It is too bad that so many excellent posts got lost. Did anybody save any, so they could be re-posted?
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

So what happened? Did we lose all the posts from the last 2 years?
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Chaos, I read the PFO write up on FF. That was quite a diatribe. Someone went thru a lot of work to try to discredit Francis. There was a reference in there to this: "John Robert Stevens and the Church of the Living Word ('The Walk')," Spiritual Counterfeits Project Newsletter, September 1976; and Todd Ehrenborg in Walter Martin, The New Cults. Santa Ana, Calif.: Vision
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Chaos, if you Google "Factnet Hargrave" you get links. Try different keywords and you should find old threads. Try this link:
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

The unwritten mission statement of the Living Word is "to build wealth for Gary, Marilyn and Rick". The actions of this cult suggest this. For many years, the local churches outside of LA were required to tithe 80% of their income (local tithes) directly to APCO. I suspect this is still the case, but with numbers dwindling, this amount must be dwindling as well. It made it very di
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Invisible -- it is very sad to hear about how your family has been impacted. I know of many families in the Living Word that have had similar experiences. Just this year, Bruce and Gilee Larson in San Diego have split up a family and forbid the kids from talking to their parents. This practise has been going on in LA for years. This causes extensive emotional damage.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome Saw Enough and thank you for that post. I agree with it 100%
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

The shepherding movement in the Living Word started up after John had died. It was a follow-on to some of the ideas presented in the set of messages he gave just before he died called "The Unfolding". The idea was that we should be able to submit to each other in "designated relationships", similar to Timothy submitting to and serving Paul. (or Elisha and Elijah). It was
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Excellent points in the above posts. Gary brings sermons about how God gave man a free will and He would never cross that free will. And then it dawned on me. "Hey, wait a minute. You are saying that God would never cross our free wills? Then why is it OK for 'Christ in the Flesh' to cross our wills?" And often that Christ in the Flesh person isn't even a pa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Please don't be offended by what I am about to say, but, I'm thinking that several of you are a bit stuck and need professional help. The grip of this cult seems to still have its barbs in you. I got help from several sources. It helped a lot. For some of you, it has been a long time. Perhaps our memories paint a brighter image of what happened back then in the walk, than what was
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

It might be beneficial to review some of the statements that have come over the pulpit of major Living Word churches over the years. In every instance, these statements have never been rescinded. The leadership would never do that. So they stand as part of the LW "truth". After all, they're supposed to be "Words from God", right? Here's a partial list: "
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Thank you Larry. Well said and clarified. Yes, at somepoint a person needs to stop barfing. Otherwise, it kills your gut and rots the teeth. : ) But, yes, then it is time to move on. Maybe some folks are afraid to move on. Afraid of an uncertain future. And a future that appears to be empty and meaningless when you've been entrenched in Marilyn's teaching. I know many in the L
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Good point. Perhaps John corrected Happy in private. Happy was a bundle of joy. I loved him.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I think a big "red light" moment for me happened in the Anaheim church. JRS was talking and Happy Clark stood up and said "Brother Stevens, you're the Christ". John just chuckled and said something general like "Bless you, Happy". I've often wondered why John didn't correct Happy for saying that. I've come to beleive that JRS actually believ
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Larry, with all due respect to you, this forum is titled Rick Ross Cult Education forum. I think it is beneficial for people to be free to talk and ask questions and learn about John. All of him. The Living Word has been identified as a cult and John, then, was a cult leader. Yes, God probably used him. But from the tone of your posts, you sound like you are rebuking some of us who are askin
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

If you look at Hitler's organization during WWII, he had a close group around him that executed his madness. While Hitler gave the orders, it was these SS officers that made sure these plans were carried out. Guys like Goebbles, Himmler, and Goring did the dirty work. Hitler insulated himself a bit from close contact with the atrocities that were being conducted in the name of the Third R
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

There have been many good men of God who have been ousted from Marilyn's inner circle. In every case, they were regarded as "bad people" or "ministers of Satan" by the leaders and thus by the fellowship members. (Another common trait of a cult). John Miller has been the latest recipient of this treatment. It's so weak.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome to all of you relatively new, free souls. I'm so thankful for all of you being here and sharing your stories. Changed- I feel like you do at times. I feel like an idiot at times for following something that had red lights blinking constantly. But I figure God had me there for a reason, and maybe that reason will play out still in the future. Shunning like you experienced is a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

jhorning - Yes that's the landlords.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

The Living Word claims it's purpose is to publish and preserve John's teachings. However, like a lot of organizations, if you look at their actions and where their money and labor is spent. it will reveal their true mission. In the case of the LW, it appears that acquiring real estate is on the hidden agenda of the leadership. In the Valley, houses in the neighborhood are being bough
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

And it didn't stop with John Stevens. Gary and Marilyn Hargrave learned well from him and took over. In a lot of ways, it is worse now than it ever was under John. And the quest for the almight control and financial benefit to them, alone, is way more that what John ever achieved. We hear that G&M live a life of high means. And Rick Holbrook will be the receiver of this large estate
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

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
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

He busy trying to impress the Pope.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Chaos - Why are you singling out Mike S? The phrase you are claiming he said -- there were dozens of people that said that over the pulpit. It was a slogan. A catch-phrase the we all said to earn points with "the cool guys" back then. We were young, crazed and trying hard to be accepted. Mike S, like a lot of pastors, had to leave when the toxic level got too high and the worship o
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I'd like to repeat what was said before. If you leave the Living Word church and have a great life, they will say "see how easy it is to live when you leave the front line of God's army." And if you leave the church and have rough times, they will say "see what happened to him (or her) when they left the covering of divine order." See, they got you either way.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Chaos, you don't need to apologize for posting a lot. I don't think anyone minds at all. We all learn from all of these posts. That goes for anyone, as long as you don't have some alternate agenda (then the RR moderator will step in). Also, I don't think anyone should tell someone else how their path of healing should go. We've all been damaged in different ways and
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Designated Relationships came along after JRS. I don't think John would have liked the form it ended up in, where any congregant gives "words" to other sheep. He warned us of the care that is needed in giving direction. For a good discussion, please see kBoy's post from Jan. 12, 2011 (p7)
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Chaos, I'll answer your question about how long I was in: "too long !" I was in it long enough that my inner voice got suppressed to the point where I didn't hear it for long periods of time. We were taught to not trust our own thinking. I took that literally for a long time. But that still small voice does not go away and at some point it starting getting louder. I kep
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Chaos, that is an interesting phone call you got. Unfortunately, orders for couples to divorce happens often. I've heard from Walk leaders that the theory behind this is this: If a couple are looking like they might leave the fellowship together, it is best to split them up if there is a chance to retain one of them. It is better if one of them continues to stay in the group than for bot
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Regarding the cult question: let me repeat what others have said.... " if it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck and it quacks like a duck.....it just might be a duck." Regarding John Miller. He was recently removed from Walk leadership. We hear he has left the fellowship. From what we can tell, Marilyn has never liked John. She has a hard time competing with a man
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families