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Hey OldSkool, I swear I’m not trying to monopolize this thread (note: I stink at Monopoly anyway…might be from bad experiences of playing it as a kid with my best friend – he would always have to be the banker – and let’s just say there was always some embezzling and cooking the books going on…but he was older and bigger than me so I never complained….and now in 2021 we’re some 58 years passed the statute of limitations for me to bring legal action over Monopoly Money malfeasance ) (additional note: it’s possible my previous parenthetical statements are in fact a monopolizing attempt – in which case I’m providing a literary example of hypocrisy ) takes a big breath in to continue I was reading your article again – which triggered something I remembered from a book and then I got sidetracked - or maybe I’ll call it backtracking on magical thinking mentioned earlier…soooooooo below are some excerpts I hope you and other Grease Spotters might find informative. First, quoting from page 10 of your article: "Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. This verse is situated in between Jesus cursing a fig tree and it dying from the roots up. There is much significance in Jesus cursing this fig tree that is beyond the scope of this discussion, however, he used this event as an illustration that begins with “Have faith in God.” Then he moves on to say doubt not the things you say because God will back you up when you have faith in God! If it sounds like I am contradicting myself, I am not. Let’s consider Jesus Christ for a moment. If ANYONE would have taught The Law of Believing it would have been Jesus Christ. Yet let’s see what Jesus said of himself as recorded in John. John 5:30 - I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. Our Lord Jesus Christ plainly said he couldn’t do anything by himself. The context of John 5:30 is Jesus healed a man who couldn’t walk and the Jewish religious leaders wanted to kill him for it because he healed on the Sabbath day. Jesus plainly stated that he couldn’t do anything by himself. If The Law of Believing were truly interwoven throughout scripture wouldn’t he have said so at times like these? Itis only by having faith in God that Jesus was able to do the powerful works he performed during his ministry to Israel. As we bring this work to a close remember John 14:12 John 14:12 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. Keep your faith focused on God! Trust him to do the things he says he will. It’s the relationship of a father with his children. That's the same relationship we have because of what Christ accomplished as our Lord and redeemer." = = = = = = = = = That is such a big point you make in your article ! That even Jesus recognized the limitations of human beings – and he included himself…other than your article I don’t recall coming across that particular idea except in one book that pokes holes in the law of believing by saying if that were true then Jesus would be one of the most pessimistic-doom-that-came-into-the-room-fatalistic-cynical-defeatist persons you’d ever want to meet. This book came out about the same time I left TWI – back then I had such a voracious appetite to read anything that challenged me to think outside TWI’s theological box… anyway…the book is Beyond Seduction: A Return to Biblical Christianity by Dave Hunt and like your article mentions E.W. Kenyon founder of the Word of Faith/positive confession movement and the ridiculous idea of Jesus bringing setbacks and catastrophes on himself and others. From page 33, under the section, What About the “Negative Confessions” of God and Christ? : “Foundational to the Positive Confession movement is the belief that there is a power inherent within words which causes whatever one says to come to pass, and that one must therefore be extremely careful only to make positive statements. E.W. Kenyon, who is the founder of this movement, taught that Jesus “was always positive in His message.” One need not read very far in the New Testament to prove that statement false. In fact, if it is true that we create what we speak, then we must charge Jesus with bringing disaster not only upon Himself but upon others as well. His numerous “negative confessions,” such as “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20), must have been the cause of the poverty that plagued Him and His disciples. And the same must be said of His frequent statements to His followers that He was going to be crucified, even insisting upon this fact when Peter attempted to urge upon Him a more “positive” attitude (Matthew 16:21 - 23). If “you get what you say,” then Christ’s numerous “negative confessions” not only brought upon Himself poverty, suffering, and death but brought it upon the entire world as well. Was not His prophecy of the coming destruction of Jerusalem a “negative confession” that caused this very tragedy in 70 A.D.? And are not the prophecies of Jesus and His apostles concerning the great tribulation, the rule of Antichrist, and the coming Battle of Armageddon “negative confessions” that will bring these horrible events upon the world? And what about Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the many other Old Testament prophets who made repeated “negative confessions” of judgement upon Israel and many other nations?” = = = = = = = = On magical thinking, I found this interesting article in Psychology Today – I like some of the probing challenges it brings up – like, trying to pin down a plausible link of causation…anyway here’s some excerpts and if you’re interested in reading the whole article, there is a link following my excerpts: “One of my patients suffers from chronic constipation due to irritable bowel syndrome. During the literally 20 years since she was first diagnosed, her symptom pattern has remained remarkably consistent: She has perhaps 1-2 bowel movements per week, occasionally accompanied by some mild cramping. Even she admits the symptoms are more a bother than a worry. And yet, every time I prescribe a new medicine for one of her other ailments, within a day or two she calls me up complaining that it's causing her to become constipated. When I ask if she means that while on the new medicine she has fewer bowel movements or more abdominal pain, her answer is always no. And yet she adamantly refuses to continue with the new medication, insisting it's the cause of a symptom complex she's had for two decades. And no matter how cogently I argue that the new medicine can't be to blame (and I'm always careful to pick medicines not known to cause or exacerbate constipation), she refuses to continue with it. Though certainly she could be right about 1 or even 2 pills exacerbating her constipation, the likelihood that all 16 pills I've given her have caused the same exact symptom in the context of the symptom already existing is just too far-fetched. A much more likely explanation is that she's indulging in magical thinking. Magical thinking is defined as believing that one event happens as a result of another without a plausible link of causation. For example: "I got up on the left side of the bed today; therefore it will rain." The problem with this definition, however, is that exactly what constitutes "a plausible link of causation" can be difficult to pin down. If we were to take this phrase to its logical extreme, we'd have to consider a belief in anything that hasn't been scientifically proven to represent magical thinking. On the other hand, rejecting the use of any and all criteria with which to judge cause and effect leaves us vulnerable to believing that anything can cause anything—or even worse, that an effect can occur without a cause at all. Perhaps, then, a more nuanced definition of magical thinking would be believing in things more strongly than either evidence or experience justifies. Though I can't prove the sun will rise in the east tomorrow, because it has every day since I've been alive, such a belief couldn't then be said to represent magical thinking. But because every person who's ever jumped off a building or a bridge has gone down and not up, believing that flapping my arms hard enough would enable me to float into the sky certainly would. Problems with this definition remain, however. For one thing, simply in order to live we have to believe things without proof. If we refused to believe what our doctors, plumbers, electricians, barbers, or nannies told us without first being shown incontrovertible evidence, our lives would come to a grinding halt. For another thing, some questions we burn to answer aren't necessarily provable or disprovable…” …How can we stop thinking magically? Magical thinking remains a subtle obstacle to making good decisions. But the more we observe ourselves, the more we can reduce our tendency to indulge in it: 1. Consciously identify your desires and biases. Write them down. Try to identify their cause. Work to free yourself from them to the best of your ability. 2. Demand proof when proof seems demonstrable. Try to remain intellectually "agnostic" toward what hasn't been proven or isn't provable, even if you find yourself emotionally inclined to believe it. Try to regard your belief as just that—an inclination—so that you're not tempted to act with more confidence in your belief than is justified. 3. Beware the tendency to let others think for you. This is as insidious as it is widespread. A journalist presents a position about a topic of the day and has his or her opinion accepted as fact. One friend makes a statement about another and everyone accepts it as true without bothering to investigate themselves. Though I don't agree with many of the principles espoused by Ayn Rand in her book, The Fountainhead, the point she makes about how so many of us subjugate our judgment to others is worth taking to heart (a great read, by the way, which I highly recommend). We all tend to cling not only to the things we believe but the reasoning that leads us to believe them. Despite all my efforts, I've not yet been able to break through my patient's magical thinking about the cause of her constipation. So I continue to do what I've done: chant to manifest the wisdom to somehow find a way to succeed, having proven to myself many times over that chanting has the power to yield wisdom I didn't know I had—a power, however, that can only ever be proven by someone to themselves.” From: Psychology Today - magical thinking

That's magical thinking, AND the phrasing makes it clear that twi is putting God Almighty on the hook for meeting any needs of their participants. A) Is every corps grad ordained now? NO. vpw set up the corps as a pseudo- ministerial program (he lacked experience with ANY ministerial program) as a ripoff of existing leadership training from denominations. Corps not only are not ordained, they're kept on a TIGHTER LEASH than the rank-and-file because they've shown twi that twi can exploit them FURTHER than they can exploit Joe Sixpack. No, they won't "lead" anything, nor will they work independently nor in a manner not kow-towing to twi. B) Is the way corps program accredited? NO. The way corps receive a degree as follows: if they lacked ANY degree, they now have an Associate's in Biblical Studies, and if they already had a Bachelor's or higher, they now ALSO have a Bachelor's in Biblical Studies. In either case, the degree is worth the paper it's printed on because it's UNACCREDITED. "They have as much authority to issue a degree as Schlotski's Deli!" Yes, the corps is a degree mill, in this respect no better than Pike's Peak. The denominations that twi so freely mocks have MUCH more comprehensive programs for training their ministers. The vetting process for even STARTING is a lot more scrutinized-and selective- than twi's "you can stay as long as your money holds!"- vpw to lcm about whether he could remain in the corps.

Anglican church requirements: Preparing for Ordained Ministry | The Church of England The C of E prefers its candidates for ordination to have done other work first, so some undertake a degree in (ay accountancy), practice as an accountant for a few years, then seek selection for ordination. It's not a given, even if someone appears suitable. There are extensive interviews with increasingly more senior ministers within the hierarchy, not to be exclusionary or punitive, but to be sure that the call is properly heard and responded to. One of our previous curates did exactly this: had wanted to be a priest since a mid-teenager, not accepted and told to apply in a few years but to do something else working with people beforehand, so was an accountant for 4 or 5 years. Stayed with the ambition and has now been a priest for - must be over a decade now. Current curate was a ballerina. Many others have been teachers, youth workers, etc. Not all those who "feel the call" are accepted, but they still have vital roles to play in the church life. Training takes several years study, then (as it were) an apprenticeship to an experienced minister. You're looking at 5 or 6 years training before being let loose more or less unsupervised on the public. My best friend is a Methodist minister. After several years as a lawyer, she too training, after extensive personal discussions with senior Methodist staff to make sure she was really suited to the role. Then, three years or more theological college, then another one or two as a probationer minister, before now being loosed on her own congregations (she's been a qualified minister for well over a decade now).

Way Corps "ministers" are put on a short leash to follow twi's inept bod-leadership. Under this arrangement, corps cannot expect to be enriched by God.... or that "God will meet their every need." That corps promo is nothing short of gobbledygook. Restrictions on every hand bring forth the putrid fruit of man. In fact, many corps grads are assigned to work at headquarters and are given a meager bi-monthly paycheck for their work. The Way International is thus..."meeting their need" or lack thereof. True ministers of the Lord are NOT stuck in the chain-of-command structure. They are independent from bureaucratic constraints. Free to "live and move and have their being" in the Lord, walking with Him. In that context.....yes, God can and will supply. But twi puts people in a box of their own making.....and its a very small box constricting movement, growth and supply. All of twi's classes and programs lead one towards dependence on twi..... NOT dependence on the Lord where he shall be "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season." [Psalm 1]