How many of us were pressured to go into the WC? I know I was. Pressured and pressured and pressured. I never went in, though. Too scary for me. Too many reasons not to go in - for one thing, I didn't want to end up one of those poor, single WC women who couldn't find a WC man to marry. And too many people came out looking like a completely different white-bread version of their former selves. I couldn't sacrifice my entire self to that.
See, I never suggested or pressured anyone go into the way corps. I am probably the anomaly in all of this because I believed that if folks wanted to go then I could help them get there but if it wasn't their idea then what was the point. It would just be useless pressure on someone to do something they don't want to do. I take free will seriously.
And then there was the fact my parents had been through HELL in the WC training, and eventually ended up M&A. It tore our family apart - I ended up not speaking to my family for five long years, I had one brother end up homeless at 16, kicked out of the house while my parents tried to get back into the WC program (prior to their being made M&A), another went into the Marines to escape. It was horrible, and I would NEVER put my children through anything like it. I made a vow to myself, my husband, and my unborn children to NEVER make the same mistake I made with my parents and siblings - I WOULD NEVER LET AN ORGANIZATION COME BETWEEN ME AND THEM. The WC led to that split in my family - we are healing, but the scars are still there.
Reading that broke my heart. My condolences will hopefully do a little to recompense such an awful experience.
But, I want to know if other experienced the same kind of daily pressure to "go CORPS!!" It was everywhere - any time I taught, any conversation I had with WC, any event I attended. In my face, the pressure to go into the WC.
Was there a quota or something to be met by local leadership?
Quota? Not to my knowledge. I don't know what motivates people to be that way. I have seen other way corps have these sort of opinions about what others should do. But never really understood why. I would love to learn a little more from folks who had pressure put on them to get new corps.
And they all acted like it was the greatest experience of their lives - so much fun cleaning the toilets, running for miles, being exhausted. Yeah, sounds like a friggin blast. And then they would turn around and say, "The Corps isn't for everyone."
But they sure thought it was for me... and I saw them pressure a lot of other people.
Hypocrites! I never met one person who would stay in that environment on second longer than they had to. It's selective memory at best. Let's ignore all the control and feeling of incarceration and reminisce about how "wonderful" the times were. BULL$H17!!
Perhaps they are just being the benevolent dictator. After all, that describes their master - Rosalie. Why not copy her. "We know what's best for you and you will know too if you obey what we are telling you!"
I need to let all of you former WC folks (including you, Oldskool) know that I do not hold any one person responsible for what happened to my family - well, maybe a couple (LCM, Rev. Mosquito, cl @pp a few others)... but no one here. Most of the people in twi and in the WC are good people who love God and are doing the best they can. I DO hold TWI and the BOD/BOT responsible - and there's a millstone around somewhere with their names on it.
My family is much better without twi, we are all thankful it is in our past and happy with where we are now.
***edited to remove a weird email link from a formed reverend's name... weird.
I remember being told by a couple of WC that I needed to go in because "God had called" me to be a minister. At first I just blew them off, but they just kept coming, so I finally came up with a response that worked. It went something like this:
WC: I'm sure God has called you to be a minister for God's people. You should go Corps!
Me: That's a spiritual decision, right?
WC: yes! Definitely!
Me: If God called me to be Way Corps, He would tell me, right? It's a big decision!
WC: Yes.
Me: Then I will wait until I hear from Him.
WC: but... But...
Me: Remember in the Advanced class where we are taught that God will give you revelation concerning you before he gives it to someone else?
WC: yes, but if you don't listen, He will work in others, like me, your leadership.
Me: in that case, if I am not spiritually aware enough to hear from God, I must be out of fellowship and shouldn't go Corps anyway. Well, I need to go pray and study so I can renew my mind. Gotta go! Bless ya!
JavaJane, that is an awesome dialog! I wish I'd been brave enough.
the LC put a lot of pressure on me to go in. it would help my then-husband to "grow up". my then-husband also put a lot of pressure on me to go in with him because being a great man of god would feed his narcissistic ego.
It didn't take too long after I started using that response that they started thinking I wasn't called to minister... In fact I was probably called to be the pain in the @$$ of the body of Christ. My teaching abilities were suddenly poo-pooed as needing some help. I went from being a great public speaker to having to have special instructions in that category.
It didn't take too long after I started using that response that they started thinking I wasn't called to minister... In fact I was probably called to be the pain in the @$$ of the body of Christ. My teaching abilities were suddenly poo-pooed as needing some help. I went from being a great public speaker to having to have special instructions in that category.
They were probably afraid the logic was catching.
Ya, careful. Sound logic in the way international can be systemic if not checked.
You could ask, when they say you should go Corps, "So,... how much are you going to sponsor me for?" and if they back down, so be it. If they don't back down, tell them, "That's not enough."
Now someone I know, currently in the Way, has used this, and found it to be quite effective. This person related to me that once you've done all the classes and basically met all the pre-reqs, The pressure is always there, from someone, to go Corps.
never was pressured personally. after in some cases asked people if they'd thought about it, but didn't take it further than that. some did go after thinking about it - i doubt due to anything i did.
I'm not sure I would call it pressure in my case. More like one of those Pocket Fisherman TV ads that ends with the pitchman saying, with a loud, excited voice, "Call now! Operators are standing by!" I remember some WC (probably 3rd or 4th year) coming home for Christmas and telling me that I could live a more abundant life if I would only learn to use a small amount of toothpaste and switch to bar soap instead of shaving cream. I thought to myself that they must be morons if they didn't realize that an abundant life should be one where you DON"T have to worry about how much toothpaste or shaving cream you're using. I knew it wasn't for me.
Then Mr. Burden (not sure if he was a Rev. yet) talked to me about this exciting new 2 year, in-rez. program where you lived just like they did in the first century church, did an intense study of the book of Acts and then returned to your hometown to assume leadership responsibilities. Well, it was quite an eye opening revelation to discover that the believers of the first century church lived in socialist communes and thrived on sleep deprivation, hunger and poverty. I never returned to my hometown or assumed any more leadership responsibilities. I did learn, however, how to make mayonnaise from scratch.
Well, it was quite an eye opening revelation to discover that the believers of the first century church lived in socialist communes and thrived on sleep deprivation, hunger and poverty.
That was a laugh I needed today! :lol:
I had a lot of WC and assorted leadership over the years suggest that I go WC (and WOW); but there was never any animosity when I politely declined. Maybe they realized that they'd lose all my ABS is I went in!
Let's see. I wrote a letter to Craig saying the last time I went to HQ I though all of the greetings were just words. That the "God bless you's" were just words and no longer carried any real meaning to the people saying them. I added that I felt that Way Productions had become more about the show that about God and that the music and performance needed to live and have energy if it was going to inspire people. I mentioned when I arrived, no one attepted to make me fell welcome. (I heard that he yelled at the Corp and staff about that..Sorry) That each time I came no one ever approached me, but I often approched them. I wrote a letter, saying that the Athelets of the spirit teaching in Ephesians went against everything I learned about bible study in the PFAL and the amount of profanity and bitterness in the service made it difficult to understand or even tell for sure what the teaching was about.
No, I wasn't pressured to go into the Corp. In fact the real wonder was that they let me stay around as long as they did. I acctually left before they put any pressure on me to leave.
So it doesn't sound like that everyone faced the same kind of pressure that I did... I wonder if it had to do with the local leadership, or maybe the timeframe we were in - maybe with the dwindling Corps numbers there is additional pressure.
Maybe there were specific traits they were looking for in people?
And it seems like from this thread (I may be totally jumping to conclusions here) that women got more pressure than men? Maybe as fodder for the WC harem of the MOG?
Maybe there were specific traits they were looking for in people?
And it seems like from this thread (I may be totally jumping to conclusions here) that women got more pressure than men? Maybe as fodder for the WC harem of the MOG?
I don't honestly know what they were looking for.. I do know, that I was never pressured to go in the Corps. I went, because I always wanted to serve God.. I was pressured to go WOW/Way Disciple.. Pressured to do lots of other things I wouldn't normally do and sometimes felt wasn't right. But the Corps wasn't one of them. But I'm a guy, so maybe you have a point! This was in '97 that I asked about the Corps and was told straight out that I wasn't Corps material, and that I needed lots more life to live and experience to gain.. (6 months later they let me sign up.. W/o much extra experience in my opinion. or changes to my previous situation.)
was told straight out that I wasn't Corps material
Consider that a compliment. In 97 they still had lots of people to kick out of the ranks. Strange how a full house engenders arrogance. Back then, corps material meant you were an aspiring jerkoff like Rev. Martindale. Yell at people, try and intimidate your way into worshipful obedience from others. Now, that The Forehead is doing a menial job in Toledo, after he thinned the numbers so that there is hardly anyone left, corpse material is any lump of clay that leadership recommends and doesn't argue. Corps material. I remember hearing that lots back in the day.
I would say that "natural leadership ability" according to TWI basically boils down to natural salesmanship. That's corps material right there. Preferably without gonads or a spine. But let's gas this potential salesman up into thinking he has that special something. Break em down for four years. Let them on a long enough leash to run some classes and increase the abundant sharing for their area. That's corps! Thats rooooght!
I got caught in the same snare. All I wanted to do was serve God. All I served was the board of directors. Glad to be out and free and picking up the pieces.
JJ, I was pressured, but it was kind of a reverse psychology type of thing. I wasn`t able to understand the greater spiritual truths because I wasn`t corpes. LCM stated publicly that if you weren`t corpes than you weren`t allowed in his presence...yadda yadda...if you weren`t corpes, you were a bump on a log spiritualy and a waste of space at twig...if you believed the scriptures and loved God...there is no place else to be...its the only place to learn to serve...
My dialogues would go like this...
wc...you need to go corpes..
me...but don`t you have to have natural leadership ability??
wc...yeah but if you would just make the commitment God would have to create that within you wouldn`t he???
me...what about all of those classes that are required that have never been available in our state...
wc...don`t you trust that God would provide that??
me...what about all of that money for tuition...
wc...you just need to make the commitment...God will take care of the rest...wheres your believing man?
Strangely enough, at the end of that first app year, the same classes that had never been offered before were still
unavailable...I had even LESS money than anticipated because leadership had insisted that I needed the spirituality of living with other believers so had left my rent free parents home....being in a small area, all of the believers were already tapped out for sponsorship....and and AND...I had the nerve to still keep a pet that year...gasp....the shame
So because of my lack of believing, my obvious lack of corpes *heart* I was treated to my very first spittle flying face melting by rich waddlkins.
He was so big and my bed room was so small... his bellowing terrifiying...his scorn so scathing ... every ounce of self esteem and worth destroyed...I would have promised anything to be permitted to crawl on my belly back in to the presence of God........I asked meekly if he thought that going wow would help me improve what I was so soarly lacking...
I`ll tell you what, I genuinely wish I could have a chance to speak to that pompous bullying foot face to face today :) and it WOULDNT be a cowering terrified slip of a girl that big goon would be facing...lol...and THIS time...it wouldn`t be HIM that was doing the confronting or cowering..
Some leaders genuinely seemed to like having an excuse to unload on people.
JJ, I am sorry that your family was so fractured by these bullies, I kicked mine to the curb because they were not in the ministry. It has taken twenty years, but the wounds heal, and though I can never retrieve the time, lost, the parties, weddings, funerals and vacations missed that bind a family together that form and strengthen those bonds, they have in time made a place for me. In time, I hope your family replaces what was stolen.
So in other words there is always someone standing by pressuring a person to take the next step. Spiritual growth is the carrot dangling from the increase your commitment schtik. Once the person hits corpse status then they are the full time pushers. Vicious cycle.
So in other words there is always someone standing by pressuring a person to take the next step. Spiritual growth is the carrot dangling from the increase your commitment schtik. Once the person hits corpse status then they are the full time pushers. Vicious cycle.
That wasn't true of everyone's experience, apparently, but it was a common experience,
and it certainly WAS MY experience.
As for corps being full-time pushers, you actually reminded me of something I flashed back to this
morning writing my other post. Those I respected (rightly) really recommended pfal and lauded it
to the high heavens, so I signed up for it as soon as I could raise the money. (As a teenager, that
was not easy. I didn't have my own Bible for it, but the locals I knew bought me one and it was
waiting at my seat for Session 1.) Since I was the first person in my area who signed up for it,
I had to then wait for a class to fill in. Meanwhile, HQ sent a corps person to be the next
Branch coordinator. At his first visit to my fellowship, he asked if anyone there wasn't a pfal grad.
I raised my hand, and he went into Full Sales Mode. As he was still winding up for why I had to sign
up for it, the coordinator and assistant coordinator were telling him-in harmony-that I'd already
signed up.
So, yes, he definitely was a "full time pusher", who pushed pfal at every opportunity. As an eager
student, I think he was never quite sure how to treat me-I didn't require any sales pitch, and I
wanted to learn. That's not to say he treated me badly, actually, as people go, he treated me probably
nicer than most people he encountered, but overall his people skills were atrophied from learning things
the corps way, and he creeped me out. He pretty much creeped everyone out, and we were all happy when
he was reassigned. I never found out why, but he might have requested it- he had to sense something just
didn't "click" between himself and the locals, which meant he got a lot of passive-aggressive
"cooperation" as far as he could see it. Yeah, the locals in my area never were big on toeing the
party line fully. We sipped the Kool-Aid, but we didn't empty our glasses and line up for more.
That sounds exactly like the fellowship I first attended while still a kid. Great people who loved people. I miss those folks...
And then WC showed up a few years later. It all went downhill from there. More commitment was required... I went WOW, my folks went in the Corps. And the rest is explained in the first post. And now that I think back, the WC that showed up were the first Way people to give me the heebie jeebies.
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OldSkool
See, I never suggested or pressured anyone go into the way corps. I am probably the anomaly in all of this because I believed that if folks wanted to go then I could help them get there but if it wasn't their idea then what was the point. It would just be useless pressure on someone to do something they don't want to do. I take free will seriously.
Reading that broke my heart. My condolences will hopefully do a little to recompense such an awful experience.
Quota? Not to my knowledge. I don't know what motivates people to be that way. I have seen other way corps have these sort of opinions about what others should do. But never really understood why. I would love to learn a little more from folks who had pressure put on them to get new corps.
Hypocrites! I never met one person who would stay in that environment on second longer than they had to. It's selective memory at best. Let's ignore all the control and feeling of incarceration and reminisce about how "wonderful" the times were. BULL$H17!!
Perhaps they are just being the benevolent dictator. After all, that describes their master - Rosalie. Why not copy her. "We know what's best for you and you will know too if you obey what we are telling you!"
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JavaJane
I need to let all of you former WC folks (including you, Oldskool) know that I do not hold any one person responsible for what happened to my family - well, maybe a couple (LCM, Rev. Mosquito, cl @pp a few others)... but no one here. Most of the people in twi and in the WC are good people who love God and are doing the best they can. I DO hold TWI and the BOD/BOT responsible - and there's a millstone around somewhere with their names on it.
My family is much better without twi, we are all thankful it is in our past and happy with where we are now.
***edited to remove a weird email link from a formed reverend's name... weird.
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JavaJane
I remember being told by a couple of WC that I needed to go in because "God had called" me to be a minister. At first I just blew them off, but they just kept coming, so I finally came up with a response that worked. It went something like this:
WC: I'm sure God has called you to be a minister for God's people. You should go Corps!
Me: That's a spiritual decision, right?
WC: yes! Definitely!
Me: If God called me to be Way Corps, He would tell me, right? It's a big decision!
WC: Yes.
Me: Then I will wait until I hear from Him.
WC: but... But...
Me: Remember in the Advanced class where we are taught that God will give you revelation concerning you before he gives it to someone else?
WC: yes, but if you don't listen, He will work in others, like me, your leadership.
Me: in that case, if I am not spiritually aware enough to hear from God, I must be out of fellowship and shouldn't go Corps anyway. Well, I need to go pray and study so I can renew my mind. Gotta go! Bless ya!
*edited because blew got turned to bless...
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potato
JavaJane, that is an awesome dialog! I wish I'd been brave enough.
the LC put a lot of pressure on me to go in. it would help my then-husband to "grow up". my then-husband also put a lot of pressure on me to go in with him because being a great man of god would feed his narcissistic ego.
needless to say, it was an epic fail.
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JavaJane
It didn't take too long after I started using that response that they started thinking I wasn't called to minister... In fact I was probably called to be the pain in the @$$ of the body of Christ. My teaching abilities were suddenly poo-pooed as needing some help. I went from being a great public speaker to having to have special instructions in that category.
They were probably afraid the logic was catching.
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OldSkool
Ya, careful. Sound logic in the way international can be systemic if not checked.
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Gen-2
You could ask, when they say you should go Corps, "So,... how much are you going to sponsor me for?" and if they back down, so be it. If they don't back down, tell them, "That's not enough."
Now someone I know, currently in the Way, has used this, and found it to be quite effective. This person related to me that once you've done all the classes and basically met all the pre-reqs, The pressure is always there, from someone, to go Corps.
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Bolshevik
Some of the biggest promoters seem to be the lifers who never went corps. I think I started feeling the pressure when I was about six month old. ;)
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chockfull
never was pressured personally. after in some cases asked people if they'd thought about it, but didn't take it further than that. some did go after thinking about it - i doubt due to anything i did.
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waysider
I'm not sure I would call it pressure in my case. More like one of those Pocket Fisherman TV ads that ends with the pitchman saying, with a loud, excited voice, "Call now! Operators are standing by!" I remember some WC (probably 3rd or 4th year) coming home for Christmas and telling me that I could live a more abundant life if I would only learn to use a small amount of toothpaste and switch to bar soap instead of shaving cream. I thought to myself that they must be morons if they didn't realize that an abundant life should be one where you DON"T have to worry about how much toothpaste or shaving cream you're using. I knew it wasn't for me.
Then Mr. Burden (not sure if he was a Rev. yet) talked to me about this exciting new 2 year, in-rez. program where you lived just like they did in the first century church, did an intense study of the book of Acts and then returned to your hometown to assume leadership responsibilities. Well, it was quite an eye opening revelation to discover that the believers of the first century church lived in socialist communes and thrived on sleep deprivation, hunger and poverty. I never returned to my hometown or assumed any more leadership responsibilities. I did learn, however, how to make mayonnaise from scratch.
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excathedra
dear jav, i'm really sorry about what happened to you and your family
i was pressured to go in from the second i got "in"
i'm glad you were smart enough to stand your ground. you made a really good decision.
most of my horrible experiences were because i went in. i did meet some lovely wonderful people though
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OldSkool
One can never discount the value!
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GeorgeStGeorge
That was a laugh I needed today! :lol:
I had a lot of WC and assorted leadership over the years suggest that I go WC (and WOW); but there was never any animosity when I politely declined. Maybe they realized that they'd lose all my ABS is I went in!
George
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Keith
Let's see. I wrote a letter to Craig saying the last time I went to HQ I though all of the greetings were just words. That the "God bless you's" were just words and no longer carried any real meaning to the people saying them. I added that I felt that Way Productions had become more about the show that about God and that the music and performance needed to live and have energy if it was going to inspire people. I mentioned when I arrived, no one attepted to make me fell welcome. (I heard that he yelled at the Corp and staff about that..Sorry) That each time I came no one ever approached me, but I often approched them. I wrote a letter, saying that the Athelets of the spirit teaching in Ephesians went against everything I learned about bible study in the PFAL and the amount of profanity and bitterness in the service made it difficult to understand or even tell for sure what the teaching was about.
No, I wasn't pressured to go into the Corp. In fact the real wonder was that they let me stay around as long as they did. I acctually left before they put any pressure on me to leave.
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JavaJane
So it doesn't sound like that everyone faced the same kind of pressure that I did... I wonder if it had to do with the local leadership, or maybe the timeframe we were in - maybe with the dwindling Corps numbers there is additional pressure.
Maybe there were specific traits they were looking for in people?
And it seems like from this thread (I may be totally jumping to conclusions here) that women got more pressure than men? Maybe as fodder for the WC harem of the MOG?
Weird...
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TrustAndObey
I don't honestly know what they were looking for.. I do know, that I was never pressured to go in the Corps. I went, because I always wanted to serve God.. I was pressured to go WOW/Way Disciple.. Pressured to do lots of other things I wouldn't normally do and sometimes felt wasn't right. But the Corps wasn't one of them. But I'm a guy, so maybe you have a point! This was in '97 that I asked about the Corps and was told straight out that I wasn't Corps material, and that I needed lots more life to live and experience to gain.. (6 months later they let me sign up.. W/o much extra experience in my opinion. or changes to my previous situation.)
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OldSkool
Consider that a compliment. In 97 they still had lots of people to kick out of the ranks. Strange how a full house engenders arrogance. Back then, corps material meant you were an aspiring jerkoff like Rev. Martindale. Yell at people, try and intimidate your way into worshipful obedience from others. Now, that The Forehead is doing a menial job in Toledo, after he thinned the numbers so that there is hardly anyone left, corpse material is any lump of clay that leadership recommends and doesn't argue. Corps material. I remember hearing that lots back in the day.
I would say that "natural leadership ability" according to TWI basically boils down to natural salesmanship. That's corps material right there. Preferably without gonads or a spine. But let's gas this potential salesman up into thinking he has that special something. Break em down for four years. Let them on a long enough leash to run some classes and increase the abundant sharing for their area. That's corps! Thats rooooght!
I got caught in the same snare. All I wanted to do was serve God. All I served was the board of directors. Glad to be out and free and picking up the pieces.
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rascal
JJ, I was pressured, but it was kind of a reverse psychology type of thing. I wasn`t able to understand the greater spiritual truths because I wasn`t corpes. LCM stated publicly that if you weren`t corpes than you weren`t allowed in his presence...yadda yadda...if you weren`t corpes, you were a bump on a log spiritualy and a waste of space at twig...if you believed the scriptures and loved God...there is no place else to be...its the only place to learn to serve...
My dialogues would go like this...
wc...you need to go corpes..
me...but don`t you have to have natural leadership ability??
wc...yeah but if you would just make the commitment God would have to create that within you wouldn`t he???
me...what about all of those classes that are required that have never been available in our state...
wc...don`t you trust that God would provide that??
me...what about all of that money for tuition...
wc...you just need to make the commitment...God will take care of the rest...wheres your believing man?
Strangely enough, at the end of that first app year, the same classes that had never been offered before were still
unavailable...I had even LESS money than anticipated because leadership had insisted that I needed the spirituality of living with other believers so had left my rent free parents home....being in a small area, all of the believers were already tapped out for sponsorship....and and AND...I had the nerve to still keep a pet that year...gasp....the shame
So because of my lack of believing, my obvious lack of corpes *heart* I was treated to my very first spittle flying face melting by rich waddlkins.
He was so big and my bed room was so small... his bellowing terrifiying...his scorn so scathing ... every ounce of self esteem and worth destroyed...I would have promised anything to be permitted to crawl on my belly back in to the presence of God........I asked meekly if he thought that going wow would help me improve what I was so soarly lacking...
I`ll tell you what, I genuinely wish I could have a chance to speak to that pompous bullying foot face to face today :) and it WOULDNT be a cowering terrified slip of a girl that big goon would be facing...lol...and THIS time...it wouldn`t be HIM that was doing the confronting or cowering..
Some leaders genuinely seemed to like having an excuse to unload on people.
JJ, I am sorry that your family was so fractured by these bullies, I kicked mine to the curb because they were not in the ministry. It has taken twenty years, but the wounds heal, and though I can never retrieve the time, lost, the parties, weddings, funerals and vacations missed that bind a family together that form and strengthen those bonds, they have in time made a place for me. In time, I hope your family replaces what was stolen.
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rascal
I admire your resolve in not allowing those people control despite the pressure.
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JavaJane
Thank you, Rascal... It was only because I was more afraid of the WC program than I was of WC leadership!
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WordWolf
It really depends on the YEAR more than the place, IMHO.
When I got in, everyone was pressured to take the Foundational.
All Foundational grads were pressured to take the Intermediate.
All Intermediate grads were pressured to take all the other classes,
then you were pressured to take the Advanced class.
Twi had already, in effect, kicked out my Territory before I was an Advanced
class grad, so I wasn't pressured to climb the twi ladder any higher once
that happened. If they hadn't, I would have heard about either the wow program,
the college division, or the way corps. After that, I would have heard about
the next one in line...
The main income for twi was the tithe/"ABS", but it's not a coincidence that
each and every class cost the students money and cost twi almost nothing,
with locals carrying the expenses (site, A/V machines, refreshments....)
and each program twi ran, ran at a profit.
"You'll grow 10 years in one."
Pay twi money to select a place, then tell you to get there on your own,
support yourself financially, and spend the year promoting the pfal class
and running pfal classes (at a profit to twi each time, with the chance of
adding another person to twi giving 10% of their income with each student.)
For a group supposedly "running" a program, wows were hardly "supported".
In fact, I'm aware of wows who were messed over by HQ, who then asked HQ
to partially fix their own mess, were promised HQ would- then were promptly
forgotten and left to twist in the wind.
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OldSkool
So in other words there is always someone standing by pressuring a person to take the next step. Spiritual growth is the carrot dangling from the increase your commitment schtik. Once the person hits corpse status then they are the full time pushers. Vicious cycle.
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WordWolf
That wasn't true of everyone's experience, apparently, but it was a common experience,
and it certainly WAS MY experience.
As for corps being full-time pushers, you actually reminded me of something I flashed back to this
morning writing my other post. Those I respected (rightly) really recommended pfal and lauded it
to the high heavens, so I signed up for it as soon as I could raise the money. (As a teenager, that
was not easy. I didn't have my own Bible for it, but the locals I knew bought me one and it was
waiting at my seat for Session 1.) Since I was the first person in my area who signed up for it,
I had to then wait for a class to fill in. Meanwhile, HQ sent a corps person to be the next
Branch coordinator. At his first visit to my fellowship, he asked if anyone there wasn't a pfal grad.
I raised my hand, and he went into Full Sales Mode. As he was still winding up for why I had to sign
up for it, the coordinator and assistant coordinator were telling him-in harmony-that I'd already
signed up.
So, yes, he definitely was a "full time pusher", who pushed pfal at every opportunity. As an eager
student, I think he was never quite sure how to treat me-I didn't require any sales pitch, and I
wanted to learn. That's not to say he treated me badly, actually, as people go, he treated me probably
nicer than most people he encountered, but overall his people skills were atrophied from learning things
the corps way, and he creeped me out. He pretty much creeped everyone out, and we were all happy when
he was reassigned. I never found out why, but he might have requested it- he had to sense something just
didn't "click" between himself and the locals, which meant he got a lot of passive-aggressive
"cooperation" as far as he could see it. Yeah, the locals in my area never were big on toeing the
party line fully. We sipped the Kool-Aid, but we didn't empty our glasses and line up for more.
(If you know what I mean.)
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JavaJane
That sounds exactly like the fellowship I first attended while still a kid. Great people who loved people. I miss those folks...
And then WC showed up a few years later. It all went downhill from there. More commitment was required... I went WOW, my folks went in the Corps. And the rest is explained in the first post. And now that I think back, the WC that showed up were the first Way people to give me the heebie jeebies.
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