skyrider

Broken Arrow.....yes, that was a MAJOR POINT in squelching any whispers or suspicions. Again, I believe that its one of those things wierwille surreptitiously implanted in pfal to head off such suspicions. Wierwille was 51 years old when pfal was filmed and, remember, he married in secret, talked his way into Leonard's class, and isolated himself in a hotel room to write plagairize the holy spirit work. Lots more too. One sneaky dude.

I wonder if they were as isolated as the corps program.....with in-house students patrolling the grounds all thru the night?

From wierwille's 'mog status'.......corps and clergy were "lowly" as well. From a christian perspective........every member is unique and needful.

Hey, you're corps.......IT'S YOUR FAULT. And, that's how twi remains "blameless."

Exactly. Twi was on a trajectory of "crash and burn" since its incorporation status, 1957. When wierwille set in motion those trustee meetings with brother, Harry, and close friend, Ermal,....wierwille stacked the deck in his favor. No accountability. No church oversight. Geer had very little to do with it. The signs of demise were in the air in 1978, 1979.....and wierwille was making his last gasps to stay on the throne. Heck, even going so far as to admit, "I wish I were the man I knew to be".......the ministry was established on a cracked foundation. It was only a matter of time. When wierwille died.....it was over. Geer was simply ANOTHER opportunist.

On several threads, there are these discussions about the corps program. It would be interesting to COMPARE the corps program with a real Christian Theology Degree. 1) What types of classes 2) The class schedule....prerequisites and electives 3) Campus culture 4) Open meetings and discussions 5) Public Relations with the local community 6) Prayer groups and social work 7) Private Counseling and/or Sexual Harrassment Abuse 8) Objectives and Career Path Imagine the difference. Imagine the possibilities. Oral Roberts University

Yeah....without painting all corps with the same, broad brush, I tend to think that its that old 80-20 rule. 80%....changed dramatically and came out of corps program arrogant 20%....graduated from the corps with fairly tender hearts 80%....followed mog rules and never gave it much thinking 20%....were independent thinkers and expressed dissension Just like that corps poem about heavy-handed leadership and the one who has "eyes that open and a mind that asks".......twi lost its way and became the "ivory tower." I certainly know of many, wonderful corps who did their best to serve others with compassion and heart. After time, some just couldn't stomach twi's hypocrisy and left. Wierwille's corps program was a failure......because of wierwille. He set it up to mimic a boot camp, not a christian learning center. And, if the offshoot groups follow in the wierwille doctrine, then they're just the blind leading the blind.

I can think of many reasons NOT to speak "twi's word"... 1) Wierwille's word was attended by a bodyguard of lies 2) Walking uprightly is far different than following orders 3) Knee-jerk indoctrination is masquerading as commitment "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies," said Winston Churchill.

Remember some of those *shocker* things that were taught or eluded to in the advanced class? The Illuminati The Thirteenth Tribe None Dare Call It Conspiracy Those Born of the Wrong Seed Then, when the corps program begins.....the first three months, we are sitting thru foundational pfal sessions, reading the blue book, reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and other Dale Carnegie stuff, Christian Ediquette, etc. Plus, we were herded around like cattle..... Supposedly, this was a comparable "spiritual marine corps training".....and with that vague essence, discipline was paramount. They instruct.....you listen. They command.....you do. They are in-charge......you obey. Then, to find out years later that J0hn Ly*n was boinking several corps girls....and Pat had her side "friendships." Disgusting and pathetic. We sat in hours and hours of teachings everyday, and these 'leaders' were like a tag-team who popped in and out and did as hypocrisy does.

First Day....Concerned. First Week...Perplexed. First Corps Mtg.....Yawn. First Month...Is this it? Yet, I stayed....I wasn't a quitter. Perhaps, there was more. Perhaps, next month......we'll get to more 'spiritual' stuff. Perhaps, this discipline is just to weed out those who are weak? Maybe, in the 2nd block semester....things will pick up speed? When wierwille came to campus.....oooh, big whooptie-do, not! Why all the fanfare?....Wierwille-this, wierwille-that....So? Aren't we to be followers of the Lord.....and not of men? When will the corps program kick into gear? This isn't it, is it? Should I leave now? Should I leave at Christmas? More relationships build. Some variety. Some fun. With lower expectations....okay, I can endure this. Heck, it's only two years inresidence....no big deal. Looking back.....I now see why I fought the indoctrination all along!!

IMO.....corps teachings were a small subset of the corps experience. The corps experience 1) Isolation from family, friends and loved ones 2) Top-down command and follow orders -- military-style 3) Rigid scheduling, nights & weekends included 4) Surprise red-alerts, fire drills at 3am 5) Sleeping quarters with 18 men in room 6) Very little choice in food served 7) $20 per month spending and budget every penny 8) Aerobic points / Floss chart 9) Twig mtg / Branch mtg / Dorm mtg / Project mtg 10) Work duties / Work bosses 11) Elder corps on campus overseeing younger corps 12) Lightbearers / Major Events / LEAD 13) Assigned & Travel to other campuses 14) Reseach Prep / Research Paper 15) Relationships / Mass Weddings / Graduation The corps are bonded together via the "corps experience"....not the teachings per se. Sure, there's that tinge of elitism in "being corps"......but more than that, spending two years together in close proximity with rigid directives, doctrines and assignments, cemented relationships and associations. Lots of stuff that's been discussed infinitum.

The centerpiece of corps teachings revolved around "Corps Night." In the '70s, corps night was scheduled on Tuesdays....like 7:30pm - 10:15pm. Around 1980 or so, twi moved the corps nights to Wednesday....because it came so quickly on the heels of Sunday Night teachings. Then, in 1995, when all corps were put on twi's payroll.....martindale decided to move this corps meeting to Wednesday mornings, so field corps would be available to their people on Wednesday evening, if needed. Corps teachings covered the gamut: ...Dale Carnegie, The Greatest Salesman in the World, Life is Tremendous ...Memory pegs, Christian Communication, Competent to Counsel ...Jet-Style Packing, Menstruation Periods, Listening with a Purpose ...MAL-Packs, Survival Living, Red Dawn Scenarios, Hunter's Safety Course ...Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Keys to Research, Fig. of Speech, etc. ...JCOP, JCOPS, JC is Not God, Acts, Epistles, etc. Corps teachings were designed for ONE PURPOSE -- TWI INDOCTRINATION. Wierwille wanted fully-equipped class instructors to run his classes. Not leaders, not teachers, not decision-makers......but soldiers who would jump on command. The commander-in-chief barked his orders and all was right in "his" world. Anyone who STILL touts this corps "training" as awesome....hasn't connected the dots, yet.

Is one an idealist for simply holding to principles and standards? Is one an idealist who despises heavy-handed legalism? Is one an idealist who is repulsed by hypocrisy? If so.....count me in. Silly me, I thought in twi that one could truly walk in the steps of Jesus Christ. No, I didn't really like all those "revelation keys in the adv. class".......just wanted to keep my heart open and live for Him. Despised bureaucracy. Detested the layers of reporting back. Never saw it done that way in scriptures in N.T. Hold fast to the good....yep. Yet, everything I learned in twi was like, "Do as I say, not as I do." Twi's upper leadership was hypocrisy on a pig.....er, lipstick on a pig. Sure all animals are equal, but some are MORE EQUAL than others. Enuff said.

Okay.....in moving past twi, what about other areas? Manipulation and messaging is everywhere, and the polarization is growing. Some become so rigid in their loyalty that it frames ever facet of their lives. Are these people being manipulated by the deep-pockets of billionaires and idealogues? 1) Mainstream media 2) Congress...both sides 3) Hollywood culture 4) College Academia 5) Planned Parenthood Pick a topic like abortion. We know how twi addressed it....ie 'not life until breath-life.' And, those who followed the recent disclosures of the Philadelphia abortion clinic abuses and horrors.....repulsive. Yet, the lockstep loyalty seems to break along political party lines, NOT morality issues. Ameria is facing huge debt and deficits.....and political power-brokers and lobbyists are the ultimate lockstep loyalists. Congressmen are closest to the people and SHOULD be voting on behalf of their constituents......NOT white house mandates, NOT lockstep loyalty. I know, I know.....none of this is new. But even some of the long-standing newscasters have commented that this polarization has escalated and is very dangerous. Those of us who came from the throes of twi should be more capable than most......to see the manipulation, the coercion, and the betrayal of principles. Twi was like a microcosm of corruption....that many organizations and political systems brazenly adhere to.

Well....I certainly wasn't looking for perfection, but leaders should be held accountable to higher standards. Wierwille set up a system and culture wherein he was above reproach....trustees, inner circle, yes-men suckups, bodyguards, extreme privacy, etc. Even in martidale's era, people would lie in a court of law to protect twi. Everything that I've learned since leaving twi only CONFIRMS the suspicions and red flags that I saw back in 1978 & 79. When I left twi and took a management position.....within two weeks, they had a seminar on leadership, proper relationships and sexual harrassment. I learned more that weekend on proper boundaries and what constitutes sexual abuse than the corps training ever taught!! Yet.....the corps were to walk in lockstep loyalty with wierwille's ilk? I believe the corps training was INDOCTRINATION. And, I highly suspect that like Jason Bourne (in Bourne Identity)....many advanced class grads and corps grads will NEVER figure out WHERE IT ALL BEGAN. .

Well...I didn't start this thread to be cynical of ALL organizations. It just seems that *most* people have lost all sense of critical thinking skills and/or their moral compass. When or where is the tipping point.....when people finally say, "I've had enough of the double standard hypocrisy and ain't gonna take it anymore." In religion.......most of us have seen our share of abuse in twi. Okay, we're exposing it, but there are still some who left twi decades ago....yet, still praise wierwille. How can some vpw-defenders be so blind? Same with the Catholic Church.....all the abuse, the pedophile priests. Other church pastors who've strayed and abused. In charitable groups.....we hear more and more that most of the money goes toward administrative fees and not to the people. In Haiti....about one million of those people are still in tents. In public unions....the collective bargaining issue has come front and center. Teachers are standing shoulder to shoulder with communist and anarchist groups for THEIR excessive pension plans and healthcare benefits. All of this is unsustainable and the private sector is awakening. The UK unions are destroying property. The elitist attitude is astounding. Just seems like groups and unions are pushing buttons. Just seems like everything is spiraling out of control.

And....you stand with the ministry that taught you this Word. NO MATTER WHAT. You are to stand even though wierwille plagairized most of it. You are to stand even though corps and staff girls are raped. You are to stand even though you're being exploited and lied to. You are to stand even though the rules change every week. You are to stand or the devil will devour you when you exit. Well....I'll just havE to take my chances and LEAVE YOUR CULT.

Some of these radical groups and movements were born in the 1960s.... Wierwille filmed pfal in 1967 and went to Haight-Ashbury to fan the flames of his pseudo-christian movement. Wierwille had an agenda....to reach the youth, the hippie-types, the "free-love" movement. Lots of cults were on the move. Subversive groups/cults prey on the unstability of family and government.

And.....last October, when all those union groups rallied in Washington DC, it was amazing how many communist groups and anarchist groups were joined with the teachers unions and all. Subversive agendas are everywhere.

Unless you were applying for twi's Multi-Services Department Coordinator position.....or, did twi axe that department? Back in the day when White Tornado (aka T0m Ma0soff) would come swooping in and move furniture, tackle a project....or whatever. "Everyone is ignorant just on different subjects." -- Will Rogers

IMO.....going off topic on a humorous adventure is perfectly acceptable. What would life be without some side humor?

Not just a tyrannical system or organization, but........AGENDAS. In twi, I tend to think that most got involved for self-imposed motives. Whether it was learning basic truths to scripture, how to study the bible, or just curious why others were so passionate about that pfal class.....we got involved. And, with each class, each program.....our involvement turned to commitment, our commitment engendered service. In the end, we were serving twi.......not fellow-man, not communities, not God. Read Psalms......"The Lord is MY light and MY salvation." The individual and his integrity reigns supreme. Not groups. Not US. Not Them. Verse after verse is deeply personal. Read Proverbs...."My son, forget not my law..." The wisdom imparted to a son (or daughter) to walk uprightly before the Lord. Not some teachings given to a Twig. No groupthink. Of course, martindale and co. had to dig back into the book of Joshua, or wherever, to promote their agenda of zion, of groups, of marching together. The twi agenda falls flat without lockstep loyalty. The twi agenda is the same as other "worldly" groups...... promote herd mentality, class warfare, political strife, religious superiority, etc. Rulers of the darkness of this world control the purse-strings and the power. And, man-made religion is one of the worst in its deception. Am I seeing this clearly.......or am I just deceived yet again? :)

And.....twi failed to teach and establish these boundaries/relationships. To name a few... 1) sending out WOWs.....2 men / 2 women 2) cfs class was more lust than respect 3) indiana campus and the adultery

Back to my original post.... Who here at GS identifies themselves with ONE GROUP anymore? Anyone? While in twi, we were given our marching orders week after week. Heck, the corps were spoonfed *what to think* week after week....not just talking points, but THOUGHT POINTS. Groups, groups.....everywhere. Volunteer for this, volunteer for that.... Donate here, donate there.... Thank you for your support.... Free labels in the mail.... Can I count on you? Never again, will I allow any one group have that much control over me. .

Backdoor....side door.....kick-down-the-damn-door man.