She's making the rounds. Good. Phuque these people.
Awesome thanks!! I was going to go on same pod 2 yrs ago and couldn’t bring myself to answer and think about the past!! Glad she is since it’s been quiet on the Way front for awhile.
Not quiet on my Way front. Every month Undertow is sold somewhere in the world according to sales reports I get from my book printer/distributor IngramSpark. And messages from readers continue to amaze me, especially from people from my daughter's generation. Some as young as 35.
Anyway, you'd be surprised how and where word has spread about the cult called The Way International.
Keep sharing your story, fellow Greasespotters. Word gets around.
BTW, The International Cultic Studies Association sells Undertow in their bookstore.
Yes I listened to Ems story. Grew up partially in TWI partially in a splinter. She identifies as queer and is married to another lady and is happy post TWI. Her story involves a father forcing kissing strangers on them and trying to control dating and abuse. I mean a lot of the problem behavior seems to have been the father.
She mainly identified religion and spirituality to being mark and avoid and has an e-mail contact for herself with that in the title.
Sexual abuse and shunning. I’m sure all the little moglets at the Way will find a way to blame her for the trauma. They are good at that. What they won’t be good at is standing in front of my Lord Jesus Christ without that smug look on their face giving an account of the impact like this their life caused.
I listened to her story and applaud her courage. Can someone find the other thread where we discussed the other podcast she is on? There are some good comments there. I remember in that thread sharing that in my experience (1970-87) the "holy kiss" was on the cheek and we absolutley NEVER taught our children to kiss adults on the mouth!
Not quiet on my Way front. Every month Undertow is sold somewhere in the world according to sales reports I get from my book printer/distributor IngramSpark. And messages from readers continue to amaze me, especially from people from my daughter's generation. Some as young as 35.
Anyway, you'd be surprised how and where word has spread about the cult called The Way International.
Keep sharing your story, fellow Greasespotters. Word gets around.
BTW, The International Cultic Studies Association sells Undertow in their bookstore.
Charlene I will take a look. She says that numbers post covid are growing in The Way. I disagree. They have been getting lower and yes with folks locked down and needing a life raft may have up-ticked the numbers a bit, but I see stagnation and repetition. Information online easily obtained to discourage new recruits. Have you seen or heard any verifiable numbers? Thanks!
How many crucified? How many crows from cocks? As many as their imagination can hold.
32 minutes ago, chockfull said:
I heard a sweeping figure on something I listened to that put them at 40,000 worldwide.
40,000 forty years ago? When was this and what does it mean? Is it the number of green cards signed? The number of classes purchased? The number abundantly sharing? How are home fellowships tracked? Are FCs required to submit attendance and revenue data weekly?
How many crucified? How many crows from cocks? As many as their imagination can hold.
40,000 forty years ago? When was this and what does it mean? Is it the number of green cards signed? The number of classes purchased? The number abundantly sharing? How are home fellowships tracked? Are FCs required to submit attendance and revenue data weekly?
I don't have answers to these questions about what current numbers might be. Perhaps someone who has left the organization recently might know. Is there anyone like that who is reading this?
I don't have answers to these questions about what current numbers might be. Perhaps someone who has left the organization recently might know. Is there anyone like that who is reading this?
How were the numbers derived when you were in?
The number 100,000 at the peak is thrown around, but what does that mean? How was that tracked? Number of people sitting through the first 30 minutes of he class? Were twig leaders required to submit weekly statistics?
How many crucified? How many crows from cocks? As many as their imagination can hold.
40,000 forty years ago? When was this and what does it mean? Is it the number of green cards signed? The number of classes purchased? The number abundantly sharing? How are home fellowships tracked? Are FCs required to submit attendance and revenue data weekly?
Yeah you skipped over the part of the estimate that probably has the more real numbers.
The 40000 was somewhere recent I heard on content related to cults. It pretty much would be an estimate of modern attendance. I dunno you could probably look at all the anniversary photos in the magazine and derive something. 40k including the continent of Africa seems reasonable to me for scale. JWs are at 8 mil, LDS has 16m.
You also skipped the part about TWI hiding those numbers, so unless a region coordinator recently detected and shared them you’re not gonna know.
The number 100,000 at the peak is thrown around, but what does that mean? How was that tracked? Number of people sitting through the first 30 minutes of he class? Were twig leaders required to submit weekly statistics?
Each fellowship has a spreadsheet with a numbers count, names, phone numbers, email, addresses. As does each branch, limb, region and the trunk. Each level is required to request changes from the next level above. The trunk has to approve removing a name from the region roster and down the line. That is how they plan classes and assignments.
Yeah you skipped over the part of the estimate that probably has the more real numbers.
The 40000 was somewhere recent I heard on content related to cults. It pretty much would be an estimate of modern attendance. I dunno you could probably look at all the anniversary photos in the magazine and derive something. 40k including the continent of Africa seems reasonable to me for scale. JWs are at 8 mil, LDS has 16m.
You also skipped the part about TWI hiding those numbers, so unless a region coordinator recently detected and shared them you’re not gonna know.
Sarcasm however does seem to be a strength.
I didn’t skip or miss your estimates and the note about them hiding accurate numbers. I thought your estimates made the most sense.
But that 40,000 seemed an ill-fitting glove for the reasonable hand of your numbers. That’s why I was probing.
Each fellowship has a spreadsheet with a numbers count, names, phone numbers, email, addresses. As does each branch, limb, region and the trunk. Each level is required to request changes from the next level above. The trunk has to approve removing a name from the region roster and down the line. That is how they plan classes and assignments.
I’ve been contemplating a response to this absurdity for an hour.
Please tell me if I didn’t fully absorbed it the first time.
Say, a fellowship commander loses all nine of his members in particular. (They no longer believe Earth is flat.) Only he and his wife remain. It is an undeniable, demonstrable, actual fact of reality that all nine are gone-gone all the time, forever.
What happens to the actual fact of reality if the branch does NOT approve of all nine’s departure?
I believe you, but I just don’t get it. It’s probably my spiritual immaturity, or I’m relying too heavily on my own understanding.
Each fellowship has a spreadsheet with a numbers count, names, phone numbers, email, addresses. As does each branch, limb, region and the trunk. Each level is required to request changes from the next level above. The trunk has to approve removing a name from the region roster and down the line. That is how they plan classes and assignments.
Seriously? Sounds like too much make work and ZERO spirituality.
Apparently somewhere along the line they lost the concept of The Way fellowshipping freely. That sounds like abject drudgery.
I’ve been contemplating a response to this absurdity for an hour.
Please tell me if I didn’t fully absorbed it the first time.
Say, a fellowship commander loses all nine of his members in particular. (They no longer believe Earth is flat.) Only he and his wife remain. It is an undeniable, demonstrable, actual fact of reality that all nine are gone-gone all the time, forever.
What happens to the actual fact of reality if the branch does NOT approve of all nine’s departure?
I believe you, but I just don’t get it. It’s probably my spiritual immaturity, or I’m relying too heavily on my own understanding.
It’s mainly a rubber stamp of control. However it does leave open intervention at each level. Yes it is completely absurd and goes to illustrate the level of control they endeavor to force on people.
I do not have a good sense of how long a coordinator will continue to keep people on their books while not attending regularly. Probably as long as it is to their advantage.
But they say that they have no “members”. That’s the public line anyway.
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bliss
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Nathan_Jr
Thanks, bliss.
Em was also on a recent episode of the IndoctriNATION pod.
https://m.soundcloud.com/indoctrinationshow/mark-avoid-w-em-thomas?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0&si=10E753EC055A4873A9843355FD563C52
Edited by Nathan_JrShe's making the rounds. Good. Phuque these people.
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bliss
Awesome thanks!! I was going to go on same pod 2 yrs ago and couldn’t bring myself to answer and think about the past!! Glad she is since it’s been quiet on the Way front for awhile.
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bliss
Ok anyone listen? thoughts?
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penworks
Not quiet on my Way front. Every month Undertow is sold somewhere in the world according to sales reports I get from my book printer/distributor IngramSpark. And messages from readers continue to amaze me, especially from people from my daughter's generation. Some as young as 35.
Anyway, you'd be surprised how and where word has spread about the cult called The Way International.
Keep sharing your story, fellow Greasespotters. Word gets around.
BTW, The International Cultic Studies Association sells Undertow in their bookstore.
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chockfull
Yes I listened to Ems story. Grew up partially in TWI partially in a splinter. She identifies as queer and is married to another lady and is happy post TWI. Her story involves a father forcing kissing strangers on them and trying to control dating and abuse. I mean a lot of the problem behavior seems to have been the father.
She mainly identified religion and spirituality to being mark and avoid and has an e-mail contact for herself with that in the title.
Sexual abuse and shunning. I’m sure all the little moglets at the Way will find a way to blame her for the trauma. They are good at that. What they won’t be good at is standing in front of my Lord Jesus Christ without that smug look on their face giving an account of the impact like this their life caused.
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penworks
I listened to her story and applaud her courage. Can someone find the other thread where we discussed the other podcast she is on? There are some good comments there. I remember in that thread sharing that in my experience (1970-87) the "holy kiss" was on the cheek and we absolutley NEVER taught our children to kiss adults on the mouth!
For my own recorded presentation, view here: CHARLENE L. EDGE --Author "A Cult Insider's Story" - YouTube
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Nathan_Jr
Charlene,
It’s on page 17 of your Undertow thread.
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penworks
Thanks, Nathan.
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bliss
Charlene I will take a look. She says that numbers post covid are growing in The Way. I disagree. They have been getting lower and yes with folks locked down and needing a life raft may have up-ticked the numbers a bit, but I see stagnation and repetition. Information online easily obtained to discourage new recruits. Have you seen or heard any verifiable numbers? Thanks!
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chockfull
Numbers are going to be a calculated guess because it is in the interest of TWI to not have them published.
I heard a sweeping figure on something I listened to that put them at 40,000 worldwide.
In the USA the guess is about 250 members per region as an average and 12 regions makes it around 3000.
They published attendee numbers for the advanced class so I thought that was in the 100-200 range.
I am not standing by any accuracy for those numbers.
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Nathan_Jr
Simple math has never been a strength.
How many crucified? How many crows from cocks? As many as their imagination can hold.
40,000 forty years ago? When was this and what does it mean? Is it the number of green cards signed? The number of classes purchased? The number abundantly sharing? How are home fellowships tracked? Are FCs required to submit attendance and revenue data weekly?
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penworks
Sorry, no, I haven't.
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penworks
I don't have answers to these questions about what current numbers might be. Perhaps someone who has left the organization recently might know. Is there anyone like that who is reading this?
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Nathan_Jr
How were the numbers derived when you were in?
The number 100,000 at the peak is thrown around, but what does that mean? How was that tracked? Number of people sitting through the first 30 minutes of he class? Were twig leaders required to submit weekly statistics?
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chockfull
Yeah you skipped over the part of the estimate that probably has the more real numbers.
The 40000 was somewhere recent I heard on content related to cults. It pretty much would be an estimate of modern attendance. I dunno you could probably look at all the anniversary photos in the magazine and derive something. 40k including the continent of Africa seems reasonable to me for scale. JWs are at 8 mil, LDS has 16m.
You also skipped the part about TWI hiding those numbers, so unless a region coordinator recently detected and shared them you’re not gonna know.
Sarcasm however does seem to be a strength.
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chockfull
Each fellowship has a spreadsheet with a numbers count, names, phone numbers, email, addresses. As does each branch, limb, region and the trunk. Each level is required to request changes from the next level above. The trunk has to approve removing a name from the region roster and down the line. That is how they plan classes and assignments.
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Nathan_Jr
I didn’t skip or miss your estimates and the note about them hiding accurate numbers. I thought your estimates made the most sense.
But that 40,000 seemed an ill-fitting glove for the reasonable hand of your numbers. That’s why I was probing.
Thanks for elaborating.
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Nathan_Jr
I’ve been contemplating a response to this absurdity for an hour.
Please tell me if I didn’t fully absorbed it the first time.
Say, a fellowship commander loses all nine of his members in particular. (They no longer believe Earth is flat.) Only he and his wife remain. It is an undeniable, demonstrable, actual fact of reality that all nine are gone-gone all the time, forever.
What happens to the actual fact of reality if the branch does NOT approve of all nine’s departure?
I believe you, but I just don’t get it. It’s probably my spiritual immaturity, or I’m relying too heavily on my own understanding.
Edited by Nathan_JrThese damn gloves
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Rocky
Seriously? Sounds like too much make work and ZERO spirituality.
Apparently somewhere along the line they lost the concept of The Way fellowshipping freely. That sounds like abject drudgery.
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chockfull
It’s mainly a rubber stamp of control. However it does leave open intervention at each level. Yes it is completely absurd and goes to illustrate the level of control they endeavor to force on people.
I do not have a good sense of how long a coordinator will continue to keep people on their books while not attending regularly. Probably as long as it is to their advantage.
But they say that they have no “members”. That’s the public line anyway.
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Rocky
Still? Wasn't that Howard Allen's line 50+ years ago?
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chockfull
“Uncle” Howards line was “we have no strangers at the Way”.
He also wore shiny red boots that he would declare the purpose of was to catch a glimpse of ladies undergarments.
However TWI has used that as “proof” they are not a cult - “we don’t even have members see?” and a denial of manipulation techniques for decades.
This still doesn’t make Uncle Festus any less creepy.
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Rocky
Well, somebody, at some point, made the statement that the only members of the Way International were the board of trustees/directors.
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