skyrider

This "welcome" would come with MANY STRINGS ATTACHED. First of all, this broad-stroke "welcome" is directed at the lowly, faithful, abs-sharing advanced class grad who keeps his head down and feels guilty (before God) that he has been cut off from this supposed "godly ministry" thru no fault of his own. He/she was marginalized during a high-octane martindale-induced series of mandates and was told he wasn't wanted at fellowship anymore. For others, like you and me are very VOCAL about all the bad policies, plagiarizing, private interpretation, sexual predation, bullying, serial hypocrisy, elitism, etc..... we would be put on STRICT PROBATION with firm warnings that they might give three warnings before AGAIN re-assigning us to mark/avoid status. This firm warning would not be subtle.... it would be handled very firm in the presence of two or three directors to increase the intimidation factor. They simply could not allow someone like posters at GSC to have open access to branch fellowships. Of course, there would be no apology forthcoming. They would simply extend the invitation to rejoin their group stipulating that THE PAST IS PAST. If I choose to try to rectify the wrongs, then it's all a non-starter because they would claim that re-litigating the plethora of past sins by twi is not something that they will tolerate. Even splinter groups will NOT allow past grievances to be brought to light. They have several verses of Scripture that they cherry-pick to substantiate their stance. There is a verse in Thessalonians that tells us to AVOID ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL. Why would I even want to walk thru those doors of evil again? What could possibly be of benefit to me to associate with such lowlifes again? There is NO INDICATION that the leopard has changed his spots. We at GSC are over the target area with our information and twi knows it. They probably have a binder full of my GSC-posts and many other posters. Why would I ever want to give them power over my life again? They are spreading false teachings about my mediator and Lord. Their classes and programs are filled with traps and snares. Never Again. Clearly, amongst many things......GSC has done a good job in sounding the alarm. Twi is no longer formidable, but a dying shell of its former self. The numbers are so pathetic and the classes and programs so dismal.... that twi is trying to recover those they chased away with their bullying. What fools. We were NEVER your servants... but were tempting to follow and serve our risen lord and savior, Jesus Christ. You elitist idiots are the modern-day Pharisees of egotism. Woe unto you. Scum bags who promote false teachings for a pittance paycheck.

The corps obedience training was a colossal waste of time. We signed on the line to be taught the principles of leadership and to follow in the steps of our lord Jesus Christ. How did THAT work out? Not good. Wierwille's hand-picked loyalists...ie corps coordinators instigated a steady steam of *obedience training.* Similar to the way you'd train a dog. We were indoctrinated into twi's goose-stepping march in unison to wierwille mandates. What a massive failure. Will those ex-corps coordinators at the R&R offshoot ever figure it out? Doubtful. It's been six years (2017-2023) since they parted ways with twi.....and STILL, has there been any teaching that has ripped the mask off twi's scam and exposed wierwille as a con man? Nope. They simply whistle along their merry way to a life of unicorns and lollypops. They sell the illusion all the same.... even though they no longer walk in lockstep with the parent company. I guess that it should be no surprise..... the corps coordinators were the most loyal gestapo in twi. They knew of the sexual predation at Cabin 12 in Gunnison and the motor coach shenanigans. They helped to clear the schedules of said hand-picked girls to be available whenever the mog wanted to be pleasured. They sold their souls to this evil.... and to this day "preach the word" without shame. Just like martindale resurfacing and doing the same. Sickos are everywhere. Stay vigilant. Stay clear of cults and offshoots alike.

Once you are awakened.... you are no longer selling the illusions. When this happens.... you are removed and ostracized.

Exploration of Thought / Exploration of Questions By intimidation and fear, wierwille manipulated us into suppressing our thoughts/questions. In pfal, we were to hold our questions in abeyance until the final session.... after all the hoopla and "celebration" of speaking in tongues. How many people presented their list of questions at the end of this class? Very, very few.... and THAT was the point. At the advanced class, wierwille flooded our brain cells with an overload of information.... a set of new retemories, none dare call it conspiracy, the thirteenth tribe, the illuminati, marxist minstrels, possession tapes and accounts, witches and the occult, the 16 keys to walking by the spirit, etc. All of these tangents were designed to overwhelm us and intimidate us. Who were we to question the vast knowledge and wisdom of someone who "had spent his life researching biblical truths and the devil's realm?" We were novices and therefore needed to "stay meek" to this elevated insight and instruction. The advanced class was designed with a tight, rigid structure to keep all questioning far away. And, the corps training was the same. Hundreds of tangents of topics were introduced so that we would "be equipped to go forth in areas of concern, interest and need." Wherever the ministry (cough) needed to manage or leverage their power and influence in an area that would tap into another abs-source of year-after-year revenue, we were sent. Obedient corps were given the prized areas of activity (college towns) while the less-enthusiastic corps were assigned to outlying small populations and dying towns/cities. It didn't take long to see the two-tier system of favoritism that was dished out to well-connected corps. BUT.... as years go by, and youth fades into adulthood, one begins to explore his/her own thoughts on the situation at hand. The wierwille-mystique begins to fade (especially with his early death at age 68).... and one is free to explore thoughts that were shelved for years. How could wierwille be "the man of God" and a drunkard? Amidst all the serial plagiarism, most all of this material was stolen and then tweaked for consumption to twi-followers. How is that godly? The thoughts and questions keep coming.... so you keep probing deeper into the cavern of your thought processes. As a man of the flesh, was wierwille indeed a FALSE TEACHER? Once you've reached that point.... now, you begin the journey of true exploration.

The adults were held captive to fear. The child was not. The child spoke out.

Some twi-followers [enablers] stayed fixated with wierwille/pfal throughout their whole lives.... not developing their own thoughts of autonomy and speaking for themselves. Then, there are those who got involved around 1973 and are STILL subjugated to the herd-mentality after 50 years!! How can these people ignore the authoritarian rule over them and be contented in this subordination? They shun individual responsibility welcoming overlords to lead the way for them.... even though it's a wayward path. IMAGINE what a path of individual responsibility and sovereignty would look like..... choices and decisions based on individual freedom, financial stability and equity, interests and hobbies outside the realm of the cult, upward mobility in career and professional life, possibly family values and traditions passed down to another generation or two, social networking on multiple levels, neighbor and community involvement and a life well-lived. OR.... be a life-long salesman and advocate for a cult that disposes people, bullies with authoritarian mandates, threatens expulsion, cripples development, undermines opportunities of advancement, toxic to marital relationships, silences and ostracizes its dissidents, and hides in the shadows of their own flim-flam history. No wonder exoduses happen every 10-15 years.... as one generation passes thru the gauntlet and another one enters. With today's internet, I believe that the followers are awakening more quickly than before. Don't travel the road with twi.... don't drive [spiritually] drunk. It can be fatal. Twi is a shell of its former self. It is aging out. Their "headquarters" is like a retirement community where 70-year olds are sitting at desks doing 28-hours per week for a pittance paycheck to supplement their social security monthly check... while young bucks mow the grass and manicure the flower beds. On Sundays, a select-few "teachers" are given the responsibility to READ the pre-scripted sermon authorized by rosalie and donna. It's a ruse. No wonder the field involvement has been decimated in most states. It's worse than those non-profit organizations who skim off 90% of proceeds to go to "administrative costs" [ie - payroll, relatives living off the "non-profit status" of the tax code] because twi doesn't even give back 10% to a needy cause. They spit out a useless teaching tape each week to keep the indoctrination flowing. Woe unto them that will be held accountable for this scam.

As wierwille's twi grew in the 1970's, it made a quantum leap from the 5th corps to the 6th corps. From the numbers I remember, the 5th corps had 75 graduates.... whereas, the 6th corps started in Emporia with near 340 corps. It was a massive leap in numbers and could not be trained at headquarters, so the trustees searched for a location and took out a second mortgage/loan to acquire the Emporia campus. Along with this risk.... twi was ill-equipped to handle the free-rolling, rowdy individuals that were part of this 6th corps influx. Thus, heavy-handed measures came into play. One of my big contentions with corps training was that it was obsessed with obedience. Far too much emphasis was placed on following leadership..... rather than diligence or spiritual vigilance. Why the excessive need for obedience? Control. Corps coordinators made it a dominant priority to rein corps into a herd-mentality. In other words, twi FEARED individual thought (and questioning authority). It is far easier to rule by fear than to rule with love. At one point, they shut the corps program down with an ultimatum..... OBEY or LEAVE. Why couldn't they gather the body of corps together for an open dialogue? Why, even today, does twi give GSC the *silent treatment* after 20+ years? For the same reasons that wierwille highlighted certain verses of scripture in pfal and ignored others. He was working towards a manufactured outcome. Remember his little "story" in pfal when wierwille talks about "The sower and the seed?" And, now Maggie, wierwille asks, "What do you think the good seed represents?" And, Snowball Pete, "What do you think this good seed is?" Wierwille's point.....STOP THINKING about what you think it means and keep reading. Yet, time and again, wierwille injects his thinking into other verses as the class unfolds. It wasn't only the things twi highlighted thru the years that were relevant, but what things THEY DISMISSED and MEMORY-HOLED that spoke volumes. We came to pfal or corps training as individuals..... but graduated as a part of wierwille's "crack troops" or corps grads. Where in the scriptures does Jesus specifically call the men who followed him as "my disciples" in the possessive term? Yet, wierwille brands his corps as cattle.... "my corps." The corps letters were littered with this group-inclusive terminology. The Way International fear us. Why do they fear us? They fear we will have our own thoughts and speak up for ourselves. They fear we will become independent of their branding and no longer be subjugated to their will. They fear we will question their authority over us and relegated to the dustbin of history. They fear we will stand up for ourselves and start banding together. They fear we will become stronger and their influence will become weaker. They fear we will use our power against them as they fall further into irrelevance. They fear that we will awaken others to the deception that they perpetuate. They fear our free-thinking and tossing aside the burdens of fear and guilt. They fear that we are no longer captive to their authority. They fear we are independent. Philosopher Bertrand Russell quote (after devastation of WWI): Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth — more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid…Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.

In an isolated cult-world, wierwille had the upper hand. With enablers and an inner circle of yes-men, wierwille could control the messaging of "his greatness" by fabricated lies and spending the last years of his life constructing a lasting legacy. That all came crashing down upon him when the internet was widely accessed by his once-followers. The walls at twi could no longer contain his secrets. Just as an upright man has many character-building attributes, a deceiver has many destructive sins. Some of these destructive habits were formed in wierwille's childhood and teenage years. It's been well-documented that young vic would hide in the way woods to avoid work. Apparently, his father never corrected this lazy nature as it carried over into adulthood. Side-stepping responsibility gave way to a contempt for accountability. And, riding his motorcycle to school, wierwille was a showboat who garnered attention with his crazy stunts. Since wierwille was the youngest child, his parents were reluctant to correct his behavior. Vic and Dorothy secretly eloped and, at the time, violated rules of vic's higher education. He was not allowed to change his marital status in mid-year. Once again, vic is thumbing his nose at "elders' authority" over him..... just like he later did with his denomination's board members. This rejection of authority/accountability followed wierwille the rest of his life. Thus, the makings of a cult leader were built brick-by-brick throughout his life. Yet, like all true authoritarians or totalitarian regimes..... they demand strict obedience of others. Wierwille's pathological disorders drove him to be anal-retentive of the absurd.

Wierwille was a malignant narcissist who lusted for power and control. He devolved into drunkenness, misogyny, serial plagiarism, a short-tempered bully and a sexual predator. He fits the biblical definition of “a man of the flesh.”

Take away the marketplace [the money-changers / the Temple]..... and business ceased to exist. The Sadducees quickly dispersed and disappeared as a group of influence. ~~~~~~~~~~~ If twi's "headquarters" was destroyed by a massive tornado..... twi's power/influence would disappear overnight. The money-changers would need to find another gig.

One of the things that I find interesting is that Jesus strongly confronted the Pharisees (Matt. 23).... but not the Sadducees. With sections of Scripture, the Pharisee-confrontations stand out as examples of hypocrisy that the people could easily understand. Yet, the Sadducees are rarely mentioned. They didn't receive the ire of Jesus' confrontations like the Pharisees did. Perhaps, it's because of the Sadducees' close ties with the Temple worship.... whereas, Jesus was teaching his disciples and mixing with the common people. Apparently there was a two-tier religious hierarchy amongst the Jewish people...wherein, the Saducees occupied the upper-tier. Their wealth, status and social order gave them prominence of Temple worship. "The Sadducees and Pharisees were in constant conflict with each other, not only over numerous details of ritual and the Law but most importantly over the content and extent of God’s revelation to the Jewish people." [Link: Sadducee] More: "Though the Sadducees were conservative in religious matters, their wealth, their haughty bearing, and their willingness to compromise with the Roman rulers aroused the hatred of the common people. As defenders of the status quo, the Sadducees viewed the ministry of Jesus with considerable alarm and apparently played some role in his trial and death. Their lives and political authority were so intimately bound up with Temple worship that after Roman legions destroyed the Temple, the Sadducees ceased to exist as a group, and mention of them quickly disappeared from history." According to this source, the wealth and social status of the Sadducees gave them more access to political authority. And, Jesus was a threat to the status quo that could upset the balance of their power in Jewish society. Self-centered power and control was of utmost importance to the Sadducees.... not that God sent a savior, lord and new king to the Jewish people.

When one looks into the Sanhedrin.... you find the same crossovers of political/religious affiliations. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sanhedrin Although eminent sources—the Hellenistic-Jewish historian Josephus, the New Testament, and the Talmud—have mentioned the Sanhedrin, their accounts are fragmentary, apparently contradictory, and often obscure. Hence, its exact nature, composition, and function remain a subject of scholarly investigation and controversy. In the writings of Josephus and the Gospels, for example, the Sanhedrin is presented as a political and judicial council headed by the high priest (in his role as civil ruler); in the Talmud it is described as primarily a religious legislative body headed by sages, though with certain political and judicial functions. Some scholars have accepted the first view as authentic, others the second, while a third school holds that there were two Sanhedrins, one a purely political council, the other a religious court and legislature. Moreover, some scholars attest that the Sanhedrin was a single body, combining political, religious, and judicial functions in a community where these aspects were inseparable.

From this link.... "The Pharisees were primarily not a political party but a society of scholars and pietists. They enjoyed a large popular following, and in the New Testament they appear as spokesmen for the majority of the population. About 100 BCE a long struggle ensued as the Pharisees tried to democratize the Jewish religion and remove it from the control of the Temple priests. The Pharisees asserted that God could and should be worshipped even away from the Temple and outside Jerusalem. To the Pharisees, worship consisted not in bloody sacrifices—the practice of the Temple priests—but in prayer and in the study of God’s law. Hence, the Pharisees fostered the synagogue as an institution of religious worship, outside and separate from the Temple. The synagogue may thus be considered a Pharasaic institution, since the Pharisees developed it, raised it to high eminence, and gave it a central place in Jewish religious life." .

Thanks T-Bone..... lots of links and food for thought. I don't think many have given much thought to how these two intertwine. It's not just office-holders and campaign slogans, but it bleeds down into the agendas and fabric of society. It flows down into the practical/impractical realities of everyday life. We don't discuss politics on this site and I fully understand why. But politics and religion are bedfellows... sometimes strange bedfellows.... but bedfellows nonetheless. At times, it's challenging to talk about religious ideology without the full examination of politics behind it. When wierwille set up The Way International... he installed himself as "president." Rather than use church terminology like Senior Minister, Pastor, Preacher or Elder.... wierwille uses a title known in the political world, "president." Why did he do that? Or, was this used as a business term.... ie "president of a board." (??) Was this an error? Or, did wierwille picture himself as a political/religious leader to rule over the masses?

Yes, a Pharisee-LIKE organization. Wierwille had a narcissistic personality disorder that gave him the confidence and ability to subjugate others. As a serial plagiarist, he garnered more material thru the years and tweaked much of it, ever-so-slightly, to pawn it off as "his own." From this launching pad in 1953, he began to build a following separate from his denominational church upbringing. From the church basement, the repetition of his "class" [B.G. Leonard's class] sparked a growing movement of loyal followers who would stick with him until his death. Whether one refers to this as indoctrination or mass formation psychosis.... one generation of "pfal class-loyalists" held to these foundational principles as if they were the Torah itself. Total thought reform over the individual was achieved via tactics, loaded language and group formation. This one generation held absolute devotion to wierwille's seductive ministry and many encouraged their children to enlist in the classes, camps and programs. With outreach programs and youth involvement, there were many years of explosive growth and exuberant zeal. Wierwille was a modern-day Pharisee of ritualistic beliefs that rarely deviated from a foundational background. Class formats, outreach programs, and rock of ages events never deviated in his lifetime. Wierwille was a product of religious devotion.... a Pharisee-like devotee of controlled machinations. The corps training program gave him access to live out his obsessions and lusts with impunity. Far removed from Christian ethics and morals, wierwille was able to indulge to his heart's desire in drunkenness, lasciviousness and sexual favors. It is in this isolated context that the real wierwille displayed his Pharisaic influence in a grand scale. Without this adulation pedestal, wierwille was just a dirty old grandpa. He died of cancer in an isolated wilderness from his followers. The Pharisee died in his pride, you see.

Maybe, we should define our terms. When I speak of religious ideology.... I am not speaking of church ideology. Religious beliefs are man-made; they are the commandments of men. Religions all over the world have variations of man-made worship. Some religions worship monkeys; others worship cows. True Christianity has NO religion in it. In basic truth, it is the walk of a child of God with his/her heavenly Father.

Political affiliations embrace religious ideology. Religious ideology embraces political affiliations. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Indeed

The true colors of twi have been exposed in the last 20+ years for all to see.... twi is not a Christian-based organization, but a Pharisaic one. Wierwille did his best in sleight-of-hand tactics to cover this fact, but the truth is undeniable. In the book of Matthew chapter 15, scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus with questions to belie their true intentions. This exchange of questions and answers show the Pharisee's hypocrisy. The first question is directed towards Jesus that he is transgressing the tradition of the elders by their actions.... in which, Jesus turned the question back on them by answering, "Why do you also transgress the commandments of God by your tradition?" Further, he went on to say, ".....Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." BOOM. With this retort, Jesus set the record start. Pharisee doctrine has no place in true worship for its subtly and simply the commandments of men. How often did wierwille side-step the teaching of true worship? How often were we simply following wierwille's doctrine of amplifying the religious pious of an hypocritical man? Yes, wierwille used the name of Jesus and sang of his "wonderful grace".... but that grace, in wierwille's words, included *doing as you fool-please.* When you are doing as YOU fool-please, you are not Christian.... you are not following in his wonderful grace. You are following the sin-nature of man. Further, in Matthew 15.... Jesus expounds that our lives are not judged by eat and drink, "Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, that defiles a man." We are not confined by petty rules and regulations surrounding "holy days," but are commanded to guard our hearts with all diligence. We are to keep our heart from evil. How often in our corps training were we "regulated" to 1) set the podium right, 2) break the mints in three pieces, 3) string the chairs properly, 4) stage ushers at certain doorways, 5) be ready 30 minutes before meetings, 6) have people in their seats 10 minutes before teaching, 7) etc.?? These were the meatier things taught in corps training..... rather than true worship or deliverance. In vain, we followed the Pharisaic way. Yes, I would say that wierwille was a Pharisee. He taught AROUND THE EDGES.... just close enough to hide his hypocrisy. When did we ever see wierwille, in a public setting, heal someone? Or, cast out a devil spirit? I have documented several instances where wierwille went on tirades and claimed that someone WAS possessed (in the BRC or campfire area of the way woods)...... yet, no devil spirit was cast out!! Since wierwille publically claimed this person to be possessed.... he, now, allows a possessed person to stay in the way corps and go back to their unit. Huh? What a bunch of malarkey. In these three different episodes of confrontation that I witnessed.... it told me everything I needed to know about wierwille. Matthew 23 is Pharisee-confrontation extraordinaire. Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites. Jesus takes this confrontation to a higher level.... you Pharisees are seeking to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. You are fools and blind. Seven times Jesus calls them hypocrites. These men and their Pharisaic order is anti-Christ. They are the enemies of the Lord, yet cloaking themselves as servants of light. This confrontation strips bare the essence of their evil..... yet, they want disciples to follow their orders. Twi has journeyed for over 60+ years to where it is today. No successor president (??), pastor or preacher, has been able to stop or slow the descent into a religious order or Pharisaic hypocrisy. They make pretense of long prayer and supplications in His name, but their hearts are consumed in power and control over others. They demand the tithe (and abs) be observed in the most strictest fashion, yet they don't honor the Lord with these tithes. They hide them away for investments and self-gain.... while heaping more burdens upon the people in their "care." By withholding from the Lord, twi is in grave error before His grace and mercy. Woe unto them. Thus, after all these years, it is not surprising that twi has succumbed to this death spiral. Wierwille was a Pharisee.

So the leaders of TWI basically do the exact opposite of what we are being called out here to do. No responsibility. No accountability. No surveys put out. No free time for questions. Never ever ever ever ever take a long hard look at self. Why is this? ~~~~~~~~~ Authoritarians STAY IN POWER by leveraging a number of tactics. They initiate and maintain this power by wielding absolute authority and command of the masses. Whether religious or political, they gain access to power through bloodlines or bestowed this mantle from mentor/predecessor and establish inner circles of unquestioned loyalty. Projecting strength, they face no obstacles of accountability to anyone.... thus, there is RARELY a time for introspection. Definitely, not public introspection, because that spurs weakness. The more demanding, the more ruthless the leader..... the more fear is the driving element of loyalty. Subjects (followers) fear being ostracized and separated from the group....or worse. Propaganda and/or church dogma fuels the fire of this fear. As a cult leader starts losing control of his followers, his tactics change to instill fear of death in leaving the cult. The Wizard of Oz bellowed his mighty power, but was little more than a wimpy old man behind the curtain pulling levers to project his power. When the curtain was pulled back, accountability set in. Wierwille died before his accountability set in. Martindale was ousted and outed when lawyers got involved. Rivenbark was basically forced to step down as corps demanded accountability. Donna is the CEO and is shielded from responsibility AND accountability.

Wierwille made a claim that God never promised.

When you peel the power structure issues down to their essential core, what you will always find is their status of power over you. Within the system, wierwille was the "alpha" and had NO contenders. The created system of control was always tilted in their favor. Wierwille had "spiritual status" but you nor I did not. In this system, destined to last a lifetime, we were dependent upon their teachings, programs and agenda to structure our daily lives. They pulled the strings and we acted out our little part. If idleness is allowed to settled in, then people begin questioning.... so activity is the name of the game. More people come, some people go.... but activity is emphasized over accomplishment. Why? Because rather than self-promotion within the group, what were we accomplishing?

I agree with you, chockfull. Thanks.

The structure is all about control. Once you've seen the strings of the marionettes, you can never go back to a time when you did not see them.

Yes, but.... even if someone in the R&R group got to run things at twi, would there have been any real changes? I doubt it. Those guys were/are so steeped in the wierwille doctrine that I tend to think they would have only "shuffled a few chairs" in the power structure. The very fact that they've stayed the course of the pfal-catechism speaks volumes. Without a complete overhaul in structure and thinking, the "little guy" would still not have a vote. .