Leaderboard

What kind of an organization bleeds its members of their resources, time, loyalty and when those members are of a reasonable age to retire, gives them NOTHING?? And why does a so-called non-profit have millions sitting in the bank? When those millions could be used to help "move the word" on the "field" or reward the faithful with a decent retirement? It's pathetic. The only people reaping a reward are the despots at the top. And I'm wondering why the R&R people took so long to finally dissent and then leave.

Oh yeah........twi had its own hamster-wheel of justifying its doctrines and practices. Have the 2nd and 3rd generations ever heard the story of what life was like before 2000? before 1980? Of course.....twi's practices have been self-serving.....and only self-serving......for a long, long time. It didn't have to end this way (spiraling down to its doom). It seems to me, those years 1977-1979 were ripe with outreach and "Word in Culture." With musical groups and outreach......some professional athletes from the NFL and tennis were taking pfal. A professional bull-riding clown took the stage to speak at roa. Doctors, professionals and business people were coming on board. When the 1979 Rock of Ages came around......there was an arts, music and crafts tent for the sole purpose of purchasing merchandise from other believers and enhancing Word in Culture. Another tent was set aside for an evening "Dinner Theatre"...... where you pre-purchased a ticket for dinner and a theatrical performance (following the big top teaching). Imagine that! Yeah, imagine that. There was more to this event than just the pilgrimage to the Big Top to hear Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille teach another sermon. The spotlight was no longer solely on the cult leader on main stage. Imagine the possibilities. "Word in Culture" was the growing buzz-word. The fire had been lit.....and the flame was growing. The tent was a-buzz with believers selling their wares to others All kinds of music groups and solo artists were popping up. Cassette tapes of Lisa Lochridge and Dave Lutz were flying off the shelves. Not the "Way Productions sanctioned music" that was promoted from the main stage.......but the upcoming singers that were putting out good songs. Simple, down-to-earth music from the heart. This "Word in Culture" sparked a short-lived movement of enterprise from the bottom up.........NOT from the top down. Musicians, composers, writers, short-stories, artists, cartoonists, sculptors, screen-printers, etc.......lots of energy on the rise. Medical WOWs.........nurses, doctors, interns, administrative types. Another arm of outreach. Military WOWs..........Paul Norcr0ss headed up medical outreach and worked alongside the Trunk Office and International Outreach to help military personnel stationed throughout parts of the world. Some military guys were given special exceptions for corps training and/or their corps assignment. Why is any of this important now? There was a short window in time when twi almost (maybe?) broke from its cult-trajectory and let people live freely. That short time frame of "Word in Culture"........was closed back down, because twi could NOT control its outcome. By 1980 Rock of Ages......there was no tent set aside for buying/selling other believers' merchadise. Songs, wording and content HAD to be pre-approved and filtered thru upper cult management. Many of the hippie-types saw the writing on the wall.........and left. And, yeah.........add coerced-corps labor during in-residence training into the mix. Then, heap a mandatory "corps week" on them so that all corps are required EVERY YEAR to attend.....and don't leave until the Rock of Ages is over. This burdened the corps exponentially.......financially, family responsibilities, work/career challenges, nearly 3 weeks away from work each year, keeping corps from promotions or career paths, etc. etc. The Way International has refused to learn the lessons of yesteryear ...........for 4 decades !!! This story didn't start in 2000 with Rosalie.........it started a long, long, long time ago. .

Speaking of spiritual probation - my brother and his wife were put on it because their house was too dirty. He told me they didn't have time to clean it because they were always going to meetings. Anyway, they realized they were happier being away from TWI so they left for good.