Oakspear

One of the things that made people "unreasonable" while in TWI was the tendency to magnify every small detail into an earth-shaking event and evidence of possession, weakness or homosexuality. For most people small details were just that: Small. Details.

WordWolf made the point about there being no unbroken chain between ancient druids and modern druids, which from everything I have read is correct. Druids didn't leave written records, so all we have to go in on modern times is what others (like Julius Caesar) wrote or by making educated guesses. One of things that irritate me about many adherents of neo-pagan faith systems is when a gap like that is supposedly bridged by a movement's founder receiving information from spirits, gods, ascended masters et al. I don't know how many books I've read or by people claiming to know the details of ancient practices because of some supernatural connection. I've also talked to people who claim first-hand information from the otherworld reconstructing old and forgotten rituals, who look me straight in the eye and tell me that's the way it is. Okay, freedom of religion and thought and all that, but these same people will mock the Abrahamic religions for adhering to second-hand revelation, i.e. a "holy book. Someone asked about reasons and motivations for people becoming witches, druids etc. I would imagine some just like being different, but most of those whom I know feel that this is a spiritual path that calls out to them. I don't identify with any organized tradition but I do incorporate many pagan values into my life and accept teaching from various people. I observe the Wheel of the Year and honor various deities. I don't look or act overtly different, it's all on the inside.

I'm going to be in Kansas City on Friday night November 5th to see the Chris Duarte Group at the Knucklehead Saloon. I'll probably be staying overnight and leaving Saturday morning if anyone wants to meet for breakfast. Or hang out and listen to live music on Friday! Email me at oakspear@neb.rr.com

Hah! You guys must have been "in" during the 90's...or did the 'itinerary' crap continue into the 00's? By nature I'm a planner, so when Martindale started pushing detailed planning I didn't have a problem with it, because that's what I was already doing. At first it was just something that we were "encouraged" to do without being checked up on, and our family got a lot of benefit from doing it: we were a one-car, six children family and if we didn't plan, chaos ensued. We had a weekly calendar posted in the kitchen with my work schedule, kids' sports and Boy Scouts, Way meetings etc. It was when Way leaders wanted to know the schedule, in detail, and we had to explain deviations from it, that it became oppressive. And it always seemed like leaders could change their schedule and compel you to change yours without a second thought. During this time my ex-wife spent her day home schooling the kids and I had my office in the home, so we were both frequently at the house all day. I don't know how many times we were asked to scrap our schedules to go witnessing or host an event or have the BC's come over for a counseling session when we had already blocked out our time.

Nope, you were right... And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

Where does it say it was flood stage?

Add to that the different eras that people joined and left during.There are people who participated in my ouster who shop where I work and others who were kicked out partially because of me. There are people who left during the post-POP exodus and those who left years later...a very diverse and confusing stew of differing outlooks.

Howard Allen spent some time on this subject (2 or 3 hours) during one of the last ROA's. I think it was supposed to be a condensed version of the Corps class. It seemed to me to be just "helpful tips from an old guy", kind of what I try to do for my kids when they are in high school and are working and managing money for the first time. Nothing wrong with any of what was in there, but hardly "leadership training".

And we, as good little waybots, when we heard things like that didn't say: "You're full of crap...you changed the commitment", we looked at ourselves and tried to figure out how we missed it. Corps numbers were soaring so high that there just weren't enough "leadership" positions to go around. Hah! There aren't now with the shrinking numbers of the rank & file matching or outpacing the decline in Corps numbers, but now they just redefine branches to be two or more twigs and some regions have less people than 80's branches...or twigs.And despite all of this, Way Corps were touted as the only people who could be true leaders. Way Corps employees of "believer" managed or owned businesses often could be found giving orders to their non-Corps bosses. During one of the recurring staff recruitment drives our BC was mentioning how various people in our area could contribute to staff: mechanics, contractors, computer programmers wetc. Then he looks at me, a lifetime manager in various fields who was paid to manage, administrate and lead people toward goals and objectves and drew a blank...because he couldn't imagine how I, a lowly non-Corps person, could possibly have any leadership skills.

Ah...the green card...that's old foreskins...the Weighty Bun Dance of Powder class is the present truth.

I'm with dmiller, I have several local churches who do door-to-door in my neighborhood and I'm always nice. Every once in a while I get in a bible discussion with them; it takes about 30 seconds to go over their heads. I would imagine wayfers would be about the same. Although I don't know if TWI is even active in this state anymore; I'm not sure if those who were "in" when I was kicked out have been kicked out themselves!

Moving target indeed... People went in to become "the best" for God and found out that the "lifetime commitment" wasn't to God but servitude to an organization People went in to develop "gift ministries" and found out that they were being trained to be twig leaders People went in to learn how to be twig leaders and found out that they were supposed to quit their jobs and abandon their careers and work full time as "ministers"

...or a guy/chick combo movie...Leonardo DiCaprio blows things up while pining for his dead wife...

In 2001 I was still being told that doctrine would change if they discovered that it was wrong.

Ah...memories...although as I recall, the Way Corps were kind of thin in our neck o' the woods Kevin.

His exact quote was "What's he gonna do with that thing?" - implying that an unmarried young person couldn't restrain his sexual desire.

I'm not much of a believer in karma in its form of good stuff happens to good people and bad stuff happens to bad people or that you can stockpile some good karma to offset the bad ("My Name is Earl" anyone?) But I do see how your decisions and actions have a cumulative affect through your life, effecting just about everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

Oddly enough, at ROA time of year, I am coordinating a tent sale at my grocery store...it's deja vu all over again!

I think I know him...if he is who i think he is then he was a WOW here in 1994 or whenever the last WOW year was.

I wonder how the attrition rate was in general over the life of the program.

Branch Coordinator? Isn't that two twigs of about 3 adults each?

Yup, "Word Over the World" was supposedly a goal, but it was more like a slogan. What did it mean? That there would be a twig fellowship in every city? In every country? That every single person would have been witnessed to? Every family? How would you know that it had been achieved? Even at the height of TWI's numbers and geographic reach, there were vast parts of the world where TWI folks had never been, heck, even in the U.S. there were plenty of people who had never even heard of TWI, let alone been witnessed to or been offered any kind of "choice" to believe or not believe. Then King Okie announced in the early 90's, with a tear in his eye and a catch in his throat, that the Word was Over the World. This was less than ten years after, by his own admission, 80% of the people and leaders of TWI had walked away. When ten states in the U.S. had either no TWI members or so few that they didn't rate their own appointed official leaders. When even within states with a TWI presence there was often just one anemic fellowship made up mostly of aging grads and their kids. This was rationalized by saying that the Word was available in all 50 states and that every region of the world had some kind of TWI activity... sheesh And then Martindale brought up the (entirely legitimate) point that Word Over the World was a goal, not a vague thing to just talk about...but never was

It's an even smaller area than that. Biblically, "Asia" refers to the Roman province of Asia, which is just a part of what we know call Asia Minor. In included Ephesus.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_%28Roman_province%29

The stated reason, which I find perfectly credible, was that Mission House was supported by donations from their congregation, including Wierwille's father