What follows is an excerpt from the latest General Newsletter (GN) that was released by the Family International. I have no proper citation; however, I know my source well and am confident as to its authenticity. This does not mean that The Family is disbanding. They are retaining their name and core beliefs; however, the command structure will be altered a la RNR. The point this note highlights is that there'll be no more FD/MM/FM: in other words if you're a member of the Family, you're a member of the Family: not a two-letter label. It's a win/win for the Family now; they'll still have no accountability, yet still receive their tithe money. I say it's a cunning move on their part.

"—All who have
made the commitment to follow Jesus' teachings and example, and who are
living that commitment, are Jesus' disciples, whether they are members

of the Family or not.

—We will no longer have membership
categories. We won't have labels whereby some members are categorized as
"Family disciples" and others are not; or that suggest that some are

living a full-time example of discipleship and others are not, or that
some are more or less committed or obedient in spirit; or that label
whether someone is giving their all to the Lord or serving Jesus
full-time or part-time. (The details of this change will be fully

explained in "Membership.")

—The terms "disciple" and
"discipleship" will no longer be used in connection with a category of
Family membership (as there will be no categories), or to define a set

of lifestyle requirements. When "disciple" or "discipleship" is used in
Family publications, this will refer to an individual's personal
commitment to follow Jesus...

—Discipleship is not an isolated,

once-in-a-lifetime happening, but a spiritual journey, a faith journey.
It involves daily choices and actions to abide in Jesus, and to let Him
abide in us, to be led, fed, and cleansed by His Word, to operate under

the influence of His Spirit and love, to seek Him first and yield to His
will for our lives, to obey Him to the best of our ability, to testify
of His love through our words and actions, to bear fruit that glorifies

Him...

Answering the call of discipleship is a personal choice, a
personal commitment. Discipleship is a journey. We're each at different
stages of the journey, different points along the path of discipleship.

Some are far along the path of discipleship; some are just getting
started on this journey of faith and spiritual growth. But all of us who
are following Jesus, in whatever ways we are called to serve, are His

disciples.

(Reboot 04: Blueprint for the Future)"

Call it what you like, but this essentially (ostensibly) marks the disbanding of The Family.

THIS IS HUGE.

There is not much of a "group" left.

The Reboot is the biggest change in The Family's history.

They can have sex with outsiders now, for example.

Young people are now encouraged to go to school to get a good education.

Whatever people feel they want to do is now supported and encouraged.

No more mandatory communal living.

They can have friends outside of the Family and work with other Christians and churches.

They no longer consider themselves the elite, as far as Christianity is concerned. They're remaking themselves now as just another church, or denomination.

If people want to be full time still, that's their choice but it doesn't make them any more special.

They are to be inclusive, not exclusive.

They are saying that they have so many wrong attitudes that they need to get rid of to help them accept everyone.

[www.xfamily.org]

The second-gen ex-members who I know are really upset over this Reboot thing.

Where is the compensation for the many lives that the Family has ruined over the last forty or so years?

Is the Family going to put up any cash for the hundreds of hours of therapy, and multiple hospitalizations, that these kids have had to go though in order to try and repair the damage that the Family did to them?

I feel sorry for Karen Zerby, and Steven Kelly, Claire Borowik, and Lonnie Davis about as much as I feel sorry for David McKay, his consort, and their lieutenants. That is to say that I feel sorry for them not at all. They are all equally culpable in my mind.

These are liars, criminal child abusers, fraudulent con artists, and cowards who are all in damage-control mode in order to cover their own butts.

I do, however, take solace in the fact that in twenty years both the Family and their poison fruit known as the Jesus Christians, will both be but a bitter memory...

Dear Oerlikon,

Thank you for the news...is there any reason that you know of, for this occuring?...(an adjustment to falling numbers, etc?)

Quote
Malcolm Wesley WREST
Dear Oerlikon,

Thank you for the news...is there any reason that you know of, for this occuring?...(an adjustment to falling numbers, etc?)

Like zeuszor wrote earlier, they are simply trying to cover their own backsides (legally speaking), so that they can further escape accountability. A cunning move indeed.

There is no more mandatory tithing or statistical reporting either,and they can have sex with outsiders now.

Anyway, I haven't read all of the "Reboot Series", but from what I have read so far, there is very little left of a "group". Note that they will (now) only tally membership numbers of either 16-year olds and up (with parental permission) or 18-year olds and up. They even give the numbers: There are now less than 5,000 adults of all former membership levels (FD/MM/FM). I suspect that before the year is out, there will be far less than that. If this "reboot" was to expand their membership levels, I think they will find the reverse to be true. Then again, maybe they are going into semi-retirement and don't really need the growth. I am sure Zerby & Kelly have all of the money they need to go into a fashionable (and permanent) retirement, much like Dave and Cherry McKay.

[www.xfamily.org]

The cult has traveled this road before. More than once in the early days they sent everyone home. More than once they've changed their name. More than once they changed their rules, doctrines, etc. Maybe they're going down this road a bit further than they ever have before, but you can never trust deceivers and liars.

They call this a reboot, which strikes me as hilariously stupid since everyone knows that when you reboot a computer you are merely restarting it, and continue to use the same old operating system. Maybe they will claim, or already have, that they haven't just rebooted, but have installed an entirely new operating system, but I would say that that's nonsense too. No matter what cosmetic or structural changes they make, at the core it is still the same old corrupt belief system.

They've been planning on this for some time now, and Zerby announced at the CESNUR conference last year that major changes were coming to the Family. The "Reboot" was finally ratified and made official late last month.

[www.zimbio.com]