Corps Program: "Mission Creep"

[skyrider]

The mainstream news cycle has a new buzzword, mission creep, in describing the Libya military action. Mission creep is the expansion of a project or mission beyond its original goals, often after initial successes.[1] The term often implies a certain disapproval of newly adopted goals by the user of the term. Mission creep is usually considered undesirable due to the dangerous path of each success breeding more ambitious attempts, only stopping when a final, often catastrophic, failure occurs. The term was originally applied exclusively to military operations, but has recently been applied to many different fields.

Wierwille's corps program was deeply flawed and stained by "mission creep."

The corps program is 40 years old......and DEPENDING ON WHICH CORPS AND DECADE(S) he experienced, the "mission creep" of indoctrination is inescapably related. In general terms, the earlier corps programs were small groups with direct involvement from wierwille on "The Farm." When the 6th corps numbers swelled at the Emporia Campus, things were consistently changing......and the "Sick" corps group experienced more face-meltings (or, so I heard). Add the Rome City campus, add kids.......and changing diapers.

But really......"mission creep" of the corps program was dramatically changed during the martindale era. The top-down command centers of twi were encroaching on every aspect of the corps grads' life and lifestyle. Yeah, its one thing to go thru the corps program and/or serve at twi's headquarters.......but, on the field, every day? every corps night? every weekend? And, it was MANDATORY TO ATTEND EVERY CORPS MEETING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO STAY IN TWI'S GOOD GRACES???

So yeah......I know some posters, some of the earlier corps, had nice experiences where they loved each other and served Jesus........BUT WIERWILLE ALLOWED "MISSION CREEP" by neglecting to define his program and its boundaries. And, putting martin-creep in charge.

IMO....one of the greatest threads on GS defined the morphing of twi. In categorizing twi in time frames, or presidential eras.....TWI-1, TWI-2, and TWI-3.....it kept discussions from those broad generalizing statements. To be clear, twi has changed dramatically since 1969......hasn't it? Twi stopped selling all the "Joyful Noise" cassettes some 20 years ago. The new way songbooks no longer have the "Yes, it is Jesus" songs throughout......but *prevailing-way* songs.

Depending on where your experience lies on the spectrum of "mission creep".......your posts will be colored with those thoughts!

[Galen]

The mainstream news cycle has a new buzzword, mission creep, in describing the Libya military action. Mission creep is the expansion of a project or mission beyond its original goals, often after initial successes.[1] The term often implies a certain disapproval of newly adopted goals by the user of the term. Mission creep is usually considered undesirable due to the dangerous path of each success breeding more ambitious attempts, only stopping when a final, often catastrophic, failure occurs. The term was originally applied exclusively to military operations, but has recently been applied to many different fields.

Wierwille's corps program was deeply flawed and stained by "mission creep."

The corps program is 40 years old......and DEPENDING ON WHICH CORPS AND DECADE(S) he experienced, the "mission creep" of indoctrination is inescapably related. In general terms, the earlier corps programs were small groups with direct involvement from wierwille on "The Farm." When the 6th corps numbers swelled at the Emporia Campus, things were consistently changing......and the "Sick" corps group experienced more face-meltings (or, so I heard). Add the Rome City campus, add kids.......and changing diapers.

But really......"mission creep" of the corps program was dramatically changed during the martindale era. The top-down command centers of twi were encroaching on every aspect of the corps grads' life and lifestyle. Yeah, its one thing to go thru the corps program and/or serve at twi's headquarters.......but, on the field, every day? every corps night? every weekend? And, it was MANDATORY TO ATTEND EVERY CORPS MEETING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO STAY IN TWI'S GOOD GRACES???

So yeah......I know some posters, some of the earlier corps, had nice experiences where they loved each other and served Jesus........BUT WIERWILLE ALLOWED "MISSION CREEP" by neglecting to define his program and its boundaries. And, putting martin-creep in charge.

IMO....one of the greatest threads on GS defined the morphing of twi. In categorizing twi in time frames, or presidential eras.....TWI-1, TWI-2, and TWI-3.....it kept discussions from those broad generalizing statements. To be clear, twi has changed dramatically since 1969......hasn't it? Twi stopped selling all the "Joyful Noise" cassettes some 20 years ago. The new way songbooks no longer have the "Yes, it is Jesus" songs throughout......but *prevailing-way* songs.

Depending on where your experience lies on the spectrum of "mission creep".......your posts will be colored with those thoughts!

Yes well put.

:)

[T-Bone]

very thoughtful post, Skyrider - thanks!

flip flopping "mission creep" might work another way too - - - creep mission = the goal of a repulsive cult leader

[waysider]

"Mission Creep"

Isn't that what it said on wierwille's name tag?

[OldSkool]

As boring as the training was we could call it "Mission Sleep."

[skyrider]

L.E.A.D. was mission creep.....

"The Law of Believing" was tested as hitchhikers took to the roads....

Rock climbing....freezing weather....frostbite...."bible study mission creep"

And.....not even stopping when failure occurs!

[Thomas Loy Bumgarner]

:blink: Mission Impossible/Improable: Good morning Way Corp member, your mission which you must accept is give the Devil his due. Should you or your team get captured, get sick, leave, or die, this ministry will deny your existence. I would say good luck but we don't believe in luck, so get going. This tape will end with Martindale's screaming/shouting, yelling/bullying with physical threats of death to you. :unsure:

[Human without the bean]

That's pretty good Thomas. Very clever.

[Broken Arrow]

I have to disagree. Well, I dont have to I suppose, but I do. "Mission Creep", if I'm understanding things correctly, implies that at one time there was a well-defined, needfull, and well carried out mission. I don't think such a thing existed in TWI.

[chockfull]

The "mission" has evolved into turning out "creeps".

[skyrider]

I have to disagree. Well, I dont have to I suppose, but I do. "Mission Creep", if I'm understanding things correctly, implies that at one time there was a well-defined, needfull, and well carried out mission. I don't think such a thing existed in TWI.

Well defined?

Like Libya?

[T-Bone]

:blink: Mission Impossible/Improable: Good morning Way Corp member, your mission which you must accept is give the Devil his due. Should you or your team get captured, get sick, leave, or die, this ministry will deny your existence. I would say good luck but we don't believe in luck, so get going. This tape will end with Martindale's screaming/shouting, yelling/bullying with physical threats of death to you. :unsure:

good one Thomas!......

......which reminds me of an old episode....

~ ~

Mr. Phelps has a little opportunity while cueing the tape for session 5 of PFAL

[OperaBuff]

Well put! I'd just point out that the term "mission creep" has been around for decades. From my years in the military and a career as a Defense Department civilian, mission creep not only describes the inevitable lurching forward that results from an insufficiently defined military mission. It's equally applicable to the expansion and functions of a bureaucracy.

Having left the Way in the 70s, I missed the so-called fog years and all the un-Godly horrors that followed. But looking at all that from the outside, with eyes that gained considerable insight into the workings of bureaucracies during my career, it is obvious to me that the Way's bureaucracy was dysfunctional in the extreme, incestuous, and beyond the influence of whatever few rational thinkers that may have been around it. There was no proper functioning, there was only disfunction.

To this day, I believe that most of the seemingly inexplicable decisions of its top leaders was due to sexual blackmail. There ain't nothing spiritual about good old-fashioned blackmail, but it is highly effective. Being blackmailed frequently explains why someone makes sudden, weird, contradictory decisions which, ultimately, are self-destructive.

[penworks]

So yeah......I know some posters, some of the earlier corps, had nice experiences where they loved each other and served Jesus........BUT WIERWILLE ALLOWED "MISSION CREEP" by neglecting to define his program and its boundaries. And, putting martin-creep in charge.

Good post, Um...I'm one of those posters - from the 2nd Corps. Don't kid yourself. Those were dark days, too, albeit w/out LCM screaming. VPW's methods of indoctrination clothed in the "father in the Word" persona were perhaps subtle at times compared with LCM but just as or more insidious...and predatory.

Although VP "sort of" defined his program with the 5 Corps principles (although they were very general and open to all sorts of interpretation), he sprang those on us AFTER we were in residence. One girl told me she thought we were just there for 2 years to learn stuff, then go home. Nope. We got roped into a "lifetime" deal, which some of us have rejected to varying degrees. Sadly, the girl I mentioned above is currently roped into a TWI offshoot. That's how powerful the indoctrination was on her, at least...

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.

Charlene

[geisha779]

Good post, Um...I'm one of those posters - from the 2nd Corps. Don't kid yourself. Those were dark days, too, albeit w/out LCM screaming. VPW's methods of indoctrination clothed in the "father in the Word" persona were perhaps subtle at times compared with LCM but just as or more insidious...and predatory.

Maybe that is why you see a marked difference in people depending on the time frame. VP was insidious....but subtle, yet he still attracted good people with his "father in the word" schtick.On the surface it probably appeared pretty loving?

What kind of people are attracted to yelling, screaming, vulgarity, and extreme arrogance? Moreover, what kind of people tolerate it, adapt, and then adopt it for themselves?

Different kinds of people...and far different times too. Just a thought.

Edited April 12, 2011 by geisha779

[So_crates]

What kind of people are attracted to yelling, screaming, vulgarity, and extreme arrogance? Moreover, what kind of people tolerate it, adapt, and then adopt it for themselves?

Usually broken people trying to escape abusive situations. The bitter irony is while trying to escape, they traded one abuser for another.

SoCrates

[geisha779]

Usually broken people trying to escape abusive situations. The bitter irony is while trying to escape, they traded one abuser for another.

SoCrates

So true.

[skyrider]

Well put! I'd just point out that the term "mission creep" has been around for decades. From my years in the military and a career as a Defense Department civilian, mission creep not only describes the inevitable lurching forward that results from an insufficiently defined military mission. It's equally applicable to the expansion and functions of a bureaucracy.

Thanks OperaBuff......and thanks for your military service.

Much appreciated.

Good post, Um...I'm one of those posters - from the 2nd Corps. Don't kid yourself. Those were dark days, too, albeit w/out LCM screaming. VPW's methods of indoctrination clothed in the "father in the Word" persona were perhaps subtle at times compared with LCM but just as or more insidious...and predatory.

Although VP "sort of" defined his program with the 5 Corps principles (although they were very general and open to all sorts of interpretation), he sprang those on us AFTER we were in residence. One girl told me she thought we were just there for 2 years to learn stuff, then go home. Nope. We got roped into a "lifetime" deal, which some of us have rejected to varying degrees. Sadly, the girl I mentioned above is currently roped into a TWI offshoot. That's how powerful the indoctrination was on her, at least...

Although wierwille's methods were extremely subtle, there were times when his mask slipped and one got a peak at another side of wierwille. During my inrez years, I witnessed 3 occasions when wierwille went ballistic with uncontrollable, venomous rage.....two situations involved faithful corps, one involved vpw's bodyguard. And, in my opinion, martindale's yell-fests had nothing on wierwille. Wierwille was alpha male howl hound.

Besides the narcissism, it took me years to recognize that wierwille was a misogynist. I had never quite put it at that degree, until Ralph D. came on this forum and gave testimony to some of his experiences.....but I did see and suspect wierwille's disdain for my wife's accomplishments. She had gone on staff in 1970 and had an office in the EOB......and, it wasn't until many years later, when wierwille's disdain for women surfaced.

IMO.....wierwille rarely missed an opportunity to advance "his" ministry. Every staff person, every corps person was needed......until they WEREN'T. Sadly, the inner circle of trustees and yes-men covered for wierwille's predation and lusts and mistakes. Had twi ever been a ministry WHERE THE INTEGRITY OF GOD'S WORD LIVED.....there never would have been a Reverend L. Craig Martindale as the 2nd President.

Mission Creep............creeps on.

[Thomas Loy Bumgarner]

good one Thomas!......

......which reminds me of an old episode....

~ ~

Mr. Phelps has a little opportunity while cueing the tape for session 5 of PFAL

gee thought that was session 12

[So_crates]

Wierwille was alpha male howl hound.

Don't you think your insulting alphas?

Saint Vic wasn't an alpha, he was a beta masquerading as an alpha. An alpha wannabe, if you will.

A true alpha doesn't have to get power, he has it. A true alpha doesn't have to prove his alpha-ness, everybody knows its there.

Ditto Craigmeister.

SoCrates

Edited April 12, 2011 by So_crates

[Thomas Loy Bumgarner]

Alpha male? he wasn't even a Beta, or a Gamma, or a Kappa, or any fraternity

[skyrider]

Don't you think your insulting alphas?

Saint Vic wasn't an alpha, he was a beta masquerading as an alpha. An alpha wannabe, if you will.

A true alpha does have to get power, he has it. A true alpha doesn't have to prove his alpha-ness, everybody knows it there.

You're right.....

Couldn't even classify him as a beta-max.

[waysider]

One girl told me she thought we were just there for 2 years to learn stuff, then go home.

Yeah. That's what fellow laborers was supposed to be. Spend two years learning "stuff" and go back home as a better equipped leader. Uh huh. <_<

Edited April 12, 2011 by waysider

[WordWolf]

(snip)

Besides the narcissism, it took me years to recognize that wierwille was a misogynist. I had never quite put it at that degree, until Ralph D. came on this forum and gave testimony to some of his experiences.....but I did see and suspect wierwille's disdain for my wife's accomplishments. She had gone on staff in 1970 and had an office in the EOB......and, it wasn't until many years later, when wierwille's disdain for women surfaced.

IMO.....wierwille rarely missed an opportunity to advance "his" ministry. Every staff person, every corps person was needed......until they WEREN'T. Sadly, the inner circle of trustees and yes-men covered for wierwille's predation and lusts and mistakes. Had twi ever been a ministry WHERE THE INTEGRITY OF GOD'S WORD LIVED.....there never would have been a Reverend L. Craig Martindale as the 2nd President.

Mission Creep............creeps on.

vpw, "The Way:Living in Love", pg-199

"WOMEN NEVER TELL THE TRUTH."

vpw, same book, pg-200 (Speaking of JE Stiles and Mrs Stiles)

"She said something

to him like, 'How long will you be?' And he said,

'That's none of your business.'

That was it, and my opinion of him as a man went up 99 percent.

His stature increased in my eyes. just from the way he handled her."

vpw put his misogyny in black and white for all of us to read. It didn't alarm him because

he's USED to thinking like he was depicting himself there.

Edited April 13, 2011 by WordWolf

[skyrider]

vpw put his misogyny in black and white for all of us to read. It didn't alarm him because he's USED to thinking like he was depicting himself there.

Yeah....read it in black and white in my youth and it didn't seem quite right.

Years later.....when I saw his misogyny IN LIVING COLOR, a depiction I'll never forget.