-topic thread closed due to length, please start a social group for lengthy off-topic discussions **
https://www.alsforums.com/forum/groups/
From this, I think that it is desired that we not have a single catch-all thread, but start more focused separate threads under the "Christians Here for Support" forum. As Tammy put it on my profile page, our thread became frayed.
I started this thread with the same name so that those familiar with the previous one could get together and figure out how to best use our new forum and do our best to comply with David's desires.
I've by no means got this figured out, but am simply trying to give everyone a venue in which to discuss it.
First of all, I think everybody should feel free to start their own threads under the new "Christians Here for Support" forum, as opposed to posts on the "Christians Here for Support" thread.
I see it like a filing system. Previously we had one big file folder (the thread) which got stuffed with everything we had. Now we've been given a file drawer (the new forum), and can segregate material into separate folders (new threads) that can make it easier for people to locate what they're interested in.
We all know that receiving an ALS ALS diagnosis is devastating news to both the PALS and those who love them. Both Annie and I would have gone completely to pieces if it were not for our confidence in the promises or the Lord. Giving the comfort derived from knowing and believing those promises is the purpose for which Annie started her original thread, and continues to be my purpose as well. There are many, many Scripture verses and Bible teachings that are extremely valuable for growing in discipleship, but are not necessarily helpful to someone just having received or trying to come to terms with an ALS ALS diagnosis.
So I'm proposing that this new "Christians Here for Support" thread under the new "Christians Here for Support" forum be focused on supporting people seeking spiritual and emotional help because of the implications of being diagnosed with this disease.
I'm thinking of starting another thread containing Scripture verses for the day, such as those from Daily Light, and any that folks think might be of particular interest - although this could quickly grow in size. Another approach might be to start topical threads when one comes across a particular Scripture passage or collection of verses which address a particular topic. Then if people want to comment on that topic, or have other passages related to it, they can post in that thread.
I'm operating under the assumption that the intent of a thread is to collect input pertaining to a specific theme. If the theme becomes too all-encompassing, we end up with what we had - a frayed thread.
I can envision another thread containing excerpts from devotional commentaries, such as Utmost, Slice of Infinity, etc. Although I can see this rapidly becoming very large.
Another thread that might be of interest is a "Songs" thread where links to songs (i.e., Youtube) can be posted. This would make them easier to find in the future.
David also mentioned starting a social group for "lengthy off-topic discussions". So what do you all think of us starting a social group? I think that can be a lot less structured than threads. But I don't see it replacing the new forum and collection of threads under it - we need to be easily accessible to other folks, particularly new ones.
We have graciously been afforded use of this forum, and I'm sure everyone is in agreement that we should do our best to conform to the intent of David's request. He and the moderators put in a lot of time, effort, and money in providing this forum, and I'm sure everyone is grateful to them.
Please weigh in with your thoughts. I'm just trying to get a discussion on these issues started.