The Eyes of a Cult had [have] their I's on you

[skyrider]

     3.  Isolation -- within weeks, you are subtly being isolated from friends, family, information, past activities

Within a matter of weeks of attending twig fellowship, the process of isolation has begun.  You have entered the "recruitment stage".... to be another soldier in the cult's army.  With phone calls and constant undershepherding, they have one immediate goal to achieve.... getting you into the pfal class.

It all sounds so harmless.  Who could ever imagine the path you'd have to tread just by taking a bible class?  

But pfal is far more sinister than just a bible class:

• Class sessions, generally, are scheduled for 4 nights per week... for 3 weeks.
• Lasting nearly 3 hours per night.... with only a strict 10-minute break.  No questions allowed.
• Every session is packed with a volume of information.... "information overload."
• Assertions are made on biblical integrity that are not backed by scripture.
• Wierwille adds private interpretation to several conflicting verses of scripture.
• Stories are injected that add "zingers" of fear and/or confusion...ie little boy killed by car.
• "Every woman in the kingdom belongs to the king".... gives license to his sexual predation.
• Wierwille plants seeds of doubt when he denigrates churches/denominations.
• Recruitment begins in earnest...."To stand with the ministry that taught you the Word."
• Holy spirit field is paramount to vp's ministry.... even though his SIT is repetitive.
• Etc. etc.

After pfal, you have come to a crossroads.  Do you go back to your friends, family and activities... or, do you stand with "the ministry?"  Some experts say that it takes three months to break a habit.  Well, after about three months of attending twigs and taking pfal you have been re-formatted to be a cult follower.  Now granted, the vast majority of pfal class grads EXITED and were never seen again at this juncture.... but for those who stayed, the isolation from life and society only increased from there.  Two roads diverged before me..... I had a choice before me.  Which one had the better claim?

Robert Frost poem.....

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~~~~~~

A difference that changed the trajectory of my life.

 

 

[waysider]

7 minutes ago, skyrider said:

A difference that changed the trajectory of my life.

 

[OldSkool]

29 minutes ago, skyrider said:

even though his SIT is repetitive.

What? You mean speaking in tongues doesn't start with lo shonta? Say it ain't $o! 

[Bolshevik]

55 minutes ago, skyrider said:

     3.  Isolation -- within weeks, you are subtly being isolated from friends, family, information, past activities

Within a matter of weeks of attending twig fellowship, the process of isolation has begun.  You have entered the "recruitment stage".... to be another soldier in the cult's army.  With phone calls and constant undershepherding, they have one immediate goal to achieve.... getting you into the pfal class.

It all sounds so harmless.  Who could ever imagine the path you'd have to tread just by taking a bible class?  

But pfal is far more sinister than just a bible class:

• Class sessions, generally, are scheduled for 4 nights per week... for 3 weeks.
• Lasting nearly 3 hours per night.... with only a strict 10-minute break.  No questions allowed.
• Every session is packed with a volume of information.... "information overload."
• Assertions are made on biblical integrity that are not backed by scripture.
• Wierwille adds private interpretation to several conflicting verses of scripture.
• Stories are injected that add "zingers" of fear and/or confusion...ie little boy killed by car.
• "Every woman in the kingdom belongs to the king".... gives license to his sexual predation.
• Wierwille plants seeds of doubt when he denigrates churches/denominations.
• Recruitment begins in earnest...."To stand with the ministry that taught you the Word."
• Holy spirit field is paramount to vp's ministry.... even though his SIT is repetitive.
• Etc. etc.

After pfal, you have come to a crossroads.  Do you go back to your friends, family and activities... or, do you stand with "the ministry?"  Some experts say that it takes three months to break a habit.  Well, after about three months of attending twigs and taking pfal you have been re-formatted to be a cult follower.  Now granted, the vast majority of pfal class grads EXITED and were never seen again at this juncture.... but for those who stayed, the isolation from life and society only increased from there.  Two roads diverged before me..... I had a choice before me.  Which one had the better claim?

Robert Frost poem.....

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~~~~~~

A difference that changed the trajectory of my life.

 

 

 

When I personally ask TWI joiners why did they join, they say they just started going and never stopped.

The world is full of people passively engaged in life.  Join a cult?  They aren't doing anything productive anyway.  There's noting in those empty minds to counter a leader, even an evil leader.

Look out into the world TODAY . . . what is happening out there?

[chockfull]

On 2/12/2023 at 8:46 AM, skyrider said:

 

What Is The Way Corps?

Not ancient walls and ivy-mantled towers

Where dull denominational traditions

Rule with heavy hand

Believer’s deeply springing powers.

Not spacious pleasure courts

Or lofty temples of athletic fame

Where devotees of sports mistake a pastime

For life’s highest game.

Not fashion or renown

Or wealthy patronage and rich estate;

No, none of these can crown The Way Corps with light

And make it truly great.

But equipped believers, ambassadors strong and wise

Who teach because they love the teacher’s task

And find their richest prize

In eyes that open, and in minds that ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE DISCONNECT:  The poem reads that it is NOT ancient walls and ivy-mantled towers where dull denominational traditions RULE WITH HEAVY HAND... [or an isolated "headquarters" in rural Ohio that dictates and mandates policies where the chain-of-command leadership must be obeyed].  

Maybe wierwille got hung up on the words "denominational traditions" and thought he'd escaped denominational policies and traditions... when in fact, twi became the very thing that wierwille seemingly denounced:  Authoritarian control over others.

Wierwille and his subsequent BOD leaders have imposed far more traditions implemented with a heavy hand than any Christian denomination I am aware of.  

Well maybe not the Catholics.  That group is like all tradition little substance.  Sorry.  

And by traditions I mean they were actually not just traditions but rules that must be followed unquestioned with the fear of excommunication always hanging over the head.

Sorry VP.  If denominations created heavy handed traditions to rule believers, VP has created a three headed monster with eyes everywhere to rule over all aspects of life.  Worse than a heavy hand.

[skyrider]

     5.  Immersion -- introduction of new classes, programs to reinstitute a new trajectory of your life

[ 4. Intimidation -- I covered earlier in terms of speaking in tongues with interpretation in a twig setting.  This process started ever-so-subtly and intensified thru classes, programs, isolation.]

Immersion by Webster-definition is.... 1) to dip, drop or plunge into a liquid, 2) to absorb deeply 3) the state of becoming hidden or of disappearing from view as in an eclipse (occultation).  With each class or program we participated in this cult, our authentic-self and individuality was disappearing from view.

All of those advanced study classes.... The Way Tree, Defeating the Adversary, Renewed Mind, Christian Family and Sex, etc..... those classes plunged us deeper into group mentality and cult identity.  The Rock of Ages festivals and Word in Business Conferences eclipsed community, social and the business workplace and replaced our family goals, careers and vacation time with herd-fest mentality meetings.

Soon, all of our networking and contacts were with cult-believers only.  Immersed in cult world fully and completely.  Is there any wonder why it takes YEARS, decades even, to dismantle the cult-structure in our brains?  And, for way corps.... in my opinion, it became exponentially worse.  We were saturated and immersed in-residence for two years 24/7.  Anyone who thinks that they can just *walk away* without some serious effort or therapy is deceiving themselves.  This abuse lingers in the soul for years and decades.

Only by getting back to "high ground" can one find safety, security and prosperity from the destructive nature of cults.... who thrive on one's weaknesses and dependency.

 

 

[Allan]

Interesting you mention Donnie Fugit. I'm pretty sure he gets a mention in the new movie coming out "The Jesus Revolution".....wonder who else may get a 'cameo role' ? 

[Rocky]

5 hours ago, skyrider said:

Soon, all of our networking and contacts were with cult-believers only.  Immersed in cult world fully and completely.  Is there any wonder why it takes YEARS, decades even, to dismantle the cult-structure in our brains?  And, for way corps.... in my opinion, it became exponentially worse.  We were saturated and immersed in-residence for two years 24/7.  Anyone who thinks that they can just *walk away* without some serious effort or therapy is deceiving themselves.  This abuse lingers in the soul for years and decades.

Is it also any wonder way corps(e) escapees (the longer they complied w/Wierwille's cult isolation, the worse it was) had NO idea how to make a living without starting their own spin off?

Of course, doing so only kicked the can down the road. Without repudiating the entire cult mindset, those leaders who started their own (i.e. Victor Barnard) made it worse for themselves, their own families, and those who fell in with them on the back side of the cult journey.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Rocky

[skyrider]

8 hours ago, Rocky said:

Is it also any wonder way corps(e) escapees (the longer they complied w/Wierwille's cult isolation, the worse it was) had NO idea how to make a living without starting their own spin off?

Of course, doing so only kicked the can down the road. Without repudiating the entire cult mindset, those leaders who started their own (i.e. Victor Barnard) made it worse for themselves, their own families, and those who fell in with them on the back side of the cult journey.

Nice post, Rocky.

I like how you phrased that..... "those who fell in with them on the BACK SIDE OF THE CULT JOURNEY.

[OldSkool]

14 hours ago, Rocky said:

Is it also any wonder way corps(e) escapees (the longer they complied w/Wierwille's cult isolation, the worse it was) had NO idea how to make a living without starting their own spin off?

Of course, doing so only kicked the can down the road. Without repudiating the entire cult mindset, those leaders who started their own (i.e. Victor Barnard) made it worse for themselves, their own families, and those who fell in with them on the back side of the cult journey.

My Lord, I was so close to going that route back in 2008. Thank God I didn't because it wouldve been so easy and I had three offshoots wanting me to work for them...egads. 

[skyrider]

13 minutes ago, OldSkool said:

My Lord, I was so close to going that route back in 2008. Thank God I didn't because it wouldve been so easy and I had three offshoots wanting me to work for them...egads. 

Me too.  

Back in 1998, I too had 3-4 offshoots that were reaching out to me.  Reluctantly, I decided to go to ONE offshoot meeting and THAT was enough for me.  It turned my stomach to see that this offshoot was just like twi..... opening prayer, sing 2 songs, manifestations, another song, teaching, upcoming announcements, closing prayer.

This "backside of the cult journey" just started to climb uphill to another cult-summit.

No thanks.

 

 

.

Edited February 14, 2023 by skyrider

[OldSkool]

2 minutes ago, skyrider said:

Me too.  

Back in 1998, I too had 3-4 offshoots that were reaching out to me.  Reluctantly, I decided to go to ONE offshoot meeting and THAT was enough for me.  It turned my stomach to see that this offshoot was just like twi..... opening prayer, sing 2 songs, manifestations, another song, teaching, upcoming announcements, closing prayer.

This "backside of the cult journey" just started to climb uphill to another cult-summit.

No thanks.

 

 

.

Man, it's like they wait at the exits or something....

[waysider]

17 minutes ago, OldSkool said:

Man, it's like they wait at the exits or something....

Ambulance chasers

[skyrider]

Blood sucking pond scum

[skyrider]

20 hours ago, Rocky said:

Of course, doing so only kicked the can down the road. Without repudiating the entire cult mindset, those leaders who started their own (i.e. Victor Barnard) made it worse for themselves, their own families, and those who fell in with them on the back side of the cult journey.

Several of those offshoot cult guys kicked the can down the road until they themselves kicked the can.  

[waysider]

1 hour ago, skyrider said:

Several of those offshoot cult guys kicked the can down the road until they themselves kicked the can bucket.  

 

[chockfull]

21 hours ago, Rocky said:

Is it also any wonder way corps(e) escapees (the longer they complied w/Wierwille's cult isolation, the worse it was) had NO idea how to make a living without starting their own spin off?

Of course, doing so only kicked the can down the road. Without repudiating the entire cult mindset, those leaders who started their own (i.e. Victor Barnard) made it worse for themselves, their own families, and those who fell in with them on the back side of the cult journey.

When an isolationist group isn’t quite isolationist enough for some then they isolated a few miles down the road in a new city.

This is even less healthy.

Some of those guys even managed to found multiple spin-off groups all in one lifetime.  Before kicking off.  That snake oil needs multiple streams of revenue.  It’s not gonna sell itself lol 

[skyrider]

17 minutes ago, chockfull said:

Some of those guys even managed to found multiple spin-off groups all in one lifetime.  Before kicking off.  That snake oil needs multiple streams of revenue.  It’s not gonna sell itself lol 

So.... someone like Charlie Quillen in Illinois is an offshoot of an offshoot of an offshoot.

• Quillen is an offshoot of CFF
• CFF is an offshoot of TWI
• TWI is an offshoot of B.G. Leonard

 

.

[skyrider]

On 2/9/2023 at 12:30 PM, skyrider said:

 

Little by little, things began to change with "family camps" and the filming of the 1967 pfal class.  Soon thereafter, young "firebrands" emerged to take the reins of outreach.  Whether it was the hippie-types playing guitar in the park, like Donnie Fugit.... or the guys in a Way Home at ECU, youth were reaching other youth.  Whatever the encounter, you were about to run the gauntlet as they set their I's on you.

1. Introduction -- the entry point of your encounter
2. Involvement -- the beginning baby-steps of attending twig, coffee house setting, or pfal class
3. Isolation -- within weeks, you are subtly being isolated from friends, family, information, past activities
4. Intimidation -- slowly, but surely, your authentic self is being re-formatted to a cult follower
5. Immersion -- introduction of new classes, programs to reinstitute a new trajectory of your life
6. Indoctrination -- most notably found in their programs, Fellow Laborers and Way Corps Training
7. Idolization -- can be found at all levels, but mostly among adv class grads and corps grads 

 

The corps obedience training was a colossal waste of time.  We signed on the line to be taught the principles of leadership and to follow in the steps of our lord Jesus Christ.  How did THAT work out?  Not good.  Wierwille's hand-picked loyalists...ie corps coordinators instigated a steady steam of *obedience training.*  Similar to the way you'd train a dog.

We were indoctrinated into twi's goose-stepping march in unison to wierwille mandates.  What a massive failure.

Will those ex-corps coordinators at the R&R offshoot ever figure it out?  Doubtful.  It's been six years (2017-2023) since they parted ways with twi.....and STILL, has there been any teaching that has ripped the mask off twi's scam and exposed wierwille as a con man?  Nope.  They simply whistle along their merry way to a life of unicorns and lollypops.  They sell the illusion all the same.... even though they no longer walk in lockstep with the parent company.

I guess that it should be no surprise..... the corps coordinators were the most loyal gestapo in twi.  They knew of the sexual predation at Cabin 12 in Gunnison and the motor coach shenanigans. They helped to clear the schedules of said hand-picked girls to be available whenever the mog wanted to be pleasured.  They sold their souls to this evil.... and to this day "preach the word" without shame.  Just like martindale resurfacing and doing the same.  Sickos are everywhere.

Stay vigilant.  Stay clear of cults and offshoots alike.

 

 

[Rocky]

57 minutes ago, skyrider said:

Will those ex-corps coordinators at the R&R offshoot ever figure it out?  Doubtful.  It's been six years (2017-2023) since they parted ways with twi.....and STILL, has there been any teaching that has ripped the mask off twi's scam and exposed wierwille as a con man?  Nope.  They simply whistle along their merry way to a life of unicorns and lollypops.  They sell the illusion all the same.... even though they no longer walk in lockstep with the parent company.

 

58 minutes ago, skyrider said:

They sold their souls to this evil.... and to this day "preach the word" without shame.  Just like martindale resurfacing and doing the same.  Sickos are everywhere.

Stay vigilant.  Stay clear of cults and offshoots alike.

 

[Twinky]

On 2/11/2023 at 2:58 PM, chockfull said:

Over time the phone hookups became more and more of an emphasized thing.  It was mandated certain numbers of common hookups to the Sunday service, and then weekly Corps hookups - all mandated attendance.  You were even required to dress up in a suit around your kitchen table to listen to some of these.

Aincha glad there wasn't Zoom or Skype in those days?  If there were, you can imagine somebody in Security examining the feed from every single household on line, and looking out for "off the word" things.  Not just the nametag slightly askew, or the shirt not being ironed to perfection, or having the wrong hairstyle - but they'd be examining everything in the background.  The state of your lounge, kitchen, or wherever you were sitting; whether the curtains hung correctly; what TWI paraphernalia was on display; how tidy the place was; and a zillion other irrelevant details that they have no business knowing.  They really would "have eyes on you."