Why I joined the way? Well the timing was critical:
1. My older brother died the year before and that sent my family, especially me, into a tail spin.
2. Mom coped by drowning in vodka, hidden all over the house.
3. Dad was a workaholic. When around he was a domineering control freak.
4. Graduated high school and my entire peer group went away to college including best friends and girl friend. Was excrutiatingly lonely and isolated without a close local peer group.
5. Dad would'nt let me go away to college. Faught bitterly over that. Had to live at home and go to community college.
6. Reached out to local church groups for belonging a meaning. But they were dorks, at least by my 19 year old standards and dogmatic.
7. Best friend away at school took PFAL. Raved and introduced me to local twig grip.
8. Believers were my age, very cool and normal, ultra accepting of me. Bible teachings were pretty rational and logical. Promises of the power of god were very alluring.
9. Hey, I was immediatley accepted and appreciated. Was taught cool radical bible. Main stream christianity was put down which appealed to the radical in me. Also, the exclusive nature of the ministry was appealing.
10. Finally, I was given a quick and safe way to get the hell out of town, the WOW program. Took class in 2/77 went WOW August77. See ya ma and pa. Hello better world of acceptance, belonging, and power. Heady immediate stuff.
Its taken me a long time to figure all that out but there it is. All the different paths are amazing to read. Lots of unique themes emerge. Would make a cool study of socialpsychology.
Later,
larryg