Leaderboard

The Way, Inc. [1957] was a splinter group. Mrs. Wierwille's book documents that her husband was "thrilled" to sit in Rev. B.G. Leonard's foundational class, The Gifts of the Spirit, in 1953. Months later, wierwille (again), with two carloads of students made the trek to Calgary, Alberta to take this class in June/July of 1953. And then after wierwille's 2nd class sit-thru, he drives home to Van Wert with visions of a class-based teaching ministry dancing in his head. By October, 1953.....wierwille is off and running "his own class." Phasing in a Splinter: Acquire the Mantle of "Teaching the Word".........*weekly sustenance of what you teach needs faithful attendance and adherence. Establish a Hierarchy of Leadership and Spiritual System for others to climb.......*spiritual elites are not accountable to followers. Secure a Central Headquarters.......harnessing the one point of allegiance from which teachings, outreach and service emanate. The R&R group is off to a running start with teaching a vast amount of twi's foundation........but will take strategic steps to tweak the things that twi got wrong!! Sound familiar? It should: that's exactly what wierwille did. They will teach 90% (??) of what wierwille established.......and avoid like the plague issues like wierwille's plagiarism, drunkenness, sexual predation, complicity to spiritual abuse, hoarding of abs, etc. So, they will endeavor to re-create the good ole days in the early 70s with wierwille.......dismissing all the red flags that caused men like Heefner, Doop, Wade, to exit over 40 years ago. Phase #1 is the easy step. Phase #2 is going to be much more challenging. With peers in this party, who is going to rise up and take on the mantle of alpha-male? Without a system of classes, camps, central location, money collection, goals, agenda............where is this railroad going? Teaching is NOT enough to sustain the headwinds of inertia. People WILL fade away......into family life, careers, interests, health issues and death. If there is no overwhelming agreement on hierarchy, lots of these corps will head for the exit doors. And besides, if they don't capture the youth's idealism and zealous support......this new splinter will be little more than your local book club supporters. Phase #3 of Securing a Central Headquarters [BRC/Church].....like CFF, Finnegan's group, Hendricks group, etc......is essential. Maybe Dottie Moynihan will open up her family wealth's checkbook and give a hefty donation.....or one of the others. But....just to be having weekly teachings on Facebook is going to fizzle.......soon. Teachings going out into the ethereal of humanity will NOT alone sustain the human spirit. I highly suspect that MANY of these self-appointed corps have been planning these phases already!!! These guys and gals are not stupid, misguided yes, but not stupid. They will need a location in the next two years, maximum. As this Revival and Restoration group casts off the yoke of bondage from mothercult.......it will be very interesting to see how many want to get their butts back into chairs for leaders' meetings, classes, camps and night owls. LOL. My money is on the Horneys taking the mantle............... .

With regards to the main drivers of the R&R group.......horneys, moynihans, sheltons and michael fort: Although some of them have done contributing teachings to a certain weekend or event..........IMO, they are not going to embrace and enthusiastically support Rico's splinter group. All money, teaching series and decision-making are in the hands of Rico. Unless you are the lead dog.......the view never changes. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on the horneys to attempt to break to the front of R&R. BUT.......many of those 80 corps who recently exited will scatter to the winds. Moynihans' time has passed........they will support to bask in adulation of others. Many of these top-tier corps (cough, cough) will start to connect the dots. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It matters not to me if people want to congregate in others' living rooms for teachings and fellowship. Go for it. What I oppose is CENTRALIZATION OF SPIRITUAL ABUSE FROM AFAR........where "leaders" dictate, mandate, coerce and exploit followers. The world is littered with scams and schemes that separate people from their hard-earned money........and cults prey on the weak and gullible. Be wise as serpents and kick their a$$es out!!

Yes.......while some said, "well they haven't asked for money"........many of us said, "it's only a matter of time."

Weren't there some of us who, while others suggested the group wasn't interested in followers' money, that it was indeed the nature of the beast?

On January 20, 2019........They had a conference weekend in Wichita, Kansas. Three Teachings noted......... Cheerful Giver (by Rico Magnelli) Love is Giving: We Give Because God Gave (by John Ryan) Partners in Giving and Receiving (by Tom Knupp) So now it begins............the need for money, the need to recruit others. And.......why Wichita, Kansas? Is there still a group of loyal wierwille-followers there? .....

To me, it appears that Oikeos....Rico Magnelli........got off to a running start BEFORE this R&R group (Moynihans, Horneys. Fort, etc). Rico met with Rosalie after the August 2016 letter........confronting her head-on. This confrontation led to his immediate dismissal or resignation. Rico moved quickly on planning to jump-start his own splinter group.......website included. The R&R Group waited on Rosalie and BOD to relent and meet with their demands. Didn't happen. Then, the R&R Group sent out a March 2017 letter with 56 signatures (**and dozens more). In May 2017 was the R&R Group's Facebook Q&A............followed by more mark/avoid from hq. Again, to reiterate................Rico got the jump on all of this. And now.......when you click on "speakers" button on the Oikeos.org/teachings........Fort, Giles, Horney, Knupp, Moynihan, Ryan and Weller are listed as contributing speakers/teachers to Rico's Oikeos organization. Game. Set. Match. AND...............now, the teachings on giving money are coming out. AND................so it begins. ANOTHER BABY CULT IS BORN.

Taking a series of classes is...........sequential followship and, possibly, indoctrination. It becomes the process that enables the succession of faithful obedience

Yeah.........right now, this group has "too many corps and not enough followers." Wait till they start delving into salaried positions, travel expenses, company car, room rentals, petty cash reimbursements, financial transparency and long-term investment into a "central headquarters." Just how committed are these folks when it comes to their pocketbook? To grow.......they've got to be committed. To grow.......they've got to have outreach. Who is going to go door-to-door witnessing? Plus, on the horizon.......they will be prompted to discuss, determine and restate their stance on the holy spirit field, namely the nine manifestations. Demonstration of the power of God........ie signs, miracles and wonders. Back in twi's heyday, THAT was what separated "the groovy Christians" from the church Christians. If this R&R group is going to have any longevity, it has to be more than just having butts in seats......and another weekend of listening to a teaching series.

Sky, I wonder how many years this group will last before, they devour each other.

IF the R&R group has established itself as the OIKEOS Christian Network, the group has indeed set its sights on being a new splinter group. I copied excerpts and pasted them in the R&R thread with commentary. They do seem intent on running classes.

great post Skyrider ! yeah - I can see the Horneys as being "a good fit"...she was a real ball-breaker during my LEAD session...I remember saying several times in an aside to my wife "I think she's trying to kill me by exhaustion." ...but praise the gosh by golly I made it through...I'm corps dammit !

Guess that maybe one would have to experience being abused, not just physically but mentally as well, in order to understand the utter hopelessness of the situation. You have been taught all of your life that God, society and family all expect you to endure with stoiscim whatever your husband dishes out. Maybe you stay to protect your children from his rages and tirades. So you try a little harder to please, pray more, cook better, be better in bed...find a way to some how take the edge off of his anger... There really was no out for a woman back then with kids if she didn`t have family to support her....there wasn`t welfare or food stamps. You just sucked it up and tried to endure the shame as best you could. It is damned near impossible to stand up for yourself when you believe that in doing so you are going against GOD`S will....that HE won`t be able protect you or your children if you break those vows... It is a lonely dark prison, you have to admire the lady for managing to not succumb to bitterness and cruelty herself imo.

Gonna weigh in here... Great points word wolf, I hope that you never stop keeping the record straight and people honest here. twinot, i have to say that you are sounding pretty darned judgemental and harsh about a lady who most of us understand didn`t have a lot of options. She was his first *con* and by the time she found out differently she was stuck with small children. Geeemany.....She believed that she was getting away from her awfull home, she believed that vpw was going to be a minister and that she would be allowed to be a missionary....she had an honest heart to serve God. I know that I believed the twi sheet about marriage, as I am sure did she.....about being honor bound to God to obey my mariage vows no matter what the husband did ....even in THIS day and age. There are a lot of us that believed that God required us to maintain our silence and pain in order to be concidered a *virtuous* woman. We let twi define what aGod expected of a wife and so put up with whatever transpired because we obeyed a higher law. We were taught that if we obeyed the husband, that God would honor our commitment and make everything alright anyway. Guess I can understand praying steadfast day after day, trusting that God would intercede....watching my husband become more cruel and unbearable year after year....tearfully brokenly begging God to *fix* things. I did read where Mrs W shared that when she once confronted vpw, he simply told her that if she didn`t like it she could just leave. She had no where to go with small children, and felt honor bound to God to obey her marriage vows. It is a wonder that she remained so unsullied and above the sin and filth that vpw introduced into their life. Yeah, she lost it a time or two....but who in the he ll wouldn`t having to live with that shame and humiliation....are we forgetting how persuasive that .... head was?