If you are a member of FulfilledProphecy's discussion board, you will have noticed I decided to remove the Political War Zone forum. And, after reading my Bible this morning, I know I've done the right thing. Here's why:

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian believers;

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you (1 Corinthians 1: 10-11 New American Standard Bible).

You see, this is what happened to me. I began receiving emails from people who had been with me from the beginning, people whom God had sent in the early days to be an encouragement, telling me they were leaving the discussion board. Why? Because, there was a different spirit there, different than the one from the beginning.

At first my reaction was to think these people just didn't understand the free-for-all nature of Internet discussion boards. However, since I stayed away from these political battles, I didn't really know what was going on there. After losing another old member, I decided to take a look. And, when I did, I was deeply troubled.

The first thing I noticed was that the forum had been taken over by one primary political faction. And, anytime there was a hint of protest, that faction would pounce on the dissenter like a pack of angry wolves. It was no wonder people were leaving the board.

Since we are talking about Christian people, I decided to see if I could add some balance and appeal for more moderation. So, I began posting my counter arguments hoping other like minded members would join me. Instead of providing balance, I was attacked in the same manner as those who had left the board. And, it was this lack of respect for my wishes that apparently brought things to a head.

I received an email from an old friend. But, this wasn't just any friend. This is the same friend who had called me in the early nineties and asked me if I wanted my own column in his newspaper. This was the friend who taught me how to write and made it possible for me to author a book. In other words, this was the person God used to bring me into this ministry.

Although, like me, my friend leaned to the right politically, his concern was not political. Like an old friend, his concern was for me and my ministry. And, in the wisdom of someone who has been around the political arena for years, he told me the problem was I had no respect from the ones on the forum to whom I was appealing. He said I had lost control of my board. His advise was that I should send a message. I should pick a leader of this political faction and ban them.

Well, I couldn't do that. So, I finally decided to delete the Political War Zone forum instead of a person.

The bottom line is, FulfilledProphecy is not here to promote a political agenda. And, the Political War Zone was even having a negative effect on me. It was causing me to respond to political arguments in order to balance things out. This was taking too much of my time and it wasn't what I believe God wanted me to do.

Hope you understand.