Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: June 01, 2018 11:05PM
TKNC and GoingRogue, I can relate to that. My relationship with God is inextricably linked with a relationship to a person and to TLW. When I read the Bible, certain phrases jump out at me differently than they do to people outside the walk still to this day. For instance, when I read about the armor of God, it's through a veil of spiritual transference and needing to protect my aura so that I am in control of my spirit. It's so difficult to separate what was a control mechanism from what was genuine that I often find myself just compartmentalizing it all.
Sometime in the 90s I developed a habit of reciting "to be a Christian" to myself at night until I had it down like a devotional. I still lie in bed telling myself going at this life alone, without the covering of a Shephard, is "vainstriving, defeated ambition, and misdirected effort."
John intended for TLW to be very personal,very in your face. It's clear that he often didn't know what he was doing, but he was convinced that whatever it was, it needed to be personal. There is so much even in "to be a Christian" alone that is meant to beat you down and make you feel hopeless as an individual. Through impossible goals of devotion like that, JRS manufactured feelings of personal inadequacy and insecurity. He called it "personal," professionals call it "abuse."
Anyway, all that to say, yes, I too struggle with deprogramming what should be innocuous passages in the Bible.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2018 11:06PM by GSchaeff.