skyrider

In twi, the "way tree" analogy was/is unscriptural and incongruous with common-sense......after all, don't most leaves [please sing along......I am a LEAF on a mighty tree] fall off as winter approaches?? And, what kind of tree was it anyways? Not a pine tree, or a palm......but an oak tree, right? Nuts .... for sure. Really, it wasn't all that significant for wierwille to settle on a tree analogy.......from a farming-upbringing, he sure as heck didn't want to select something like corn. Imagine........The Way Corn. Didn't some Korean guy set up his organization with small units as "cells?" I can't recall his name, but read about it some 20 years ago. More in line with a living, breathing organism......a moving body. Of course, scripturally.......the One Body, with members in particular with Christ as the Head is the holy writ truth of the matter. For obvious reasons, wierwille didn't hold to scripture.......cause then the focus would be more fixed on the Head, Christ, where all true direction is initiated. Wierwille selected a tree.......even had a mural of it painted on the OSC for lasting significance to all visitors, followers. But I still like the analogy of an onion......and again, it popped up on another thread from JK.

Sorry, lefty......I didn't mean to imply that this "8th corps research paper" was the thrust and backbone of wierwille's attempts to CIRCLE THE WAGONS. Heck, there was LOTS going on........Deprogrammiing episodes were on the rise, more graduating corps were going back to college & careers, more pregnancies and corps kids, five campuses to oversee, pfal '77 was not good enough to replace old class, jim jones and all those dead bodies, etc. etc. Lifted Up......sorry, I don't remember. Although I did sit in the 1978 Adv Class Branch Leaders Mtg where wierwille was still pi$$ed and let all of us know it. What an eye-opener for a young punk like me who thought this bible stuff was about Jesus and love.

Yeeh..............MORE and MORE CORPS were heading out on the field and did NOT want to be micro-managed. Wierwille had no answer for these "defections".......except to strong-arm them with verbal abuse and twisted doctrine....ie "tripped-out, copped-out, possessed, or mark-and-avoid." Really....imo, it was bound to take this direction as wierwille's "corps-training" was evolving into a cult hierarchy where wierwille was fast approaching his end of days. The corps did NOT sign up for a lifetime to wierwille-mandated servitude..!!! When those three 8th corps wrote a research paper in 1978 contrary to wierwille's "research".......the hornet's nest was stirred and the true colors of wierwille-control SURFACED on a larger scale than the days of H3fn3r and D00p.

LIKE ALL THINGS IN TWI.........what started out as simple, grew obtusely insane DURING wierwille's era and worse during martindale's legalism. Those first two roa were rudimentally simple......sitting on the grass and listening to some musicians while wierwille sprinkled in a few short "teachings." Not only was it TWO WEEKS OF FREE LABOR FOR TWI........it was two weeks AWAY FROM WORK, two weeks of TRAVEL EXPENSES, two weeks of ONE'S ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO TWI, two weeks of "VACATION TAKEN" and no time to visit family and relatives, two weeks of SHUFFLING KIDS AROUND WITH LITTLE SUPERVISION, two weeks of work, exploitation, butt-numbing meetings, crazy work shifts that were MANDATORY, two weeks of "SPIRITUAL-GROUND-HOG-DAY." The top-tier in twi, and staff......were the supervisors, while the field corps were the grunts. The hq people slept in their own air-conditioned bedrooms......many corps slept on cots, in corps tents. The hq staff were able to slip away to their units and rest.......and after two weeks, field corps were tired, irritable, sick. All thanks and adulation went to wierwille and co........the corps-slaves were there to row the boat. AND WHEN DID ALL THIS COME TO A GRINDING HALT..???...........IMMEDIATELY AFTER MARTINDALE ASSIGNED ALL CORPS TO FULL-TIME STATUS IN 1995. Yes, the last roa was in 1995.......because after that, twi was responsible to pay all expenses of all corps that twi incurred......all traveling expenses, motel expenses, working at corps week was NOW "twi-time" since corps were full-time, kids' happy meals, all of it. Therefore, with each passing corps meeting after September 1995......TWI scaled back every major activity and function and even mandated which corps would be "invited" to attend upcoming WIB conferences. Follow the money........always the money.

Yeah......some people just know who to chum with to grease the wheels. Meet Jumpin' Johnnie.......always ready with a one-liner from corps night or quip from a lunchtime sharing. He emphatically quotes the "present truth" of the mog (and now mogette), and learned this practice on the field......showcasing his talents and brown-nosing smooshness. Sure he jumps, always jumps and continues to jump......its served him well so far. And, now he's so close to the top prize......at the v.p. level, he still plays the game of insubordinate but his eyes are fastened on the top chair, the twi presidency. Just a few more years.....and hopefull, she will retire..........and disappear. And then there's Way Builder Roger Ratchet......increasing in increments, and assignments, since his interim year. During the building years, his input was constructive and all........but now, twi has very little need of any building expertise. Nevertheless, he is a staple element of the image.........the practical side of maintenance, repairs, and upkeep. Not an Ermal, mind you........or even a Howard.........but there is a place for this window-dressing in twi. After all, it's "your abundant sharing at work."

Some of those long-time hq staffers are, seemingly, indispensable. Not your average-Joe, mind you......but a super high-tech savvy A/V guy who flies behind the scene of camera angles, class tapings, and wears a cape and all. He's Super Joe..........and he's been at hq since when? the mid-70s? 1974, 75? Meet Bodyguard "Bullet"........strapped tightly to his side is his 9mm Glock. He's shadowy-shrewd and knows how to enforce intimidation in any situation. Rising thru the ranks of twi's "safety department," he's at the top of his game, his pecking order of pricksters. During martindale's reign, "The Bullet" was summoned to silence the husbands, the angry men who learned of the sexual predation, and was agressively involved when Ex-Twi demanded martindale's resignation. "The Bullet" is known to help load trucks, drive trucks, and even pile the stuff at the designatee's requested mark&avoid location.....and whisk away, not looking back. Salute Sally Secretary..........she never misspells the mog's or mogette's sanitized teachings. She would like to have kids.......but doesn't. She'd like to correct the errors in fraudulent "research".....but dares not speak her mind and remove all doubt. She's faithful......as she enters the office every morning promptly ten minutes before eight. On the wall near the entrance hangs a picture of the Ultimate Sacrifice.......Rhod@. Meet Mower Mike......."landscape artist" by day, way production singer by night. He's content to sit on his mowing machine year after year.....knowing that his "real ministry" is singing on stage at the renowned Prevailing Word Over the World Auditorium. His songs are reaching around the world and he knows it.....so he cares little about the daily grind of manicuring twi's property. He's a day-dream believer. And, then there's Housekeeper-Honcho Holly. She relishes in the title and lords over her crew of 22......simply to disguise and deceive her true intentions. Once the mundane scheduling is set.....Holly Hotstuff secretly goes off on shopping sprees with Rosalie and the big girls. So what if her husband is gone.........and nearly forgotten? She's got entitlements, she's got "a piece of the action" and she ain't going anywhere!! Seems like the ole adage is true......"It's not what you know, but WHO you know." And the wheels on the bus go round and round.

Does anti-education equate to indoctrination?

Thanks waysider......... In wierwille's setup........self-supporting was the first key element: Do NOT expect one thin dime of financial support from twi's hq. Self-propagating: Each twi needs to reproduce or multiply as hq sits in comfy chairs and sends out teaching tapes each week. Self-governing: Nice in theory, but in actuality the mandating from hq encroached every fiber of every twig, its weekly teachings and policies. Wierwille's way tree setup was the structuring of his false ministry. Heck,.....if it's "The Word, the Word, and nothing but The Word".....shouldn't wierwille have used Scripture to set his structure on solid footing??...i.e. the One Body, with each member in particular, and Christ as The Head be the right setup, the right analogy to use..??? By sleight of hand, wierwille interchanged words, meanings, cliches, etc to HIS advantage......ALWAYS.

Twi is SMALL POTATOES........because everything they do is SELF-SERVING, SELF-GRATIFYING and SELF-PRESERVATION. Twi does nothing for society. They bury all their "talents" in a hole and claim that they are "believing" God. Twi is a fear-based corporation.....captivated by fear of losing it all.

Here is my "literal usage according to translation and experience"..............The practical error in following twi's cult-ure of culpability ALWAYS leads to doctrines of exploitation and destruction.

Thanks Groucho......I saw this last night and am still laughing.

Twi spends alot of time and energy to "dress up" its image..............but spends very little money doing so. Twi spends countless hours practicing songs and dance steps..........but spends none on wardrobe. Twi spends time mandating corps doctrine and discipline.................but spends meagerly at the limb level. Once on the hook, the twi follower is opening his wallet before each class, after each class, during branch meetings, limb functions, advanced class special fees, and guest speaker gifts, and weekly abs, and twig refreshments and supplies, and gasoline for witnessing nights, sts tapes, and mags, and books, etc. etc. At the top.......twi's bod sit smugly in their conference chairs dictating policy. While enjoying the constant adulation, they walk the halls of the OSC in comfort and ease. No stress. No strain. And, at the end of the fiscal year, Rosalie rewards these yes-men with bonuses. On the field.........the lowly "believer" is jumping hoops night and day, neglecting life and livelihood, trying to stand approved of twi leadership policies. Preying on the small guy, twi is relentless. Like any scam, it works best when one is unsuspecting that he is being scammed. "It's the Word, the Word....and nothing but the Word" is a cliche that keeps guilt-ridden followers in a constant state of striving for the unattainable. 55 million and counting............the twi bean-counters are giddy with excitement.

Kinda like that twi sex-reference.........."If you're spiritually mature enough to handle it, sex [adultery] is not a sin."

Published in 1996, Mrs. Wierwille's book was strategically sanitized for twi's cult-consumption...........and even then, several "gems of understanding" slipped thru the filtering to disclose major flaws in documenting mr. wierwille as the man of God with new light.

Maybe, vpw learned the value of subtle arrogance..........AFTER being kicked out of that Van Wert denomination back in the 50s?

Not that it really matters much..............but martindale taught it as "Practical error always leads to doctrinal error." Gee, it seems like he expounded on this stuff during five successive corps meetings.....citing how when one practices error, they make a doctrine out of it. And, thus....Galatians was to "correct the practical error that crept into the Church as a result of NOT heeding to the proper doctrine [Romans]." Of course, one can easily flip it around and challenge this statement from the other direction. Heck......I think that when someone practices "error" they simply rationalize and justify their actions like martindale seemed to justify his. I guess one can even dismiss The Ten Commandments and stand week after week in the pulpit and still hold up the Bible......yet wreak havoc and destruction as a serial sex predator like the top mogs of twi.

Yeah.......martindale harped on that statement time and time again. And yet, twi was beseiged by practical error.......BEGINNING WITH ITS TRUSTEES. During this time, the financial reservoir was drying up.........in part, because martindale mandated ALL CORPS to be full-time staff. It was revelation from God, ya know. Yet, within six weeks or less (by October 1995) martindale was directing Region guys to start dropping corps from the ranks like hot potatoes. In 1996, lcm followed don wierwille's suggestion to re-tape plaf......major time commitment, major finances, and a major flop in the end. WAP went down with a mighty THUD. Practical error was rampant in twi......and the trustees didn't have a clue on how to stop it. Every decision seemed to advance twi's legalism and embolden fear-motivation. All this time....we later find out about martindale's "affairs" and sexual predation.....as lawsuits start coming down the pike in 1999. If practical error always leads to doctrinal error........then, I'd say twi was WAY OVER ITS HEAD IN DONKEY-POO. Still is.

During my in-rez years, I saw Wierwille, on three separate occasions, verbally strip-gut these THREE corps that involved very insignificant and petty matters. Yet, a mean-spirited wierwille was hell-bent on lashing out with an unrelenting attack in a public setting. Yet, I did not speak out. During the "fog years" I met face-to-face with Ricard0 and inquired about Geeer's POP statement that "the trustees were murderers".......and heard, from Ricard0's pov, the gist of what Geeer alluded to. And, we talked about Schoenhxxt's "adultery paper" and stuff. Yet, I did not speak out. During Martindale's march of the "homo purge and genuine suspicion"....I heard of injustices, I heard of suspicions that were way off base. Yet, as it did not involve me......I did not speak out. During Martindale's "promised land of the prevailing word"......the suggestive doctrine and twisting of scripture was building with each passing week. I contemplated, I studied the inconsistencies......I talked with other leadership. Yet, I did not speak out enough. Then, when I'd had my fill.....when the encroaching legalism of twi doctrine on scheduling, corps pregnancies, finances, sex lives, family communication, travel arrangements, pets, etc. etc. was weekly fodder on corps meetings...........I spoke out loud and clear. My wife and I resigned our corps status. Within 24 hours, region coordinators moved in to silence us.....and labeled us mark/avoid to the branch and state. Like impending tornadoes.....it doesn't mean much UNLESS IT HITS YOUR HOUSE.

Lots of good questions, penworks. IMO....."spiritual leadership" from the twig coordinator, branch coordinator, limb coordinator, etc. WAS THE WAY TREE SETUP VIA WIERWILLE. Yes, martindale took it to new heights (or lower lows).....very rarily was one ever advised to "take it to the Lord" or "pray about it" or "God will show you and lead you"....?? Twi "leadership" was/is the fabric of the cult community. Corps "training" entitled the corps to stick their noses in.....the mog said so. Corps teachings, year after year, challenged and demanded that corps get involved with "their people." With each passing year, the nazi corps were "promoted" to the ranks of region coordinators. Martindale applauded them on every turn. Even mild limb coordinators were sent back to run branches.....as martindale's hard-core leaders were mimicking his "leadership" style in the mid-90s. What did martindale tell bill gr33n3 when that couple wanted to leave staff? Bill, you married them.....you have entre into their lives......you go tell ram0na that I want to see her. Tell her NOT to leave with him (her husband).......[a day or so later, the guy committed suicide]. And, rosalie has stayed the course.....like her plaf-teacher. Same rut.....same outcome......same insanity.

Same goes for The Way of Canada. The information is there because all non-profit organizations in Canada have to file this information to keep their status. Last I checked.......The Way of Canada has some three million dollars in assets, accounts. And, Rosie and Roger and Jean-Yves are the director signatures on the forms.

Yeah......even with an aging mother, the overseer's response is "We all want...(blah, blah, blah)." Groupthink receive, groupthink retain, groupthink release........uuugh. No individual concern. No compassion for one's aging mother. It's cult captivity......plain and simple.

Even if today's twi is less confrontational........ * How does one ignore wierwille's legacy of lies and plagiarism? * How does one embrace twi's plethora of pathetic policies as "spiritual leadership?" * How does one uphold "the law of believing" as twi's cornerstone of sound doctrine? * How does one get any "warm fuzzies" without realizing the self-serving elitism lording over them? * How does one, openly and objectively, walk back into the confines of a cult?

On another thread.......seemingly, a few have decided to "return to twi" [whatever THAT means] and attend their fellowships, classes, etc. First of all, I believe that any thanks and gratitude of returnees is misplaced...i.e. if, at all, twi has changed, it has changed because hundreds have voiced their concern and discontent with twi policies prior to exiting AND here at The Cafe. Yes, hundreds of corps have walked away from twi's insanity of the 90s......walked away from the twisting of doctrine by lcm & co........walked away from mandated policies wherein twi leadership were enforcing transparency of followers' finances, marriages, sex life, and daily schedule. Secondly, if twi has changed...........it's because of the hemoragging of FINANCES. Twi's directors may be dumb and insane, but they are not stupid!! In looking at their financial reports, they know that they've lost mega-bucks from escapees.....AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF KIDS. Thirdly, if twi has changed..............have they really changed their "spots?" Didn't twi seem to go thru this "humbling" once before???.......like 1989-1991 (after the fog-years)? Then, they start cracking the whip on the commitment level, the abundant sharing level, the faithful level, etc. etc. And lastly, even if twi has changed............SO WHAT? IMO, thanks and gratitude goes to former followers who stood toe-to-toe with these taskmasters and called a spade a spade. MANY HERE have blown the whistle on their policies and their ilk. MANY HERE have exposed the sexual predation of wierwille, martindale and others and a common thread runs thru this distructive tool that wierwille instigated. MANY HERE have exposed the rampant plagiarism and the fabrications of wierwille's "snow storms." If anything.........WAYDALE and GREASESPOT have exposed twi's vicious underbelly of lies and exploitation and thereby "softened" twi's approach of lording over others. So, for those who have chosen to go back "into the den of the lions".........if a few teeth are missing, it's because MANY HERE have been clubbing away for many years and the lions bite just ain't what it used to be. IMO, twi still lies in wait.............to devour. Edited by ModRocker to remove reference to a specific GS member who has allegedly returned to twi. That's for him/her to announce, if so desired.

Does twi's "new class" rehash.......the law of believing?.....Job's fear-believing?......the absent christ?......the eve/devil homosexual encounter?......the present truth doctrine?.......the plaf materials?......etc. etc. Then.....as one is grafted back into "the way tree" setup, individuality is nonexistent and being subservient to twi leadership and all. More subtle now though. No thanks.

So..............is he some big CEO, yet? So..............is he mended his ways and gone back thru the corps program? So..............after 8 years of being ousted as twi's president, has all his boastings fallen to the ground with one big mighty THUD..? What a statement of wierwillian-indoctrination..!!!