Way-Showers. Pretty sure "in good standing" meant you "tithed" over a certain amount each month. They justify ANY abuse by saying it was reproof and you needed it. Geer repeatedly promotes himself as the only man left in The Way Ministry who is fully informed, spiritually adept, and capable of leading the Ministry and stemming its speedy decline. If you weren't in good standing, you didn't get tapes of the way singers or of "reverend" Martindale. He rightly exhorted them to reactivate critical thought rather than just change from being a Wierwille disciple to a Bullinger disciple. Its not interested in interrogating deep questions of being and it doesnt hold up well to fact based challenges. That was deep, honest and almost liberating because it brought some of us closer to understanding as well as closure. The false apostles disguises are being pulled from their faces, and the virgins who were led astray are returning to the one true Jesus, Spirit, and gospel, and the church of Jesus Christ. Take The Diary of Anne Frank for example. I've even attended a wedding at HQ. I am sorry for your loss. No. Experiences, questions, observations about offshoots who trace their roots to The Way International, Off-shoot of The Way (formerly Christian Educational Services), Accused sex predator Victor Barnard a victim's story. Heads up on Another Splinter off the Way International Tree. Many of us were had gotten the impression that she was back. Cules son las creencias bsicas del budismo? Are other families struggling to watch their loved ones involved? Pacific West Fellowship,13 headed by Steve Sann (who also was once a Limb and Region Coordinator), seems to be the second most aggressive splinter group. endstream endobj 3 0 obj <> endobj 2 0 obj <> endobj 61 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 612.0 792.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 21 0 obj <> endobj 25 0 obj <> endobj 29 0 obj <> endobj 30 0 obj <>stream It begins to be the only thing you can do and the only people you can see. The Way, International Profile The Way International introduced sweeping changes at the annual Rock of Ages gathering last year. The leader was arrested recently as he had convinced the fellowship members to give him their eldest daughters which he physically and sexually abused for 9+ years until one girl escaped. 6 Albert Cliffe, Let Go and Let God (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1951), 157. Any time I needed to see a doctor (I've had chronic health issues) I had to do it in secret and lie about where I was going, and have the bills sent to fake addresses so no one would find out. Since then, The Way has sought to purge (that is, totally shun) all who do not tithe or who question Martindale on any issue. Homosexuals Purged, Wow Ambassadors Terminated, Martindale also hopes the new classes will hinder homosexuals from joining The Way, because he condemns homosexuality. And because we were Family Corp, children were added into the mix as well. (The PFAL classes had been open to anyone who paid the $50 fee.) But small IRA splinter groups have continued to launch sporadic attacks on security forces. Can you imagine? .~?mq3\n7C. That ego had gone to their heads; that the Adversary had gotten to them. Few know that many able scholars have effectively refuted some of Bullingers ideas. These classes replace the Power for Abundant Living (PFAL) classes by Way founder, Victor Paul Wierwille, who died of cancer in 1985 after losing an eye to the disease and suffering strokes. As a result, Martindale told everyone to eliminate this and other spirit-driven malignancies from Way circles. Again - really helpful and it has expanded my perspective as well as empathy much more. The group's misogyny was deeply ingrained while also being subtle at times. The group itself says it is a Christian ministry. When I was talking to my mom about climate change she just waved me off with Gods not going to let it get that bad! Oh. It is common for ex-Wayers to take several years to fully separate from The Way and reorient their lives. Christian can also help (ex-) Wayers through four basic steps of reorientation: 1) expose, 2) emotional reaction, 3) relearning, and 4) reconstruction. Although Wayers project a curt and indifferent attitude toward the many who have left the group, they have undoubtedly been hurt deeply in recent years. And as much I would dislike the idea of looking into my own rear view mirror her close friends and myself would deeply appreciate your vulnerability and transparency. Juedes is a Lutheran paster who has written extensively on the Way. To be honest, it sounds nice on paper in many ways. 4v$gi Many remember current leaders as friends, but at the same time despise them for wrongs they believe they have done or allowed. One Scripture passage (2 Cor. If you have done your reading about cults, then you are probably familiar with Dr. Steve Hassan's BITE model. New classes were also needed because the existing video version, filmed by Wierwille in 1967, was obviously dated in its style, production, and dress. I would lovingly suggest that your time might be more effectively spent honoring your friend's memory by educating others about the harm that cults cause and working with a counselor to process the grief of losing your friend twice - first to a cult and then to suicide. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. in English, I was well traveled as an Army wife, and never dreamed I would be embarking on events that would change my life forever. Although Guideposts helped popularize Cliffes writings and he claimed to be Anglican, Cliffe held New Thought beliefs, seeing God as impersonal principle. The Way International (TWI) has been on cult watchers' radar screens for decades. I can't speak much on what the formal organization is doing now but the splinter groups just don't have the financial or organizational power as they did before they split off. I told them never to bring up The Way in my presence again. In the meantime, I want to share about her thread with you. As well as the original post questions. Some people started their own non-Way affiliated Bible fellowships. Michael Rood is a self-proclaimed Messianic preacher who was ordained as a Christian minister in The Way International (TWI).. Rood has continued many of the themes and practices which made TWI theologically a cult of Christianity. That exes from his life are all crazy.. His appendices offered reasons Way leaders gave to justify adultery, along with his own rebuttals. There is a great diversity of emotions and viewpoints among those who have left The Way International. Spirit and Truth Fellowship International, Out of the Way: The Offshoots Latest Topics. The leader was arrested recently as he had convinced the fellowship members to give him their eldest daughters which he physically and sexually abused for 9+ years until one girl escaped. This thread is like a walk down memory lane - Sunday Service tapes, the Rock of Ages, Athletes of the Spirit, all the lingo others have quoted, and Martindale's violent tirades against homosexuality in the mid 90s bring me right back. Splintering and Subjugating.as night follows day, Remembering a woman of courage, who stood up to a monster. Geer is damaging to The Way because of his previous close ties to Wierwille. Offshoots - Splinter Groups : How Many Are There? Your experience brings so many new things into perspective and reflects the things we noted about her 10yrs when we were younger but never questioned because well how much can a teenager really articulate? When Wierwille wrote, he commonly used these mens writings and copied them, idea by idea and often word by word. In that same breathe, her sister/siblings believed she was waking up and coming to her own conclusion about her situation and the life she had created with the expectation that she would removing herself as they did during that similar age period of their lives. Wierwille as father, friend, and teacher, but both the Scriptures and the empirical evidence demand it. 3 Victor Paul Wierwille, Power for Abundant Living (New Knoxville, OH: American Christian Press, 1971), 119-20.4 Victor Paul Wierwille, Receiving the Holy Spirit Today, 6th ed. CES includes many past Way celebrities and clergy such as John and Pat Lynn, Ralph Dubofsky, Robert Belt, Sue Pierce, Tom Reahard, and John Schonheit. Sann, on the other hand, considers people like Lynn to have gone too far in rejecting valid teachings. These people were rarely spoken of again, and if they were it was in hushed tones. (New Knoxville, OH: American Christian Press, 1972), 209, 174, for Wierwilles claim that his book is the most original coverage of the subject, and p. 178 for his claim that God audibly promised to teach him directly and personally. People were eager to engage, but I dont think answers were ever very satisfying. A number of people died. We are all at a complete loss and clueless in some ways. This conflict has increased as ex-Wayers have persuaded many of their friends to leave Martindales group. Ex-Wayers also charge that The Way teaches falsely on the topics of believing, abundant sharing, tithing, interpretation of tongues, and athletes of the spirit (the belief that every warfare metaphor in the Epistles should be understood as an athletic metaphor instead). Somehow I always imagined theyd be better than the original TWI. Then there are all the other classes about specific topics. At 29yrs old. The reason it was called that was because we imagined the whole ministry all over the world as one big tree. TWI splinter group leader John Lynn wrote a letter in 2008 defending and praising "the old" Way International, proof that the old Way Arrogance lives on as well. And we have to consider the times: inspired by peace movements and anti-war efforts. And to answer your question, yes, people do commit suicide after being in the cult. I can remember being a teenager and being intellectually curious and asking a lot of questions. Sometime after reading that I came across Religion Trauma Syndrome (RTS) and learned about repressive cognitive dissonance. And if the world thought you were a good homosexual it was because you had an agenda to legitimize your perversion (the way Jewish people use the Holocaust to legitimize their ungodly faith).
the way international splinter groups