Yep. Chalk up another one for "infallibility". Maybe that's why it got so bad. Funny, a lot of the cuts could not be deemed "spiritually" right, either. I think they chose the path of least resistance. Get rid of anyone with an ounce of goodness, or sincerity. They would be less likely to come back and bite you in the foot.
Those proven to be Hitler-like seem to be immune to this kind of treatment. He sure did end up with an "active" corps that was full time; but whew, look at what he ended up with.
I have had a few suspicions for a very long time.
The then limb coordinator here, yep, mr. bread and vegetables guy again, seemed to have the mental acumen of a jackass. I mean, really, really DUMB. Probably still can't negotiate himself out of a wet paper bag. But his wife! Wowser, she was a "looker"! And she was smart.
I kept asking myself how such a idiot could be on the corpses full time honor roll, put in charge of a limb, and eventually put in charge of a region as the case is now. Only one answer seemed to keep coming up in my mind..
quote:Yep. Chalk up another one for "infallibility". Maybe that's why it got so bad.
Mr. H......yeah, imo it became exponentially worse in twi when the corps went full-time.
Martinfail couldn't stomach the thought of his corps on payroll without micromanaged accountability. Week after week, the policies were coming out of the trunk office to put some structure to this new "revelation."
One of the major thrusts at this time was reporting back. The faxes were flying back and forth all hours of the day. It was a crazy time.....and martinfail's corps meetings were simply a time of diversion and shifting blame.
And, let's not forget.....when all graduated corps went full time, that meant that twi was SOLELY RESPONSIBLE to meet the financial needs of these employees. If they traveled to Word in Business, then twi was responsible for this expense. Thus, only about 30 corps nationwide were "selected" to attend!
I still believe that the MAJOR REASON why the roa was stopped was financial. Imagine having some 600 corps travel to Ohio with their families for two weeks....and all the expenses that would incur? Everything now that the corps did or implemented was a twi expense. And, this didn't even approach the subject of corps children. What about in a few years??When lcm cancelled the roa because of devil spirit infiltration, I believe that this was simply smoke & mirrors.
It soon became apparent that EVERY OVERRIDING DECISION of twi became a financial decision. The monster was eating away all the incoming revenue........and the monster was GROWING.
Yes, this "revelation" to put all graduated corps full-time changed ALL the dynamics of twi. It was unprecedented and it totally blew up in martinfail's face.
How ironic.....to think that lcm was constantly condemning those who had investments in stocks and bonds. With great adamancy, he said that the best place to invest one's money was to ABUNDANTLY SHARE TO TWI.
Money, money, money.......the trustees ALWAYS were focused on the dollars.
And then, when one strips away all the "spiritual reasons" for this full-time corps experiment......lcm did not do his homework. He went into this "investment" on an arrogant whim.
Well, I think we could say one thing.. he did end up with a corps that was a lot like him! But this wonderful limb coordinator- full time corps. Unbelievable. I think he may have been slightly an exception to the rule. Martindale may have been twisted, evil, and generally a megalomaniac, but he was not that stupid. Maybe the guy got kicked in the head a few too many times by his pet horse in his youth.. I don't know.. but he was not only chosen to remain full time, but was ORDAINED, the "best of the best".
Makes me wonder what the price for being clergy was, at least in recent years, shortly before martinfail's departure. And like a nice, "renewed mind" wafer, I set aside my suspicions as being "firey darts of da adversary". But I could not bring myself to the point of really trusting this guy. I think he paid "the ultimate price" for ordination, others have. Has enough "goods" on them, they could never dismiss him.
Some may view it as conjecture, and maybe it is. But other similar suspicions have proven to be true. This one- no, at least not yet.
The path of least resistance would DEFINITELY not include trying to sweep this guy under the rug. They axed whoever they thought would be not be a threat, or a minimal threat.
Still it makes me wonder: what in the world was loy thinking, or was he thinking, Or did he just go off the deep end? Did he hear voices saying that they oughta go full time and think it was God talking to him? Maybe he was victim of Dr. Hoffman's "headache" remedy..
"Joshua, Vic is dead. therefore, arise, go, taking as many poor saps as you can with you, via the full time corps thingy, into da "promised land". You do not have to be afraid of the accountants; I will pay all the bills". Sounds pretty "biblical", heh heh.
It couldn't be entirely attributed to ignorance either. He did somehow end up with a college degree, Jock or not.
I kind of like threads of this nature. Reminds me about some of the questions and doubts that I sometimes had and just plain dismissed thinking "well, that just can't be right"..
I remember when I first heard that the Corps were all going to be salaried. I thought, "Either LCM is believing for a miracle, or he's an idiot." Turn all the cash-supplying Corps into cash sinks, all the while running off everyone else who was sending in ABS. I guess the miracle never appeared. -->
quote:I kind of like threads of this nature. Reminds me about some of the questions and doubts that I sometimes had and just plain dismissed thinking "well, that just can't be right"..
I like threads like this too....that's why I start them.
For me, it helps to dismantle the twi-machinery and logically explain its component parts. In this manner, others can see how misjudgements, agendas, and adulterous leaders strayed further and further from scriptural basis and ended in a desolate wilderness.
Wierwille died before his agendas were fully exposed. But martindale in trying to follow wierwille's mentoring, is a classic example of tarnished character, moral/spiritual depravity and self destruction by the age of 51.
And since twi is a class-based organization, it isn't any small wonder why they still are scrambling to implement a new foundational class again.
Yep. And of course it will have to be taught by the Hitlers, the lowest of the low, the only ones "qualified" to be marked as faithful in "the household". Cripe, who can be left to teach it? They've run off just about all the folks that had any shred of smarts, decency and self-respect- or any real biblical insight, for that matter.
Bob, it may be a good possibility. Any striking resemblences to my description? If you found impressions from the horses hooves in his forehead, we may have a positive identification..
quote:All kinds of reasons were given. Blame was shifted onto the "unbelieving" corps and other committed followers. And by June of 1998, "new revelation" was given to eliminate the full-time corps mode of operation.
Martinfail kept boasting of God's prevailing word and all......but the damage was done. It was obvious that lcm was not tapped into God's divine revelations. He was exposed for all to see.
And for the record.....for those of you who were long gone from twi, Howard Allen stepped aside (asked to retire??) as secretary/treasurer shortly thereafter.
Sometimes, the timing of things makes one go....hmmmmmmm.
Howard wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but even HE saw the handwriting on the wall. Lcm had about as much chance of "getting it right" as a one legged man in an foot kicking contest. Vic would have done better to put Tick in charge.
I've been busy, Skyrider, but saw your post. You nailed it! I agree.
______________________________________
I still believe that the MAJOR REASON why the roa was stopped was financial. Imagine having some 600 corps travel to Ohio with their families for two weeks....and all the expenses that would incur? Everything now that the corps did or implemented was a twi expense.
________________________________________
Your insight into this lame foot decision is insightful. (Almost sounds like you were in the thick of it :)--> ) I first heard it announced by LCM at a WAP Advanced Class in Rome City I believe. I just sat there stunned and shared with my wife that it is a mistake. He put the cart before the horse.
Some of us have run small businesses and we know common sense needs to prevail. He, on the other hand, had no business experience in real life whatsoever, to my knowledge.
I think he thought "If we teach it they will come", referring to his multimillion dollar WAP series of classes. He should have tested out the product first on the general population to see if ANYONE was the least bit interested. They weren't. The product SUCKED in my opinion.
He also forgot the basic principle.... "You get what you pay for." And we all know how pathetically these full time Corps were paid.
Can you share more about how they had to report back on EVERYTHING? I remember Paul & Phyll here having to do insane amounts of paperwork and reports and faxes. Also no cable TV and things like that. Some people do not have a clue about this brief peried of insanity and failure.
LCM should have been fired, not Howard. Another calssic bad example of "Your abundant sharing at Work"
I distinctly remember Martindale saying regarding the full time decision that if it didn't work, and they had to go back to the Corps getting "secular" employment, the ministry would have failed.
Fast forward to the announcement that the Corps was going off full time employment with TWI: the spin was not that there was any failure involved, in fact, it was God's will! Now the highly trained and spiritual Way Corps would be able to move the Word even greater than before since they would be out in the job market; people would hear the Word who otherwise might not because The Corps would be working!
The biggest laugh was that Martindale was promoting that the Way Corps could easily move into middle management jobs due to their experiencve leading people. -->
Now I know that some of you Corps grads were pretty smart and started your own sucessful businesses, or were professionals in your field. (and you guys lost out when, after dropping your career or business, you had to start all over again a few years later because "revelation changed") but there were a lot of Corps grads out there who couldn't think their way out of a paper bag, and some of these fine specimens were angling for management jobs!
quote:Some of us have run small businesses and we know common sense needs to prevail. He, on the other hand, had no business experience in real life whatsoever, to my knowledge.
Nothing like sweating the next payroll to build your character is there? Been there, done that.
quote:I distinctly remember Martindale saying regarding the full time decision that if it didn't work, and they had to go back to the Corps getting "secular" employment, the ministry would have failed.
Humm, you mean he didn't address the possiblity that maybe he was a false prophet?
I second John's statement that Sky, you sound as though you were in the "upper echelon".
I have a small personal request.
MC.Hammer,
I remember this time very well. It was when my parents were first made "corps alumni" for not being able to make thier budget fit what Martinsmell thought was "need basis" and then M&A for the first time for not being fellowship coordinators (because they had just taken that away from them by making them alumns). I also know it well because my brother was just being released from residence to become one of the first full timers.
Now I will be the first to point out that my family is seriously misguided, lost, and not the brightest when it comes to the fact that they are still in. But, what they are not lacking in is "goodness and sincerity" or "decency and self-respect". Though, they may be lacking in the self-esteem and self-worth. In spite of his involvement my brother is still one of the smartest people I know, and they are all still caring individuals. They have just been beaten and pressured and abused into submission and they lack the rebellion and "open mind" that I somehow have. So, I would appreciate it if you and anyone else can remember that this is a cult and it was a cult before LCM made this fateful decision and it was still a cult when you and everyone else were innies. I would probably be right in assuming that unlike my two brothers and I you were not born into or raised from a very young age in twi. They don't know anything else.
Sorry to sound like I'm raging. I'm not, but I do think these are important things to remember when we start throwing stones at that cult that we all know and hate.
I promise I won't start with "Your Momma so..." insults. ;)-->
I had very good friends who were my twig/fellowship coordinators that went to ROA after quitting their jobs. They came home unemployed with no real explanation. They were simply told they were not corps material. They didn't even know why. Sadly, they were too nice too put up a fight. My guess is they told someone about their plans to have three kids and probably looked like too much of an expense.
The amazing thing is that they left and have now gone back. :(-->
Lindy, no aspersions to them were intended.. I made sure I left a loophole- they ran off MOST, I think I said about all, of the good folks, because people like you and others still have relatives or friends in that are good and decent. I know a few of them, and don't have anything bad to say about them either.
I sure feel bad for what they did to your parents. It does prove a point- they chose to "ax" the good ones off the payroll. Still path of least resistance. It sounds like they don't have an evil or vindictive bone in their bodies.
Can you share more about how they had to report back on EVERYTHING? I remember Paul & Phyll here having to do insane ******s of paperwork and reports and faxes. Also no cable TV and things like that. Some people do not have a clue about this brief peried of insanity and failure.
igotout.....all the corps were inundated with reporting back to twi leadership. I tend to believe that the trunk office issued this paper blizzard to appease martinfail's screaming episodes and micromanaged leadership style. Quite obvious to me.....martinfail didn't trust the corps to do their ministerial duties.
The paperwork was multi-faceted. Branch guys reported to the limb, the limb to region, the region to trunk, the trunk to bot. The following are some of the reports that I recall:
--Time-Analysis Report....each week, this report was a projected schedule of the corps person's week detailing 6am - 11pm in 30-minute time slots. After about one year, lcm instructed region & limb guys to scrutinize these reports and strongly recommend changes (each week).
--Witnessing Report....each week, this report was a detailed analysis of how many in your area went witnessing, the number of contacts, the number of follow-ups, the number who attended fellowships as a result, the number who signed up for WAP, etc.
--Petty Cash Report....each branch, limb and region were allocated a level of petty cash. Branch corps, generally, consisted of two or three fellowships and didn't utilze petty cash reports except for times when lcm designated 8 consecutive public/formal branch meetings during the videotaping of WAP. All expenses over $100 had to be cleared by the region guy. The region guy could spend up to $300 before the trunk got involved.
--Yearly Budget Reports....this report had to be cleared through twi's personnel department. With some 600+ corps/families on payroll, this was a monumental task to sort thru the "needs" of every corps family, every situation. Some parents had a child in a musical instrument class, or a karate class, or a voice lessons class, etc. Martindale blasted the corps on a corps meeting for spending "excess money" on their children.
--[Note: Pet policies, gift-giving policies, pregnancy policies, traveling policies, cable tv policies, etc......these came into play as the mountain of corps expenses soared far beyond anything martindale had foreseen.]
--Monthly Progress Report....(whatever it was called??) detailed each branch's progress on class sign-ups (fnd, int, ac, etc). Month after month, it seemed like there were always goose eggs (zeros) in the blanks.
--Trunk Faxes.....reporting back on specific policies or corps meeting assignments was common. The corps were responsible to listen to lcm's sts tape on tuesday or early wednesday each week BEFORE the corps phone hookup. Trunk faxes were common and demanded a quick response. Sometimes, corps would be up until midnight to meet the fax deadline.
--Greetings Faxed to Trunk....as the paper-insantiy escalated, the corps seemed to be competing as to who could send in the most heartfelt greeting for twi's anniversary, for thanksgiving, for twi's holiday party, for the new year's, etc.
--Thank You Cards.....it became mandatory for each branch, each area to send a unique, handmade, personalized card to lcm after each WAP class. Every student was to sign the card and detail what blessed them specifically in the class.
Those who had bigger branches, bigger limbs, bigger regions had MORE paperwork to do. It wasn't any secret why MANY region couples had no kids. No time.
There were more reports, but I think you get the gist of it. I know lots of people criticize their corps leadership, but from one who was in the midst of this paper blizzard.....it was one he!! of a ride!
quote:It soon became apparent that EVERY OVERRIDING DECISION of twi became a financial decision. The monster was eating away all the incoming revenue........and the monster was GROWING.
To stop this MONSTER from eating twi out of house and home, lcm became the "financial head over every corps and corps household." He dictated how money was to be spent. He dictated who could and should get pregnant. He dictated the slashing of all extra-curricular activities of the children.
...no music lessons
...no dance lessons
...no voice lessons
...no tutoring
...no karate
...no pets
...no gift-giving to corps
...no traveling to other states
...no extended (5 day) vacations
...no college preparations
...no retirement funds (???)
It was financial reckless abandonment for three years of my life!!!
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skyrider
Ten years ago, mr. martinfail began scheming another escalated attempt to rev-up the corps. With ongoing efforts to purge homos and home mortgages from twi's ranks, loy waybrained a plan that he said
skyrider
I like threads like this too....that's why I start them. For me, it helps to dismantle the twi-machinery and logically explain its component parts. In this manner, others can see how misjudgements,
Ham
Yep. Chalk up another one for "infallibility". Maybe that's why it got so bad. Funny, a lot of the cuts could not be deemed "spiritually" right, either. I think they chose the path of least resistance. Get rid of anyone with an ounce of goodness, or sincerity. They would be less likely to come back and bite you in the foot.
Those proven to be Hitler-like seem to be immune to this kind of treatment. He sure did end up with an "active" corps that was full time; but whew, look at what he ended up with.
I have had a few suspicions for a very long time.
The then limb coordinator here, yep, mr. bread and vegetables guy again, seemed to have the mental acumen of a jackass. I mean, really, really DUMB. Probably still can't negotiate himself out of a wet paper bag. But his wife! Wowser, she was a "looker"! And she was smart.
I kept asking myself how such a idiot could be on the corpses full time honor roll, put in charge of a limb, and eventually put in charge of a region as the case is now. Only one answer seemed to keep coming up in my mind..
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skyrider
Mr. H......yeah, imo it became exponentially worse in twi when the corps went full-time.
Martinfail couldn't stomach the thought of his corps on payroll without micromanaged accountability. Week after week, the policies were coming out of the trunk office to put some structure to this new "revelation."
One of the major thrusts at this time was reporting back. The faxes were flying back and forth all hours of the day. It was a crazy time.....and martinfail's corps meetings were simply a time of diversion and shifting blame.
And, let's not forget.....when all graduated corps went full time, that meant that twi was SOLELY RESPONSIBLE to meet the financial needs of these employees. If they traveled to Word in Business, then twi was responsible for this expense. Thus, only about 30 corps nationwide were "selected" to attend!
I still believe that the MAJOR REASON why the roa was stopped was financial. Imagine having some 600 corps travel to Ohio with their families for two weeks....and all the expenses that would incur? Everything now that the corps did or implemented was a twi expense. And, this didn't even approach the subject of corps children. What about in a few years??When lcm cancelled the roa because of devil spirit infiltration, I believe that this was simply smoke & mirrors.
It soon became apparent that EVERY OVERRIDING DECISION of twi became a financial decision. The monster was eating away all the incoming revenue........and the monster was GROWING.
Yes, this "revelation" to put all graduated corps full-time changed ALL the dynamics of twi. It was unprecedented and it totally blew up in martinfail's face.
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skyrider
How ironic.....to think that lcm was constantly condemning those who had investments in stocks and bonds. With great adamancy, he said that the best place to invest one's money was to ABUNDANTLY SHARE TO TWI.
Money, money, money.......the trustees ALWAYS were focused on the dollars.
And then, when one strips away all the "spiritual reasons" for this full-time corps experiment......lcm did not do his homework. He went into this "investment" on an arrogant whim.
It's like....he threw the dice. And lost.
Oooops.
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Ham
Well, I think we could say one thing.. he did end up with a corps that was a lot like him! But this wonderful limb coordinator- full time corps. Unbelievable. I think he may have been slightly an exception to the rule. Martindale may have been twisted, evil, and generally a megalomaniac, but he was not that stupid. Maybe the guy got kicked in the head a few too many times by his pet horse in his youth.. I don't know.. but he was not only chosen to remain full time, but was ORDAINED, the "best of the best".
Makes me wonder what the price for being clergy was, at least in recent years, shortly before martinfail's departure. And like a nice, "renewed mind" wafer, I set aside my suspicions as being "firey darts of da adversary". But I could not bring myself to the point of really trusting this guy. I think he paid "the ultimate price" for ordination, others have. Has enough "goods" on them, they could never dismiss him.
Some may view it as conjecture, and maybe it is. But other similar suspicions have proven to be true. This one- no, at least not yet.
The path of least resistance would DEFINITELY not include trying to sweep this guy under the rug. They axed whoever they thought would be not be a threat, or a minimal threat.
Still it makes me wonder: what in the world was loy thinking, or was he thinking, Or did he just go off the deep end? Did he hear voices saying that they oughta go full time and think it was God talking to him? Maybe he was victim of Dr. Hoffman's "headache" remedy..
"Joshua, Vic is dead. therefore, arise, go, taking as many poor saps as you can with you, via the full time corps thingy, into da "promised land". You do not have to be afraid of the accountants; I will pay all the bills". Sounds pretty "biblical", heh heh.
It couldn't be entirely attributed to ignorance either. He did somehow end up with a college degree, Jock or not.
I kind of like threads of this nature. Reminds me about some of the questions and doubts that I sometimes had and just plain dismissed thinking "well, that just can't be right"..
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GeorgeStGeorge
I remember when I first heard that the Corps were all going to be salaried. I thought, "Either LCM is believing for a miracle, or he's an idiot." Turn all the cash-supplying Corps into cash sinks, all the while running off everyone else who was sending in ABS. I guess the miracle never appeared.
-->
George
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skyrider
I like threads like this too....that's why I start them.
For me, it helps to dismantle the twi-machinery and logically explain its component parts. In this manner, others can see how misjudgements, agendas, and adulterous leaders strayed further and further from scriptural basis and ended in a desolate wilderness.
Wierwille died before his agendas were fully exposed. But martindale in trying to follow wierwille's mentoring, is a classic example of tarnished character, moral/spiritual depravity and self destruction by the age of 51.
And since twi is a class-based organization, it isn't any small wonder why they still are scrambling to implement a new foundational class again.
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Ham
Yep. And of course it will have to be taught by the Hitlers, the lowest of the low, the only ones "qualified" to be marked as faithful in "the household". Cripe, who can be left to teach it? They've run off just about all the folks that had any shred of smarts, decency and self-respect- or any real biblical insight, for that matter.
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Bob
Mr. Hammeroni,
You're beloved limb coordinator wouldn't happen to be the region coordinator of New England now?
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Ham
Bob, it may be a good possibility. Any striking resemblences to my description? If you found impressions from the horses hooves in his forehead, we may have a positive identification..
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skyrider
And for the record.....for those of you who were long gone from twi, Howard Allen stepped aside (asked to retire??) as secretary/treasurer shortly thereafter.
Sometimes, the timing of things makes one go....hmmmmmmm.
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GrouchoMarxJr
Howard wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but even HE saw the handwriting on the wall. Lcm had about as much chance of "getting it right" as a one legged man in an foot kicking contest. Vic would have done better to put Tick in charge.
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igotout
I've been busy, Skyrider, but saw your post. You nailed it! I agree.
______________________________________
I still believe that the MAJOR REASON why the roa was stopped was financial. Imagine having some 600 corps travel to Ohio with their families for two weeks....and all the expenses that would incur? Everything now that the corps did or implemented was a twi expense.
________________________________________
Your insight into this lame foot decision is insightful. (Almost sounds like you were in the thick of it
:)--> ) I first heard it announced by LCM at a WAP Advanced Class in Rome City I believe. I just sat there stunned and shared with my wife that it is a mistake. He put the cart before the horse.
Some of us have run small businesses and we know common sense needs to prevail. He, on the other hand, had no business experience in real life whatsoever, to my knowledge.
I think he thought "If we teach it they will come", referring to his multimillion dollar WAP series of classes. He should have tested out the product first on the general population to see if ANYONE was the least bit interested. They weren't. The product SUCKED in my opinion.
He also forgot the basic principle.... "You get what you pay for." And we all know how pathetically these full time Corps were paid.
Can you share more about how they had to report back on EVERYTHING? I remember Paul & Phyll here having to do insane amounts of paperwork and reports and faxes. Also no cable TV and things like that. Some people do not have a clue about this brief peried of insanity and failure.
LCM should have been fired, not Howard. Another calssic bad example of "Your abundant sharing at Work"
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Oakspear
I distinctly remember Martindale saying regarding the full time decision that if it didn't work, and they had to go back to the Corps getting "secular" employment, the ministry would have failed.
Fast forward to the announcement that the Corps was going off full time employment with TWI: the spin was not that there was any failure involved, in fact, it was God's will! Now the highly trained and spiritual Way Corps would be able to move the Word even greater than before since they would be out in the job market; people would hear the Word who otherwise might not because The Corps would be working!
The biggest laugh was that Martindale was promoting that the Way Corps could easily move into middle management jobs due to their experiencve leading people.
-->
Now I know that some of you Corps grads were pretty smart and started your own sucessful businesses, or were professionals in your field. (and you guys lost out when, after dropping your career or business, you had to start all over again a few years later because "revelation changed") but there were a lot of Corps grads out there who couldn't think their way out of a paper bag, and some of these fine specimens were angling for management jobs!
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Oakspear
And what other job tells you how you can spend the money that they pay you?
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Jim
Nothing like sweating the next payroll to build your character is there? Been there, done that.
It's clear that Loy hadn't.
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Jim
Skyrider,
Has anyone ever told you you're a damn fine writer? You are.
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Jim
Humm, you mean he didn't address the possiblity that maybe he was a false prophet?
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lindyhopper
I second John's statement that Sky, you sound as though you were in the "upper echelon".
I have a small personal request.
MC.Hammer,
I remember this time very well. It was when my parents were first made "corps alumni" for not being able to make thier budget fit what Martinsmell thought was "need basis" and then M&A for the first time for not being fellowship coordinators (because they had just taken that away from them by making them alumns). I also know it well because my brother was just being released from residence to become one of the first full timers.
Now I will be the first to point out that my family is seriously misguided, lost, and not the brightest when it comes to the fact that they are still in. But, what they are not lacking in is "goodness and sincerity" or "decency and self-respect". Though, they may be lacking in the self-esteem and self-worth. In spite of his involvement my brother is still one of the smartest people I know, and they are all still caring individuals. They have just been beaten and pressured and abused into submission and they lack the rebellion and "open mind" that I somehow have. So, I would appreciate it if you and anyone else can remember that this is a cult and it was a cult before LCM made this fateful decision and it was still a cult when you and everyone else were innies. I would probably be right in assuming that unlike my two brothers and I you were not born into or raised from a very young age in twi. They don't know anything else.
Sorry to sound like I'm raging. I'm not, but I do think these are important things to remember when we start throwing stones at that cult that we all know and hate.
I promise I won't start with "Your Momma so..." insults.
;)-->
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lindyhopper
BTW, Sky,
...all very good observations and insight.
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excathedra
((((((( lindy ))))))) you're right
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JustThinking
Lindy,
Very good points.
I had very good friends who were my twig/fellowship coordinators that went to ROA after quitting their jobs. They came home unemployed with no real explanation. They were simply told they were not corps material. They didn't even know why. Sadly, they were too nice too put up a fight. My guess is they told someone about their plans to have three kids and probably looked like too much of an expense.
The amazing thing is that they left and have now gone back.
:(-->
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Ham
Lindy, no aspersions to them were intended.. I made sure I left a loophole- they ran off MOST, I think I said about all, of the good folks, because people like you and others still have relatives or friends in that are good and decent. I know a few of them, and don't have anything bad to say about them either.
I sure feel bad for what they did to your parents. It does prove a point- they chose to "ax" the good ones off the payroll. Still path of least resistance. It sounds like they don't have an evil or vindictive bone in their bodies.
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skyrider
Thanks, Jim....for the compliment. Appreciate it.
igotout.....all the corps were inundated with reporting back to twi leadership. I tend to believe that the trunk office issued this paper blizzard to appease martinfail's screaming episodes and micromanaged leadership style. Quite obvious to me.....martinfail didn't trust the corps to do their ministerial duties.
The paperwork was multi-faceted. Branch guys reported to the limb, the limb to region, the region to trunk, the trunk to bot. The following are some of the reports that I recall:
--Time-Analysis Report....each week, this report was a projected schedule of the corps person's week detailing 6am - 11pm in 30-minute time slots. After about one year, lcm instructed region & limb guys to scrutinize these reports and strongly recommend changes (each week).
--Witnessing Report....each week, this report was a detailed analysis of how many in your area went witnessing, the number of contacts, the number of follow-ups, the number who attended fellowships as a result, the number who signed up for WAP, etc.
--Petty Cash Report....each branch, limb and region were allocated a level of petty cash. Branch corps, generally, consisted of two or three fellowships and didn't utilze petty cash reports except for times when lcm designated 8 consecutive public/formal branch meetings during the videotaping of WAP. All expenses over $100 had to be cleared by the region guy. The region guy could spend up to $300 before the trunk got involved.
--Yearly Budget Reports....this report had to be cleared through twi's personnel department. With some 600+ corps/families on payroll, this was a monumental task to sort thru the "needs" of every corps family, every situation. Some parents had a child in a musical instrument class, or a karate class, or a voice lessons class, etc. Martindale blasted the corps on a corps meeting for spending "excess money" on their children.
--[Note: Pet policies, gift-giving policies, pregnancy policies, traveling policies, cable tv policies, etc......these came into play as the mountain of corps expenses soared far beyond anything martindale had foreseen.]
--Monthly Progress Report....(whatever it was called??) detailed each branch's progress on class sign-ups (fnd, int, ac, etc). Month after month, it seemed like there were always goose eggs (zeros) in the blanks.
--Trunk Faxes.....reporting back on specific policies or corps meeting assignments was common. The corps were responsible to listen to lcm's sts tape on tuesday or early wednesday each week BEFORE the corps phone hookup. Trunk faxes were common and demanded a quick response. Sometimes, corps would be up until midnight to meet the fax deadline.
--Greetings Faxed to Trunk....as the paper-insantiy escalated, the corps seemed to be competing as to who could send in the most heartfelt greeting for twi's anniversary, for thanksgiving, for twi's holiday party, for the new year's, etc.
--Thank You Cards.....it became mandatory for each branch, each area to send a unique, handmade, personalized card to lcm after each WAP class. Every student was to sign the card and detail what blessed them specifically in the class.
Those who had bigger branches, bigger limbs, bigger regions had MORE paperwork to do. It wasn't any secret why MANY region couples had no kids. No time.
There were more reports, but I think you get the gist of it. I know lots of people criticize their corps leadership, but from one who was in the midst of this paper blizzard.....it was one he!! of a ride!
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skyrider
To stop this MONSTER from eating twi out of house and home, lcm became the "financial head over every corps and corps household." He dictated how money was to be spent. He dictated who could and should get pregnant. He dictated the slashing of all extra-curricular activities of the children.
...no music lessons
...no dance lessons
...no voice lessons
...no tutoring
...no karate
...no pets
...no gift-giving to corps
...no traveling to other states
...no extended (5 day) vacations
...no college preparations
...no retirement funds (???)
It was financial reckless abandonment for three years of my life!!!
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