Those of us that worked at Wood Electric considered it to be a Kingdom business. Most of the employees were not involved in TLWF, which I'm sure affected the business model. Originally, all the employees were part of the church. Mike had a servant's heart and would often joke he wished he made what his foremen made. He lived a simple life and worked a crazy number of hours/week. He had to be reminded that most of us were not thinking about Wood Electric at midnight when he might call about a job. He not only paid well, but above Union scale with benefits. He paid his employees well and let them decide what they wanted to give to the "kingdom".

For Apco to belittle him to the point that suicide was the only option in his mind is beyond tragic. I spent hundreds of hours with Mike, both in the business and the church - that basically was life for those involved. His life is not one I'm willing to let get swept under the carpet. The way he was treated was rooted in evil - even a little love would have gone a long way in healing him. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy - God comes that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

It seems that most want nothing to do with God after their involvement with TLWF, much less any type of church community. I would just like to say that the errors of TLWF are not a true reflection on the true God or church communities. It is a difficult transition to give up a human playing God in one's life for God alone and then to relate to others out of that relationship. Jesus said you have one teacher and it is the Christ and you are all brothers. Although I have a church home and am very involved, I fellowship with multiple groups - something that was off limits in TLWF without a hidden agenda. I don't think I even knew what a healthy Christian relationship was like until I left TLWF.

larry bobo Wrote:
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His life is not one I'm willing to let get swept under the carpet. The
way he was treated was rooted in evil - even a
little love would have gone a long way in healing
him. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy
- God comes that we might have life, and have it
abundantly.

_________________________________________________________

I love your tenacity.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.

Proverbs 31:8 (NLV)

It's sad to note that a part of the annual School Of Prophets meeting at Shiloh is the designation of the Top 10 Kingdom Businesses. Based of course on their fiscal and spiritual support of G&M who are so obviously hurting. It must really suck to be giving your life to this ministry and come in at number 11 ...

larry bobo wrote: “I would just like to say that the errors of TLWF are not a true reflection on the true God”.

--------------------

If larry’s statement proves to be false, we need to find a “Better God” who can dispose of the current “Loser God” now in power.

I guess what I’m saying is, “God has to measure up to certain expectations I somehow acquired during this lifetime or while dreaming.”
Being ‘let down’ by God is a very foreign concept to me, one that I will not readily accept.

It’s troubling to consider your whole experience to date has been a lie. Deceived people are actually deceived, not knowing they’re deceived. Pretty scary.

dbc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's sad to note that a part of the annual School
> Of Prophets meeting at Shiloh is the designation
> of the Top 10 Kingdom Businesses. Based of course
> on their fiscal and spiritual support of G&M who
> are so obviously hurting. It must really suck to
> be giving your life to this ministry and come in
> at number 11...

_________________________________________________________________

Given Jan's and others unsuccessful arranged marriages, ya think the name of Kingdom Business number 11 was Matchmakers?

larry bobo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Those of us that worked at Wood Electric
> considered it to be a Kingdom business. Most of
> the employees were not involved in TLWF, which I'm
> sure affected the business model. Originally, all
> the employees were part of the church. Mike had a
> servant's heart and would often joke he wished he
> made what his foremen made. He lived a simple
> life and worked a crazy number of hours/week. He
> had to be reminded that most of us were not
> thinking about Wood Electric at midnight when he
> might call about a job. He not only paid well,
> but above Union scale with benefits. He paid his
> employees well and let them decide what they
> wanted to give to the "kingdom".

So basically Mike served as an example of how to treat others and was ultimately punished for it. I respect how to left it up to the employees to decide what portion of their pay they would donate to the Kingdom (church leaders). He obviously didn't have it in his heart to resort to shakedown tactics. Good for him--but tragic the price he paid. RIP

FCSLC - One of the things I've come to appreciate since leaving TLWF are the teachings of Jesus. I realize that it is difficult for some - especially those who have been wounded by another path - to even entertain that Jesus alone is the way to the Father. Even the teachings of Paul, much less present day ministries, need to be viewed through the lens of what Jesus said - not the other way around. There is a simplicity and safety that we don't find anywhere else. The way, the truth, and the life is a person, not a doctrine.

At the point I left TLWF, I really still thought TLWF was God - God just happened to be messed up and I could live life much better without Him. Whatever bits and pieces happened to produce some life were still based on Jesus' words - even if it was unintentional. The areas that proved to be destructive were things that He had warned about and I chose not to listen. I, like many, have had a history of insisting on learning things the hard way. It's through suffering that I'm learning obedience.

Over a lifetime (60 years) I've come to realize that Jesus' words never fail - if they are really Jesus'words. It's not a new God versus an old God - it's just going back to the basics and obeying. There was a time I thought God valued our sincerity - even if we were sincerely wrong. Now I've come to value that, "If you love Me, you will obey my commands." Where the process started for me with TLWF was "You will be forgiven the way you forgive." Much of the dogma that has been attributed to Jesus are things He never said. Much of what He said has been ignored by those who want to use Him to gain advantage over others, instead of serving others.

Thank you, larry bobo. I agree totally. An interesting study area can be found by Googling “Jesus vs Paul.” It has been reported that even Thomas Jefferson was interested in segregating out Jesus’ teachings or something to that effect. Somebody had the idea for the “Red Letters” when Jesus speaks in the Bible.

When getting down to basics, it’s Jesus’ personality that speaks louder than words. Evil men can exploit doctrine like you mentioned, but those who actually display Jesus’ Personality are the ones who are on the right track. Jesus knows the doctrine, but look how He refuses to judge or condemn those who are struggling with it. He doesn’t seem to admire the “enforcers of doctrine” very much.

Ninety-five percent of what goes on in the TLWF is not Jesus. I can’t believe Jesus would act like the shepherds I used to know. One of my favorite verses is Matt 12:20: “And a smoldering wick He will not extinguish.” Totally to the contrary, TLWF specialized in a variety of fire control techniques.

Many of today’s churches/movements could be evaluated by looking deeply into the type of overall “personality” it manifests. It’s pretty difficult to “fake” Jesus’ Personality over the long haul especially when money is involved. Like you said somewhere before, “You’ll know them by their fruits.”

Larry and FCSLC,

Your above 2 posts really blessed me. Thanks.

Lily Rose, thank you for your reply. I think you are very correct in what you say. For myself, I will eventually have to make a decision to forgive, but at this time the rubbing of salt into the wound that never heals has really caused so much pain. I thought about it a lot and came to the decision if these people still cause me a lot of heartache, I will simply not expose myself to their presence. In time, perhaps I shall forgive, but at this point all I hope for is to feel a bit more neutral.
I still love Jesus. He is faithful. Perhaps the only faithful one in my life, as most offer only conditional love, if that.
Life goes on. I am thankful that through it all, I had the gift of the Holy Spirit which yields a covering to us that will lead us to Truth and reveal deception. I think that there were many loving souls in the Walk, but virtually all of us that fell into the description of the flock were open to some degree of deception through false teachings.
To those who ascended into so called leadership roles, I imagine the fall when it happens is quite drastic.
What always bothered me most about the Walk was the elevation of Man to command a position of worship. I always knew there was something off about it all.