Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: November 24, 2015 09:10PM
TLW has always been tightly stratified, as an organization as a whole, and within each specific area. I was in the LA area from ‘76-’82, apart from a stint at Shiloh. I spent time in South Gate, did a couple of tours in the Valley, was involved with the Blix House and Comm West, and even poked my nose in on occasion at the LW Building.
JRS had his own entourage of loyal 1st generation, 2nd generation, and of course, Blix girls. Loyalty on every level is what kept you in the fold, or would open the door to being promoted, no matter what the area. Disloyalty was severely dealt with, from being kicked to the outskirts of the camp, to complete banishment. No one was immune.
Shortly after the JRS & Marilyn nuptials, a witch hunt proceeded to ‘burn at the stake’ one of JRS’ most loyal and protective confidants, because it was spun that he was impinging upon Marilyn’s access to JRS somehow. There were a series of debriefing meetings at the LW building to uncover any peripheral repercussions this might have caused in other departments. The poor fellow was probably doing what he thought was right, or had been told, but was unceremoniously expelled completely as a ‘nephilim’. The entire family left the fellowship for a time, but a daughter eventually returned and has since been promoted to a prominent position because she married well and makes significant contributions to TLW coffers. $$$ also gains you access.
During the latter days of JRS, youth (piss & vinegar) won out over age. More and more, the 1st generation loyalists slowly slipped into the shadows, with the 2nd generation taking the reins. At the beginning of the 80’s, JRS ushered in the 3rd generation, probably seeing the longevity of the movement dependent upon generational crossover. At the time of his passing, there was a fairly vibrant 2nd/3rd generational leadership dynamic at play.
With the fracturing of the fellowship following the passing of JRS, the hardline crackdown solidified the stratification of leadership on all levels. TLW had become what JRS feared most--an ‘organism’ had become an organization, and he was no longer around to ‘kick it down’.