Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: February 25, 2015 03:18AM
I recently heard that another couple who had overseen one of TLWF's centers is in trouble. I don't know - or care to know - the particulars of the situation, but I think it is important to point out the fruit of following men instead of God. After carefully following G&M for 40 years, this is what the fruit looks like. I can speak with some insight about a similar situation in Palmer Lake, since I was personally involved. The way people were being treated had become so toxic, I made a trip to San Diego to speak with John Miller, since he was our Apco contact. I honestly thought I had about a 50/50 chance of being removed from the church for speaking up - but somebody had to say something.
John was very gracious (perhaps the reason he is not around anymore) and mentioned it was not the first they had heard of the situation. A couple of weeks later, G&M showed up in Palmer Lake saying they had tuned into the situation by the spirit and set the pastors out of the fellowship. I was in the meeting thinking they were deliberately lying trying to preserve some pseudo God image. It really was the point that I could no longer trust their integrity - from my perspective it was a sham. I know I was not personally looking to see our pastors removed from the fellowship, but to see the way they were relating to people corrected. It actually made me feel more insecure about my relationship with G&M - You screw up and your're out of here. We're not here to help you - you are here to make us look good.
I knew that they had been closely directing the pastors in Palmer Lake and when it became evident that things were a mess, they cut and ran, accepting no responsibility. It was said that the pastors didn't have G&M's heart for the people. In hindsight I would say they did have G&M's heart for the people - that was the problem. It was not loving but destructive, and the pastors had been taught to relate the same way.
I'm sure when the dust settles, the same will be said about this other situation. The wife was so given to Marilyn and she's destroying everything in sight. Is it so surprising that when leaders are abused, they tend to abuse the people as well? Somebody needs to lift up the skirt, because it's not a pretty sight. Perhaps the way John's sons will out minister him is that they will not allow Marilyn to take the place of God as he did.