Ive started this process in some form and would like to invite you to take a peek at another thread. (The PFAL classes had been open to anyone who paid the $50 fee.) Im not educated or enlightened by any metric, but reading that after your personal experience as well as observation grounded and solidified what you were sharing. Instead of it being an isolated incident that sucks from time to time in life, its framed as The Adversary (the devil) is making your life difficult, and as athletes of the spirit we can outmaneuver him. Although Wayers project a curt and indifferent attitude toward the many who have left the group, they have undoubtedly been hurt deeply in recent years. Explain teachings carefully, and give them time alone to read the Bible in a newer version (such as the New International Version or New American Standard) which has clearer wording and lacks Wierwilles marginal notes and deletions marked in their old King James Versions. Youre a survivor. Several thousand followers have severed ties with The Way International as a result of the allegations and evidence they have seen, including the entire state (Limb) of South Carolina in April 1988 and about 80 percent of the Washington, D.C., Limb. The class aside (because who cares), can you imagine being made to feel like youre a bad person because of things beyond your control? CES includes many past Way celebrities and clergy such as John and Pat Lynn, Ralph Dubofsky, Robert Belt, Sue Pierce, Tom Reahard, and John Schonheit. They justify ANY abuse by saying it was reproof and you needed it. There are less and less full time ministers on the field and in many Regions only one full time couple in the entire Region. Conveniently situated in the Minh Khai part of Phu Ly (Ha Nam), this property puts you close . I just wanted to paint a picture here of the laid back approach to Christian faith that makes the Way appealing to people. CES holds two national meetings per year in Chicago (drawing about 150 people per meeting), publishes Dialogue magazine bi-monthly, circulates periodic newsletters, and distributes tapes. Geer believes Wierwille actually caused his body to die: There were two points when I felt that he might change his mind and decide to go on living.I am fully convinced that he believed to stop the functions of his body.8 He seems to believe that Wierwille chose to commit suicide, using his spiritual weapon of believing, rather than to continue fighting the spiritual decline of the trustees. These people are capable of anything. Leonards book and course syllabus called The Gifts of the Spirit are still in print. Can you imagine? Martindale seems determined to remake The Way and close ranks, which may result in an increasingly cultic mindset. (New Knoxville, OH: American Christian Press, 1972), x. This article first appeared in the in the Ask Hank column of the Christian Research Journal, Feb 20, 2023 | Christian Articles, en Espanol, Feb 13, 2023 | Christian Articles, en Espanol. Most still feel hurt from being betrayed by The Way, are suspicious of any new organizations, and hesitate to connect themselves with any Christian church. Nonetheless, many ex-Wayers desire publications, traveling teachers, regional meetings, and a network of fellowships similar to those they had in The Way. She didnt take the class. 5 Christopher C. Geer, The Passing of a Patriarch (Attrincham, Cheshire, U.K.: European Christian Press, n.d.), 34. This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 44, number 2 (2021). They also feel the need for teaching and fellowship with other believers. It is apparent that almost all Wierwille taught he acquired from other men, not from original study of Gods word. Wierwille as father, friend, and teacher, but both the Scriptures and the empirical evidence demand it. Boy howdy that was an ear-full. What Are Long-Time Wayers Thinking About? Its not interested in interrogating deep questions of being and it doesnt hold up well to fact based challenges. 8 Ibid., 67, 68. Subforums. However, it sucked to consider our loved as anything less than brilliant, observant, and aware. The Way used to mail cassette tapes of the Sunday service to those "in good standing". My Mom got heavily involved in the ministry straight out the gates - going WOW (their outreach program) shortly after taking the PFAL class in the early 80s and then we went Family Corp right after that. Lynn summarized this when he assured listeners that many stories would curl your hair.12. The group says that it will hold classes and smaller conferences instead, including a weeklong gathering of 2,000 at The Ways auditorium in New Knoxville, July 20-27. For the most part this conceptualizing of the world as being on Gods side or influenced but the Adversary makes me roll my eyes. Wierwilles death certificate lists ocular melanoma, or malignant tumor of the eye, as the underlying cause of death. The most important change involves the new The Way of Abundance and Power classes by Way president, L. Craig Martindale. Second, give ex-Wayers space to vent their emotions and hurts, and pray for them and their healing. He is a former follower of The Way International, the same group from which I escaped in 1987. We both are still active in the remnants of one of the many splinter groups and have become the inheritors of a fellowship in limbo. I think youre absolutely right in that educating others will help with the grieving process. For Feb 24, 2023 | Christian Articles, en Espanol. Meanwhile, he promotes his book, The Rise and Expansion of the Church, through weekend seminars. My mom thought God helped her get a good parking space once (Im not kidding). Based at . In addition, the account includes several insights into The Way. Since then, The Way has sought to purge (that is, totally shun) all who do not tithe or who question Martindale on any issue. Not even post TWI as a survivor. He told Corps grads that the Ambassadors had accomplished their mission of getting Gods Word over the world. He called it WOW redefined, but he never explained how reaching only a fraction of a percent of residents of the United States (much less of the world) constitutes completing the mission. At first I was told how loved and adored I was but quickly that facade died and it was clear I was not loved. The Passing of a Patriarch greatly damaged The Way because it summarizes the accusations Wierwille made against the three trustees who alone are technically members of The Way and who control all assets and policy. At that time I had recently come out as bisexual to my mom, which went as well as you'd expect. At one point I got sick with an infectious disease that typically kills you within 48 hours. An Open Letter to You Who Are Disillusioned with The Way Ministry, J. Juedes PFO Journal. I grew up in the Way Ministry in the 80s and left in my last year of high school in 96. A few, but not tons. Christian can also help (ex-) Wayers through four basic steps of reorientation: 1) expose, 2) emotional reaction, 3) relearning, and 4) reconstruction. They perpetuation of mental health that manifested in suicide with no accountability. 14:21-23); stringent laws are done away with when one is born again (Col. 2:20-21); God punished David for killing Uriah, not for having sex with Bathsheba; and the Bibles word for adultery has a spiritual, not a physical meaning. Incidentally, only Geers group has published a book by Wierwille since his death. Eventually someone outside the house stepped in because they knew what was wrong and got me to the hospital. Although Guideposts helped popularize Cliffes writings and he claimed to be Anglican, Cliffe held New Thought beliefs, seeing God as impersonal principle. We ourselves have two articles in our website concerning that movement. Making you afraid of other people and afraid of having attention withheld are other classic manipulation tactics. The CES meeting in May 1988 sponsored two and one-half days of biblical teachings and allowed sales of books by those attending, including Lynn, Lionel Recio, and myself. Bullinger is that they had already heard Wierwille teach Bullingers material as his own. The Way began to grow significantly only when Wierwille traveled to California and recruited followers from the Jesus movement.16 Like Eve and the Corinthians, these young believers (and many since the 1960s) were virgins with simple devotion to Christ, but were not grounded in Scripture and thus were easily led astray. All of the various groups claim to hold the true legacy of Wierwille's teachings. This is hard to accept for those who knew V.P. Unless you have endless funds to fight in Court for an extended period of time, I fear that battle would only add to the pain you have already experienced. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber They have forsaken the right way and gone astray" (2 Peter 2:1-3, 15). That is to say, other people are nice and fine, but its only the true Believers that are truly living Godly lives. At the time, Schoenheit was on The Ways research team. It's another thing entirely when the leader of a "Biblical Research and Fellowship Ministry" delivers a fire and brimstone sermon threatening to chain gays to the back bumper of an RV and go for a little drive. I've even attended a wedding at HQ. I think others have covered the most common manipulation tactics the group used. When he first presented it verbally to gatherings of Way leadership (at which, John Lynn reports, he carried a large-caliber pistol for self-protection), it caused tremendous turbulence, and its content was kept out of general circulation. Her recent suicide however was as a member in leadership. By word, character, and example, show them that there is more-than-abundant life outside The Way International.Dr. Your reply was a lot to unpack, digest, snd accept. 3 Highlights of The Way Corps Graduation (June 1995), cassette tape. All because of "homosexual devil spirit possession" will not be welcome at their festival. Pretty sure "in good standing" meant you "tithed" over a certain amount each month. When I arrived back home my entire bedroom and all my belongings had been searched for anything ungodly. The Way International is a small, fundamentalist, Bible-based organization headquartered in New Knoxville, Ohio, on property that was once the family farm of the founder, Victor Paul Wierwille. I can't speak much on what the formal organization is doing now but the splinter groups just don't have the financial or organizational power as they did before they split off. She was loved by many because she was easy going, fit in with many and different groups - a legitimate interest in others, etc. The car parking and the Wi-Fi are always free, so you can stay in touch and come and go as you please. Mac OS X 10.7.5 Quartz PDFContext My family transitioned to a splinter group in the mid 90s, and later when I was a teenager I moved into a "Way Home" which is like a group home for the cult. Wierwilles ideas on sense knowledge, confession, and healing (among others) he found in E.W. Splintering of the group since 1985 has greatly reduced its active membership, from a peak of about . Ex-Wayers also charge that The Way teaches falsely on the topics of believing, abundant sharing, tithing, interpretation of tongues, and athletes of the spirit (the belief that every warfare metaphor in the Epistles should be understood as an athletic metaphor instead). Each year The Way had sent out hundreds of WOW (Word Over the World) Ambassadors as volunteer missionaries to cities around the world, which was its primary outreach for 25 years. The false apostles disguises are being pulled from their faces, and the virgins who were led astray are returning to the one true Jesus, Spirit, and gospel, and the church of Jesus Christ. Take The Diary of Anne Frank for example. It's one thing to simply not condone homosexuality because it's a sin against God. One CES leader, with a touch of irony, attempted to distance CES from The Way by explaining that CES would do Christian study, not biblical research (A Way term). This book condemned not only the trustees but all Way leadership, including the clergy, headquarters staff, regional leaders, and Corps around the world. The Way To Happiness International. Somewhere in the 90s someone in charge of such decisions recognized that it was probably a good idea to stop calling it twig because it sounds weird to newcomers. There is also an intermediate and advanced classes. And I am glad you are with us. The Way president is accustomed to using crude speech and profanity, even in public settings. Needless to say, growing up in a large communal living situation for 2 years of my childhood had unique benefits and DEFINITE drawbacks. The foundational class is 36 hours I believe and I can't tell you how many times I took it. Sann also circulates periodic newsletters and regularly publishes teaching tapes. For Feb 24, 2023 | Christian Articles, en Espanol. Few know that many able scholars have effectively refuted some of Bullingers ideas. Its current headquarters are in New Knoxville, Ohio; estimates of its membership range from 3,000 to 20,000. They include the Foundational Class (Receive with Meekness), the Intermediate Class (Retain with Conviction), and the Advanced Class (Release with Boldness). The Way stressed that these gatherings were for committed, faithful followers, unlike the Rock, which was open to anyone. The Way International, The Way, La Voie, El Camino, PFAL, The Way of Abundance and Power, The Way Magazine, The Way Corps are trademarks registered by The Way International in the United States and/or other countries. Splintering and Subjugating.as night follows day, Remembering a woman of courage, who stood up to a monster. Household Prayer would be around 6am or earlier sometimes, which you couldn't miss or again you would be reprimanded. A number of people died. I was born in Sidney, Ohio in 2001 and lived at the Way Headquarters in New Knoxville. The current turmoil surrounding The Way presents an excellent opportunity for Christians to befriend ex-Wayers and help them discover biblical truths they have forgotten or never known. During WOW training at the 1994 Rock of Ages conference, however, Way leaders decided not to send WOWs, because nearly 10 percent of their Ambassadors were homosexual. haga clic aqu para obtener ms informacin. It begins to be the only thing you can do and the only people you can see. In response, he defends such Way teachings as that on interpretation of tongues.14 Ralph Dubofsky told the May 1988 CES meeting that the reason they like so much of E.W. Way followers say the first commandment is the most important: no false Idols before God. Strangely, that means that TWI is responsible for my birth. Meli Vinpearl Phu Ly. I was a Girl Scout as a kid and all through high school, and I devoted myself to community projects my whole life. But in reality, women in the Way were valued primarily for sex and as caretakers. I'm a robot. graduates of the PFAL Series (Power For Abundant Living) may find links to fellowship, study, friends, and loved ones, believers and seekers of all congregations or none at all may find wonderful links at this page. How come she was allowed non-Christian activities such as going to dances/concerts, have a boyfriend or a job prior to college and Way Disciples Training? They have been active and effective at exposing problems in The Way through personal influence and meetings of Wayers around the nation. The Way is marketed as a biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry. Boop. I am also former TWI. The most debate arose when the topic of financing CES was raised, which prompted fears that their donations would be misused by yet another organization. Almost every long-time member has had at least one question such as: Why did Dr. Wierwille never speak against adultery in his Christian Family and Sex class? Why does my Limb leader often spend the night with certain twig leaders of the opposite sex? Why did our womens meeting leave the impression that a woman should satisfy any physical desire of visiting Way leaders? Why do Way leaders give contradictory answers when I ask about the biblical stance on sex outside of marriage? Why did the twig leader make sexual advances toward me the first time I attended?10, Ex-Wayers are increasingly charging The Way with false teaching and scholarship. Unlike the WOWs, the Disciples program is open only to Advanced Class graduates, and therefore probably consists mainly of members of the Way Corps. While ex-Wayers want the groups to be much different than The Way, there are many similarities in teaching and goals. My mom was a single mother and had registered for an upcoming class. 6 Albert Cliffe, Let Go and Let God (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1951), 157. To me this is the core of the Way: the planting of the idea that its us against them. Over time that can be very isolating considering that there arent that many people in the ministry. Some people were asked to leave the ministry for some big transgression (maybe they were gay, maybe they bucked chain of command in some big way), and they were considered marked and avoided (I think stemming from the Cain and Abel story in Genesis). Sann, on the other hand, considers people like Lynn to have gone too far in rejecting valid teachings. That wing of my family joined nearly 30 years ago. No. This thread is like a walk down memory lane - Sunday Service tapes, the Rock of Ages, Athletes of the Spirit, all the lingo others have quoted, and Martindale's violent tirades against homosexuality in the mid 90s bring me right back. 11 Morton and Juedes, Integrity and Accuracy, reveals many of Wierwilles errors in scholarship and Bible interpretation. 2 The Way Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 1994, 26. (New Knoxville, OH: American Christian Press, 1972), 209, 174, for Wierwilles claim that his book is the most original coverage of the subject, and p. 178 for his claim that God audibly promised to teach him directly and personally. . I'm still dealing with a lot of the trauma. Not only is it about reading the Bible and having a personal relationship with God, but there are various levels of classes that you take to be better scholars. The Way also teaches its followers to receive an impersonal power (called holy spirit, power from on high, or Christ in you) by inhaling, and that speaking in tongues is the only proof that one is born again. John Lynn described in detail how Way leaders practiced and tried to justify adultery in the audiotape, Overview of Events-1.. In that same breathe, her sister/siblings believed she was waking up and coming to her own conclusion about her situation and the life she had created with the expectation that she would removing herself as they did during that similar age period of their lives. This is to say, you can be you with all your quirks and eccentricities because we are all unique people and can come to have unique relationships with God through his Word. As a kid, I was always 1.) Not that a college degree is by any means the only metric of intelligence, but there arent a lot of college degrees in the faith. One ex-member said the Corps residence training was sometimes like a bordello, with promiscuity, adultery, orgies, wife swapping, and even gang-rape.4. I get the impression her experience was exactly as youve shared. Omg this info about splinter groups is shocking. The Way founders instruction on how to receive the Holy Spirit by inhaling and the belief that speaking in tongues cannot be counterfeited were derived from J.E.