drummerboy

All zippo lighter jokes aside, during my years in twi I'd never thought of the burning of prayer requests as a meaningless, cavalier, or cynical gesture. Nor do I think so now. My apologies for giving the wrong impression. drummerboy

I can remember burning prayer requests occasionally in local/area fellowships,twig, branch, etc. As a symbol, I suppose I can understand the practice, in that it's something akin to casting all our cares upon Him. I wouldn't want to have a zippo lighter at the ready every time I pray, though. :) I guess then I'd have to start smoking again (Kool straights, just like the MOG). danny, I believe I misread your post re the trash can and prayer requests (I rushed through the idea that it was figurative). However, figurative or not, I still think it shows where the priorities were. Returning to the idea of SIT alerts as "seasons of prayer", I went to several of these and did my hour back in the day, but there wasn't a legalistic attachment to the whole thing. The home version was an option for me too. I'll agree that how these things happened depended to a great extent on where you were, and who your local leadership was at the time. drummerboy

The only SIT alert I remember was the one in the middle of the night after VPW's passing. Yes, Waysider, I recall being told not to respond or comment while the message was being read. Trash can for the prayer requests at HQ? How sad...heart-breaking, really. To think that some of those requests very likely came from people who may not have had much at all materially, and were thinking that twi would provide some spiritual support through the tough times.Whew... As for VP's illness, twi had by that time been caught in the logical vise of magical word-of-faith teaching and having health issues. A little tough to sustain this beyond one generation as twi taught it.I think VP stated in PFAL, that if things don't work out with God (or somethng like that), then "it's me, O Lord"? Loosely translated according to mis-usage, read "it's you, O insignificant leaves on ye ol' Way Tree". And remember the statement in the Renewed Mind syllabus to the effect of "If we would keep a perfectly renewed mind,we could live forever"? Hmmmm.... ??!!?? Love to all, drummer boy

Waysider: Yes, the soundtrack will be classic Frankie Yankovic polka tunes: on Way leadership ("Just Because"); honesty at the WOW dinner table ("Who Stole the Kishka?"), and my favorite song after a long evening of door-to-door witnessing ("The Beer Barrel Polka"). For the uninitiated who aren't from Cleveland, Frankie Yankovic was the "Polka King", and still has Elvis-level status among polka afficionados in the Cleveland area. Polka on, drummerboy

Hi Tex: Welcome! Glad you're here. I just started posting very recently too. I'm celebrating my 20th anniversary next month of being "post-Way". Congrats on moving ahead with your life. Your book sounds very interesting and I'll be looking forward to reading it also. I wasn't a "groovy Christian from Rye, New York", but I was a groovy Christian from Cleveland, OH at that time. Love to all, drummerboy P.S. Speaking of groovy Christians, perhaps some of you might want to see my new backyard-produced, documentary film on post-Way life, "How Drummerboy Got His Groove Back". I guarantee it won't be playing at the WOW Auditorium; I'm very sure I'd look lousy in tights, and my dancing skills at questionable at best.

I'm looking for Cynthia Lane Brown, from Columbus OH. She was a WOW in Illinois and in the Corps later on (not sure which one). We were in the college fellowship together at OSU. Anybody know her whereabouts? You can e-mail or IM if you like. Thanks! drummerboy

Waysider, I left a message for you. Potato: The renewed mind....there's a thread (or a lengthy book) in and of itself. For me too, it took years to get past the limitations twi's version of "the renewed mind" placed on me. One of these was developing a relationship with God that wasn't based on twi's checklist of merit, of doing all the right things at the right time. I'd have to say that most of the things listed on the green card started to make a lot more sense in my life once I got beyond relying on the trappings of twi, such as the class and the collateral readings (remember the phrase,"all the research has already been done for us"?). And as of next month, I'll be celebrating 20 years out of twi. Many of the great believers in the Bible took much time to develop wisdom in their lives. When I was 20 and took PFAL, I thought (like many around me in a college fellowship), I could have it all right away. That might help to explain the rush to transference. Hope this makes sense. drummerboy

Oh yes, I neglected to mention... Eyes, you can find my lurking shoes for sale on eBay. Maybe I should sell my WOW pin too. My spouse had the nerve to ask me yesterday if that pin was real gold and if we might get a few bucks for it somewhere. I went through too much to get rid of that now. I think it might be fool's gold. :) She has a pin of her own, so perhaps she should take it to a pawn shop, much like we took one of my drumsets to pay for Corps sponsorship. Oh the pain...that's another story... Waysider, did you know that I lived in Parma OH for several years? The city bird is the plastic pink flamingo, which when I was in high school adorned many a lawn as a serious fashion statement, not as a practical joke for turning a certain age. Love to all, drummerboy

Hello all: Thank you for the warm welcome. Eyes, I think it was just a matter of being busy with life in general. I've also been working on my Ph.D. while teaching full-time, so with all of that, I guess I just never started to post in the forums. I posted once in the Ohio friends search section some time back. I read this thread and I could identify with what others posted. Eyes, I think your thread on LEAD 1986 was also something that inspired me to begin posting. I have a few things to share in the Cafe, I'll admit as much for my benefit as for others. I loved the picture of the snow-covered flamingos. If you've lived in northeast Ohio, you know that that's pretty much how they look from December to April. Looking forward to the virtual sharing. Love, drummerboy

Hello all: First time posting here, although I've been a lurker going back to Waydale. Anyway, these experiences parallel my own. I had reached the end of my rope in college (I was a junior at the time), and I followed the same pattern of transition/transference. My sister had been very active in twi for a few years in the mid '70's, and I thought we could go the distance as God-centered brother and sister, following a very dysfunctional family upbringing. She left in '76 (favorite quote from her after my WOW placement in 1977: "Hey, maybe the Way Tree made a mistake". The horror! The horror!) But I hung around until '88, and I agree that I might have jumped ship much earlier if I'd been single. I'm not so hard on myself now. I was a kid with a lot of needs who couldn't make a sound decision even with twi's version of the renewed mind. :) Love, drummer boy