3. Shy Away from Change. Mentally strong people embrace change and they welcome challenge.
Their biggest "fear," if they have one, is not of the unknown, but of becoming complacent and
stagnant. An environment of change and even uncertainty can energize a mentally strong person
and bring out their best.
Wierwille proclaimed twi to be......'The New Dynamic Church.'
Yet, NOTHING could be further from the truth. Wierwille's twi was a cyclical clone-fest
around this cornfield cult. Run, re-run and re-rerun pfal over and over and over again.
The doctrine was "Running pfal classes IS moving the word."
The whole thing was a static, never-change, sham !!
Ever notice that the strong-willed, independent souls LEFT RATHER QUICKLY.
They saw the complacent, stagnant cesspool......and it stank.
The strong embrace CHANGE that brings productive results.
LOVE the Forbes article. Thanks for sharing it.
I don't know how mentally strong I was in 1986 when I left, but for the most part, I now emphatically embrace the listed points (and how they are explained in the article).
Other resources along the same lines include books and TED talks by Brené Brown on Daring Greatly; and Gail Sheehy's memoir, Daring. I read Sheehy's book, Pathfinders back in the 1990s and found it tremendously helpful.
Also back in the 1990s, I read several books by the late M. Scott Peck that assisted me in my transition from a mentally weak follower. It was during that time that my writing career (non-paid for the most part) began.
3. Shy Away from Change. Mentally strong people embrace change and they welcome challenge.
Their biggest “fear,” if they have one, is not of the unknown, but of becoming complacent and
stagnant. An environment of change and even uncertainty can energize a mentally strong person
and bring out their best.
Wierwille proclaimed twi to be......'The New Dynamic Church.'
Yet, NOTHING could be further from the truth. Wierwille's twi was a cyclical clone-fest
around this cornfield cult. Run, re-run and re-rerun pfal over and over and over again.
The doctrine was "Running pfal classes IS moving the word."
The whole thing was a static, never-change, sham !!
Ever notice that the strong-willed, independent souls LEFT RATHER QUICKLY.
They saw the complacent, stagnant cesspool......and it stank.
The strong embrace CHANGE that brings productive results.
Skyrider I'm curious. When did you obtain these very interesting insights you have? Was it after or before you left TWI? Did you leave during one of the great purges, or did you finally personally see something and leave on your own?
As for me, I left when it was "safe" to leave when Geer read POP. I went with that offshoot for awhile, then another, then I briefly involved myself in another cult not TWI related, THEN I finally realized not only was it all BS, but that a lot of ME was BS and I had personal issues that led me into cult-like groups. I was the one that needed to change and when I slowly did, I stopped looking for a strong leader to validate me. But I'm rambling. I'm just interested to hear if you were strong enough on your own somehow to see the "man behind the curtain".
Here are a few things I've learned in my 66 years.
1. Everybody has their strengths and everybody has their weaknesses. Everybody. Groups work best when people recognize their strengths and weaknesses and use the categories where they are strong to help others who might be weak in those categories. That way, the members of the group become mutually supportive rather than competitive. TWI did not promote an attitude of mutual support, as the Bible does.
2. Every person's strengths wane and wax over time. No one is consistently strong all of the time. There are times in life when we work on building our strengths. There are other times when our strengths decline for a variety of reasons in spite of how we work to keep them at peak level. That's just life... for everybody.
I don't think the people who were involved with TWI outside of leadership positions were categorically weak OR categorically strong. I think TWI appealed to all sorts of people in all sorts of ways, but the primary way was to promise access to a power that would make our lives generally better.
TWI's training and programs were intentionally designed to sap people's strength, specifically in the categories of critical thinking and exercising responsible judgment. Some people were so sapped of strength in those areas that they were NEVER able to leave.
Those of us who DID leave did so at a variety of times under circumstances unique to each individual.
I've spent decades (after having left TWI) helping deal with my own and other people's mental health problems. I am currently participating in a weekly group dedicated to healthy mood management. That's apart from my religious associations.
I no longer find it useful to think of people as being categorically weak or strong. I know that I am neither, and I extend the same recognition to others.
Skyrider I'm curious. When did you obtain these very interesting insights you have? Was it after or before you left TWI? Did you leave during one of the great purges, or did you finally personally see something and leave on your own?
As for me, I left when it was "safe" to leave when Geer read POP. I went with that offshoot for awhile, then another, then I briefly involved myself in another cult not TWI related, THEN I finally realized not only was it all BS, but that a lot of ME was BS and I had personal issues that led me into cult-like groups. I was the one that needed to change and when I slowly did, I stopped looking for a strong leader to validate me. But I'm rambling. I'm just interested to hear if you were strong enough on your own somehow to see the "man behind the curtain".
Broken Arrow....with regards to "my very interesting insights"
I've tried to consistently outline many of them in my posts.
A Timeline of My Twi-Observations
1) PFAL '77 Class was to replace and update '67 Class --- didn't happen
2) Adv Class '78 -- wierwille was p!ssed at three 8th corps guys for their research project
3) In 1978 -- My Limb Coordinator, 4th corps, at the end of August was exiting twi
4) At corps meetings, vpw was calling out some 4th and 6th corps as "cop-outs"
5) To me, being way corps was NEVER PROMOTED as a lifetime of twi-servitude
6) My upbringing and rural background kept me grounded and fiercely independent
7) Interim year at HQ --- What an eye-opening of twi's "spiritual epicenter"
8) 1980-1982.....I've documented 3 encounters of wierwille's blatant hypocrisy
9) 1981 ...after my deprogramming experience, vpw told me my parents would be dead in 5 years [NOT!]
10) By 1982, some corps and clergy were moving on to higher education and careers
11) Marriages, babies, young kids......and trustees/uppers didn't have a clue to manage this transition
12) Twi was a one-trick pony....Run classes [move the word]. Repeat.
13) Individualism was stifled at every turn. Twi moved in herds, in groups.
14) Treated as sheep, yet no TRUE shepherd. Wierwille/Martindale were self-centered...and worse.
15) For the longest time, I really thought that twi would move beyond wierwille.
16) Twi was NOT a biblical research entity. It was/is a cult of persona and wierwille mystique.
17) Guess I never discarded my critical thinking skills --- before, during or after twi.
18) I could smell the Chris Geer deception within 10 minutes at 1986 Corps Week.
19) Like many others, I stayed longer than I wanted to keep marriage/family intact.
20) I treasure upright principles. My integrity I hold fast and will not let it go.
In hindsight, I tend to think that I romanticized the ideal of biblical research in twi and spiritual liberty. The pfal class opened a door that I thought, for a time, would welcome all into a grand living room of love. But within a few short years, the more I was around wierwille and his leaders....I could sense that there were other agendas at work. I believe that lots of others saw it too.....and exited.
In my youth, it was fun and exciting to live the commune lifestyle. Lots of spontaneity, fellowship and variety every day, every week. Going to the roa and sleeping in tents and staying up all hours of the night. The beauty of youth, eh? But as one grows older....marriage, family, education, advancement, careers, community/church involvement, etc become the vocal points and that youthful zeal is restrained to more important issues. And, especially when one sees the manipulation and exploitation of twi....it's quite simple to refute such youthful meandering.
12) Twi was a one-trick pony....Run classes [move the word]. Repeat. [ Lather, Rinse, Repeat. ;) TRUTH.]
13) Individualism was stifled at every turn. Twi moved in herds, in groups. [ TRUTH!]
14) Treated as sheep, yet no TRUE shepherd. Wierwille/Martindale were self-centered...and worse. [yes, as a matter of fact, malignant narcissists]
16) Twi was NOT a biblical research entity. It was/is a cult of persona and wierwille mystique. [TRUTH]
17) Guess I never discarded my critical thinking skills --- before, during or after twi.
18) I could smell the Chris Geer deception within 10 minutes at 1986 Corps Week.
19) Like many others, I stayed longer than I wanted to keep marriage/family intact. [Congrats to you. Life not wasted]
20) I treasure upright principles. My integrity I hold fast and will not let it go. [bRAVO!]
In hindsight, I tend to think that I romanticized the ideal of biblical research in twi and spiritual liberty. The pfal class opened a door that I thought, for a time, would welcome all into a grand living room of love. But within a few short years, the more I was around wierwille and his leaders....I could sense that there were other agendas at work. I believe that lots of others saw it too.....and exited.
In my youth, it was fun and exciting to live the commune lifestyle. Lots of spontaneity, fellowship and variety every day, every week. Going to the roa and sleeping in tents and staying up all hours of the night. The beauty of youth, eh? But as one grows older....marriage, family, education, advancement, careers, community/church involvement, etc become the vocal points and that youthful zeal is restrained to more important issues. And, especially when one sees the manipulation and exploitation of twi....it's quite simple to refute such youthful meandering.
Recommended Posts
waysider
"See you at twig.......and don't be late"
Can I help with refreshments? I know how to stretch coffee.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
krys
I'm willing to wash styrofoam cups!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
skyrider
2. Give Away Their Power. Mentally strong people avoid giving others the power
to make them feel inferior or bad. They understand they are in control of their actions
and emotions. They know their strength is in their ability to manage the way they respond.
All those years in twi....taking the fnd, int, and adv class and it was NEVER enough.
Wierwille kept dangling the carrot of "grow to be spiritually mature" with classes and
programs......yet, with all my fingers and toes I still can't count the number of times
that I saw those confrontational onslaughts to corps, corps grads or clergy.
Nobody was ever going to rise to vpw's level (cough, cough) of spiritual maturity.
To my knowledge, NOT ONE PERSON ever rose up thru the corps ranks and had a genuine ministry....
ie apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher. Wierwille was THE MAN.
Everyone else was, distantly, inferior to him.
That's why.....when people exit twi and THE SCALES FALL FROM THEIR EYES
those people become emboldened.
I will always remember how martindale, on a corps night, trashed M@ry Lou Shr0yer.
He noted how she had suddenly become brazenly bold after John and her exited twi
........and thus, she was OBVIOUSLY possessed with a daimon spirit.
See how this game is played? They ALWAYS want you to remain inferior.
And, they will lie to your face to achieve this end.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
skyrider
3. Shy Away from Change. Mentally strong people embrace change and they welcome challenge.
Their biggest “fear,” if they have one, is not of the unknown, but of becoming complacent and
stagnant. An environment of change and even uncertainty can energize a mentally strong person
and bring out their best.
Wierwille proclaimed twi to be......'The New Dynamic Church.'
Yet, NOTHING could be further from the truth. Wierwille's twi was a cyclical clone-fest
around this cornfield cult. Run, re-run and re-rerun pfal over and over and over again.
The doctrine was "Running pfal classes IS moving the word."
The whole thing was a static, never-change, sham !!
Ever notice that the strong-willed, independent souls LEFT RATHER QUICKLY.
They saw the complacent, stagnant cesspool......and it stank.
The strong embrace CHANGE that brings productive results.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rocky
LOVE the Forbes article. Thanks for sharing it.
I don't know how mentally strong I was in 1986 when I left, but for the most part, I now emphatically embrace the listed points (and how they are explained in the article).
Other resources along the same lines include books and TED talks by Brené Brown on Daring Greatly; and Gail Sheehy's memoir, Daring. I read Sheehy's book, Pathfinders back in the 1990s and found it tremendously helpful.
Also back in the 1990s, I read several books by the late M. Scott Peck that assisted me in my transition from a mentally weak follower. It was during that time that my writing career (non-paid for the most part) began.
Edited by RockyLink to comment
Share on other sites
Broken Arrow
Skyrider I'm curious. When did you obtain these very interesting insights you have? Was it after or before you left TWI? Did you leave during one of the great purges, or did you finally personally see something and leave on your own?
As for me, I left when it was "safe" to leave when Geer read POP. I went with that offshoot for awhile, then another, then I briefly involved myself in another cult not TWI related, THEN I finally realized not only was it all BS, but that a lot of ME was BS and I had personal issues that led me into cult-like groups. I was the one that needed to change and when I slowly did, I stopped looking for a strong leader to validate me. But I'm rambling. I'm just interested to hear if you were strong enough on your own somehow to see the "man behind the curtain".
Edited by Broken ArrowLink to comment
Share on other sites
Steve Lortz
Here are a few things I've learned in my 66 years.
1. Everybody has their strengths and everybody has their weaknesses. Everybody. Groups work best when people recognize their strengths and weaknesses and use the categories where they are strong to help others who might be weak in those categories. That way, the members of the group become mutually supportive rather than competitive. TWI did not promote an attitude of mutual support, as the Bible does.
2. Every person's strengths wane and wax over time. No one is consistently strong all of the time. There are times in life when we work on building our strengths. There are other times when our strengths decline for a variety of reasons in spite of how we work to keep them at peak level. That's just life... for everybody.
I don't think the people who were involved with TWI outside of leadership positions were categorically weak OR categorically strong. I think TWI appealed to all sorts of people in all sorts of ways, but the primary way was to promise access to a power that would make our lives generally better.
TWI's training and programs were intentionally designed to sap people's strength, specifically in the categories of critical thinking and exercising responsible judgment. Some people were so sapped of strength in those areas that they were NEVER able to leave.
Those of us who DID leave did so at a variety of times under circumstances unique to each individual.
I've spent decades (after having left TWI) helping deal with my own and other people's mental health problems. I am currently participating in a weekly group dedicated to healthy mood management. That's apart from my religious associations.
I no longer find it useful to think of people as being categorically weak or strong. I know that I am neither, and I extend the same recognition to others.
Love,
Steve
Edited by Steve LortzLink to comment
Share on other sites
waysider
"Sometimes I hold the door for her. Sometimes she holds the door for me.".....Paul deLay (Nice and Strong)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
skyrider
Broken Arrow....with regards to "my very interesting insights"
I've tried to consistently outline many of them in my posts.
A Timeline of My Twi-Observations
1) PFAL '77 Class was to replace and update '67 Class --- didn't happen
2) Adv Class '78 -- wierwille was p!ssed at three 8th corps guys for their research project
3) In 1978 -- My Limb Coordinator, 4th corps, at the end of August was exiting twi
4) At corps meetings, vpw was calling out some 4th and 6th corps as "cop-outs"
5) To me, being way corps was NEVER PROMOTED as a lifetime of twi-servitude
6) My upbringing and rural background kept me grounded and fiercely independent
7) Interim year at HQ --- What an eye-opening of twi's "spiritual epicenter"
8) 1980-1982.....I've documented 3 encounters of wierwille's blatant hypocrisy
9) 1981 ...after my deprogramming experience, vpw told me my parents would be dead in 5 years [NOT!]
10) By 1982, some corps and clergy were moving on to higher education and careers
11) Marriages, babies, young kids......and trustees/uppers didn't have a clue to manage this transition
12) Twi was a one-trick pony....Run classes [move the word]. Repeat.
13) Individualism was stifled at every turn. Twi moved in herds, in groups.
14) Treated as sheep, yet no TRUE shepherd. Wierwille/Martindale were self-centered...and worse.
15) For the longest time, I really thought that twi would move beyond wierwille.
16) Twi was NOT a biblical research entity. It was/is a cult of persona and wierwille mystique.
17) Guess I never discarded my critical thinking skills --- before, during or after twi.
18) I could smell the Chris Geer deception within 10 minutes at 1986 Corps Week.
19) Like many others, I stayed longer than I wanted to keep marriage/family intact.
20) I treasure upright principles. My integrity I hold fast and will not let it go.
In hindsight, I tend to think that I romanticized the ideal of biblical research in twi and spiritual liberty. The pfal class opened a door that I thought, for a time, would welcome all into a grand living room of love. But within a few short years, the more I was around wierwille and his leaders....I could sense that there were other agendas at work. I believe that lots of others saw it too.....and exited.
In my youth, it was fun and exciting to live the commune lifestyle. Lots of spontaneity, fellowship and variety every day, every week. Going to the roa and sleeping in tents and staying up all hours of the night. The beauty of youth, eh? But as one grows older....marriage, family, education, advancement, careers, community/church involvement, etc become the vocal points and that youthful zeal is restrained to more important issues. And, especially when one sees the manipulation and exploitation of twi....it's quite simple to refute such youthful meandering.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rocky
Lot's of great insight in that reflection. LOTS.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
skyrider
Yeah.....the concept of *biblical research* intrigued me. After all, I was in college at the time
and another class.......okay, sign me up.
BUT......wierwille's twi was NOT a biblical research ministry. Rather, it was a static, authoritarian
pseudo-patriarchal organization wherein a tight-circle guarded the plagiarized pyramid scheme.
The ruling elders lived by one set of rules while feigning to live the biblical standards
that they taught to the rest of us. The hypocrisy was blatantly absurd.
The "man of God" doctrine was contrived from wierwille's wish world. He fantasized himself to be
some great one.....and built a world of fabrications and half-truths to preside over. While the
youth relished in camaraderie and commune living their "freedom in Christ".....vpee was plotting
an agenda that leveraged his spiritual legacy to fawning followers.
The theatrics of "Living Victoriously" and Wierwille's 40-years of ministry in 1982 had the makings
of a small-town revival. The music, the fanfare, the buzz, the special seating, the passing of
the mantle to craig, and wierwille riding off in his fire-engine-red twighopper.
And, less than three years later..........wierwille was dead.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Broken Arrow
Yes, but we were all given leather-bound Receiving the Holy Spirit Today books during that time! How benevolent!
Edited by Broken ArrowLink to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.