Leaderboard

Welcome, Sugarrush. When did you leave? I know all of them. And so do others here. They've had different experiences in TWI but they've all been in leadership positions. And they all know enough to speak out and condemn the evil that there is in TWI. They don't need to "revive and restore" what has caused so much damage in so many lives. What they do need is to involve themselves in the wider Christian church, that's out there doing and not merely talking about doing. They need to acknowledge the genuine good work (and "believing") of others, and they need to acknowledge the evils and bad work of TWI, both from its beginning and to this day.

For those who have never been on staff at twi's headquarters....... The "corporate headquarters" is compartmentalized thru departments and areas of inter-connected work relations, not a way-tree structure. It's a cult compound where a majority of workers serve in menial tasks.......housekeeping, grounds, food service, finance, multi-services, etc. With wierwille and martindale eras, there was an inner-circle of yes-men, favorites, body guards, security, and sexual predation. With rivenbark, some have reported on her *special relationship* with donna.....and two other women who once lived in her basement. Employment on staff is touted as "serving the Lord at the spiritual epicenter of twi"........no witnessing, no running classes. And now, the Sunday "teachers" read their bland sermons with no deviation from script each week. I would venture to say that......NOW.....[after 30-years since the mass exodus].......any corps grad who had been on field assignment for years THEN goes on staff is challenged by the double-standard hypocrisy that wreaks. Anyone who has been paying attention should have seen this years ago......BUT.......going on staff at headquarters makes it painstakingly obvious!! Not only does the pecking order, smugness and sheer boredom smack you in the face.......BUT.......those cascading questions of: Don't these directors see that this place is little more than an echo chamber of elitism? What have I done?........selling all my furniture and moving to rural Ohio for this? What is my future going to be if I stay on staff? Is there any upward mobility in this? What about my spouse? my kids? my retirement? my life and fulfillment? Shouldn't I be making strides on my career? home ownership? equity & retirement? How can this possibly be God's will?.......living in a secluded cult compound for what? If I don't look after myself, who will? Do they really have any genuine interest in me? [Nope.] If this ministry is corrupt at the root, then it must be diseased everywhere? [Yep.] There is NOTHING like getting smacked upside the head when you know that you've seen red flags for years, and years. Going to headquarters and working on staff.......has jolted many from their slumber. Happy Trails To You..........and plan to never pass that way again. .

Step 1. Use a 400-year old (450 now) version of the Bible. Insist everyone use it. Step 2. Tell everyone they have to turn to you to understand this thing. Rely sometimes on the archaic language to say things that it didn't mean. ("Mortify your members". "You know what "mortify" means? It means to blow to smithereens." No, 'mortis' is Latin for 'death.' Morticians don't blow a body to smithereens, they deal with deaths. The Greek word there was "nekrosate", and the Greek word "nekros" for "death" just jumps out of that word. The word didn't mean to use a 20th century mortar weapon, it meant to kill off.) ("no private interpretation" means that you can't interpret it privately." No, the 'one's own letting loose' referred to the origin of Scripture, as the next verse made clear. In forcing the King James English to instill a meaning that wasn't there before, vpw engaged in what he himself would call "private interpretation" -with the verse HE said was telling us not to do that.) Step 3. Use other versions when no one's looking, and say your research came up with it. Like , say, the Amplified Bible, copyright 1954 on the first commercial version. Philippians 4:13 KJV: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. "twi's literal translation according to usage:" I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me. Amplified Bible ("classic" version.) I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me . (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me [/u] [/u]I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency) Yes, vpw plagiarized the Amplified Bible. It's a paraphrase Bible, and he condemned those loudly and at great length. Once everyone shunned them, he felt free to plagiarize them, confident nobody would go near the original with a 10-foot pole. That plagiarism, as always, saved him a lot of time. It was much easier to just lift the work of others than to do it himself- supposing he had the skill TO do it himself, which was more storied than actual.

It's the same thing with the Way's most prized Biblical research possessions, the "literal translations according to usage". These were seen in the University of Life courses, which were Way Corps teachings. The quoted words are basically invented language to hide the fact that this is really a commentary on scriptures by a cult leader.

Hello BlueCord! Wikipedia may well be correct in their interpretation of their policy and guidelines. I've been through this ad nauseam in other unrelated areas of Wikipedia. I'm not sure I agree how they're describing their position but - well, take a look at a couple other entries for organizations that are very publicly labelled "cults" by many people including former members - Scientology's page opens with this line: Scientology is a body of religious beliefs and practices launched in May 1952 by American author L. Ron Hubbard (1911–86). LDS/Mormons open with this: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), often informally known as the Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. Yet if we look up "Cult" on Wikipedia we read a very broad discussion of the topic that starts with this: And so on and so forth.... To your intent and point however, it could be appropriate to say something to the affect of the Way being considered a cult by many (for the following reasons)....etc. etc. Whether anyone believes that to be true or not, it has been a fairly consistent accusation historically since it's growth in the 70's and as such would simply be a statement of a significant fact reflecting a concern of society in regards to new religious "movements". So the logic is kind of like saying "John Lennon once said that he felt The Beatles were more popular then Jesus, given the reactions of their fans around the world to their music".....as opposed to saying "John Lennon said The Beatles were more popular than Jesus"......both statements are "true" but arguably the first statement gives more information. The Wikipedia page covers a great deal of information on The Way and in my opinion does a decent enough job - but you'll notice that while there's mention of Martindale's "sexual misconduct" and other issues, nothing's mentioned of that being an accusation made against his predecessor. VPW gets a pass on that - and that's buggy to me from a historical standpoint but - I get why that's probably the case, ashis accusations don't have any legal or formal record and Martindale's does....so a writer would be on safe ground to note LCM's history as it's a matter of court record, but VPW's problems with it such as they may have been - are not. Still and all it has become a very public part of the Way's history, of that there's no question. And while reading it I think there's a very telling few lines about the Way West and East, and the era of Jim Doop and Steve Heefner.....it's this part under the paragraph "The Way": "Some of the groups he met later incorporated as The Way East (based in Rye, New York) and The Way West (based in Mill Valley, California), groups that utilized Wierwille's PFAL class in their ministries.[10] Wierwille also recruited a number of new members on his trip, marking a period of large growth for his ministry. Wierwille later merged The Way East and The Way West into The Way Inc., now the Way International.[21][22]" That very succinctly describes what happened, and the results of what they're calling a "merge" indicates the intent of VPW to grow his ministry's assets into a larger organization. But calling it a merger is like calling a shi t storm a reason to buy more toilet paper. Clearly the writers of the Wiki page are giving VPW a pass and making the earlier history of the Way dust free, while lightly covering the later problems that more people alive now are likely to know about. Anyhoo - don't sweat it. Peace!!

BlueChord I hear where you're coming from. I understand your angst. However.... I am old enough to have skin as thick as leather and a penchant for sarcasm - - therefore -- If I were in your shoes, I'd be pleased to have stung the center of the "singularity of infinitesimal value" [thanks T-Bone] Me and my family have taken more than our fair share of painful barbs from the "singularity" (actually - no share is a fair share...I'm being sarcastic). So If I were in your shoes, I think I'd be dancing with joy to have been able to lob one back causing a wound that they found as annoying as this!

Yes...yes! Did you hear that ?!?! Listen… …somewhere in New Knoxville, Ohio… …deep within a supermassive black hole… …very close to the center…the singularity of infinitesimal value where extremely large amounts of bull$hit were crushed into an utterly dense plagiarist… …there comes a single word…said in a restrained unison as if the word was escaping through the clenched teeth of the mighty pompous a$$holes… “ouch”

Interesting comparison Chockfull – between wierwille and Kaizer Soze…and another thing came to mind…near the end of the movie The Usual Suspects, the detective – played by Chazz Palminteri – realizes a lot of the details he got from his interrogation of the character Verbal (played by Kevin Spacey – who was actually Kaizer Soze) were things that Verbal (Kaizer) noticed on a cluttered bulletin board in the office. I see a funny parallel with wierwille’s incompetency “shining forth” from his plagiarism. Bullinger focuses on context, previous usage, etc. in How to Enjoy the Bible by saying in essence – these are the things you need to pay attention to when interpreting the scriptures. Which implies YOU as the reader of the Bible is the one who actually interprets the scriptures - you are the one analyzing the biblical data, noting details, context, syntax, using the powers of reason, etc. Besides the fact that people are fallible and there’s the possibility of misinterpretation – there’s also the possibility there could be more than one legitimate interpretation...wierwille twisted all that around by suggesting private interpretation is prohibited...I mentioned it before - that's another thing he screwed up! what Bullinger said about the passage "no prophecy of the scripture is of private interpretation" was that "of" is genitive of origin - meaning the actual scriptures did not come from someone's own interpretation. It is in reference to their source or origin and NOT how we are to analyze them now. You made an excellent point of wierwille’s twisting Bullinger’s ideas - to hide the hand of his own interpretation. Like Kaizer piecing together an entire story from a police bulletin board, wierwille cobbled together a mish mosh theology from the works he plagiarized. He was the consummate con artist!

Working on staff was what opened my eyes, and I never was corps.

Totally incongruous, the one with the other. Those who are recovering from what vpw/lcm did Those who are self-appointing themselves as leaders over another splinter group Admittedly, you claim that there are people recovering from what vpw or lcm did to them. Don't Moneyhands, Forts, Horneys, Sheldons, and others fall into that category? Moneyhands has been a part of the twit-cult since 1969......and the Forts, since like 1972. Wouldn't they need to have some "recover time" to figure things out? Instead, they are jumping head-long into the water and "teaching the word to others" ........albeit, skewed doctrine. Apples and oranges, Taxidev. One is not the same as the other. Even though I held many leadership positions [State, Country Coordinator and clergy]........I haven't started any splinter group. LOL. These guys are opportunists and I have been generous in my assessment. There is plenty more that I could say about them. You obviously have "a dog in this fight"........and come to their defense time and again. You claim to have this absolute integrity for the Word, yet you fail to see the wolves in sheep's clothing, the deceivers, and the prideful. You might want to read those scriptures that tell us to eschew every appearance of evil. These guys were the campus leaders when wierwille/martindale parked their motor coaches out back [or used cabin 12 in Camp Gunnison] and had girls escorted to them late at night. Yet, they still give adulation to wierwille !!! And now, they start their own splinter group............the blind leading the blind and falling in the ditch. ;

A real bad hangover?

With sleight of hand, wierwille instituted buzzwords, clichés and phrases that fueled the engine of the cult machinery. The splinter groups will NEVER get it right, because they start with the premise that wierwille's "foundation" was solid........and therefore, keep the foundation that wierwille devised. Yet, it was built on cult-sand........and will never stand in the presence of God. Imo, the whole cult experience was skewed and twisted. When you read the gospels and how Jesus loved and comforted, you see The Great Shepherd of the sheep. He cared for them, and their burdens and wounds....and fought off the wolves. Others are hirelings.....only looking out for themselves and self-opportunities. Could someone show me where, in the gospels, Jesus instructed us to go "move the word?" Sure, preach the word unto all the nations.......but "move the word?" And, we all know the implication from wierwille's cult was..........to run pfal classes. And, it's going to be very interesting to see how these EX-corps coordinators proceed forward. They were the drill sergeants of the way corps program. If corps were not obedient, these leaders who go ballistic yelling in a nanosecond. With these three corps coordinator couples in this offshoot......it's like having 6 John Lynns in one room!

"And if you ever want to talk, if you every want to do anything, we're here." In other words, YOU come to us. We are not going to find you (and apologise). No, Jacque. YOU come here, you apologise. You will get a lot of flack. But you might find a little forgiveness or compassion, too, IF if if you are humble enough. You will need to LISTEN and not to (pretend to) preach.

Blessed putrid be the fruit!