I've had really good luck with removing the inner membrane. After I slice the pepper in half lengthwise, I use a teaspoon and scrape the inside, removing all the seeds and ribs, but also the entire satiny coating on the green flesh. This leaves the fruity flavor and removes almost all the heat. I am not a huge fan of heat for heat's sake, and my wife and most of our friends are less tolerant than I am. I've made dozens of ABT's using this method and only had 1 or 2 that were "surprises", likely because I didn't scrape enough. One word of caution, no matter what direction I scrape the pepper, or how I hold it or what direction I face in relation to the pepper, I invariably get pepper juice squirted directly in my eyes. In addition, since you're scraping the pepper, you will get juice all over your hands including under your nails, which tends to hurt for the rest of the day. For these reasons, when I do this, goggles and latex/vinyl gloves are mandatory.
Good luck!!