Leaderboard

Some people may not be aware that TWI will be renamed at their "75th Anniversary" in October to .....................Brown 75. What a sheetload of disappointment to one and all.........everything flowed downhill.

Code brown!

The problem with thinking outside the box is having to get rid of the box on re-cycle day. We can provide you with a box you’ll never have to get rid of. You'll never have to think outside the box ever again !

Some people may not be aware that The Way was not the original name of the ministry or that the PFAL class was once called Brown 25. HERE is the original promotional clip for the class.

As someone who's still a Christian, I found nothing in your posts to draw my interest-which is why I found nothing worth commenting on. What I found was some link-dumping (just a link with no real commentary), and some cheerful blurbing (boy howdy, this is some great stuff!) Since this is a DISCUSSION forum, I expect to actually DISCUSS things. People who show up with just links usually are members of an ex-twi group who are posting links to their ex-twi group....and sometimes they pretend they're not a member of the group. (On an unrelated Christian board, I once ran into a drive-by post by Jeff of CES who said, in effect, "Gee, I found this website with some unusual stuff on it. What do you guys think?" with a link to his own content from the CES website. I responded immediately and called him on it. He never replied. Either it was a true drive-by and he never visited again, or he cut his losses when he realized he was caught. So, your posts. They were vague comments about someone's content on YouTube. They didn't even have the direct links to the content. So, I would have had to look them up to find out about what you WEREN'T saying about it. On message-boards, playing coy (being vague and indirect) usually backfires in either the short or long-term. I don't know WHY you posted that way. I just know that it's a formula for keeping me DISinterested.

Guess I’m old school…simple Christianity is simply Christ-centered - simple in that all it takes is what's already been provided for us by God: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. II Peter 1: 2, 3 NIV I wonder how many folks would be interested in Christianity if all it provided was Jesus Christ. In my humble opinion, it seems rather popular now to market Christianity like some get-rich-quick scheme...something that holds the shortcuts to success...supposedly ways to tap into the power of God. It seems the least common denominator in all of that is what can you get out of Christianity. Thanks to the Internet we have a glut of supposed teachers who connive folks into thinking they desperately need whatever feel-good Pablum is being offered. Personally I don’t see the need for any supposed middleman - like any of the guys you've mentioned…and while we're talking about it - with your lack of details and scope - you come across like a salesman for a product or service that you know very little about. You’ve said it yourself - how you don’t know much about them and even mentioned things that are questionable. If you’re not a member of any of these ministries and seem to be afraid to discuss doctrine then how can you be so confident that what they teach is sound doctrine? And what investigative standards are you employing that qualifies you to say “its more about what GOOD I'm seeing in other people besides TWIers that makes alot of sense.”? Where are these “other people” and how many are there? Can you please be more specific. And besides filling us in on the basis for your sweeping statements - perhaps you could share your fond memories of experiences you’ve had – again, please be specific. On your other thread you talked about miracles / healings - are you talking about miracles you've seen on You Tube? Are you talking about specific miracles you have done - please be specific in the details. Many folks at Grease Spot endured enough of the feel-good Pablum teachings-and-false hopes-and-wishful thinking rigmarole to realize it’s really just all about supporting those who run the Mickey Mouse operation. The longer one stayed in TWI, getting ever more involved - the more one saw its twofold nature. Pleasant on the outside with its veneer of Christianity and yet inwardly such an abusive and exploitative system from the machinations of top leadership. typically in cults there's a support system in place (committed followers on staff and in leadership training programs) - the labor force that keeps the general populace of the cult interested in the charismatic leader and ensures their money keeps rolling in. That is the parasitic nature of a cult - the exploitative organization needs and feeds off the contribution of time/efforts, resources (money, possessions, etc.), and talents of its followers – yet contributes NOTHING in return. I venture to say you were in the general public of TWI - and not on staff or in the way corps - or you would know what I'm talking about. Maybe you should have more of a concern for doctrine. Doctrine is inextricably linked to practice. Because what you believe directs what you do...Matthew 7 and the books of Timothy and Peter will testify to the threat of false teachers and the negative impact of unsound doctrine. It is because unsound or distorted doctrine will generate bad practices. You might want to check out the following books that are very specific in exposing the dark underbelly of an abusive and exploitative cult, how unsound doctrine has a deleterious effect on followers and the false hopes / wishful thinking being sold to folks through the preaching of the health and wealth gospel: The Cult That Snapped Losing the Way Undertow Beyond Seduction

I’m not interested in viewing the teaching nor do I have fond memories of the way we were following a charismatic cult leader. Judging by a previous thread you started - you still seem rather intent on “proselytizing” to an unreceptive audience: thread: anyone ever hear or a follower of Todd White …and as suggested on that thread you might try starting a thread in the doctrinal forum – where you can discuss a system of teachings on a particular topic. That way you might have better luck engaging others in a thoughtful conversation…I don’t mean to be rude – just stating my take on your posts - but your repeated efforts of “testifying” or “witnessing” to the great impact that an assortment of “teachers” has had on your life, does nothing for me. Love & peace T-Bone

If I could put these two sentences in a flashing neon sign, I would. Speaking from experience, this lies at the heart of fanaticism.

Standard technique, newlife. Just about everybody who left or was thrown out had their name blackened and was denounced as being "possessed." And if those who remained in TWI dared contact or associate with the ones who had departed, they too would become "possessed" and would "weaken the ministry." It was manipulation, pure and simple. One Rev's daughter killed herself. The Rev and his wife were banished as being possessed and not able to care for their family - it was their fault she had done this. And anyone who contacted the Rev to offer comfort would themselves become possessed. Does that sound loving? Where are the words of comfort? Where is the kindness? Another Rev had questions in the fog years. Some close friends, another Corps couple (maybe he was a Rev too) contacted them; this was found out by HQ; the second couple immediately became possessed and were ignominiously thrown out. Does that sound like kindness? Like the open response that Jesus would give to those who had doubts? TWI built up fear of the devil, fear of devil spirits ... within TWI you could learn far more about this than about the real and healing power of God and the loving ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you ever see Jesus acting in this way towards those who walked away from him? Did any of the apostles behave like this? On the contrary - for example, we see Simon the Sorcerer continuing to hang around with the apostles. And Simon had packed some "big ones." You are not, and never were, possessed, newlife. But maybe those who remained and still remain at TWI in face of all they must know, suspect or have observed - maybe they are at least influenced by d.s. Yes, they tried this on me too, and I lived with guilt and fear for years. I was afraid of other Christians - other people! - and ashamed of myself before God. Thank God, He was not ashamed of me. He found a way to drag me out of that. I hate those lying evil manipulators for what they have done to ruin so many lives. The best thing you can do, newlife, is to live your life fully, without fear, and love God the best you know how. He loves you and will never abandon or forsake you.

I'm glad you can put it to rest, newlife! Christians have nothing to fear from demons. Simply do your best to think and behave the way the Lord wants you to, and the demons can't gain any foothold. The things Wierwille taught in the Advanced Class were baloney, and he was either knowingly lying or he had been hoodwinked himself. Accusing people of being possessed was a method TWI leaders used to discredit anybody who disagreed with them, and it became the catch-all explanation for why anybody (except the leaders, of course) failed to comply with expected TWI behavior. Enjoy the deliverance and freedom you have in Jesus Christ! Love, Steve

I was raised to be obedient and compliant, a team player, respect authority, do my best etc. Lots of my peers(especially women) were raised the same way back in the fifties and sixties. No arguing, no fighting, work hard to please, respect authority, and take care of others. I think there is a reason so many of us got involved in TWI in late adolescence. We were maturing, breaking free from family, becoming independent and TWI was cloaked as a place to do that, and do important life/world changing work. But once we were in all those childhood habits were once again expected of us. I've tried to raise my children to have more balance--follow the rules, yes, but they can voice and think about those rules. Not unthinking obedience.

Thanks for sharing... For me, I was just an idiot.. Raised to believe my "elders" or superiors.. Teachers.. Parents.. Pastors.. Sure.. They were older than me, what do I know! Thankfully I came to my senses before my entire life was gone..