You probably have more up to date information than any of us here. It could be interesting for us if you could share what it's like now. If you were only in a fellowship/home group and visited Ohio only on special occasions, you probably had a fairly good time. If you were in rez or on staff, you could have seen a lot of - hmm - interesting things.
Since I recently got out of TWI (within the last 5 years), I'm interested to find others who have recently left. I guess what this post is about is: When did you get in TWI, and when did you get out? I'll start.
I got involved in late 2010/early 2011. I left in the middle of 2015.
Blue, I have posted this before, but I got in TWI in 1978, and left in 1988.
I went to my first fellowship in November 1995 after having taken the VPW foundational class in May that year. It was the last time that version of the class ran in our area. And I still attend fellowship from time to time, only because I really like how my coordinator teaches.
She is a recent corps grad, young, with plenty of zeal for God and His Word. And while she is obviously indoctrinated to support and promote all things TWI, when she's teaching none of that is there. What I have stopped doing is going to branch meetings, going to outreach events, tithing, and my subscription to the STS. I still have time left on my magazine subscription, but haven't decided yet if I will continue it.
I took "the class" in the summer of 1972 and instantly became as thoroughly involved as possible.. I had my first real epiphany about the dark side after graduating from Fellow Laborers. My exit is a little bit difficult to pin down. I was pretty much on cruise control for my last 10 years or so. GSC iced the cake for me.
Since I recently got out of TWI (within the last 5 years), I'm interested to find others who have recently left. I guess what this post is about is: When did you get in TWI, and when did you get out? I'll start.
I got involved in late 2010/early 2011. I left in the middle of 2015.
By the time you got involved, nearly everyone who''s ever been in had left. Frankly, I'm shocked anyone new was attending as late as 2010, but there were darn few of you. There's more people attending splinter/ex-twi groups all together than currently attend twi, and more people who've left all of them than are currently in all of them put together including twi.
The 1960s had few people in, but they still had people who left. Peter Wade never felt the need to tell us about it or break his anonymity, but he was one who attended then and left that early. The 1970s saw an explosion of new members since the hippies had been recruited- and they recruited lots and lots of people. All the growth of twi can be traced back to them and to the people THEY recruited. During the 1980s, early middle and late, there were plenty of old-timers who left (as well as new arrivals who arrived and left in the 1980s.) lcm insisted all the leaders either swear an oath of loyalty to follow him blindly (he confirmed that by phone to a poster here) or be kicked out- which is why 4/5 the leadership all left at once and were able to form new groups together. The 1990s still saw some of the old people retained, but A) they started the 1990s with 20% of the previous membership, and B) lcm was pushing his personal version of pfal which was inferior, and C) lcm kept making really STUPID policy decisions one after another, and people all got sick and tired of being sick and tired and slipped out the back door if they weren't kicked out one way or another over "genuine spiritual SUSPICION."
So, by the early 00s, the membership numbers were under 5000 even including all children. Frankly, I'm amazed the group isn't entirely all just retirees who don't want to find a new church at their age. However, they ARE aging out and losing their remaining members to old age and death, so it's only a matter of time before the remaining membership isn't replaced with younger people.
I got involved in Sept. 2009. In the following 2 1/2 years i went to all the classes, including advanced class and met and married my husband (he was in for 40 years), I saw so much unbiblical and unloving (downright nasty and hateful) behavior that I would have left by a year later. Eventually my husband saw these behaviors directed at me and we finally left together in 2017.
Im an old hippie rebel, non-conformist and never really fit the mold.
I took "the class" in the summer of 1972 and instantly became as thoroughly involved as possible.. I had my first real epiphany about the dark side after graduating from Fellow Laborers. My exit is a little bit difficult to pin down. I was pretty much on cruise control for my last 10 years or so. GSC iced the cake for me.
GSC is short for GreaseSpot Cafe, where you're reading this right now. It's a messageboard that tells the other sides of the story of the way international (twi) and its spinoffs/"splinters". People come here to learn about those, to socialize with other twi survivors, and so on.
Its name comes from lcm's (loy craig martindale) insistence that anyone leaving twi would be overwhelmed by devils upon their exit, becoming a "GREASESPOT BY MIDNIGHT." Well, the survivors came here. Midnight has come and gone. We've gone on with our lives, and lcm was removed from twi. So, the name is "tongue-in-cheek."
GSC is short for GreaseSpot Cafe, where you're reading this right now. It's a messageboard that tells the other sides of the story of the way international (twi) and its spinoffs/"splinters". People come here to learn about those, to socialize with other twi survivors, and so on.
Its name comes from lcm's (loy craig martindale) insistence that anyone leaving twi would be overwhelmed by devils upon their exit, becoming a "GREASESPOT BY MIDNIGHT." Well, the survivors came here. Midnight has come and gone. We've gone on with our lives, and lcm was removed from twi. So, the name is "tongue-in-cheek."
Thank you for responding. Most of the stuff on here is 15+ years old and it seems that very few folks are actively participating anymore
Thank you for responding. Most of the stuff on here is 15+ years old and it seems that very few folks are actively participating anymore
That's both good and bad. Some have found the closure and healing they needed and moved on. That's the good part.The flip side is that we , as individuals, are all aging. Quite a few who used to post here have since passed away. It's part of life. It's been almost 50 years since I took the PFAL class. That boggles my mind.
That's both good and bad. Some have found the closure and healing they needed and moved on. That's the good part.The flip side is that we , as individuals, are all aging. Quite a few who used to post here have since passed away. It's part of life. It's been almost 50 years since I took the PFAL class. That boggles my mind.
Way, wow ! I took PFAL 41 years ago; it's hard for me to believe how young, and gullible I was back then.
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Twinky
You probably have more up to date information than any of us here. It could be interesting for us if you could share what it's like now. If you were only in a fellowship/home group and visited Ohio only on special occasions, you probably had a fairly good time. If you were in rez or on staff, you could have seen a lot of - hmm - interesting things.
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Grace Valerie Claire
Blue, I have posted this before, but I got in TWI in 1978, and left in 1988.
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Taxidev
I went to my first fellowship in November 1995 after having taken the VPW foundational class in May that year. It was the last time that version of the class ran in our area. And I still attend fellowship from time to time, only because I really like how my coordinator teaches.
She is a recent corps grad, young, with plenty of zeal for God and His Word. And while she is obviously indoctrinated to support and promote all things TWI, when she's teaching none of that is there. What I have stopped doing is going to branch meetings, going to outreach events, tithing, and my subscription to the STS. I still have time left on my magazine subscription, but haven't decided yet if I will continue it.
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waysider
I took "the class" in the summer of 1972 and instantly became as thoroughly involved as possible.. I had my first real epiphany about the dark side after graduating from Fellow Laborers. My exit is a little bit difficult to pin down. I was pretty much on cruise control for my last 10 years or so. GSC iced the cake for me.
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outandabout
I took the class in the Fall of 1973, and I left in March, 1988.
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WordWolf
By the time you got involved, nearly everyone who''s ever been in had left. Frankly, I'm shocked anyone new was attending as late as 2010, but there were darn few of you. There's more people attending splinter/ex-twi groups all together than currently attend twi, and more people who've left all of them than are currently in all of them put together including twi.
The 1960s had few people in, but they still had people who left. Peter Wade never felt the need to tell us about it or break his anonymity, but he was one who attended then and left that early. The 1970s saw an explosion of new members since the hippies had been recruited- and they recruited lots and lots of people. All the growth of twi can be traced back to them and to the people THEY recruited. During the 1980s, early middle and late, there were plenty of old-timers who left (as well as new arrivals who arrived and left in the 1980s.) lcm insisted all the leaders either swear an oath of loyalty to follow him blindly (he confirmed that by phone to a poster here) or be kicked out- which is why 4/5 the leadership all left at once and were able to form new groups together. The 1990s still saw some of the old people retained, but A) they started the 1990s with 20% of the previous membership, and B) lcm was pushing his personal version of pfal which was inferior, and C) lcm kept making really STUPID policy decisions one after another, and people all got sick and tired of being sick and tired and slipped out the back door if they weren't kicked out one way or another over "genuine spiritual SUSPICION."
So, by the early 00s, the membership numbers were under 5000 even including all children. Frankly, I'm amazed the group isn't entirely all just retirees who don't want to find a new church at their age. However, they ARE aging out and losing their remaining members to old age and death, so it's only a matter of time before the remaining membership isn't replaced with younger people.
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LivingLife
I got involved in Sept. 2009. In the following 2 1/2 years i went to all the classes, including advanced class and met and married my husband (he was in for 40 years), I saw so much unbiblical and unloving (downright nasty and hateful) behavior that I would have left by a year later. Eventually my husband saw these behaviors directed at me and we finally left together in 2017.
Im an old hippie rebel, non-conformist and never really fit the mold.
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WordWolf
Amazing you stayed that long, even WITH a spouse. Sometimes twi leaned on a spouse to divorce a spouse who was having doubts.
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LivingLife
What is GSC?
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WordWolf
GSC is short for GreaseSpot Cafe, where you're reading this right now. It's a messageboard that tells the other sides of the story of the way international (twi) and its spinoffs/"splinters". People come here to learn about those, to socialize with other twi survivors, and so on.
Its name comes from lcm's (loy craig martindale) insistence that anyone leaving twi would be overwhelmed by devils upon their exit, becoming a "GREASESPOT BY MIDNIGHT." Well, the survivors came here. Midnight has come and gone. We've gone on with our lives, and lcm was removed from twi. So, the name is "tongue-in-cheek."
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LivingLife
Thank you for responding. Most of the stuff on here is 15+ years old and it seems that very few folks are actively participating anymore
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waysider
That's both good and bad. Some have found the closure and healing they needed and moved on. That's the good part.The flip side is that we , as individuals, are all aging. Quite a few who used to post here have since passed away. It's part of life. It's been almost 50 years since I took the PFAL class. That boggles my mind.
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Grace Valerie Claire
Way, wow ! I took PFAL 41 years ago; it's hard for me to believe how young, and gullible I was back then.
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