Welcome, Wayfer!
I'm an "innie" who desparately wants to be free from TWI regardless of the "doctrine" they teach. They certainly don't live anything they teach and to me that means they may as well not be teaching. They were great for me and my life at one time, but they aren't meeting my needs anymore and I get the feeling that anything they change or do now is just to hold onto my money. There isn't really any agape love in that place. It's dark and dead and people are just going through the motions. My family is convinced that there is nothing better out there, but you know what? We haven't looked and they WON'T look! The last time any of us went to a "church" other than to appease a distant family member all we did was nitpick. Sure, you can find anything to complain about if you look hard enough. But I would bet that we could find a lot of things better than TWI in in those same churches. Heck, if nothing else, there's enough people to volunteer for things so that you aren't always stuck having to "serve" at every freaking thing.
You said, "People need to learn that they should do only what they are convinced they need to be doing. No one tells me what to do anymore, and I'm not considered a heretic in TWI. The way you live life is manifested by the fruit you produce--good or not. That should be evidence enough of someone's heart. "
That's asking an awful lot of people who don't even realize that they don't have to do what leadership tells them. (Remember, "suggestion from leadership is tantamount to a command"?) No one tells you what to do RIGHT NOW, but it will come back to that. RFR is the instigator of all that legalism. She just let LCM take the credit for it and is backing off for a bit. The upper echelons of WC have to kiss her a** to keep their paychecks and lofty lifestyles. They WILL enforce her rules when she makes them again.
You mention fruit in our lives. We were blinded to see the rotten fruit for years, don't you think? What kind of fruit do you see now? How many people are coming to TWI? How many WD are there going out? How many people continue to stick around? What kind of lives do you see in the leadership around you? Why do you think JR is sick and resigned? What did you think about his letter that RFR read at the anniversary service? Did you see any subtext in that?
I'm not attacking you. I'm very glad that you're here and that you are brave enough to post and ask questions and look around. I think you'll start to see more and more that TWI is not what you think it is. You've already started. It can be really hard to face up to and please know that there are many people here who will help you. So many people who have been through what we're going through. I've spent many a night crying and posting or reading here. It's a rude awakening to say the least, but it does get better and it feels good to know the truth about what TWI is all about.
Really, it's good to see you here! I recommend the cinnamon rolls (if you ask nicely they'll put extra icing on them!)
(all apologies to the post length enforcer - i'll refrain from posting much more today to make up for the space i've taken up here)
