Summer School

[skyrider]

The Way International ran an extended summer school in the mid-to-late 1960s.

While there are some who document the origins of Vacation Bible School back to 1894.......it seems like the Baptists (and others?) earnestly began this concept in 1922.  Churches had adopted this concept to teach and discipline the youth, fill their summer calendars and increase their influence on the community. 

By the mid-60s, wierwille saw this opportunity as well.

Perhaps, Dorothy Owens, a retired teacher and once-deeply-involved in her Indiana church was a catalyst in twi's summer schools.  High probability, for sure.  Back in July 1981, Ermal Owens died.......and I was assigned to escort Mrs. Owens on several occasions.  As she shared about some of twi's history with me......she was proud of her involvement with summer schools and summer camps in the 1960s (before the corps program).  Looking back, I think she was expressing her intricate involvement and defining moments in moving twi thru those bare-bones '60s to those early '80s when twi was near its zenith.

Just recently, we have uncovered more details involving summer school.......A couple of questions about VPW

• "In 1965 Peter Wade went to the United States to attend a three-month Summer School at The Way Biblical Research Center, which was then a non-denominational teaching organization. “His abilities, depth of perception, and conviction were immediately noticeable. Upon his return to Australia and the pastoring of a pioneering work at Taperoo, South Australia, he put into practice all the principles he had been taught and mightily convinced the believers of the fullness of Christ’s work and the accuracy of God’s Word.”

If I remember correctly, there were a number of young men and women who were attendees of summer school.......in 1968, 1969.  After the filming of the '67 pfal class....it was a staple part of summer school, right?  Wasn't Johnnie Townsend, Donnie Fugit, Walter Cummins, and others initiated into twi thru summer school?  Hotspots of outreach.  Some from California.  Some from New York.  Some from North Carolina.

 

[skyrider]

Summer School provided a program whereby young men and women would "stick" to twi-involvement.

Other programs followed later.......

• WOW program
• Way Corps Training
• Fellow-Laborers (in-state program)

Household of God Teaching

 

Quote

chockfull quote:

"The Way started out more towards its roots as we look into it with an ecumenical bent.  At one point it was even named "The Way Ecumenical Bible Center" or some such similar phrase.  I recall black and white videos and cars pulling up to the Biblical Research Center and bouffant hairdos and Victor Paul Wierwille teaching the Sunday Teaching Service, which later was transcribed by his secretary and became the PFAL class collaterals.   Mal and Jan George with Jan with one of those bouffant do's or something.

But I think the problem old VP had was people wouldn't stick.   They would say "nice class" and go back to their churches.  There was the old "Spiritual 40 club" or something, some method for VP to pay travel expenses to bring in teachers that formed the bulk of who he either mimic'd in nice terms or plagiarized in realistic terms."

..........

 

Quote

skyrider quote:

Exactly................"people wouldn't stick."  This is well documented in Mrs. W's book as she details a list in 1958, 1959 and 1960 of wierwille's pfal classes in various cities.  When you consider the hundreds of people who sat thru his classes each year (1957-1967)........the question becomes, "What happened to all these people who, having heard these truths taught live by Dr. Wierwille (cough, cough), were supposed to commit their lives, effort and money toward word-over-the-world twi servitude?"  Apparently, they didn't see -- 1) power or 2) abundant living.........as highlighted in its promotion.

So......when vpw films the class in 1967, what does he do?  He adds and augments certain preemptive strikes against the denominational churches.  Wierwille not only wants his new students to sit thru his series of classes, but to stick with him.  He demonizes church elders and their motives.......to guilt and shame anyone who, having taken pfal, would even think of going back to their church.  With each passing year, the rhetoric escalates.........until vpw and others were teaching that denominational church hierarchy have the seed of the serpent.  Egads!  The level of hyperbole and accusations was absurd.  Then, once you attend the "advanced class".......you hear about the Illuminati,  the Thirteenth Tribe, Marxist Minstrels, None Dare Call It Conspiracy, Seed of the Serpent, etc......you're indoctrinated into the inner sanctum and servitude.

Add......a year or two of going WOW, or Corps Training and you become absorbed into the cult blob.  Leaders over leaders over leaders......each following orders of next higher (or lower) unit.  As a leaf on a mighty tree (LOL).....you give respect to the twig leader, branch, limb, and trunk leader.  Seems like more and more.......you are getting closer and closer to the dirt.  Then, work on staff AT THE ROOT.........now, you've gone underground.  Wowsers!!!

It seems clear to me that wierwille took stock of all those pfal students LEAVING HIM IN THE 60s.............and struck out on a subterfuge agenda.  What was this new hidden objective?  To entrap new students into his organization by destroying their old support systems of family, religion and community........and erect a new system, a spiritual family that replaced their "earthly family."  In essence:  A Cult.

Wierwille needed to separate these young students from their support systems for longer and longer periods of time.  Not just a three week class.......else, they go back to friends, family and work/education.  Start summer camps......like the churches do, but for the purposes of building an *us versus them* mentality.  Later, add WOW program......and then, the corps program.  The youth are malleable and fall prey to indoctrination.  The corps program was a multiplier in wierwille's climb to power:  1)  Isolation of these "training centers" gave twi the availability, time and power over the individual without outside interference, and 2) Conformity to be obedient and follow "elder" corps established a pecking order that permeated the campus and fed the egos of even the most inept "elder" corps.

In the end..........it all came tumbling down.  Lots of reasons, I suppose......but the youth grew up and real life responsibilities, decisions and motivations were staring them in the face.  Who has the means to give "volunteer services" to twi for a lifetime?  Why?  Why is this opportunistic cult hoarding millions?  Where is this power and abundance that wierwille taught?  Everyone is selling soap........and it's all being washed down the drain.  The whole damn thing was a scam........as wierwille took every opportunity to advance himself into the spotlight.

It's a scam...........and that's why "people don't stick."

 

[waysider]

When I was a kid in the 1950's,  Vacation Bible School was a popular summer activity for elementary school students. The content wasn't too intensive, coloring, crafts, singing, group activities, etc. I think a lot of "stay-at-home" mothers saw it as an opportunity to get extra work done without  having to supervise their kids at the same time. I have no idea how that plays into the idea of an adult summer program at HQ. People were perhaps a bit more accepting of it because the name conjured up a memory of something familiar. That's just my guess.

 

[skyrider]

10 minutes ago, waysider said:

When I was a kid in the 1950's,  Vacation Bible School was a popular summer activity for elementary school students. The content wasn't too intensive, coloring, crafts, singing, group activities, etc. I think a lot of "stay-at-home" mothers saw it as an opportunity to get extra work done without  having to supervise their kids at the same time. I have no idea how that plays into the idea of an adult summer program at HQ. People were perhaps a bit more accepting of it because the name conjured up a memory of something familiar. That's just my guess.

 

 

Yeah......summer camp to get young folk involved.

But there is no doubt that twi notched it up to a "get committed" level.

[skyrider]

By 1970, 1971.............the corps program provided the ultimate environment.....

1. Isolation.........2-year in-residence program with an interim year
2. Immersion......No t.v., no newspapers, no outside influence
3. Indoctrination......Full-on unbridled adulation of DR. wierwille
4. Idolization.......training up "Timothys" to follow wierwille-doctrine

The corps program was a cloning factory.

We had morning classes.  Afternoon work/classes.  Night classes.  Weekend classes.  Regular work assignments.  Branch work assignments.  Work projects on weekends.  Extra-work if wierwille was coming to the campus.  Fire drills.  Red alerts.  Roll call.

One had to go thru *switchboard* to get a phone line to the outside world.  Were we monitored?  Hell yes. 

Summer School was NO LONGER NEEDED.

[skyrider]

Yeah......there seems to be plenty of evidence that twi's summer school was funneling them into the vortex.

And.......summer school was prevalent in the early 1970s.

TWI 1, 2 and 3

 

Quote

I didn't get "in" until mid '70. Incidentally, I was with Stefan of Bronx (you know, like Joan of Arc)that night I first spoke in tongues. What a great guy. I heard about what went down with him. I consider it God's hand...got him out early.

Back to topic: Even at that late date, I imagine there were far fewer than 1000 anywhere that anything to do with twi. Really big growth didn't happen till 70, 71. And the big growth was in the Bay Area, Westchester/Long Island, and Wichita. I was aware of Indiana, UNC and other way 'outposts' but the numbers were insignificant. Howerever their contribution to the way leadership pool was significant.

VP treated Donnie Fugit like an independent-but-affiliated ministry until Summer School 70. Then Donnie returned from hq wearing a suit (brown velvet with wide lapels!) carrying a briefcase (?) and acting different. He quit teaching barefoot, was more authoritative, quit singing his songs with the congregation and started singing from Sing Along the Way.

It's easy for me to view these as good old days. BUT the carnality (sexual and otherwise) among the Wichita group was big already. Why? Bad doctrine, from the start. Produced excitement, but bad fruit.

The doctrinal system was always hopelessly corrupt. To me that makes them all the same, just different degrees of evil in treating people

 

 

.

Edited March 31, 2020 by skyrider

[skyrider]

Here is another reference to summer school.

Adding more info here........so that, it documents how SUMMER SCHOOL was utilized to bring the youth into wierwille's ministry......cult.

Twi Began Its Independent Undertaking - December 19, 1957

 

On ‎10‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 11:16 AM, DontWorryBeHappy said:

Sheesh! So much motivation by guilt and the logical fallacy of false equivalence! "MY Ministry", eh? Thanks for posting Sky! Never saw this before. Saw the resignation letter and the back-and-forth between dic and the denominational beaurocrats, the haggling over "Dilemma of Foreign Missions in India", the allegations of embezzlement and extra-marital sexual affairs, and the animosity dic had toward his previous employers. But, I never saw this letter! Sounds just as bad as the corpse letters he had Karen Kerger, Donna Randall, and others "help" him with.

As I've said many times before, there was NEVER a time when TWIt was "good"! It was built on lies, stealing, and adultery from the 1940s-1957. After they got the farm to be their HQ, and alleviated the "constant Satanic pressure" from the denomination, dic was free to build his cult of personality and self-aggrandizement. He was free to guilt and shame "the household" into giving him their $$ as proof of their stalwart belief and financial support of ""HIS minus-tray"! He was free to bang any woman he wanted to with impunity. The King "owns" ALL the women in the Kingdom, remember? That includes their teenaged daughters too!

They had their hula-hoop product and now they sold it like crazy. Once dic stumbled into the hippie Jesus freaks in CA, while "researching" their supposed "open marriages" as practiced in their "Christian orgies", the "ministry of God's woid" took off. That's what he went to The House of Acts in the Bay Area to do. Jim and Judy and Steve and Sandy freaked. So, dic gave 'em a free ride to Summer School in 1969, allowed them to establish their own independent 501(C)3 corporations in NY and CA, The Way East and The Way West, and made them the mogs for the coasts. Add Donnie Fugit in Wichita, KS, and Steve/Laurie Perez on Long Island, NY, the ECU Way Home started by Tim Somerville (John's brother), and the jalvis show in Indiana, and you have the explosion of TWIt onto the "Jesus Freak" scene, from 1970 forward.

Then, in 1972, dic brought it all home to HQ, and TWIt began it's 16 year rise and fall. Both happened with dramatic speed. When dic successfully pulled off his "Christian martyr's" death show, and "turned his face to the wall" to "save" HIS minus-tray, the stage was set for the utter destruction of everything dic said he built! He took his ball and went home! If HE couldn't be the captain, then neither could anyone else! He wanted Donnie to be the second prez. But, he had to go with the moron from Oklahoma, because Donnie was so deadpan boring when speaking publicly, or "teaching Da woid", that he could put the trees his father preached to in the TWIt woods, into the deepest sleep available to trees! LOL! Interesting to note that dic was a whiney little baby beggar boy back then already, who wanted to live the champagne and caviar lifestyle of Hugh Hefner in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What a farce and what a fraud. And the beat goes on......

 

 

[skyrider]

So......by 1971, the summer school involved live music, dances, pizza. burgers and beer. 

That's the way to get the youngsters on board.......

 

Letters VPW wrote

 

Quote

dwbh quote:

I read Whiteside's book only once. We used to go from Queens to her apt in Manhattan to hang out in the City. I never read the book more than once because Elena "held court" regularly at her place and would tell us the stories orally and many Wierwille-worshipping traditions began based on her experience in OH writing the book. The book she wrote, The Way Living In Love, was "old news" by the time it came out. We city folk never really went for her book. We were driving back and forth to new Knoxville often back in 1971 and 1972. Pressed Down moved to OH. I flew out to record on their first album. We went to summer school and the ROA in 1971. We met and hung with the 1st and 2nd corpses and lived at HQ for the summer school in the unfinished executive office building, the barn and the upper room, along with trailer six and seven, the single corpse women and men's trailers respectively. The entire atmosphere was very casual. Dic and the bigshots were readily available all the time. It was like a big happy family, lots of sports and lots of meetings/teachings in the BRC, a bunch of pizza and beer and burger nights, dances, live music. Totally different than even 7 short years later, and not in a good way.

 

 

[Rocky]

6 hours ago, skyrider said:

Then, in 1972, dic brought it all home to HQ, and TWIt began it's 16 year rise and fall. Both happened with dramatic speed. When dic successfully pulled off his "Christian martyr's" death show, and "turned his face to the wall" to "save" HIS minus-tray, the stage was set for the utter destruction of everything dic said he built! He took his ball and went home! If HE couldn't be the captain, then neither could anyone else! He wanted Donnie to be the second prez. But, he had to go with the moron from Oklahoma, because Donnie was so deadpan boring when speaking publicly, or "teaching Da woid", that he could put the trees his father preached to in the TWIt woods, into the deepest sleep available to trees! LOL! Interesting to note that dic was a whiney little baby beggar boy back then already, who wanted to live the champagne and caviar lifestyle of Hugh Hefner in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What a farce and what a fraud. And the beat goes on.....

In case anyone gets confused, Donnie here is Don Wierwille, not Fugit who was referenced in the previous quoted paragraph.