Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: December 10, 2015 05:13AM
I believe one of the best things we have to offer those still in TLWF is hope for the future – especially as things begin to crumble. That hope is not in anything that we might say, but in Him. Nothing can make Him unfaithful or cause Him to stop loving us. Granted, leaving TLWF was the most difficult thing I had ever faced in my life to that point. It also became the most liberating – especially as I began to read for myself and put into practice the teachings of Jesus. It certainly was not easy. Easy would be becoming bitter and just shutting down anything that had to do with God – even though I knew mentally the abuse I experienced in TLWF was not God. There is no question that it is very difficult for a wounded heart to trust again – even the One who is perfect, much less humans. Fortunately, where there is no way, He makes a way – and the good news for all of us is that it’s not based on our ability, but on Him.
Many of us took detours into the world that made our time in TLWF appear in contrast to seem as though we were receiving some measure of life. Even ______ (pick your least favorite food) tastes good compared to sh*t, if you have never tasted anything else. TLWF is simply not a true reflection of God. The leadership only has their personal interests in mind, not God’s, and when followers can no longer be used, they are discarded. Jesus, on the other hand came to serve, not be served, and to lay down his life. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick, he will not snuff out.” I’ve come to know many great men and women whose voices are heard around the world – yet they are humble servants. I never saw that in TLWF – even with John. It was grandiose talk and no character to match. A knowledge of Christ doesn’t come by mowing your leader’s grass but by taking care of the ‘least of these’. As some have noted, the teaching of TLWF is almost boring, it is so lacking in substance. You can’t give to the world something you don’t have and is not working for you. There is a reason you have to hide, instead of being salt and light.
A side note to “kingdom businesses” – I worked for Mike Wood at Wood Electric, and he was an honorable man when it came to wages. We were paid more than other electrical contracting businesses in our area – he certainly did not learn that from TLWF. I knew many who illegally made less than minimum wage in “Kingdom businesses”. Fortunately, God was more interested that we obey the "Door Opener" and "Lamp" than we obey the law. G&M ended up with some of the resources that came off the backs of those people. A godly leader would share with those who sacrificed, not take advantage of them for personal gain – even if they are just the “little people”. Most of the businesses were so poorly run, they did not even survive – even with the “extra help”. As a current business owner, I would now call many of those businesses corrupt, instead of sticking my head in the sand and pretending it was God. The God I would be fearful of is the one that says, ‘So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me, ‘says the Lord Almighty.” In hindsight, my view of TLWF would include every one of those things. The least of my concerns is the type of judgement that comes from some bizarre form of “intercession”. The only ones it hurt were those doing the judging. It should be obvious - it was John, not Martha, that died – not that the facts should matter.