waysider

I have been out of the way for several years so my info. may be dated. The term "twig" is no longer used. They are now called "household fellowships". (Same product, new name.) Regarding the other matter: The Way teaches that "soul life" starts with the first breath and ends with the last. Hence, according to TWI theology, a baby is not "alive" until it takes its first breath. I don't know if they would directly advise her to have an abortion but their theology supports the concept. This is the sort of thing that would be best discussed with her directly. edited to note that I didn't see RumRunners response before I posted.

Steph The Way is/was structured like a tree. Each individual is a "leaf". Several leaves(3 or more) comprise a "twig". They typically meet in private homes. If you have several twigs in a geographic area, such as a city, they , combined, are called a "branch". All the branches in a statewide area, combined, are called a "limb". A country is a"Trunk". The "root" is the headquarters facility(HQ), which is located in New Knoxville, Ohio. Nourishment for the tree (ie:cash) travels from the "leaves" to the "root". However, it never follows a return route. Thus, the tree analogy is quite flawed. In other words, it's really a "pyramid scheme", sometimes referred to as "multi-level-marketing".(MLM) Here is a link to some vital information regarding the founder of The Way, "Dr." Victor Paul Wierwille. (He wasn't really a "Dr.") It may all seem insignificant to someone not familiar with The Way. To those who have been involved for any length of time, however, it may seem to be quite a shock. http://www.uia.net/~messiah7/vp_DEATH.htm

Here is the ultimate "Then & Now". It's world renown harmonica player, Jason Ricci. It shows what practice and commitment can accomplish. And, to illustrate what a down to Earth guy Jason is, note that he, himself, posted this on youtube. THEN NOW

I'm gonna kick myself for not recognizing what most likely is a Blues tune.

:eusa_clap:

Hi, Steph Welcome to our little coffee shop. I'm not sure why you would need to discuss The Way any differently than you have discussed any other serious topic. I suppose one caveat I might offer is that people who have been heavily indoctrinated by The Way tend to become quite stubbornly defensive of their beliefs and behaviors. I'm sure that reaction is not unique to Way followers, though.

Is that Warren Zevon? (Send Lawyers, Guns and Money)

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iUNgbOr...e2CkRAD93JGLI80 OJ Simpson was found guilty on all counts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Or maybe it is because speakers were invited to The Way Hdqts because of the audience size ,recording capacity, meeting space and other things that you small program did not offer. The fellow laborers in Kansas was not all that huge either. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We had recording capabilities at the Limb HQ (a former meeting and banquet facility) where F.L. nights were, in fact, taped just as SNS was. And so I ask you once again; who were these "speakers" and in what way did they expand our knowledge of the "Truth"?

Hang tough, Roy We all love you, Brother. (Holy Hugs)

Fold

That is a blatant attempt to distract attention from this: The record is clear that for some 30 years, after the point where John maintains that VP claimed he knew all the truth his actions did not coincide with John's claim VP clearly was learning more truth by inviting speakers to teach at whatever location. You made this statement: No one ever spoke in my area as a guest either not the point. It really is an important part of the point. Fellow Laborers was not just some dot on the map. It was supposedly a strategic component of the leadership development process, not just a remote group of "Joe Believers". Not only did we never have any guest speakers come in to expand our understanding of the "Truth" (your word), VPW himself never once spoke or even paid a visit to our program, despite your assertion that he would invite speakers to teach at "whatever location". Why do you suppose that is? Maybe it was because he had already closed the sale with us. He had a guarantee that we were already financially committed to supporting his efforts.

Happy birthday, young lady.

Can you name, let's say, 10 or 15? I mean, we're talking 30 years here! Ought to be an easy list to compile, no? I can tell you exactly how many guest speakers addressed Fellow Laborers (a two year, in residence program at a "whatever location") regarding Biblical matters during my time there. ------------Zero.

I dunno, Hammy Maybe 'the critics" are related to the famous "They" family. You know----"They" say this and "They" say that--- Or as Dr. John once said, "Who are "they" and has anybody ever seen them?"

Excie That's Tom Keane (musician, writer, producer) Here is Chicago performing a song he co-wrote. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydoiUVa7tFs

Whether he ever used the actual words ONLY or BEST is really a moot point. He promoted TWI and what he, VP, personally had to offer as a product that was unparalleled. But, for the sake of bringing the topic back into the discussion, tithing is, in fact, not a requirement of The Church, now or in the NT. Making a statement like "Don't pray for prosperity if you don't tithe"---VPW, demonstrates either an ignorance of the history and meaning of the tithe or a blatant disregard for accuracy.

Twinky Nope, no bar witnessing. In fact, we didn't do much witnessing as we were there to work at the limb. Any witnessing we did was door-to-door and mall witnessing. We turned those leads over to the local twigs to follow up and undershepherd. Of course, we were supposed to use our day jobs as a vehicle to witness but it's pretty tough to get close to co-workers when you're not allowed to hang with them, have no free time and live a regimented schedule. No alcohol permitted in the townhouses.

So, then, it was in the pre-gas pump era, before he cornered the market on "truth".

As WG said, there was a "no drink" limit in Fellow Laborers. Zip. Zilch, Nada. And they could conduct a "house inspection" anytime of the night or day. (Or decide, on a moment's notice, that everyone had to move to different houses---NOW!) Even your underwear drawer was subject to inspection. Nope, no "al-key-hall" for us. (Unless, of course, you happened to be the limb leader. <_< )

It would be interesting to see just how many non-TWI "guest speakers" actually spoke to TWI audiences over the years. (Excluding political pitchmen, gun safety instructors, etc.)

I don't recall anyone ever voicing that expectation.

What is the point you were making?

So, then, what conditions existed in TWI that made it the BEST place to give a tithe?