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NathanA
Thanks cultaware for your words. I actually have not asked Gary about how sufficient the accountability structure is. Good questions though. All I know is they say there is a basic 7 man board of elders, and that they have put down a few of Ole's ideas before.(ie. bringing homeless people to a large church and calling in a few news cameras) True, Ole is the leader, but the structure is not authoritarian. If it was, he wouldn't allow people to question him, nor would there be possibility that he could be voted out. Ole doesn't do what Benny Hinn does, and fire anybody who disagrees, nor only surround himself with people who agree. I know, you might say his control is psychological only, but the fact that he could be voted out nullifies that in my view. I will challenge Gary on this point though.

It is absolutely the case that Ole surrounds himself with people who agree with him. Anybody who disagrees is made to feel so uncomfortable that they eventually either capitulate to the group's point of view, or they leave.

Technically, it is true that Ole could be voted out, but Ole tightly controls the process of nominating the slate of directors presented to the membership in their annual meeting, who votes them up or down. Ole makes sure that his hand-picked board has a majority of people who are loyal to him personally. Theoretically, someone could come in and do a lot of Machiavellian manuevering to try to squeeze Ole out, but you would have to be a very skilled politician with a mastery of Robert's Rules of Order.

If there was any real accountability at Trinity Foundation they would have sought new leadership after the Observer article came out. Most non-profits would change leaders as a matter of course if their CEO became that controversial. The fact that this was not even considered proves my point about there not being any real accountability for Ole at Trinity Foundation.

NathanA,

I don't have as many problems with those two ideas as I do about hot seats and fire walking. I wish John and Gary would have nixed those two ideas instead (don't you?). If nothing else is true in this thread it is that Ole is an authoritarian leader! In what substantive way have Gary and John changed any of Ole's positions? I'll bet it is Ole's position that John and Gary don't reply here (ask them). It shouldn't be your job to protect and argue for them, should it? Where are they?

cultaware

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NathanA Posted: 11-25-2006 10:27 PM Post subject:

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One other thing I would like to clarify about Doug saying he saw Ole threaten to crush a man's larnyx. I said, "Truth is, I suspect it." I just want to say that I'm not sure about it. I'm not comfortable saying "I suspect it." I just don't know.

Dear NathanA:
As painful as these memories are for we expatriates; it is most painful to me because it was my throat that O~ had a hold of. Yes, he, in fact, meted out his self-styled divine justice on me, which left me voiceless for a week or more. But then, this is only one of several such episodes –to a greater or lesser extent – that he saw fit to exact over the years… to a number of us.
I have been reluctant to enter into this dialogue, until now, because, unlike many of my fellows, the pain of my decade-long relationship with O~ remains with me every day and still denies me sleep on an all too regular basis. Writing to you now forces me to recollect these acrid events and encounters that I would rather not bring the surface; however, after following this discourse for a while I would like to set the record straight for you about the person you have became an apologist for.
Let me begin by saying that I have no financial, literary, theological, or artistic interest in anything that has anything to do with O~ or his surrogate, TFI. Nor do I care to debate theology (I’ll leave that bone to ya’ll). Wendy’s book stands alone as a thoroughly accurate account of her life “on the block” and differs from my personal experience considerable but the roots of our commonly experienced pain are exactly the same and are shared, almost unanimously, by those escapees still alive. Yes, some five or six of the most fragile former members are no longer able to speak to these atrocities!
For reasons I cannot comprehend, you have taken a stand for a person, a place, and a business that you have never met, been to, or participated in. Moreover, you have likewise discounted the experiences of a number of us who spent years under the “authority” of O~.
Unlike my fellows, who have given you tremendous counsel in these conversations, I would strongly encourage you to abandon your home, your family, your possessions, your conformability, “pick up your cross”, and move to the block. Spend a few years under O~’s rod and prove us all wrong. Perhaps, you will be the instrument for change that we were not. Perhaps, you’ll be the emissary that can create a bridge to reunited us all. At the very least, you will come to know what we have all learned to well: the operative definition of what it means to be the “Chief of Sinners”

Hello everyone!
It seems that my cousin is in this Trinity cult... but I am not 100% sure... it is a kind of taboo topic in my family so I can't directly find out, but from what I hear on this forum I suspect the worst.
I have ordered the book "I can't hear god anymore" to get some answers, altough I haven't received it yet.

May I ask you, since it seems some of you've been directy involved with Trinity, what kind of guy is this Ole Anthony? How would you describe him?
Why are people seing him as a god and following what he says?

Thank you very much,
Marion

Welcome, Boanerges.
Thank you for your post - it was very powerful.

And welcome to Marion. This is a very interesting message board. Re: your questions about Trinity Foundation's leader, this message thread has a lot of information about him (though, it's very long!). Also, the Dallas Observer article, The Cult of Ole, is another resource. And, of course, the book that you ordered, I Can't Hear God Anymore, is another good resource. There is a chapter on Ole and his personality in that book.

Nathan, my reason for reading and posting on this board is the same as yours.

And to both Cherenuff and Nathan, I ask again, why would you want a leader who is so cynical, rude, and full of anger? I have to agree with Zeusor, this man does not seem to exhibit any of the fruits of the spirit.

Keep an open mind.
The Truth will set you free.

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Marion
Hello everyone!
It seems that my cousin is in this Trinity cult... but I am not 100% sure... it is a kind of taboo topic in my family so I can't directly find out, but from what I hear on this forum I suspect the worst.
I have ordered the book "I can't hear god anymore" to get some answers, altough I haven't received it yet.

May I ask you, since it seems some of you've been directy involved with Trinity, what kind of guy is this Ole Anthony? How would you describe him?
Why are people seing him as a god and following what he says?

Thank you very much,
Marion

Welcome, Marion.

I would describe Ole as a typical cult leader. On the one hand he has great charisma, is articulate, intelligent, and persuasive. He has a remarkable memory and can quote Scripture with astonishing accuracy. On the other hand, he is vain to the point of narcissism, and he often lacks basic empathy. He does not understand the ways he has hurt other people because he really does not see other people--the whole world is just kind of a big mirror to reflect himself. Many people see him as a hero because of his criticism of the televangelists, but I have come to see that as just the way for Ole to "grab the microphone," to get him in the public eye and allow him to bask in the limelight. If your cousin is in his group I hope she is able to get away before she suffers too much damage.

If you ordered my wife's book from our website you will get it in a few days, as we send the orders out as soon as we get them. If you ordered it from Amazon it will take a few weeks. I look forward to your participation in this forum!

Thanks to both of you for the kind answer :)

Can anyone else add something?

I have never come across a cult leader, at least not that I know, but these type of folks seem to have what we call CHARISMA...

Now this where it always gets complicated for me to understand!

I can imagine someone like Ole being a good teacher, but why do all these women seem to be in love with him?
Why is he charismatic?
Has Ole always been so irresistible? (as some say in the cult of ole article)

Marion

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Marion
Thanks to both of you for the kind answer :)

Can anyone else add something?

I have never come across a cult leader, at least not that I know, but these type of folks seem to have what we call CHARISMA...

Now this where it always gets complicated for me to understand!

I can imagine someone like Ole being a good teacher, but why do all these women seem to be in love with him?
Why is he charismatic?
Has Ole always been so irresistible? (as some say in the cult of ole article)

Marion

Excellent questions, Marion. Charisma is a mysterious quality, but it is kind of a "life force" that some people (religious leaders, politicians, rock stars, etc.) just seem to have more of than others. I think people with charsima are less conflicted and less prone to self doubt than are most people. On the good side, maybe when people have a true moral clarity about an issue and the ability to speak out about it and make themselves heard that gives them a certain charismatic quality--Martin Luther King and Mohandas Ghandi come to mind. On the darker side, charisma can be seen as the charm of the sociopath--someone who is less conflicted because they are less encumbered by issues of conscience than the rest of us. Whatever the case, people who are sure of themselves are attractive to others, because the average person is riddled with doubt and uncertainty. People who truly seem to have the answers are appealing.

Hi Marion. I was a member of the Trinity Foundation for about five months, beiginning in March of '06 and ending in early last August. I was the assistant to the Foundation's lead investigator, a man named Pete Evans. Ole Anthony is a pathologically dishonest, deeply narcissistic, and cynically abusive man. I heard about the book and the Dallas Observer article, posted at:

[www.dallasobserver.com]

also more at

[www.dallasobserver.com]

...while still involved with the Foundation. And after careful honest and objective analysis on my part believe that I have seen behind the curtain of lies he's taken care to weave and have beheld the bitter, cynical, angry, abusive little man whose name is Ole Anthony. I tried to defend them at first; look at the beginning of this thread and you'll see that at first I lived there and was caught up in denial too. I exhort you Nathan: this organization, while arguably having had done a service to the church in exposing religious crooks who eat the sheep that they should be feeding, is certainly nothing to hold up as an upstanding Christian ministry, and Ole Anthony certainly is nobody I'd want to encourage anybody to associate with. Indeed, he is the epitome of a false teacher (and I'm just talking about Ole's behavior as an abuser for starters; I haven't even described to you the blasphemous, heretical doctrine he teaches, presenting himself every step of the way as somebody with some kin of "anointed", special insight insofar as his twisted interpretaion of the Scriptures.) He has managed, because of his charismatic, manipulative genius and gift for a snappy quote, to stay under the radar of serious scrutiny for years, unlike, say, somebody like Hinn. Ole, however, is twice the hypocrite Hinn ever was, and that's saying something.
This man has left a wide path of psychic debris from his many abusees strewn about over a more than thirty-year period and it's time he stopped getting a pass. I only was closely associated with him for five or so months and left with the nasty taste of Ole's fruit in my mouth. Please Nathan, I beg you, take heed to what I write. It's time he be held accountable, after contriving a long career forcing accountability from others.

Marion,

As you can see, most people on this forum are ex-Trinity members who are disgruntled and claim that Trinity is a cult. I and one other Trinity member are the only people on this forum who have disagreed, the moderator of this forum has also questioned the accusations made here. I counsel you to talk to people on both sides of this issue, those who are current members of TFI, and other media sources.

Just don't believe everything people are saying here without honestly searching out both sides. These people express one side of the totality of views concerning the nature of TFI. Don't give in to the pressure here to just accept what is being said. Ask both sides the hardest questions you know.

From my perspective, Ole Anthony is the farthest thing from a persuasive personality there is. Most people don't agree with him. He is not a charming narcissist, but a raw man who will say exactly what he thinks to your face, and tell you not to accept what he says, but to search things out for yourself.

Consider that the Observer article is the only article of many that has ever put TFI in such a negative light.

Good Luck Marion,

Nathan