waysider

All roads lead back to "the lockbox".

Ironic, really, that in PLAF (The Wonder Class) we were taught that the Gospels and OT were for those who only had natural man understanding and yet, to this particular point, they insisted we we give special attention.

Don't mess with Mr. In-Between.

sorry, double post.

Warning!Adult subject matter.

Dorothy Moore

WW When got involved in '71 or '72 (I don't know why I can never remember which), twigs were held in homes, in parks, in cars or wherever. But, it was not as chaotic as it sounds. Part of what we were taught to do was direct the attention away from the mechanics of organization. Things were supposed to appear spontaneous and low key. There was even a written manual that went into great detail about organizing and conducting a branch-sized meeting. If you were setting up chairs or running extension cords, you were supposed to do it in a nonchalant manner that would not cause attention to be directed to the work you were doing. There was some sort of theory that if you looked like you were working, the students would feel guilty. I still find myself doing this at company Christmas parties and such. I casually rearrange tables and chairs, haul away trash, etc. all within plain sight but without calling attention to myself. Suddenly, the room can transform without anyone giving it a thought. It's pretty good stuff as far as theatrical productions go but what are its limits in a fellowship setting? Dunno. BTW--- One of my favorite lines from the manual was the admonition, "Don't pick your seat." Pinky swear---That's exactly what it said. Well, of course, it meant you weren't supposed to sit in the middle of row three with all your pals and have a good time. You were supposed to sit near the back of the room where you would be free to get up at a moment's notice and do whatever needed to be done. Still, I always get a chuckle out of the ambiguity with which it was written.

Yikes! It's all Greek Aramaic to me .

excie, I agree we you this a great song. And, even though I know it's really Janis' song, I can never get past this amazing cover by Joan Baez: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvRK7XY2yB0 When it came out on vinyl in the mid seventies (Diamonds and Rust album) I used to keep putting the needle back and listening to it time after time after time. I hope it speaks to you in the way it spoke to me. (That probably made no sense.) I guess in a way, I kinda wished that I was Jesse and somebody actually cared enough to want me to come home. I better stop there.

Polly wanna cracker!!

How about some Rory Gallagher? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_3Yerm9V7U

Happy Birthday, Howie You'll always be one of "the good guys" in my book.

Could be a spoonful of water Save you from the desert sand Spoonful of lead from my .45 Gonna save you from another man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TwEYuues6Y

I'm not disgruntled----or angry. I'm just deeply disappointed that something I believed in so fully turned out to be a sham. On the other hand, I feel a sense of relief in learning I wasn't turning my back on God when I left. What I turned my back on was just another run-of-the-mill cult. Not even a very good one, despite our claims that we were "The Best".

If, indeed, a dedicated thread should evolve from this, I suggest it would not be complete without the inclusion of Watered Garden's bone chilling testimony.

This is a perfect example of how, at times I would see various activities that I knew or suspected were wrong, but had no idea they were anything more than localized anomalies. That's where GSC comes into the picture. It enables you to see the scope of activities that happened on a ministry wide scale. It's a place where I often find myself having an "Aha!, So that's what that was about!" moment.

Hello, David Welcome to The Cafe. Have you been to the homepage yet? Strap on your headphones and make sure you're sitting down. First "cuppa Joe" is on me.

One for the squirrel

One day at a time, Raf. That's how I did it 25 years ago and broke a 2 pack a day habit. You're not quitting forever, you're only quitting for today. You can even break that down further into 1/2 or 1/4 days. The other side of the coin is if you "fall off the wagon", you have missed your goal for that day but not forever. Tomorrow is a whole new chance.

Don't beat yourself up too badly, Lucy. I, myself, didn't know much about the sordid details until I stumbled in here about two years ago. Believe it or not, I found this place while searching for a replacement for my PFAL book which had gone "missing in action". I was still lending out my collaterals and "witnessing" to people.( though I rarely sent anyone to a twig again after my rather unpleasant experiences in Fellow Laborers.)

I read the book. I had a hard time putting it down. Nuff said?

Lucy I know you weren't speaking to me but the time frame would have been about 1974 or 1975 to the best of my recollections.

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