Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Posted by:
changedagain
()
Date: July 20, 2020 11:35PM
Post by Walked from November of 2018:
Posted by: Walked
Date: November 16, 2018 06:43AM
I feel like I’ve just been told there is no Santa Claus….
While I didn’t suffer the horrendous violations that those under the sexual predators and their enablers did, the Church soaked up over 8 years of my prime life and more money, time, and labor than my stomach wants to admit. Worse, discovering the truth presented in this forum deeply shakes my belief in God, because this “Church” is the only way I knew him, and now I see it was all a lie.
I was married in the church and spent untold hours on the road driving from one service to another (6 churches in SoCal). I traveled to Shiloh, CO, and Aurora; I cleaned a local church regularly, and I felt devastated at not being able to keep up with the never-ending flow of sermon notes, tapes, and This Weeks. My relationship and the timing of all involved was directed by my “shepherds” who I now recognize as inexperienced young guys who were just winging it and who weren’t any more pious than I was.
I always felt inferior to those who held named positions, and I was awestruck when seeing JRS in Anaheim and South Gate and the Valley church. I only regret that I had never seen him perform one of his laying on of hands “miracles” or to have seen him “glow” as was described to me. I wondered when God would speak to me and show me what everyone else seemed to be seeing/experiencing around me.
When JRS died I was pretty certain that he’d rise again. When Marilyn and Gary took up together I thought it was tacky and suspicious, but who was I to question? When they traveled the country with leather suitcases and moved to beautiful Hawaii, I pondered that. I knew of stories about JRS and Martha, and about the many divorces required for the “divine recouplings”, but I didn’t know the truth as finally presented here in this verrrrry long forum.
I’ve been aware of this forum and have popped in occasionally over the years. I found it interesting, but thought it was more sour grapes from others like me who had left. At times in the ensuing years I considered going to a CLW service to see how it felt, and ironically, I felt bad for not introducing my children to “church,” but I remembered the feelings of inferiority and thought it might be awkward to run into people I had once been so close to, yet had not even talked to in 15 years.
I’m thrilled to see the church finally blown up for what it is— a cult, led by wolves who have preyed on innocent sheep since day 1. How can anything remain to build on when the entire church was built off of a lie (JRS’s vision and anointing)? My family always thought I was in a cult, but I assured them that we were the chosen sons of God—the body of Christ that was so much more right than “religion” or other insipid churches. Little did I know there was a drinking, sexual, money-grubbing power party underneath, that fools like me were financing. Class action to recoup our Tithes anyone??
I left without an explanation because of personal things going on in my life that my “shepherds” had no clue how to counsel me over, and in fact, were cruel about. After being part of the same church for over 8 years no one even called—that’s how insignificant I was. Now I’m thankful that I never had children I subjected to this cult, and I feel deep compassion for those of you who were raised as innocents in this lie. In time your minds will clear and you’ll embrace real life outside of the fake walls—I’m so very sorry that you need to start over. There are bound to be some good sheep that still need to be rescued. As for the “elders” or other appointees—I simply cannot believe that you weren’t complicit in the corruption and lies. Now you get to live with that, and I hope the biggest offenders will do it behind bars. Aside from the criminality of the sexual crimes and enabling, the leaders from JRS, Marilyn, and Gary on down are narcissistic, greedy, sociopaths who thought nothing of ruining others’ lives, causing devastating spiritual confusion, and living high off others' backs.