JustThinking

What year was this infamous meeting? Was it ROA 91 or 92? Was it the same year that the nightly teachings focused on a different ministry program? (Family Camps, WOW, etc.)

Galen, My wife and I were married by a TWI minister. I don't remember any teachings over almost 20 years that it was reserved for Corps. The recommendation back when was to wait until you were an AC grad but it wasn't a requirement. Did that change later?

Ex, I'll trust your judgement. By the deafening silence, it seems there won't be many offering examples they've seen recently.

Ex, :-P

Tumbleweed, If it's ok to share, why were they dropped. I had known them but they were on a list of folks who disappeared. I'm on the way out and trying to find a whole bunch of folks, like them, who just weren't mentioned anymore.

Brad Thorpe who was LC of NY for a while seems to have vanished. He used to be on the Sunday tapes all the time...and then wasn't. ??? I'm still in and haven't heard his name in a long time.

Ex, Did you see any at TWI fellowship ever?

Amazin' huh? He seemed pretty humble about it too. Not pushy in any way. Almost pleading. Poor guy. I really felt for him.

If I remember correctly, the guy at the microphone talked about love. His (abbreviated) topic definitely dealt with the lack of love he saw and we needed to get back to that. BTW, I was in the front row at that meeting. Mr "I'm so anxious to go in the Corps." Well, we never did end up going in the corps. That meeting had a lot to do with it. If I wanted screaming, I would have joined the Army.

R, :-) I guess we could go for sports teams, politics, etc.

Steve, Dumb question: Were you in 29 Palms in 1984? Were you part of schools BN or a regular unit?

I know the Thorpe's went to HQ at some point. Does anyone know if they're still in? I heard they bailed after LCM's lawsuit.

Lindy, Do your parents still run a fellowship in Catonsville? I have an old friend who now lives in MD. He used to live somewhere around there. Isn't it pretty close to Baltimore?

Thanks for the clarification. My assumption was that it was pre-1982 or pre-LCM.

Rafael, Good point about Cain. Thanks for being a rational voice in several discussions. I haven't disagreed with you yet but think we could still have a decent exchange of ideas if I did. Glad you're here.

The odd thing was that it was consistently inconsistent. One leader would rip your head off for saying anything during his teaching. Then the next guy would ask obvious questions to the crowd and tear into you for sitting there in silent fear. In hindsight, it's a great control technique. If you went to the Joseph Stalin school of diplomacy, that is.

Oak, 46 people looked at this other than us and NO takers. In basketball, I believe that's called an airball. We couldn't get ONE miracle! It seems my impression may have been correct. Maybe to be fair, we should open it up to pre-1993 and any other ministry? Just to do an "apples-to-apples" comparison. Dot, Regardless of who you give the credit, I'm looking for any that occurred. Help me out?

CC, I was there during that meeting and have thought about it several times while on this site.

Revealed Omniscient True Temple Is El Shaddai Church What do you think? ROTTIE Church? My Christmas present to you. Now you're home. :-) (Please don't ding me for Biblical accuracy. A name generator I'm not!)

Tom, You're right. Thanks for pointing it out to me. I wasn't saying that all miracles in TWI were just rumors. That would be a stretch. I suppose I didn't express myself very well. What I trying to say was that I personally was (and am) unaware of any miracles even being mentioned in some time. For example, a couple of years ago, I mentioned to some fellow FCs that I noticed this. "When was the last time you saw or even knew of someone who had a genuine miracle in their life." Very awkward silence. It was obvious that: (1) they hadn't thought about it and (2) they couldn't recall one. These folks represented twi fellowships from various areas in a large state. Surely, someone could have come up with at least ONE. That is only one state but I suspect it is not unusual. Just a theory though which is why I started another thread on this to hear from others.

I suppose the name change (whether you like the new one or not) is ok if they feel it's important. However, I have to wonder if anyone else cares. True story: A long time ago, there was a church up the street from me that split over some religious difference. Well, to make sure everyone knew they had a difference of opinion, one added "reformed" to their name. The other church not to be outdone hung a smaller sign underneath theirs that added "Reformed Evangelical." The other group then added a sign under theirs and so on. By the time they were done, each had FOUR signs "adding" new light on what they believed. Just to one up the other guy! We used to laugh at it every day on the way to work. Sometimes it can be just much ado about nothing. Christian Educational Services actually seemed kind of normal sounding to me. This sounds too close to TWI thinking for me. (Spirit and Truth?) Maybe I'm being paranoid but it will move them to the bottom of the list of where I look after leaving TWI.

For those still in and those leaving since 1993: (Why 1993? No reason for that exact date. It only helps to filter out anything too far back. Don't read anything into it.) Have you seen a miracle at a TWI fellowship in the past year? Past 5? 10? By miracle, I do not mean speaking in tongues or anything normally promised by God. Please have FIRST-HAND information. Yes, I have heard from Joe's second cousin on his momma's side that once this great thing happened at the ROA. I'm looking for recent events you have seen with your own two eyeballs. Also, let's leave out things like someones cold went away overnight or their headache got better. While they are great, they don't necessarily describe anything more than your body healing. Nope, I'm looking for gen-u-ine, book of Acts, "holy s**t!" acts of God. The floor is yours.

Raising people from the dead? A miracle of any kind? Same story as everything else. Redefine success (way down) and avoid the embarrassing lack of spiritual impact. "Speaking in Tongues is the greatest miracle of all." I guess that means all of the other miracles in Acts didn't matter. The first outpouring on Pentecost was noted for it's impact. However, weren't there a few other miracles that caused people to notice? ;-) It isn't even mentioned anymore. Miracles are now in the category of "wouldn't it be nice if..." Like outreach and everything else. My impression is that no one even looks for it because it hasn't happened in so long. Even then, the ones that supposedly occurred were just rumors. I remember my last ROA, LCM said a man had been healed of AIDS at a TWI fellowship. He went on to say it was the only recorded case like it. When I tried to follow up to get information (what a great story of deliverance!), I was quickly shut down. I noticed that my LC seemed VERY funny about the whole thing. Does anyone else remember this? For other folks still in, I'll start a new thread to take a poll. Maybe I'm wrong and there's tons of amazing miracles happening every day in TWI. Doubt it but I'll check.

Rafael, I will post privately. Tom, Have to admit that you have a point. It would probably earn a blank stare from many folks. Or worse. It probably clicks for PFAL/WOBP grads. Not that I have a better title for a ministry that doesn't sound like a cliche'.

As someone planning his life after TWI, any comments on them?