skyrider

Perhaps, Vern is not aware of The Way International's history of when Victor Paul Wierwille left (fired?) St. Peter's Evangelical and Reformed Church in Van Wert. Mrs. Wierwille's book, Born Again To Serve, gives us plenty of details leading up to them starting a new faction: Victor Paul Wierwille sought spiritual counsel and guidance from Rev. B.G. Leonard's class (February 1953). p. 90 In June 1953, wierwille takes TWO CARLOADS of Van Wert Church people to B.G. Leonard's class. p.91 In October 1953, wierwille taught Leonard's class in the basement of St. Peter's Church in Van Wert. p.99 Victor Paul Wierwille was starting a new faction!! He was canvassing and recruiting others from his church. Four Years....1953-1957.....wierwille spent time building his own group while on Van Wert Church payroll. Wierwille admitted: "Now if I had to do it again, I would do what Paul did -- take all my people with me across the street..." p.216 Wierwille began this new "independent undertaking" on Washington Street in Van Wert December 19, 1957. In using Leonard's class wholesale for years......it would be fair to say that twi was an OFFSHOOT. Much to wierwille's chagrin......his name was stricken from St. Peter's Church registry after his departure. One could say that victor paul wierwille was "considered mark and avoid." See, Vern.........churches, sects, and cults all have common elements. They section off their interests from others who might claim a stake in those holdings. Then, they tether "their" people to their sanctioned doctrine......even though, that doctrine is fluid and changing thru the years. Church leaders erect more structure that helps them to evade accountability. The Van Wert Church Board was certainly glad to be rid of wierwille. And, unanimously signed in consent to have his name stricken from their church's registry and history! Stricken from record. Erased. Good Riddance. Forgotten. Vern.....your little Facebook page to "Household Fellowship Coordinators" is a faction unto itself. You are sectioning off your group from others. No matter how many verses you cherry-pick to bolster your position, I could find scores of others to counter them. And, I do find it laughable that you chose to quote "Dr. Wierwille" from his TNDC book and its chapter entitled, "Why Division?" The same man who stole B.G. Leonard's class and then, ran it in a Van Wert church basement.....while he was pastor and on payroll.....and, finally after the church board had had enough, wierwille was unanimously stricken from the clergy registry where he'd served at this church for 13 years. You quoted wierwille.....to make your point on "Why Division?" .

"We have a strong ministry with a bright future. If any of you feel you need to talk, please call. My number is 315-638-2382. I am not into arguing or debating, but am keenly focused on spiritual truth and can perhaps shed light on any genuine concerns or questions you may have." Translation: Sit down and shut up. I want compliance and obedience to twi's mandates. What most all of us experienced in wierwille's ministry ("the good old days)..........was silent obedience. We were NOT allowed to ask questions in the pfal class. Even questions that were submitted at the end of the class were side-stepped......or sent to hqtrs for a later reply. See the pattern. Wierwille, early-on, had devised a shrewd system of avoiding direct questions........especially questions that others, nearby, would also hear. Sure, there was some truths in pfal that wierwille plagiarized from others......but the methods of control were ALREADY IN PLACE. TWI is a cult......not because of its beliefs, but because of its methods. Scientology has many of the same systems........1) Deceptive recruiting, 2) Climb steps to spiritual maturity, 3) Strict obedience to leadership, 4) Going Clear - Going Corps, 5) Disconnecting from family and friends, 6) Refusal to listen to those not in group, 7) Immersion and Isolation, 8) No debating another counter-point (No Acts 15), 9) Fear Doctrine if you ever leave the group (cop-out, grease spot by midnight), 10) If you leave group, you lose everything. Vern flat-out says that he will not debate the issues. He is smug in his self-serving righteousness. Obviously, his mind is a closed mind. He cannot grow, because he cannot question the possibility why some 3,500 corps NO LONGER stand with twi.......or why some 40,000 (???) pfal grads do not associate with their teachings. How can he NOT consider the dismal state of twi's affairs? Dismal numbers in classes, advanced classes, staff recruiting and corps attendees. Rather than stay ensconced at hqtrs compound and echo chamber......maybe try something different? Take action on what you preach.

Vern Edwards is corporately-groomed to purport company policy..........no matter what. Vern embodies the religious servitude to twi, not God. He is twi's "Ministry Man." Just to make it clear, this is NOT a ministry backed event. When one person stands up for the ministry ..........in support of the ministry We have a strong ministry Hey, Vern......don't you get it? The Way International was/is A FACTION that is canvassing, persuading disciples to support their cause through fair words and good speeches (Romans 16:8). Every teaching, class, and program is cherry-picked to tweak the scriptures towards promoting twi-servitude......not God. Corps and Staff Placement Meetings were and are implemented to further the outreach of the way ministry.......often to the detriment of the individual. Why do you think that hundreds of corps grads have abandoned twi since 2005 and some three thousand corps exited before that! The premise of your foundation is not biblically sound. Every teaching, class and program should be held up to the light of God's Word......NOT whether it is "a ministry backed event." Without accountability, twi has no checks and balances in place. Thus, one is left to know them by their fruits......and The Way International has had LOADS OF BAD FRUIT these past decades. It is often quoted....."To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” Whether it was wierwille's corps teachings or martindale's corps teachings.........we sat for HOURS listening to verbal assaults, strife, division and character assassinations directed at corps individuals. Was this God's will? Was this instructive? Or, was this manipulative? Intimidating? Coercive? Exploitive? People are more easily controlled by fear rather than love. Was the corps program fear-based? Yep! Did it come near the standards of a God-inspired, walk-by-the-spirit, and see the mighty works of the Lord? Nope. After decades of reading and learning from other men's works and ministries......I believe that the corps "training" was an indoctrination program. The indoctrination herds individuals into a corral of conformity. Vern is now twi's next president. Meet the new boss......same as the old boss. From this letter, it looks like Vern's mind is grooved into the same mindset as his mentors. There is no way to have "a strong ministry" with this herd, groupthink, mentality. Read the Gospel of John......and count the number of times that Jesus spoke direct revelation one-on-one to individual hearts. Jesus Christ was and is a personal lord and savior. He found those burdened with fear, guilt or shame......and set them FREE. No more boxes. No more programs. No more herd-mentality. John 3:16 For God so loved................and we are free, indeed!!

This is not surprising. At age 80.....I would imagine that Rosalie is tired, truly tired, of keeping up daily pretenses. And, looking in her mirror.....it was time to face the reality that her aged body is not camera-ready without a lot of constant work. The daily grind of details.....who quit, who exited, and who is going to go in and do damage control. Hundreds of corps have exited since 2005. And, that 2017 exodus took a swath of "big-names" (moynihans, forts, horneys, magnellis, fredericks, etc.) many who'd been involved since the early 70s. Even for Rosa-lie.....that had to be depressing. Could it be that this last *patch it up before leaving* was Rosa-lie's attempt to save a smidgeon of her legacy? Yeah, a legacy of destruction. No matter. Life moves on......and the new guys who've been groomed in way-religion will "follow the yellow brick road." They heard Wierwille was a whiz of a wiz.....if ever a wiz there was! After martindale was ousted, Rosa-lie made sure wierwille regained his mog-title, in full. When all is said and done......I think that Rosa-lie was holding out for that 20-year badge of honor. She held the presidency for 20 years.....after martindale was kicked out for sexual predation (public confession in April 2000 of a "one-time affair" with Ms. Allen). Thus, Rosa-lie held the throne from April 2000 - June 2020. She had to clean up that unfortunate mishap with choosing Jean-Yves to run things. But now.....she can claim to have held the post for 20 years as she holds onto this legend in her own mind. So now, Rosalie will sit in an emeritus seat alongside Howard (the Duck) and Wanda. What grand company the emeritus group is..... LOL There will be no change.....just a reshuffling of the deck chairs. .

Thanks for your question, St. Christopher.......... Spirit and Truth Fellowship International (formerly Christian Educational Services) ...... in 1987, John Lynn and others wrote a 37-page report to state their official stance against twi. Without going into all its depth, suffice it to say that these clergymen and others strongly felt that The Way International was headed in the wrong direction. Fast-forward some 25 years (1987-2002).....and this splinter group was splintering. Factions developed. Other perversions. Rev. John Lynn became a big promoter of Momentus....a perverse, self-help "therapy." A staged confrontation. Getting someone to reveal very private information in a public format and then verbally assault that person to produce guilt, shame, etc. Some have said that Rev. Bo Reah-rd (1st corps) was an advocate of Momentus. Victor Barnard (14th Corps) ......Accused Sex Predator. Read this link. This corps guy left twi and, with others, established a secluded camp of followers and young maidens that parents gave consent to. Parents ALLOWED victor barnard to have sex with their daughters (ages 14-19 ??).....SICK! Christopher Geer (Gartmore) ...... Some refer to him as psycho-Geer. European corps program......run with gestapo tactics. Belligerent, over-bearing dominance over every aspect at Gartmore. Micro-managed to death. Later, fled back to the States.....and franchised his classes. Opportunist. Manipulator Extraordinaire. Ex-Corps Coordinators ......... who have started splinter groups. There have been many corps coordinators in twi thru the years.....who've exited and THEN, started their own splinter groups. Wrenn, Geer, Lynn, Moynihan, Fort, Horney, Magnelli.....ties to splinter groups. Deeply entrenched in training the corps, these guys are tethered to the Wierwille Brand and CANNOT forsake it. Thus, they regurgitate the material, but never examine ALL THE FAILINGS AND FAILURES. Some Splinter Groups ......... I have heard that some groups stay small and local. Through the years, they have their living room fellowships and teach inspiring teachings to one another. How much they deviate from twi.....I don't know. Obviously, they do NOT want to be tied to The Way International nor send their hard-earned abundant sharing to a distant overlord. WHY? If twi's doctrine (and practice) is SO godly......then why decouple? THAT is the deep, intriguing question of the splinter groups? Money and Power .......... in my opinion, thousands upon thousands of followers thru the years find it disturbing that The Way International never gives back to their local community, nor to faithful followers. Whether there is tragedy, financial hardship, health issues, etc......twi does NOT give financially to support in times of need. Twi is a HOARDING MACHINE. Twi's stated position is that "We teach the Word" ...... and that is their SOLE responsibility. Pppffffttt. At present, twi hoards $68 Million. This is sin. Twi has been a pseudo-Christian organization (at best) ever since its inception. At worse.....wierwille was a false teacher and wolf in sheep's clothing. The scriptures show us in the Book of Acts of a man called Simon who was giving out himself as some great one (Acts 8:9). The people gave heed to him. The followers heralded him by saying "This man is the great power of God." Well, what about wierwille? He received unbridled adulation from twi's followers. Yet......in all my years in twi, I never saw wierwille operate any of the (big) six manifestations, 1) word of knowledge, 2) word of wisdom, 3) spiritual discernment, 4) faith, 5) miracles or 6) healing. Not one!! Splinter group leaders talk a big game......yet, what do THEY do? We, as Christians, are commanded to know them by their fruit. Well, what has been the fruit of wierwille's twi? Lying, stealing, plagiarism, drunkenness, sexual predation, strikers, deceivers, seducers, false teachings, mark/avoid character assassinations, corps indoctrinations, exploiting the good will and gifts of others, etc. etc. etc. You, St. Christopher may be of strong and moral character........but wierwille, and many of his corps coordinators and region leaders were NOT. Some of the plagiarized material had/has spiritual substance.....and many cleave to these truths. But those who've encountered the ugly side of wierwille/twi saw the RED FLAGS and exited for greener pastures. To this day, many are thankful for these truths from biblical men of the ages. GreaseSpot Café helps people to discern the good, the bad and the ugly.

This whole episode of twi...........looks, to me, like a damn horse race. Substitute all kinds of "names for these horses"..........Dr. Wierwille, the law of believing, red drapes, cancer is a devil spirit, copouts, Lo Shanta, etc..........and you get a horse race that no one knows what really "fvcking happened." Add: Take this with a slice of humor in one hand and a beer in the other.

As you noted, WW......even when IN twi, I didn't think they knew EVERYTHING. Because they didn't...... It was obvious that twi was a young ministry trying to find its way in life. Wierwille would "borrow" and tweak from others ALL THE TIME. Whether it was a whole teaching like "The Red Thread" from Oral Roberts or the "Not Ancient Walls" poem he adapted and adopted as the corps poem. The Blue Songbook contained MANY of the great Christian hymns like......"How Great Thou Art." Some songs contained only a couple of stanzas of the song......but then, certain words were tweaked from twi-consumption. Later, words of songs were changed, but kept the melody. And then, Christmas carols were perverted to the cult doctrine. Teachings, scripture verses, songs, poems, art, professions, culture........wierwille was tweaking it at every turn. During the building phases 1974-1985.......architects, engineers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, audio/video personnel, etc. etc. helped to take twi from its patchwork history to the next level. Twi was ALWAYS grasping for the expertise of "the professional world" to help bolster its image. BUT.......in the last decade of his life, wierwille's narcissism attempted to close ranks. By 1978......twi was a full-fledged cult.

And........still do. For 20 years, GSC's posters have been expounding and explaining TWI'S PRISON OF SUBSERVIENCE. In 2005, Catcup posted a thread entitled "The Nine Dots of Nonsense"..........

Deceptive in name and practice......LEAD left many injured, raped or dead. A more-fitting name for the program would have been F.O.L.L.O.W. Feckless Organization Loses Lives On Watch The youth put their trust in wierwille and his leaders (cough, cough.....spit) and the corps program failed to watch over their safety. After death and rape......the LEAD program continued onward without implementing better safety measures. The overriding principle of corps training was TO OBEY.......and, blindly they did. Those who spoke up were deemed "troublemakers" and if they persisted, then they were given the bum's rush off campus. No one was allowed to stand on the watch towers and shout an alarm.

Unqualified peers leading peers........was a pillar in twi's corps program. Work projects. LEAD captains. MAL-pak survival. Gun-safety courses. Some corps took these "autocrat responsibilities" to levels of confrontation and/or bullying. Clearly, some of these gung-ho peers......became future corps coordinators and now, splinter group leaders!!! Some people relish having power over others......and the corps program was no exception. I can't begin to tell you how many "elder corps" were given responsibility over me who didn't have a lick of common sense. They just obeyed and barked orders. And, a few years later......many of them split. .

L.E.A.D. was an edgy experiment/program that instilled trepidation, trauma, fear and obedience. Establish program as the final grade/evaluation of corps graduation Use the successes and failures to engender competitive measures in ranks Castigate all failures as "not believing God"...... Ignore dangers of hitchhiking......rape, abduction, death The questions that always ran thru my mind were......Is hitchhiking and climbing rocks NEEDED to learn to "believe God?" Why doesn't wierwille, publically and individually, lead the corps into "hands on" ministering healing? Or, walking by revelation? Why have I NOT seen wierwille (ever) perform any of the revelation or power manifestations? Is there a subterfuge agenda to this LEAD program? Why are corps not openly told beforehand that this LEAD evaluation is pivotal to graduation from the corps program? Sure, healthy young jocks didn't have a problem with heavy backpacks or enduring hours in freezing temperatures.......but many did. Foot, ankle and back injuries were common for many returning from LEAD. All in all.....it just seemed like an exercise of obedience and tolerance. Wierwille never went LEAD......or put himself in subservience of others. Martindale failed his TFI experience and evaluation. Did Rosalie ever go LEAD?

Ken Barden.......7th Corps, struck and killed on a highway while hitchhiking to complete his mandatory L.E.A.D. experience and evaluation. The day Ken died.........should have been the last day of the L.E.A.D. [Leadership, Education, Adventure, Direction]. Leadership?.......dropped off in the dark, the early wee hours of the morning and coerced to hitchhike to reach destination Education?.........hiking with heavy backpack and climbing rocks in all types of weather. Confrontation and manipulation. Adventure?.........extreme weather causing frostbite. Injuries. Lack of safety protocols. Unqualified peers leading peers. Direction?...........the determination to complete twi's mandatory LEAD experience or die trying. Ken died.

Martindale FAILED at the Total Fitness Institute in North Fork, California..........Two HUGE errors. Martindale failed the hitch-hiking episode. He and my wife (future-wife-to-be) were hitch-hiking to TFI and made it to a truck stop near Oklahoma City. While there, they were scurrying around trying to find another ride. My wife secured a ride and ran to tell Craig.....who said, he too, found a ride. And, as my wife recalls the tale......she remembers Craig saying, "You take your ride and I'll take mine and I'll see you in California." Imagine that! Abandoning your hitch-hiking partner.......no less, leaving a woman to fend for herself. Martindale tries an "escape attempt" and is roundly criticized in his final tfi evaluation. But, to me...........the ultimate FAILURE goes to wierwille. In no way, shape or manner..........was THIS "the way" to train the youth.

No wonder......Lynn was easily persuaded and became a facilitator of Momentus. Taunting, mocking, public humiliation, peer pressure, confined to respond........a pre-planned verbal onslaught. Jerks, hypocrites, weasels......... And, people to this day.......follow them?

Wierwille ordered these corps training methods......and corps coordinators followed commands. Corps coordinators were the most complicit underlings in ALL of twi..........Wrenn, Lynn, Moneyhands, Fort, Horney, Magnelli, etc. Many splinter groups have been spearheaded by corps coordinators. Imagine that! Can a leopard change his spots?

Sure love those DWBH posts. Nobody laid it out there like him. Miss seeing you here at the Spot.

Hmmm.......where have I seen this cunning craftiness before? Oh, that's right. When we (my wife and I) drove to Austin and turned in our corps nametags in 1998........THE NEXT MORNING, Tom and Barb Lally drove from Austin, TX to Oklahoma City to meet with all of the Oklahoma corps and advanced class grads. Also, Tom Mullins the limb guy from Arkansas was told to be there as well. More firepower, I guess. LOL. The Lallys and Tom Mullins spent Saturday and Sunday meeting (as a group AND individually) with every corps and advanced class grad to try and dig up dirt on my wife and I. Apparently, they had orders from martindale to look under ever stone and report back. They found NOTHING. We walked away and wanted to begin rebuilding our lives and ............SO THANKFUL WE DID. .

You've got a gift, T-Bone............that is funny.

Reading back thru that thread "Face Meltings" where DWBH posted........adds a whole 'nother dimension to subjugating. Whether it was the corps program or fellow laborers......ISOLATED from public view brought out their "training methods." Face Meltings Threats to kick everyone out Prisoner of War (pow) tactics Verbal Onslaughts and Scream Sessions Sleep Deprivation Taunting, Mocking, Public Humiliation Break You Down.....Eliminate Individual Identity Group Commitment Twi is the True Household If You Ever Leave......Greasespot by Midnight It just seems to me.....1) The strong, independent ones left early and/or were gone by 1978, 2) The average, committed ones dissented on occasions and tried to right the ship, and 3) The deeply, loyal corps and staff zealots stayed into the 2000's even after martindale was ousted. Splinter leaders who still suck off the teat of wierwille's teachings to this very day are weasels extraordinaire. Yeah, I wanted to love and help serve God's people.......but did I have to go thru "prisoner of war training camp" to do it? Wierwille ORDERED this??? Break us down......and then, "put us back to together" to run missions? Subservient to their orders? Sounds like the Identity of a Jason Bourne.

Here is one of DWBH's posts on John Summerville and TFI......

I was a Branch Coordinator at this 1978 Advanced Class. Wierwille and Martindale had us branch coordinators meet them in the Fireplace Room at 4pm the opening day. It was at this meeting that wierwille vented his frustrations with three 8th Corps guys who had, in his words, "gone rogue" on their research papers. Assumingly, they had ventured off the plantation of pfal and took upon themselves the earnest quest of something that challenged the very core of wierwille's foundational teachings. It was a weird, and tense, advanced class. Looking back, as I have several times......I would say that wierwille's levels of frustration were overflowing and martindale tried to be "extra spiritually sharp" and confrontational as well. It wasn't pleasant. For the record, this was the last advanced class where twi used outside sources and tapes of spiritual activity. Tapes like where the one woman was possessed with multiple devil spirits. Or, the unique casting out of spirits by some minister. After this 1978 Class......twi went in-house. It became more O.T. readings and parsing thru the 16 keys to walking by the spirit. Except.....they still promoted things like "The Thirteenth Tribe" and "None Dare Call It Conspiracy" and the Illuminati. Those release groups were simply there to help regurgitate the morning's teaching......and give wierwille time for a nap.

I know, I know........that's why, to me, it seems apparent with each passing year that his narcissism went unchecked and out of control. None of the enablers around him.......Harry, Ermal, Dorothy, Howard, or long-time staffers.......could rein this stuff in. Anyone who stood up to wierwille.....was shown the door. The only person that I ever heard who really took a stand against wierwille and his encroachment was John Summerv!lle regarding TFI (total fitness institute). When wierwille wanted to implement certain policies there in California and John S. wouldn't allow it. Wierwille fumed. From what I remember from DWBH's post.......wierwille didn't like it one bit. And, within short order replaced TFI with L.E.A.D. in Tinnie, New Mexico. The doctrines AND practices kept amplifying every year........especially in the corps indoctrination program. Staffers and corps were subservient to his pleasures. When he wanted music......he summoned the musicians to perform on a Saturday night. When he wanted his favorite German dish served at lunch......the order was given. The unbridled adulation swirled around the mystique of the man......

Thanks, T-Bone. This article made me think of something that I posted back in December 2007. In my attempts to unravel the cult indoctrination, I started looking back at what attracted me to twi in the first place.......I posted the thread Transition and Transference. What she describes as "between affiliations" or relationships or divorce.....I took the broader term "transition." My trifecta would be.....1) Transition, 2) Transference and 3) Indoctrination. We were deceptively, and systematically, indoctrinated into a subculture of cult living.

To this day, there are STILL people trapped in the mindset of twi-servitude. Why? Even when people exit The Way International, a substantive number of them seek involvement in a splinter group. Why? The complexities to answering those questions remains alarmingly intertwined. Perhaps, that was the point: to intertwine the complexities that it's hard to get out of the trap? Throughout my involvement in twi......The Way, Inc. and Jesus Christ is "The Way" were interchangeably spoken. "The Word is the ministry and The Ministry is the Word." Interchangeably linked. If you left "the ministry" then you left "the word." The psychological trap was set. So, when followers can no longer stomach the indoctrination of mother-cult......they slip away and associate with a sibling-cult that is, too, teaching "the word." Books have been written .... "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse," "The Cult that Snapped," and "Undertow." Through decades of slothfulness and plagiarism, wierwille darkly stumbled into a crafted agenda of subjugating others. Clearly, he did not learn these tenets from the 1940's radio preachers of Rev. Charles Fuller, E.W. Kenyon or others. Nor did vpw adopt this agenda from men like E. Stanley Jones, Rufus Mosely, Starr Daily, or Glenn Clark who had open conventions and camps where people were able to participate and leave at will. No, this subjugating agenda was something that was incubated in the bowels of wierwille's pathologies and narcissism. Subjugate --- 1. to bring under control or subjection; conquer 2. to cause to become subservient; subdue When wierwille left the Van Wert St. Peter's Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957......he faced the challenges of shouldering responsibility and accountability. In Mrs. Wierwille's book, there are accounts and letters where vpw is pleading for financial support. With a growing family and a fledgling ministry, those lean years lasted from 1957-1971. Is there any wonder why wierwille openly admitted on several occasions that had it not been for his older brother, Harry Wierwille, there would NOT have been "a way ministry?" As a businessman and opportunist, Harry had an upholstery and furniture business and gave $50,000-$60,000 (in 1960?) to renovate the old farmhouse on the ancestral property......and two decades of financial support. From 1957-1967, wierwille traveled from city to city to teach his classes. As other men before him, he targeted church-goers to these classes......but most returned to their respective churches. Even though wierwille was present to teach these live classes......most had no desire to stick around. The summer school camps brought in others, from near and far, who added greatly to twi's mission to reach others. And, when the 1967 pfal class was filmed......it relieved wierwille from his "one man" teaching slot. Now, he needed disciplined "instructors" who would recruit others and monitor class attendance. Subjugating others took a big step forward. More and more youth stepped forward to run classes. Hotspots of outreach broke out......and young leaders in North Carolina, New York, California, Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas become legendary in twi's folklore. As these youth build in numbers and gather at twi.......guitar-strumming bands synthesize the movement to new levels of zealous following. Ruling over the youth was the key to success. Yet, wierwille had made promises to Heefner and Doop that he could not longer abide by. No longer could wierwille let them keep 85% of the abundant sharing in their states and send in the agreed upon 15% to twi. Those young men's ministries in New York and California were outpacing twi by leaps and bounds. Therefore, with Duncan's help and suggestion.......in March 1972, wierwille walked into their meetings and ran roughshod over those men. He subjugated those men's works in one full swoop. Wierwille was charging ahead. What he had agreed to with Jimmy Doop in 1969/1970.....no longer mattered. Power corrupts......and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Wierwille seized the reins of power over the youth "leaders" in 1972 and things would never be the same again. The corps program was subjugated to every whim and change that wierwille mandated. The corps needed to start running up and down wierwille road each morning. Yet, wierwille didn't have any exercise routine, did he? When they violated his rules, he threw them out. Wierwille could sit at the head table and smoke during lunch and excoriate the corps for their buying cigarettes with money they didn't really have. He was immune to hypocrisy. It didn't stick on him. The corps program was NOT a leadership program.......it was a subjugated program. All corps were subservient to wierwille and the trustees. Year after year, corps grads were to take yearly assignments or have a leave of absence signed off by wierwille. Higher education was frowned upon. Anything.....ANYTHING.....that took away from the mission of "moving the word" was a reason for spurt-tual confrontation. You got a devil spurt problem, don't ya? Renew your mind. Get back in line, kid. Every day was colored in subjugation. Even to this day.........many corps grads seemingly need to have a splinter group leader over their decisions. Some others too. Just connecting the dots here. I believe that subjugating was and is the whole essence of twi and its splinter groups. .

After three years..........what has the R&R group done? In May 2017, they had that Q&A Facebook Session..........only to "circle the wagons" in their own defense. Touting their "Revival and Restoration" mantle.......what have they "revived?" What have they "restored?" Does their little weekly echo chamber have any relevance to anyone besides themselves? Anyone listening outside their little circle jerk? Seems like few care. Very few comments. When will they stop the merry-go-round and look around? Why have corps and clergy been exiting (escaping) from twi since 1976? Why did all of wierwille's corps letters lament, over and over, that corps were exiting twi and moving on in life? Were all of these corps and clergy "cop-outs?" Were they possessed with devil spirits like wierwille said? Surely, one can think deeper that spewing back the wierwille sound bytes of yesteryear, no? Instead of teaching the same old "doctrine" for the thousandth time......why not try a different approach. Stop and think about it for a week.....at least. There are reasons why wierwille's organization died quickly on the vine......because it was not connected to the vine [John 15:5]. The Lord Jesus Christ. He is the vine. But hey.......go ahead with your little weekly (weakly) sermons of relevance. Hopefully, you don't lose another decade in the process. Or........pull your head......er, hand out of that coconut and get busy LIVING !!! .