Acts20.com NEW Acts-Celerate

I loved Doyle.I don’t know that I ever actually said that to him in a direct way (perhaps only as love ya, bro). But I did love him. Actscelerate gave me an outlet for my questions, thoughts, views, opinions, etc. I could speak my mind because of having a pen name. Yes, I could have colored within the lines, so to speak, and used my own name, but that would have squelched some things I wanted to be able to say. I didn’t always get it right. By a long shot. I said things that aggravated some folks. I got banned a few times. But I also enjoyed myself most of the time. Yeah, I got into some verbal fisticuffs that I’m not particularly proud of (even though I trust that I never launched a first strike–at least on purpose). But when you can only discuss things with a small number of folks in your physical circle, it’s nice, but you kind of want to hear what others think too. And Doyle gave me–and everyone else–that sweet opportunity.I like to think that I went from being offended by just about any criticism of some church hero…to maturing to the point that I could see that a person can be a true man of God, yet still be a man…with the flaws and such that go with it. I’m sure plenty of folks, knowing that Cleveland was watching this new thing, where there was an unauthorized media outlet for the Church of God, used their real names to try to score a few point with Cleveland. And while I love the COG, and my only issue that I recall was not knowing the salary of the General Overseer (believe it or not, they sent me that information!), I don’t doubt but that I might have tried to score a few point too. But best of all, we got to really let down our hair on some discussions. I’m not talking about being mean-spirited or that such, but we got to say things that might have gotten some really harsh stares from certain powers-that-be. (Although most of it was relatively tame, I suppose.)I think that we talked so many theological issues that, over time, most of us, if not all of us, either slightly (or significantly) modified some of our views…or at least had a newfound respect for those who held views we did not agree with, finding that, well, yes, they did have some reasons for seeing things that way.Doyle allowed that. He permitted us to have battle royals over theology or what have you, to trash talk each others’ college football teams, to ask questions we’d blush to ask otherwise, and to swing on each other at times–but which would quickly result in a temporary ban. The FB page today for COG ministers (The Excellent Ministry of the Church of God) would not exist without Doyle. There would be too much fear, I suppose, that someone would say something negative about the COG and get everyone in trouble. But that’s not the case today. That doesn’t mean that those who get stung like it, but there the understanding that we can talk about things now. That helps keep some actions in line, due to the knowledge that heavy-handedness will result in very public comments. But there is also the ability to vent among friends, to offer ideas, etc.–all without drawing down any harsh rebuke from above. I think that’s because, before, they were not used to public criticism, but now they realize that, with social media, that’s par for the course. Doyle, Actscelerate was a part of my life virtually every day since at least 1999, maybe even before. I and many others gravitated to it.No history of the Church of God’s social media efforts will be complete without acknowledging that Doyle basically ran into the line of fire to provide an avenue for open discussion about…pretty much anything. I have often thought that Actscelerate was pretty much the like Camp Meeting–there were things that blessed us, things that delighted us, jokes, gossip, and some dings, etc. Any social media that came afterward owes a debt–owes their existence-to Doyle Daugherty pioneering steps, in which he took plenty of hits to keep the doors open.