LARRYB:

With reference to your discrepancies between the talk and the walk, my wife was fooled into believing the two were one and the same.

I had left TLW a number of years before, but because my wife was still associated with it, our ‘friends’ who remained would concede to fellowship with us on her behalf, and with the hopes that my exposure to them would cause me to come to my senses and return.

There was a point a few years ago when my wife had finally reached ‘critical mass’ over a number of issues, which also happened to coincide with a word to ‘not break ranks’ with those who had already left the fellowship or who may in the future. They were to be thanked for their service and merrily sent on their way, no harm/no foul/no weirdness attached. My wife saw this as her perfect exit strategy, and actually submitted her resignation via email, had nothing but words of praise for her time spent, and even called all of our closest friends to notify them.

The cordiality did not last long. Soon there were no more dinner invites or get-togethers of any kind. At first, my wife was somewhat taken aback, but eventually had to concede that this had been the pattern all along with anyone who left. There’s a lot to be said about being consistent.

Fruit born of the ‘tree of separation’ knows only to separate, and a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. This is the legacy of TLW--a movement that devours its own young.

I started not to say this, but I feel like letting off some steam. I think they better fill that Shiloh water tower with that holy water and hook up two fire hoses, and run them into John and Marilyn's graves and keep a constant flow going.

Well, reading over the recent posts, I see that for a lot of people, living in the past is what they are most comfortable with. When the past has offered so many false ideas, when so many have tried to put the past behind them without success, I do believe that it would be helpful to realize that we were all doing what we thought was best at that given moment in time when we sealed our lives to the Walk. Many of us were so involved that we had no real perspective. I think that it has required that each of us look at the past with a new perspective, and then move forward with the new information. We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it, and make changes in the way we live right now, and how we will be living in the future. Time to let go of the hurts, the resentment, and bask in the healing love of God. Nobody has all of the answers.........believe me. We see through the veil dimly..........What matters is Love and Forgiveness.

I may be strange. Well, that is an understatement. I KNOW I am strange. But there is no "hurt" involved with me. I have never been harmed in any way by the Living Word Fellowship. I didn't spend more than a tenth of my money there, that is take home pay, not gross. In fact, I bet I didn't do that the whole time. I am not the type of person that gets my feelings hurt, or takes a lot of abuse. When the first "pastor" I was under kept telling the church that they all had to get a "revelation of him" I just laughed about it. When the "elder" from Knoxville said I should get a divorce and become one of Marilyn's eunichs I just laughed at that too.

I got mad more than anything else about the fellowship splitting. Not hurt, but mad, and that was because I was having too much fun.

JAN:

And in the end, all will culminate with LOVE & FORGIVENESS.


A.D.

Go out and have some FUN.

kBoy--
The use of email would have made things so much easier for me. I think I would have written something like this:
I've decided to no longer be a part of the living word fellowship organization--or whatever it is called. However, I would still want to spend time with many of the folks I've become close to over the years. Anyway, I'm thinking of pizza and a movie this Friday night at my place. Who wants to join me? Looking forward to a big gathering!!


kBOY Wrote:
> My wife saw this as her perfect exit strategy, and actually submitted her
> resignation via email, had nothing but words of
> praise for her time spent, and even called all of
> our closest friends to notify them.

The existence of email would have made things so much easier for me. I think I would have written something like this:
I've decided to no longer be a part of this living word fellowship organization. However, I would still want to spend time with many of the folks I've become close to over the years. Anyway, I'm thinking of pizza and a movie this Friday night. Who wants to join me?!!

CHANGEDAGAIN:


Actually, the calls made by my wife to our ‘closest’ friends were in a similar vein. Each said they ‘understood’ and stated their wish to continue our friendship.
Unfortunately, the dynamics at play are so complicated and ingrained, that the intended result never comes to pass.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, the mindset of ‘those that are not with us are against us’ is the automatic default of TLW, quite contrary to how Jesus responded to his disciples regarding similar situations. The Old Testament edict of ‘separate yourselves apart’ has been so ingrained in much of Christianity that it actually contradicts everything Jesus taught. His endless examples of INCLUSION, be they publicans, prostitutes, tax-gatherers, and drunkards, is all we need to know about the mindset that takes us HOME.

Unless we become CHILDLIKE . . .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2015 11:45PM by kBOY.

So true

kBOY Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CHANGEDAGAIN:
>
>
> Actually, the calls made by my wife to our
> ‘closest’ friends were in a similar vein.
> Each said they ‘understood’ and stated their
> wish to continue our friendship.
> Unfortunately, the dynamics at play are so
> complicated and ingrained, that the intended
> result never comes to pass.
>
> Whether consciously or unconsciously, the mindset
> of ‘those that are not with us are against us’
> is the automatic default of TLW, quite contrary to
> how Jesus responded to his disciples regarding
> similar situations. The Old Testament edict of
> ‘separate yourselves apart’ has been so
> ingrained in much of Christianity that it actually
> contradicts everything Jesus taught. His endless
> examples of INCLUSION, be they publicans,
> prostitutes, tax-gatherers, and drunkards, is all
> we need to know about the mindset that takes us
> HOME.
>
> Unless we become CHILDLIKE . . .


KBOY, actually that is a good thing. Unlike many cults that are out trying for new recruits all the time, and growing like a cancer, the Living Word at least is just passing into nothingness, it's own built in destruction system is at work. They do not really want to grow, they really want to go down as those anointed champians, the true messiah company that the world was just not ready for. I am glad. I personally want them to just go away.

A.D.

Atrophy has been the order of the day for TLW for some time. With no outreach program of any kind, and members continuing to exit or die, the only new blood has been born into it.

Top that off with LAMPSHMAMP’s reference to a Catholic priest sprinkling holy water at the gravesite (as yet unconfirmed), and you have a movement that is adrift, with no recognizable identity. When you consider that back in the 70’s when we thought we were the hottest sh*t on the planet and the Catholic Church was the epitome of apostasy, TLW has now been leapfrogged by a pope that is the world’s new ‘plumbline of LOVE’.

Moment by moment TLW continues to fade into the shadows of insignificance . . .