So should a member of TLW say a shepherd that was pushing the word on me leave TLW and post here. How can I take that? Lucky I super love this person. Ugh.

I have a lot of resentment towards all involved. I'm trying to get over that part.

It's hard. I was pushing this shit to others myself. What do they think of me?

Anyone who sincerely breaks free and wants to get help and give help from/for others who also have a sincere desire to be free and be made whole, should be welcome to read these posts and post here. Any of us that were part of the group for an extended period had to have been involved in pushing the word, "training in Marilyn's thinking," etc. etc. etc. I think we all feel deep sorrow over our part in pushing any of this. But we are much more victims of control than perpetrators. We were very carefully trained to do anything we did in the name of the Lord/JRS/Marilyn.

If a leadership person posted here, I would hope it would be a post of sincere repentance and full disclosure. If any less, then it would just be more of the same hollow promises and fraud we've been fed for far too long.

One caveat: If someone who perpetrated sexual assault on people of any gender and any age, wanted to be part of this group, I would say send your post by usps from prison and stay away from us.

It would have been difficult for anyone who spent any significant time in the fellowship to have avoided the disaster know as 'designated' relationships, built first on the apostolic hierarchy of Ephesians, and then refined with the Elijah/Elisha and Paul/Timothy iterations of the JRS era.

The G&M era saw a much more destructive version that built a chain of such relationships from the platform all the way back to the nursery, assigning virtually everyone a 'Christ-in-the-flesh'.

The result of this great experiment was widespread devastation, as completely unqualified individuals were given the decision-making power over others. Those who seem to have avoided these dynamics were really not considered to be a 'part of the fellowship.'

That said, we were all drinking the cup and passing it around.

kBoy:

What you are describing is incredible control over people's lives with no boundaries whatsoever.

The only way to stop it is to leave the group. And groups like this make that very difficult by characterizing those who leave as "leaving God" and/or rejecting "God and His word." They make you feel that obedience to them is obedience to God and disobedience to them is disobedience to God.

Until you are outside the group milieu and can effectively receive accurate feedback your sense of reality is skewed and surreal.

The research previously linked helps those affected by such manipulation see how it works. Understanding the mechanics of such manipulation is important in the recovery process. You can fully comprehend what happened. Without that deeper understanding people often have a tendency to blame themselves, blame God, feel that some curse is hanging over them through unreasonable fears, etc.

It's vitally important to read the research and sort through the group experience. Knowing the common characteristics and dynamics of destructive cults helps victims to see how the Kool-aid is brewed and coercively fed to its victims.

Basic question: if one of Rick’s under-age victims decided to break the code of silence and come forward, would Rick be in legal trouble? Or has too much time passed.

puddington:

IMO Yes probably, but I am not an attorney.

kBoy said:
“It would have been difficult for anyone who spent any significant time in the fellowship to have avoided the disaster known as 'designated' relationships, built first on the apostolic hierarchy of Ephesians, and then refined with the Elijah/Elisha and Paul/Timothy iterations of the JRS era. The G&M era saw a much more destructive version that built a chain of such relationships from the platform all the way back to the nursery, assigning virtually everyone a 'Christ-in-the-flesh'. The result of this great experiment was widespread devastation, as completely unqualified individuals were given the decision-making power over others. Those who seem to have avoided these dynamics were really not considered to be a 'part of the fellowship.'”

First of all, I think it is important to point out that the “apostolic hierarchy of Ephesians” is what TLWF taught, not what Ephesians actually says. These ministries were gifts to equip the body so that they would not be “blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming”. Legitimate leadership would have protected you from the likes of the leadership of TLWF. I would suggest that most in TLWF have never even been exposed to leadership that is there to serve them, rather than use them for their own personal gain.

There is a huge difference between a counselor that has been professionally trained and those we served under in TLWF. The lack of qualifications became even more apparent in designated relationships, but I would suggest that there was always a lack of qualifications clear to the top – including John. I don’t think designated relationships were ever about helping people, but about controlling and keeping tabs on them. After I left my local church, my former pastor, who had been kicked out of the fellowship, told me that he could not believe I would continue to do what he asked. It was never about helping me, but about breaking my spirit to become more obedient. I might also note that his strategies were being directed by Apco and Apco's strategies by G&M. As soon as there was an obvious problem, G&M would cut ties to the local pastor and claim the pastor did not have their spirit and therefore they were not responsible.

larry bobo,

Thanks for that clarification concerning scripture.

Another thing that's quite important when dealing with supposedly bible based groups is to recognize how the leader may have twisted the scriptures.

Getting a good mainstream study bible and talking with a qualified biblical scholar with recognized credentials (i.e. seminary degree from a well recognized and accredited college and seminary) is very helpful.

A good study bible has footnotes to reflect what each and every scripture is understood to mean as based upon a historical consensus of biblical scholars. A biblical scholar of the New Testament often can read the original version in Greek, which is important in resolving a conflict. Old Testament scholars often read Hebrew and/or Aramaic.

All of this study may help a former member to unwind the manipulation of the group from a scriptural perspective.

This is not about telling people what to believe, but rather studying the common historical understanding and translation of the bible as it was originally written and historically understood. Good study bibles also reflect controversies regarding certain verses.

So often destructive supposedly bible based cults twist the meaning of scriptures for self-serving reasons.

The primary question should be -- How does this relatively odd understanding of a scripture empower the leader and afford him or her control over the members?

If the leader's interpretation is self-serving and affects people's lives it should be examined closely and studied to make sure it is historically and contextually accurate.

This is the difference between using the bible for faith, revelation and enlightenment, as opposed to using as a personal tool to leverage people and manipulate them.