I was told that at the end a memorial service, a love offering was taken up for the children of the man who had died. After the memorial service was over , when one of the family members went to the ministry who was in charge of the love offering, to get the love offering given for them - instead of receiving the offering taken up for the children, they were told by the ministry in charge of the offering , that it was being given to the apostolic travel fund, because that is what their father would have wanted.

One of the men who was not a member of the church, who attended the memorial service privately gave an envelope with his gift of money for the mans children, directly to one of the mans children, saying to her, that, " he wanted to make sure they received his gift, so he did not put it in the offering plate."

Interesting how a non member went about giving his gift directly and privately to one of the man's children for the children of the family - rather than putting his gift for the family, in the collection plate.

Such wisdom already existed in the instructions given by Jesus Christ to the multitude before the early church came into existence. But who has heard it?

See Matthew 6:1 The non member gave his gift to the man's children in secret. Where God is and where God sees and rewards those who give to another person in need, in secret . See Matthew 6:6

IMO - They only do such things to the people they know they can get away with doing such things to.

If you give to another one who is in need in secret there would be no collection plate in the church - being used by any one for such needs.Nor would there be robberies such as this kind of robbery taking place in a church.

Taking an offering for one need, then giving it to another is totally illegal. I remember Dan Staton being very firm about not violating that law. Seems like they don't worry about legalities at the LW.

The test of character -- what we do with strengths and weaknesses

Another test of character and one very difficult to discern:

Can the person see others as persons in their own right, sons and daughters of God, each unique?

Or is this person only seeing us as mere tools, means to an end?

The saddest thing is we can be made to feel beloved and unique by someone who can only see us as objects and knows the social tricks that make people light up.

Charisma can be used for good or for selfish purposes.

Had a teacher in high school who was charismatic -- and also a good teacher.

He used his charisma to get us to pay attention, work hard and learn the material.

But it is rare when someone can use this talent for pro social purposes.

And, I was saddened to learn that many years later, Mr X died young from alcoholism.

He may have activated charisma subconsciously as a way to avoid pain in his life.

Too often, and this is what Len Oakes tells us, charisma is often developed by
those who just cannot enjoy or sustain peer level relationships.

Its a dazzling compensatory strategy.

And the ones closest to the charismatic risk getting hurt the most.

It wasnt for nothing that Paul told how he himself was frail and sickly, and that it was not to those wise in the ways of the world who had been given the gift of faith.

Charismatic, inspirational types tend to be wise in the ways of this world.

If they are humble, they build check and balances aroudn themselves and
share responsibility.

Good post Corboy re: test of character

I never experienced G&M after JRS passed but before I left the Walk I thought Gary was (as one of John's sons) the cat's meow. He was articulate, bold, and everything I was not. Back then I could have been convinced of anything.

lily rose posted: Woodrow Nichols in Chapter 13 of his e-book (goggle spiritual counterfeits project the walk, then click JRS The Walk-Reflections from the Wall) tries to give a plausible theory about if JRS had a genuine call of God on his life. Nichols concludes that JRS's life had a parallel to the life of Saul but "a better definition of the sum total of Steven's ministry has yet to be given.”

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That is a great read. It took several hours but was well worth it. Thanks lily rose. How do you find this stuff?? Keep it coming.

Lily Rose, I have seen the Woodrow Nichols expose' referenced here before, but with your comment yesterday I located and read it today. Thank you. Way more detailed and in depth than I imagined, very well written. He did a great job. Also now I know much better what I used to believe than when I actually believed it. The description of the mine debacle filled in a lot of details I always wondered about. The poor Hallas learned the hard way about that shyster. I know somebody who bought silver bars. Was that because of the mine? Are there any facts Woodrow brought up that are in dispute here? Do you think there are guns at Shiloh? I wonder why Nichols didn't write an addendum that included the death, non-resurrection and subsequent takeover by G&M. If anybody knows of any other writings I would appreciate hearing about them.

Thank you Lilly for finding the Nichols paper on line. I've tried to find it for years. Now I've finally got a copy to read.

Bob was estranged from the 'apostolic fathering ministries' prior to his passing--something he did not keep secret. I think it's highly doubtful he would want a 'love offering' taken in his memory go to the apostolic travel fund rather than to his family. But I suppose if I had been there I likely would have nodded in hypnotic agreement with most everyone else, thinking..."yes, even though he felt screwed by these people, he most definitely would want this money to go to them."


"I was told that at the end a memorial service, a love offering was taken up for the children of the man who had died. After the memorial service was over , when one of the family members went to the ministry who was in charge of the love offering, to get the love offering given for them - instead of receiving the offering taken up for the children, they were told by the ministry in charge of the offering , that it was being given to the apostolic travel fund, because that is what their father would have wanted."

I found the Nichols publication last week by chance. I have only skimmed it while watching yet another Breaking Bad marathon binge. Most of what I read was new to me and I don't think I can confirm the veracity of anything as I wasn't on the inside. Those who were in the ministry may have more insight. I would be interested in your reviews. Too bad JRS didn't give an interview or a rebuttal.

Yes, thanks Lily Rose...in process of reading it now.


Nichols:
"the Kingdom Age has its own revelation, recorded in the words of its prophet, John Robert Stevens. His word is the living word and is taped and transcribed whenever he speaks. His word reveals the hidden secrets in both the Old and New Testaments and without his revelation one cannot really understand the Scripture at all. In essence, then, the living word of John Robert Stevens is the epitome of progressive revelation – it is regarded as equal to or even superior to the Bible and is, in fact, a Third Testament in God's dealings with the human race."

(other than that, he was no big deal)