wow76-78

Kathy, happy birthday !!!! Yes, I agree, our lives really seem better at 50 than 29 (wish I knew then, and all that) luv ya, ken

"Is that idolatrous? " YES !!!

"Lazy" by Deep Purple (Machinehead album)

Welcome, Mr. Thomas Crown. I think I can speak for the majority of us here, we certianly would be interested to hear your thoughts and ideas regarding exiting the ministry. It seems that there are a few here that are in a precarious situation with families intrests in mind or whatever makes the situation so delicate and any input will be welcome. Having been out for about 10 years I am not up on the latest info about twi, but we still share the common experience of being in twi. Congratulations on taking the step of actually posting here, I know it took guts. Feel free to express what you think and feel here, doing so will help you make an informed decision at the right time.

with such a body of known works left to "master" who needs more? I can't stand any more !!!

Erik, I think that many here do not want to drag around the baggage of un-forgiveness, bitterness and resentment. Your answer to all of this is to simply pray for deliverence and move on. I consider myself to have been delivered from many of the problems I had from my involvement with twi. I would like to think that if I knew what was going on with the top leaders I would have left, but you never know till youve been there. I may have found a way to rationalize their behavior. Having been a branch coordinator I have done some things to people that to this day I am ashamed of, all I can do is beg forgiveness from God and those people. My motives were Godly but terribly misguided. When I first came to GSC, I thought I had the answers for those who 'wanted deliverence' too, but quickly learned that some here have been thru allot more than me. I was never M&A, not purged for being a homo, etc. The healing process is different for each person depending on the severity of the wound and the nature of the person. There are some here who REALLY have a handle on the Word. They are not shoving their doctrine down our throats. Everything has a time and place. I have learned so much here from reading posts, many times I am humbled by the responses here, often when I get to the end of a post everything I wanted to say was already done so and in much greater terms than I could express. I have gotten inspired by people who at one time seemed so bitter and watching them get healed. So you basically 'got over' your twi days, huh? Do you pray TO Jesus? Are you able to listen to others 'opinions' relating to a section of the bible? Can you listen to a Christian radio broadcast without the urge to puke? Which is greater: Accuracy or love? What I'm trying to say is be quiet, listen and learn. If you are a man of understanding you will gain much. love, wow

Wayfer: very good point, one that we as ex-wayfers need to re-learn: experience is how we re-inforce 'head knowlege', take an abstract idea (stop before you get to the sidewalk) and make it a concrete one. Twi minimized the importance of experience, gave us a 'better than thou' attitude towards those with experience (they don't have the spirit og God in them, how valid could their experience be type of thinking) The fact that you were so horrified means that that lesson will stick with you. Emotions (feelings) are what mark an experience so you will remember it for a long time.

I had the impression for many years that it was ok to lie to those outside the household. It came under the umbrella of 'all things lawful, all things not expedient' logic. If the word was gonna move you just did whatever it took. If you needed to lie about refrences in order to get some WOW's into an apartment, so be it. Embelish your work refrences because 'you are God's best and deserve the best' Hide some negative aspect of your life because you don't want to 'confess the negative', especially to unbelievers. What kind of witness would that be ? I don't remember where I picked up this way of thinking but it was deeply engrained in most way 'believers'.

I know what you mean about the music- it is uplifting and full of love. I like the 'worship' music the best. The CD's entitled 'Accoustic Worship' have been a real inspiration to me and many members of our church (yes, we bought a CHURCH and every Sunday morning we go to CHURCH!) I wonder if anyone has tips on how to run a 'worship service', has anyone been to one that was a blessing to them?