Golden Parachutes and Paychecks

[skyrider]

Although dozens of top-tier leaders and clergy left The Way International prior to wierwille's death (1985)...... I don't recall any of them starting up a splinter group that aligned with most of the tenets of pfal.  That all changed when wierwille died.

• With wierwille gone.....seemingly, lots of these rivals saw an opportunity in front of them.
• Knowing that twi was a pyramid-structure......if they stayed, no golden parachute or paychecks in the long term.
• The best retirement package one could achieve was to become *pyramid point man* of his OWN group.
• Thru the years, trustees made it clear that twi would not be providing a substantial retirement package.
• Thus, it was understandable why dozens of region guys and corps coordinators took to the splinter-path.
• When leaders are not justifiably compensated for decades of faithful hard work.....they move on.

Chris Geer was the most brazen in this attempt.  His public assault on the then-trustees, craig, don and howard....was the most notable post-humous alignment and power-grab in memory.  His assailed attack on the corps, claiming that 90% of them were possessed..... was a bridge too far.  This disruption spread confusion and division that would never mend.  Interestingly, as geer's quest for power unfolded in the following years....he patched together (can we say plagiarized?) a franchise-class that he sold to others.  Talk about golden parachutes and paychecks....!!!  LOL

Many of these splinters who hit the trail in 1986-1988 have had YEARS/DECADES to cash in their paychecks.  Those who self-installed themselves as the splinter leader didn't have to go find another job or be retrained.  They simply kept doing what wierwille did.  They tweaked some version of pfal..... pointing out where twi had gone wrong and convinced their band of followers to keep supporting them.  Some of these guys are now deceased.  They got to ride off in the sunset with those pfal tapes tucked underneath their left arm and a bible in their right hand.

• WordWolf quote from Revival and Restoration thread:  "I really think that RnR is more a matter of the golden parachutes and paychecks of a few twi higher-ups who realized twi was planning on leaving them high and dry. If they had been given a bigger slice of the pie, they would have stayed in twi longer yet.  These were leaders who stayed when all the previous exoduses (exodi?) saw everyone with sense jump ship. Other than realizing they were getting older, there was no reason to finally leave."

It has been long known that when Martindale was ousted from twi in 2000...... that he went to Toledo and got a job at Bally's as a fitness trainer.  A few years later, he worked at UPS and slung boxes for a paycheck.  And, a reliable source just told us that he also did a stint at Home Depot as a "cart boy."  Amazing to see the freefall.... (without a parachute).  BUT NOW...... is craig martindale trying to start a splinter?  The narcissism runs deep in these ex-twi corps.

It is a fascinating study to see how these guys operate.  How they rationalize their actions.  How they dismiss ALL of wierwille's plagiarism, sexual predation, drunkenness, exploitation of youth, etc. etc. etc..... in God's name.  

 

 

Edited October 8, 2022 by skyrider
typo

[chockfull]

Yes I also see quite a lot of self serving Machiavellian action within the leadership ranks of the Way over the years.

The internal jockeying of Pharisees for desk space near the window in the Tower of Babel.

These people stopped developing themselves decades ago.  Their energy goes into their political scheming.

I guess this goes towards Newtons laws of inertia and the inherent laziness of the human character.  
 

These leaders also who have been locked in to their role climbing for greater than a decade are frightened to death to face a similar fate as an unskilled laborer in the real world.  So they move on within the room that they have painted themselves into by their history.

[chockfull]

Haha - McPFAL

That is what the splinters are.  Same franchise with a new clown up front.

[Twinky]

3 hours ago, skyrider said:

• Thru the years, trustees made it clear that twi would not be providing a substantial retirement package.

Did you say you were cabinet, Sky?  Or is that OldSkool?  Can you support this allegation?  Have you got it in a letter, say, from one of the trustees?  If not, how did they "make it clear"?

[WordWolf]

1 hour ago, Twinky said:

Did you say you were cabinet, Sky?  Or is that OldSkool?  Can you support this allegation?  Have you got it in a letter, say, from one of the trustees?  If not, how did they "make it clear"?

I'm not sure what was said about the cabinet. About the rank-and-file staffers, twi was pretty clear there was to be no retirement fund, and they tried to withhold Social Security payments as long as possible. "THEY WILL WORK UNTIL THEY DIE."  IIRC, that was Howard Allen.     

[OldSkool]

41 minutes ago, WordWolf said:

I'm not sure what was said about the cabinet. About the rank-and-file staffers, twi was pretty clear there was to be no retirement fund, and they tried to withhold Social Security payments as long as possible. "THEY WILL WORK UNTIL THEY DIE."  IIRC, that was Howard Allen.     

Figures it would come from Howard. The guy who has his own house at TWI, affectionately called the Allen home. TWI probably owns it and he will live there until his last breath in relative ease and comfort. Thats an awful thing for someone to say, especially considering the employer/employee relationship, fidicuary responsibilities of an employer, etc. 

I can say that the way international has made some strides in the right direction, and maybe more strides than I am aware of. They have a 401k for staffers now and of course it's tilted to benefit the longest standing staff still there. Thats proper though, they put in the time then TWI should cover them. They have insurance for staffers as well. When the allen lawsuit hit they scrambled their butts off to appear legitimate and so they scraped together a benefits package for staff that at the time was pretty insignificant. For example, my son's medical expenses when he was born capped out the $10,000 lifetime max on the policy with medical mutual of Ohio pretty quick. So as a staffer and cabinet I was counseled by G@ry Fr3ederick on how to get my son on medicaid. Strange we fit neatly under the poverty guidelines...so much for adundance.

[skyrider]

2 hours ago, Twinky said:

Did you say you were cabinet, Sky?  Or is that OldSkool?  Can you support this allegation?  Have you got it in a letter, say, from one of the trustees?  If not, how did they "make it clear"?

 

Wierwille made it clear about his thoughts and policy on retirement.  Time and again, he spotlighted Dorothy Owens and Rhoda Wierwille as examples in how a believer conducts himself/herself in retirement......ie, KEEP WORKING.

As Oldskool pointed out.... things changed after the Allen lawsuit.  Quite the benevolent ministry, eh?  Only when lawyers and legalities get involved does twi get backed into a corner to do the "morally-right thing."

 

 

[skyrider]

6 hours ago, chockfull said:

Yes I also see quite a lot of self serving Machiavellian action within the leadership ranks of the Way over the years.

The internal jockeying of Pharisees for desk space near the window in the Tower of Babel.

These people stopped developing themselves decades ago.  Their energy goes into their political scheming.

.....

 

For some reason......filthy lucre comes to mind.   

[Rocky]

2 hours ago, WordWolf said:

About the rank-and-file staffers, twi was pretty clear there was to be no retirement fund, and they tried to withhold Social Security payments as long as possible.

If the RandR gang hasn't had SS withholding for all or most of their employment in twi, that's a BFD. I would (and do) empathize with them in that regard. Not because of their tenure in twi, but as American citizens.

[skyrider]

12 minutes ago, Rocky said:

If the RandR gang hasn't had SS withholding for all or most of their employment in twi, that's a BFD. I would (and do) empathize with them in that regard. Not because of their tenure in twi, but as American citizens.

Rocky…..that SS withholding policy was changed in 1985/1986.

Again, it was something (if I recall correctly) that was mandated by law or new policies….  not by twi’s consideration of staffers future/retirement.

[OldSkool]

1 hour ago, skyrider said:

As Oldskool pointed out.... things changed after the Allen lawsuit.  Quite the benevolent ministry, eh?  Only when lawyers and legalities get involved does twi get backed into a corner to do the "morally-right thing."

I personally witnessed these changes from an insider's vantage point. Looking back and hindsight being 20/20 it's clear to me that I was part of a huge coverup of massively illegal illicit sexual activity from craig martindale that takes a direct path to victor paul wierwille. Massive enough to justify RICO charges going to trial if the Allen's hadn't settled. Whitewash and coverup -- insincere changes done out of a grudiging heart. I personally heard Rosalie say during our weekly cabinet meeting that "she hates all the changes they have had to make. If she had it her way things would go back to the way they were." Context of the meeting? A clergyman from HQ didnt attend the sunday teaching service because he chose instead to goto his child's state championship ballgame. She was mad because she felt restrained legally from doing what she really wanted to do. I don't know exactly what that was because she never stated that explicitly only that if she had it her way things would go back to the way they were. I could only assume that would mean dropping the guy's clergy status, firing them, marked and avoided dfac etc.

A huge part of the reason I post here is I was part of it, even though my part was passive and that of a witness. So, I will tell everything I saw with an open heart before my God and my Christ. I have asked for forgiveness and moved on. 

[Rocky]

13 minutes ago, skyrider said:

Rocky…..that SS withholding policy was changed in 1985/1986.

Again, it was something (if I recall correctly) that was mandated by law or new policies….  not by twi’s consideration of staffers future/retirement.

It's a good thing! Btw, it highlights the need for a twi staff UNION! 

[skyrider]

1 hour ago, Rocky said:

It's a good thing! Btw, it highlights the need for a twi staff UNION! 

 

Here is some background on ss withholding policy...... Rosalie's Retirement Plan

These comments give some insight:

• Skyrider quote:  "There was a time when twi required staffers to sign a waiver form on SS payments. My yearly SS statement shows ZEROES for those staff years at hq. Around 1985 or thereabouts, twi's auditors/accountants informed twi that it needed to change its policies on SS waivers/payments."
• Linda Z quote:  "In October of 1974 a law was passed exempting churches and their employees from paying social security and Medicare taxes. The law changed in 1984, and churches/church employees had to start paying into SS, although I don't remember having SS tax deducted in any of the years I was on staff (82-86)."

 

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by skyrider

[Rocky]

8 minutes ago, skyrider said:

 

Here is some background on ss withholding policy...... Rosalie's Retirement Plan

These comments give some insight:

• Skyrider quote:  "There was a time when twi required staffers to sign a waiver form on SS payments. My yearly SS statement shows ZEROES for those staff years at hq. Around 1985 or thereabouts, twi's auditors/accountants informed twi that it needed to change its policies on SS waivers/payments."
• Linda Z quote:  "In October of 1974 a law was passed exempting churches and their employees from paying social security and Medicare taxes. The law changed in 1984, and churches/church employees had to start paying into SS, although I don't remember having SS tax deducted in any of the years I was on staff (82-86)."

 

 

Unless there had been a policy of limiting staff service to only a year or two, that was an incredibly abusive practice. Of course there was no such limit on staff service. Exploitation, thy name is The Way International. I'm glad I was never on twi staff.

[skyrider]

It may not be the *golden parachutes and paychecks* scenario of leaving the corporate landscape with stock options, severance package, pension enhancements, 401K, perks and benefits......but starting up a splinter group has great potential for a lane to run in.

If the splinter guy develops a series of teachings (a class)..... then it provides the rails to move information.  There seems to be an endless supply of hirelings out there who operate out of a "storefront church in a strip mall."  The gullible public have lost their critical thinking skills.  Add charisma and the entertainment factor in the mix and people will come.

Oftentimes, the ex-twi "believers" unknowingly have a subservient mindset that has been grooved over the decades.  Once leaving twi, they seek other leadership to help them navigate thru life.  The cycle repeats itself.  Classes.  Cults.  Carry on.

For the new splinter leader.....win/win.  He gets adulation coming to his front door.  Travel.  Perks.  Privilege.  

He is simply following the prototype that wierwille set when he, vpw, started up his group.

When wierwille stepped away from the denominational church, he too was doing some math.  On page 228 of Mrs. Wierwille's book, Born Again to Serve, victor writes a letter on November 5, 1958 to his start-up following.  In this letter, two paragraphs stand out.

1)  "Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 27th.  I will be back for Thanksgiving and I was wondering if you would like to have a special Thanksgiving Service that night at Headquarters?"

2)  Next paragraph:  "If I could get another 6 families interested in our local group meetings who would join with us week after week in fellowship as well as the giving of their tithes for this work and ministry we would have a greater group than we have even now.  Although I sure thank God for your faithfulness and you know I have to teach whenever and wherever God opens doors.  Some weeks and months our people are gone a great deal, but I know I do, and others do the same, even when we are out teaching we arrange for our tithe to be in every Sunday night."

 

##############

"The class money pays the overhead expenses......the faithful tithing/abs is the mother lode."

• Do the math......10% of income really adds up!!
• What if splinter group reaches 300 adults who faithfully tithe...
• 100 couples and 100 adult singles = 300 people
• Average in high incomes/low incomes.....ballpark averages
• Average annual income of couples (together) = $80,000 resulting in $8,000 tithe per couple
• $8,000 per couple each year X 100 couples = $800,000 per year
• If adult single average annual income = $40,000 results in $4,000 tithe per single
• $4,000 per single each year X 100 singles = $400,000 per year
• TOTAL:  $800,000 + $400,000 = $1,200,000 per year tithe total [300 people]

 

 

[chockfull]

Yes it seems the restoration and revitalization of the Way lies not in the path of listening to the requests of their former brethren (RnR group) for elected positions and equitable treatment but instead to mark and avoid that group and instead put all that multi million dollar broadcast equipment and state of the art stage set to use in cranking out another product to produce $$.  PFALT.

Filthy lucre thou art the goal.

[Rocky]

21 hours ago, Rocky said:

It's a good thing! Btw, it highlights the need for a twi staff UNION! 

ICYMI, a staff UNION is a step toward the kind of collegial rather than hierarchical "church" structure as appears apparent in the Acts of the Apostles.

Btw, does anyone remember our fellow GSCer Taxidev posting the point that RnR didn't ask for money? And IIRC, I told him more than once that I didn't believe they weren't interested in money.