GoingRogue Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Coercive persuasion was rampant in the early days
> of the Walk and during the expansion of the
> seventies and early eighties. JRS used "cold
> reading" during weekly ministry services to wow
> everyone with his "Word of Knowledge". I believe
> that this one thing convinced many potential
> converts that JRS had supernatural, divine powers.
> He told people that Jesus had personally appeared
> to him and commissioned him to apostleship. The
> worship and singing in the Spirit made
> participants feel spiritually high and extremely
> open to whatever message followed. The hours of
> loud, aggressive prayer gave members a vested
> interest in the outcome. Once people are
> convinced, trained, submissive and subservient,
> the rest is easy (for the leader).
>
> As one who has struggled for years to recover from
> this cult, I can say that without a doubt,
> techniques were used and are still used by Living
> Word leaders which are designed to shut down
> critical thinking. Call it brainwashing, mind
> control, undue influence, deception or coercive
> persuasion, the important thing is to become
> educated in cult leader methodology. This can have
> a very freeing effect and also help to avoid
> future problems when confronted with similar con
> artists.
>
> Thank you to Rick Ross for his explanation
> regarding brainwashing. The resources avaiable on
> this website are extremely helpful for those
> revovering from cult involvement. The forum is
> invaluable as well.

Couldn’t agree more. Thanks for the clarity

On the surface, most of those in TLWF would say, "Of course we follow the teachings of Jesus." Read what Jesus said about obeying leaders (The Message) and then decide if TLWF is part of the problem, or part of the answer:

"-7 “Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’ 8-10 “Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. 11-12 “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

Bob McClane was my cousin. My favorite cousin. He and his mom were actually the ones that brought my mom and later me into the Walk. Bob died the day after I was sworn in (at church, on the platform with a lot of hoopla) as an attorney. The next day I brought his youngest son John Judah to live with me. John was a good kid with little or no discipline or training and I had never even had a conversation with him before he came to live with me, bringing his 32 pet lizards. He is still ihn the church, please pray for him. He has grown up to be an amazing man and I hope he finds release so his gifts are not used up by others.

Bobby McClane (as we called him in my family growing up) was a wonderful, gifted singer. He gave his life for JRS. The business (Impact) that was born from his vision, blood and sweat, was destroyed by its money being drained primarily to fund JRS' divorce from Martha. The workers there were paid less than volunteers who are at least given a good meal. They gave as much as is humanly possible for Bob, JRS and the vision of a "kingdome business." The day after Bob died Gary spoke from the pulpit about Bob and called his death a suicide because Bob was addicted to prescription (and maybe other) drugs. It was a punch to the gut for any of us who loved Bob and we all probably still bear in our bodies the deep flinch inflicted by Gary's words.

I, for one, never expressed my unhappiness over the words spoken and just continued "soldiering on" as if nothing happened.

It sickens me now.


Thanks to those who remember Bob and have mentioned his song on this forum. Thanks GoingRogue, light777, puddington, etc. May we continue to discover one another as we exercise and enjoy our blossoming freedom.

Going Rogue -- And we all said "AMEN." ha/ha - sorry to use an old phrase in jest.

You are so right on. I respect what you have to say and the difficult experiences that you have endured.

Keep talking. We hear you and we need to hear you even more.

Larry Bobo Wrote:

"They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend'." Matt. 23:6-7

Lol. Great translation, Larry. :)

Onion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bob McClane was my cousin. My favorite cousin.
> He and his mom were actually the ones that brought
> my mom and later me into the Walk. Bob died the
> day after I was sworn in (at church, on the
> platform with a lot of hoopla) as an attorney.
> The next day I brought his youngest son John Judah
> to live with me. John was a good kid with little
> or no discipline or training and I had never even
> had a conversation with him before he came to live
> with me, bringing his 32 pet lizards. He is still
> ihn the church, please pray for him. He has grown
> up to be an amazing man and I hope he finds
> release so his gifts are not used up by others.
>
> Bobby McClane (as we called him in my family
> growing up) was a wonderful, gifted singer. He
> gave his life for JRS. The business (Impact) that
> was born from his vision, blood and sweat, was
> destroyed by its money being drained primarily to
> fund JRS' divorce from Martha. The workers there
> were paid less than volunteers who are at least
> given a good meal. They gave as much as is humanly
> possible for Bob, JRS and the vision of a
> "kingdome business." The day after Bob died Gary
> spoke from the pulpit about Bob and called his
> death a suicide because Bob was addicted to
> prescription (and maybe other) drugs. It was a
> punch to the gut for any of us who loved Bob and
> we all probably still bear in our bodies the deep
> flinch inflicted by Gary's words.
>
> I, for one, never expressed my unhappiness over
> the words spoken and just continued "soldiering
> on" as if nothing happened.
>
> It sickens me now.
>
>
> Thanks to those who remember Bob and have
> mentioned his song on this forum. Thanks
> GoingRogue, light777, puddington, etc. May we
> continue to discover one another as we exercise
> and enjoy our blossoming freedom.

As I've mentioned before, I was close to Bob for 2-3 years or so before he passed. I found out about his death during a Sunday morning service when Gary announced it, and then declared his ministry a failure. Such class.
In spite of the misery he was subjected to, we found a way to have many a laugh. Trust me, at that time, there wasn't much reverence in either one of us for the dear leaders of the fellowship.

If you were married when you left the LW, you might have had some rather interesting talks with your spouse. Especially if the spouse didn’t want to leave the cult. Here is an interesting talk about that situation:

[slate.com]

Reepicheep Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, hi folks. Today my husband received an
> unsigned letter with no return address in the
> mail, postmarked HONOLULU, HI
>
> Here is what they wrote. Please give me your
> thoughts, or let me know if this has ever happened
> to you.
>
> "Husband's Name,
>
> I keep track of posts on the Rick Ross Forum. Last
> month your wife began posting and published her
> name in the profile section. Her name is not there
> now. I made a copy of her profile when her name
> was visible. My job is to give it to Kevin when
> Gary returns from Brazil.
> I liked you _________. If you can get your wife to
> stop posting, I won't give the information on to
> Kevin. Your wife posts under the screen name
> Reepicheep."

TELL KEVIN? OMG! Anything but “TELL KEVIN”. Shades of terror strikes—TELL KEVIN___I am so F----. But, hey buster, you better watch out. I am going to TELL KEVIN that you made a deal to not TELL KEVIN. Because I am on this forum to TELL KEVIN about shady deal making with blowouts.

Did you get a “word” to make that deal to not TELL KEVIN? If KEVIN finds out you made that deal to not TELL KEVIN—you are toast. Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t get to decide that—it is up to KEVIN---not you, to decide who gets a break from the wrath and who does not have to TELL KEVIN.
Need I remind you who is in charge? Not TELL KEVIN? And an unsigned letter won’t cut it---KEVIN and G-man know just who is commissioned to TELL KEVIN Just wait for it….your days as a high level ratfink and brown noser are numbered. You will see how fast you will be on the outside looking in. Not TELL KEVIN?
I see LW Cult merch in my future---the first release will be t-shirts and mugs “PLEASE DON”T TELL KEVIN” Anyone care to join me? Any other sayings or idea?

Onion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bob McClane was my cousin. My favorite cousin.
> He and his mom were actually the ones that brought
> my mom and later me into the Walk. Bob died the
> day after I was sworn in (at church, on the
> platform with a lot of hoopla) as an attorney.
> The next day I brought his youngest son John Judah
> to live with me. John was a good kid with little
> or no discipline or training and I had never even
> had a conversation with him before he came to live
> with me, bringing his 32 pet lizards. He is still
> ihn the church, please pray for him. He has grown
> up to be an amazing man and I hope he finds
> release so his gifts are not used up by others.
>
> Bobby McClane (as we called him in my family
> growing up) was a wonderful, gifted singer. He
> gave his life for JRS. The business (Impact) that
> was born from his vision, blood and sweat, was
> destroyed by its money being drained primarily to
> fund JRS' divorce from Martha. The workers there
> were paid less than volunteers who are at least
> given a good meal. They gave as much as is humanly
> possible for Bob, JRS and the vision of a
> "kingdome business." The day after Bob died Gary
> spoke from the pulpit about Bob and called his
> death a suicide because Bob was addicted to
> prescription (and maybe other) drugs. It was a
> punch to the gut for any of us who loved Bob and
> we all probably still bear in our bodies the deep
> flinch inflicted by Gary's words.
>
> I, for one, never expressed my unhappiness over
> the words spoken and just continued "soldiering
> on" as if nothing happened.
>
> It sickens me now.
>
>
> Thanks to those who remember Bob and have
> mentioned his song on this forum. Thanks
> GoingRogue, light777, puddington, etc. May we
> continue to discover one another as we exercise
> and enjoy our blossoming freedom.

I remember stacking and sorting bristles at IMPACT. Actually fun and interesting work when your choice was detasle corn, weed the bean field, work at the sawmill or stuff chickens into crates for shipment. In the absence of monetary remuneration (John needed the money more than me) I got all these memories and relationships with you folks.

Cloudwatcher...How about


FREEWILL...it's for sissies.


CULTY and proud.


I wish the LORD was my Shepherd and not __Fill in Name__.


I came to Cult Summer Camp and all I got was this new psychosis.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2018 09:34PM by GoingRogue.