Leaderboard

Some of us, here at GSC......have been proactively searching, analyzing and unraveling the twi-deception for over 20 years. Through the years, posters (mostly corps) have brought forth significant information of past situations and events that have been silenced in cover-up tactics. Thus, it is understandable how later corps and advanced class grads who became involved after 1978 were unaware of the depth and depravity of wierwille and his enablers. The top-down power structure in twi quickly amassed more power and control after 1972. Vague --- the corps program was an allegiance to wierwille. Under the guise of vague terms and commitments, the corps program was billed as training those with natural leadership abilities for "a lifetime of Christian service." There was a mystique of a "secret society" training for the spiritual elite.....few corps grads would divulge the ins-and-outs of their corps training. Vows of silence. Lock box secrets. Opaque --- many came to understand glimpses of *the way international* from reading Elena Whiteside's book The Way: Living in Love. Highly sanitized and sophomoric in content, very little transparency (opaque) was gained by a sycophant reading of this book. Classes, programs, history, finances, etc.... were deliberately opaque. If one probed to ask more questions, then he was soon confronted and targeted for being untrusting, a dissident. Incremental --- perhaps, one could dismiss wierwille's ministry as a rumbling, bumbling, back-woods organization that was overwhelmed with rapid growth. But when incremental patterns form consistently to advance power and growth......one sees that this "power highway" ONLY GOES IN ONE DIRECTION..... centralizing authoritarian control. Individual independence recedes and dependency on twi for direction and guidance in life ascends. Note: "Christ in you" teachings were rarely taught or emphasized (by 1978).....twi had become the *mediator* between you and God to pacify one's guilt and condemnation of sin. Just stay faithful to going to twig and you, indeed, are in "good standing with God." Sleight-of-hand.....in plain sight. Encroaching ---without the corps program, wierwille would have been unable to implement his narcissistic agenda of lusts and power. And further, when the 6th Corps sign-ups had crossed beyond 300....the trustees scrambled to find a campus. No way could headquarters house, feed and train this surge of growth. The college of Emporia was empty and on the market for sale. Thus, the 6th corps went in-rez at Emporia. Parents and families, too, wanted to be "trained".....so Family Corps were in training at Rome City, Indiana. Nothing amplified wierwille's power and control throughout twi more than the corps program. It contained all the elements of a cult subculture: 1) isolation, 2) levels of allegiance, 3) pecking order, 4) allegiance to the "man of God," 5) secret teachings and status, 6) two-tier system of spirituality, 7) and wierwille relished in adding fuel to this burning fire. Encroachment flourished. Accusing --- the pyramid structure in twi was absolute. No one held wierwille to account. He ruled by manipulation, intimidation and fear. His judgments were never over-ruled. Whether it was his failure over the first corps program (of which, he deflected blame and labeled it "the zero corps).... or his failure to produce an updated pfal class (PFAL '77). His enablers and inner circle would obfuscate the failures/details and keep the wierwille-mystique alive. The corps were to blame, at times, for some of his failings or "prophecies." All those Camp Gunnison prophecies of a unique western-style restaurant on the hillside, retirement cabins and center for elder corps, a dynamic summer-fun family camps, etc. .... fell to the wayside because the corps didn't believe. When more corps began exiting by 1977 and 1978, wierwille started sending out his personal corps letters to the corps household. He opined that corps were leaving him....... accusing corps of forsaking him. Purging --- looking back, I see that purging the ranks has ALWAYS been one of wierwille's hallmark traits. Narcissists, like petty tyrants...... cannot allow dissent to build. From 1957-1972, vpw struggled to pay the bills and build a following. So, when Perez, Heefner, Doop, and others were having great success, it threatened his (vpw's) backwater teachings at the brc. The youth movements DID NOT NEED WIERWILLE.... life and the power of God were moving mightily without him. Thus, the little narcissist did the thing that authoritarians do. He purged the "rogue leaders" and set the channels of leadership into the hands of establishment control: his corps leaders. Then, the vows of silence (cover-up) were issued. Move on. No talking about this power-grab and purge. Same thing happened with the three 8th corps who did "rogue research" in 1978. Wierwille had them purged from the corps. Wierwille fumed about this for months. Those who were on the research team like Charlene witnessed the core deception that twi didn't really do biblical research. In fact, there were several others who were purged thru the years from the research department. See the pattern? It is easily documented that wierwille/twi has been purging leaders since 1969 or so. Also, in the isolated confines of corps campuses and motor coaches, wierwille could PURGE ANY CORPS GIRL who refused his sexual predation and label her "possessed." Cult leaders hold absolute power of purging the ranks whenever they cross his agenda. Long-standing staffers were systematically purged from headquarters ..... and faithful twig coordinators on the field were purged from their positions and replaced with corps-trained sycophants. These purges significantly changed the *old ways* with an aggressive, lockstep agenda. The gentle, God-loving staffers were strategically replaced with the young, brown shirt-loyalists. Many saw the signs and headed for the exit doors (1977-1980). Harry Wierwille died in October 1977. No longer did wierwille have his older brother around to look over his shoulder. Some have indicated on GSC that this, too, allowed wierwille to be unleashed. His narcissism, mixed with sexual predation, was racing against the clock. Wierwille was 60 years old and all those years of heavy drinking were taking its toll. Martindale, too, implemented a series of purges from 1992-2000..... each and every purge added to the fear and frenzied atmosphere at the time. And, many splinter groups went thru iterations of purging others. In fact, CES/STFI was notably altered during their "Momentus" push to cycle people thru that extreme guilt/confession/isolation that targeted and destroyed lives. If it's vague, opaque, incremental, encroaching, accusing, purging....it's probably bad. WE WITHDREW OUR CONSENT. WE EXITED TWI. .

After all the "build up" . . . The literal translation would be that 42 is just a number

"Sky it’s funny I was thinking about this and our training. We were trained product salesmen, no different than traveling around hucking vacuum cleaners or encyclopedias. The parts of our training that helped instill any kind of discipline in me I am thankful for. Of course the overall arching idea of being groomed as a pawn for a selfish hedonists pleasures is the part that is the most difficult to acknowledge for many, some would prefer a seared conscience and false narrative. That part makes me sick." ********************************* chockfull.......I, too, have given lots of thought about our corps training. From what I remember, the corps application form was two or three generic paragraphs detailing the need to be a better leader to equip the corps for "a lifetime of Christian service." Standard verses were included, italicized and emphasized, to add Christian veneer to the program. But in reality, we were signing over our rights and privileges as individuals and to bow allegiance to the collective assortment of "teachers" and strangers.....er, fellow corps peers in deference to their "spiritual acumen." What did I know, or research, about wierwille's ability to administer and oversee a training program of young adults? Nothing. Having left college to go WOW Ambassador, I simply took the hype and encouragement of a 6th corps grad as a basis of my decision. In this idealistic frame of mind, I had surrendered my reasoning and logic to my "spiritual betters"........to enter an indoctrination program that led to years of cult-subordination, subjugation and self-denial. For me, glimpses of twi's untoward secrecy appeared when wierwille castigated corps grads during corps meetings in 1978 for abandoning him/twi. These were NOT the in-residence corps in "training," but corps grads on the field who, after years of involvement, were refusing ongoing leadership assignments to adapt to their new goals, decisions and career paths. Why the vehement anger from wierwille? My mind still held aspects of my college courses in Business Administration, management and marketing.....asking myself, "What right does wierwille have to demand ANYTHING from these corps grads? They were no longer in the training program, right? They were "out on their own" with a future stretching out before them. I held these thoughts to myself.....but, my thoughts and reasoning were still grounded in the reality that each person has the right to determine his'/her goals and destiny. Holding to these thoughts, I spent time searching the Scriptures to see if my reasoning was sound. I found dozens of accounts in the Gospels and Epistles that supported personal prayer, meditation and individual accountability. No one in twi would dispute that, right? This collective effort to "move the Word" has boundaries and limits that doesn't (or shouldn't) interfere with one's heart and personal relationship with God the Father, right? I came into the corps program as an individual......why would I not be an individual, with individualistic goals when I graduated? Further, it was clear that there was one mediator between God and man..... and it wasn't wierwille or the way ministry. Perhaps, this battle of personal boundaries and goals versus the altruistic, collective demand is not just in the fabric of cults, but in religion itself. Perhaps, it is ever-present in a larger world. But for me.....I found that wierwille's programs, and The Way International itself, treated me like property, like an indentured servant. Did this corps "contract" bind me to work, serve and sacrifice to them for the rest of my life? No. Hell no! But THAT is what they expected and demanded. Year after year, I was expected to be assigned to "go forth in areas of concern, interest and need." Who's concern? Theirs. Who's interest? Theirs. Who's need? Theirs. This was a manipulation of one's consent. Wierwille had devised a program that intimidated our youthful desires and indoctrinated our love for God to vows of a life of twi-servitude. Some saw the red flags early on and exited. Others took years to dismantle this indoctrination and define the proper personal boundaries for themselves against this cult's encroachment or holdings. Some have gone to their grave self-sacrificing never to unravel the mysticism of their overlords. After the "fog years"..... there was a freshness, a surge of simplicity and respect. Could it be that we had been measuring worth and commitment under the auspices of wierwillism? Perhaps, now..... Craig, Don and Howard will reflect on the systematizing of errors, the ludicrous loyalty oath, and hoist a new flag of "member in particular in the One Body of Christ?" Could we possibly in 1989/1990 be on the threshold of revival and restoration in God's Name? · For by one spirit we are baptized into one body [ I Cor. 12: 13 ] · Now God has set the members, every one, as it has pleased Him. Just when I'd accepted a new assignment as Oklahoma Limb Coordinator in August 1992 .......... I began to see the entrenchment of the old ways of wierwille's system resurface again. Each year to follow, the mass formation collectivism in twi grew in direct proportion to martindale's ego, a jockstrap mentality of "us versus them." Thankfully, I was 900 miles away and this distance provided a barrier, for awhile, of this centralized encroachment (again). But for all of us who know twi's failings, each year from 1992 onward escalated its cultish approach across every boundary line......personal, marriage, family, career. Anything that detracted from twi's agenda of control was targeted. Twi was indeed anti-family, anti-career, anti-Christian. One of the most effective weapons in their arsenal was *The Purge.* If you didn't attend the "new" advanced class, then you would be PURGED from the roster of advanced class grads. Unproductive people were purged. Even spiritual suspicion was relegated to a manifestation of the spirit. Homo purge. If you were known to be listening to old wineskin tapes and music from the "cop-outs"..... then you would be effectively be put on probation with the threat of being purged from the twi-household. The overlords spoke it into being.......and thus, obedience to the collective was mandated and mandatory, or else. The mission of "Word over the World" was updated to "The Prevailing Word." Mission creep. Every standard was upgraded. History of errors that got us to this point were negated. New themes were pronounced from central headquarters and needed to be followed without critical thought or dissent. Incremental steps of compliance. Incremental steps of control. What the twi-bureaucracy took away, they never gave back. Enough compliance was never enough. Then, in 1995.....the Granddaddy Purge of all, "All Corps Mandated to Full-Time Service." Twi needs you as a full-time minister in this prevailing decade of service. Rev. Martindale received revelation from God, doncha know? If you do not commit, then you are no longer a corps graduate. That signed diploma doesn't mean squat.....get it? Now, jump! All committed corps need to sign on the line. No, no..... you don't need to ask a thousand questions, we've got it covered. We'll put you on payroll and take care of your needs. Promise. Expect great things. God is behind this. We are going to see this prevailing word move like never before. Yes, I've written all this in my story "Insanity on Steroids." And yet, I see the same incremental and encroachment steps from wierwille's past (1957-1982) and rivenbark's encroachment (2000-2017)..... and incremental encroachment in the world at large. These truisms are found everywhere there are lords, tyrants, dictators and narcissists. Individual responsibility and personal boundaries are fundamental to freedom from cults and splinter groups. How many times does one need to be re-taught fundamental truths while sending tithes and offerings to church/cult leaders who pontificate mandates from on high when ascertaining scriptures is readily available? If it's vague, opaque, incremental, encroaching, accusing, purging....it's probably bad. Thanks for reading. .

Traveling salesman shifting assignments upon a whim, the agreement of a couple in a back room somewhere far away from any rational scrutiny or common knowledge or voting system like the RnR folks who were marked and avoided suggested. Most of the areas I was in had common characteristics. There were good hearted Christian souls. But pretty much it seemed like about half of the people 50% or so to me were those who had previously been through the Way Corps training, were now Inactive and unhappy. They would target active ones and look for any opportunity to complain or not work with them. Not much possible to do in those situations. That is all fallout due to shifting standards for what they called Way Corps, irrational acts by megalomaniac leaders - I mean the damn most ridiculously stupid thing was reason for many of these people to be dropped from Corps with all of the stigma and bad feelings attached. So a largely unhappy group even of the ones that still are there. And many hanging on to nostalgia for good old days. I just have to say reflecting my choice led me into the Way and God knew my heart and led me out of the Way in His time. And He sees my heart and commitment to Him not some fake damn cult.

And....it was worse than THAT. Many of us corps were assigned every 3 or 4 years to move to another state. From our meager bank accounts, we paid for the U-hauls, the upfront deposits, moving expenses and any incurred storage fees. Upon arrival, we found grads who were hurt and withdrawn as a result of bullying by the departing corps "leader." So, we rolled up our sleeves and toiled to regain their trust, respect and commitment to standards of moral and spiritual integrity. These gains were achieved by perseverance. Acquiring suitable secular employment was no easy task in a new state. Oftentimes, we didn't have references or recommendations to ease the transition. Needing to "hit the ground running," we had little time to find good secular employment so we'd settle for less....with the prospect of more. Is there any wonder why many corps moved in the circles of self-employment.....painting, landscaping, roofing, window cleaning, commissioned salesperson, etc..... when wierwille demanded ALL CORPS attend Corps Week and ROA each year? These directives exponentially burdened the corps. With each passing year, the central mandates and burdens from hq mounted. Add babies, toddlers and bills to pay....Oh, My! It was not just the secular job, but all the responsibilities that we were expected to juggle in the circus act. Witnessing. Teaching. Running Classes. Paperwork. How could the trunk office staff be SO OBTUSE to this groundswell of abuse leveled at the field corps? No Region, Trunk or Corps Coordinator had the gonads to tell wierwille (or martindale) that field corps could not keep pace with his narcissistic demands. Yeah....those jackasses that strut the halls of the OSC Building are the administrative pencil-pushers and looters of the productive. While many of us went into worn-torn states, toiled 70-80 hour weeks and saw God's grace and power in action......the directors, with their greedy-beady eyes, stashed more cash into twi-coffers. Robbing the areas of their strength and ability to grow and prosper....rather than keeping 85% in the state to use for operating expenses, room, building, etc. [agreement that Jimmy Doop outlined with wierwille]. This centralized funneling of abundant sharing to headquarters has been plundering states and areas since its devious inception. If you ever want to grasp the magnitude of how destructive these cult mandates were to the corps, just look at the massive exodus of field branch, area and limb coordinators. THOSE are the men and women who toiled in the trenches to help others until they could no longer withstand the financial burdens, the plundering from hq in God's name, the bullying and spiritual abuse. Not the staffers at hq. Not the advanced class grads ensconced in good-paying secular employment. The field corps. That's why ruthless directors at HQ are clamoring to have these seasoned field leaders return .

It was worse than that. We worked secular jobs that we couldn't focus on to earn money to pay for rent for a large enough home to hold church meetings in. Then on top of that we sent in tithes and offerings from those earnings. All so we could have the privilege to work a fulltime non paid job doing all the leg work so jackasses in high towers can act important and make policy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why 95% of their leadership training graduates have fled for more rational endeavors.

Except that we worked without commission.

Sky it’s funny I was thinking about this and our training. We were trained product salesmen, no different than traveling around hucking vacuum cleaners or encyclopedias. The parts of our training that helped instill any kind of discipline in me I am thankful for. Of course the overall arching idea of being groomed as a pawn for a selfish hedonists pleasures is the part that is the most difficult to acknowledge for many, some would prefer a seared conscience and false narrative. That part makes me sick. I can actually look at most genuine acts I had during that period as a minister to be outside that framework and pattern rather than perpetuating it.

Perhaps, I was a recalcitrant recruit when I went in-residence corps in 1978.......I should not have gone corps. Within six weeks of this "training program"..... my inner conscience was skeptical of its methods. This certainly was deeply regimented compared to my college days..... not that I expected such freelance activity and bar hopping, per se. LOL. But geez, why were we rehashing thru the foundational pfal-stuff again? Dale Carnegie techniques to selling and motivate others? Retemories in your shirt pocket and be ready to recite a specific verse upon command.....in public? Generic health, fitness and well-being classes including menstrual cycles, ovulation and mucus method? Knowles breathing attendance in the wierwille library at 5:30am? Jet-style packing, really? Each twig and/or branch coordinator will require you to keep forms up-to-date. Floss charts. Aerobic points. Monthly budget report ($20 was maximum allowed to be spent each month). Writing your sponsors faithfully. Roll call attendance for all meetings when we weren't assigned to twig-assemble. Why all these FILLER classes and activities??? I guess that I thought going in-residence would be a step up from the advanced class, no? You know, all that emphasis on the revelation manifestations (word of knowledge, word of wisdom and discerning of spirits) AND the action manifestations (faith, miracles and healings). Maybe, I was just TOO IMPATIENT..... those teachings, and specifics, will be taught after we move thru the "walking to running" stages. Surely, there's going to be MORE than just this???? Nope.....there wasn't. Even when wierwille came to Emporia, I thought that we'd really see something special. Heck, "the man of God" was on campus for several days and his motor coach was parked behind Wierwille Library. He's well rested and well served at the lunch head table. Anything that he summoned was delivered to him promptly. He's been show double-honor with every protocol......so, tonight we are going to see ACTION, can't wait. And then, another tepid teaching. Ugh. The times when wierwille became most highly animated and angered were when confrontations were dished out to dissenting corps. Wierwille snuffed out questioning dissent in his corps program.......and the dissenter. Good people, good leaders walk away......because THIS was not education, THIS was indoctrination. THIS was not excellence in Christian education......THIS was vile indoctrination. .

Yep, "madness" to do that stuff in corps training......for sure. BUT also......it was "madness" to slander (i.e. character assassinations) leaders who were running back-to-back classes. Where was the outpouring of joy and excitement for peoples' deliverance from the devil's kingdom? Where was the support and thankfulness shown to those who were serving and ministering on the streets of hardened cities? Where were the testimonials.....bringing these leaders into hq to teach the 2nd and 3rd corps to give the best training and expertise possible? Why would wierwille "take a dagger" to these men's work and energized ministries? How incredibly short-sighted, selfish and narcissistic one must be to have such tunnel-vision? So, it really wasn't about "moving the word over the world" ...... it WAS ABOUT consolidating the power, control and money at wierwille's fingertips. How did that work out, mister wierwille? Sure, power-grabbing the movements of Perez, Doop, Heefner, etc. brought money into the coffers at hq..... and maybe, a groundswell of young folk were duped into going into the corps (1976-1986)......And???? And then what? Selling off 4 corps campuses years later.....at reduced prices. Pathetic, anemic signups for classes and corps.....for decades. Plus, a hollowed-out empty echo chambered auditorium at headquarters.....er, DEADquarters....ppfffttt. Go ahead, eat your dollar bills with soup and crackers. Surely, wierwille would embrace and honor scripture over selfish agendas, wouldn't he? What about his legacy? Oh, that's right...... wierwille had no concept that an internet would arrive on the scene and expose all his secrets and "good name." A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1 .