I would really like to talk to anyone who was a part of YASP in the first "experimental" year in 1989 and in the formally organized years of 1990 forward.

Please contact me by PM or post your experience on this forum. I will keep identities secret if I am contacted by PM.

Thanks for your help!

Onion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Someone suggested a goog book title re the walk"
> A Walk With Fraud.


I was thinking. The Living Word Fellowship: Tales from the Abyss

Or, more sadly, OUR WALK INTO CAPTIVITY.

I wanted a title that made reference to the Nephilim.
Nepher Again doesn't quite make it. Maybe A Neph Said ?...A Neph in Our Midst ?...Eneph About the Neph !
This is frustrating. I'll probably spend this beautiful Monday working on this assignment (sigh). Laundry, bills, various errands will all have to wait.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2018 09:15PM by changedagain.

John Brought Down Satan-
But Now He's Back!
(Satan, Not John)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2018 09:49PM by changedagain.

Many who came out of denominational Christianity in the 1960’s, as my family did, became a part of the “Walk” looking for a deeper walk with God. The last thing on our minds was ruling over others or pronouncing the “judgements of God” on those who left the group or didn’t see things exactly as we did. We were looking for a deeper walk with God than we had been able to find elsewhere. It seemed at the time that John had tapped into something of God that others had not. However, you will know them by their fruit, and after many decades, the fruit has not been good. After closer examination, it has become easier to see the many twists on the words of Jesus – sometimes even coming up with the opposite of what Jesus actually taught.

Many have expressed the confusion they have run into trying to sort through Christianity in general. The lens of TLWF is very deceptive when it comes to the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said that he didn’t come to be served, but to serve and lay down his life. The whole hierarchal structure of TLWF, and many other groups, runs completely opposite to what Jesus taught. I think you would learn more about Jesus by serving the least in a way that nobody sees – and it doesn’t need to be in a religious setting. We have to be careful that we don’t just use Jesus to make ourselves look important. He tells us to do our giving in secret so that doesn’t happen. What I have found to be the most helpful is to read the words of Jesus in a different translation, so it is not the same old lens with all the baggage and interpretations. I happen to like “The Message” and “The Passion” translations. The teachings of TLWF have an agenda that is self-serving and not healthy. The words of Jesus come to bring life and actually work for a change.

Our first love should not be affected by what other humans do – they really are not God. Just as in our natural lives, there comes a point where we have to stand on our own two feet – God takes away our Elijah so we learn to depend on just Him. A fifty year-old who has failed to launch and is still living at home with mom and dad is not a pretty sight – even though it has become a badge of honor in TLWF. I was told by a psychologist that I was a teenager in a 45 year-old body that had never learned to make decisions on my own – good or bad. That structure breeds immaturity, not growth.

In the Christian journey, there comes a point where we have to face the fallibility of ourselves and others and then decide whether we will continue to pursue knowing Him – the only source of real change anyway - or withdraw and become bitter. This is much more a cross than doing something your shepherd wants you to do that you do not want to do. But it also has the reward of the life that we originally came into the Walk to find - rather than the mire of never ending condemnation. I love the quote: “Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” Jesus is much smarter than we sometimes give him credit for. One of the hardest things (especially for a man) to do is to go back and read the directions and then do what they say.

Larry - I love your heart and your message but I have to admit that when anything sounds like preaching, I turn off and you sound a bit like a preacher.

I don't believe that standing up for what is right and taking appropriate action with the tools available to us (that I believe have been provided by our higher power - no matter what name He/She goes by) is bitterness.

A lot of people have pulled back from saying something about what is wrong because they don't want to have a critical or bitter spirit. I don't either. But not all anger is bitterness. Not all criticism of behaviors is the reflection of a bitter spirit.

I deeply believe that people should speak and be heard. Where there has been deep emotional and spiritual harm and even more where actual physical conduct such as sexual abuse, assault and child sexual abuse -- silence does NOT make you innocent or bitter-free -- silence can make you complicit. And not reporting these abuses appropriately under the law can make you a felon.

Further, those who used us in the walk are each and everyone counting on us to remain silent. That's how they have existed and continued criminal behavior for so many years.

Larry - I don't think you meant to silence people. But many of us are conditioned to hear condemnation in something when it sounds like preaching. Please understand this is NOT meant to condemn you. I just hope you understand.

Onion - Thanks for the feedback! I've been posting for more than 15 years, starting originally on Factnet. From my first post, I've used my real name. I certainly have refused to be silenced by fear and would not want to silence anyone else. I don't think there is anything of substance to be fearful of as far as TLWF is concerned. Their only power comes from a belief system of brainwashing - not anything of substance. Sorry for being preachy, but I still teach in a church and the lessons of abuse that came from my 30 years in TLWF have actually been helpful to myself and others.

As people get more and more free, they eventually realize there really is a God after all - in spite of what happened to them in TLWF. He loves them, and always will. Although there is a period of vomit, we don't have to spend the rest of our lives in it. Forgiveness is a big part of our personal freedom. I've been through years of professional counseling and didn't find much help there, except to learn my responses were normal - I wasn't nuts. The real help for me came when I went back to what I thought was causing the problem in the first place - God. I would encourage others to do the same. I know that is not easy for some to hear, but honestly, people are getting old and may not have another 20 years to figure it out. I know for a fact there can be complete healing. Onion is a perfect description of the healing process - layer after layer. It really does get better!

Larry, this is my first post. I wanted to add a voice of agreement to your message and your general tone. I was just introduced to this forum a week ago by a good friend who has been liberated for while. I spent hours, initially, reading posts, tearing up at people's pain, laughing at their parodies, and rejoicing that they were on the path to a new life!

My husband and I are being led out of the burning building by ex-members in our community and our five loving children, three of which have posted extensively.
While many who have escaped avoid God, the Bible, and the faith community in general in order to survive and heal (I can appreciate that!), my husband and I, as young adults, had a relationship with Jesus which preceded our long tenure (42 years) with Living Word. We are finding our way back to that state...and loving it! God did not leave us to die in our "rebellion!" Rather, He has been closer and more accessible than ever. Enough said.

I just wanted to reach out to you and commend you for the lucidity of your posts and how you've been able to translate some of the very raw firings of my limbic system into coherent ideas! And your compassion toward those who are hurting is something that we all need as we find our individual paths into the people we were meant to be.

Thank you!

Well said, Brushes. Welcome to the RR forum.