Onion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some of the financial claims against Stevens were
> not true but yes he had everything done for him by
> "volunteers." "Kingdom businesses" like Living
> Word all had either volunteers (which is illegal
> to the businesses) or who were so underpaid as to
> be shocking and all the money went as directed by
> Stevens.
>
> Sexual improprieties and multiple affairs were
> mostly true about Stevens - true as in rampant,
> including that he sired a bio son with one of the
> church ladies and that person has been kept hidden
> and lied about to an extreme lest his and others'
> existence threaten Stevens' stepchildren's only
> claim t0 fame.

When you write that sexual impropriety is rampant is that based on rumors or on first hand evidence or witness testimony?

Hi Amos - It is usually not possible to give a first-hand account of sexual improprieties unless the information is being told by someone who participated in the sexual act.

I have been told by people who were abuse victims, seduced women (by both JRS and by G&M) of sexual conduct that can only be called improprieties because many times those involved were married - both perpetrator and victim. I have been told first hand by women seduced by JRS and/or G&M of the circumstances of the seduction and many abuse survivors have communicated directly on this forum, on the TLWF survivors group on Facebook and to me privately.

On occasion, there have been witnesses to hanky-panky, for example between G&M when JRS lay dying, who have confided information to me that I cannot disclose just yet.

Onion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Amos - It is usually not possible to give a
> first-hand account of sexual improprieties unless
> the information is being told by someone who
> participated in the sexual act.
>
> I have been told by people who were abuse victims,
> seduced women (by both JRS and by G&M) of sexual
> conduct that can only be called improprieties
> because many times those involved were married -
> both perpetrator and victim. I have been told
> first hand by women seduced by JRS and/or G&M of
> the circumstances of the seduction and many abuse
> survivors have communicated directly on this
> forum, on the TLWF survivors group on Facebook and
> to me privately.
>
> On occasion, there have been witnesses to
> hanky-panky, for example between G&M when JRS lay
> dying, who have confided information to me that I
> cannot disclose just yet.

Onion,

Thank you for responding and I understand the fine line between candor and confidence.

G&M are largely irrelevant to me and nothing they have been purported to have done is a surprise even though I know nothing to it. I realized years ago that they were cooking up their own personal fiefdom -- but Stevens really bothers me.

I held JRS with some regard and struggle with the notion that he was a perpetrator. I suppose I should not be too shocked since this sort of thing seems to be rife in the Christian Church (not just in the Fellowship and the Walk as it was known). But the possibility does mean re-evaluating the assumptions on which much of my youth and adult years were based. The horror of cognitive dissonance!

I feel like Elijah trying to answer the Shunammite woman:

“Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me. (2 Kings 4:27)”

Amos

(and Onion, we know each other, perhaps not well, but we know) ...

Amos - I know what you mean about re-evaluating what so many years of our lives were based on. It took me a very long time regarding JRS. What made the truth click for me was the extent to which even he went to protect his secrets and the many lies that were told directly and indirectly by him and many others.

If we know each other, please send me a pm back channel on this forum. I would love to say hey.

Dear friends

I was out of the loop for awhile. Check out the news flash...
Quote:
Kalona Church Ending Agreement with Living Word Fellowship
Posted: Friday, January 4th, 2019 at 6:26 am
Author: Brandon Shanahan - KCII News
Print Version

The Shiloh Church in rural Kalona announced they are ending their legal agreement with The Living Word Fellowship.

This announcement comes after reports of sexual misconduct from a former leader of The Living Word Fellowship. According to their website, the Shiloh Church is committed to remaining open and serving the community as an independent church.

After the allegations, The Living Word Fellowship announced that members Richard Holbrook and Scott McDonald have been removed from their roles in the congregation. A former member of the congregation, Shalom Abrahamson-Caples posted on Facebook about her experience of being a victim of sexual misconduct, which then motivated others share their own similar stories, according to Senior Pastor Gary Hargrave. The Living Word Fellowship has hired attorneys to lead an investigative committee to look into these claims.

Filed under: Today's Local News"

Quote
http://kciiradio.com/2019/01/kalona-church-ending-agreement-with-living-word-fellowship/

howmidoing Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Nancy,
>
> I went to the LA school COL in the 90's. Probably
> a bit after your son as I will be 36 this year,
> but it's possible that I know who he is.
>
> My name is Anne.
>
> ~Anne

Hi Anne, My older kids are mid 40's We were gone in '83 but still had family ties in.

My name is Lenai Luttrull. I was in the school and did suffer physical and emotional abuse at the school.

Hi Lenai. There is another group that addresses issues with former members of the Walk. It is under the category of "Former Members...." and then it's under JRS the Walk category. I can be more specific if you can't find it.

If you just want to talk about the school - are you referring to Centers of Learning by the Valley church (in North Hills)? If you want to private message me I can bring you up to date on what is going on with the Walk and the many churches/schools closing down.

Welcome to one of the safe places to talk.

Hi Amos a year ago you asked "When you write that sexual impropriety is rampant is that based on rumors or on first hand evidence or witness testimony? December 2, 2018.
December 04, 2018 Onion and you engaged more on the subject.

Now that Shiloh contents have been auctioned and the building will be bulldozed there have been many more revelations come to light about sexual encounters and I will guess there are even more. I wanted to kind of update with my opinionated perspective and what I know about this for any survivors trying to figure out what happened to caused the fall of The Walk of TLWF.

My answer in a nut shell is Too Many Damn Secrets!

Yes, there are credible witnesses to seeing JRS going into motels with women he was not married to. Yes, there are people who witnessed the after math.

When I was tween, very naive, I did witness JRS hitting on a close family member. I was young and lacking in cognitive understand, but, I still know what I saw. These incidents, tho' comparatively minor caused trauma to this woman and confusion to other women in our local group over the flirty attention he was giving her. I knew it was not OK because I had seen movies about people having affairs etc - grown up stuff I did not understand at my age. I knew better than ask.

When I was teen, I heard whispers about sexual stuff at Blix House and midnight trips by JRS that I did not comprehend. Mind you, "we did no talk about these things" was the rule in those days. #Metoo opened Pandora's Box finally. If I heard girls whispering uncomfortably back in the early days, why would they be making up something about the apostle if it weren't true?

In those olden days women were supposed to "take it" because that was their place. If child got molested, well, too bad, that was a well kept family secret we all endured unless we wanted to move to the Poor Farm. We all had to survive and we did only if we knew our place. God forbid anyone talked bad about a man of the cloth! There was absolutely NO support for people (Men, women, young boys, young women and children ) who had been sexually abused. JRS was God to many.

In fact in the work field, not in church, when I was a brand new student and new RN in 1970's I was told by my nursing supervisor that I had better stand up when a doctor walked into the room. If he wanted to pat my butt- let him IF if women wanted to work outside the home.

Accepting uninvited advances, until recently was accepted as "normal" in society, in general. So, NO, sexual improprieties were kept a big fat secret while victims suffered life long in silence in general. Of course no one announced JRS improper advance over the pulpit. It was hidden and wrongly so. He had a safety net only because of the norm in society. Consider the LA area where the casting couch was the norm if you wanted an acting part Just because Holly wood was rampant with sexual misconduct is NO excuse to overlook what was going on with the Door Opener to the Kingdom. What a farce Living a Double standard of Life! If JRS was clean about about himself and his cronies, they would not have profited from bible Peddling. so , no one stood on the pulpit nor cried at the alter on their knees asking for forgiveness for sins fro breaking a commandment. Thou shall not commit adultery. Thou shall not lust for you neighbors wife...."

Shalom's courage letter opened the door for more people to unburden the hidden guilt and shame about things JRS did and said along with numerous other leaders who had sexual improprieties as well. Shame and guilt belongs squarely on the shoulders of John Robert Stevens to begin with. Then the rest of of them are also responsible for confessing their sins including covering up the sins and crimes in TLWF.

I did witness reactions of other young women who did not feel free at the time to tell too much embarrassing thing.. Besides, what was a teenager supposed to do when a friends tell you something icky in confidence that you both don't understand? In those days if you called the police to complain, "the preacher grabbed my butt," the cops would simply laughed. Or if a lady told women about inappropriate touches by the preacher, she would have been labeled as "a slut who was asking for it." -that is the reality.

I have recently had a number of grown women friends tell me in confidence about how shameful and demeaned they felt for decades about incidents with JRS; Williams, Arnold, RD just to name a few that were whispered to be "sexual perverts". Now in confidence as they share with me they feel apologetic simply because a wrongful acts may have been limited to exposure or groping not intercourse. NOT acceptable in the least! By comparison their trauma is "minor", but it is not minor to the victim who should have been able to trust the pastor.

Too many have kept silent for a life time. A Traumatic event may be over but no the emotional damage and stress damage tht is done to a person's body when you are not allowed to tell any one. Secrets are so harmful. the fact that JRS was king pin who founded the Walk and "inspired" us with his unique "revelation of the kingdom" his escapades harmed us all and controlled so many to do what he said.

I say that we should respect people confidence as they heal. It is up to them is they want to share and validate the claims of rampant sexual abuse in the alleged "body of Christ". the evidence is mounting about sexual encounters. No tot be dismissive- sex happens - it's life. but the chronic covers up about seductions with a holier than thou' double life is so confusing for non victims to grasp and isolating for the consenting and non consenting recipient of the seduction by pastors of your church.

IMO, is see there are moral, spiritual and legal issues with supporting ministries being aware of the chronic sexual misconduct and failing to address the issues to protect the flock.

Well put, NancyB.