Mark and I had been friends online and met a few times in real life. We decided to get together with Heather and discuss our common concerns about boylove and the church. Mark mentioned that he really hoped we might put together a Christian boylove support forum for people to work out faith issues. The board Religious Debate Chat had started, and Heather posted frequently, but it had many nonChristians who were hostile and required justification for any Christian belief that might be discussed. We felt we needed a place of our own.

So, I approached the Free Spirits Committee about starting a Christian boylove board. Some committee members were not so keen, others were willing to give it a try. In general, the FSC worried about associating itself with the Christians. Finally, Jimf3 pushed through approval to host the site at fpc.net. Camper agreed to sponsor the board on behalf of the FSC and to act as technical advisor/support. This was the beginnings of our board in August 1998.

When fpc.net moved to the new boylove server in December 1998, Mark and I decided that it was time to move out from our Free Spirits home to become an independent board. We bought a domain name, asked our CBF members to pledge funds for the new home, and hosted our new domain name independently of Free Spirits. We have been able to maintain our web hosting ever since.

Heather published an article in Greenbelt Interfaith News in December 1998 which explained a bit about the issues that were being discussed on the new board. Moving to a new server gave us more reliable bandwith and the domain name gave us exposure. Our posters struggled with questions such as lust vs. love, masturbation and coming out to friends and pastors.

The community was growing and the ties between posters grew as well. Several exchanged addresses and phone numbers and began to have real-life contacts. Mark and I decided that we could attempt to bring together regular posters for a "Christian Consultation on Boylove". Consultations and CBF Gatherings were held in Montreal, Washington, D.C. and St. Louis areas over a period of several years from 1999 to 2002. Plans are underway for CBFers to gather in the Spring of 2005.

In January 2000 the Christian Boylove Forum saw the addition of a Prayer Room. Requested several times by long-time poster Chris, The Prayer Room was implemented with Camper's technical asssistance. In February 2002 the real-time HTML chat room came into existence. Only open when moderated, there were many fruitful late-afternoon discussions over its first year of existence.

Mark created the newsletter Paraklesis which offered many informative articles and poetry. The 8 issues remain online on the CBF website for people to download and share with others. If there are any budding newsletter editors, there is interest in reviving this important resource.

Shortly after Mark stepped down as newsletter editor, Bach decided that the time had come for him to pursue other online duties. zip had been an admin for CBF for some time, and Forgiven agreed to join the team. In time zip too needed to move on, and Nate joined the legacy of CBF admins. As Nate moved on to other activities, hopesalive came on board. And so leadership passes from one person to the next.

You can read the archives for yourselves to know the comings and goings of old posters and new, those who posted once and never again, and those who made hundreds, or even thousands, of posts over many years.

I would be remiss if I didn't also pay homage to our good friend Andy. It was with great sadness that we heard of his passing to be with the Lord in June 2003. I'm sure that he is participating with the same heart and soul in heaven as he did during his time here with us.

There is much of the story to be written; the journey has only just begun. Praise be to God for He is with us, and journeys alongside us in good times and in bad.