Another reference to doulos............... February 1982
"Some Corps have said to me that they never really were called to be Corps. I don't believe that. You never would have been in the Corps in the first place had not God had His hand on you. Man, you're Corps! I haven't the time to figure it all out, but I'll let God be the judge at the bema. All I know is what God has called The Way Corps to do, and what our sold-out, committed response must be."
"The Way Corps is a lot bigger than just you or me. It's the accuracy and integrity of God's Word that is at stake. When any Corps start turning away from the Corps, they are turning away from the Word, the great Mystery. We are to diligently keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Your loving response to the ministry that has given you the privilege of being Corps for four years of teaching is your total commitment and service to the Word as a bond slave (doulos)."
With each letter, the incessant focus on "you're corps, called to be Corps, privilege of being corps" was to ratchet pressure against those who knew it was time to get off this moving train. When one reads thru this whole letter......it's obvious that lots of people were dropping their nametags and moving on in life.
How about a timeline of some facts?
5th Corps [75+] graduate in July 1977
6th Corps [320+] graduate in July 1978
1977 ROA in Sidney, OH......utilizing buildings and areas on the fair grounds
1978 ROA was moved to hq-grounds and needed lots of labor to set up tents, food pavilions
Corps Week added prior to roa. Now, corps traveling long distance needed 16-18 days of "vacation time" from employer each year
Add, Anniversary Weekends, WIB, Weekends in the Word......the corps were scrambling to meetings and scrambling to pay bills
By 1980, 81.........corps marriages resulted in babies, babies and more babies
Wierwille could have written a corps letter per month......it wouldn't have mattered. Reality of life was settling in.......with marriages and babies came MORE bills, MORE financial burdens in the short AND long term. Working menial jobs wasn't paying the bills........especially with a growing family. Since wierwille demanded corps attend corps week and roa each year.......a large portion of corps were self-employed; [painters, landscapers, window cleaners, salespersons, etc.] With each passing year, the exponential burden of family/ child-rearing was inescapable reality !!
Read thru the corps letters.......and what you DON'T see? Emphasis on education, family, children, school, careers, building a family unit thru generations.....
Read thru the corps letters.......and what you DO see? A driving emphasis to jump thru hoops of fire and don't complain if you got burnt, dammit.