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Does he honestly think that believers in TWI are the only ones who "pray in " the new year? Really? Millions (or maybe billions?) of Christians worldwide do this. "The impact is yet to be fully realized, but I imagine the results will reach far and wide towards the deliverance of God's people and the advancement of the Word." Our church took a hike on NY Day to a high viewpoint over the central city and the northern suburbs. We stood as a group and prayed over the city and its people. We prayed for peace in the city, and for all who live, work and otherwise enjoy the city, including the millions of tourists we receive each year. We prayed for church leaders locally, nationally and worldwide, and for world leaders. We prayed for countries in conflict. We prayed for ways to reach out to those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. We prayed for ourselves, for better understanding, more wisdom, and such like, so as to know the Lord better and to know how to reach out better. We did not pray only for "God's people" and for "the advancement of the Word" [aka TWI's version of the Word]. We prayed for people to come to the Lord, to get to know him - by whatever means, through whatever church. Then, we went back to church, sang a few hymns of praise, prayed some more, and enjoyed holy communion. And then lots of fellowship with each other. A better way to start the new year, methinks.

Thank you, T-Bone for your humility and honesty when sharing on GSC. Two verses came to mind after reading your post. 1) But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere (*simple) and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Cor 11:3 (NIV) *Bible Hub gives the Greek word for “sincere” as haplotés meaning singleness, hence simplicity 2) in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the **unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not *dawn upon them. 2 Cor 4:4 (ASV) * Bible Hub gives the Greek word for “dawn upon” as augasai meaning beam forth **I’m taking the word “unbelieving” and applying Rom 10:14a (NIV) to it: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” __________ Thank you, T-Bone for your humility and honesty when sharing on GSC. Two verses came to mind after reading your post. 1) But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere (*simple) and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Cor 11:3 (NIV) *Bible Hub gives the Greek word for “sincere” as haplotés meaning singleness, hence simplicity 2) in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the **unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not *dawn upon them. 2 Cor 4:4 (ASV) * Bible Hub gives the Greek word for “dawn upon” as augasai meaning beam forth **I’m taking the word “unbelieving” and applying Rom 10:14a (NIV) to it: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” __________ That is how I feel about most of my time in twi. I did not hear about a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” nor did the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” beam forth. Instead their devotion to Christ was deluted to the utmost degree and the glory of Christ was obscured all because of their laser focus on all things "vp." Who orchestrated all this? Both verses reveal the answer – the serpent’s cunning and the god of this world. What does that say about twi?! I trust Psalm 40:1,2 for deliverance from all things "vp": "I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

Of the many exceptional leaders we served alongside throughout our military careers, the consistent attribute that made them great was that they took absolute ownership—Extreme Ownership—not just of those things for which they were responsible, but for everything that impacted their mission. These leaders cast no blame. They made no excuses. Instead of complaining about challenges or setbacks, they developed solutions and solved problems. They leveraged assets, relationships, and resources to get the job done. Their own egos took a back seat to the mission and their troops. These leaders truly led. [unlike Mistletoe Mike] In the years since we left active duty, we have worked with multitudes of business professionals, from senior executives to frontline managers, across a vast range of industries, including finance, construction, manufacturing, technology, energy, retail, pharmaceutical, health care, and also, military, police, fire departments, and emergency first responders. The most successful men and women we’ve seen in the civilian world practice this same breed of Extreme Ownership. Likewise, the most successful high-performance teams we’ve worked with demonstrate this mind-set throughout their organizations. Since the publication of Extreme Ownership, we’ve heard from readers across the United States and around the world whose lives have been strongly impacted for good. They’ve told us how implementing its principles changed their lives and made them better: a more productive employee, a more supportive spouse, or a more engaged parent. Once people stop making excuses, stop blaming others, and take ownership of everything in their lives, they are compelled to take action to solve their problems. They are better leaders, better followers, more dependable and actively contributing team members, and more skilled in aggressively driving toward mission accomplishment. But they’re also humble—able to keep their egos from damaging relationships and adversely impacting the mission and the team. We’ve heard countless stories about how applying these combat leadership principles have helped readers accomplish what others, or even they themselves, had previously thought impossible. Extreme Ownership has helped people all over the world launch a successful company or nonprofit, receive a major promotion, land a better job with greater responsibility and more opportunity for growth, hit numbers far beyond expectations, achieve special recognition as an exceptional team member, or accomplish their goals, whatever they may be. Every day we hear new stories—different people, different businesses, different industries. The details change. The characters are diverse. There are always slight differences in the way things unfold. But their outcomes are ultimately the same. “I can’t believe how well that works” is a common response. The principles are simple, but not easy. Taking ownership for mistakes and failures is hard. But doing so is key to learning, to developing solutions, and, ultimately, to victory... Willink, Jocko; Babin, Leif. Extreme Ownership . St. Martin's Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

I was always suspicious of victor's concepts of pistis, faith, believing. My questions were usually met with exasperated sighs by my fellowship commander (FC). He, my FC, asserted the claim that "beleeeving" is something we do and "faith" is something we have - a/the measure of. Juedes reveals victor's superficial grasp of Greek when he briefly explains the objective genitive. I brought up the genitive case dilemma of subjective vs. objective a couple months ago in Doctrinal. Couldn't find any traction there. Juedes also brings up a common, persistent, childish error of victor's: "He (victor) writes, 'the original text read,' ..." A reminder: we don't have the autographs. It's devilishly misleading to assert an opinion as fact the way victor does. The "original text" is a mental invention of victor. To be fooled by his seductive concept requires only that one BELEEEVES.

I do enjoy your input T-Bone, This three part team, Father, Proginy . . . shouldn't there be a Mother? When God-Breathed into Adam the Hebrew word used was feminine, if I recall correctly. (ruach Elohim) https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/feminine-imagery-god-hebrew-bible/

I'm also of the opinion the meaning of a "sexual deviant" changes over the years. The practices in "cults" are less shocking as time has gone by. Because what goes on outside of cults is often more shocking.

This reminds me of something that happened when I was out street-pastoring in the city. This drunk male approached our team of four. We were all from different churches, and three different denominations. He started sounding off about how terrible the Christian message is. He said: "You all believe ..." Us: "Actually, no we don't. We believe..." Then he said: "You all believe ..." And we said: "Actually, no we don't. We believe..." And during our 20 minute encounter, with one voice (but separately) we proclaimed God's love, the Lord Jesus, the grace that's given to us, and other good news. The drunk male ambled off after a while. And the team went the other direction, chuckling at this man's ramblings, misunderstandings, accusations, etc. Because we were all solidly of one heart and mind in being within, and expressing, God's love. Quit with the rigid theological tramlines, Mike. Explore a bit. Get out of the box. If you are in some theological box with God, your God is way too small. Or maybe, "Way too small." "Meditate on the scriptures" - you can look up your own Bible verses on that, but here's your starter-for-ten: But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19). So you see: Mary, Jesus's mother, "pondered," considered, allowed herself to think deeply. You are not "out of fellowship" or destined for a fall ("like Eve") if you think, consider, ponder, meditate, try to understand (like Mary). You might even find yourself more deeply in fellowship - with God.

Yes this direction retains Jesus as Lord in your life as opposed to the ego based anti Christ VPW idolatry. This direction holds promise for all true seed farmers. The fake tree of life planters can get lost along with the Mormon missionaries and JW bondage based door knockers and cartoon philosophers in the Watchtower society.

One of the challenges is what do we replace the collaterals with? There is no “package” of plagiarized material we can offer people in a class format here. We don’t have the luxury here of 80 years of refining of the Kool Aid snowstorm story so that it then still doesn’t add up and you have to remove the account of it from the bookstore. This is a prime opportunity for each believer to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. I do like the direction of thought and development in these posts here with respect to replacing the GP doctrine with something that flows more with the rest of scriptures and includes fellow Christians as opposed to the Kool Aid snowstorm steal material and isolate followers model. What don’t we have? A fully assembled McWay drive thru where you can order a McPLAF combo and be on your way to adult onset Spiritual diabetes in 5 minutes. Nice work on true research - replacing illogic with logic.

Hey someone was shamed into calling the Way publications role that checks for consistency with past published works a research department. If for nothing else it is to make all of the claims here invalid about not having one. I would still say it is a re - search department. To search out the VPW in the Bible. To seek the source of the 1942 promise and re establish the keys to the flocks fleecing I mean the Bible’s interpretation.

then I feel sorry for them, wasting their time like that.

They have a ... a Research Department now? Hmph. One can only ask what credentials, if any, the researchers have. And also, what will come out of any such research. Will they gloss over what doesn't suit them, and twist whatever else there is to support their PoV? Researching pistis. Hmph again. It might help if instead of playing with words, they actually developed some pistis, whether "faith" or "believing" or whatever they want to call it, and put that into action. I mean, genuine, committed compassion in action directed at improving community life, without any element of self-glorification or kudos to themselves.

Hi Charity great questions! I don’t know if I can provide any definitive or satisfactory answers – all I know is to tell you how I go about it - - for me it’s a journey of self-discovery and connecting with others – driven and guided by thoughtful, prayerful, and practical use of Scripture and other inspiring works. I don’t mean to be evasive – just being honest – I have no secret formula. I include Grease Spot Café in the connecting with others…In the 16 years that I have been coming here, my belief system has changed quite a bit – and it continues to be a lot more accommodating than when I was in TWI. The Bible and other stimulating books, music and art are essential for my sense of feeling alive, growing, and finding meaning. *I’ve listed a few books at the end that I’ve found helpful along with some hyperlinks for things to think about. I copied your questions and have them in bold blue font below to distinguish your questions from my answers: (A) Since all of the terms used in this part require a relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who is the Holy Spirit? T-Bone’s response: for want of a better term, I would say the Holy Spirit might be considered the ‘workhouse’ of the ‘group’ – in that “the work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church…He is the one who is most prominently present with us now”, from page 634 of Grudem’s Systematic Theology – * see my list below. I hesitate to say much about the Holy Spirit – and I’ll probably sound like leaders we’re all familiar with if I give some pat answer like “It’s just a walk to find out who He is” – but it goes along the same lines of your thread How does God work in us – we experience the Holy Spirit in our walk – our day-to-day handling of everything on our plate – and it’s different for everyone. I don’t think you can have a class on how God works in us. Gifts energized by the Spirit may feel like something so easy to do …you might think they come naturally for you – but gifts are supernatural – and evidence of God’s active presence in the world…in the church…through you! Covers a lot of ground. The ministry presented a very limited palette to work with – take your pick – operate all 9 all the time and maybe you have a couple of gift ministries too…In an earlier post I mentioned passages that widened the scope of possibilities: New International Version if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach…Romans 12:7 There are teachers who not only inform – but connect and inspire their students to learn…there are mental health professionals who do more than learn just academics and protocols – they empathize with their patients...there are people who simply enjoy being of service to others – they love what they do. Something to think about - reconciling humility with self-worth (* see hyperlinks below) - kinda relates to our journey of self-discovery ~ ~ ~ ~ Does the Holy Spirit have a distinct existence making it a partnership or team of 3? T-Bone’s response: yes, I believe so – going on how Jesus talked about Him in gospel of John 14, 15, & 16…thus we have a …dare I say it – a Trinity. TWI made that a dirty word. For me it’s just a clumsy attempt to explain something that is incomprehensible. My two-bit analogy of how ‘the team’ works is as follows: It seems to me that Jesus Christ is the star of the show. He draws us in. He is relatable. But every song He sings is about His Father. Like Father, like Son! Ah, but no one usually thinks about the producer (the Holy Spirit). He is responsible for the overall sound of the concert. He supervises everything – makes sure it’s the perfect list of songs appropriate to this particular audience – somehow managing to have the words go right to the heart of someone – and to each and every listener it seems like there’s only two people in this venue – the listener and the singer on stage, Jesus Christ. ~ ~ ~ ~ (B) Since I Cor 12, 13 & 14 suggest a "working" relationship between the Holy Spirit and a believer, are we to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit? T-Bone’s response: That’s a tough question! I never thought about that before…it’s odd that the Bible doesn’t tell us much of how to relate to God or the Holy Spirit – what the Bible shows us is that Christ is the key in all relationships: New International Version The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3 Amplified Bible He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. Colossians 1:15 Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2 ~ ~ ~ ~ *helpful books and relevant hyperlinks; note, some books listed are newer editions than the ones I have: Knowing God (The IVP Signature Collection): Packer, J. I., Vanhoozer, Kevin J.: 9780830848614: Amazon.com: Books Jesus: Lord & Savior (Jesus Library) by F. F. Bruce (1986-06-21): Amazon.com: Books Keep in step with the Spirit: J. I Packer: 9780800713829: Amazon.com: Books Understanding the Bible: John Stott: 9780310414315 - Christianbook.com All the books above are a quick read – and I still review them periodically; if going deeper into theology is something of interest, you might want to check out Systematic Theology, Second Edition: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine: Grudem, Wayne A.: 9780274840472: Amazon.com: Books False Humility | Psychology Today Reconciling Humility and Self-Worth in the Age of Ego - Ruminate Magazine What is Cultural Humility? The Basics | Equity and Inclusion (uoregon.edu)

I didn't know Genesis 41:43 was the proof text for the 2nd time establishes it! In that case... Luke records two crucified with Jesus. Matthew recorded it first. Luke is 2nd. That establishes it.

Jocko is the real deal. The principles he sets forth are true. This mindset is as throughly effectual today as it was in Ancient Greece -- and way more effectual than blaming devil spirits for any and everything.

Hi T-Bone, Since receiving the holy spirit is essential for our ability to walk in Christ’s love and power, I believe it is important to understand what Jesus is saying about the spirit of truth in John 14-16. I have broken your previous 3 posts into part (A) and part (B) A) You’ve used the following words to define a general principle of how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit inexplicably work together: - Teamwork - Collaboration - Fundamental interrelationship - Supernatural partnership I am mindful that you used the word 'inexplicably' to describe how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit work together in each of us. In other words, how the 3 work together is inexplicable - cannot be explained. B) In reference to I Corinthians 12, 13 & 14, you indicate it’s the Holy Spirit who does the distributing and empowering. You also said to study these chapters without the PFAL-filter and leave the rest up to you and the Holy Spirit. My questions for each part are: (A) Since all of the terms used in this part require a relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who is the Holy Spirit? Does the Holy Spirit have a distinct existence making it a partnership or team of 3? (B) Since I Cor 12, 13 & 14 suggest a "working" relationship between the Holy Spirit and a believer, are we to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit?

The salient question for today regards Mistletoe Mike, a GSC parasite, declining to embrace the real challenge he has told us about himself. He wants to see TWI become the organization he has always envisioned. He first came to us in December 2002, as a gnat to be swatted perhaps, hoping to hijack the mission of GSC to meet his ends. Mike's vision may be noble, but it is incongruent with GSC. He has received pushback but by no means the kind of vitriol he might if he were to enter the lion's den of TWI iniquity. His goals may be noble, but to achieve them, he must become a leader IN twi, not simply a GSC parasite. Having ideas is not the same as inspiring change. There's plenty of inspiration in the bible for developing the will and stature of a mighty leader able to bring others along with him to the promised land of PFLAP ecstasy. But for two decades, Mistletoe Mike has taken the easy road and all he's accomplished was to annoy GSC netizens. Alas, maybe I'm simply jumping to contusions.

Part 2: Why does exercising a God-given ability have to be so complicated? On the reasons Why PFAL sucks thread, reason # 107 addresses the delusion that wierwille saw himself as the self-appointed distributor of the abilities of the Holy Spirit. From - here where I asked the question why does exercising a God-given ability have to be so complicated? Excerpts from the authorized book on TWI, titled “The Way Living in Love” (by Elena S. Whiteside, co 1972, American Christian Press, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-89132), Whiteside is interviewing wierwille, pages 195ff: I begin asking Doctor questions, “But what was the event that happened before you led Amil Schaffner into receiving the holy spirit? What happened?” “I guess that day was the second most important event in my life – after the day that God spoke to me in that old dentist’s office in Payne – the day I received into manifestation the holy spirit and spoke in tongues. I had been searching for years for more understanding of the Word, of the power we have in Christ Jesus. I’d tried all kinds of denominations, all kinds of trips. I’d gone to Pentecostal groups, to all kinds. I can’t remember them all.” “I had worked all 385 verses in the Bible that spoke of the Holy Spirit. I knew very verse from memory. I had seen in the book of Acts how they spoke in tongues, and I’d gone to every group I’d heard of that I thought might give me more light on it”… …“ I’d asked the greatest minds, theologians, in the country about receiving the holy spirit. No one could help me. I just knew that all I was seeing was flesh, not spirit.”… … ”…was the winter of 1951. I flew to Tulsa, checked into the hotel, and went over to where the meeting was that night. It was a big rally. I met someone, told him my need, and he got all excited. He said he’d introduce me to some great men. They’d lay hands on me and lead me into tongues.” “So before the meeting they got together, nine great men, in one room. They started praying, then three or four laid hands on me, and finally one of them said, ‘Speak another language.’ So, I spoke in Greek. I quoted the first chapter of John. Well, they started jumping up and down. They thought it was great. They didn’t know Greek. They said I had received and told me to speak another language.” “So I did. I spoke in Hebrew – quoted from Genesis, and they just got all excited, congratulating themselves about it.” “But in my heart, I knew I wasn’t speaking in tongues. You see, they’d just told me to speak in another language.; they never taught me or showed me the accuracy of the Word on this. They said ‘another language’ and I spoke another language.” “At the big meeting that night one of the men stood up and told the two to three thousand that the had just led an Evangelical and Reformed minister from Van Wert into tongues. He was on an ego trip about it, but I was just sick of the whole thing. Sick of the lying. I knew it was a lie. I was ready to go home.” “…there was a blizzard in Tulsa…The city was snowbound. I just couldn’t get out!” …”The next morning, I still hadn’t left town. I went to breakfast at the hotel…a woman came over to me, and said, ‘I think God sent a man here to meet your need. Meet me at 9 a.m.’ I thought, ‘Women never tell the truth.’ But then I reconsidered, since I was stuck in town anyway. So I decided to meet her.” “I got to the place she said at 9a.m. and there she was. She introduced me to a man named J.E. Stiles. He’d come in from the West Coast. A few days before, God had told him to go to Tulsa to minister the holy spirit to one man. We talked for a few minutes, and he suggested we go into the rally to hear Oral Roberts and then meet for lunch.” “So that’s what we did. At lunchtime Stiles came in with his wife and the pianist. I just remember thinking to myself, ‘There aren’t going to be any women around when I get the holy spirit.’ I was just watching and waiting. Lunch was kind of light talk – we talked about Oral Roberts, the Holy Spirit, lots of stuff. When we were done, I pecked up the check, and then Stiles turned to his wife and said, ‘Honey, I’m going with VP.’ She said something to him like, ‘How long will you be?’ And he said, ‘That’s none of your business.’ That was it, my opinion of him as a man went up 99 percent. His stature increased in my eyes, just from the way he handled her.” “We left the women and went up to my room. Stiles began to teach me from Acts 2:1-4, and many other verses…We worked till 3 p.m. Finally, I believed and spoke in tongues. I didn’t know the language. It was like a burning light…” “You see, learning is a process. You don’t learn overnight. The holy spirit field – that’s the field God raised me up for. There’s not a question that cannot be answered biblically. And there’s no one I can’t lead into speaking in tongues if they are Christian and want to do it." End of excerpts ~ ~ ~ ~ Another thing that stuck out to me was wierwille’s comment “You don’t learn overnight.” That’s true – but in reference to the abilities that the Holy Spirit distributes – nothing needs to be taught. I Corinthians 12, 13 & 14 indicate it’s the Holy Spirit who does the distributing and empowering. Besides that – some other big points of those chapters are that Christians are to do all with the proper attitude and it should be orderly with a view to the benefit of the body of believers in that local church. And the last paragraph of excerpts exemplifies what a know-it-all cult-leader sounds like. wierwille said “that’s the field God raised me up for. There’s not a question that cannot be answered biblically. And there’s no one I can’t lead into speaking in tongues if they are Christian and want to do it.” So, why does exercising a God-given ability have to be so complicated? Contrary to what wierwille taught - it’s not! Study I Corinthians 12, 13 & 14 without the PFAL-filter and leave the rest up to you and the Holy Spirit . That is the simplicity of the Holy Spirit’s way. It’s NOT based on self-determination once you learn certain steps, like what wierwille led many to believe…as if a man in-person, in a book or speaking in an audio or video PFAL class could confer on you a supernatural ability or teach you how to exercise it. I Corinthians 12, 13, & 14 address primarily varieties in speaking gifts. A case can be made that certain of these gifts were limited to the apostolic age to authenticate the apostles and their gospel message. We have God’s written Word - its unique origin, purpose, authority besides being superintended by the Holy Spirit endow it with a self-authenticating feature. The Word of God has authority in itself, and consequently does not rely upon external sources to verify its infallibility; and besides - there are other gifts of the Spirit intended for service: Romans 12:3-8 I Corinthians 7:7 Ephesians 4:7-16 I Peter 4:11 Just think about this – in PFAL wierwille said “the Word takes the place of the absent Christ”. Wow wee wow! So not only ignore the prime directive (tell others about Christ) let’s pretend the one who issued that directive is not around…The Way International is a pseudo-Christian cult – they sprinkle Jesus Christ’s name here and there like an incompetent cook would try to disguise an unpalatable meal. That’s all for now, folks

Part 1: What’s the Story? It’s God’s Word that helps us understand the operation of the gift of holy spirit. We can operate the gift God has given us, manifesting power with an impact. We can make things happen! Let’s live a powerful and more abundant life for God. Excerpt from The Way International - Operating the Gift of Holy Spirit ~ ~ ~ ~ These last four sentences of TWI’s article are the same old storyline wierwille designed for his ‘ministry’. I just don’t see that as a biblical imperative for the church. What church? Oh, any church – any part of the body of Christ…so…uhm I guess the church in general going all the way back to its inception. Jesus Christ’s prime directive in Acts 1:8 is actually quite simple: New International Version But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” New Living Translation But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Amplified Bible But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” Receiving power from the Holy Spirit enables believers to carry out their mission – telling others about Jesus Christ! ~ ~ ~ ~ To reiterate stuff I said in my previous post regarding John 14, 15 and 16, Jesus was talking about the supernatural partnership of the Father, the Holy Spirit and Himself – and most of it appears to be a forward-looking two-pronged approach – pointing to Pentecost and beyond – The Father will reveal Himself in Christ through the Holy Spirit – most Bible scholars understand this prophecy of Jesus as a reference to the New Testament writings: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you…John 14: 26 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you…John 16: 13 - 15 These passages speak to the ‘teamwork’ of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit to inspire the New Testament writings. Regarding where we are at now as Christians in the 21st century with hardcopies and electronic versions of the Bible - these passages of John also allude to the fundamental interrelationship of how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit inexplicably work together in each of us to help us better understand / apply Scripture and use our particular gifts to serve others…and in light of Jesus Christ’s prime directive – it’s all about Christ. Telling others about Him… …Bringing others to Him in our evangelizing efforts. It’s not about witnessing for PFAL Today or getting someone signed up for PFAL Today. TWI continues wierwille’s skewed narrative of uninformed Christians needing to be taught how to operate the holy spirit – “It’s God’s Word that helps us understand the operation of the gift of holy spirit. We can operate the gift God has given us, manifesting power with an impact. We can make things happen! Let’s live a powerful and more abundant life for God.”… Oh really? How did the church ever manage all those years since the 1st century without wierwille’s help? “We can make things happen!” …oh really? Other than the last session of PFAL when wierwille convinces new students to follow his instructions to move their lips, tongue and mouth and to NOT THINK about what they’re saying – what other things do TWI-followers and TWI-leaders make happen? You know, you can’t fake miracles and gifts of healing. ~ ~ ~ ~ I got involved with TWI in 1974. I was a college student, musician and artist – and being into the counterculture of the time – I bought into the narrative of wierwille being a maverick led by God to get us back to the glories of 1st century. To escape the mental prison of a harmful and controlling pseudo-Christian cult like The Way International, I had to take it upon myself to change the narrative…I read a thoughtful article about that today – the article is addressed to stepparents and not cult-survivors – but the process is still the same: If you think about ‘changing the narrative,’ think about the movie, Jaws. In that movie, everything centers on this predisposed fear around the narrative of sharks and why they’re scary. Basically, what this means is that our FEAR can be directly linked to our first introduction and mental images of the narrative we’ve been conditioned to believe as true. Isn’t this the same for family dynamics? Whatever we’re used to, whatever we’ve been told — that becomes our norm, our narrative. And it all starts with this unhealthy (and sometimes not even true) perspective. In order to change the perspective, you have to change the narrative. As a stepparent, I don’t want to be compared, labeled, or seen as anything else other than someone who stepped up and committed to the journey. Over the past ten years, I have worked so hard to build trust within my family. But I was only successful because I chose to be different in my approach as a stepfather. I wanted to challenge the norm, the narrative, and the way I valued myself. Once I did that, my entire journey shifted. That’s my challenge to every stepparent who comes across our page — let’s change the narrative — together. Just because you’ve heard (or even experienced the ‘evil stepparent’ mindset before doesn’t mean it has to be something that continues. The change starts with you. From: What Does It Mean To 'Change The Narrative'? - Step By Step Parents For the church the narrative should be all about Jesus Christ Individually, we each have a variety of stories to tell. How we met our significant other. How having kids changed things. How we learned an instrument, a skill, the ups and downs of a career, how we made changes to our belief system – and of course how we escaped a cult. If we’re truthful…honest – changing the narrative is somewhat difficult and tedious – but so much more fulfilling than buying into the make-believe world of wierwille / PFAL. ~ ~ ~ ~ Coming soon to a Grease Spot near you Part 2: why does exercising a God-given ability have to be so complicated? See you soon

It would mean they came to the truth of the realization that worshipping an idol of VPW is not a viable future for a Christian ministry. It would mean they discarded the old wineskin and were free to seek a new one. It would mean no longer being handcuffed to Baker and Hostetler. It would mean they could tell the truth about the past because they aren’t afraid of the org getting sued. It would mean they are humble enough to see they have no education on the things they are calling themselves expert on and allow them to go to school and actually attend a class that is visible on a transcript. It would mean starting new endeavors with others not bound to their same past. It also would probably mean the end of this website. Which would be fine.

With the internet being *the information highway*...... we are able to relay this information, and dispel twi's misinformation (deception) for anyone who wants to partake. Why does twi WARN THEIR PEOPLE TO STAY OFF THE INTERNET? As corps (who were indoctrinated with lies).... we were repeatedly told twi's history and falsehoods. Then, the most adamant sycophants (loudmouths) went on to leadership positions, ie region coordinators. Yet, how many lies/falsehoods have we uncovered... Wierwille's false proclamation of when twi started (not in 1942, but December 1957). Pikes Peak degree-mill operation Wierwille stole wholesale B.G. Leonard's "Gifts of the Spirit" class (1953) Documented many accounts of vpw's serial plagiarism. Flaws/blunders taught in pfal. Flaws/blunders in building the auditorium. Deception, manipulation, and exploitation of corps program. Picking martindale because he ALWAYS obeyed vp (wrong criteria for picking leader) Wierwille's character of bully, striker, impatient, intemperate come forward. Wierwille's death certificate is examined (another thing twi tried to hide). Etc. etc. Practical, common sense critical thinking analysis on all of these threads. Far from wayspeak.... this is the KIND OF INFORMATION THAT SETS PEOPLE FREE FROM INDOCTRINATION. Peace.

Thanks guys….. life is good, all is well. It’s good to see GSC continuing to sound the alarm as we move into the 2023 new year. Even though twi tries to guilt advanced class grads and corps to *come back to leadership roles*…. that horse don’t ride anymore. GSC’s impact has traveled FAR and WIDE. All who’ve contributed to this effort….I raise my glass in salute to you. We are on the right side of this, while twi hides in the shadows of evil.

Those of us who exited twi, AND have now done extensive background research on the cult (as opposed to being carried away by youthful groupthink and peer pressure).....maintain strong convictions of the manipulation and exploitation from the cult. It is my belief that most will recognize the early warning signs of an abusive relationship, sound the alarm for others and stay away. Many of us were deeply entrenched in the programs and networking of this cult. Whether it was WOW, Fellow Laborers, or Way Corps.....we saw the underpinnings that were non-Christian or pseudo-Christian, at best. The higher up the hierarchy, the more Pharisaic the cult's colors show thru. And, when wierwille enters the spotlight of Scriptural scrutiny, the drunkenness, serial plagiarism, bullying, striker, sexual predation, misogynic undertones, etc.....put him in the category of a man of the flesh. While there are still some who idolize wierwille, and post on GSC......their drumbeating of "this great man" is falling on deaf ears. As adults, we've moved on to the weightier matters of Scriptural integrity....or pursuits in life, career and family that give fulfillment. We see thru twi's deceptive scam that is played on the youth. We stay true to our own personal convictions and a core of GSC-posters stay committed to warning others of this evil that lurks near the flock of God. God bless. Happy New Year 2023.