I dunno. Somehow, the concept of cult leaders thinking they're "ordained by God" just tickles my funny bone. Sorta like preschoolers putting on Mommy's lipstick and prancing around in her high heels. Do they know they look silly? Of course not. Fantasy becomes reality...at least in their minds.
Rosie made ordinations real hush hush. Really, they didn't make a big deal of ordinations before hand (maybe an announcement or two) and they typically took place in private. Private being backstage at an event and they would announce it again after the fact. Otherwise, it seems like another lever of control to lay on people. In other words, you are ordained so you are expected to behave in this manner.
Call it some kind of morbid curiosity. Does rosie (or donna) come out of their hole, wear some kind of pink fairy suit, and sprinkle magic pixie dust on the recipient?
do they even ordain anymore? Seems kinda useless. Well, then..
if they have a bunch of dedicated numbskulls to this kind of slaverish nonsense in a closet somewhere just waiting to "serve"..
wouldn't that make anyone getting closer to the upper tier of the organization REPLACEABLE?
do they even ordain anymore? Seems kinda useless. Well, then..
if they have a bunch of dedicated numbskulls to this kind of slaverish nonsense in a closet somewhere just waiting to "serve"..
wouldn't that make anyone getting closer to the upper tier of the organization REPLACEABLE?
Without running lots of class....attracting lots of new people, etc.....
there is NO NEED for more ordinations.
The caste system in twi doesn't need more clergy in a stagnant growth mode. And, "stagnant" might be too kind. If the organization is dying out, then adding tiers (clergy) to the business model is a no-brainer.
Could it be that Waydale/Greasespot has red-flagged The Way International for all the world to see? I think that's part of it. Bye, bye....twi.
Could it be that Waydale/Greasespot has red-flagged The Way International for all the world to see? I think that's part of it. Bye, bye....twi.
It's a HUGE part of the equation. Yet, Rosie and the gang are oblivious to the obvious. First off, they don't want honest feedback from field way corps. When I was way corps I kept in contact with several people who were branch and limb level folks and all of them said that the internet was killing them. The common theme goes like this "We witnessed to so and so and they were really excited at least until they got home and googled the way international." This info either never makes it to Rosie or she doesn't think the internet is relevant enough to matter, even though it's been killing them slowly for years. (or both)
And she absolutely hates computers and the internet, in fact when I was around she refused to keep a computer in her office. It's sort of like hating the light bulb and electricity choosing instead to burn candles. To each their own.
It's a HUGE part of the equation. Yet, Rosie and the gang are oblivious to the obvious. First off, they don't want honest feedback from field way corps. When I was way corps I kept in contact with several people who were branch and limb level folks and all of them said that the internet was killing them. The common theme goes like this "We witnessed to so and so and they were really excited at least until they got home and googled the way international." This info either never makes it to Rosie or she doesn't think the internet is relevant enough to matter, even though it's been killing them slowly for years. (or both)
And she absolutely hates computers and the internet, in fact when I was around she refused to keep a computer in her office. It's sort of like hating the light bulb and electricity choosing instead to burn candles. To each their own.
Yeah, she may be a blind bull in a china shop but she must realize that The Way dodged a HUGE bullet after the lawsuits, the biggie, the Allen case. Dodged may not be the right word - they were able to recover and continue and while it hasn't been the same since they haven't been shut down.
She knows the old guard is still out there, all those who have left from the "old days".
The Way Inc. could never hold up under any kind of open, public and consistent inquiry. I'm sure she knows the limits of her own and others capacity.
So, yeah - burn candles and pretend light bulbs aren't what everyone else is using.
Having lived there for several years myself I can't IMAGINE what it must be like there and don't like to for very long. Just can't imagine how those people endure and survive in that kind of environment. They must be tripping over the ghosts of the past.
Or maybe having tea and toast with them....oh, how those tables must be sticky with filth after all these years.....
It's a HUGE part of the equation. Yet, Rosie and the gang are oblivious to the obvious. First off, they don't want honest feedback from field way corps. When I was way corps I kept in contact with several people who were branch and limb level folks and all of them said that the internet was killing them. The common theme goes like this "We witnessed to so and so and they were really excited at least until they got home and googled the way international." This info either never makes it to Rosie or she doesn't think the internet is relevant enough to matter, even though it's been killing them slowly for years. (or both)
And she absolutely hates computers and the internet, in fact when I was around she refused to keep a computer in her office. It's sort of like hating the light bulb and electricity choosing instead to burn candles. To each their own.
And.....I tend to believe, that not only do the newly-witnessed people check the internet and come across the Greasespot Cafe website, BUT advanced class grads and corps have been reading too!
I mean, really....after years of seeing pathetic numbers in class registration, major events, sunday teachings, corps sign-ups, etc. its hard to ignore the OBVIOUS: Twi is dying out. No longer do the cliches and propaganda work to deceive the people. Greasespot Cafe tells the other side, the evil, of twi.
Living well......AFTER TWI......is the greatest revenge, and testimony.
Lately, I've seen a sort of inverse of this same thing. Some people seem to be revisiting/revitalizing their current beliefs and opinions to coincide with their old Way beliefs, despite their extended absence from the actual organization. Maybe this stuff is like a virus that you can never really get rid of.
Ah, Waysider...nostalgia. "It wasn't really that bad. Heck, I met some really great people in the Corps/ at twig/ at the Rock/ whenever."
Mmmmm...what was it that sign in the BRC said/says? "The best times of your life are now"?
Not, I think, a comment regarding the BRC or even TWI, so much as an exhortation to live in the present, not in the past...or the future.
Don't know who originally said that, but it's not a quote unique to TWI.
The best times of my life ARE now! I've been out of The Way International since 1987, and out of all involvement with off-shoots since 1996. Clean and sober for 15 years now. I'm working on a masters degree in theological studies at a bona fide school and having a blast with a lot of fellow Christians who are walking in the Spirit, even though their tradition doesn't call it that. I'm learning real Greek from a real doctor who is working on a real commentary on the gospel Mark.
They don't look down on me for having been involved in a cult. They are curious, and tickled as people can be to hear how God would work with people, even in spite of their own foolishness INSIDE a cult. If there's one thing I DON'T have, it's nostalgia for The Way International. For some of the people I knew... yes. For the organization and the leadership (including myself)... no.
There are more fish to fry out here than TWI can shake a stick at!
It's a HUGE part of the equation. Yet, Rosie and the gang are oblivious to the obvious. First off, they don't want honest feedback from field way corps. When I was way corps I kept in contact with several people who were branch and limb level folks and all of them said that the internet was killing them. The common theme goes like this "We witnessed to so and so and they were really excited at least until they got home and googled the way international." This info either never makes it to Rosie or she doesn't think the internet is relevant enough to matter, even though it's been killing them slowly for years. (or both)
That's tremendous. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine! And by God it's going to dispel darkness.
And.....I tend to believe, that not only do the newly-witnessed people check the internet and come across the Greasespot Cafe website, BUT advanced class grads and corps have been reading too!
I mean, really....after years of seeing pathetic numbers in class registration, major events, sunday teachings, corps sign-ups, etc. its hard to ignore the OBVIOUS: Twi is dying out. No longer do the cliches and propaganda work to deceive the people. Greasespot Cafe tells the other side, the evil, of twi.
Living well......AFTER TWI......is the greatest revenge, and testimony.
Amen and amen!
Lately, I've seen a sort of inverse of this same thing. Some people seem to be revisiting/revitalizing their current beliefs and opinions to coincide with their old Way beliefs, despite their extended absence from the actual organization. Maybe this stuff is like a virus that you can never really get rid of.
You can get rid of a lot of it. Enough to where you can live a life that is not dominated by habits and rituals (yes, there were rituals) of life in TWI. And you can keep what you want to keep.
Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. :)
There is a lot of diversity of paths taken and beliefs held by people after twi. And I think that's wonderful.
To minister means "to serve." Jesus demonstrated what "ministry" means when He washed his followers' feet. To minister means doing things you don't really want to do, for people who don't really understand or care, with absolutely no hope of return in money or glory.
Wierwille did not minister. He made himself a lord of our believing (II Corinthians 1:24).
After only being a limbcwod for a year, a certain young man was ordained. He was a big baby and his wife was verbally abusive. She was worse than him, threw viscious temper tantrums.
Neither of them was educated and it showed. But they were favored by west nile virus and he recommended them.
He had once checked himself into a homeless shelter and she had mostly waitressed. Not putting down waitresses, I worked in some sort of food service a big part of my life and appreciate how hard they work and how they can really help people have a nice time. I'm not putting down people who have spent time in homeless shelters either. I don't judge, we've all hit rough spots.
But point being, they were put in charge without having much knowledge or experience. And they were mean. If they had at least been nice and had compassion, the lack of education could be over looked. Some of the most wonderful people I know are not educated, yet they are kind and do many great things for other people. So I'm not putting down the uneducated either. To do so would be putting down myself as well. I hold no degrees.
But most religious organizations require some education before they mindlessly ordain somebody, don't they? These two had no clue about how to counsel anyone. Their solution was to yell at and condemn people with problems.
Ordaining unkind, mean and uneducated people who lack compassion only gives them authority to abuse good people.
After only being a limbcwod for a year, a certain young man was ordained. He was a big baby and his wife was verbally abusive. She was worse than him, threw viscious temper tantrums.
Neither of them was educated and it showed. But they were favored by west nile virus and he recommended them.
He had once checked himself into a homeless shelter and she had mostly waitressed. Not putting down waitresses, I worked in some sort of food service a big part of my life and appreciate how hard they work and how they can really help people have a nice time. I'm not putting down people who have spent time in homeless shelters either. I don't judge, we've all hit rough spots.
But point being, they were put in charge without having much knowledge or experience. And they were mean. If they had at least been nice and had compassion, the lack of education could be over looked. Some of the most wonderful people I know are not educated, yet they are kind and do many great things for other people. So I'm not putting down the uneducated either. To do so would be putting down myself as well. I hold no degrees.
But most religious organizations require some education before they mindlessly ordain somebody, don't they? These two had no clue about how to counsel anyone. Their solution was to yell at and condemn people with problems.
Ordaining unkind, mean and uneducated people who lack compassion only gives them authority to abuse good people.
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waysider
I dunno. Somehow, the concept of cult leaders thinking they're "ordained by God" just tickles my funny bone. Sorta like preschoolers putting on Mommy's lipstick and prancing around in her high heels. Do they know they look silly? Of course not. Fantasy becomes reality...at least in their minds.
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Steve Lortz
Aptly put, waysider, aptly put!
Love,
Steve
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OldSkool
Rosie made ordinations real hush hush. Really, they didn't make a big deal of ordinations before hand (maybe an announcement or two) and they typically took place in private. Private being backstage at an event and they would announce it again after the fact. Otherwise, it seems like another lever of control to lay on people. In other words, you are ordained so you are expected to behave in this manner.
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Ham
Call it some kind of morbid curiosity. Does rosie (or donna) come out of their hole, wear some kind of pink fairy suit, and sprinkle magic pixie dust on the recipient?
do they even ordain anymore? Seems kinda useless. Well, then..
if they have a bunch of dedicated numbskulls to this kind of slaverish nonsense in a closet somewhere just waiting to "serve"..
wouldn't that make anyone getting closer to the upper tier of the organization REPLACEABLE?
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OldSkool
That is Rosie's attitude. I hope they keep up the arrogance long enough for there be no one in line to replace the replaceable.
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excathedra
this subject makes me feel like saying "HUH"
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skyrider
Without running lots of class....attracting lots of new people, etc.....
there is NO NEED for more ordinations.
The caste system in twi doesn't need more clergy in a stagnant growth mode. And, "stagnant" might be too kind. If the organization is dying out, then adding tiers (clergy) to the business model is a no-brainer.
Could it be that Waydale/Greasespot has red-flagged The Way International for all the world to see? I think that's part of it. Bye, bye....twi.
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OldSkool
It's a HUGE part of the equation. Yet, Rosie and the gang are oblivious to the obvious. First off, they don't want honest feedback from field way corps. When I was way corps I kept in contact with several people who were branch and limb level folks and all of them said that the internet was killing them. The common theme goes like this "We witnessed to so and so and they were really excited at least until they got home and googled the way international." This info either never makes it to Rosie or she doesn't think the internet is relevant enough to matter, even though it's been killing them slowly for years. (or both)
And she absolutely hates computers and the internet, in fact when I was around she refused to keep a computer in her office. It's sort of like hating the light bulb and electricity choosing instead to burn candles. To each their own.
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socks
Yeah, she may be a blind bull in a china shop but she must realize that The Way dodged a HUGE bullet after the lawsuits, the biggie, the Allen case. Dodged may not be the right word - they were able to recover and continue and while it hasn't been the same since they haven't been shut down.
She knows the old guard is still out there, all those who have left from the "old days".
The Way Inc. could never hold up under any kind of open, public and consistent inquiry. I'm sure she knows the limits of her own and others capacity.
So, yeah - burn candles and pretend light bulbs aren't what everyone else is using.
Having lived there for several years myself I can't IMAGINE what it must be like there and don't like to for very long. Just can't imagine how those people endure and survive in that kind of environment. They must be tripping over the ghosts of the past.
Or maybe having tea and toast with them....oh, how those tables must be sticky with filth after all these years.....
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skyrider
And.....I tend to believe, that not only do the newly-witnessed people check the internet and come across the Greasespot Cafe website, BUT advanced class grads and corps have been reading too!
I mean, really....after years of seeing pathetic numbers in class registration, major events, sunday teachings, corps sign-ups, etc. its hard to ignore the OBVIOUS: Twi is dying out. No longer do the cliches and propaganda work to deceive the people. Greasespot Cafe tells the other side, the evil, of twi.
Living well......AFTER TWI......is the greatest revenge, and testimony.
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waysider
Lately, I've seen a sort of inverse of this same thing. Some people seem to be revisiting/revitalizing their current beliefs and opinions to coincide with their old Way beliefs, despite their extended absence from the actual organization. Maybe this stuff is like a virus that you can never really get rid of.
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Twinky
Ah, Waysider...nostalgia. "It wasn't really that bad. Heck, I met some really great people in the Corps/ at twig/ at the Rock/ whenever."
Mmmmm...what was it that sign in the BRC said/says? "The best times of your life are now"?
Not, I think, a comment regarding the BRC or even TWI, so much as an exhortation to live in the present, not in the past...or the future.
Don't know who originally said that, but it's not a quote unique to TWI.
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Steve Lortz
The best times of my life ARE now! I've been out of The Way International since 1987, and out of all involvement with off-shoots since 1996. Clean and sober for 15 years now. I'm working on a masters degree in theological studies at a bona fide school and having a blast with a lot of fellow Christians who are walking in the Spirit, even though their tradition doesn't call it that. I'm learning real Greek from a real doctor who is working on a real commentary on the gospel Mark.
They don't look down on me for having been involved in a cult. They are curious, and tickled as people can be to hear how God would work with people, even in spite of their own foolishness INSIDE a cult. If there's one thing I DON'T have, it's nostalgia for The Way International. For some of the people I knew... yes. For the organization and the leadership (including myself)... no.
There are more fish to fry out here than TWI can shake a stick at!
Love,
Steve
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Rocky
That's tremendous. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine! And by God it's going to dispel darkness.
Amen and amen!
You can get rid of a lot of it. Enough to where you can live a life that is not dominated by habits and rituals (yes, there were rituals) of life in TWI. And you can keep what you want to keep.
Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. :)
There is a lot of diversity of paths taken and beliefs held by people after twi. And I think that's wonderful.
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excathedra
what the heck is an ordination for godssake?
if i was ordained -- a reverend -- could i help my 17-year-old more?
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OperaBuff
TWI ordinations, like those in most religious Christian churches, give men the opportunity to wear flouncy gowns for each other in public.
Gift ministries are just that. A gift, and a ministry. God apparently forgot to tell Paul about the gowns.
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Steve Lortz
To minister means "to serve." Jesus demonstrated what "ministry" means when He washed his followers' feet. To minister means doing things you don't really want to do, for people who don't really understand or care, with absolutely no hope of return in money or glory.
Wierwille did not minister. He made himself a lord of our believing (II Corinthians 1:24).
Love,
Steve
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100% Free
I don't think it ever made sense.
Especially some of the choices.
After only being a limbcwod for a year, a certain young man was ordained. He was a big baby and his wife was verbally abusive. She was worse than him, threw viscious temper tantrums.
Neither of them was educated and it showed. But they were favored by west nile virus and he recommended them.
He had once checked himself into a homeless shelter and she had mostly waitressed. Not putting down waitresses, I worked in some sort of food service a big part of my life and appreciate how hard they work and how they can really help people have a nice time. I'm not putting down people who have spent time in homeless shelters either. I don't judge, we've all hit rough spots.
But point being, they were put in charge without having much knowledge or experience. And they were mean. If they had at least been nice and had compassion, the lack of education could be over looked. Some of the most wonderful people I know are not educated, yet they are kind and do many great things for other people. So I'm not putting down the uneducated either. To do so would be putting down myself as well. I hold no degrees.
But most religious organizations require some education before they mindlessly ordain somebody, don't they? These two had no clue about how to counsel anyone. Their solution was to yell at and condemn people with problems.
Ordaining unkind, mean and uneducated people who lack compassion only gives them authority to abuse good people.
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100% Free
I don't think it ever made sense.
Especially some of the choices.
After only being a limbcwod for a year, a certain young man was ordained. He was a big baby and his wife was verbally abusive. She was worse than him, threw viscious temper tantrums.
Neither of them was educated and it showed. But they were favored by west nile virus and he recommended them.
He had once checked himself into a homeless shelter and she had mostly waitressed. Not putting down waitresses, I worked in some sort of food service a big part of my life and appreciate how hard they work and how they can really help people have a nice time. I'm not putting down people who have spent time in homeless shelters either. I don't judge, we've all hit rough spots.
But point being, they were put in charge without having much knowledge or experience. And they were mean. If they had at least been nice and had compassion, the lack of education could be over looked. Some of the most wonderful people I know are not educated, yet they are kind and do many great things for other people. So I'm not putting down the uneducated either. To do so would be putting down myself as well. I hold no degrees.
But most religious organizations require some education before they mindlessly ordain somebody, don't they? These two had no clue about how to counsel anyone. Their solution was to yell at and condemn people with problems.
Ordaining unkind, mean and uneducated people who lack compassion only gives them authority to abuse good people.
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waysider
I think that says it all in a nutshell.
(Unless you try to understand it in the context of an MLM scam.)
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