skyrider

No, no, no........the SIGNIFICANCE of seeing "snow on the gas pumps" was for wierwille to get moving and gas up the vehicles and move on a wintery day to headquarters. The timing of the revelation and the moving day coincided with February 2nd -- Groundhog Day... ....giving further evidence that humans are manipulated so easily by clouds and shadows ....and further, that all could be exploited in a repetitive fashion day after day, year after year.

Move over squirrel.......the groundhog gets his due next Thursday. Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks Well......Lookie, Lookie here. [Drum rooooooooolllll].......It a twisted world of fate, TWI moved its operation on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1961 to headquarters on a very blustery, frigid winter day. [Mrs. W's book --- p.264] Punxsutawney Phil rules!......next Thursday! .

Yeah......me too, the "seducer/deceiver meter" is fine-tuned thanks to twi.

Yeah......that realization is one many of us share. With each passing year, I've uncovered more and more twi manipulation, deception and exploitation. Maybe that comes with age. Maybe that comes with more examples of religious corruption. And maybe, it comes with some deeper levels of searching the scriptures..... rather than the "youth rally cries" of my numbnutts years. Guess I just got tired of being played (a fool). I believe it starts with a decision to sift the wheat from the chaff. From a farming background, it couldn't be more descriptive for me than the Luke 3:17 reference. The wheat will be garnered and profit the reaper; the chaff is scattered to the winds. If one heard some scriptures that help = wheat When one sees the twi corruption at hq = chaff

The premise of this thread "Groundhog Day at The Way"..... ....has NOTHING to do with everyday, on-the-field aspects of twi's followers. The deep, oppressive inner-workings at twi's headquarters (and past accounts of corps campuses) expose their deception. Trying to understand how twi kept spiraling downward.....with Region and Limb coordinators using heavy-handed tactics on the field......is NOT going to be fully understood without deeper analysis. The source of this oppression came from WIERWILLE. Fast-forward some 30 years later........and "life at The Way" (headquarters) is micro-managed by Rosalie. Condoning the "twi experience" only facilitates and hides the exploitation. .

johniam......the intent of my postings are to direct attention to the SOURCE OF OPPRESSION. Yeah, when I was far away from twi-headquarters.......life was ALWAYS better. I have lots of fun and fond memories of good times, exciting thrills, tender moments, God-at-work wonders, etc. I've stated this several times before. But....I come to GreaseSpot to give the other side of twi and the manipulation & deception & exploitation. johniam......were you ever in the corps program? johniam......were you ever on staff at hq? If the answer to those TWO QUESTIONS is "no"..........then, how can you possibly know the inner-workings of twi? One of the MAJOR REASONS why the apostle Paul was so effective in dismantling the Pharisee oppression was, at one time, Paul was in this hierarchy of leadership. He saw it firsthand. He witnessed it. And, in God's mercy........Paul got away from the Pharisee doctrine.

bliss.......similarities are popping up everywhere. Like many things, this abusive power and control in religion has been around for centuries......and perhaps, more concentrated in cult and splinter groups. The Herbert Armstrong followers experienced controversy and major fallout, as well. The more I learn......the more I see that TWI was just another piker. .

unbridled and mean is one thing..........ballistic and nuclear, is another

OldSkool.......I can't tell you how many times I've heard this.... ..."Local leadership trying to SHIELD others from headquarters"

johniam.....as mentioned in my opening paragraph, "Anyone who worked at twi hq a few years can certainly relate to the repetitive nature and monotony of same old, same old.....imo"...Groundhog Day was HQ-centered. Anyways, I'd like to address what you said below: My first wow year.....2 wow families were sent to northside Syracuse, NY and 2 wow families settled in the westside of Syracuse, NY. Twi had instructed that each 2 families to work in tandem....helping and witnessing together. One girl in my wow family could not keep regular work, nor could she handle money. Always broke, always whining, always begging......yet she was allowed to stay the whole year. In the other northside family, another girl had real, deep issues.....she had health problems and skin rash. Night after night, she would unconsciously scratch herself to the point of bleeding and raw skin. It took nearly three months before twi was satisfied that we'd done 'our best' to help her and she was sent home. We kept plugging away and had a decent year......but struggled financially with less giving to a family fund and other problems. So no... twi did NOT provide "space to sort stuff out." Quite the contrary! Why didn't twi send the big-dogs in and help us? It was THEIR outreach program, wasn't it? They allowed her to go.....yet, we had to 'believe' to undo THEIR miserable oversight. At the time, I took it in stride.....but looking back, I see the manipulation and guilt twi dished out.

Already the cable channels are running the 1993 Groundhog Day movie starring Bill Murray. Anyone who worked at twi hq a few years can certainly relate to the repetitive nature and monotony of same old, same old.....imo. Twi was (is) stuck on reruns....DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. In 1978-1980, I firmly believe that corps grads AND staffers AND advanced class grads were tired of the reruns, the lofty platitudes, the monotone messaging, the stagnating systematizing of errors, etc. The horizon of FAMILIES was breaking on the twi-skyline. Life does NOT stand still for any of us. By 1982/83/84.......children and (gasp!) teenagers were coming to the rock of ages and twi had NO ANSWER for "dealing with them." Yes, children and teenagers EXPOSED the stagnant nature of wierwille's "more abundant life" and the droning pfal-rehash. Children were growing and laughing and changing......daily. Teenagers came to roa and were hanging together at the center gazebo past midnight. Twi attempted to grapple with this situation and organized a few "west woods tent" get-togethers. Corps grads and parents were finding themselves with concerns about the future.....NOT another "groundhog-day gumbo" meal from da vey. There's something about REALITY (children, teenagers, careers, bills, college, future) that shakes one from mesmerizing platitudes of "Word over the world".....especially, when trustees and staffers sit in cozy chairs and lord over them. Years ago, I read an insightful article from an ex-clergyman. The premise of his vantage point was that a 15-year cycle is the statistical average of clergy tenures. In going through the cycle of excitement, involvement, growth, leadership, seminary.....the clergyman, then is given a pastorate and all. But for many, the parallel side is his personal life, wife, and growing family. There is a real, constant tug-n-pull with church demands and family life......bills, t-ball games, family time, etc. In essence, life is not lived in an isolated commune of halleluahs. Ever notice that MANY of twi's staffers are single? Ever notice that MANY upper leaders never had kids? Ever notice that MANY of twi's mandates exclude life changes? <_<

Kit......yes, good class. People like Donna R. helped us to find those "diamonds in the rough." Not sure when she left twi.....

The ONLY way twi can remain relevant and hold power.....is to hold the microphone and NOT LET IT GO. If twi staffers and corps were given a voice, given an opportunity to REALLY VOICE their opinions/concerns/questions..... ....in a full-course, full-throated, lengthy-dialogue of grievances that spanned a considerable amount of weeks(?) ....and policy changes were inacted, teachings were altered, hearts repented with true godly sorrow with Christ as lord ....and top-hardened leadership was ousted and replaced (I know, I know.....how could they possibly find true ministers?) Then, and only then......could twi begin to find its way back to the loving embrace of a heavenly Father. And, what are the odds on that?

Oh, the memories.....paranoia of a government takeover in 1976, Red Dawn, America Awakes, MAL-packs, secret locations, subverted constitution, seed men in every major denomination, anti-Semitism, U.S. fought on wrong side during WWII, cancer is a devil spirit, etc. etc. This thread would be remiss to not mention wierwille's association with Liberty Lobby. Many years ago, a 7th corps girl and GS poster gave insight to wierwille's subscription to The Spotlight. A copy of this weekly newspaper was on a table in wierwille's office. Here's from the page on the Liberty Lobby -- Click Here "While Liberty Lobby was founded as a conservative political organization, Willis Carto was known to hold strongly anti-Semitic views, and to be a devotee of the writings of Francis Parker Yockey, who was one of a handful of esoteric post-WWII writers who revered Adolf Hitler. Yockey, writing under the pseudonym of Ulick Varange, wrote a book entitled Imperium, which Willis Carto adopted as his own guiding ideology. Many critics, including disgruntled former Carto associates as well as the Anti-Defamation League, have noted that Willis Carto, more than anybody else, was responsible for keeping organized anti-Semitism alive as a viable political movement during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, when it was otherwise completely discredited." "Liberty Lobby attempted to promote a public image of being a conservative anti-Communist group, along the lines of the John Birch Society, but while the John Birch Society rejected white supremacy and anti-Semitism, Liberty Lobby promoted them. Francis Parker Yockey's Imperium was republished by Willis Carto's Noontide Press, which also published a number of other books and pamphlets promoting a racialist and white supremacist world view, and Liberty Lobby in turn sold and promoted these books." "In 1975, Liberty Lobby began publishing a weekly newspaper called The Spotlight, which ran news and opinion articles with a very populist and anti-establishment slant on a variety of subjects, but gave little indication of being extreme-right or neo-Nazi. However, The Spotlight, critics charged, was intended as a subtle recruiting tool for the extreme right, using populist-sounding articles to attract people from all points on the political spectrum including liberals, moderates, and conservatives, and special-interest articles to attract people interested in such subjects as alternative medicine, while the newspaper subtly incorporated anti-Semitic and white racialist undertones in its articles, and carried advertisements in the classified section for openly neo-Nazi groups and books. The Spotlight for a while became the most widely-read periodical on the right in the United States, with circulation peaking around 200,000 in the early 1980s. While circulation experienced a steady drop after that, it continued to be published until Liberty Lobby's demise in 2001." You REALLY had to live through this period of twi to grasp the full impact of wierwille's association et al. .

So has (drum roll).............. GOD :P

geisha.....you are NOT crazy. I remember this too.

The 3rd Wierwille Major Confrontation.....previously mentioned. Sitting in the OSC Dining Room during Corps Night [those transition years moving from the BRC and waiting for the Auditorium to be built]........where wierwille was going thru his "literal translations according to usage" in the Book of Romans. While most corps took notes furiously, there were others in the back who didn't take these meetings quite so serious or spiritual. Anyways..........about an hour into the corps meeting, and this 6th corps guy is starting to nod off. Problem was..... he was near the front, somewhere near the fourth or fifth row, and in eye-shot of wierwille. Well, the nodding increased and the closed-eyelids-duration was becoming visibly evident. And, even though a couple of nearby corps tried to help this fellow stay awake.........it just wasn't meant to be. And, then it happened......wierwille's eyes fixed on a NODDING, DOZING CORPS GRAD who had the audacity, and no spirituality, to sleep while wierwille taught from Romans!!! This "act of disrespect" demanded the most intense verbal lashing that wierwille could muster......and thus it was. Red-faced with anger, and neck-veins visible...... wierwille launched into this tirade to strip bare every thread of self-worth that this corps grad had. On and on the verbal lashing went........not 20 stripes, not 25 stripes, not 30 stripes, not 35 stripes........BUT 39 VICIOUS, VERBAL STRIPES.......just one short of total and utter demoralization. Wierwille's anger could not be contained.....he went back stage and Craig came out as if *to tag-team* the effort some more. It was horrendous and awful and disgraceful. Man, in hindsight.....I wish that I'd stood up and yelled at the top of my lungs........SHUT THE HECK UP AND LET HIM BE. The corps guy was escorted from the room......and wierwille came back, after about 10 minutes, to finish his teaching. But we'd already SEEN his teaching and lifestyle......who needed to take more notes??? The next morning......word spread that the 6th Corps staff guy was fired and sent packing. Need to add.......this corps guy, after seeking medical help awhile later, found out that he had a blood-sugar problem and he was treated for it. Prescription medicine helped him to not doze off. Guess wierwille nor martindale saw deep enough to HELP this guy

I would venture to say that very few start out seeking trustee/director approval......maybe family or close friends, etc. But twi has intertwined the message of "The Word is the ministry and the ministry is the Word" that the individual cannot differentiate the two. Thus, to gain approval from the trustees WAS "approval from God." I know, I know.....how can that be? It happens. Not only in twi, but religions and cults everwhere. And, even when some recognize the ploy and jump ship.......they jump into ANOTHER APPROVAL SHIP and the process starts anew. How many went to JAL's splinter or Geer's splinter?.....only to find the same pyramid? Sometimes, I'm very thankful for my twi experience......I now have great awareness in spotting A COUNTERFEIT. .

Twi's Mark & Avoid policies have several tactics: 1) A "call to arms" for twi-followers to NOT contact or associate with black-listed individual(s). 2) A twisted version of the scriptures [Rom. 16:17] as some endeavored to thwart a Christ-centered message. 3) The M&A individual has no access to contest twi's charge....."two or three witnesses" must bring evidence [Matt 16:18] 4) Twi can easily SUPPRESS anyone with this jaded policy.....even if mog demands sex favors and girl says "NO." 5) This M&A tactic only ADDS to the list of manipulative ploys that twi uses to advance and bully. 6) Publically, twi claims that they do NOT use it anymore......that's code for "not in writing." 7) Kinder and Gentler ministry under Rosalie's authority is a misnomer.....just more deceptive. After meeting with Region Coordinators for 3 hours and not relenting our position.... ....my wife and I were put on twi's mark/avoid list ....the trustees marshalled a smear campaign and called leadership in 3 other states ....twi ordered 2 Region guys to come to our city and hold meetings to black-ball us ....Region guys spent whole day trying to find any "dirty laundry" to use rally their position ....Nothing surfaced and believers were totally STUNNED that we were "off the word" ....Martindale gave the marching orders to cover HIS sexcapades at the 1998 AC ....In the years to follow, dozens have called us and exited twi The mark/avoid label is NOT necessarily a blight of weakness or flaw. Quite the opposite......the mark/avoid label might be AN ENDORSEMENT OF STRENGTH AND CHARACTER. :)

Yeah......just keep pulling the cart! Reaching for God = Take pfal class Approval from God = Run pfal class And, the wheels on the cart go 'round and 'round...

The pfal class is the first "carrot".....and later, the cart. In twi, pfal = the Word.........becoming encyclical. Running classes = Approval from God

Manipulation 101.....one of the ways twi manipulated us. Click Here Carrot on a stick is an idiom that refers to a policy of offering a reward for making progress towards benchmarks or goals but not necessarily ever actually delivering. The original metaphor referred to a boy sitting on a cart being pulled by a donkey. The boy held a long stick to which a carrot had been tied, and he dangled the carrot in front of the donkey but just out of its reach. As the donkey moved forward to get the carrot, it pulled the cart—and the boy—so that the carrot always remained just out of reach as the cart moved forward. Carrot = 1) Reaching for God's Approval...2) TWI Leadership Approval Stick = 1) Twi's structure & policies....2) Status & Leadership Positions Donkey = 1) Pfal Grad, 2)AC Grad, 3)WOW Amb, 4)Staff 5)Corps, 6)Clergy.....the 6 major "donkeys" Boy... = The Way International Cart.. = PFAL Class The pfal class is the first carrot twi dangles in front of the new person who attends fellowship. As a pfal grad, twi dangles the intermediate class.....with steps towards the advanced class series. After int. class, twi dangles the adv class or go WOW......but you GOTTA KEEP MOVING. After adv. class, twi dangles the corps program....."you want to grow spiritually mature, dont you?" After corps, twi dangles ACTIVE CORPS PARTICIPATION to slave away......or else, you aren't spiritual. What? If you reach the clergy carrot, twi dangles ACTIVE CLERGY PARTICIPATION to serve twi a lifetime....or you aren't clergy!! Yeah.....I wanted God's love and approval in my life so I started moving and reaching. On the field, helping others and serving the Lord was a fulfilling joy....so I kept moving. Yep, step by step by step....I soon went WOW and Corps. Little did I realize that the boy (twi) had positioned the carrot BEYOND my reach....it didn't matter how many steps I took, I could NOT reach it. The manipulation worked!! The dirty little secret is that twi wants you to pull their cart A LIFETIME. It doesn't matter which "donkey" you are.....they've got a carrot for you. There it dangles.....right before your eyes. You will NEVER reach their approval. Twi had to dangle the ACTIVE CLERGY STATUS "carrot" in front of me.....because I was clergy. When I stopped reaching for the carrot.....the active clergy status was removed. To them, I am now DFAC..."Dropped from active corps" and thus, clergy. Choose your "carrots" wisely.......lots of people dangle them.

Lots of those "inept leaders" learned how to leverage control of others... ....and splintered out to run their own "do it my way" show.

Yeah.....I have posted enough incidents and information that if the WayGB haven't figured out who I am then they truly are DUMBER THAN DIRT.

WordWolf.....imagine the polar opposites of this premise, 1) Wierwille was the "man of God" in our day and time...or 2) Wierwille had suffered from dissocial personality disorders: namely, narcissism and sociopathic behaviors. Dissocial personality disorder It is characterized by at least 3 of the following: 1.Callous unconcern for the feelings of others and lack of the capacity for empathy. 2.Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules, and obligations. 3.Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships. 4.Very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence. 5.Incapacity to experience guilt and to profit from experience, particularly punishment. 6.Markedly prone to blame others or to offer plausible rationalizations for the behavior bringing the subject into conflict. 7.Persistent irritability. Wierwille would be an interesting case study of such disorders. Obviously, Phd's would be needed to cover the scope of this in-depth field....but even wierwille's childhood offers insightful questions. In Mrs. W's book.....p.7 "Although Victor appeared to be a healthy newborn, his mother noticed after a short time that he was not developing as he should. Emma prayed for her baby, as her manner was. The doctor couldn't find a cause for Victor's problem; in those days people just called it "short growth." Ernst and Emma, in seeking help for their baby, called the revered minister of their church, the Reverend L. H. Kunst, to come and water baptize him. This was the best thing they knew to do, and they acted accordingly." Furthermore, wasn't it Harry, vic's older brother, who stated that victor was lazy and would hide in the woods to avoid work? Wouldn't an introverted childhood, and birth-growth complications, only strengthen dissocial personality disorders? .