September Announcements
Welcome, one and all. We're wanting to share with you a few things that are happening in our guild lately. And we're going to start with this very thread!
Every month, we're going to have a new set of announcements here -- well, that's the plan, anyway. We all know, there will be times when there's just not a lot going on. It doesn't matter. At any rate, every month we'lll bring you up to date on what's happening, and give you a chance to comment on things and make suggestions!
Welcome
We've had quite a few new members show up in the last few months. Some, like Takahashi_Natsumi, have become quite at home here; others, like iHailo, have only made a few posts, then fallen silent, waiting for more. Regardless, we welcome all of you, and hope we can all help each other grow in Christ.
Moved Threads
Some of our older members may have noticed that a lot of older threads are no longer visible. No, we haven't gotten rid of them; we just moved them. If a thread hadn't been touched for more than two months, it got moved to the Old Stuff subforum. You can still view everything, of course.
We did this because, well ... the nature of our guild is such that we tend to create lot of threads. And after a while, these threads tend to pile up. No point in keeping a huge collection of inactive threads on the main forum, is there?
Which brings us to a new rule: no thread necromancy. If a thread's still in the main forum, go ahead and comment to your heart's content, but if it's been moved to the Old Stuff subforum ... don't bother commenting. If you want to start a new thread in the main forum on a subject in the Old Stuff subforum, that's okay.
Monthly Devotional -- Personal Revival
Vondra
Revival, one of the many topics that is talked about in nearly every church in America, is a topic that we would like to get somewhat in depth over the next few weeks.
I believe that revival begins with the individual person, when they decide to follow God and to seek Him more (Matthew 6:33 A).
There are a few ways that a person can draw closer to God. One way is to pray in a quiet place. Jesus Himself went to a quiet place to pray.
(Again found in Mark 1:35.)
Even though there are many people who do pray, there is a definite need for them to no longer yield themselves to sin and decide to stop doing those things (Galatians 5:24-25).
A person also needs to continue to read the Bible. One reason is to hide God's word in our heart...
Another is to be able to rebuke the devil when needed like when Jesus rebuked the devil with scripture when He was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11).
All these things must be done not just during church, but in our daily lives. The prayer is needed as a personal, daily "revival" or renewal of the spirit in man (2 Corinthians 4:16b).
I believe that revival begins with the individual person, when they decide to follow God and to seek Him more (Matthew 6:33 A).
Matthew 6:33 A
But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness
There are a few ways that a person can draw closer to God. One way is to pray in a quiet place. Jesus Himself went to a quiet place to pray.
Luke 5:16
And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed.
Even though there are many people who do pray, there is a definite need for them to no longer yield themselves to sin and decide to stop doing those things (Galatians 5:24-25).
A person also needs to continue to read the Bible. One reason is to hide God's word in our heart...
Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.
Another is to be able to rebuke the devil when needed like when Jesus rebuked the devil with scripture when He was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11).
All these things must be done not just during church, but in our daily lives. The prayer is needed as a personal, daily "revival" or renewal of the spirit in man (2 Corinthians 4:16b).
Roster Cleaning
We've a lot of members -- I mean, a lot of members. And that's good, that's good ... but this isn't a real-world church, where people can plunk their butts into a pew once a week, do nothing, and call themselves "members". This is an online church, and the only way we know you're here is if you post occasionally.
And, as it turns out, we've quite a few "members" who haven't posted recently. Actually, we've quite a few "members" who haven't posted ever. That's no good! How do we know anybody's there if we can't see people post ... and how can we contribute to each other's growth if we don't know who to talk to? And, on a selfish note, what good are people who do nothing?
So here's what we're going to do. In the first week of October, Dragonbait is going to go through our roster and ban everybody who has never made any posts. And everybody's hearing about this through the mass PM that Xiterrose is sending out, so nobody's got any excuses for not knowing about it. 'Bait's also going to delete any members who haven't done anything in several months. If you want to stay a member, then you need to post. If you don't, that's okay; we're not judging anybody when we do this. Membership shouldn't be forced, but voluntary. And if you do get banned, but you want to come back, just PM Xi, and he'll see to it.
Suggestions, comments, and criticisms
Okay, now it's your turn. If there's anything you want to say that doesn't fit in our regular threads, or any suggestions you want to make, go ahead and make them here! This thread isn't locked, and won't be. We want to hear from you ... so go ahead and tell us what you think!
