Why do I regret going into the corps? Why do I see vpw's corps training as extreme spiritual abuse?
* The first two months inresidence were more pfal indoctrination.
* The work/study approach was a joke. How much can one learn weeding a small plot for two weeks? And, the study part was simply indoctrination.
* Meal times were mandatory....with after-meal announcements, indoctrination.
* The whole agenda of the corps training was conformity.
* Work twigs, corps twigs, study twigs, prayer twigs.....no time for self.
* $20 a month to spend.....a way to teach discipline, or conformity to meager living?
* Screaming, screaming, screaming......in a Christian program??
* Sitting on the floor for a two hour after-meeting.
* Going to meetings to schedule meeting times,
* Praying for 4 hours from 2 am to 6 am to keep the prayer vigil going.
* Building a twi-dependent person, not a Christ-in-you individual?
* VPW had self-serving agendas for "his" corps.
I fully understand that every corps experience was different and every campus had a different flavor and different leadership. There are way too many variables to compare corps experiences.
For me, the corps training wasn't all bad.....but when I step back and LOOK at the overall picture, it takes the shape of hardened leaders leading others. IMO, it accelerated a corporate-climbing mentality and caste system within twi......i.e. God's "best" would want to be in vp's corps, wouldn't they?
To me, the dark agenda of cult-like conformity tainted the whole experience. Obviously, vpw had a controlling agenda for his corps, his ministry.
Thanks sky and hairy for your gracious responses. Actually, I do agree with you guys for the most part. It just gets complicated sometimes trying to untangle the knot of emotions and perspectives one can choose to take on.
I just count it the grace and mercy of God, that something that went so horribly wrong and evil, had some smidgeon of good in it for some of us.
Resolution of our pasts can get complicated, can't it? ;)-->
Thanks ex10 and LindaZ for your input and perspectives. And, for what it's worth....it is good to hear that some corps retain fond memories of those intense inresidence years.
When I set aside all the intertwining corporate agendas, the mog arrogance and twi-induced idolatry........and focus on corps-to-corps friendships, I can find a smidgeon of good in all of it.
One of the running jokes on LEAD,would be when someone was climbing a rock,hanging on for dear life and exerting every possible ounce of strength they could muster to get to the top,to yell out "all I wanted was a class on the Bible"...Even then,I think many people deep down wondered how in the hell did their lives ever go from wanting more harmony in the home to surviving in the wilderness on the side of a cliff...Maybe,like myself,some of us were just determined to see it through the end....The way wasn't going to break me....Somewhere,in-residence,I came to the realization that I was not going to acquire any in-depth spiritual perception and awareness...So,I just did my time...My major regret was disappointment,...almost like I'd been had(Well,I was)...But at least,I thought,I was in good company....
I recall the disapointment of realizing that to be successful in the corps, you had to be an a$$kisser. That's when I lost my heart for the program and the rest was all down hill. If I wanted to degrade myself THAT much, I would have had more fun continuing my hedonistic lifestyle from the late sixties. As it was, I was looking for something a little more wholesome than what was being dished out at Emporia...
That's interesting,Hairy...Somewhere along the line I knew I didn't fit into what would be considered a successful corps category....I could certainly change my habits,but I couldn't change who I was...It took a while,but slowly I began to understand that I didn't fail the program,the program failed me....
quote:Maybe,like myself,some of us were just determined to see it through the end....The way wasn't going to break me....Somewhere,in-residence,I came to the realization that I was not going to acquire any in-depth spiritual perception and awareness...So,I just did my time...My major regret was disappointment,...
Some good points, simon.
From a child, I was always taught to finish what I started. It was not good to jump ship and quit, because you might miss some good learning just around the next bend. Well, each "bend in the voyage" had MORE TURBULENCE.
And, even though I stuck it out.....it didn't get better. There was NO "acquire an in-depth spiritual perception and awareness" prize at graduation time. Sure, I made a few friends and learned a thing or two.....BUT I could have easily done that in a multiplicity of ways.
The corps program was designed to build twi-dependent followers who would strictly endorse twi policies. To quit the program (and be slandered) or die were the two exit options available to those who were "salted" corps.
...And another thing that bugged the .... out of me while in residence, were their bait and switch tactics. When I signed up, I made a FOUR YEAR commitment. That was it! It was optional to take assignments upon graduation...at least, that's what they said in WRITING! A couple of months into the training, at Emporia, they tell us all that we have made a LIFETIME commitment to the corps!...and if we don't "understand THAT"...then we are "spiritually out to lunch". I sat there listening to this crap, muttering under my breath that I only committed for 4 years, getting angrier by the moment as everybody just sat there with a glazed look on their faces saying "yup, yup"...not me! I regret not packing my stuff up and splitting right then and there!
Light Bearers...Another bait and switch! They told us that if we didn't get a class together, we would be asked to leave the corps...Liars!!! After we returned to Emporia, they "changed their minds"...they never intended to kick us out...it was just more fear motivation...Plus, they taught that God gave the increase, but, notwithstanding, held us responsible when the increase didn't happen! They had no integrity...it was all a con.
quote:When I signed up, I made a FOUR YEAR commitment. That was it! It was optional to take assignments upon graduation...at least, that's what they said in WRITING! A couple of months into the training, at Emporia, they tell us all that we have made a LIFETIME commitment to the corps!...and if we don't "understand THAT"...then we are "spiritually out to lunch".
Manipulation-mongers! They waited a couple months and then, slam-dunk our commitment level when we are behind CLOSED DOORS and surrounded by PEER PRESSURE. What a bunch of low-life tactics!
Was this tactic used in the zero corps? And, everyone left???
When the atrocities of the corps program are exposed......vpw was a major player in scamming people. He may have been on the stage alot, but some of us know that vpw could easily hide in the shadows.
I want to thank you again for this wonderful thread. You and the others who have posted here have helped untangle yet a little more of that web TWI squeezed around our skulls with their program they thought to be the 'Greatest Leadership training in the world program' the way corpse. Give me a freghen break! -->
Uncle Hairy,
quote:I recall the disapointment of realizing that to be successful in the corps, you had to be an a$$kisser. That's when I lost my heart for the program and the rest was all down hill.
Thank you for writing this. I remember when I was in the corps, being called into the corps coordinator's office yet again with another friend of mine. I cannot recall what it was about (I spent quite a bit of time in his office being reproved about one thing or another). Well, this time my friend and I both walked out in tears vowing to each other we'd try harder and that we weren't going to let the Devil have his way...(oh my God...I can't believe I thought that way )
Well, later that evening we had one of those 'afterglow' meetings. My friend came up to me at the beginning and said..."Lets go sit right up front at the feet of the corps coordinators so that they'll know we're meek and humble." I looked at her in disbelief. I couldn't believe my ears. I was discusted. Could this really be what God wanted from me? Could this be what being a 'leader' was all about?
Anyhow, I sat at the back and she went to the front. The next day, I was once again called into the coordinator's office and told that his wife felt I had a bad attitude.
When I look back at my last BC (the one who booted me), I have mixed emotions, because he was really uncomfortable with confrontation. He really had to work hard to develop the callous arrogance required for the job. I wonder if he and his wife are still in.
Oh, A La - that reminds me of my ex writing letters to people THANKING them for LOVING us enough to spit on us and tell us how awful we are. :(-->
He probably did the same thing at HQ when they accused him of the most idiotic things. They have him pretty broken down to the point that I have serious doubts about his ability to ever recover, especially since he's so bitter about me leaving.
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skyrider
Why do I regret going into the corps? Why do I see vpw's corps training as extreme spiritual abuse?
* The first two months inresidence were more pfal indoctrination.
* The work/study approach was a joke. How much can one learn weeding a small plot for two weeks? And, the study part was simply indoctrination.
* Meal times were mandatory....with after-meal announcements, indoctrination.
* The whole agenda of the corps training was conformity.
* Work twigs, corps twigs, study twigs, prayer twigs.....no time for self.
* $20 a month to spend.....a way to teach discipline, or conformity to meager living?
* Screaming, screaming, screaming......in a Christian program??
* Sitting on the floor for a two hour after-meeting.
* Going to meetings to schedule meeting times,
* Praying for 4 hours from 2 am to 6 am to keep the prayer vigil going.
* Building a twi-dependent person, not a Christ-in-you individual?
* VPW had self-serving agendas for "his" corps.
I fully understand that every corps experience was different and every campus had a different flavor and different leadership. There are way too many variables to compare corps experiences.
For me, the corps training wasn't all bad.....but when I step back and LOOK at the overall picture, it takes the shape of hardened leaders leading others. IMO, it accelerated a corporate-climbing mentality and caste system within twi......i.e. God's "best" would want to be in vp's corps, wouldn't they?
To me, the dark agenda of cult-like conformity tainted the whole experience. Obviously, vpw had a controlling agenda for his corps, his ministry.
But hey, I got to sit at "the master's feet."
--> 
skyrider
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excathedra
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ex10
Thanks sky and hairy for your gracious responses. Actually, I do agree with you guys for the most part. It just gets complicated sometimes trying to untangle the knot of emotions and perspectives one can choose to take on.
I just count it the grace and mercy of God, that something that went so horribly wrong and evil, had some smidgeon of good in it for some of us.
Resolution of our pasts can get complicated, can't it?
;)-->
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Linda Z
Thanks, Steve! You got what I meant exactly right.
Sorry, Skyrider, if you thought I meant you. I didn't.
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skyrider
Thanks ex10 and LindaZ for your input and perspectives. And, for what it's worth....it is good to hear that some corps retain fond memories of those intense inresidence years.
When I set aside all the intertwining corporate agendas, the mog arrogance and twi-induced idolatry........and focus on corps-to-corps friendships, I can find a smidgeon of good in all of it.
Thanks again.
:)--> 
:)-->
(((((ex10)))))
(((((LindaZ)))))
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Linda Z
(((skyrider))) back atcha.
:)-->
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excathedra
i found and find lots more than a smidgeon of good in you, sky
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simonzelotes
One of the running jokes on LEAD,would be when someone was climbing a rock,hanging on for dear life and exerting every possible ounce of strength they could muster to get to the top,to yell out "all I wanted was a class on the Bible"...Even then,I think many people deep down wondered how in the hell did their lives ever go from wanting more harmony in the home to surviving in the wilderness on the side of a cliff...Maybe,like myself,some of us were just determined to see it through the end....The way wasn't going to break me....Somewhere,in-residence,I came to the realization that I was not going to acquire any in-depth spiritual perception and awareness...So,I just did my time...My major regret was disappointment,...almost like I'd been had(Well,I was)...But at least,I thought,I was in good company....
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ex10
sky
I don't know if "fond" is quite the right adjective. Maybe it's more like simon said, "survival" memories.
:D-->
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GrouchoMarxJr
I recall the disapointment of realizing that to be successful in the corps, you had to be an a$$kisser. That's when I lost my heart for the program and the rest was all down hill. If I wanted to degrade myself THAT much, I would have had more fun continuing my hedonistic lifestyle from the late sixties. As it was, I was looking for something a little more wholesome than what was being dished out at Emporia...
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simonzelotes
That's interesting,Hairy...Somewhere along the line I knew I didn't fit into what would be considered a successful corps category....I could certainly change my habits,but I couldn't change who I was...It took a while,but slowly I began to understand that I didn't fail the program,the program failed me....
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skyrider
Yeah.....that's it, "survival" memories, ex10.
:D-->
To survive the monotony
To survive the intimidation
To survive the peer pressure
To survive the sleep deprivation
To survive the parade of mog adulation
I just wanted to serve God and help others, that's all.
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skyrider
Some good points, simon.
From a child, I was always taught to finish what I started. It was not good to jump ship and quit, because you might miss some good learning just around the next bend. Well, each "bend in the voyage" had MORE TURBULENCE.
And, even though I stuck it out.....it didn't get better. There was NO "acquire an in-depth spiritual perception and awareness" prize at graduation time. Sure, I made a few friends and learned a thing or two.....BUT I could have easily done that in a multiplicity of ways.
The corps program was designed to build twi-dependent followers who would strictly endorse twi policies. To quit the program (and be slandered) or die were the two exit options available to those who were "salted" corps.
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skyrider
When I put faces to this extreme spiritual abuse in vpw's corps.......excathedra is at the forefront of my mind.
It really ....es me off that vp did this to my corps sister.
(((((excathedra)))))
Take care, my friend.
:)-->
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excathedra
ohhhhhhhh thank you, sky
i think we all got a lot more (or less) than we bargained for
"in-residence" made it so much easier for weewillie to practice "what was available"
thank god for men like you, simon, tuttles, shipper, strange.....
so many good people in this life
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GrouchoMarxJr
...And another thing that bugged the .... out of me while in residence, were their bait and switch tactics. When I signed up, I made a FOUR YEAR commitment. That was it! It was optional to take assignments upon graduation...at least, that's what they said in WRITING! A couple of months into the training, at Emporia, they tell us all that we have made a LIFETIME commitment to the corps!...and if we don't "understand THAT"...then we are "spiritually out to lunch". I sat there listening to this crap, muttering under my breath that I only committed for 4 years, getting angrier by the moment as everybody just sat there with a glazed look on their faces saying "yup, yup"...not me! I regret not packing my stuff up and splitting right then and there!
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GrouchoMarxJr
Light Bearers...Another bait and switch! They told us that if we didn't get a class together, we would be asked to leave the corps...Liars!!! After we returned to Emporia, they "changed their minds"...they never intended to kick us out...it was just more fear motivation...Plus, they taught that God gave the increase, but, notwithstanding, held us responsible when the increase didn't happen! They had no integrity...it was all a con.
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excathedra
oh god i remember all that crap
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skyrider
UncleHairy.....exactly!!!
Manipulation-mongers! They waited a couple months and then, slam-dunk our commitment level when we are behind CLOSED DOORS and surrounded by PEER PRESSURE. What a bunch of low-life tactics!
Was this tactic used in the zero corps? And, everyone left???
When the atrocities of the corps program are exposed......vpw was a major player in scamming people. He may have been on the stage alot, but some of us know that vpw could easily hide in the shadows.
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outandabout
I agree that sorting it all out is complicated. Yup.
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A la prochaine
Dear Skyrider,
I want to thank you again for this wonderful thread. You and the others who have posted here have helped untangle yet a little more of that web TWI squeezed around our skulls with their program they thought to be the 'Greatest Leadership training in the world program' the way corpse. Give me a freghen break!
-->
Uncle Hairy,
Thank you for writing this. I remember when I was in the corps, being called into the corps coordinator's office yet again with another friend of mine. I cannot recall what it was about (I spent quite a bit of time in his office being reproved about one thing or another). Well, this time my friend and I both walked out in tears vowing to each other we'd try harder and that we weren't going to let the Devil have his way...(oh my God...I can't believe I thought that way
)
Well, later that evening we had one of those 'afterglow' meetings. My friend came up to me at the beginning and said..."Lets go sit right up front at the feet of the corps coordinators so that they'll know we're meek and humble." I looked at her in disbelief. I couldn't believe my ears.
I was discusted. Could this really be what God wanted from me? Could this be what being a 'leader' was all about?
Anyhow, I sat at the back and she went to the front. The next day, I was once again called into the coordinator's office and told that his wife felt I had a bad attitude.
Go figure!
-->
It was a hoop-jumping joke.
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outandabout
"Lets go sit right up front at the feet of the corps coordinators so that they'll know we're meek and humble."
ha ha ha ha ha ha
:D--> ewwwwww 
:(-->
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GeorgeStGeorge
When I look back at my last BC (the one who booted me), I have mixed emotions, because he was really uncomfortable with confrontation. He really had to work hard to develop the callous arrogance required for the job. I wonder if he and his wife are still in.
George
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Belle
Oh, A La - that reminds me of my ex writing letters to people THANKING them for LOVING us enough to spit on us and tell us how awful we are.
:(-->
He probably did the same thing at HQ when they accused him of the most idiotic things. They have him pretty broken down to the point that I have serious doubts about his ability to ever recover, especially since he's so bitter about me leaving.
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