puddington Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...and it sounds like Gary is trying to take
> credit for shutting down the LW. “Laying an axe
> to the root”. What a crock! The Hindenburg is
> burning and Shalom lit the match, not Gary.

The enabling leadership is the root of the problem. They allowed the religious hierarchy to exist (don't ever question 'Christ in the Flesh') which has provided protection for the perpetrators...and apparently still does. If these same people still have influence over former members of TLWF, which appears to be the case, nothing of significance has changed. I'm certain that the goal of former leaders (Gary, Bruce/David etc.) is to control the assets by controlling the people and escaping legal accountability. Any suggestion that they should be credited for dealing with the wrongdoing that went on for years is ludicrous.

Reepicheep mentioned boundaries a few weeks back, and I think healthy boundaries is something that has to be re-learned post TLWF. Allowing a human to take the place of God is so destructive to the most sacred part of our lives. The deception of false “words from God” is that they bypass the normal filter of human communication and destroy us from the inside out. When you really open up, you are defenseless. Even a spouse doesn’t typically enter the most private parts of our hearts – it’s too risky to share with another human, and I would suggest, meant for God alone. Many, myself included, put far more weight on what the leadership of TLWF had to say than our own spouses. In hindsight, that should have been a red flag. Loving Marilyn more than my wife was simply adultery – she never was God. There should have never been a closer human relationship than my spouse.

A couple of books that have been very helpful to me in re-learning boundaries are “Boundaries” and “The One-Life Solution” by Dr. Henry Cloud, a New York Times Bestselling author. Perhaps the quickest way to recover from unhealthy relationships is to establish healthy ones – starting with our self. We tend to attract others just like us. It’s helpful to be armed with some insight so you can actually identify healthy (and unhealthy) people. There are many wonderful people in the world that will give you hope that life really can be better than what you have known in the past. Leaving TLWF was like coming out of the darkness into the light for me. There is no question life improves in every area when you escape that which wants to kill, steal, and destroy.

Organized religion by itself is just a system that has been created to meet the requirements of the law. It’s the people in the system that determine if it is destructive or life giving. The system itself is not something God came up with, but man – and therefore every system has its flaws. I’ve discovered good and bad people in every church I have attended – including TLWF. The commonality of the good people is that they have a personal relationship with God that produces the fruit of the Spirit. It doesn’t come from the system. I have a close personal friend that is a Catholic priest. I can find many doctrinal errors in the Catholic Church, and yet from within this church structure has come a man that genuinely loves God and others – the thing that God says is the most important.

I see TLWF as a corrupt structure with corrupt leadership, and yet there are many that have come out of it that deeply love God and others. After twenty years removed, I tend to view it as a deceptive web that was meant to take good people out of circulation. Even if they manage to escape physically, there still is a poison that remains to keep them out of circulation and functioning as a member of the Body of Christ. Learning to flip the hierarchical structure over and relate to the ‘least of these” is so foreign to TLWF culture – and too much of what calls itself Christianity for that matter. Pure religion takes care of the widows and orphans, not those that want to take the place of God in the lives of others. A quick check of the leadership will reveal whether there is an upward flow or a flow to the most marginalized of society. The gospel has always been good news for the poor and hated by religious leaders looking for personal gain.

One of the transition team members in Brazil contacted me because he wants to send me their English translation that contains more information than why was posted in Portuguese (whatever that means). I will share as soon as I get it.


Wait a minute... Changedagain did you say you might have some leftover prudishness? You were prudish? I'm SHOCKED. ;-)


Larry Bobo thanks for your insights. Thoughtfully written and really good information.

Onion Wrote:

> Wait a minute... Changedagain did you say you
> might have some leftover prudishness? You were
> prudish? I'm SHOCKED. ;-)

I think it is just when I heard about Mom's great sex life :)

changedagain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Onion Wrote:
>
> > Wait a minute... Changedagain did you say you
> > might have some leftover prudishness? You were
> > prudish? I'm SHOCKED. ;-)
>
> I think it is just when I heard about Mom's great
> sex life :)

I remember seeing my parents kiss, and covering my eyes and saying, "Ewwww!"

Listening to G&M brag about their sex life was SO cringeworthy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2019 04:48AM by Reepicheep.

This forum is not dead (yet). That day will come, and when it does, I still think we should not charge more than $40 for each person attending its funeral.
(Page views to date: 1,021,287)

changedagain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This forum is not dead (yet). That day will come,
> and when it does, I still think we should not
> charge more than $40 for each person attending its
> funeral.
> (Page views to date: 1,021,287)


Wasn't it under 200,000 in February 2016? I think I recall that I saw that. It had stepped up a bit but not like this.

Cloudwatcher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> changedagain Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > This forum is not dead (yet). That day will
> come,
> > and when it does, I still think we should not
> > charge more than $40 for each person attending
> its
> > funeral.
> > (Page views to date: 1,021,287)
>
>
> Wasn't it under 200,000 in February 2016? I think
> I recall that I saw that. It had stepped up a bit
> but not like this.

I'm not sure what the figure was in Feb 2016. But there definitely has been a surge in recent years. I'm pretty sure it has had nothing to do with interest in Mom & Dad's sex life. At least I hope not ;)
Readers--TURN IT OFF!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2019 07:55AM by changedagain.

O.K.--I checking in to the Feb 2016 posts. I did come across this exchange with Apostle Dog, unrelated to the page views question:

Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: Apostle Dog
Date: February 01, 2016 01:06AM

I would not be surprised if this "third anointing" they are talking about might consist of hooking up with other Latter Rain, third wave people. I don't think it would hurt them in the least, in fact, pretty much anything that would unite the Walk with anybody outside their doors would probably be good for them, in comparison to what they much come up with on their own.

Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: changedagain
Date: February 01, 2016 07:07AM

I wonder if the fourth anointing is the selling off of all church assets to the enrichment of a few. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself--sorry.

And this from kBoy:

Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by: kBOY ()
Date: February 01, 2016 09:08AM

Following the money-trail in TLW is a convoluted, carefully-guarded mess. With Marilyn out of the picture and Gary without any 'heir-apparent', much will fall to the Rick Holbrook side of the equation, with all of the ex's that that entails.

As usual, the little people will probably be left out of any calculations.