STS / Way Magazine

[OldSkool]

I have spent some time looking over old STS / Way Mag and can say that now they just suck. After Cr@ig was booted around 2000 they came out with this cookie cutter approach for teaching in these two forums. From that time until I left TWI in 2008 STS / Way Mags have been just incredibly boring. Now, I have many doctrinal differences with TWI at this point. But at least teach me error in an excited, charismatic fashion...Im kidding about the error part. But these two teaching outlets were emasculated shortly after Ros/Don became pres. I mean in an obnoxious fashion. I mean it's lame, boring, dry white toast that barely gets into the scriptures at all. What's up with that?

To make matters worse they still coerce the Staff at HQ to attend the service. The handbook says Staff are encouraged to attend. In practice all of the departments take attendance and report it to their Pres. Cab. who report it to their director who report it to the pres. If you didn't go you need to report that you have made up the teaching before the following Sunday. Here's where it gets comical. Staff numbers have been thin around there for a few years. With all the Staff needed to put on an STS you can barely fill up the first three rows in the PWA. I mean the center section too. So they started scheduling areas from around the country to fill up the seats. There is usually a branch/limb scheduled to attend. It's pretty sad they have to make the Staff go and then bring people in from the Way of the USA to fill the seats. Still they only fill up about half the lower level. You only see the upper level open on Pentecost and Anniversary STS. Oh, the reason the Staff have to attend is because they "compete at the highest level of the spiritual competition". No kidding - that is in the staff handbook. Anyway, their product is so inspiring that they have to coerce and corral people in to hear it. One would think they would figure out how lame the presentation is and change it.

[waysider]

As long as warm bodies fill seats, it gives the impression of legitimacy to their tax exemption. It's a business strategy. Plain and simple.

[mudflaps]

I have spent some time looking over old STS / Way Mag and can say that now they just suck. After Cr@ig was booted around 2000 they came out with this cookie cutter approach for teaching in these two forums. From that time until I left TWI in 2008 STS / Way Mags have been just incredibly boring. Now, I have many doctrinal differences with TWI at this point. But at least teach me error in an excited, charismatic fashion...Im kidding about the error part. But these two teaching outlets were emasculated shortly after Ros/Don became pres. I mean in an obnoxious fashion. I mean it's lame, boring, dry white toast that barely gets into the scriptures at all. What's up with that?

To make matters worse they still coerce the Staff at HQ to attend the service. The handbook says Staff are encouraged to attend. In practice all of the departments take attendance and report it to their Pres. Cab. who report it to their director who report it to the pres. If you didn't go you need to report that you have made up the teaching before the following Sunday. Here's where it gets comical. Staff numbers have been thin around there for a few years. With all the Staff needed to put on an STS you can barely fill up the first three rows in the PWA. I mean the center section too. So they started scheduling areas from around the country to fill up the seats. There is usually a branch/limb scheduled to attend. It's pretty sad they have to make the Staff go and then bring people in from the Way of the USA to fill the seats. Still they only fill up about half the lower level. You only see the upper level open on Pentecost and Anniversary STS. Oh, the reason the Staff have to attend is because they "compete at the highest level of the spiritual competition". No kidding - that is in the staff handbook. Anyway, their product is so inspiring that they have to coerce and corral people in to hear it. One would think they would figure out how lame the presentation is and change it.

Welcome to the cafe Old Skool

I think I left in 05',sounds like nothing has changed.Whoever is calling the shots on the B.O.D. needs to realize you cannot resurrect the ministry of a dead man,great as VPW books were you can't base a whole ministry on them,time to change ,move on,but doubtful the B.O.D would admit they are steering their ministry in the wrong direction "to negative".

[Rejoice]

Let's face it...teachings and articles become boring when those teachers do not live in the real world. The best teachings happen when the individual has everyday experiences to draw from. My goodness, that's exactly how Jesus taught and lived!

He didn't live sequestered on some guarded compound---he was out amongst the people everyday. He worked a real job until his short ministry that lasted approximately 3 years and could see their hurts, frustrations, joys and gratitude. And often he taught by example, not by standing in a pulpit preaching, or passing out scripted scrolls!

TWI and others who think magazines and teachings are the primary way to let people see God at work have completely ignored the Master's example.

[OldSkool]

Well, who is calling the shots on the B.O.D, you ask??., lemme tell you exactly who that is. R@s-a-lie and her silent partner, the perpetual wife of the president, D*nn@. The rest of the BOD, and Pres Cab. for that matter, don't move on anything significant without consulting with the prez first, or their director, who consults the pres for them. They dare not disagree in any meaningful way either. Prez and wife of prez are REAL close too. You would see prez leaving wife of prez apartment in Fndrs Hall in the middle of the afternoon many times. But make no mistake those two call the shots and have been since before Cr@ig was fired. Sorry I took a turn here. But it was mentioned.

The hypocrisy is what trips me out. They have a little blurb in the Way Mag about what the way is. They put it in song a couple years ago - a really bad song. I think I can remember part of it. "The way is a fellowship of the followers of the lord Jesus Christ, who freely avail themselves for..." I'm starting to quiver reciting that. Anyways, whatever happened to "freely avail". They talk about free will and swear up and down they don't coerce anyone but then they have their Staff do an attendance list each week.

It's coercion plain and simple. You have to make grown people, many of them in their 50, 60, and possible 70 check an attendance sheet. All the while the Staff handbook says "encouraged to attend". So your product is so good that you have to make people attend. I've heard this type of question before to handle matters like this when people didn't want to attend. "Well, why wouldn't you want to goto the service? Don't you want to hear God's Word?" AGGGH! That has to be some of the lamest reasoning ever. It leads you to condemn anyone who wouldn't wanna go. I would almost imagine someone could muster up a court case for the checklist / report attendance to the pres and chairman of the bod. It sure gives you the impression that you better go cause big sister is checking to make sure you were there.