OK, I guess I started this pope-talk with my post. The RR moderator is correct. Let's stay on track and not get into talking about the C. Church. Let me just say this. I wasn't kidding with my post. Gary is in Brazil. If you go to the LW web page you can hear the latest messages. The whole LW is all excited that Gary will get an audience with the Pope. He still thinks he's an important world spiritual leader. (Never mind that his congragations are shrinking and the LW is under 1000 heads total now.) This is a new "thing" the LW is into. Actually, it's not of much interest to me. Just another way the LW leaders can keep their members distracted from the fact that they are being used, abused and controled by their leaders.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2013 09:23PM by paleface.

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paleface
OK, I guess I started this pope-talk with my post. The RR moderator is correct. Let's stay on track and not get into talking about the C. Church. Let me just say this. I wasn't kidding with my post. Gary is in Brazil. If you go to the LW web page you can hear the latest messages. The whole LW is all excited that Gary will get an audience with the Pope. He still thinks he's an important world spiritual leader. (Never mind that his congragations are shrinking and the LW is under 1000 heads total now.) This is a new "thing" the LW is into. Actually, it's not of much interest to me. Just another way the LW leaders can keep their members distracted from the fact that they are being used, abused and controled by their leaders.

The Living Word has always considered itself an elitist group, no other church or denomination could compare in their eyes to themselves, they always believed they were "Christ in the Earth." I personally believe that the Hargraves will be seen out there peddling their wares anywhere they can in the next little while, they will keep showing up like a bad penny until they finally just disappear off the face of the Earth, and the WALK will only be a vague memory in the minds of a lot of old people, and then it will be gone completely. But hopefully, with enough written about it, that the lessons we have learned, will be there for younger people in the future if they happen onto the information.

I for one am glad the numbers are dwindling and the WALK will soon be buried with JRS, it was the dreams of a madman, carried on by opportunists.

Chaos1952:

What you have described is the typical history of a destructive cult.

That is, after the founder/leader dies the group usually disintergrates.

Destructive cults are essentially defined and driven by a living charismatic leader. Onece that person is gone the group will most often wither and/or collapse. It is as if the group is a wheel and the leader's role was at the center and he or she served as the group's hub.

No hub means the end of the wheel and so the group stops rolling.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2013 11:32PM by rrmoderator.

I definitely remember the names Erika and Justin Bobo, but I don't think I really knew them beyond a casual acquaintance, maybe from YASP.

I really like what you said about continuing the walk and not quitting. Because it IS true.....even with all the BS, for me at least, there was still a lot of good that came out of my experience and certainly don't feel my time was wasted. Good, lasting relationships are never a waste. It's all a part of our journey.....like Saul, who became Paul -- he persecuted Christians, but went on to worship the Lord in spite of his history. By being exposed to the methods of the Walk, we now know what NOT to do! It's a shame that anyone would cut themselves off from God because of their experiences.....and I know some people that used to be in the church that have.....they spit on Jesus and religion, which is sad because they've associated Jesus with the Walk.

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paleface
He busy trying to impress the Pope.

That made me chuckle. I can just picture it.

" It's a shame that anyone would cut themselves off from God because of their experiences.....and I know some people that used to be in the church that have.....they spit on Jesus and religion, which is sad because they've associated Jesus with the Walk."

I used to think people that would otherwise have a relationship with the Lord would choose not to because they had been taken for a ride by cult leaders, but then I realized that if they had been seeking a relationship with the Lord to begin with, or if they sought Him after such exposure, they would for certain find Him. If, on the other hand, they would just leave one charismatic leader for another, then they were not seeking the Lord after all. Jesus said "MY sheep know MY voice, a stranger they will not follow." That is the way it really is.

chaos

It's very true, Chaos.

Chaos1952:

Actually the main reason that former cult members at times "leave one charismatic leader for another" is because they have not sorted it out.

But if the former member has come to undrstand through exaxamination and education what they went through, they most often will move on to a better life. This is a process of sorting through the cult experience to better understand what happened. That is, to specifically understand what a cult is and how "cult brainwashing" works. Once that understanding is absorbed it is very difficult for another leader to step in and manipulate cult victims.

See [www.culteducation.com]

This succinct paper written by psychiatrist Robert Jay Liftone pretty much sums it up.

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sierradawn
It's a shame that anyone would cut themselves off from God because of their experiences.....and I know some people that used to be in the church that have.....they spit on Jesus and religion, which is sad because they've associated Jesus with the Walk.

It is quite the paradigm shift to recognize the Jesus you thought you were serving is not Jesus at all. When I first left TLWF, I wanted nothing to do with God - I honestly thought He was messed up. I believed He should have honored my sincerity rather than my obedience to His word. As I began to sort things out, I discovered that where I obeyed His commands, things worked - where I did not obey them, they did not. His words are the plumb line - not what some human opinion says about His words - twisting them to use for their own benefit. There is much life and safety in the "red letters". I've come to see that to the extent I have allowed another to take the place of God, that is the degree of unnecessary suffering that has followed. Our minds know it is the frailties of humans, but somehow God ultimately gets blamed for it when our hearts are wounded. There is a reason Jesus said, "Call no man teacher, father, or leader - You have one, and it is the Christ, and you are all brothers." It makes it a little rough to build a church system (which I don't believe the kingdom is), but it sure opens the door to a deeper walk with Him.

BTW - A friend of mine that had once been involved in the occult before coming to know Jesus, visited a TLWF worship service and had to leave because of all the occult activity that was being called God's presence. I personaly believe John's interest in the occult resulted in open doors that were never meant to be opened in our Christian walk. The spiritual warefare that was used to encourage elitism now to me is an indication of disobedience in some area where there is an open door. Our immunity in Christ is tremendous. I had no idea how complete it is while in TLWF - life was always a battle. The distortion of submission to a human covering to protect against Satan not only does not work, it opens the door for Satan's activity when they take the place of God. If we are careful to obey God, the enemy will come at us one way, and flee seven. Satan must come, or we would not have the opportunity to manifest Christ's victory- - but he is a defeated foe. Things get easier when leaving TLWF because you don't open the door and invite the enemy in - not because you are no longer a threat to him as a "super son". It's delusional to think you are ruling nations with your prophetic word when you can't even run your own life. Obeying Jesus' commands first heals our personal lives and then begins to impact the lives of those around us.

Acts 5:38 "And so now I tell you: Stay away from these men, and leave them alone. If their plan comes from human authority, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!”

I believe i can say with certainty tlwf is from man. It's just taking awhile to fail completely.