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  1. Hi all! I was brought into TWI by my mother in 2nd grade (about 1992). I stopped attending fellowship as soon as I moved out to go to college in 2002 and haven’t looked back. I was part of fellowships in NC but we also spent one year in WV when I was in 5th grade. We were supposed to go out WOW the year that they canceled it and for whatever reason we (me, Mom, and sister) were placed with another couple of Way Corps people in WV for a year. In 6th/7th grade, I was sexually abused by the adult son of our fellowship coordinators. I told my mother. Rather than informing the authorities, we did what you do in TWI and handled it internally. That process means going to the fellowship leaders for counseling. Unfortunately for me, they were not unbiased. Nor did they have any kind of training to handle such a situation. In the end, it was decided that I was just as much to blame (at 12 years old) as this grown a$$ man. “We” agreed that it was wrong, would never happen again, and moved forward from there. That’s when I stopped believing in God and I’m pretty sure it’s when all of my self esteem and anxiety issues started. Throughout my teen years, I was forced to take the classes, pay for magazine subscriptions, go out “witnessing”, lead/teach fellowship, etc. I faked speaking in tongues because it was something I was supposed to know how to do. I was called out and humiliated for so many things during these crucial years, but was told that it was all done out of love. None of the other kids my age stayed with TWI, and my mom later told me that they refer to us as “the lost generation.” I guess they’ve since taken steps to ensure the younger folk stick around. I have some good memories of the ROA. Being raised by a single mom, we didn’t have many opportunities to go on vacation, so it was our one vacation per year. My parents are still very much involved with TWI and it saddens me. My mom first go involved with it back in the 70s/80s in Northern California and then sought it out again in NC when she was going through a particularly tough time in her life. I get that. I think the part that will take me the rest of my life to recover from is that my mother chose TWI over me and my well-being at the time in my life when I needed her the most. She recently turned me on to the A&E show about Scientology because she wanted me to see how ridiculous other religions are. It brought back sooo many memories about my own experiences and maddened me that she couldn’t see the parallels between Scientology and TWI. Anyway, that’s why I’m here. Sorry for the book! It’s nice to meet you all!
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  2. Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! It’s been fun reading through old posts and seeing some familiar names or hearing about certain events through the eyes of an adult rather than a child.
    1 point
  3. Spectrum49, I enjoyed your thoughtful post - - lot’s of good points and thanks for going back to the first post that started this thread; like Rocky I may differ on some of what you covered – which I’ll try to articulate while I also offer my two cents on the issues rrobs addressed in his thread-starter post. Needless to say your post got me to review rrobs’ again – and to have a different approach with what I have to offer now. rrobs certainly picked a hot topic, especially so soon after the Las Vegas mass shooting – and jam-packed with a cross section of complex issues. In reviewing the post – I dwelled on a number of questions: As a Christian what should be my response to the shootings? As a society what should be our response? What should be the response of our government? Does the Bible offer any practical solutions to real-world problems? I want to apologize in advance for jumping around a bit – but attempting to answer questions many thoughts run parallel…tandem…superimposed…weaving in and out of each other…running in the background then foreground…sorry but that is just the way I think when it comes to complex problem-solving where many things may have to work in concert. It probably annoys the $hit out of most folks…anyway… As far as what’s been said about the need for each person to change in order to start changing the world around them – I get that ! while I do believe my Christian faith is helping me to become a better person – I do NOT believe it makes me any better than anyone else. And to be upfront with you all – it’s probably from my 12 years of experience with a hypocritical, legalistic, pompous, manipulative, deceitful, exploitive supposedly Christian organization known as The Way International that I now am a little wary of any folks who claim they are Christian and talk a good walk and tout their faith as if it were a good housekeeping seal of approval and are dead set on sticking to their dogma. I’ve been ripped off financially, socially, emotionally, business-wise, academic-wise not only by upper leadership in TWI but even by so-called professing Christians not in TWI…I feel I need to say all that so you can understand where I’m coming from with the rest of my post. == == == == In the big picture I’m of the opinion that Romans 13 is saying in God’s sovereignty it is his prerogative to deem earthly governments as a means to manage societies. that's one interpretation of it anyway...you could argue against that viewpoint and against using that to justify any form of government and I might even back down - perhaps I'm just a wishy-washy theologian I dunno …but hey, we’re all part of a fallen race and this is all God has to work with right now...it's one of the many things we've been entrusted with - and like many things it can be used properly...or abused. Something that intrigues me about Romans 13 is that it does not specify that the authorities in power are or should be Christian. I’m cool with that (please see my previous comments ). We do not live in a theocracy – where priests or religious leaders rule in the name of God; our society is comprised of folks of various belief systems; but I believe in order for a government to work all citizens must find some common ground. I think a faith in God had something to do with the founding of our country – as seen in The Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foudation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. I understand the common ground stated in The Declaration of Independence as being the unalienable rights and equality. I know some folks can harp on “God” being mentioned in it until they’re bonded-leather-blue in the face but I tend to think that might take away from what’s really important in that document….hint hint…it’s the people! As a noble experiment our government…our society…newscasters…social media - must keep the conversation going about mass shootings…9 in a church…26 in an elementary school…49 in a nightclub…58 at a country music festival…I’m just mentioning the more recent ones – and not to mention all the lesser known crimes / murders committed with a firearm. mass shootings in America When it comes to the prevalence of guns in our society – I think of two things: you can’t put the genie back in the bottle – but maybe by making smart wishes we can corral it. Call me old fashion but I think government should try to honor the wishes of the people. Part of the answer to stop the shootings – or realistically, to make them more difficult to commit is going to be through legislature / our government – and will mean taking on the gun lobbyists among other things besides citizens on both sides of gun-control hashing things out…for starters….besides all the good guys (and gals ) - that's you and me - being ever vigilant. I own several firearms. I have friends who are big into hunting. Throughout my career as a security technician there’s been times when I’ve been licensed to carry a firearm doing double-duty as a security officer as well. I’ve been around firearms most of my adult life. It’s no big deal to me…But a detail with the Las Vegas shooter totally mystifies me – he used several bump-stocks to enable near-fully automatic firepower. The shooter obtained that accessory legally. What is so mystifying to me is that the bump-stock is legal! bump stock - is it legal ? My question is – unless you’re military or law enforcement – what the hell do you need something that approximates a machine gun in rapid firing capacity for?!?! How did something like that get approved by the ATF? Years ago at a gun show I saw something similar – Hellfire Trigger System – and I think they’re still around - Hellfire Trigger System Obviously as a society with our government “in tow” we need to look long and hard at our existing gun laws and procedures for a citizen obtaining a firearm, ammunition, accessories, going to gun ranges, hunting, etc.…Perhaps we will need to consider a major overhaul – similar to airport security evolving since 9/11. Honestly – security and safety is inconvenient if you haven’t realized that already. Yeah there’s passages that indicate the world continues to get worse. But when I read verses like be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10) or endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (II Timothy 2:3) – I’m thinking now is NOT the time to roll over and give up. We need the good guys (and gals ) to stay tough ! One final thing I wanted to mention was to counter the bad rap rrobs was giving the news media. The news media helps keep me connected to the world in a number of ways and helps me prepare for what’s ahead. Like the Equifax hack…pain in the a$$ to hear about that – but the smart thing is to take the necessary steps to thwart the bad guys – so I had my accounts at the credit bureaus frozen for $10 each….I hear about home invasions in the news…so I have a firearm handy when I’m at home (but still keep it inaccessible to any kids around) – when I’m out , my pistol is with me and my other firearms at home are locked up and hidden. You can look at the crimes and dangers on the news and let fear eat at you – or you can channel that fear into doing something smart about it...making the safety and security of you and your family a priority...get involved in your community to promote awareness and address security and safety concerns...be an involved citizen, let your elected officials know what you think - stay up on the issues and vote for change, following the dictates of your conscience....Proverbs 22:3 says, A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences…. NLT
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