skyrider

Wierwille never changed his schtick. Bloviate....intimidate....manipulate....isolate.

And, yes......that is the verbatim paragraph from this man 'with a doctorate degree.' Spelling errors and all......duly noted, [sic].

What better time to push STRIFE than Thanksgiving?

A thanksgiving letter excerpt from Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille, President ------- November 5, 1958 Dear Follower of The Way: Truth is forever on the scaffold. It is much easier for the rank and file to believe a lie and a half-truth (which is not truth) can be much more easily propagated than genuine truth. Reason? Satan will not tend to interfer [sic] with a lie or half-truth and people will keep many more of their so called friends. The Way is dedicated, by those of us its leaders, to THE TRUTH as it is presented in the Word of God without favor to anyone or any group. To be true followers of The Way not only requires dedication but persis- tance [sic] in faithfulness. So many people "blow hot" for a little while and then they "cool off." Reason? The Word's greatness is not genuinely real to them. They hold the truth but the truth does not hold them. There are few who be- lieve the greatness of God's Word. That of all His works it is the greatest and that we will be judged by The Word, therefore surely we must continue to "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." In Jeremiah 15:16 we read "THY WORDS were found.....and THY WORD was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart..." In John 17:8,14 we read "For I have given unto them the WORDS which thou gavest me;....I have given them they WORD:..." and then we read "...and the world hath hated them." those who follow THE WAY and whose hearts, joy and rejoice in God's Word will quickly be caused to come to a shocking fact, namely that they will be in isolated positions, and even hated by those who formerly acted friendly..... <snip> p. 227 Born Again to Serve, author Dorothea Kipp Wierwille **************************** Wierwille left his Van Wert church payroll in August 1957......and 15 months later, located at 649 S. Washington Street in Van Wert, he sends out a 'thanksgiving letter' of IN YOUR FACE to a meager following. What bold-faced innuendo from someone STILL IN VAN WERT and whose past church board voted unanimous consent for accepting his resignation!! Already, wierwille was challenging his little group of followers that they'll be "hated by those who formerly acted friendly." Really? Is that what the scriptures say? Or, is that someone sewing discord and strife among the brethren? While wierwille spouts that there are those who spew lies and half-truths....wierwille lies and spews half-truths. Only his in-your-face bravado keeps the intimidated follower from realizing or questioning the shell game he's playing. This was a game of bluff. Wierwille, having very little at this time, had very little to lose. He was putting his chips all-in......and staring down his opposition. He dare not blink. Here, at Thanksgiving (1958)......the message was "....beware of friendly family, friends, neighbors and co-workers who are used by Satan to trick you from following God's Word that wierwille preaches." See? The local churches don't have it, he claimed. He's got it. And, expect to be hated by those who don't agree. The reckless and brash wierwille was at the point of no return. And, thus it came to be......[p.264] Moving day arrived. It was now Thursday, February 2, 1961, a very blustery, frigid winter day. The temperature reached ten degrees with blizzard conditions. Some of our lady workers arrived early at our remodeled home to get an idea of which rooms the boxes and furniture were to be delivered to as they arrived from Van Wert. No carpet in the living room, chairs were still in moving trucks.......but they sat on boxes and had a 'first fellowship' at the wierwille homestead. Wierwille and his ministry: Lies Plagairized works and pfal: Half-Truths Distance from this evil ilk: Priceless .

in THEIR eyes: Success in OUR eyes: Suck-fest

Long, long ago.....twi's identification of *success* was "word over the world." Loosely defined, that meant that twig fellowships and classes would be made available to every man, woman and child. Not just the USA, mind you....the whole world! Of course, no one every parsed the nitty-gritty of what that REALLY meant....but it was twi's spiritual-bravado mission statement and had a catchy acronym [WOW]. For a few years....1979-85, this *success* was re-defined as Word in Culture. A surge of growing talent had been rising thru the ranks, classes and programs: orchestra personnel, writers, sculptors, musicians, artists, medical professionals, etc. Along with twi's Cultural Center in New Breman, they also were enhancing The Fine Arts and Historical Center in Sidney, OH. By 1984, wierwille's way productions was finally going to perform in the famed Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. And, in 1985, with twi's new auditorium finished.....Athletes of the Spirit would be first to premiere the vast array usage of this new "bells and whistles" auditorium. Wierwille died. The geer power-grab ensued. Everything changed. When the fog lifted, the twi-landscape was totally different and sparse. The trustees were more personal and friendly again......as they knew from whence their bread was buttered. They NEEDED the remnant of those remaining to project a spiritual epicenter. Thus, it came to be: The Remnant was twi's Success Re-defined. *Word over the World* was so-yesterday. The Remnant, the cloth that remained.....THAT WAS GOD'S FOCUS THROUGHOUT TIME. Twi had shifted the goalposts. Numbers NO LONGER mattered. Why should numbers matter anyway? Check the scriptures and see how God repopulated the earth via Noah (and his wife, 3 sons and wives). Check Abraham. And, how whole cities were saved or lost by the stand of one individual. See? Its the *remnant* that the Lord focuses on, not numbers. Thus, Twi was God's Remnant: Success Re-defined. By 1996.....after the sanctified-purge, homo-purge, debt-purge, nonproductive-purge, the *prevailing ones* would cross over the bridge to THE PROMISED LAND OF THE PREVAILING WORD. Success Re-defined: Those who take martindale's new series of The Way of Abundance and Power Class. Wierwille's stuff was old and could not be transferred into new wineskins. Same goes for older twi tapes, music and books. Do NOT bring it "across the bridge" with you.....twi is moving on. In 2000, after martindale's ousting......the old became new again. Martindale became the fall guy for all that was BAD in twi and all-things-wierwille was to be embraced, again. All things except numbers. All things except Word-over-world mission statement. All things except WOW ambassadors. All things except no rock of ages. All things except no hugs for Pressed-Down or Joyful Noise music. All things except most-everything-different. And, there you have it: SUCCESS RE-DEFINED. Wierwille In Name Only

And.....desperate to flee her past and CONTROL HER OWN FUTURE. Rosalie F. Shumate

Will Mr. Linder write a tell-all book......imagine the explosive info? If I recall correctly, John is an 8th corps grad and went on staff at hq in 1980. Just imagine all the behind-the-scenes this guy could write? He was assigned to the security/safety dept when Charlie Qu!ll>n was head sheriff, geer was still driving the bus for wierwille, and martindale was sporting a weirdo hairdo. If Linder kept a journal, then he'd have one heckava memoir......unless he had to sign some type of confidentiality agreement. Secrets that could bust the wierwille-mystique once and for all? Secrets that could enlighten the geer power-grab and fog years? Secrets that could rattle the martindales and craig's buy-off? Secrets that could upend Rosalie and her not-so-cunning foxery? I'd buy the book. Damn Straight, I would.

IMO.....the corps program is destitute of truth. Every teaching, every exercise is designed to get you to submit. Group meals, group dorm rooms, groupthink......it breaks the will of most and re-molds the thought processes towards a collective twi. Everything from meetings, to work schedules to pajama parties.... why couldn't we have some freaking time to ourselves??? Come to think about it......wierwille gave us PAJAMA BOY before the U.S. government advertised it. Pajama Boy

Yeah......add a few of these too. Knock yourselves out twiers......while you're at it. The vultures are feeding off your deadbrain circular logic. PFAL led you around in a circle....and you can't figure out how to get out of the desert. Those corps who lead you were "trained" to OBEY.....so is it any wonder that you, too, find the alpha and omega of your life circling in the desert of THEIR OBEDIENCE to twi. Here's the dirty little secret: They were never trained to lead you out, because they don't know it themselves. I could post another 10 examples of twi's corps "training"......but if a man wants to stay ignorant, then what's the use? And, if you locked away that pfal lie of "Eve considered and that was her downfall"....then you'll never get off the bench, let alone up to bat. For some of us with open eyes, we went to the 'movie:' Wierwille EXposed..... it featured the corps program. I saw it with my own two eyes.

Why was wierwille and co. ALWAYS using the physical elements to "teach" about the spiritual realm? Why did we have to climb rocks to believe God? Why did we have to move in a snowstorm to be challenged and/or trust others? Did we really have to string chairs to learn attention to detail? Why couldn't we simply learn the spiritual realm BY FOLLOWING WIERWILLE'S LEAD ....ie healing the sick, casting out spirits, demonstrating God's power? Oh, wait....that would mean that our dear leader HAD TO WALK THE TALK, not hide behind illusions of power, rewritten history or pontificating podiums. Silly me. Come to think of it.....I was in a corps training designed by a man who didn't have the understanding to research the correct lighting techniques for pfal filming and had done considerable damage to his eyes in the process. Was that believing or the consequences of ill-fated passion that finally caught up to him? Climb rocks to learn believing?

Like when two corps hitchhikers were on their way to LEAD....and a truck driver pulled over to give the guy and girl a ride. Well, the girl anyway. The truck driver threatened the guy and he backed down. The girl he took away and raped her over and over. See? The corps guy is NEVER supposed to leave his hitchhiking partner.

Yeah.....like the time when the Emporia Campus Dorm Change Assignments were marshaled in. Yep....mid-February and the corps were instructed, a few days ahead, that moving dorm rooms was on the schedule. Problem was....heavy, blowing snowstorm was approaching and would like hit THAT DAY. Did the corps coordinators change or alter the moving day? Nope. See, it was GOOD to endure the challenge. It would flush out the weak, bickering, whiny ones....and open the doors for verbal lashings at the end of the day. See, with twi leaders, there was ALWAYS A WAY to flip the messaging to their advantage. One could argue that it only made common sense to wait a day or two on moving, but NO.....that would be the logical decision, NOT the spiritual one. Quit thinking "logical" and trust your corps leadership. Oh.....and this will be a TWIG move. Your corps twig is your unit. You are not done until everyone in your twig is moved fully into their new dorm room. So, the collective is responsible for everyone's PERSONAL stuff....get it? Got it. In six-eight inch snow, and blowing snow....we carried boxes, and clothes, and lamps, and books to each of our corps twig's new dorm room. See? Obedience is the highest form of learning.

And.....every time wierwille came to the Emporia campus, the fanfare began. Oftentimes, in warm weather, the corps coordinators instructed us to line both sides of the circle drive as wierwille's motorcoach slowly made its way to Kenyon Hall, the high point of circle drive. Like youth-crazed fans elated that the pop star had arrived, the crowd was driven to get a glimpse or "touch the hem of his garment" mentality. Then, with the *man of God* on campus, the corps program schedule and activities were at wierwille's beckon call. If he had 'something on his heart' to share......then, a meeting was arranged ASAP. And, bratwurst and sauerkraut would be served, because THAT was wierwille's favorite. After some late night meeting.....if wierwille wanted a PAJAMA PARTY in the top floor Wierwille Library, then we had 20 minutes to get to our dorms and return in pajamas and bathrobes. So, we'd sit for another hour and a half while wierwille could sip his Drambuie and talk about the wierwille history or how he built his ministry. What kind of leader calls for pajama parties? What kind of leader likes youth-crazed fanfare? What kind of leader sips Drambuie at a 'Christian campus?' I know, I know.....it was SO obvious. I should have left.

What kind of leader wants a corps more loyalty to himself than to the scriptures? And why? These were two questions that I pondered over and over during my in-residence corps training. Yeah, disciplined training to persevere thru tough situations.....I get that. But this loyalty to man? to jump and not ask how high? blind loyalty? The corps training, to me, was like jamming a square peg into a round hole. It didn't work....until you shaved off all the corners as a lathe machines wood. Buffeting persisted until one quit resisting. As a farm kid, the cloning of the corps never made any sense to me. Logical or otherwise. What was I missing? Was there some hidden spiritual awareness just around the bend? Will our unconditional "loyalty" to wierwille be instrumental in understanding how to be a doulos [slave] to the Lord? Sure, twi taught that.....but I didn't see it in the scriptures. Where were those blind loyalists to the Apostle Paul? Heck, one of those guys, Barnabus or Silas, left Paul in a huff and STILL was spotlighted as very influential in the Book of Acts. So, why do I have to be cloned to wierwille's liking??? Ain't buying it one bit!! Amazingly, I graduated without displaying too much dissent. Close though. So, what kind of leader demands this loyalty OVER AND ABOVE the letter of The Law, God's Holy Writ? 1) A self-serving cult leader? 2) A narcissistic sociopath? 3) A lazy, deviant con artist? 4) All of the above? Several times, I nearly left the corps program. The endless meetings? The 4:30am runs to get aerobic points? The filling out reports? Excessive volunteering to exhibit my willingness to learn and grow? Learning the memory pegs and reading Dale Carnegie books? Taking pfal AGAIN for the 20th time? YET....I still didn't understand why they wanted to clone us???? A few exceptions were allowed, sure. Like 8% or so. Some musicians.....some who'd teach us Greek or survival skills. Some favored, because of their money or parents......but the vast majority of us were in this big, cloning factory with no recognizable past, skill sets, or features. We were herded and processed out. The next group would be shipped in soon. I should have left by Christmas my first year.....but I wasn't a quitter. I had never quit anything. Something's just not right, though. I could see it. I could sense it. And then, I'd doubt myself of what I perceived. No one around me was packing and leaving in the middle of the night.....oh, a few that I didn't know but was told that they'd had 'sponsor/money' problems. The monitoring was intense. If your mood was wrong, then you'd be called aside. Or late? That's a quick red flag.....someone came looking for you. What if I needed or wanted some ALONE TIME with the Lord that day? Was THAT available? In a word, no. It wasn't. My corps twig coordinator told me that this was a time of training. Every meeting, every event was in preparation for being 'the best.' At the end of those four years of corps training.....I STILL DIDN'T BELIEVE that I needed to be strictly loyal to wierwille. I detested the cloning, I loathed the hypocrisy.....and was indifferent to the corps training. Had it made me a better man? Not really. Growing up on a farm with older brothers, playing sports and hunting pheasants and rabbits had instilled a discipline and perseverance that scoffed at the ridiculous corps "training." And, I still found many of the best people in twi were NOT corps. Why did wierwille demand such loyalty? Because he was a demented, ego-driven dicktator.

Yes....far too many REFUSE to take ownership of their own lives and destiny. More and more WANT to be in the wagon of dependency rather than walk on their own two feet. Vast swaths of industries, programs, and products are marketed with this in mind. Religion, too, has joined the ranks of fleecing the dependency mindset. And yet, twi encroaches into the fibers of 24/7 monitoring its followers. About 10 years ago, we had traveled to a city where we spent years in a corps assignment. This particular Saturday mid-morning, we had arranged to meet with a long-standing advanced class grad, an elderly gentleman age 71 (?). Rather than visit him at home, we planned to meet at a nice suburban mall near the food court. And, although we'd exited twi many years prior, our friendship was deeply rooted from years of working together in twi. Well, he showed up alright......but was anxious and jittery. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if some corps leader might be wandering thru the mall and see him WITH US. It was a stunning spectacle......an elderly man who, years earlier, had such joy and effervescing love to be cowering in such fear! Here, a father, grandfather and successful retired businessman crumble under the weight of such indoctrination......amazingly heart-breaking. Twi knows the buttons to push and levers to pull to inflict the dependence. And someday, I believe, they'll have to answer for this manipulation.

And, speaking of CENTRAL CONTROLLED....... 1) WOWs were to be distinctively separate from Limbs 2) WOW Rovers were under hq's central command authority 3) Way West and Way East......became USA Trunk 4) WOW Vet Program (Outreach Cities) had a short life 5) Fellow Laborers Program was never a mainstay program 6) Word in Business....morphed into corps teaching business/professionals 7) Way Disciples replaced old parameters and outreach program 8) Staffer at HQ.......old staffers moved out and corps ran departments 9) Corps Program gave vpw/twi direct oversight of all aspects of command & control 10) Proposals of regional roa events put emphasis on regions....and thus, discarded What started as baby steps (immersion).......grew to full-scale programs (indoctrination) and now, reaching adulthood, has arrived at its intended goal (lifetime twi-servitude).

And.....that's where the CULT rubber meets the road. Wierwille's "teaching ministry" embodied the pfal series and could NEVER be improved upon. As the founding father of this "new light," no one could challenge, let along surpass, his bedrock teachings of twi. In subtle twi-idolatry, wierwille was clothed with all of the gift ministries.....apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, helps, & governments. In true cult form, the "absent Christ" teaching fit perfectly into compartmentalizing the infant stage of cult learning. Wierwille was their all-in-all.....pfal and beyond. Of course, vpw gave lip service to the scriptures, but there is strong, sustainable evidence that he didn't believe them. The scriptures were simply a springboard to HIS TEACHINGS.... a narcissist in every sense of its definition. IMO.....wierwille could never adequately convey or teach spirit-revelation, because he had no understanding of it.....he was passing off book-knowledge or plagiarized material, not heart or experience. Gal. 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. .

Waysider......I hear you, but on one issue I beg to differ. Wierwille DID give a rat's azz on the Fellow Laborers Program, because it wasn't CENTRALLY CONTROLLED. By 1976, wierwille was a 60 year old with grandiose visions of implanting his wierwille legacy for all to see. The Fellow Laborers Program gave more thrust to in-state Limb Homes and meetings. Wierwille loathed it for that very reason. Thus.....Fellow Laborers died an early death.

Oh, yeah......ISOLATION took it to a whole new level. That's why the Fellow Laborers Program and Corps Program were toxic indoctrination. Of course, wierwille frowned on the Fellow Laborers program, because it was NOT centrally controlled.....it gave more power to Limb coordinators, not Way Nash. Ever notice why it was rarely touted from the big podium?

Awwww......the benefits of pontificating from the podium. By re-writing twi history AND lecturing the way forward, wierwille was able to project the mystique of a "man of god." See, the young-ins weren't around when wierwille saw black snowstorms and walked in India......so re-written history was for the taking. And, sitting on his plateau of guru-ness, wierwille sat on his porch while hippie-types came to wayville for summer camp. And, filling his evenings with night owls and Drambuie-coffee, wierwille would stoke the fires of his greatness. You see.....a teacher lives to teach. And, students need to learn. For wierwille, this class-based ministry structure was a match "made in heaven." The only thing The Teacher needs [since his gig isn't subsidized by gov't grants].....is a repeat student. One who will keep coming back for class after class, night owl after night owl. And for that, they've got to be mesmerized by a moggish-mystique. Plus, they cannot OBSERVE him in action. That would give away the scam. Wierwille has to be seen as the perpetual teacher.

As wierwille closes the final session of pfal, HE SHOWS HIS CARDS. To paraphrase what wierwille says......"If you [the student] will put away all of your reading material for the next three months, the newspapers, books and material, and delve into this pfal syllabus and these [twi] books, you will hardly know yourself and how life has changed." That was the gist of his sales pitch. Again, that is not verbatim, but the subtotal of his driving message. Note: What wierwille said AND what he didn't say. What was vic's sales pitch? Immersion [and subsequent, indoctrination]. And, what didn't he say? Conversion.....walk the *new man* walk with holy spirit residing in you. Take your prayer life TO THE LORD. Let Him guide you daily. When Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman.....what were his parting words? Go, and sin no more. Time and time again, Jesus imparted *independence* [from sin and oppression] and NOT dependence. He didn't school the woman to a probationary program or study program. He set her free! One can clearly see the genuine and the counterfeit by observing the defining lines of INDEPENDENCE OR DEPENDENCE. If the underlying principle is to create a subset of dependents, then the counterfeit is in play. IMO......PFAL has subliminal messaging throughout the class. Despite the doctrinal errors, the mog-messaging is inverted to true Christianity. Wierwille proclaimed to be the *reason for the pleasing*......the one whom the Lord chose to apostle this "new light." Hogwash. Sure, he gave some lip-service to Jesus, the messiah, the Son of God and all......but then, stole the thunder most of the time. And, in the end......immersion [to twi] not conversion. Same goes with the intermediate and advanced class. Immersion not conversion. All those practice sessions to get the tongues with interpretation just right. Practice, practice, practice.....and one is immersed to consistently attend twig and calibrate his/her spirituality. Sheeeesh. It seemed like we were more fixated on standing approved before leaders than the Lord Almighty. But then......even vic's tongue was repetitive like a severely scratched record. Over and over......Lo Shanta Melo Ka Seta, Lo Shanta. Uuuugh. Immersion or Conversion?.....Dependent or Independent? No wonder my soul was ALWAYS YEARNING to get on the field, away from hq.

The question becomes......what is meant by "taught?" Does one need a teacher, a mentor, to advance thru life? If that's the implication of the wierwille statement, then his 'teaching' (cough, cough) ministry is the perfect fit for a lifetime student. But.....what about being self-taught? Or observation? Or book-reading? Or reading and re-reading the scriptures? IMO.....wierwille's pfal was presented like basic arithmetic. Simple. Direct. Add and subtract....principles that have no variables. Wierwille's 2 + 2 will give the answer. Yet, wierwille never factored in how one discerns hypocrisy, deception, or manipulation BY OBSERVATION. By discernment, one could LEARN what was behind the messaging, behind the curtain! Wierwille was NOT nearly as clever as he thought he was. What wierwille taught was NOT NEARLY AS IMPORTANT as what he did or how he lived. Sure, he held the bible high when he taught the Sunday Service.....BUT DID HE HOLD THE BIBLE HIGH when he exemplified the life of a drunkard? sexual predation? haughty pride? false humility? no genuine compassion? Did wierwille really think that his cunning deception [look over here] as students of scripture, and growing into adulthood, would mask his little tricks a lifetime? Really? The scriptures speak of demonstrating God's power..... yet, why were all of wierwille's examples of "revelation/healing" in the past? With each passing year, discerning eyes WERE LEARNING that wierwille was a fraud. Wierwille also referenced *learning has to come from outside the source seeking.* So, no matter what the old man was "teaching" us.....we were gaining wisdom and discernment with EACH PASSING YEAR. Eventually, [by 1978 for me] the wierwille mystique was in full view.....and I fully expected twi to move beyond "the starter kit of pfal" and beyond. You know, Buzz Lightyear stuff, spiritually speaking. It never happened.

Yeah.....common sense trumps twi's 'heavy-revy' any day of the week. It got to the point where STRINGING CHAIRS WAS A SPIRITUAL EVENT. Reminds me of the brc incident [i've shared this before]..... On my interim year at hq, I was assigned the responsibility of the BRC. These household responsibilities rotated about every two months and I was given the duty to oversee every meeting setup in the brc. Also, a number the in-resident corps [8th corps] were assigned to the brc setup crew. And, of course the sunday teachings were of paramount importance.....rows had to be strung in perfect alignment. Well, after a few times of this....I noticed a neat little shortcut. If we turned off the overhead lights and had those dim lover lights on, then the carpet impressions were readily visible and we simply placed chairs on those carpet dents.....no strings, no hassle, no problem! Rather than a 50-minute production to string chairs.....we could vacuum and align those chairs in less than 20 minutes. That 8th corps crew loved me for it. It was our little secret.....and common sense. :)

And....why did twi feed us loads of familia and figpep each morning, especially corps? Because....we'd been sitting on our arse nearly 12-15 hours a day of INDOCTRINATION. We needed those rectal-routine-scrubbers and colon cleansers to undue the excessive sitting sessions of twi's mog-ideology. Every mog on stage wanted his 15-minutes of adulation. And then....they confronted us of excessive toilet paper usage.