Welcome, typer. Thank you for sharing parts of your story here. I'm so glad that you got your family to a safe place, both physically and spiritually. I agree with your assessment that the spirits of believers belong to God and not to a human leader. I concur also with prettyboy and others on the status of the churches. The real dedication and loving relationships have always been in the
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotechangedagain I recall back on Factnet when various people still holding on to John's word would claim that his death to cancer was a result of people's disobedience, lack of faith, lack of violent prayer--whatever. They weren't going to budge, and they probably still aren't...assuming they're still alive. I've been watching "Ministry of Evil" about
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteOnion A lot of people have wondered and even speculated about what Gary might have up his sleeve in all that has happened since so many people began to blow the whistle on church abuses, especially in CLW/COL/TLW. I think Gary's exit plan was started quite a bit before anyone went public on FB. The response to his request for letters in the context of his 360 thingie was apparently a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotechangedagain Note: After Jeff P. left the South Gate church in the early 90's, my wife and I were asked by Statton to help fill in the void he left with the young adults in the church. I recall at one point Scott M. coming to the church, and relaying a message to me that God 'meant business' with the younger generation. Apparently a teen in TLWF was hit by a train and died...a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotechangedagain Dissent brings retribution, at least from my experience. The uncomfortable truth is that anyone who considered themselves a ministry during the reign of G & M & R (Gary, Marilyn, Rick) were only kidding themselves. They were merely figureheads...having the appearance of having a say in matters, but actually inconsequential. The way to test this premise,of course, was to
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRichard M. “Invictus” OUT of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Dick, thank you. You confirmed my suspicions of what I felt about "the intercessors" being told that they were much more important to JRS than the elders in the church. It really was an alternate universe.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotepuddington Yes. And I recall that the Blix girls in the 70’s & 80’s were taught to “get Marilyn’s thinking”. Because she had the “mind of Christ”. To think like her, was to think like God. I’m not kidding. I heard this doctrine myself. I remember, too, puddington. I don't think that I would have lasted long at Blix House. Good thing that I was never "invited" to li
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Richard M., I remember those days of the elite intercessors group. Somehow they knew years before anyone else did that JRS had a "nephilim wife", and were actively praying for her death. They knew that Stevens had prophesied against Robert Kennedy, and were strangely ok with his assassination because it was "God's will". How is that Christian? Many times various ones r
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

What happens when a leader's prophecies don't happen as foretold? (Or, in the case of TLWF/The Walk, it becomes stunningly obvious that "The Apostle to the Kingdom" was a conman?) Do the cult members realize that something is wrong with the teaching? Or do they go through mental gyrations to keep their beliefs intact? This story about the Christmas the aliens didn't come
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRichard M. ...Stevens made it clear to Richard that taking as much as you can through the gifts of others without being known for it or otherwise caught for your self-serving and sycophant goals, was the height of success. And he was still reaching for it partly through the willing help of Marilyn. Between this and the accounts of motel room trysts up on the Boulevard, it's pretty
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRichard M. Reepicheep, thanks. I knew Stevens was a phony when I first saw and met him. He wouldn't look at me eye-to-eye and seemed even a little frightened of me. Of course, it later made more sense. But if there hadn't been Marilyn and my kids tied to her, he never would have survived to stand at another sermon . . . But I had my own future and two kids’ lives to consider so a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Richard M., you are awesome for sharing your experiences. I didn't see this when it was on FACTNET, but it is so important that you shared it again. This is epic, and should lay to rest the thinking that the founder of the Walk was anything other than a very skilled conman. I want to believe in Santa Claus and the Wizard of Oz too, but it is not a healthy obsession for adults. And neither is
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteOnion As to forgiveness, depending on each individual's stage of recovery, I believe the best route is for people to consult their therapists or other providers with education in the area of abuse recovery and forgiveness before responding in a willy nilly fashion to a surface interpretation or another's opinion on how forgiveness works within the victim. Forgiveness is a deep
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteNancyB Wimpy little apology is not repentance nor is it rehabilitation for sexual addiction of so many leaders who helped themselves to those vulnerable children/sheep who should have protected by the leaders. Sick. There is no way a religious leader can claim to speak words of the lord and the lord forgets to reveal heinous abuse. Does it really make sense that god gives wisdom to tell pe
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome deborahs. Over the years there were many leaders who were treated very badly by JRS and G&M, including W.J. Stevens, Vere Thomas and many more. There were even more congregants who were used and taken advantage of. This is where the abuse train stops. No more.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteOnion Apparently, the best thing all of us have done is to publicly speak up. I would hope that those who are die-hard loyalists to the past will realize there is a requirement to speak out about wrongdoing to avoid being held responsible. Of course, the complete control exercised by various leaders will result in complete liability but that doesn't mean they will be the only ones cul
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

With all due respect to the lovely calls for forgiveness, I would like to point out that many people posting here (especially women and those who were minors at the time) have had forgiveness shoved down their throats for most of their lives while those hurting them gleefully piled abuse upon abuse. It is not healthy to ignore our own process because "someone" tells us that the correct
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotekBOY POST TLW LEXICON: ~ Walk with Fraud ~ Shalom-oshima ~ Tramp of Israel ~ Apologetic Company (APCO) ~ Alcoholic Company (ALCO) ~ Center of the LoonyVerse ~ School of Profits ~ Impostor-stolic Company ~ Pervert Prince ~ Lying Word ~ Personal Misdirection ~ Queen of Con My autocorrect supplied this one: Church of the Living Weird
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Here is an article that I believe would be helpful to many people on this forum. The title is "Forget About Forgiving Your Narcissist/Psychopath: Here's Why ". Here's a sneak peek of the subtitles: You need to move on You get more drained by the second It's time for you to come first You need to stop feeling bad for seeking justice Toxic people get off scot-free
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Changed, Onion and kbyrne, Thank you for bringing up the names of people who were unceremoniously shown the door and disenfranchised for whatever reason or no reason at all. I remember being told to go to church to hear a super secret restricted tape one night. It was about Larry Makuakane. I don't know what to call "those" tapes. Demonizing and orders to shun tapes. There we
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotechangedagain Yes, Hargrave and company always manage to dump guilt on the victims--or at least try to. Placing a requirement of forgiving your enemies (highlighting certain verses in Matt. 18) is just the latest manipulative tactic. The burden, of course, is once again placed on the wounded, while the transgressors refuse to specifically acknowledge their wrongdoing, and the havoc it has wre
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteOnion I was remembering a funny story today and thought I would share. I first heard the rumors about JRS' lascivious behavior and reputation for womanizing in the mid to late 60's. I had met JRS once or twice but had not yet considered being a Christian and going to the church. I was on a date with a guy I had known (and had a crush on) in High School. As we sat in his car in my d
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRe: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens Posted by: changedagain () Date: February 10, 2019 09:34AM Interesting. My father-in-law ('Pops Jekel') was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, and participated in the first major battle depicted in the movie 'We Were Soldiers.' In the late the 70's, according to my wife, he attended a living word 'ki
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quote Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens Posted by: NancyB () Date: February 01, 2019 12:06AM puddington Wrote: -------------------------------------------------------k > Mental health professionals will tell you there is > an inner self that is deep and private. A normal > person keeps this place secret and private. It is > very unhealthy to expos
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Isn't that sort of like the country song "I'm My Own Grandpa"? Just sayin'. ;)
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quote Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens Posted by: kbyrne () Date: January 29, 2019 09:25AM Reading some of the lastest posts, strangely, it reminds me of magic tricks. Coming into the walk in '73, a huge thing was to try to position yourself to get a "word," "personal ministry," from JRS. Personally, I could never get enough. And lik
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

SunnyFord, Welcome to the RR Forum. Thank you for finding the 1958 First Principles and posting the terminology. It's very enlightening. Here are two of the most stressed doctrines in TLWF from the beginning, and the most damaging as well. SUBMISSION: Is the accepting the control or authority of another, being obedient and compliant to those over you in the Lord. Ephesian 5:21 to 6:9 a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotekBOY wrote: "One thing we will all be taking away from our TLW involvement will be the wonderful relationships we would not have had otherwise . Amidst all the heartache, the silver lining of LOVE we have for each other will transform every tear into JOY." kBOY, no matter how much they told us to break bonds with everyone, the human heart will still love people. For all their ad
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRoad to Damascus Interesting bit of news. a piece MFC land is listed for sale. The congregants have not been told. I wonder where the money from it will go? Any guesses Thanks for the info, Road to Damascus. Any more details?
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families