Also, I debated with myself on whether to bring this out in public, and have decided that it's for the best. Maybe this inside info will help force some accountability from the Wizard of Is.
Supposedly, all of that money from ole's settlement was going to help run Ole's mother's nursing home and up until she died Ole himself did not recieve a penny. It was explained to me that Ole's hands were off of it and that Harry took care of Ole's finances in that respect. Then, after Ole's mother died, the monies continud to accrue in an annuity until sometime from Merrill Lynch, within the last five or six years or so, contacted Ole (through Harry) and told him that the money was just sitting there and what did Ole want to do with it? This helps explain why Ole never tithed on it. Supposedly, he gave it all to his mother's nursing home and after she died it just sat there accruing for a while. See? That's what JB told me that Ole told him when confronted on it. JB said he was like, "Hey, Ole, you're not broke. What the hell?" This explanation satisfied his curiosity.
What say you, ex-TFI people?

Maybe I have a very simple view of things, but it is my understanding that only God can deliver judgment on others.

If someone like Ole claims to be speaking directly from God (!), then his actions should be beyond question - he should be walking his talk!

I am busy reading Wendy Duncan's book, and have read [i:a935a5c0f7]The Dallas Observer[/i:a935a5c0f7] reports on Ole. All I can say, from my removed viewpoint, which although removed is not totally ignorant, is that there are definitely cult-like aspects to TFI, and they are very much centred around the cult of personality.

Note also the us-versus-them mindset: You are either in or out, and if you are out, you are rejected.

Man, the whole time that I was with TFI, and in all of my early postings, I was feeling MOST Irie-I. At least it's not crack, and if it weren't for the herb I don't know how I could have watched all that TBN. But I have a real tendancy to abuse it, and this troubles me greatly. Right now I am in an environment in which it is simply not available, and so in a sense feel safer for it.

I have just finished reading Wendy Duncan's Book on the Trintity Foundation, "I Can't Hear God Anymore". I feel it has some important things to say.

My reasoning in putting it (my using) out there like that was so they coudn't use it against me later. Proactive-like. So, I brought it out myself to show that I am not hiding anything, which is more than one can say for TFI. Why should I be afraid to tell the truth about myself in a public forum, anyway? A lot of people smoke the herb, and a lot of people are recovering from addictions of different kinds. What do I have to hide? It also ensures that I have to be honest about it later, like, I have prevented myself from lying later on because it could so easily come back to me. You know? That was my reasoning in putting it out in public. We're airing all kinds of dirty laundry here, so I thought I'd air mine out too. To CMA. See?

Ole always says that it's his job to hang around and throw some grenades to keep people accountable and transparent. Well, I've just tossed a few in his direction. Let's see if he can practice what he preaches. Unbalancedly yours,
B

Well, I seriously question Zeusor if you would have come out with the truth unless you had seen it as beneficial to your case against Trinity. By the way I sympathize with anyone caught in addictive behavior patterns. I hope you will not lie to yourself and justify your addiction. I would also say that Ole's teachings have deeply resonated with my experiences in finding freedom from my own serious addiction.(crack cocaine) The reality that we are powerless to help ourselves(one of TFI's teachings) is central to recovering from a dependency on anything but God.

I have to agree with Doug on a seperate point though. Specifically that given the brand of absolute honesty that Ole seems to expect, it would be disturbingly hypocritical for him to not come totally clean himself. Maybe TFI serves "steak" and the Observer served "hamburger." That does not justify a lie, especially for an organization that demands relentless accountablility. If Ole has been deceptive, even with details, I hope he would come forward and confess it to the best of his knowledge.

By the way Doug, have you confronted anyone at TFI directly about this stuff? Do they refuse to talk to you, or are you avoiding it? I know that Ole has for instance confronted Benny Hinn about the issues? Have you given him that same kind of courtesy?

Actually, NathanA, I admitted it to them in several private emails before I ever posted it publicly. I wrote Ole directly. I asked them if we could still be friends and if I could still have a place at the table of fellowship with them. I never recieved any reply back, other than from Pete, who called me personally to tell me to leave him alone. I want them to know that I AM sorry and that I regret what I had done there. I lied and I regret it. Nobody ever contacted me in return, emailed to say that they forgive me (no invidividuals ever wrote me back), much less that they acknowledge my repentance. So yes, I admitted it to them privately, via email, before I ever outed myslef as a pothead here. And they shut me out of the Yahoo! group and Pete, in effect, called me personally to shun me. What does THAT say?

There is a huge gap between Ole's talk and Ole's walk. Ask anybody who has lived around and associated with him closely for any length of time. Trust me (us) man, he's an abusive a**hole. A 100% hypocrite. I only worked for TFI for five months and left with a totally bad taste in my mouth. One time there was a homeless guy that came in for lunch and I was introducing him around in the Lair. I got to Ole and teasingly said, "Oh, and this is Ole. He's this nice ole man that we let hang out." Then with a laugh I told out guest that I was kidding and that Ole was TFI's founder and president. Ole flashed me a very angry look and said "Yeah, I'll show you how nice I am." Within a few days, he started putting the squeeze on me to move out. Then the Observer piece came out. That was the last straw for me.

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NathanA
By the way Doug, have you confronted anyone at TFI directly about this stuff? Do they refuse to talk to you, or are you avoiding it? I know that Ole has for instance confronted Benny Hinn about the issues? Have you given him that same kind of courtesy?

Since leaving TFI, I have sent numerous emails to either John Rutledge or Gary Buckner, the two chief elders and Ole's lieutenants. Most of the time they do not extend me the courtesy of a response, but they will occasionally send something patronizing my way. After awhile, I sort of gave up trying to have a real conversation with them. I did send an email directly to John after his disgusting little piece in the [i:f03d8cfe7a]D Magazine[/i:f03d8cfe7a] blog, but he did not respond.

Are you sure Ole has confronted Benny Hinn directly? Do you have evidence of that, or are you just taking Ole at his word?