Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: October 25, 2018 01:25AM
kBOY – “TLW leadership excelled at not being religious by being prime examples of debauchery.”
puddington – “It certainly makes you wonder how many of the APCO guys were/are sheep bangers. I sorta think it isn’t just Rick.”
It was interesting to me watching my own transformation after leaving TLWF. My need for a six-pack of beer to survive an elders meeting went away. I found out that healthy people did not need profanity to communicate and especially in a business setting it was frowned upon – much less a church service. I did not need to push the tasteless joke envelope to be funny. I thought I was being free only to find out I was being an embarrassment. I remember going into a crowded theater and another elder yelling “Bobo, where the f..k are you?” I answered, “Down here!” The row behind me all got up and moved. We both thought it was funny – and granted, there was alcohol involved. After all, when you are ruling and reigning with Christ, who really cares what others think. Now looking back, it was so wrong on so many levels. There were no boundaries for socially acceptable behavior and as a result, it made life a mess.
I’ve heard from so many separate sources that John and Marilyn were in a relationship long before John’s divorce that I am inclined to believe it. As far as there being “sheep bangers” in the leadership, I would suggest the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree – although I’m sure it was not true of everyone. I wonder how other leaders in the Christian world would have responded to John if he said he wanted to divorce his wife and marry his assistant. Would it have made any difference if they knew he was the “Door Opener Apostle” and she was the ”Lamp of Israel” like it did for us. It is something I am ashamed of now that the deception is broken – both in my own life and in TLWF.