Letters to Rosalie - Honest concerns
but did they get an honest response?

In June 2000, long standing Way follower John R.(graduate of the 7th Way Corps) wrote a letter to newly appointed Way president Rosalie Rivenbark concerning recent events in The Way.

Here is his original letter to her, her inadequate (skirting the issues) reply, a follow up letter from John and then the final outcome of this correspondence.

WayDale asks: Is this what Way followers can expect when they ask their leadership for honest answers to honest questions? Will all Way followers who ask honest questions be ejected from TWI as this couple was?

Is this yet another example of how The Way keep its people "fully informed" as their PR man Rico Magnelli boasted recently. Magnelli, speaking on behalf of the Way trustees recently said: 

"Anyone that has ever been involved in our ministry honestly knows that we explain decisions involving our ministry from A to Z, from soup to nuts, to our followers. This has been the pattern since 1942....." click here for Magnelli's comments

----correspondence begins here ----

June 18, 2000

Rev. Rosalie Rivenbark

The Way International
Box 328
New Knoxville, OH 45871

Dear Rev. Rivenbark,

It has been on my heart to share with you some of my observations. I am a long-standing believer who has been on the field in the same area, Tampa, FL for 21 years. A graduate of the 7th Corps, I am happily married to a wonderful woman of God, a graduate of the 6th Corps, who got involved in the ministry when she was 16 and has stood faithfully since. We own a successful and thriving business in the Tampa Bay area and have a good reputation within and without the ministry.

The Way Ministry is failing as an organization. Most of these failures can be attributed to Rev. Martindale and other leaders in the ministry who did not take a stand and speak up to stop his bad decisions or to replace him sooner. The reasons for the failures in the ministry are too numerous to discuss here. These are some of my observations:

1.) Thousands of believers (along with their abundant sharing) have unnecessarily left or been forced out of the ministry and far fewer have joined in their places. After a while an organization needs to look to itself as to perhaps what they are doing wrong to get these kinds of results.

2.) The leadership style in the ministry has been too harsh due to Rev. Martindale’s influences. The micro management of the followers of the Way has been unbearable for most.

3.) There are few new people who are drawn to the ministry. Most who do come do not stay involved very long because they quickly get the sense of hardness and its accompanying dullness. Most current believers are not even excited about bringing new people to this ministry, as they do not want the new people exposed to the same treatment they have been subjected to these past years.

4.) Our foundational class "The Way of Abundance and Power" is too advanced for new people. This class has not proven to be a success. That means it is failing to meet the needs of new people. Many believers on the field do not promote this product. Do we really need taped classes when there is such a wealth of qualified leadership that can teach the foundational principles and meet the particular needs of their congregations?

5.) Finances – The financial lives of the believers have been under too much scrutiny. The "debt stance" that the ministry has taken, in my view, has cost the ministry millions of dollars contrary to its desired outcome. Many believers silently disagree (because they are afraid to speak up) about the debt teaching Rev. Martindale has forced into the fabric of the ministry. This hard core financial stand is simply not working. Believers’ want to buy homes and many cannot pay cash for such a large purchase. In a nutshell, each and every situation should be analyzed on its merit with a view of living within ones’ means. What’s right for one person may be wrong for someone else. Anyone with depth of the word and with worldly financial knowledge about finances, investing and real estate knows that to say "Owe no man anything….end of story" is unreasonable and in many cases counterproductive in our day and time. Not to mention that using Rom.13:8 to teach about personal finances takes it out of the context of verses 1 through 7 referring to the "higher powers" in the household.

6.) The Way International seems to have missed out on taking advantage of the vast network of technology that is prevalent in running a successful enterprise today. This can, in the long run, cost an organization dearly. This technology has gotten cheaper and is more efficient than ever before. Instead of embracing some of these technologies to their advantage, the ministry seems to be discouraging their use.

7.) We feel that Rev. Martindale should be on the field not at International Headquarters, and that he and his family should be assisted in finding housing and employment away from HQ. It disturbs us that he remains active Way Corps and clergy, that our abundant sharing is paying for legal fees resulting from his sexual improprieties, and that he would even remain employed by the Way International. His current status is a great departure from the way he has handled the offenses of many others in past years. An immediate termination would seem to be the most logical, biblical and sane handling of this situation. To do otherwise gives the appearance that it is just business as usual with our ABS paying the way.

I enjoy focusing on solutions rather than problems. I believe this situation is not hopeless but I believe that dramatic changes need to happen to produce fruit again as we have seen in past years in our ministry. I believe that if the above issues along with others are eventually resolved that genuine godly solutions will come into fruition. I would like to see the ministry succeed again and I would like to help.

Rev. Rivenbark, I could not have dared write this letter a few years ago for fear of being confronted if not marked and avoided. That climate already seems to be changing so that I can now share my heart without fear of retribution. I don’t really care anymore about the consequences that could follow. I now realize that if I really care about helping to salvage what remains of this ministry I should speak up before it is too late. You have my permission to share this letter with others. You are also welcome to call me at any time regarding these matters.

Sincerely,

John R.

Tel # removed

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Rosalie’s handwritten response dated about a month later, July 14, 2000

"Dear John,

God bless you abundantly. I would like for you to come and visit us at headquarters. We’d house you and feed you, and show you around for a couple of days. This is the only way I know that could resolve your concerns. Come and see for yourself. Many of your points seem to reflect Internet defaming rather than what actually exists. I’d be happy to sit with you and discuss your suggestions.

Love,

Rosalie Rivenbark"

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My response back to Rosalie one week later

July 21, 2000

Rev. Rosalie Rivenbark

The Way International
Box 328
New Knoxville, OH 45871

Dear Rev. Rivenbark,

While we appreciate your invitation to visit headquarters, this is not practical for us at this time. My concerns clearly have nothing to do with "coming to see" how things are at headquarters. Having spent my interim year there in 1978, I saw then what a beautiful and peaceful place it was. I am sure things are fine at headquarters. It is reckless to bury our heads in the sands of denial when our ministry is in demise. Lets not make that ever so common mistake that organizations make when they are failing. It seems odd that you said "this is the only way I know that could resolve your concerns". Are you in essence saying that if we do not visit headquarters our concerns will not be resolved? Does the Word not work everywhere? Do you not have other communication methods available such as e-mail or telephone?

Come and see what? Maybe things are fine at headquarters, but that is not the case on the field. As Dr. always taught, the life of the ministry is on the field in the household fellowships. Without them there is no reason to have a headquarters! We are only two people out of many in the household who feel the same way we do. It would be more profitable if the Board of Trustees were to discuss these and other matters with the entire household with a view towards concrete and godly solutions.

The concerns expressed are not Internet driven and certainly not meant in any way as defamations. On the contrary, I want to see this ministry grow and prosper rather than shrink and fail, and that will require a change of course. I laid out specific areas where I have honest questions, can you not respond specifically in kind?

Rosalie, at times it almost seems as if leadership wants the ministry to perhaps just become a small handful. I have no problem with that except that it would be best to know the direction we are moving in so that we could work together. That mission will be accomplished in a few years according to our current growth rate.

If Rev. Moynihan will allow, I would also like to extend an invitation to you and the board of Trustees to visit us here on the field to have an open discussion with all the household believers in Florida with a view towards concrete and godly solutions. We would be willing to house and feed you and would pay for your round trip plane fare.

In closing, I would like to say that I would like to help the ministry as I am sure others do. I am not against its success. I have always enjoyed fighting for a cause even if it gets me in trouble. I hope you will allow us to help out in these times when we feel we could be of some benefit.

In Christ,

John R.

Tel # removed

PS: I composed this response yesterday with plans to mail it Monday. Interestingly, tonight (Saturday) we have been put on spiritual probation and are not allowed to come to our local fellowship anymore. I do not want this. Unlike others I am not walking away. I desire to be given the chance to continue to come. We would like to be allowed to still come to fellowship and to help out where we can. I told Rev. Paul Giles I would ask you if it is ok and he did not seem to object to me asking you. This is not a good situation and I would like to reconcile it as soon as possible. I am of the belief that through productive and biblical discussions this can be resolved in another way such that we could still be allowed to come as we desire to. If not, I am sorry that things have had to end up this way.

----end of correspondence----

Update:

As of today August 18th, 2000 ….still no response back from Ms. Rivenbark. We are pretty certain we will never be allowed back in the ministry in its current state.

In 1979 when I was in the Way Corps I wrote a letter to Dr. Wierwille. At that time he was being attacked by the media who were accusing him of running a cult. God's Word was moving so dynamically at that time in our ministry that the adversary was trying anything to stop the thousands of believers who were being added every year. In hopes of blessing him at a low time in his life, I wrote him to share of my experiences in Catholic seminary to show that if anything can be called a cult the Roman Catholic church would fit that category. I shared with him about how I was raised Roman Catholic and became very religious in my search for God to the point that I attended a seminary to become a priest. He liked my letter so much he turned it into a handout and called it "I Got Out". It was given out at Advanced Classes for a while. Dr. Wierwille even had me read it at Advanced Class '79 in front of a huge audience. Sometimes I think I should write another paper and call it "I Got Out ...Again". I am only glad Dr. Wierwille is not alive today to see that the ministry he started has indeed turned into a cult after all.