Thanks for the youtube link for “Vain Glory”. I’ve known about this movie for many years, but I had never seen it until now. Like others, I think many of Tony’s reflections were made to present himself in a more favorable light, without letting the truth get in the way. There are plenty of legitimate concerns without having to exaggerate for good press. I especially appreciated some of the cult experts comments and insights, many of which I had already read in their books.
A further link on youtube – [
www.reflectionsfromthewall.net] accesses The Spiritual Counterfeits Project by Woodrow Nichols (jrs_the_walk.doc) which it says is a 35 page document, but is actually 179 pages. Like many of you, I’ve read anything I could get my hands on regarding TLWF to try and clear the air. Although I’ve read excerpts of this article in the past, I had never read the whole thing. There is a lot of history about John prior to the Walk that I think may be of interest to those, like myself, who were around in the sixties and seventies. I’ve talked with several outside of TLWF who were in southern California and knew John prior to the Walk, and their view of John seems to be confirmed by what Nichols has written.
My hope is that those of us that are a little wiser for our wounds and scars will come out of hiding and speak up when the wolves in sheep’s clothing begin to ravage the flock. I know it feels extremely awkward to place the senior pastor of some mainstream church in the place of God as we were trained to do in TLWF. That is because we were never supposed to do that – “Call no man leader , teacher, father, you have one and it’s the Christ”. “And don’t believe them when they say they are the Christ – many will come and if possible will deceive even the elect.” It is supposed to seem wrong – that’s the Holy Spirit leading, not anarchy as we were taught.
The overall Body needs that which every joints supplies - including all of us. Those who have deeply suffered and then been healed have an incredible gift to supply that is so lacking – pointing people to Him instead of those who want to take His place for personal gain. God will use for His glory anything we have gone through – even our mistakes. It’s good to be reminded of what we were after in the beginning – a “Walk” with God - and to encourage one another to continue to take steps. God is doing just fine and His love and faithfulness has never changed. I’ve often wondered if it is necessary for a son to walk through this step of suffering to see if it is really Him we are after, or are we too wanting to be God? Do we take offense when we discover that He alone is Lord – even though He is absolutely perfect? He uses us – we do not use Him - contrary to “Is God My Tool or My Boss”.